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Biomedical subjects

S Coren

Publications and source records attributed to S Coren.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Death from anorexia nervosa: age span and sex differences.

The purpose of this study was to assess characteristics of individuals who died from anorexia nervosa by assessing the frequency with which anorexia nervosa is listed as a causal factor related to the death of individuals in the USA. Data from over 10 million death records (all National Center for Health Statistic registered deaths in the USA for 1986-90) were examined for mention of anorexia nervosa as a primary or contributing cause of death. Only 724 were found, which equals an average of 145 annual deaths, and a rate of 6.73 per 100,000 deaths. The age and sex distribution suggests two fatal forms of anorexia nervosa, an early-onset form comprising 89% women and a later form comprising 24% men. The findings suggest that the mortality risk from current anorexia nervosa may be lower than formerly supposed and that it is not confined to young adults and adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Sensorimotor performance as a function of eye dominance and handedness.

Performance on a speeded target striking task was significantly associated with eye dominance and handedness for a sample of 30 subjects. They showed the expected higher performance with the dominant hand but also showed an effect of eye of input. Highest performance was obtained with binocular viewing, next best used the dominant eye, and poorest performance the nondominant eye. Effects were additive with no interaction between hand and eye dominance.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Relative contribution of lateral inhibition to the Delboeuf and Wundt-Hering illusions.

It has been suggested that lateral neural interactions contribute to some illusions with intersecting or converging line elements but cannot be present in figures that lack these components. Most attempts to ascertain the contribution of neural interactions in visual illusions have involved changes in the actual pattern of illusion. It has now been demonstrated that certain forms of intermittent light stimulation can enhance lateral inhibitory activity. The Wundt-Hering and the Delboeuf illusions were tested under continuous illumination and "shaped" intermittent illumination which augments lateral inhibition. As expected, the Delboeuf illusion was unchanged with increased lateral inhibition while the magnitude of the Wundt-Hering illusion increased.

Cognition↗
PubMed1998

Is anorexia nervosa associated with elevated rates of suicide?

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether individuals with anorexia nervosa are more likely to commit suicide, as suggested by previously noted associations between anorexia nervosa and mood disorders. METHODS: Data from death records representing over 5 million women were examined, yielding 571 cases in which anorexia nervosa was mentioned as an existing condition. The women with anorexia were compared with 1713 control subjects matched for age, sex, and race. RESULTS: The percentage of suicides among those listed as having anorexia nervosa was only 1.4%, compared with 4.1% for the controls. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the suicide rate is not elevated among individuals currently suffering from anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia Nervosa↗
PubMed1998

Tele-fund raising: what's it all about?

Now in its 12th year, Tele-Response Center Inc. raises funds and awareness through donor acquisition, renewal/cultivation and lapsed donor campaigns, direct mail follow up, special events, advertising sales for non-profit publications, and volunteer recruitment campaigns.

Fund Raising↗
PubMed1996

Adult sensory capacities as a function of birth risk factors.

This study examined the relationship between birth risk factors and sensory capacity in 1245 young adults (mean age = 19.9 years). Nine birth risk factors were included (long labour, breech birth, breathing difficulty, instrument delivery, Caesarian delivery, multiple birth, premature birth, low birth weight, and high-risk birth order) and six sensory capacities were tested (Snellen visual acuity, stereopsis, color discrimination, pure-tone hearing, speech recognition, and sound localization). Mild birth stressors were strongly predictive of reduced visual acuity and stereoscopic discrimination, and mildly predictive for the other sensory measures. The fact that vision was more vulnerable to the effects of birth stress than audition may be due to the slower maturation of the visual system. Of the birth stressors examined, twinning was found to have the largest effect on sensory function, possibly because it often occurs conjointly with other birth stressors such as low birth weight, breech presentation, and breathing difficulty and may involve the use of birthing instruments such as forceps.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Screening for stereopsis without the use of technical equipment: scale development and cross-validation.

BACKGROUND: Although adequate stereopsis is important for many common sensory-motor activities, large-scale normative samples of the relationship between stereopsis and other individual difference variables are relatively scarce, and stereopsis is often not routinely tested even in settings where it might play an important role. This is, in part, due to the fact that data collection requires individual testing, the use of costly technical equipment and trained personnel. METHOD: Beginning with a pool of 161 items and an initial sample of 542 individuals, we developed a self-report inventory-suitable for group testing, survey administration or rapid individual screening--possessing a high correlation with laboratory measures of stereopsis. The inventory was then cross-validated against laboratory measures of stereo-acuity in a separate sample of 573 subjects. RESULTS: For the combined samples, the resulting 10-item Stereopsis Screening Inventory (SSI) correlated with laboratory measures of per cent stereopsis (r = 0.80). The inventory's reliability was assessed with a resulting internal consistency coefficient (alpha) of 0.88. CONCLUSIONS: The SSI provides a fast, valid and inexpensive measure of uncorrected stereopsis which can be used for rapid screening or epidemiological surveys. The correct classification rate for the SSI was 84% for a low fence requiring 65% stereopsis or better, and 81% for a high fence of residual stereopsis of 25% or less. A conversion equation, with inventory and scoring procedure is given in the Appendix.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Family patterns in handedness: evidence for indirect inheritance mediated by birth stress.

