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At least 829 records · Page 46Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Hardware and software for tachistoscopy: how to make accurate measurements on any PC utilizing the Microsoft Windows operating system.

Methods for automated stimulus display and accurate response time measurement with IBM-compatible PCs are of great importance in cognitive research designs. Accurate measurements of reaction times are required to interpolate other measures, such as speed of mental processing. We present a description of hardware and software that displays stimulus images and performs reaction timing that is not dependent on PC performance characteristics. This is accomplished by electronically bypassing timing errors normally inherent to the operation of the computer. A high-precision external timer measures the time between stimulus onset and a subject's push-button response while a video blanking circuit controls the video presented to the monitor screen. Two options for accurately detecting stimulus onset are presented: (1) A photodetector can be used to sense the actual onset of the stimulus on a secondary video monitor screen; (2) the video blanking circuit can provide a signal coincident with the initiation of video to the monitor. Both methods result in a system timing accuracy of 100 microseconds.

Computers↗
PubMed2003

Effects of structural similarity on neural substrates for object recognition.

Human occipitotemporal cortex (OTC) is critically involved in object recognition, but the functional organization of this brain region is controversial. In the present study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal changes were recorded in humans during an animal-matching task that parametrically varied degree of structural (i.e., shape) similarity among the items. fMRI signal in the mid- to anterior-fusiform gyrus increased as animals overlapped more in terms of structure and as reaction time increased. In contrast, relatively more posterior aspects of the fusiform gyrus and inferior occipital cortex showed greater fMRI signal when the animals overlapped less in terms of structure. A similar organization emerged when three-dimensional geometric shapes were matched, indicating that OTC is differentially tuned to varying degrees of overlap in object structure, regardless of taxonomic category. We discuss how the present findings fit in with current functional neuroanatomical approaches to object recognition.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Functional and mental status outcomes of clients discharged from acute gerontological versus medical/surgical units.

The goal of a specialized geriatric unit in an acute care hospital setting is to minimize losses and have the patient maintain or achieve an optimal level of functioning and cognition. This study showed that more acute clients on a geriatric unit maintained or improved functioning capacity at a significant level in fewer days and at a lowered cost. Nursing implications include inservice training specific to caring for geriatric clients and providing early assessment and identification of strengths. Interventions such as reality orientation and early proactive measures can be used to maintain or achieve optimal cognitive functional capacity.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1989

[Concept analysis: reminiscence].

Concept analysis is a formal linguistic exercise to determine certain defining attributes. The basic purpose of concept analysis is to clarify ambiguous concepts in a theory, and to propose a precise operational definition which reflects its theoretical base (Walker, 198 3, 27-28). In later life, elderly people are faced with various psychological problems such as depression, and lowered self-esteem for these psychological problems of the elderly. Reminiscence has been studied as an effective therapeutic measure by gerontologists and psychologists. It is considered to have potential as an effective nursing intervention with geriatric clients. The purpose of this paper was to explore the feasibility of adopting reminiscence as a nursing intervention through analysis of the concept. The concept can be defined as follows: Reminiscence is thinking and talking about one's past with or without a specific purpose. It is a composite mental process which involves psychological, emotional, and social interactional aspects. The defining attributes of reminiscence are: 1. Thinking about past experiences which are meaningful to oneself. 2. It includes the emotional aspect of past experiences. 3. It occurs with or without specific purposes. 4. It is communicated to others by means of language and the subject has the feeling of being heard. In regard to the consequences of reminiscence, it is expected to contribute to psychological adaptation by providing a sense of self-fulfillment and self-achievement, promoting the discovery of the meaning of life, decreasing depression, and overcoming guilt feelings and conflict about one's past. However, if the past is regarded as a total failure, it may be harmful to the psychological well-being of the subject.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Cognition-enhancing effect of vagus nerve stimulation in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an established treatment method for therapy-refractory epilepsy and, in Europe, for treatment-resistant depression also. Clinical and experimental investigations have also shown positive effects of VNS on cognition in epilepsy and depression. The purpose of the present pilot study was to investigate the effect of VNS on cognition in patients with Alzheimer's disease. METHOD: All the included patients (N = 10) met the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Before the implantation of the vagus stimulator (NeuroCybernetic Prosthesis), the patients underwent neuropsychological tests (e.g., Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale [ADAS-cog] and Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]), computerized tomography of the brain, medical/neurologic and psychological examinations (status evaluation), and lumbar puncture with investigation of the cerebrospinal fluid. The presence of depressive symptoms was rated using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. The VNS was initiated 2 weeks after the implantation, and the patients were followed up with regular investigations and tests over 6 months. Response was defined as improvement or absence of impairment in ADAS-cog and MMSE scores after 3 and 6 months. RESULTS: After 3 months of treatment, 7 of 10 patients were responders according to the ADAS-cog (median improvement of 3.0 points), and 9 of 10 patients were responders according to the MMSE (median improvement of 1.5 points). After 6 months of treatment, 7 patients were responders on the ADAS-cog (median improvement of 2.5 points), and 7 patients were responders on the MMSE (median improvement of 2.5 points). VNS was well tolerated, and its side effects were mild and transient. CONCLUSION: The results of this open-label pilot study suggest a positive effect of VNS on cognition in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Further studies are warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Effect of information generation on incidental memory of words].

