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[Imitation and utilization behavior in major depressive states].

Imitation and utilization behaviour (IB ; UB) have been described in lesions or deafferentations of the frontal lobes. Both reflect a loss of the patients' autonomy. IB and UB having been encountered in a case of melancholia, a systematic study has been undertaken in psychiatric departments. Sixty patients have been examined among whom 18 had a major depressive episode and 19 a dysthymic episode. IB or UB or both were present in every case of the first group, in 3 cases of the second one. Such data show first an unexpected focal specific neurological sign in a psychiatric disease. Second, they suggest a relationship with the frontal hypoactivity shown by PET studies in major depressive episodes. Such frontal hypoactivity should not be viewed as the cause of major depression but as a concomitant disorder. Its role in the awareness and expression of the thymic disturbance is discussed.

Behavior↗

Imitation in the family: a study of older parents and their adult sons.

Older parents and their adult sons (fifteen father-mother-son triads) participated in this study which investigated whether imitative behavior is prominent in these families and whether interpersonal perceptions are related to the degree of imitation. Both perceptual and moral imitation tasks were used and personality descriptions were obtained on dimensions of activity, potency, and evaluation. Adult sons were found to imitate their parents on both tasks and particularly their fathers on moral issues. Older parents also were found to imitate their sons in a possible "reversal" of the direction of identification. Differential patterns of interpersonal perceptions were related to imitation for the three groups. Potential theoretical explanations are discussed.

Adult↗

Comparison of nonretarded and mentally retarded children on tasks involving direct and rule-governed imitation.

The influence of intellectual level and social reinforcement on imitation learning was examined. Tasks involving direct and rule-governed imitation of a mode were presented to 20 mentally retarded and 20 nonretarded children. The children within each group were randomly assigned to either an affective ("good-fine") or an informative ("correct-right") social reinforcement condition. Reinforcement, administered on a fixed ration (FR4) schedule, was contingent on the child's imitative behavior. A multivariate analysis of variance showed that both the Population X Reinforcement Type interaction and the Reinforcement main effect were significant. Univariate follow-up tests showed that only rule-governed imitation contributed significantly to the multivariate effects. Analysis of simple effects indicated that retarded children performed optimally under affective reinforcement, while the nonretarded children performed highest under informative reinforcement.

Adolescent↗

Fictional depiction of suicide in television films and imitation effects.

Studies of imitative suicide by viewers of fictional depictions of suicide in television films have produced contradictory findings. Using a nationwide sample of cases of suicide, the author found no evidence for increased numbers of suicides after broadcast of three films. However, some support was found for an imitation effect specific to the depiction of a suicide method in one of these films (p less than 0.05). To the extent that fictional presentations of suicide may serve as stimuli for imitative behavior, the effect appears to depend on a complex interaction among characteristics of the stimulus, the observer of that stimulus, and conditions of time and geography.

Adolescent↗

Newborn infants imitate adult facial gestures.

Newborn infants ranging in age from 0.7 to 71 hours old were tested for their ability to imitate 2 adult facial gestures: mouth opening and tongue protrusion. Each subject acted as his or her own control in a repeated-measures design counterbalanced for order of stimulus presentation. The subjects were tested in low illumination using infrared-sensitive video equipment. The videotaped records were scored by an observer who was uninformed about the gesture shown to the infants. Both frequency and duration of neonatal mouth openings and tongue protrusions were tallied. The results showed that newborn infants can imitate both adult displays. 3 possible mechanisms underlying this early imitative behavior are suggested: instrumental or associative learning, innate releasing mechanisms, and active intermodal matching. It is argued that the data favor the third account.

Facial Expression↗

An alternative view of pronominal errors in autistic children.

Persistent pronominal errors in autistic children have been attributed either to a psychosocial deficit or to a linguistic or cognitive deficit. However, recent studies of normal children suggest that the failure to observe pronouns in speech addressed to another person is a major reason children show pronominal errors. The present study investigated if pronominal errors in autistic children can be explained by this alternative hypothesis. Children's attentiveness to the pronoun models and their imitative behaviors were examined under two modeling conditions. The nonaddressee condition provided children with systematic opportunities to observe pronoun models directed to another person as well as those directed to themselves. The addressee condition provided only systematic opportunities to observe pronoun models directed to children. Clear evidence for the alternative hypothesis was obtained for second person pronouns, suggesting that pronominal errors in autistic children can be interpreted within the framework of normal language development.

Autistic Disorder↗

[A young adult female case of Wilson's disease presenting with mental disorder and frontal lobe signs].