The most common alternative to a genetic explanation of left-handedness is that sinistrality arises because of birth stress factors. In a sample of 1398 subjects, the association between birth stress and left-handedness was confirmed. More importantly, it was found that left-handed mothers are more likely to have birth-stressed offspring and that the presence of any left-handed sibling increases the likelihood of a history of birth stress in the proband. This was interpreted as suggesting that a plausible alternative to the genetic explanation for the usual pattern of association observed in family studies of handedness (where a left-handed mother increases the probability of left-handed offspring) is that the mother-offspring association may actually be mediated by birth stress rather than representing heritable aspects of handedness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Age and handedness: patterns of change in the population and sex differences become visible with increased statistical power.

In a sample of 12,030 subjects, ranging in age from 8 to 99 years, significant decreases in both mixed and consistent left-handedness were found as age increased. There were also significant sex differences, with males more likely to be left- or mixed-handed. These age and sex differences were reported as non-significant in Porac's (1993) smaller sample of 654. Methodological issues associated with asserting the null hypothesis in handedness studies when statistical power is low are also discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Testing color discrimination without the use of special stimuli or technical equipment.

Recently a number of self-report inventories have been developed to provide quick, valid, and reliable measures of sensory function without the use of technical equipment. One such measure, the 10-item Color Screening Inventory, was developed to detect individuals with deficient color perception. In the present study we used a sample of 268 subjects who were tested on both the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-hue test and the Color Screening Inventory. Analysis showed that inventory scores also predict continuous variations in and individuals' ability to discriminate colors, with an eta of .69, which explains 48% of the predictive variance. It was possible to describe the data using a quadratic regression equation which has a corrected correlation of .52. Using this, a conversion table was generated to allow rapid estimation of 100-hue test scores from the inventory. On the basis of the results, the Color Screening Inventory appears to be a quick and effective means of testing color discrimination without requiring special stimuli, technical equipment, or controlled testing environments.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The box alignment illusion: an orientation illusion induced by pictorial depth.

In four experiments, observers attempted to align two sets of oblique edges to parallel. The contexts for these alignments included lines in isolation (2-D control), lines embedded in orthogonal drawings of same-oriented and different-oriented boxes (3-D objects), and each of these viewed against backgrounds depicting strong linear perspective (3-D backgrounds). A consistent distortion was observed in the alignments of different-oriented boxes relative to control lines, indicating that the parallel lines in these stimuli appeared to diverge toward the top of the picture. Furthermore, this box alignment illusion decreased with interstimulus distance, whereas alignment distortions in control lines and same-oriented boxes increased with distance. Viewing the stimuli against 3-D backgrounds produced a dramatic reversal of the illusion, with control lines now appearing to converge more than the boxes. These results suggest that the illusion reflects basic processes involved in pictorial depth perception.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Differences in divergent thinking as a function of handedness and sex.

The relationship between handedness and divergent thinking was explored in four studies. Experiment 1 (N = 556) used the Alternate Uses Test, Experiment 2 (N = 941) tested object synthesis, and Experiment 3 (N = 965) tested ideational flexibility. No difference as a function of handedness was found in Experiment 1, but in Experiments 2 and 3 divergent thinking was significantly related to handedness in males. Left-handed males had higher divergent thinking scores, and the scores rose systematically with increasing sinistrality. Handedness was not related to divergent thinking ability in females. Experiment 4 (N = 1,548) showed that these differences were not associated with superiority by left-handed individuals in convergent thinking. Interpretations based on altered neurological development due to factors such as fetal testosterone exposure are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Are fingerprints a genetic marker for handedness?

Fingerprints and handedness were measured in 2169 subjects. Left-handers were more likely to have an increased number of arches and radial loops, while having fewer whorls and lower pattern intensity than right-handers. Analyzing by hand and digit, the differences were most marked on the left hand, which showed significant differences on four of the five digits which were related to handedness. On the right-hand, handedness was associated with fingerprint patterns only on digit IV (ring finger). This finding suggests a genetic mechanism in the development of handedness and may provide a means of separating pathological from natural left-handers.

Adolescent↗