Up to the present time it has been customary for hearing aids to reproduce approximately the same range of frequencies as the telephone (300 - 3000 eps). The aim of this investigation was to determine whether additional low frequency amplification, achieved by the provision of hearing aide with a frequency range from 80 - 3000 eps, would contribute significantly to the audition of speech among children with low-tone residual hearing. [...]

The investigation to be reported here was primarily concerned with the effect of temporal-lobe excision on the detection of changes in the intensity of a pure tone. The intensitive difference limen (DL) was used as the measure of discriminatory ability, with small values being indicative of acute discrimination. [...]

Glycosaminoglycan-peptide complexes (GAG-P) and some proteoglycans from long bones, breast muscle, comb, crop, gizzard, heart, infundibulum, intestines, isthmus, kidney, leg muscle, liver, lung, magnum, oesophagus, ovary, pancreas, proventriculus, skin, shell gland, spleen, trachea, vagina, wattle, cecum, egg yolk and adipose tissue of the white leghorn hen were isolated and analysed for constituent units. Techniques of identification included infrared spectroscopy, cellulose acetate electrophoresis, colorimetric reactions, ion-exchange chromatography and scanning electron microscopy. The in vivo incorporation of {('14)C}-glucosamine (GlcN) and {('14)C}-galactosamine (GalN) for 1-, 2-, 120-, and 240-hour periods, and {('14)C}-glucose (Glc) and {('14)C}-galactose (Gal) for a 48-hour period into whole tissues, acetone-extracted tissues and GAG-P were investigated. Radioactivity in excreta was measured. ('14)CO(,2) from the {('14)C}-hexose treated birds was determined. In vitro incorporation of ('14)C from {('14)C}-Glc, {('14)C}-Gal, {('14)C}-GlcN, {('14)C}-GalN, {('14)C}-fructose and {('14)C}N-acetylneuraminic acid were studied.

This work is the result of an investigation into aspects of prolactin and dopamine in primary affective disorders. It is introduced by a discussion on the need for obtaining good scientific data on the organic and psychosocial aspects of psychiatric illness, and in particular, primary affective disorders. A short perspective of the history of depressive illness preceeds the review of relevant scientific literature on primary affective disorder. The literature survey covers aspects which indicate organic causal factors as well as viewing numerous organic studies which are thought to be relevant to this investigation. The role of dopamine in motor behaviour is considered in some detail. Psychopharmacological evidence that the mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopaminergic systems are involved in motor regulation is reviewed. The role of dopamine receptors in motor behaviour is important to the conceptual framework of this thesis. Dopamine D 2 and D 1 receptors are considered and the opposing roles of these receptors is thought to be significant. Drugs affecting manic and depressive phases of primary affective disorders are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on dopaminergic aspects of various drugs in primary affective disorders as with pimozide as an antimanic agent, and nomifensine as an antidepressant. The possible role of noradrenaline in learning and mood regulation and in the dialogue with dopamine is looked at from an experimental and clinical point of view. Dopaminergic control of prolactin is reviewed and in particular the nature of the D4 receptor. The fact that these receptors which are on the pituitary mammotrophs have similarities to the D2 receptors is relevant. Thus considerable commonality exists between the dopaminergic regulation of motor behaviour and regulation of prolactin. Prolactin is used as an index of dopamine function in patients with primary affective disorders. Motor behaviour is strongly influenced by affective disorders.The central theme of the study itself was to indirectly evaluate dopamine function in primary affective disorder by measuring prolactin levels. As strong tonic inhibition is exerted by dopamine on prolactin, a series of challenges to the dopamine system was decided upon in order to generate a number of serum prolactin values. A dopamine agonist L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (indirect) and an antagonist, chlorpromazine, were used to stress the system mildly. The procedure was carried out under standard conditions both in the illness phase and upon significant recovery. Both these investigations were conducted in a drug-free state. The data generated was subjected to statistical analysis. The results of the analysis suggests that prolactin levels are low in depressed patients, and increase upon recovery, while manic patients have elevated levels which decrease with recovery. The pattern of the curves obtained from the challenge procedure suggests a possible supersensitivity of dopamine receptors in the manic patients. Blunting of responses of depressed patients remains a possibility but a study against normal controls is required to further assess this aspect. Evidence is therefore found for altered prolactin levels in illness phases of primary affective disorders. This is thought to be due to an abnormality in the dopamine regulation of prolactin. A discussion on the possible mechanisms and significance of these changes involves Beta-endorphin in an attempt to tie motor changes to mood regulation. Shortcomings of the study and future implications and developments are considered. / Thesis (M.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1986.

Eating disorders are a significant health concern due to their high rates of comorbidity, mortality, and the physical and mental distress they cause. While many people are aware of the negative effects eating disorders have on physical and mental health, few realize that suicide is a potential outcome. Although the relationships between eating disorders and suicidality have been examined in clinical populations with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, these relationships have not been examined in the general population, nor with binge eating disorder. This study aimed to investigate these relationships in the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiologic Surveys (CPES, N=20,013), a large, nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. Logistic regression analyses revealed that individuals with a history of each eating disorder reported higher rates of suicide ideation and suicide attempts. Rates of suicide experiences among this population are similar to individuals with a history of major depression and a comorbid anxiety disorder. It is clear from this study that suicide remains a significant concern for individuals suffering from an eating disorder in the general population. It is essential that clinicians screen for suicide experiences in individuals suspected of suffering from an eating disorder.

No description available.

