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Biomedical subjects

G Ulrich

Publications and source records attributed to G Ulrich.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

[Quantitative EEG examinations on the vigilance stabilizing effect of nicergoline / Results of a double blind study with gerontopsychiatric patients (author's transl)].

A randomized, double blind, cross-over study was carried out on long-term gerontopsychiatric patients. The aim of the study was to compare the EEG effects of a four weeks' treatment with 10-methoxy-1,6-dimethyl-ergoline-8 beta-methanol-(5-bromonicotinate) (nicergoline, Sermion) with those of dihydroergotoxin-mesylate (DHETM) and a four weeks' placebo period. The results of the power spectrum analysis with a consecutive factor analysis of the spectral data show that nicergoline and DHETM have a vigilance stabilizing effect which is characterized by a decrease in the relative power of slow delta-theta frequencies and an increase in the alpha power. As opposed to DHETM, for which this effect could not be proved, nicergoline produces a significant increase in power of the fast alpha frequencies as well as of the beta 1, beta 2, and beta 3 band.

Aged↗

[The connection between videoanalytic regular measurements of non-verbal behavior and self-assessed mood].

13 manic-depressive patients were examined during a symptom-free interval while under treatment with lithium, and again after a 6-week placebo period. The results are based on a behavioral analysis of video-taped interviews as well as a self-rating of mood with a multidimensional questionnaire (Hecheltjen & Mertesdorf, MSF). This questionnaire was presented on the day of the interviews. The following parameters were examined: 1. Duration of speech activity, 2. Frequency of hand movements accompanying speech, 3. Frequency of discrete body touchings. In order to clarify the interdependency of these behavioral parameters and to obtain an external validation against mood measures we investigated how far these values change when comparing the two examinations. Significant relationships were found between: a) the relative duration of speech activity and the relative frequency of hand movements accompanying speech, b) these two parameters and the mood dimensions "social affection" and "relaxation", whereas the 5% level and barely missed for "activity" and "good mood". A tendency was noted towards a negative relationship with the dimension "anxiety". No connection could be established for the dimensions "fatigue", "depression", "boredom", "anger", "lightheartedness" and "nervousness". The category of discrete body touchings did not show a relation with either of the other behavioral parameters or with the mood dimensions. Finally, we might point out the low sensitivity of the conventional scales for the course evaluation of depression, and the advantage of the behavioral procedure which is sensitive even in the subclinical range. Moreover, the latter approach has a theoretical impact on the fundamental question of the physiological basis of manic-depressive illness.

Affect↗

[Opiate receptor sites in neuronal and glial cell lines in culture].

A stereospecific saturable high affinity binding of 3H-naloxone has been found in 3 glial and 2 neuronal cell lines. Kinetic study of binding seems to indicate only one class of receptor sites in the 5 cell lines. Acute exposure to morphine (1 X 10(-5)M) concurrent with PGE1-induced stimulation of adenylate cyclase did not result in a decrease of the cAMP level in any cell line tested.

Animals↗

[Piracetam and vigilance. A study of EEG changes and clinical effects in gerontopsychiatric patients (author's transl)].

The electroencephalographic and clinical effects of piracetam were studied in a group of 11 hospitalized gerontopsychiatric patients treated with a daily dosage of 4.8 g for 8--13 months. The EEG was evaluated by power spectral analysis, followed by a principal component analysis of frequency parameters. The statistical analysis of the resulting factor scores shows that piracetam induces significant EEG changes: decrease of slow frequencies, augmentation and acceleration of alpha-activity and increase of beta-activity. These EEG changes, indicating an increase in vigilance, correspond clinically to an improvement of communicative behavior and cognitive functioning.

Aged↗

[The syndrome of auditory agnosia. A case report and an attempt of neuropsychological qualification (author's transl)].

Proceeding from the neuropsychological examination of a patient with an exceptionally selective impairment of auditory gnosis of vascular origin, we make an attempt to analyze structurally the syndrome of auditory agnosia, a study of which has been neglected in comparison with analyses of visual agnosia. In our analysis we refer to 28 case reports, documented in the literature. Decisive syndromal points of view are: a) there is an absence of significant audiological deficiencies; b) errors of the acoustic-discriminative type prevail in auditory-visual matching tasks; c) the gnostic deficit is modality specific; d) the same items are variably reproduced on repeated presentation; e) there is marked fluctuation of performance; f) there is exceptional irreversibility of the impairment; g) amusia is a more or less obligatory accompanying phenomenon; h) in cases of vascular origin there is always a history of repeated temporal lobe damage, this damage being predominantly in the form of bilateral lesions. This analysis indicates a close structural analogy to the syndrome of perceptive visual agnosia. We place great importance in the relationship between approaches and models of cognitive psychology (Neisser, 1967) which we see as important for further theoretical development in neuropsychology.

Adolescent↗

[Videotape methods for assessing nonverbal cues of behavior in depressive syndromes (author's transl)].

We proceed from an earlier study with a behaviour-oriented judging scale and report a first attempt of quantifying systematically non-verbal elements of behaviour, taking into account the time-course of drug induced amelioration of psychopathology. The study is based on 7 cases of psychotic agitated depressions. We analyzed 4 video-taped interviews of every patient which were recorded during an antidepressant drug period of 21 days. Frequency respectively duration of defined modes of hand movements, classified with reference to Freedman were registered without sound and under the condition of time-blindness. We found a monotonous decrease of "continuous body-focused movements" in correlation with a redcution of the AMP item "depressive agitation". On account of this finding we consider a decrease of "continuous body-focused movements" as an objective indicator for amelioration of depressive agitation. A comparison between the activity of the two hands yielded a pronounced left-weightiness of object-focused, continuous body-focused and discrete body-focused movements in contrast to findings on normal persons. It seems to be remarkable that only the two latter modes of hand movements show a tendency to symmetry in the course of clinical improvement. Neuroethological implications of these findings are discussed.

Antidepressive Agents↗

[The anosognostic psychosyndrome. Studies and reflections on a case of acoustic agnosia].

We analyse structure and dynamics of anosognostic behavior by means of a case with auditory agnosia for both linguistic and non-linguistic material. First we investigate on the observational level the structural interweaving of conditions. Second we make an attempt of a structural dynamic analysis with inclusion of both neurophysiological and psychodynamic aspects within a frame which is orientated towards system theories. By doing this, the anosognostic syndrome which is describable in a phenomenalistic sense as a disturbance of body-scheme, neuropsychologically as a neglect-or extinction-syndrome and psychodynamically as regressive Ego dissolution, appears as disintegration of the transactional coherence between specific and non-specific functional systems. At the time also the relations to the structure of focal brain syndromes and organic psychoses are dealt with.

Agnosia↗