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Biomedical subjects

J Weinberg

Publications and source records attributed to J Weinberg.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

A simple and time saving cold mini caloric test.

A simple and time-saving office procedure is presented. The test consists of placing a small piece of cotton-wool soaked in ice water against the tympanic membrane. We term this test the Cold mini caloric test. Our method has been compared quantitatively with the Bithermal caloric test in 20 normal controls, 50 unspecific dizzy patients with no vestibular or obvious neurological disorder, 22 Menière ears, 12 acoustic neuromas and 20 cases of vestibular neuronitis. The comparison between the two methods has shown the Cold mini caloric test to present consistently similar, though somewhat shorter, nystagmic reactions. There was no difference in the clinical information obtained by the two methods.

Caloric Tests↗
PubMed1983

Consummatory behavior and adrenocortical responsiveness in the hamster.

In this study we examined the effects of consummatory behavior on adrenocortical activity in the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus). We found that: (1) Animals tested in their home cage began drinking faster and drank more water than animals tested in a novel cage. (2) Basal levels of cortisol were not elevated following 24 hr water deprivation. (3) Placement in a novel cage produced significant cortisol elevations. However, if water was available, cortisol levels were reduced and did not differ significantly from presession (basal) levels. (4) Opportunity to drink while in the home cage produced no significant change in cortisol. All animals were water-deprived for 24 hr prior to testing and no sex differences were observed on any of these measures. In a second experiment we examined adrenocortical inhibition in water-deprived animals tested in a novel cage which was Empty or which allowed access to Food, Water or Sanicel bedding. Presence of food did not reduce cortisol levels; however, presence of either water or Sanicel reduced plasma corticoids to basal levels.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1982

Sex differences in biobehavioral responses to conflict in a taste aversion paradigm.

A conditioned aversion to a novel milk solution was produced, and animals were then reexposed to milk while nondeprived (low conflict) or following a 72-hr food and water deprivation regimen (high conflict). No sex differences occurred if animals were nondeprived throughout testing. However, if deprived during the interval between conditioning and reexposure, sex differences in both behavior and adrenocortical responses occurred: (1) Presession corticoid levels of females were higher than those of males. (2) On the first reexposure day, females showed a suppression of plasma corticosterone below presession levels, while males maintained elevated or increased corticosterone levels. (3) On the second reexposure day, when no longer deprived, males showed a marked suppression of intake compared to females, and females subsequently recovered to pretoxicosis intake levels faster than males. (4) Gonadectomy eliminated these sex differences. While ovariectomized females continued to resemble intact females in both behavioral and hormonal responses, castrated males exhibited a corticoid suppression on the first reexposure day, and subsequently recovered to pretoxicosis intake levels at the same rate as females.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Treating perceptual organization deficits in nonneglecting RBD stroke patients.

Thirty-five right brain-damaged (RBD) stroke patients, enrolled in active rehabilitation programs, participated in this study. Patients were selected on the basis of their evidenced deficits in performing complex visuo-cognitive tasks and the absence of overt evidence of unilateral visual-spatial neglect. Seventeen of the 35 patients were randomly chosen to receive a training program (lasting approximately 1 month) designed to establish a systematic strategy of organizing complex visual material. The remaining 18 patients were re-examined after 1 month, and served as controls. The design of the treatment program was based on the hypothesis that nonneglected RBD patients fail to appreciate and synthesize elements of complex visual material due to a breakdown in compensation for a persistent lateral bias in visual-spatial attention. Upon posttesting, it was found that those patients who received training exhibited significantly improved performance, as compared to controls, on a subgroup of visuo-cognitive tasks. These results are discussed in terms of: (1) offering indirect support for the argument that pathological asymmetries in attention play a significant role in the failure of RBD patients on many visuo-cognitive tasks; and, (2) offering a basis for extending the treatment of perceptual problems in RBD patients.

Attention↗
PubMed1982

Long-term outcome of jejuno-ileal bypass surgery for superobesity: a psychiatric assessment.

