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Biomedical subjects

J Archer

Publications and source records attributed to J Archer.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Face processing in psychiatric conditions.

Functional models of face processing have indicated that dissociations exist between the various processes involved, e.g. between familiar face recognition and matching of unfamiliar faces, and between familiar face recognition and facial expression analysis. These models have been successfully applied to the understanding of the different types of impairment that can exist in neuropsychological patients. In the present study, aspects of face processing in psychiatric patients were investigated in relation to Bruce & Young's (1986) model. Based on this functional model different predictions can be made. We contrast here the impaired expression analysis hypothesis, which is that psychiatric patients would show a deficit in facial expression recognition, but not in facial identity recognition or unfamiliar face matching, with the generalized deficit hypothesis, that patients would be impaired on all tasks. These hypotheses were examined using three forced-choice tasks (facial recognition, facial expression recognition, and unfamiliar face matching) which were presented to schizophrenic and depressed patients, and to non-patient controls. Results showed that schizophrenic patients performed at a significantly lower level than non-patient controls on all three tasks, supporting the generalized deficit hypothesis.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Sulphydryl reactivity of the HLA-B27 epitope: accessibility of the free cysteine studied by flow cytometry.

HLA-B27 has an unpaired cysteine on or near its serologically defined spondylitis associated epitope, and it has been argued that its sulphydryl side chain may be chemically reactive. In a previous study it was shown that chemical treatment of HLA-B27 cells with the sulphydryl binding agent p-chloromercuriphenylsulphonic acid (pCMPSA) specifically reduced binding of antibodies to HLA-B27 by up to 80%, as measured in a cellular enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (CELISA). The effect of sulphydryl blockade on intact B27 cells was investigated using flow cytometry. Compared with the CELISA, inhibition required higher concentrations of pCMPSA, and the degree of inhibition produced by a greater than or equal to 30 microM solution of pCMPSA as measured by flow cytometry (median 28.9%) was significantly lower than that measured by CELISA (median 73.6%; p = 1.6 x 10(-6)). Analysis of unfixed, cell surface HLA-B27 by flow cytometry suggests that on most B27 molecules the unpaired sulphydryl site is not available. On the basis of this evidence for modification after translation, a new 'altered self' hypothesis is proposed for the part which HLA-B27 plays in inflammatory disease.

4-Chloromercuribenzenesulfonate↗
PubMed1979

Abandonment of responsibility for the seriously mentally ill.

The road leading to the demise of state responsibility for the seriously mentally ill and the current crisis of abandonment was paved with all the best intentions. Tragically, policies underlying the pattern of abandonment are based on erroneous interpretations of what patients need and what our current techniques can produce to help them. An index of declining hospital census must not be mistaken for the goal of care.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed1978

Hyperpigmentation of pernicious anemia in blacks. Report of three cases.

We investigated three black women who had anemia and skin hyperpigmentation. They were found to have pernicious anemia (PA) and normal adrenal functions. To our knowledge, this is the first report of skin hyperpigmentation of PA in black patients. This report reemphasizes the similarities in clinical features of PA and Addison's disease.

Addison Disease↗
PubMed1977

Testosterone and persistence in mice.

In view of previous studies showing that testosterone increases persistence of food searching in chicks, a single factorially-designed experiment was carried out to investigate whether a similar phenomenon occurs in male mice. Using a runway test, it was found that testosterone, injected into castrated mice, did increase persistence. It was also shown that intact males resembled more the testosterone-injected than control-injected castrates, and that females resembled neither intact males nor either group of castrates. A larger number of training trials was found to affect feeding latencies in a similar way to testosterone. Comparison of two strains differing in emotional reactivity (BALB/c and Porton) showed differences consistent with their reactivity levels.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Sex differences in the emotional behaviour of laboratory mice.

Three laboratory strains of mice (C57, BALB/c, Porton) were tested in an open field using a number of measures taken during the initial 2 min of testing and after a loud bell had sounded. The mice were tested either in a clean field or in one containing an odour of a same-sex conspecific. Over all three strains, several measures indicated that females showed high leveles of 'emotional' or 'fear' responses than did males. This sex difference was found in C57 and BALB/c strains but not in the Portons; it could not be attributed to activity or response-specific sex differences. Conspecific odours did not influence the direction of the main findings.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Open-field behaviour of oestrous and dioestrous rats: evidence against an 'emotionality' interpretation.

Oestrous and dioestrous rats were observed during the initial 2 min of open-field exposure, and after a loud bell had sounded. Although defecation and ambulation showed characteristic difference between the two phases (less defecation and more ambulation at oestrus), other measures associated with emotional behaviour (latency to move from the wall, flight, and freezing to the bell) showed no differences. These findings supported Drewett's suggestion that open-field defecation and ambulation change with oestrous phase because of general metabolic changes and not as a result of 'emotionality' changes.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

The effect of high and low doses of cycloheximide on nucleolar ribonucleic acid synthesis.

In resting rat liver a dose of cycloheximide (1 mg. per kg.) inhibits leucine incorporation by 80 per cent whereas doses above 15 mg. per kg. inhibit it more than 90 per cent, when tested at 90 minutes following intraperitoneal injection. Initial stimulation of incorporation of orotate into total cellular, nuclear, and nucleolar fractions was seen at all doses tested. After 3 hours, however, marked suppression of incorporation particularly into nucleolar RNA was seen at 5 mg. per kg. and above while 1 mg. per kg. continued to stimulate. At 5 hours there was continued marked inhibition of RNA synthesis by 30 mg. per kg. and slight depression of RNA synthesis even by 1 mg. per kg. Preliminary ultrastructural studies failed to show objective nucleolar alterations even after 5 hours of cycloheximide treatment at a dose of 30 mg. per kg. No direct effect of several concentrations of cycloheximide on RNA synthesis was seen in an in vitro nucleolar system.

Animals↗