The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of information generation on incidental memory of words. Subjects in the subject-generated group were asked to generate a converging associate of three targets in each triplet. Subjects in the experimenter-provided group were asked to rate the relation between targets and a paired-presented word on 5-point scale. Each subject in both groups were given an unexpected free recall test. Recall performance for targets in each unrelated triplet in the subject-generated group was higher than in the experimenter-provided one. Conditional probability of recalling targets given relational information was an index of effectiveness of within-item elaboration. This index was higher in the subject-generated group. These results were interpreted as showing that the effect of information generation was caused by the effectiveness of within-item elaboration.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Effects of repetitions in overt rehearsal on free recall].

Two experiments were designed to separate the effects of oral repetitions from those of covert mental activity in over rehearsal on free recall. In both experiments, subjects were visually presented several lists of eight noun pairs one by one, with asterisks under the left or right noun of each pair. Subjects studied the lists by observing both nouns of each pair as well as by rehearsing aloud one noun with/without the asterisks. Each of the list presentation was followed by oral free recall test of both rehearsed and not-rehearsed nouns. It was expected that the difference of recall between rehearsed and not-rehearsed nouns would indicate the effects of the repetitions but not of the total rehearsal activity including the covert mental activity. In Experiment 1, the time lag between the study and the test was zero or 30 seconds. In Experiment 2, the time available for rehearsing each noun was four or eight seconds. The results suggest that the repetitions have only STM-maintenance function whereas the covert mental activity has only LTM-construction function.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Eclectic relaxation therapy.

This paper introduces a new method that is designed to facilitate muscular relaxation, enhance direct sensory reality and increase self-control over mental processes. The procedure consists of six sessions and requires minimal therapist involvement, the therapy being presented in a group setting by tape recordings. The advantages of this technique are suggested and the principles used in its construction are defined.

Anxiety↗
PubMed2003

Meeting the challenge of chronic illness in general practice.

Seven of every 10 general practice encounters are for chronic conditions. Three common chronic conditions managed by GPs are depression, diabetes and asthma. Two of these are National Health Priority Areas (NHPAs), while depression is the focus of the mental health NHPA. General practice care for people with depression is being strengthened by the "Better outcomes in mental health care initiative", which includes a 3 Step Mental Health Process - assessment, mental health plan, and review. GPs have the opportunity to screen patients for diabetes and manage their condition. For those with risk factors who screen negative, GPs are well placed to encourage lifestyle interventions. Two of the four components of the National Integrated Diabetes Program focus on general practice. The Asthma 3+ Visit Plan, which incorporates diagnosis and assessment of asthma, development of a written asthma plan, and review of asthma management, has been shown to improve GPs' management of asthma. These initiatives to improve general practice interventions for chronic illness, although welcomed, put further pressure on already overstretched GPs coping with multiple changes in the primary-care sector.