In this study of the long-term psychosocial consequences of jejuno-ileal bypass, 24 patients were assessed with psychiatric interviews and psychological tests 4-12 years after the procedure. Twenty patients had had a good overall response to the surgery, and 4 had had a poor response. Most complications, physical and psychiatric, occurred during the first 3 years. Most patients with a good postoperative result maintained it for many years, gained occupationally and vocationally, were pleased with the results of the operation, and were willing to recommend it to others. Even those who had experienced complications tended to underrate their seriousness and to express satisfaction.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Long-term effects of early iron deficiency on consummatory behavior in the rat.

Two experiments were designed to investigate the effects of early iron deficiency on consummatory behavior in the adult rat. In experiment 1, animals were placed in a novel chamber, either with or without water available. Although there were no effects of iron deficiency per se, the data suggested that decreased caloric intake experienced early in life may have different long-term consequences for males and females. While ad lib control males, and females in all diet conditions, exhibited less elevation of plasma corticosterone when water was available in the novel chamber, calorically restricted males appeared unable to use the cues or reinforcement provided by consummatory behavior to reduce arousal. In Experiment 2, a conditioned taste aversion situation involving conflict, we were able to separate effects due to early iron deficiency from those due to early caloric restriction. When reexposed to milk, calorically restricted (weight control) males exhibited an attenuated plasma corticoid response, compared to that of ad lib control males, while weight control females resembled ad lib control females in their response. Thus, as in Experiment 1, early caloric restriction affected males more than females. Early iron deficiency, however, markedly altered pituitary-adrenal responsiveness in both males and females. Not only was the response to reexposure completely reversed in rehabilitated males and females, but also, the corticoid response to deprivation was increased in rehabilitated males and decreased in rehabilitated females. Taken together with previous data, these results suggest that early iron deficiency alters both behavioral and physiological arousal or responsiveness, and may do so differentially in males than females.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Corticosterone rhythmicity in the rat: interactive effects of dietary restriction and schedule of feeding.

Effects of changes in diet composition and schedule of restricted feeding on the circadian rhythm of plasma corticosterone in the adult rat were examined. Three restricted feeding schedules were used: diet presented 3 hours after lights-on, 1 hour before lights-off or continuously by automated feeder. Animals were paired to controls (consuming 24% protein diet and libitum) and provided 80% of control food intake/g body weight/day. A fourth experimental group was offered 2.4% protein diet ad libitum. Plasma corticoids were measured every 4 hours from 0800 to 0400 hours. Corticoid levels 20 min after food presentation were also determined. Both control and protein-restricted animals displayed a typical circadian rhythm, with corticoids lowest at 0800 hours and a peak at 2000 hours. Animals fed at 0900 hours exhibited a 12-hour shift in peak corticoids, while the circadian rhythm was totally abolished in animals fed by automated feeder. Offering the restricted ration at 1700 hours, however, resulted in a diurnal rhythm similar to that of controls. While pre and post-feeding corticoids were similar in control and protein-restricted animals, a post-feeding suppression was found in all three food-restricted groups. Clearly, the relationship between feeding schedule and diurnal rhythm must not be ignored in nutritional paradigms.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Training in geropsychiatry: problems and process.

The introduction of substantive geropsychiatry training into the medical school curriculum and residency programs in medicine and family practice involves overcoming such obstacles as competition among specialties for curriculum time, "ageism" (negative attitudes toward the elderly), limited financial resources, and scarcity of specialized educators and model curricula. These obstacles can be overcome by developing educational alliances with chairpersons and training directors, recruiting charismatic teachers, providing varied clinical experiences with healthy and impaired elderly patients, and by providing formative as well as summative methods of trainee and program evaluation.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

Relevance of modern neuropsychology to psychiatry.

This review of new developments in clinical neuropsychology is intended to acquaint the practicing psychiatrist with the current status of the field, focusing on its applicability to a variety of psychiatric situations. The approach of Luria is described in some detail, essentially because this represents one of the major formulations of the functional organization of the brain, which is now available for standardized assessment purposes as the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery. At this juncture, it is relevant for psychiatry to gain familiarity with these new approaches, as an important adjunct to the diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic problems of brain damage in the psychiatric patient.

Brain Damage, Chronic↗