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PubMed2002

Education, wealth, and cognitive function in later life.

Population-based studies of health often use education as the sole indicator of socioeconomic status (SES); the independent contributions of education and other SES covariates are rarely delineated. Using Wave 1 of the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old study, the authors examined the extent to which educational attainment influences performance on three separate domains of cognitive status by race and Latino ethnicity and introduced controls for wealth and household income. Results indicate that the education effect is minimally weakened after adjusting for wealth; the wealth effect, however, is greatly attenuated after adjusting for education. Blacks and Whites exhibited a similar education--cognition relationship; Latino elderly did not experience commensurate gains in cognitive function with increasing education. Results suggest that although the education--cognition relationship may in part reflect an SES gradient, the association is more likely due to the process and consequences of education itself.

Black or African American↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neonatal whole blood hyperviscosity: the important factor influencing later neurologic function is the viscosity and not the polycythemia.

The neurologic outcome of 23 seven-year old children who had cord blood hyperviscosity was compared with that of children with normal cord blood viscosity in a randomised, controlled and blinded study. Viscosity was measured using a coaxial narrow-gap couette viscometer. Sixteen (69.6%) of the children with hyperviscous cord blood had a disability; this incidence being three times greater (22.7%) than in children whose cord blood was not hyperviscous (P < 0.01). In three children with cord-blood hyperviscosity, the disability was severe. No child had a severe disability with normal cord blood viscosity. Of the eight children whose cord blood was hyperviscous, but not polycythemic, six (75.0%) had a disability and in one child the disability was severe. These results demonstrate an association between cord blood hyperviscosity and later neurologic development. Cord studies are non-invasive and result in the rapid diagnosis of the neonatal hyperviscosity syndrome, so allowing earlier treatment. This may be crucial in altering the effects of hyperviscosity on the developing brain in the early neonatal period. Because the neurologic outcome of children was similar whether polycythemia was present or not, the prime factor was the viscosity and not the hematocrit level. We suggest it may be necessary to perform cord blood viscosity studies routinely.

Blood Viscosity↗
PubMed1999

Developmental and dynamic canal stenosis as radiologic factors affecting surgical results of anterior cervical fusion for myelopathy.

STUDY DESIGN: The correlation between preoperative and postoperative lateral functional radiograms and clinical results was analyzed in 74 cases of myelopathy treated by anterior cervical fusion. OBJECTIVES: To clarify the correlation between clinical results and radiologic findings (developmental and dynamic stenosis). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Although radiologic changes have been reported at the disc level adjacent to anterior cervical fusion, the question of whether these radiologic findings affect the clinical results of anterior fusion has not been resolved. METHODS: The "deteriorated" results group (28 cases) was composed of cases with deterioration of 2 points or more in the Japan Orthopedic Association score at follow-up compared with the postoperative best score. The "good" results group (46 cases) exhibited a recovery rate of > or = 50%. The two groups were compared in lateral functional roentgenograms on which the sagittal canal diameter in each vertebra and the diameter between the inferoposterior lip of the vertebral body and the anterior margin of the lamina of the distal vertebra in the extended neck were measured. A diameter of less than 12 mm was defined as developmental canal stenosis or dynamic canal stenosis. RESULTS: Fifty-four percent of the cases in the deteriorated results group had developmental canal stenosis, whereas the same findings were identified in only 2% of the cases in the good results group (P < 0.01). Preoperative dynamic canal stenosis at the disc level adjacent to the fusion was found in 64% of the patients in the deteriorated results group and in only 4% of the patients in the good results group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Patients in the deteriorated results group showed a higher incidence of preoperative developmental and/or dynamic canal stenosis at the adjacent disc level than those in the the good results group. These results indicate that patients with preoperative developmental canal stenosis are not suitable candidates for anterior cervical fusion. When dynamic canal stenosis is found below or above the level of fusion, simultaneous fusion is recommended to avoid deterioration of the myelopathy.

Cervical Vertebrae↗
PubMed1977

Function of lateral reticular nucleus in central cardiovascular regulation in the cat.