We report a young adult female case of Wilson's disease presenting with mental disorder and frontal lobe signs. The patient was admitted to our neurological unit on October 4, 1999 because of schizophrenia-like symptom, dysphagia, dysarthria and gait disturbance. She showed slowly progressive rigidity and dystonia. Her parents were the second cousins. Neurological examination revealed bilateral pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs, frontal lobe signs (include the imitation behavior). Tendon reflexes were slightly exaggerated in all extremities. Bilateral Babinski, Chaddock and Hoffmann signs were positive. Her verbal IQ on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-revised was 49. Biochemical examination revealed low plasma copper and ceruloplasmin concentration. Cerebrospinal fluid was normal. Cranial MRI demonstrated diffuse brain atrophy and enlargement of the lateral ventricles. T2-weighted images of the MRI demonstrated hyperintense signal in both thalamus and basal ganglia. SPECT showed hypoperfusion in the left frontal lobe, both thalamus and basal ganglia. EEG revealed diffuse theta wave. The diagnosis of Wilson's disease was made and the treatment of D-penicillamine 900 mg per day was started. This hypoperfusion of SPECT and EEG findings improved after 2 months under D-penicillamine therapy. Neurological findings showed slight improvement. A few Wilson's disease patients presenting with mental disorder have been reported. Wilson's disease should always be considered in differential diagnosis of mental disorders. We emphasize the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of Wilson's disease.

Adolescent↗

Leukotomy revisited: late cognitive and behavioral effects in chronic institutionalized schizophrenics.

BACKGROUND: In the 1940s and 1950s, prefrontal lobotomy was widely used to treat aggressive, disruptive and psychotic behavior in schizophrenics. Subsequent observations have confirmed its ineffectiveness in schizophrenia. Few studies have addressed its long-term consequences. METHODS: We conducted tests of frontal function, behavior (Frontal Behavioral Inventory), psychopathology (PANSS), neurological examinations and CT scans in 19 chronically institutionalized schizophrenic patients (mean age 74) who had undergone orbitofrontal leukotomy between 1948 and 1972 and 11 controls (mean age 74) matched for age, length of hospitalization, education, and diagnosis. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between leukotomized patients and controls on: Folstein Mini-Mental score (leuko 22.13+/-5.66; controls 23.55+/-5.93), utilization behavior, Luria alternating written and motor sequences, verbal fluency, imitation behavior, motor impersistence, primitive reflexes, or psychopathology. Significant differences were found on clock drawing and on the go/no-go test, which may reflect the presence of an orbitofrontal lesion in the leukotomized group. There was a tendency for the leukotomized group to have fewer indices of frontal behavioral dysfunction. Both groups showed comparable impairment on the Stroop test and cognitive rigidity on the Odd Man Out test of category shifting. CONCLUSIONS: With few exceptions, elderly leukotomized and nonleukotomized schizophrenic patients show varying degrees of distractibility, difficulty in set shifting, poor planning and organization, susceptibility to interference, primitive reflexes and signs of global cognitive impairment. Allowing for the small sample size, variability in the surgical frontal lesion, and the long interval from surgery to testing, these observations likely reflect the long-term consequences of severe schizophrenia in both groups.

Aged↗

The impact of suicide in television movies. Evidence of imitation.

Increasing evidence suggest that imitative behavior may have a role in suicide among teenagers. We studied the variation in the numbers of suicides and attempted suicides by teenagers in the greater New York area two weeks before and two weeks after four fictional films were broadcast on television in the fall and winter of 1984-1985. The mean number of attempts in the two-week periods after the broadcasts (22) was significantly greater than the mean number of attempts before the broadcasts (14; P less than 0.05), and a significant excess in completed suicides, when compared with the number predicted, was found after three of the broadcasts (P less than 0.05). We conclude that the results are consistent with the hypothesis that some teenage suicides are imitative and that alternative explanations for the findings, such as increased referrals to hospitals or increased sensitivity to adolescent suicidal behavior on the part of medical examiners or hospital personnel, are unlikely to account for the increase in attempted and completed suicides.

Adolescent↗

Utilization behavior and concomitant motor neglect by bilateral frontal lobe damage.

We reported on a patient who had bilateral mesial frontal lesions, presumably of a primary cerebral malignant lymphoma. The patient presented with a combination of unusual behavioral disorders of the upper extremities, which has not yet been documented in the literature: bilateral utilization and imitation behaviors and motor neglect of the left arm. Utilization behavior was closely associated with bilateral manual grasping behavior and was caused by the bifrontal lesions. Damage to the right supplementary motor area resulted most likely in concomitant motor neglect of the left hand. Discussion includes differentiation from other related behavioral disorders.

Aged↗

Normative sexual behavior in children.

A large-scale, community-based survey was done to assess the frequency of a wide variety of sexual behaviors in normal preadolescent children and to measure the relationship of these behaviors to age, gender, and socioeconomic and family variables. A sample of 880 2- through 12-year-old children screened to exclude those with a history of sexual abuse were rated by their mothers using several questionnaire measures. The frequency of different behaviors varied widely, with more aggressive sexual behaviors and behaviors imitative of adults being rare. Older children (both boys and girls) were less sexual than younger children. Sexuality was found to be related to the level of general behavior problems, as measured by the Achenbach Internalizing and Externalizing T scores and to a measure of family nudity. It was not related to socioeconomic variables.

