Search

A Case of Ictal Fear with Various Psychiatric Manifestations and Memory Disturbance in Interictal Stages.Purpose:Ictal emotion corresponds to“affective seizures,” according to the Proposal for Revised Clinical and Electroencephalographic Classification of Epileptic Seizures by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE; 1981), and is characterized by the appearance of affective disorders such as fear, depression, pleasure, and anger. In particular, the ictal emotion, in which fear is the most commonly noted emotion, is referred to as“ictal fear.” In the present study, we report a patient with temporal lobe epilepsy, who showed ictal fear associated with various psychiatric manifestations including memory disturbance in the interictal stage that promptly subsided with antiepileptic drug (AED) administration.Case Report:A 24-year-old woman had recurrent episodes fear and anxiety. Family risk factors consisted of major depression in the maternal grandmother, but no familial history of epilepsy. The patient had a history of mumps with fever of 38°C at age 6 years without febrile convulsion. The present illness began around April 1997, when the patient became aware of swelling of the left ear membrane and a tinnitus-like noise, with an occasional feeling of her entire body floating in air. On March 6, 2000, severe giddiness suddenly developed, and from April of that year, she had pronounced drowsiness and hypersomnia. From January 2001, her giddiness and feeling of dizziness became marked, and she was overcome by an unpleasant feeling from January 16 to 17. From January 18 to 19 and on February 7 and 8 she manifested emotional lability. She had a depressive mood on February 22 and reversed to an elated mood the following day. On March 6, she experienced sudden severe left ear pain, which was diagnosed as migraine at a department of neurosurgery in another hospital. In addition, from about this time, anxiety and vague feeling of panic developed. From around April, she experienced autonomic seizures lasting 20 s, characterized by abnormal sensations of gooseflesh and coldness extending from the left posterior neck to cheek. These seizures occurred at a frequency of 20 to 30 times a day. Furthermore, she showed increased anxiety, depressive mood, and palpitations with feeling of left chest constriction in the interictal period. On May 25 and 26, autonomic seizures consisted of sudden severe nausea, and from June were characterized by a feeling of gooseflesh and coldness extending from the upper to lower arms bilaterally. The duration of these seizures was 10–20 s, and the frequency was 10 times/day. From the same period, she had various psychiatric symptoms such as hypobulia, declining activity, and a sense of guilt in the interictal period. From around August, her unpleasant feeling gradually worsened, and her voice became low, and her actions became slow. Furthermore, hypochondriacal and depressive symptoms became more marked, and appetite decreased, with the appearance of insomnia and suicidal ideation. On August 28, generalized tonic–clonic seizures (GTCSs) occurred twice, and after the first GTCS, she had ictal fear lasting 60–120 s, which occurred at a frequency of 4 to 5 times per day. The experience of ictal fear was engendered by the patient imagining a scene in which she was enveloped in the dark by some fearful thing and pursued by something of an unknown nature. Subsequently, her parents witnessed her screaming during the ictal fear. On September 21, she was admitted to our hospital for detailed examinations and treatment.Both the ictal and interictal symptoms improved with increasing doses of carbamazepine (CBZ). Clinical examinations revealed no particular hematologic or biochemical abnormalities, and the neurologic examination was normal. Psychometric examination showed FIQ, 87[verbal IQ (VIQ) 94; performance IQ (PIQ), 82] on the WAIS-R, with procedural memory showing a learning effect in both mirror drawing and tower of Hanoi puzzle. Interictal EEGs showed generalized high-amplitude slow-burst 6- to 7-Hz train, which disappeared after CBZ administration. Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images of sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed high signal intensity areas in bilateral amygdala and hippocampal regions.