The role of the lateral reticular nucleus (LRN) in central cardiovascular regulation was investigated in cats. In 15 cerebellectomized and nine intact chloralosed cats stimulation of 115 histologically verified sites in the LRN elicited increases in arterial pressure and heart rate; the latter was abolished by propranolol but not by bilateral cervical vagotomy. The pressor response was significantly greater in intact animals. Electrical activity was recorded from the right inferior cardiac nerve (ICN) during stimulation fo the LRN and of a vasomotor region in the posteromedial hypothalamus (PMH). Stimulation of sites in the LRN and in the PMH, on both sides, elicited a response in the right ICN that was consistently abolished during baroreceptor excitation. Medullary transection 3 mm rostral to the LRN did not abolish the ICN response to LRN stimulation. The conclusions are drawn that stimulation of the LRN elicits cardiovascular responses probably due to excitation of groups of neurons in this nucleus located in a descending sympathetic pathway originating in the PMH and that these responses can be inhibited by excitation of baroreceptors. In view of the known functional connections of the LRN with the somatomotor system it is suggested that this nucleus may play a major role in somatosympathetic reflexes.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and impaired pulmonary function.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a rapidly progressive disease of unknown etiology resulting in tetraparalysis, dysarthria, dysphagia, and ultimately death from respiratory insufficiency. In the course of the disease, recurrent episodes of aspiration, pneumonia, dehydration, and malnutrition may necessitate nasoenteral tube placement, an inconvenient and unattractive arrangement in patients with dribbling and impaired swallowing. A percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy seemed a better, though potentially hazardous, alternative in view of the often severely restricted pulmonary function of these patients. Therefore, we prospectively investigated the use of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in 68 consecutive patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Minimum required pulmonary function was defined as forced vital capacity (FVC) of 1 L or more and CO2 gas exchange capability as pCO2 of 45 mm Hg or less. The methodology of insertion was adapted to facilitate the early removal of gastric air. Fifty-five patients (median FVC, 1.7 L; pCO2, 40 mm Hg) were eligible for the gastrostomy procedure, and 13 patients (median FVC, 0.8 L; pCO2, 47 mm Hg) were not. Despite the fact that modification of the method of insertion rendered the procedure more difficult, the success rate was 89% (49/55); it was 96% (49/51) when failures related to distorted anatomy were excluded. The procedure-related mortality rate was 1.8% and the 24-hour in-hospital mortality rate was 3.6%, mainly related to respiratory insufficiency. The 30-day out-of-hospital mortality rate was 11.5%. Major complications (3.6%) consisted of a spontaneously draining cutaneous abscess in 2 cases. Peristomal redness was present in 6 cases, and 5 patients required analgesics for wound pain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗
PubMed1990

Urinoma formation in posterior urethral valves: relationship to later renal function.

A retrospective analysis of radiologically determined individual renal function was performed in five boys who presented in the neonatal period with posterior urethral valves, vesicoureteral reflux and documented urinoma formation. Renal function was evaluated with scintigraphy. There was reflux in eight of ten ureters. Six of these ureters had an associated urinoma and compromised renal function in the neonatal period. In two of the boys the kidney with urinoma functioned better than the contralateral kidney with reflux alone. In two other boys with unilateral urinoma the contralateral ureter did not reflux and the affected kidney functioned less well. In follow up (20 to 36 months) seven of the ten kidneys have a near normal appearance or function. Those kidneys which are now abnormal were noted to be abnormal in the neonatal period.

Follow-Up Studies↗
PubMed1982

Possible lateralization of function in toadfish sound production.

Sounds in toadfish are produced by simultaneous contraction of paired swimbladder muscles. Muscle synchronization has been attributed to electric synapses within the midline sonic motor nucleus. This note describes three sounds, which appear to be produced by different contraction patterns of the left and right muscles, suggesting that a single motor nucleus is capable of simultaneously producing two different outputs.

Air Sacs↗
PubMed1988

Detection of cerebral lateralization of function using EEG alpha-contingent visual stimulation II.

The replicative reliability of durations of alpha-blocking following visual stimulation over different cortical sites was assessed with the method of alpha-contingent stimulation. Fourteen right-handed undergraduates were tested in a randomized factorial design. Words or geometric designs of equal luminance were presented by computer to randomly selected visual half-fields contingent on the occurrence of alpha at one of 4 placements (left and right occipital and left and right temporal). The control (mean/s) of alpha-blocking durations was significantly greater for contralateral visual half-field stimulation compared to ipsilateral visual half-field stimulation. This and other results were interpreted in terms of the concept of replicative reliability of retinal-cortical connections to occipital and temporal lobes and affirm the validity and sensitivity of the method.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Effects of concurrent spatial and verbal memory loads on serial position functions of laterally presented letter strings.

