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Cytogenetic assessment of methylphenidate treatment in pediatric patients treated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Mutat Res. 2009 Jun-Jul;677(1-2):53-8

Authors: Tucker JD, Suter W, Petibone DM, Thomas RA, Bailey NL, Zhou Y, Zhao Y, Muniz R, Kumar V

Methylphenidate (MPH, Ritalin), has been prescribed to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) since its approval by the FDA over 50 years ago. Diagnoses of pediatric patients with ADHD and the administration of MPH to treat the symptoms have increased in prevalence in recent years. A 2005 study by El-Zein et al. reported statistically significant increases in cytogenetic anomalies including chromosomal aberrations (CA), micronuclei (MN) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in peripheral blood lymphocytes cultured from pediatric patients treated for 3 months with MPH. These findings led to wide-spread concern regarding the potential for genotoxic risks associated with prolonged administration of MPH. The study described in the present paper was designed to repeat the El-Zein effort with a much larger sample size. The subjects (N = 109) were randomized into two groups: one treated with MPH as well as behavior therapy, the other was a control group that received behavior therapy only. We evaluated CAs, MN, and SCEs in peripheral blood lymphocytes in samples obtained prior to therapy and after 3 months of treatment with MPH. The data were analyzed using a Poisson regression model with a generalized estimating equation method adjusted for several covariates including time, treatment-by-time interaction, sex, and age group. The log(e) rate ratios of the MPH plus behavior therapy and behavior therapy groups were compared. The frequencies of CAs, MN, and SCEs were not increased in the MPH plus behavior therapy group when compared to the behavior therapy group only (p = 0.53, 0.28, 0.81, respectively). These results provide evidence in a large cohort that MPH does not induce cytogenetic anomalies in children, in contrast to the findings of the El-Zein study.

PMID: 19465145 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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An evaluation of the PALS after treatment modelling intervention to reduce dental anxiety in child dental patients.

Int J Paediatr Dent. 2009 Jul;19(4):233-42

Authors: Howard KE, Freeman R

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the passivity to activity through live symbolic (PALS) after treatment modelling intervention to reduce child dental anxiety. METHODS: A convenience sample of consecutive 5- to 10-year-old dental patients were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. Self-reported child dental anxiety was assessed at the start of each visit. At the end of each visit, children in the intervention group were introduced to a glove puppet, which acted as the PALS model. The intervention group children re-enacted the treatment they had just received on the puppet’s teeth. At the end of each visit, the control children received motivational rewards only. The change in dental anxiety scores was examined by t-tests and analysis of covariance. RESULTS: The final analysis included 27 intervention children and 26 control children. For the intervention group, there were no statistically significant changes in dental anxiety over a course of treatment, between first and second preventive visits, between first and second invasive treatment visits, or between first attendance and subsequent recall attendance. For the control group, a statistically significant decrease in dental anxiety was observed between the first and second invasive dental treatment visits. CONCLUSION: The PALS after treatment modelling intervention was ineffective in reducing child dental anxiety.

PMID: 19486375 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Video feedback in parent-infant treatments.

Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2009 Jul;18(3):735-51

Authors: Rusconi-Serpa S, Sancho Rossignol A, McDonough SC

Video feedback has been integrated into several therapeutic approaches as a way of engaging parents to focus on interactive behavior to reinforce positive interactions and to identify areas of noncontingent behavior. This article reviews the technical and theoretical contributions of the most important video feedback-based interventions that are currently used with families that include young children.

PMID: 19486848 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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High-frequency stimulation of the nucleus accumbens core and shell reduces quinpirole-induced compulsive checking in rats.

Eur J Neurosci. 2009 Jun;29(12):2401-12

Authors: Mundt A, Klein J, Joel D, Heinz A, Djodari-Irani A, Harnack D, Kupsch A, Orawa H, Juckel G, Morgenstern R, Winter C

Electrical deep brain stimulation (DBS) is currently studied in the treatment of therapy-refractory obsessive compulsive disorders (OCDs). The variety of targeted brain areas and the inconsistency in demonstrating anti-compulsive effects, however, highlight the need for better mapping of brain regions in which stimulation may produce beneficial effects in OCD. Such a goal may be advanced by the assessment of DBS in appropriate animal models of OCD. Currently available data on DBS of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) on OCD-like behavior in rat models of OCD are contradictory and partly in contrast to clinical data and theoretical hypotheses about how the NAc might be pathophysiologically involved in the manifestation of OCD. Consequently, the present study investigates the effects of DBS of the NAc core and shell in a quinpirole rat model of OCD. The study demonstrates that electrical modulation of NAc core and shell activity via DBS reduces quinpirole-induced compulsive checking behavior in rats. We therefore conclude that both, the NAc core and shell constitute potential target structures in the treatment of OCD.

PMID: 19490027 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Tooth loss and cognitive impairment.