Age Factors↗

Problem behavior of adolescents whose parents are living with AIDS.

Substance use, acts of sexual risk, conduct problems, and internalizing, externalizing, and somaticizing mental health symptoms were examined among 239 adolescent children and their parents living with AIDS in New York City. Consistent with theories regarding imitative behavior, stress, and anticipatory loss, adolescents' externalizing behavior problems and somatic symptoms were related to their parents' status.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Effects of electrical stimulation of the hippocampus on the behavior of cats and their defensive conditioned responses in a shuttle-box.

In seven cats the effect of posterior hippocampal stimulation on the number of passings over a transverse bar in a shuttle-box was determined before and after induction of a conditioned avoidance reaction in the same experimental situation. The effect of hippocampal stimulation on the reaction was also studied applying it during the conditioning stimulus. It was observed in these experiments that a behavior imitating the conditioned reaction acquired during training, appeared in most cases during stimulation. It was also found that only strong stimulation of the posterior hippocampus applied together with the conditioning stimulus inhibited the reaction.

Animals↗

[Information model of systemic organization of human mental functions: new approach to the problem of artificial intelligence].

The information model of systemic functions of the human brain reproduces important features of human intelligence: goal planning, prediction of needed results, behavior correction by feedback from the parameters of the results obtained and their comparison with the acceptor of action results. Human behavior imitation in the model is statistically proved by testing the model on a computer. An Adaptron apparatus based on the model quantitatively estimates the parameters of an important mechanism of the brain, namely human intuitive learning. With the Adaptron, the ade-dependent properties and some human intellectual dysfunctions are estimated, which reflect the mechanisms of prediction of future results, the building of memory traces in intuitive learning when the findings coincide with the planned results and the restructure of memory and respective behavior changes when the findings do not coincide with the planned ones.

Artificial Intelligence↗

Clinical characteristics and treatment responses in cases diagnosed as reactive attachment disorder.

The aim of our study is to report the relation between pathological care and impairment in social interaction, communication, language development, and stereotypical behaviors. Fifteen cases (9 boys, 6 girls) who have the symptoms listed above and who were misdiagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), were referred to our clinic for evaluation and treatment. After the cases were evaluated by a semi-structured interview, symptoms related to pathological care were fortified; maternal depressive symptoms associated with child neglect and overexposure to television viewing. The cases and the mothers/primary caretakers were treated in a standardized psycho-educational program of 3 months. After this period improvements were observed in all of the symptom clusters. Twelve cases (80%) had improvements in eye contact. Eleven cases (73.3%) began to engage in reciprocal play and ten cases (66.6%) showed social imitative behaviors. Six cases (40%) began to form sentences. Stereotypic behaviors diminished in six cases (40%) and disappeared in nine cases (60%). According to our findings, although the symptoms of PDD and reactive attachment disorder (RAD) resemble each other, presence of pathological care and good response to treatment in RAD can be important for the differential diagnosis with PDD.

Child Abuse↗

Characteristics of fatal gunshot wounds in the home in Oklahoma: 1982-1983.

Children are a unique group at risk of injury from firearms because of their immaturity, curiosity, and imitative behavior. All unintentional firearm deaths in persons younger than age 20 years that occurred in Oklahoma in 1982 and 1983 were reviewed. There were 32 unintentional deaths from firearms in children from birth to age 19 years. The death rate in rural counties was four times that of urban counties. Twenty-seven deaths (85%) occurred at home, with an adult present in only two cases. The home death rate for males was 5.2 times that of females, with 15- to 19-year-old males most at risk. The rates among whites and Native Americans were similar, at 1.5 and 1.2 per 100,000, respectively, with no deaths among the black population. This review concurs with previous studies that firearms are a significant cause of mortality in the pediatric age group. Counseling parents about the hazards of firearms may prevent deaths through better supervision and more responsible gun care and storage.

Accidents, Home↗

Effects of age of chick on social transmission of pecking preferences from hen to chicks.

A "pecking" arrow releases and directs pecking by neonatal chicks. Distinctive stimuli placed on or near the tip of the moving arrow lead to pecking that is selectively directed to matching stimuli. A total of 3 min of exposure to such modeling conditions results in remarkable persistence of imitative behavior. Matching stimuli are preferentially pecked 3 days later after three intervening tests without modeling. In contrast to the sensitive period for filial imprinting within the first 3 days posthatch, age of chick at training has no permanent effect on the development of pecking preferences. If anything, filial imprinting interferes with released-directed pecking, suggesting that separate processes are involved.

Age Factors↗