In this study the influence of visuospatial and verbal memory loads on the identification of laterally presented letter strings was investigated. In the asymmetry task without concurrent loads, a clear right visual field advantage for letter identification was obtained. Hemisphere-specific effects due to concurrent loads were particularly observed when the difficulty of the load tasks was increased. The effects of visuospatial loads were found to be sex related, suggesting that under heavy load conditions mental rotation selectively overloads the processing capacity of the right hemisphere in males, while in females capacity limitations were observed in both hemispheres. Concurrent visuospatial loads produced more facilitation (or less interference) for letters in the outermost positions of each visual field than for letters in the innermost positions of each visual field. The results of the verbal memory load tasks revealed that an easy verbal load task facilitated performance which was particularly manifest for the right-most letter of both the left visual field and the right visual field. A difficult verbal memory load task interfered with recognition accuracy of letters which was most marked for the center letter in the right visual field. Letter position effects obtained in this study were interpreted in terms of various processing mechanisms influencing the serial position curves.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Semantic associations, lateralized frontal function, and context maintenance in schizotypy.

Symptom heterogeneity within conventional diagnostic groups is fostering a growing focus on narrower symptom profiles to identify psychological and biological mechanisms in psychopathology. Positive symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with context maintenance deficits, which in turn have been linked to frontal-lobe function. Frontal- and temporal-lobe brain dysfunction is also well documented in schizophrenia. The present study (N=36) examined how context and memory deficits are associated with subclinical symptoms in schizotypy by investigating the relationship between symptom reports, neuropsychological performance, and several facets of recognition memory. Context maintenance was probed via lures suggested by presented verbal material. Frontal brain function and positive symptom schizotypy predicted accuracy for lures, whereas posterior brain function and low positive affect predicted accuracy for distracters. This pattern of findings establishes continuity in disruption of context maintenance in clinical and subclinical populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Motor and cognitive interactions during lateralized cerebral functions in children: an EEG study.

Power spectra of hemispheric EEG asymmetries were recorded in children performing cognitive tasks requiring motor output. Verbal and spatial cognitive tasks were administered and subjects performed tasks with either right or left hand. The average power in the alpha band was computed. Significant changes in right/left ratios were obtained when the task changed from verbal to spatial. A major predictor of which hemisphere was most activated, however, was the hand involved in solving the task. It appears that attention must be directed to both the cognitive and motor components when investigating asymmetries of cerebral hemisphere function.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Effects of neonatal stimulation on later cognitive function and hippocampal nerve growth factor.

This study examined the behavioural and physiological effects of chronic mild stress on neonatally handled and non-handled rats. Neonatally handled and non-handled rats were exposed to chronic mild stress from weaning time to 6 months of age. They were behaviourally tested at 6 months of age, and sacrificed for analysis of nerve growth factor (NGF) in the hippocampus and hypothalamus. In contrast to the reported deleterious effect of acute strong stress, mild stress appeared to stimulate production of NGF in the hippocampus and improve spatial learning in both handled and nonhandled rats. Because neonatal handling produces neuroanatomical changes in the rat hippocampus and enhances cognitive function throughout the rats life span, these results implicate hippocampal NGF in the neuroprotective effects of handling.

Aging↗
PubMed1999

Clinical and electrophysiological assessment of inferior alveolar nerve function after lateral nerve transposition.

Inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) transposition surgery may cause some degree of sensory impairment. Accurate and reproducible tests are mandatory to assess IAN conduction capacity following nerve transposition. In this study subjective (heat, pain and tactile-discriminative tests) and objective (electrophysiological) assessments were performed in 10 patients receiving IAN transposition (bilaterally in 8 cases) in order to evaluate any impairment of the involved nerves one year post-operatively. All patients reported a tingling, well-tolerated sensation in the areas supplied by the mental nerve with no anaesthesia or burning paresthesia. Tactile discrimination was affected the most (all but 1 patient). No action potential was recorded in 4 patients' sides (23.5%); 12 sides showed a decreased nerve conduction velocity (NCV) (70.5%) and 1 side normal NCV values (6%). There was no significant difference in NCV decrease between partial and total transposition sides, if examined separately. Nerve conduction findings were related 2-point discrimination scores, but not to changes in pain and heat sensitivity. These findings show that lateral nerve transposition, though resulting in a high percentage of minor IAN injuries, as determined by electrophysiological testing, provides a viable surgical procedure to allow implant placement in the posterior mandible without causing severe sensory complaints. Considering ethical and forensic implications, patients should be fully informed that a certain degree of nerve injury might be expected to occur from the procedure. Electrophysiological evaluation is a reliable way to assess the degree of IAN dysfunction, especially if combined with a clinical examination. Intraoperative monitoring of IAN conduction might help identify the pathogenetic mechanisms of nerve injury and the surgical steps that are most likely to harm nerve integrity.

Action Potentials↗