Asthma↗
PubMed1998

ABS to MRCS at the RCS: philosophy, format and future.

After considering the ABS and CSiG parts of the FRCS examination and the standard for the new MRCS examination, it became important that the MRCS evolved away from the template of multiple true-false questions. Formats other than true-false questions can be used to test mental processes that are not simple factual recall. Formal mathematical tests can be evolved to equate different parts of the examination so that raw marks can be more clearly related to grades. Dispensing with the arbitrary requirement for five items in an MCQ question will enable better questions to be asked. Finally, an examination must be valid in context. With the above advances the examination will be effective, but its goal can be assessed only if the vision of the MRCS learning course is attained. The course aims to prepare surgeons for higher surgical training with a good general knowledge of surgery and an in-depth knowledge of the basic principles of surgery. The surgical trainee who has attained the MRCS should be able to manage a sick patient who suffers from the complications associated with surgery by using the principles of surgical anatomy, physiology and pathology. The trainee should know what to do initially during the 'golden hour' of opportunity, whom to call for help, and when.

Education, Medical, Graduate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Older workers.

As the population ages, there is increasing attention to the occupational health of older workers and the relationship between work and aging. There are both positive and negative factors that characterize differences between older and younger workers. Some of these are well documented, but many are based on stereotypes about competence, knowledge, and work capacity. Workers meet the demands of work through the use of a combination of resources, including physical, mental, and social capacities as well as motivation and experience. While older workers do have decreased physical capacities and somewhat slower mental processing, motivation and expertise can provide important balance. Factors that make advancing age into a handicap are mostly related to working conditions that impose constraints that outstrip actual human capabilities and work organization that denies employees growth in their jobs.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Cortical spectral distribution of infantile electroencephalography in attention disorders].

INTRODUCTION: Sensory and attention disorders cause selective effects on the topographical distribution of electroencephalograph frequencies. OBJECTIVES: In this paper we show changes in spectral topography produced by visual attention tests in a group of healthy children, thus demonstrating the cerebral areas involved in this mental process and the anatomical and bioelectrical organization of the subsystems involved. METHOD: To distinguish the effect due to cognoscitive activity from what is merely a visual sensorial process, firstly we compared resting quantified electroencephalograms with the eyes shut, with those done with the eyes open. Immediately afterwards we evaluated the spectral transformation caused by the test to find the contribution made to the electroencephalogram pattern by intellectual activity, using spectral amplitude analysis as an objective method for the measurement of recordings in a group of 10 children with an average age of 8.85 years. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The contribution of the cognitive test is seen in an increased beta frequency in the temporal and occipital cortical areas, whilst the maps of cortical distribution show the cerebral areas activated.

Attention↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Neuropsychological sequelae of head injury].

INTRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) neuropsychological sequelae are consequence of the combination of focal and diffuse cerebral lesions. Foci of concussion usually involves frontal lobes. Fronto-basal lesions produces important changes in mood, personality and behavior, and dorsolateral lesions impairment of executive functions (lack of planning, flexibility and use of strategies). Left temporal concussion can produce aphasia. Hippocampal and parahippocampal atrophy are essentially responsible of memory dysfunctions. Diffuse axonal damage is related to impairment of attention, speed of mental processing and frontal lobe functions. The development of neuroimaging techniques, especially tridimensional magnetic resonance acquisition and analysis, allows accurate anatomo-functional correlates. Genetic variables can explain in part individual differences in the degree of memory impairment and the relationship of TBI with Alzheimer's disease. CONCLUSIONS: The TBI percussion model performed in rat and mouse allows the study of the interrelationship among structural damage, memory changes, genetic factors, and the effects of pharmacological treatment.

