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PubMed1998

Improved myocardial ischemia detection by combined physical and mental stress testing.

The hypothesis that addition of mental stress to physical exercise would modify the circulation response to stress and improve noninvasive detection of myocardial ischemia was tested in a randomized, crossover radionuclide angiocardiographic study. Compared with physical exercise or mental stress alone, combined stress led to higher heart rates and rate-pressure products in early stress stages, to more pronounced symptoms, and to a better discrimination of subjects with and without coronary artery disease by radionuclide angiography.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Changes in scores on the Mental Rotations Test during the menstrual cycle.

The purpose of the study was to examine changes in performance on Vandenberg's Mental Rotations Test during the menstrual cycles of college women. Participants were 12 male and 34 female students recruited from undergraduate educational psychology and nursing classes at a large southeastern university. Each woman was tested once during the menstrual phase and once during the luteal phase of her menstrual cycle. Phases in which the testings occurred were counterbalanced. Men were also tested twice. For all participants, the two testing sessions were held exactly 14 days apart. Women who were contraceptive pill users did not perform significantly differently during either phase from women who were nonusers, and there was no interaction for pill use by phase. Therefore, users and nonusers were combined for a paired-sample t test which indicated that women scored significantly higher during the menstrual phase (Days 2-7) than during the luteal phase (Days 16-22 for 31 women and Days 24-26 for three women with longer cycles). The 12 men scored significantly higher than the 34 women during the initial testing; but not significantly higher than the 17 women who were in the menstrual phase during the first testing. Therefore, that the effect of the phase of menstrual cycle influences the sex difference in performance on the Mental Rotations Test was supported.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Hemispheric specialisation, spatial activity experience, and sex differences on tests of mental rotation ability.

A sex difference in mental rotation ability is well established. Among the explanations offered for this difference are that males are more frequently right hemisphere specialised for spatial processing and that they receive more spatial processing experience because of the sex stereotyping of activities involving spatial ability that exists in Western societies. Several studies have shown that males do report more spatial activity experiences on the Spatial Activity Questionnaire of Newcombe, Bandura, and Taylor (1983) and that such experience does correlate with performances on tests of mental rotation. However, two prior lateralised tachistoscopic studies failed to show right hemisphere superiority for spatial task performance or that it was positively associated with better performances on the Vandenberg Mental Rotation Test. The tachistoscopic tasks used in these studies can be criticised on methodological grounds. The present study employed a new tachistoscopic task that showed that males were significantly more right hemisphere specialised (left visual-field superior) for the tachistoscopic task than females. Magnitudes of right hemisphere specialisation on the tachistoscopic task were positively and significantly related to mental rotation ability. Spatial activity experiences were also more common in males. Covariance and partial correlation analyses indicated that the sex difference in spatial ability was primarily due to sex differences in right hemisphere specialisation for mental rotation, while sex differences in spatial activity experiences were only secondarily involved.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Writing Chinese characters and success on Mental Rotation Test.

Our recent study with Chinese and Chinese-American undergraduates indicated that writing Chinese characters was associated with better performance on the Piagetian Water-Level Task for Chinese-American men. The current study investigated whether the same effects would apply to the Vandenberg Mental Rotation Test. Two alternative hypotheses (bilingualism and birth place) were also tested. Participants were two groups of Chinese-American undergraduates: 48 writers of Chinese (21 men, 27 women) and 130 nonwriters of Chinese (58 men, 72 women). Analysis suggested that writing Chinese and birth in the USA contributed significantly to the success on Mental Rotation Test. Students who were born in the USA and able to write Chinese scored the highest on this test. Being bilingual was not associated with performance on the Mental Rotation Test. Men performed significantly better than women.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1992

A memory clinic at a geriatric hospital: rationale, routine and results from the first 100 patients.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the operation of a memory clinic with reference to the referral pattern, patient characteristics and psychiatric diagnoses, frequency of reversible dementias and utility of brief cognitive screening tools in the detection of dementia. DESIGN: All patients underwent cognitive screening tests (Mini Mental Status Examination, Abbreviated Mental Test Score, Organic Brain Syndrome Scale of the Brief Assessment Scale) and two activities of daily living instruments. Psychiatric diagnoses were made according to criteria of the Diagnostic and statistical manual, third edition revised, of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-III-R). SETTING: A large geriatric hospital. SUBJECTS: First 100 patients referred. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 75.5 years and 75 were women. Seventy-four met DSM-III-R criteria for dementia and a further 13 had other organic brain syndromes. No case of reversible dementia which recovered was encountered. The cognitive screening tools had a high correlation (r = 0.85-0.89) with one another but a much lower correlation with the activities of daily living instruments (r = 0.27-0.37). CONCLUSION: Reversible dementias are unlikely to be detected in a memory clinic at a geriatric hospital, but the assessment process may have other benefits which will need to be assessed in prospective research. The clinic population represents a unique resource for further research on dementia.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

Clinical presentation of the lead-poisoned child on mental ability tests.

