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Biomedical subjects

R Dalton

Publications and source records attributed to R Dalton.

195 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

Handedness and schizophrenic symptoms.

Studies of the handedness of schizophrenics have produced conflicting results. One possible explanation for this is that, as schizophrenia presents in many different forms, certain symptoms of the illness may relate better than the diagnosis to laterality patterns. Some previous work supports this view. The symptoms of 232 schizophrenics were examined in relation to their handedness. Among males only the handedness patterns of those who showed expressive (formal) thought disorder differed from those of their non-thought-disordered peers, but proved to be very similar to those of normal controls. The distribution of handedness did not otherwise vary significantly with type of symptom. Thus it appears to be the schizophrenic syndrome, and not any individual symptom, that best correlates with the deviation from normal handedness patterns seen among schizophrenics.

Adult↗

Differences between two studies of hand preference in psychiatric patients.

Significant differences in handedness patterns between groups of psychiatric patients and normal controls were identified in two recent British studies, with substantial disagreement in some important findings. Most of the discrepancies were attributable to the different application of a simple classification of handedness data, and the remainder to differences in sample size. Diagnosis, sex and age were then found to have a similar effect on handedness in both studies. Neurotic patients were similar to controls regardless of classification, whereas mixed handedness in personality disorder depended on it. There was no overall excess of left-handedness among schizophrenics, but trends towards excess sinistrality in men and fully dextrality in women approached significance.

Adolescent↗

Secretory otitis media--a retrospective general practice survey.

The general practice records of 68 children with secretory otitis media (SOM) were studied. A control group was matched one-for-one on the basis of sex, year of birth and general practice list. The SOM group had twice the incidence of recorded atopy, twice the incidence of recorded previous upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), and three times the incidence of recorded attacks of acute otitis media (AOM) compared with the control group. The recorded antibiotic treatment of URTI and AOM in the two groups was similar. Antihistamines and decongestants were seldom recorded in the treatment of AOM. The higher incidence of atopy found in the children with SOM prompts the suggestion that antihistamines and decongestants used by general practitioners in the routine treatment of AOM and URTI might help prevent the development of SOM. A prospective double-blind trial along these lines seems desirable.

Acute Disease↗

Handedness in schizophrenia.

Handedness was assessed in 272 schizophrenics and compared with findings in normal controls. The schizophrenics differed significantly from the normal controls in their handedness patterns, having a higher proportion of fully right-handed subjects. Findings in brain-damaged and elderly schizophrenic patients are also reported. The lack of consistency of reporting of handedness in a schizophrenic populations in previous studies is discussed. While it is probable that differences in the methods of study of handedness account for some of the variance, differences in the type of schizophrenic illness seem likely to be of greater importance.

Adult↗

Lateral response to suggestion in relation to handedness and the side of psychogenic symptoms.

A left-sided preponderance of psychogenic symptoms has often been reported. A Suggestion Test for the study of the laterality of psychogenic symptoms is described. Psychiatric patients and nurses received, on tape, the suggestion of a sensation in the hand to which they could give either right, left or bilateral responses. In both groups there was a majority of left-sided responses. Also, a history was obtained of previous psychogenic symptoms. These had occurred more on the left than on the right side of the body, and an association was found between left-sided symptoms and left-sided response to the test in individual patients. Left-sided symptoms were more prevalent among patients who were not strongly right-handed. These findings are considered in relation to ideas about the differential involvement of the cerebral hemispheres in the production of psychogenic symptoms.

Adolescent↗

Comparison of two coronary prognostic indices.

Two coronary prognostic indices for patients treated in a coronary care unit, namely the Norris Index and the Chapman-Gray Index were compared. Both were found to be reliable but the Chapman-Gray Index with its ready reckoner was more convenient and was subject to fewer subjective data.

Aged↗

Lateral response to suggestion in relation to handedness.

Lateralization of response to the suggestion of a sensation was recorded in 100 psychiatric patients and related to their handedness. Responses showed no over-all preponderance to right or left side. There was, however, a significant association between side of response and handedness.

Adolescent↗

Handedness in psychiatric patients.

Eight hundred psychiatric patients and eight hundred controls completed a handedness preference questionnaire. There was no significant difference in handedness between the two samples, but, contrary to some previous reports, excess of sinistrality was not associated with male sex. The distribution of handedness was similar in neurotics and controls, but among psychotics in general there was a higher proportion of fully right-handed subjects. Among schizophrenics there was a significantly higher proportion of left-handed writers among males than females. There were relatively few left-handed writers of either sex among patients with affective psychosis. Female patients with personality disorders had a significantly higher proportion of mixed handedness than controls. The findings are considered in relation to suggestions that functional psychoses may be associated with asymmetrical cerebral dysfunction, and that poorly lateralized function may be related to anomalous psychological development.

Adolescent↗

Mind, brain, and psychiatry.

The question of how the mind and brain are related has interested philosophers and scientists for over 20 centuries. Psychiatry has approached this question indirectly, from the standpoint of trying to correlate mental and physical functioning. Recent neurobiological advances may help to resolve the mind-body dichotomy. In this paper we review one particular neurobiologically based theory, the theory of neuronal group selection as proposed by Gerald Edelman. We describe the applicability of this theory to the clinical issues of attachment, character pathology, and depression to show how biological and psychological hypotheses of behavior can be assimilated into an integrated approach. We also briefly discuss limitations of Edelman's model, as well as alternative concepts in artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, and quantum theory.

Brain↗