Brain↗
PubMed2000

[P300 event-related potential in epileptic children and adolescents].

P300 is a manifestation of activity in a limited capacity system "whose use in the service of different tasks is under relative control by instruction". It is accepted as an objective correlate of mental processing involved in the allocation of attentional resources when immediate memory is engaged. The aim of this study was to evaluate cognitive function in epileptic children and adolescents. We applied the "auditory oddball" paradigm to elicit event-related potentials (ERPs) according to the IFCN recommendation standards. ERPs were studied in fifteen patients with generalized epileptic seizures at matched age (8-18 years) (mean 13.8 +/- 2.4 y). 50 neurologically normal children were used as a control group. ERP were averaged with a Multiliner (Toennies, Germany) equipment. The method included two different tones for frequent and for rare stimuli generated at random. The tones were presented binaurally through headphones. ERPs were recorded at Fz, Cz and Pz according to the International 10-20 system. ERPs for target and non-target stimuli were averaged separately. The major positive peak between 250 and 500 ms for the rare tones was regarded as the cognitive evoked potential (P300). Latency values were obtained from the intersection of extrapolated lines from the ascending and descending slopes of each peak. The latencies of the N1, P2, N2 and P300 waves were determined for each subject, as well as peak to peak amplitudes of N1-P2, P2-N2, N2-P300. Auditory event related potential may be helpful procedures used in objective evaluation of cognitive function in patients with epilepsy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation.

Meditation is a conscious mental process that induces a set of integrated physiologic changes termed the relaxation response. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to identify and characterize the brain regions that are active during a simple form of meditation. Significant (p<10(-7)) signal increases were observed in the group-averaged data in the dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortices, hippocampus/parahippocampus, temporal lobe, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, striatum, and pre- and post-central gyri during meditation. Global fMRI signal decreases were also noted, although these were probably secondary to cardiorespiratory changes that often accompany meditation. The results indicate that the practice of meditation activates neural structures involved in attention and control of the autonomic nervous system.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Teaching the introductory course in psychology circa 1900.

Teachers of introductory courses in psychology and those who wrote the textbooks for the courses at the start of the 20th century represented the new psychology that replaced the old psychology of mental philosophy. Teachers and texts presented psychology as a natural science of the mind and mental processes, described its methods, and suggested its potential applications to practical concerns. Textbooks and teachers varied in their approaches to psychology, their priorities among its methods, and their emphases on applying psychology. The introductory course in psychology accurately reflected the state of the discipline at the turn of the century.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1999

Approaching avoidance. A step essential to the understanding of craving.

Craving is only one component of the mental processes that influence drinking behavior. Alcohol-related cues (ARCs) can set in motion a dynamic competition between inclinations to approach drinking and inclinations to avoid drinking. Craving can thus be integrated into a comprehensive model of decision-making in which ambivalence or conflict is a key element. The relative strength of each component of the ARC reaction can fluctuate over time as well as in response to both subjective states and environmental circumstances. Simultaneously and independently evaluating these opposing responses puts clinicians in a better position to influence the relative weight that the patient assigns to the positive and negative outcomes of alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2000

Ontology-based, medical domain-specific, use-case driven EMRs for use in clinical quality assurance and passive decision support.

The next evolving stage of the electronic medical records (EMR)--the clinical information system--must be able to support the mental processes involved in clinical reasoning. We have developed a framework for building such systems. By a two step procedure objects are chosen on basis of a process model and described using Unified Modelling Language (UML). UML installs the objects in a middleware-layer between a database and the browser used for presentation. The database and a suggestion of the presentation layout are generated by the middleware. Data entered in the system are provided with a context according to a build in process model. This can be utilized in quality assurance and passive decision support.

Decision Making, Computer-Assisted↗