[99mTc]-HMPAO single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images depicted hypoperfusion findings in the right medial temporal lobe.Discussion:This case had onset of epilepsy at age 20 years, and her symptoms were initially diagnosed as migraine and anxiety disorder. At the time of admission to our hospital, memory disturbance and various psychiatric symptoms such as a sensation of fear, anxiety, and depression were noted, so that the presence of anxiety disorder and dissociative disorder was suspected. However, based on the EEG and brain-imaging findings, a diagnosis of epilepsy was made. The notable features in this case are summarized as follows: (a) simple partial seizures consisting primarily of ictal emotions associated with the experience of fear; (b) interictal symptoms including various psychiatric manifestations such as manic–depressive and anxiety symptoms and memory disturbance; (c) abnormal MRI and SPECT images in the medial temporal lobes, possibly compatible with hippocampal sclerosis; and (d) rapid amelioration of the ictal and interictal symptoms with CBZ administration, accompanied by the disappearance of the generalized high-amplitude slow waves on the EEG.Conclusions:These findings suggest that ictal emotion is induced by localized focal seizures in the hippocampus and the adjacent limbic system including the amygdala. Moreover, the fact that CBZ administration ameliorated the interictal symptoms comprising various psychiatric manifestations and memory disturbances suggests that functional dysfunction associated with enhanced interictal discharges in the limbic system caused the interictal symptoms. Etiologic Analysis of Epilepsy in Children.Purpose:A population-based neuroepidemiologic survey of childhood epilepsy was conducted in the Okayama Prefecture on December 31, 1999, as the prevalence day. We analyzed the presumptive causes in this survey to clarify the causes of childhood epilepsy in the general population.Methods:The segment of the population younger than 13 years in the Okayama Prefecture on the prevalence day was 250,997. The lists of children with epilepsy were collected from the medical records of 84 hospitals and clinics in and around Okayama Prefecture, and 2,220 cases were identified; the prevalence rate was 8.8 per 1,000. In this study, EEGs were examined in 99.3% of the cases. The 2,220 cases, however, included 889 cases with single seizures or seizures induced by fever, because they were diagnosed as epilepsy by definite EEG abnormalities. Generally, cases of single seizures or seizures induced by fever are excluded from epileptic seizures in epidemiologic studies. When the 889 cases are excluded, the prevalence rate for the 1,331 cases decreased to 5.3 per 1,000. The former 2,220 cases and the latter 1,331 cases were designated as group A and group B, respectively. An etiologic analysis was carried out in the two groups.Results:Group A: (a) Presumptive causes were identified in 816 (37.8%) cases, and 1,341 (60.4%) cases had unknown etiology. The other 63 (2.8%) cases were excluded from the total because of a lack of etiologic information. (b) Predisposition to convulsions or epilepsy within second-degree relatives was found in 20.3%. (c) Prenatal causes consisted of genetic neurologic diseases in 1.4%, chromosomal aberrations or malformations in 2.0%, cerebral dysgenesis in 2.0%, intrauterine infection in 0.1%, and congenital hydrocephalus in 0.4%. (d) Perinatal causes consisted of premature birth with a low birthweight in 3.2% and neonatal asphyxia or abnormal delivery in 4.8%. (e) Postnatal causes consisted of encephalitis or meningitis in 2.7%, intracranial hemorrhage or vascular disorder in 0.9%, head trauma in 0.6%, and brain tumor in 0.2%. Group B: (a) Presumptive causes were identified in 562 (42.2%) cases, and 735 (55.2%) cases had unknown etiology. The other 34 (2.6%) cases were excluded from the total because of a lack of etiologic information. (b) Predisposition to convulsion or epilepsy within second-degree relatives was found in 18.9%. (c) Prenatal causes consisted of genetic neurologic diseases in 2.1%, chromosomal aberrations or malformations in 2.8%, cerebral dysgenesis in 2.6%, intrauterine infection in 0.2%, and congenital hydrocephalus in 0.6%. (d) Perinatal causes consisted of premature birth with a low birthweight in 3.9%, and neonatal asphyxia or abnormal delivery in 6.8%. (e) Postnatal causes consisted of encerder in 1.4%, head trauma in 0.8%, and brain tumor in 0.3%. (f) No significant differences in the prevalence of etiologic factors were noted between groups A and B.Conclusions:These findings indicate the etiologic distribution of childhood epilepsy in the general population. Comparison of Neuropsychological Findings Before Temporal Lobectomy Between Patients with Both Amygdalohippocampal Seizures and Psychotic Manifestations and Patients with Only Seizures.Purpose:The objectives of the study were to classify patients with amygdalohippocampal seizures into two groups according to the status of psychotic manifestations such as delusion and hallucination and to compare the neuropsychological findings.Subjects and Methods:We reviewed the neuropsychological findings of 28 patients (14 male, 14 female patients) who underwent temporal lobectomy and classified them into patients with psychotic manifestations such as hallucination and delusion (group P) and patients without them (group N). All patients underwent neuropsychological examinations including the Japanese Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised (WAIS-R), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Japanese Wechsler Memory Scale–Revised (WMS-R), verbal paired-associates learning test, story recall test, Benton's visual retention test, Rey-Osterrieth's complex figure test, Kana pick-out test, Japanese Raven's colored progressive matrices, and Japanese western aphasia battery.Results:The 28 patients who underwent anterior temporal lobectomy had a mean age at surgery of 36.0 years and mean age at seizure onset of 13.8 years. They were composed of 15 patients with right-sided temporal resection and 13 patients with left-sided temporal resection. According to psychotic manifestations, we classified them into the groups P and N. Group P group consisted of seven patients (25% of all patients) whose mean age at surgery was 39.6 years and mean age at seizure onset was 10.9 years. Group N consisted of 21 patients (75%) whose mean age at surgery was 34.8 years and mean age at seizure onset was 14.8 years. No statistically significant differences were found in the ages at surgery and seizure onset. The scores, determined by using Benton's visual retention test (fail), were higher (p<0.05) in group P than in group N. The scores determined by using the depression (D), psychopathic deviation (Pd), paranoia (Pa), psychasthenia (Pt), schizophrenia (Sc) scales of MMPI were higher (p<0.05) in group P than in group N. The scores of the WMS-R attention/concentration test, verbal paired-associates learning test, story recall test, and Benton's visual retention test (pass) (p<0.05) were higher in group N than in group P. The patient background of group P was as follows: Group P consisted of one male and six females; three of whom had febrile seizures. One patient had right-sided temporal resection, and six patients had left-sided temporal resection. The mean age of psychotic manifestation development was 33.4 years. The psychotic manifestations were characterized by visual hallucinations in three patients, and delusion of reference and persecution in seven patients. The average number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) used was 2.9, and the major AEDs were phenytoin, carbamazepine, zonisamide, and clonazepam. Four patients were married, two patients were unmarried, and one patient was divorced. The educational level was junior high school in two patients, high school in three patients, and technical college in two patients. The WAIS-R IQ was 81.9; verbal IQ was 82.6; and performance IQ was 84.6.Conclusions:Group P was distinguished from group N by the clinical scales such as the D (p<0.05), Pd (p<0.05), Pt (p<0.05), Pa (p<0.01), and Sc (p<0.01) scales of the MMPI. Thus the MMPI is a useful tool for determining patients with psychotic manifestations. The attention/concentration results in the WMS-R, verbal paired-associate learning test (hard), story recall test, and Benton's visual retention test findings revealed that patients with both amygdalohippocampal seizures and psychotic manifestations had more severe memory and attention impairments than did the patients with only seizures. Epilepsy: The Clinical Profile, Outcome, and Epilepsy-Related Psychosis.Purpose:This prospective study was conducted to evaluate the clinical profile and the prognostic factors in 1,000 epilepsy patients attending a tertiary care hospital from the year 1996 to 2001.Methods:The evaluation in all cases included clinical assessment, intelligence testing with the Stanford–Binet scale, metabolic workup, EEG, and computed tomography (CT) scan. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and MR angiography (MRA) were done in selected patients. Patients were classified as per the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) classification and were followed up with the primary end point of a 1-year seizure-free period. Epilepsy-related psychosis was included as a study parameter in the final 3 years of the study period (500 patients). The psychoses were classified into postictal (immediately after seizures, distinct from the delirious, confusional state after seizures), interictal (with a lucid interval of normal mentation of≥24 h between seizure and psychosis), and chronic psychosis (of>3 months' duration, present all the time). Statistical analysis was done with aχ2 test wherever relevant.Results:The ages of the patients ranged from 7 months to 74 years, with a mean of 30± 8 years; 55% of them were male patients. Of the cases, 59% had localization-related epilepsy, whereas 41% had generalized epilepsy. Myoclonic epilepsy was seen in 5%, and absence seizures, in 3%. On analyzing the etiology of seizures, 66% were cryptogenic or idiopathic, 16% had neurocysticercosis, 8% had tuberculosis, 3% were postinfective, 3% had a vascular etiology, 2% had congenital abnormalities, and 2% were posttraumatic. Twelve (2.4%) patients were diagnosed as epilepsy-related psychosis, of whom eight were male patients. The majority (seven of 12) had