The Charles Bonnet syndrome is characterized by complex visual hallucinations in people without psychopathology or disturbance of normal consciousness. This thesis highlights the association of visual deficits with the syndrome, and proposes that it is analogous to the perception of phantom limbs; both conditions arise when normal sensory input to the brain is severely reduced. The five studies that comprise this thesis systematically gather information on the syndrome to answer three basic questions: how can the hallucinations be classified, what are the clinical implications for individuals who experience them, and what might cause the hallucinations. Study 1 examines 64 cases described in the literature. Demographic information on the hallucinators, properties of the hallucinations, initiating factors, as well as etiological mechanisms are reviewed. Study 2 examines the properties of the hallucinations in a sample of 60 subjects and reveals, by statistical analysis, a dimension of the hallucinatory experience that ranges from discrete, singular perceptual experiences to multiple changing experiences. Studies 3 and 4 examine the mental status of hallucinators score within the normal range on tests of anxiety, depression, and psychological symptomology and exhibit no evidence of gross cognitive impairment. A detailed analysis of results show that a small proportion of hallucinators score within the normal range on tests of anxiety, depression, and psychological symptomology and exhibit no evidence of gross cognitive impairment. A detailed analysis of results show that a small proportion of hallucinators endorse comparatively more symptom-oriented items than the remainder of hallucinators, as well as more items non-hallucinators (in Study 4). Finally, Study 5 examines the performance of two hallucinating groups as well as a group of visually impaired non-hallucinating on threshold estimation and signal detection tasks. The results of the combined studies indicate

Adaptation to vision impairment was studied by telephone interviews with 78 legally blind adults (mean age 79.5) who had received rehabilitation services from an agency in upstate New York. Data were collected on demographics, health, activity levels, social support, blindness data, adaptation to vision loss (AVL scale, Horwitz and Reinhardt, 2005), and symptoms of Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS). Using multiple regression and logistic regression, the most significant predictors of high AVL scores were found to be good interpersonal communication and a relative living close by, while predictors of CBS were self-reported health issues, especially diabetes, and fewer trips into the community. Very few respondents reported receiving any information on CBS from eye care providers. This suggests that doctors should consider discussing CBS with patients, and that both social workers and doctors need a better understanding of CBS, as symptoms could easily be mistaken for mental illness, causing inappropriate referrals.

Certain neurogenic voice disorders present with similar or overlapping audio perceptual voice characteristics. Developing reliable and standardized perceptual measures of vocal fold vibratory characteristics for such voice disorders can enable accurate diagnosis and lead to faster, targeted treatment. In this study, subjective perceptual vocal fold vibratory characteristics and the presence and absence of supraglottic events during phonation were investigated to differentiate between Adductor Spasmodic Dysphonia (ADSD) and Essential Vocal Fold Tremor (EVT) using high-speed videoendoscopy (HSV). The specific aims of the study were to 1) assess which subjective endoscopic vocal fold vibratory measures differentiate EVT from AdSD; and 2) assess the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of the ratings. High speed video recordings of vibratory vocal fold motion were selected to conduct a retrospective analysis on existing data. The participants were classified into three groups: 16 participants with a diagnosis of Adductor Spasmodic Dysphonia, 8 participants with a clinical diagnosis of Essential Vocal Tremor, and 10 participants with a diagnosis of Both (AdSD with Tremor). The inclusion criteria for HSV data was the presence of a full view of true vocal folds and supraglottic structures during vibration. It was hypothesized that HSV vocal fold vibratory measures and supraglottic events would distinguish EVT and ADSD and these measures would be reliable. In addition, the vocal fold vibratory features would be more reliable than supraglottic events in differentiating between the groups. Results demonstrated mixed reliability for supraglottic and vocal fold vibratory parameters. None of the hypothesized supraglottic parameters demonstrated any significant distinction between diagnostic groups given the three raters responses. While all four vocal fold vibratory parameters revealed distinctive patterns between the three diagnostic categories, only two, right/left TVF symmetry and anterior/posterior TVF symmetry, met the requirements for both reliability and differentiation. For these parameters, EVT demonstrated greater vocal fold symmetry in comparison to AdSD; however, those with a differential diagnosis of both demonstrated the highest vocal fold symmetry.

Purpose: This study increased our understanding of how aphasia may affect interpretation of road signs. Background: Despite aphasias theoretical effects on road sign comprehension and promising initial findings in studies that investigated driving and aphasia, the literature examining aphasia and road signs has been sparse. Research has shown that aphasia may have some effect on road sign interpretation. However, more study is needed regarding both accuracy and response time to road sign interpretation, which are equally important for safe driving. Methods: This was a prospective, between group study that used data collected from a larger study by Donovan, Savage, Varnado, & Brown (2014). This study aimed to determine if presence of aphasia had an effect on the accuracy and response time of road sign interpretation in a sample of 10 adults with aphasia versus 10 adults in neurologically normal control group. The participants were asked to choose the correct interpretation of pictures of road signs from three choices. A MANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of aphasia on accuracy and response time (α = .05). Results: Aphasia significantly impacted accuracy and response time of road sign interpretation (V = .996, F(2, 17) = 8.446, p = .003). The aphasia group was (a) less accurate (M = 28.60) than the neurological normal control group (M = 32.30; p = .001); and (b) slower (M = 2777.62 ms) than the neurological normal control group (M = 1211.58 ms; p = .036). Visual inspection of the data also showed the aphasia group was less accurate and had longer response times interpreting signs that were linguistically dense or had greater symbolic complexity. Discussion: The role of healthcare providers, including speech-language pathologists, in advising people with aphasia about return to driving is not well documented. The present study suggests aphasia may have an effect on driving and therefore, speech-language pathologists may serve an important role in helping people with aphasia make informed choices about return to driving. More study, however, is needed to investigate the profile of deficits that contribute to poor road sign interpretation and to build upon and support the present studys results.