The thesis contends that holistic, community-based treatment is preferable to carceral options for offenders with fetal alcohol conditions, presents emerging support for this contention, identifies barriers to the implementation of community-based treatment, and culminates with analyses of ways of influencing policy reform or of legally mandating non-carceral treatment options. Potential avenues that will be examined include:<P> &bull;&#x00A0;&#x00A0; Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 15, including an analysis from Eldridge, Law, and Auton, based on the duty to accommodate disabilities;<BR> &bull;&#x00A0;&#x00A0; Constitution Act, 1982, s. 35 and its recognition and affirmation of such relevant treaty right as the alcohol ban, particularly as the ban operates as a contextual factor in a s. 15 Charter analysis as applied to affected treaty beneficiaries; and<BR> &bull;&#x00A0;&#x00A0; Articles 23, 24 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Article 12(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, particularly as they influence the s. 1 analysis under the Charter. <P> A remedy mandating a positive state obligation to provide community-based treatment likely would require favourable cost-benefit analyses, as well as evidence of effectiveness of the treatment (the latter to be studied in a subsequent interdisciplinary Ph.D. program using qualitative research techniques). The implications of a finding of disability and mental disorder related to fetal alcohol conditions will be examined. The present research topic is at the interface of health and justice, and indeed is multidisciplinary in nature as fetal alcohol influences every aspect of affected individuals' lives. Moreover, the problem is situated in its historical, ideological, global, and trans-disciplinary context.

The thesis contends that holistic, community-based treatment is preferable to carceral options for offenders with fetal alcohol conditions, presents emerging support for this contention, identifies barriers to the implementation of community-based treatment, and culminates with analyses of ways of influencing policy reform or of legally mandating non-carceral treatment options. Potential avenues that will be examined include:<P> &bull;&#x00A0;&#x00A0; Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 15, including an analysis from Eldridge, Law, and Auton, based on the duty to accommodate disabilities;<BR> &bull;&#x00A0;&#x00A0; Constitution Act, 1982, s. 35 and its recognition and affirmation of such relevant treaty right as the alcohol ban, particularly as the ban operates as a contextual factor in a s. 15 Charter analysis as applied to affected treaty beneficiaries; and<BR> &bull;&#x00A0;&#x00A0; Articles 23, 24 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Article 12(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, particularly as they influence the s. 1 analysis under the Charter. <P> A remedy mandating a positive state obligation to provide community-based treatment likely would require favourable cost-benefit analyses, as well as evidence of effectiveness of the treatment (the latter to be studied in a subsequent interdisciplinary Ph.D. program using qualitative research techniques). The implications of a finding of disability and mental disorder related to fetal alcohol conditions will be examined. The present research topic is at the interface of health and justice, and indeed is multidisciplinary in nature as fetal alcohol influences every aspect of affected individuals' lives. Moreover, the problem is situated in its historical, ideological, global, and trans-disciplinary context.

Background: Prenatal ethanol exposure (PNEE) causes irreversible intellectual and behavioral disabilities, clinically known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Few neuropathologic studies of human brain exist. Hypotheses: First, markers of oxidative stress persist following PNEE. Second, PNEE is associated with inhibitory and excitatory neuron changes. Methods: Human brain autopsies (153) with known PNEE were reviewed; 18 cases (fetus to adult) and controls were selected. Oxidative stress and neuronal differentiation markers were used for immunohistochemistry. Results: There were no obvious differences between control and PNEE brains using oxidative stress markers. In human PNEE brains, glutamatergic neurons were reduced 15.96 % and 18.03% in dentate gyrus and temporal cortex, respectively. GABAergic neurons reactive for parvalbumin were reduced in all hippocampal regions (CA1= 57.86%, CA3= 65.15%, and DG= 53.39%) and temporal cortex (44.13%) in all age groups. Conclusion: GABAergic neuron reduction in human following PNEE could explain motor and behavior distractibility in FASD individuals.

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Background: The central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is the most debilitating aspect of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Affected children exhibit numerous cognitive and behavioural deficits which can severely affect quality of life. As the diagnosis of FASDs often requires specially trained physicians, there is a need for sensitive and specific tools that screen PAE-related CNS dysfunction in order to identify individuals who require further consultation. Additionally, objective measures of intervention end-points are critical to assess potential treatments for this population. As saccadic eye movement behaviours reflect the integrity of multiple brain structures, a battery of oculomotor tasks may serve both these functions. This study sought to test the hypothesis that oculomotor performance in FASD would differ from typically developing children and would allow the objective measure of cognitive improvements resulting from a strength-based motor skills intervention. Methods: A cohort of 31 children with FASD, and 31 age- and sex-matched controls completed prosaccade, antisaccade, delayed memory-guided sequential (DMS) and predictive eye movement tasks. Additionally, a selection of these children were involved in an intervention study and therefore tested on three separate occasions using the eye movement tasks and computerized neuropsychological tests. Results: Compared to controls, children with FASDs elicited increased direction and anticipatory errors in the antisaccade task, increased timing and sequence errors in the DMS task, and increased anticipatory and decreased express saccades in the predictive task. The FASD group also exhibited an increase in the error of saccade trajectories in the pro- and antisaccade tasks, in addition to increased velocities of visually-guided saccades in the predictive task. Furthermore, those involved in the intervention study improved in measures of response inhibition in the DMS task. Conclusion: This study indicates that frontostriatal and cerebellar dysfunction can be assessed in children with FASDs using a battery of eye movement tasks. In addition, children involved in the strength-based motor skills intervention improved in the ability to perform complex oculomotor tasks. These findings suggest that select eye movement tasks may be utilized to identify CNS dysfunction in FASD and to measure cognitive improvements resulting from behavioural interventions. / Thesis (Master, Neuroscience Studies) -- Queen's University, 2010-08-17 09:55:59.382

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Thesis (MEdPsych)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-70). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR32020