Current literature on effects of childhood lead poisoning and high blood lead level on psychological test performance was reviewed. A pathognomic configuration of mental ability test scores is described. A sample of 18 moderately to severely lead poisoned children was found to have a significantly higher frequency of this score configuration than either a comparison sample or the Black subsample of the original WISC-R standardization group. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Otoacoustic emissions, auditory evoked potentials, and traits related to sex and sexual orientation.

A number of trait measures, possibly reflective of prenatal hormonal effects, were obtained in studies of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) and auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) carried out with male and female heterosexual and homosexual/bisexual college students. Most of the measures were from a self-report questionnaire; others were from experimenters' ratings or cognitive tests (Mental Rotation Test and Water Level Test). The questionnaire, test, and rating measures included physical characteristics (e.g., height, body type, eye color); spatial abilities; sex roles and sexual orientation; childhood gender nonconformity; and, in the OAE study, presence of homosexuality or bisexuality among relatives. Correlations with sexual orientation were most often consistent with the hypothesis that male homosexuals were undermasculinized and female homosexuals overmasculinized. Some correlations of the questionnaire, test, and rating measures with auditory measures were observed, but most of these were reduced or eliminated by statistically controlling for sex. In supplementary analyses, pigmentation measures appeared to be unrelated to OAEs, and data relevant to several hypotheses in the sexual orientation literature were briefly examined, including childhood gender nonconformity, X-linkage, handedness, and the tendency of homosexuality to run in families.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Seasonal influences on blood pressure in high normal to mild hypertensive range.

To investigate the seasonal influences on various arterial blood pressure measurements, 22 subjects in the high normal to mild hypertensive range were examined twice following the same protocol. In one group (13 subjects), measurements were first done in warm conditions and repeated 5-7 months later in cold conditions; in the second group (nine subjects) a reverse sequence was followed. Blood pressure was measured under casual conditions during a hand grip exercise test, mental arithmetic test, and submaximal multistage bicycle exercise test; during the following 24 hours, blood pressure was measured serially with a noninvasive ambulatory blood pressure recorder. Daily outdoor maximum and indoor laboratory temperatures were also obtained. In the cold season, significantly higher values (on the average by 5-10 mm Hg, p less than 0.01) were obtained in both groups for mean diastolic daytime blood pressure. For other measurements, a trend toward higher values in the cold season was observed in both groups, although statistical significance was not obtained in all instances. For nighttime measurements, irrespective of the seasonal sequence, lower values were observed in the second session. Significant correlations were found between the differences in the average daytime ambulatory blood pressures and the corresponding changes of daily maximum outdoor temperatures after 5-7 months. These observations indicate that arterial blood pressure may be strongly influenced by environmental temperature. This phenomenon should be taken into account both in the evaluation of the individual hypertensive patients and in the design and analysis of studies on arterial hypertension, especially when ambulatory blood pressure techniques are employed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Preliminary identification of nonlinear correlations for spatial tests and reaction-time tasks.

Scores on three spatial tests (mental rotation, embedded figures, and gestalt completion) were significantly correlated with four same-different reaction-time tasks in a sample of 48 female university students. Scores on the Vandenberg-Kuse mental rotation test correlated best with a one-different-all-different task, embedded figures with a one-different-all-same task, and the gestalt completion with a one-same-all-same task, suggesting that the strategies subjects employ for each spatial test are similar to the strategies they use in each of the same-different tasks with which their scores correlate best. Present results support the position that stronger correlations than previously noted between scores on spatial tests and reaction-time tasks are observed when matching the tests and tasks in terms of hypothesized underlying processes.