J Clin Periodontol. 2009 Jul;36(7):550-7

Authors: Grabe HJ, Schwahn C, Völzke H, Spitzer C, Freyberger HJ, John U, Mundt T, Biffar R, Kocher T

OBJECTIVES: Chronic subclinical inflammation may elevate the risk of cognitive impairment. Periodontitis is associated with subclinical inflammation and accounts in part for tooth loss. The hypothesis was tested that periodontitis and tooth loss as a proxy of chronic periodontitis is associated with cognitive impairment in the elderly. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The population-based Study of Health in Pomerania comprises 1336 subjects (60-79 years). Cognitive impairment was assessed with the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE). Tobit regression analyses were adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: A decreased number of teeth was associated with lower MMSE scores in females (p<0.001) and males (p=0.007) in age-adjusted models. In the fully adjusted models, tooth loss was associated with cognitive impairment in females (p=0.002) but not in males (p=0.825). CONCLUSIONS: A significant association between tooth loss and cognitive impairment was found in females that was not accounted for by potential confounders. Former periodontitis may account for this association as periodontitis was frequently the cause for tooth extractions.

PMID: 19538327 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Acoustic profiles of distinct emotional expressions in laughter.

J Acoust Soc Am. 2009 Jul;126(1):354-66

Authors: Szameitat DP, Alter K, Szameitat AJ, Wildgruber D, Sterr A, Darwin CJ

Although listeners are able to decode the underlying emotions embedded in acoustical laughter sounds, little is known about the acoustical cues that differentiate between the emotions. This study investigated the acoustical correlates of laughter expressing four different emotions: joy, tickling, taunting, and schadenfreude. Analysis of 43 acoustic parameters showed that the four emotions could be accurately discriminated on the basis of a small parameter set. Vowel quality contributed only minimally to emotional differentiation whereas prosodic parameters were more effective. Emotions are expressed by similar prosodic parameters in both laughter and speech.

PMID: 19603892 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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A review of depression in the head and neck cancer patient.

Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. 2009 Jun;7(6):397-403

Authors: Lydiatt WM, Moran J, Burke WJ

Head and neck cancer patients experience among the highest rates of major depressive disorder of all oncology patients with an incidence of 15-50%. Correct diagnosis is critical to expeditious management. Oncologists are not always adept at making the diagnosis as medical and treatment side effects can mimic the signs and symptoms of depression. Treatment can be successful and typically involves medical, social, and psychologic interventions. Causes of depression, obtaining an accurate diagnosis, and treatment options are all discussed in this review.

PMID: 19606075 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Integrating experiential and distributional data to learn semantic representations.

Psychol Rev. 2009 Jul;116(3):463-98

Authors: Andrews M, Vigliocco G, Vinson D

The authors identify 2 major types of statistical data from which semantic representations can be learned. These are denoted as experiential data and distributional data. Experiential data are derived by way of experience with the physical world and comprise the sensory-motor data obtained through sense receptors. Distributional data, by contrast, describe the statistical distribution of words across spoken and written language. The authors claim that experiential and distributional data represent distinct data types and that each is a nontrivial source of semantic information. Their theoretical proposal is that human semantic representations are derived from an optimal statistical combination of these 2 data types. Using a Bayesian probabilistic model, they demonstrate how word meanings can be learned by treating experiential and distributional data as a single joint distribution and learning the statistical structure that underlies it. The semantic representations that are learned in this manner are measurably more realistic-as verified by comparison to a set of human-based measures of semantic representation-than those available from either data type individually or from both sources independently. This is not a result of merely using quantitatively more data, but rather it is because experiential and distributional data are qualitatively distinct, yet intercorrelated, types of data. The semantic representations that are learned are based on statistical structures that exist both within and between the experiential and distributional data types.

PMID: 19618982 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Optimal experimental design for model discrimination.

Psychol Rev. 2009 Jul;116(3):499-518

Authors: Myung JI, Pitt MA

Models of a psychological process can be difficult to discriminate experimentally because it is not easy to determine the values of the critical design variables (e.g., presentation schedule, stimulus structure) that will be most informative in differentiating them. Recent developments in sampling-based search methods in statistics make it possible to determine these values and thereby identify an optimal experimental design. After describing the method, it is demonstrated in 2 content areas in cognitive psychology in which models are highly competitive: retention (i.e., forgetting) and categorization. The optimal design is compared with the quality of designs used in the literature. The findings demonstrate that design optimization has the potential to increase the informativeness of the experimental method.

PMID: 19618983 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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The bright side of being blue: depression as an adaptation for analyzing complex problems.

Psychol Rev. 2009 Jul;116(3):620-54

Authors: Andrews PW, Thomson JA

Depression is the primary emotional condition for which help is sought. Depressed people often report persistent rumination, which involves analysis, and complex social problems in their lives. Analysis is often a useful approach for solving complex problems, but it requires slow, sustained processing, so disruption would interfere with problem solving. The analytical rumination hypothesis proposes that depression is an evolved response to complex problems, whose function is to minimize disruption and sustain analysis of those problems by (a) giving the triggering problem prioritized access to processing resources, (b) reducing the desire to engage in distracting activities (anhedonia), and (c) producing psychomotor changes that reduce exposure to distracting stimuli. As processing resources are limited, sustained analysis of the triggering problem reduces the ability to concentrate on other things. The hypothesis is supported by evidence from many levels-genes, neurotransmitters and their receptors, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neuroenergetics, pharmacology, cognition, behavior, and efficacy of treatments. In addition, the hypothesis provides explanations for puzzling findings in the depression literature, challenges the belief that serotonin transmission is low in depression, and has implications for treatment.

PMID: 19618990 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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