complex partial seizures. Postictal psychosis was diagnosed in four patients; seven had acute interictal psychosis, and one patient had chronic psychosis. The interictal and chronic psychoses were schizophreniform, whereas the postictal psychoses were nonspecific. EEG showed a temporal lobe focus in all seven of the complex partial seizures with psychosis and an extratemporal focus in three patients. Two of the patients had normal EEGs. Neuroimaging abnormalities seen in 10 patients included gliosis (three), calcified granulomas (three), medial temporal sclerosis (two), and nonspecific findings (two). Two patients had normal imaging studies.Conclusions:No significant difference was seen in seizure control between the subgroups of patients with generalized and localization-related epilepsy. Our results are in agreement with the recent studies that suggest that the types and causes of seizures are not significantly related to the seizure control. The most predictive factors for good outcome were younger age (p<0.05) and good intellectual development (p<0.05). Earlier studies found 0.5–9% of patients with epilepsy to have epilepsy-related psychosis. Epilepsy-related psychosis was seen in 2.4% of our patients. This factor should be kept in mind by the caregivers of patients with epilepsy. Occupational Ability of Patients with Intractable Epilepsy.Purpose:To examine the occupational ability including interpersonal skills of patients with intractable epilepsy and to identify factors relevant for employment.Methods:Forty-eight patients (36 men, 12 women) with intractable epilepsy were studied. The mean age was 26.6 years (range, 18–49). Average IQ by Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised was 61.4 (range, 38–95). Epilepsy diagnoses were symptomatic partial epilepsy, 41; symptomatic generalized epilepsy, six; and idiopathic generalized epilepsy, one. Seizure types were generalized tonic–clonic seizure, 13; complex partial seizure, 29; simple partial seizure, 11; and other seizures, 10. Twenty-one patients had more than one seizure per week. Nineteen patients had seizures with falling that might cause injury. We evaluated the occupational abilities of the patients through observation during occupational therapy and by vocational aptitude tests. At the same time, their employment status 6 to 18 months after leaving the hospital was surveyed. We then compared the abilities of employed patients (Employed) with those of unemployed patients (Unemployed). Fisher's exact test and Mann–WhitneyUtest were used for statistical analyses.Results:(a) Work habits, comprehension, practicality (quickness at work, workmanship), and interpersonal skills were evaluated as normal only in 40%, 6%, 10%, and 23%, respectively, of the patients through observation. The results of vocational aptitude test were generally low. Subsequent employment status was employed, 15; community workshop, five; day care, three; unemployed, 14, and others (including housewife, student), 11. (b) Intelligence scores (IQ; mean± S.D.) were 63.8± 11.1 in the Employed and 63.8± 16.7 in the Unemployed (NS). Comprehension and practicality were evaluated as normal in 13% of the Employed and none of the Unemployed (NS). Overall work habits were evaluated as normal in 67% of the Employed and 7% of the Unemployed (p<0.01). The subitem“asking therapists, greeting” was evaluated as sufficient in 80% of the Employed and 21% of the Unemployed (p<0.01). Interpersonal skills were evaluated as normal in 53% of the Employed and none of the Unemployed (p<0.01); 13% of the Employed and 79% of the Unemployed had a tendency to be isolated from others (p<0.01). As for vocational aptitude tests, the Employed performed better in tests of motor coordination, skilled finger movements, and sorting coins than the Unemployed (p<0.05). Concerning seizure control, none of the Employed and 29% of the Unemployed had seizures with falling during the daytime (NS).Conclusions:Good seizure control, preserved work habits, good interpersonal skills, and skilled motor coots with intractable epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the knowledge and practices of Chinese doctors in the management of osteoporotic fractures after the Chinese osteoporotic fracture guidelines update and aseries of medical education in 2017. Methods: This was a cross‐sectional survey of doctors in 71 cities across Mainland China. Based on the 2017 Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporotic fractures, a questionnaire was designed and pre‐tested for reliability and validity. Doctors were surveyed with the questionnaire after scientific meetings during February 2017 to January 2018 through WeChat or conference digital platforms or in paper form. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the responses to the questionnaire. Results: Overall, 314 valid questionnaires were confirmed. Regarding diagnosis, 77% agreed that osteoporosis could be diagnosed once an osteoporotic fracture occurred; 83% believed that the bone mineral density criteria for osteoporosis diagnosis would be T ≤ −2.5 SD. For treatment, almost all (99.7%) agreed with anti‐osteoporosis treatment being one of the basic principles of osteoporotic fracture treatment; 71.6% considered bisphosphonates as the most commonly used anti‐osteoporosis drug; 97% believed that patients who have used anti‐osteoporosis drugs should reassess osteoporosis after osteoporotic fractures instead of discontinue; 95% thought that the patients who did not use anti‐osteoporosis medications before osteoporotic fracture should be treated with anti‐osteoporosis drugs after fracture treatment as early as possible; 89% agreed that the standard use of bisphosphonates after osteoporotic fracture would not affect bone healing adversely; 59% believed the course of bisphosphonates treatment for osteoporosis would be 3–5 years, and 27% considered it to be 1–3 years. The patient follow‐up rate was poor: 46% selected follow‐up rate <30%; only 20% selected follow‐up rate >50%. Only 31% of the hospitals had long‐term management programs for osteoporotic fractures. Conclusions: Doctors generally adhered to the updated Chinese guidelines for osteoporotic fractures; frequent participation in medical education can help doctors to increase their awareness of osteoporosis as well as their acceptance and practice of the guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers an analytical review of Miller's classic paper of 1956 on 'the magical number 7'. It takes account of that paper's contradictions as well as of its implicit conclusions. Miller's text is by no means clear in its logic or in its terms, and a review might be deemed helpful to those who are trying to understand it. The discussion begins with a brief historical overview. Miller's paper is then reviewed according to the order of the points made by Miller, thus facilitating a lucid comparative reading with that paper. Guidance on interpreting Miller's text is given throughout, leading to a number of technical conclusions. Finally, two general conclusions are offered, one which refers to the decision-making literature, and one which refers more synoptically to science itself. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Implementation science (IS) offers methods to systematically achieve the Ending the HIV Epidemic goals in the United States, as well as the global UNAIDS targets. Federal funders such as the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) have invested in implementation research to achieve these goals, including supporting the AIDS Research Centres (ARCs), which focus on high‐impact science in HIV and mental health (MH). To facilitate capacity building for the HIV/MH research workforce in IS, "grey areas," or areas of IS that are confusing, particularly for new investigators, should be addressed in the context of HIV/MH research. Discussion: A group of IS experts affiliated with NIMH‐funded ARCs convened to identify common and challenging grey areas. The group generated a preliminary list of 19 grey areas in HIV/MH‐related IS. From the list, the authors developed a survey which was distributed to all ARCs to prioritize grey areas to address in this paper. ARC members across the United States (N = 60) identified priority grey areas requiring clarification. This commentary discusses topics with 40% or more endorsement. The top grey areas that ARC members identified were: (1) Differentiating implementation strategies from interventions; (2) Determining when an intervention has sufficient evidence for adaptation; (3) Integrating recipient perspectives into HIV/MH implementation research; (4) Evaluating whether an implementation strategy is evidence‐based; (5) Identifying rigorous approaches for evaluating the impact of implementation strategies in the absence of a control group or randomization; and (6) Addressing innovation in HIV/MH IS grants. The commentary addresses each grey area by drawing from the existing literature (when available), providing expert guidance on addressing each in the context of HIV/MH research, and providing domestic and global HIV and HIV/MH case examples that address these grey areas. Conclusions: HIV/MH IS is key to achieving domestic and international goals for ending HIV transmission and mitigating its impact. Guidance offered in this paper can help to overcome challenges to rigorous and high‐impact HIV/MH implementation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the discontinuation of four year of editorship in journal Occupational and Organizational Psychology (JOOP). He states the running the journal requires teamwork and he is honored to work with editorial board. He also comments the high quality of the paper in the journal JOOP increased substantially. The author concludes that JOOP survived enormously past 4 years in the field of work and organizational psychology.