Discrimination, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Neuroepidemiology in the eastern region of Colombia].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the presence of eight neurological disorders (migraine, cerebrovascular disease, disorders of movement, peripheral neuropathy, mental retardation, epilepsy, dementia and the sequelas of head injuries) in the eastern region of Colombia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using the neuro epidemiological protocol of the World Health Organization (WHO), modified by our group, together with a questionnaire to determine the sequelas of head injuries and the abbreviated mental test (Mini mental), we interviewed people in the municipalities of Bucaramanga, Piedecuesta and Aratoca. The persons suspected of having neurological disorders, who were over 12 years old, were evaluated by neurologists and those under 12 years old by a neuropaediatrician. RESULTS: In the eastern region, 1,454 persons altogether were interviewed. Neurological conditions were suspected in 454 of these (31.2%), and confirmed in 437 (30.1%). The specific results for these neurological disorders and their respective confidence intervals (in brackets) were: migraine 198.8 (178.7 220.4); peripheral neuropathy: 26.8 (19.4 36.9); epilepsy: 22.7 (15.9 32.1); dementia: 17.9 (11.9 26.5); cerebrovascular disease: 17.2 (11.4 25.7); mental retardation and delayed nervous system development: 15.1 (9.7 23.2); extrapyramidal disorders: 8.3 (4.5 14.8); sequelas of head injuries: 6.9 (3.5 13.1). RESULTS: These results, obtained using a modified version of a WHO protocol, together with dementia and the sequelas of head injuries, will permit the development of health policies and programmes for the control and treatment of neurological disorders prevalent in this region of Colombia

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Multisystem evaluation in one case of pure autonomic failure.

Pure autonomic failure (PAF) is a rare syndrome characterized by a primitive failure of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). We have studied a 53-year old woman suffering from PAF by using ANS provocative tests investigating the cardiovascular system (standing up test, controlled ventilation, Valsalva manoeuvre, handgrip test, cold pressor test, mental stress test, plasma catecholamine levels), tests investigating the intrinsic ocular innervation (pupil reactivity), and the bladder function (urodynamic tests). Our results have shown abnormalities of all the studied parameters and they have also confirmed that these patients need a multidisciplinary autonomic evaluation to correctly identify the syndrome.

Arousal↗
PubMed1994

[Bilateral infarction of the caudate nuclei].

We report the case of a 57-year-old right-handed woman, with a history of hypertension, who, in February 1990, suddenly developed behavioral and cognitive abnormalities. Prior to the onset of her illness she had been normal. On examination, neuropsychological testing (Wechsler Mental Test, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised, Knox Cube Test) elicited attention abnormalities, decreased recent memory, apathy, reduced spontaneity and initiative and left hemiparesia. CT scan showed small low density areas in the head of both caudate nuclei and right internal capsule, indicating infarction. Two years later, the deficit had partially resolved. Apathy persisted; psychometry showed an IQ of 57. Bilateral damage to the head of the caudate nuclei disrupt cortical-subcortical connections. The caudate nucleus is an essential component of basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuitry and its contribution to cognitive functions and behavior appears to be important.

Caudate Nucleus↗
PubMed1993

[Antihypertensive action of nicardipine retard in 24 hours and its effect on stress].

Thirty-six patients (17 males and 19 females), aged between 40 and 70 years old (mean age 55.9), suffering from slight or moderate arterial hypertension, were monitored for four weeks after 14 days of placebo treatment. In a double-blind and random study 24 patients were treated with Nicardipine Retard (40 mg twice a day) whereas a further 12 received placebo twice a day. Sphigomanometric controls carried out after two and four weeks showed a significant reduction in arterial pressure only in those patients receiving active treatment. 24-hour out-patient monitoring of arterial pressure, carried out using Spacelabs 5300, showed a reduction in both systolic and diastolic arterial pressure throughout the day in subjects treated with calcium-antagonists compared to the placebo group. The normal physiological 24-hour trend of arterial pressure was always taken into account. The pressure response to a cold pressor test, mental arithmetic test, isometric and dynamic effort tests, measuring using a cycloergometer, was not modified by anti-hypertensive treatment, thus confirming the preservation of normal physiological behaviour during daily activities. There was no significant change in heart rate and the drug was well tolerated.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Evaluating the response of mild hypertensives to biofeedback-assisted relaxation using a mental stress test.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the long term effect of a program of biofeedback-assisted relaxation on hypertensive patients by mental stress test reactivity. Twenty mild hypertensive patients were subjected to a mental arithmetic stress test before and six months after completing biofeedback-assisted relaxation therapy. The therapy consisted of 10 sessions of biofeedback-assisted relaxation instruction and continuous home practise. The study group was compared to a control group. The biofeedback-assisted relaxation treatment produced a mild improvement in blood pressure control and decreased the dose of drugs used as well as a decrease in state-anxiety (p < 0.05). The stress-induced increases in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, galvanic skin response and skin temperature were all significantly attenuated six months after completion of biofeedback-assisted relaxation treatment.

Adult↗