This paper presents psychology of working theory (PWT) as a framework for addressing career concerns faced by those with chronic health issues. PWT is a relevant framework for contextualizing the lived experiences of clients navigating work and chronic illness. Specifically, individuals with chronic health conditions may face additional barriers to their career development and are at risk for higher incidences of workplace discrimination, job stress, and job loss. Core elements of PWT outlined in this paper are applied to a case study of a client with breast cancer. More specifically, the constructs of decent work, critical consciousness, and career adaptability are applied at the level of the individual and systemic interventions. Issues of equity, access, intersectionality, power, and privilege are highlighted as they relate to the context of work. We offer suggestions for advocacy for career counselors working with clients with chronic illness navigating work and careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on 'Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology' as of March 2004. The journal publishes empirical and conceptual papers which aim to increase understanding of people and organizations at work. Its domain is broad, covering industrial, organizational, engineering, vocational and personnel psychology, as well as behavioural and cognitive aspects of industrial relations, ergonomics, human factors and industrial sociology. The editorial team reminds readers that research based on student samples is not usually acceptable, unless students are the most relevant population with which to test the research question/s. However, a little further comment and qualification concerning the nature of the data is needed in order to clarify the team's stance, and also to draw attention to some exceptions. One particular concern here is to discourage studies where causal hypotheses in well-researched areas are tested using entirely self-report survey data from a sample numbering perhaps in the low hundreds, the composition of which is characterized more by availability than special relevance to the research question/s. So, if a study used only cross-sectional self-report data but included some kind of experimental manipulation, other things being equal it could be publishable. A more general, and very important issue concerns the distinction between quantitative and qualitative data. The journal explicitly encourages papers based on the latter, and has done so for quite some time.

Using a specific case as an example, the article argues that the Internet allows dissemination of academic ideas to the general public in ways that can sometimes pose a threat to academic freedom. Since academic freedom is a fundamental element of academia and since it benefits society at large, it is important to safeguard it. Among measures that can be taken in order to achieve this goal, the publication of anonymous research seems to be a good option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents news briefs related to systems research and behavioral science in the U.S. as of May 1, 2004. Preview of the 48th Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS), to be held at the Asilomar Conference Center in California from July 4 to 9, 2004; Publication of the ISSS 48th Annual Meeting on a CD-ROM format; Information on the Vickers Award for best student paper on systems research and behavioral science.

The article focuses on studies related to the editorial and commercial practices of bioethics journals published in periodical "Journal of Bioethical Inquiry." It states that members of editorial boards of several journals were grouped and studied according to the human development index (HDI) of their country of residence. It mentions a research conducted to study the availability of bioethical journals in academic libraries in the Global South.

The article comments on several research articles contributed to the "Decision Sciences" periodical in 1974 by behavioral scientists who are producing scholarship contributory to effective decision making and implementation. The research articles offer a range of theory, new empirical data and critical review from multiple behavioral disciplines. The article discusses each research paper and examines its key contributions to studies on decision making and decision theory.

The place of citation count research in the study of disciplinary dynamics is introduced. The body of the paper presents a critical case study of one piece of such research (Rushton & Endler, 1977, 1979) and indicates the basic fallacies of a purely statistical approach to measuring the growth of knowledge in a subject or the influence of its practitioners on the direction and quality of research. The author illustrates lack of validity by reference to the publications of professors of education (educational psychology) in 1975 and demonstrates the inaccuracy and inadequacy of the citation study. The conclusion indicates central weaknesses in citation count research and suggests more appropriate and effective ways of studying the development of knowledge and research in an academic subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Careful study and accurate description of behaviour are important to understand developmental challenges for individuals with Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS). Here we present a systematic review of current understanding of behaviour in CdLS.Method: A systematic search was performed for articles published between January 1946 and December 2015 evaluating autism, self-injury, and/or cognition in CdLS. After study-selection, 43 papers were included. The Cochrane quality criteria were adjusted to assign quality scores to the included studies.Results: Participants were mostly categorized in the severe/profound developmental level. Methodology and quality were very heterogeneous, as well as reporting occurrence of autism. Self-injurious behaviour was reported in 15 papers. Physical conditions were reported in 21 studies, mostly related to hearing and vision. Only nine studies mentioned details about medication.Interpretation: Comparison of presented results was hindered by heterogeneous assessment methods. Improving our understanding of behavioural characteristics in CdLS requires more uniform methodology. We propose a criterion standard of instruments that can ideally be used in assessment of behaviour and development. This will improve understanding of behaviour in the context of developmental level and daily functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents updates on forthcoming events, follow-up reports on conferences, workshops related to systems research and behavioral science as of September 2005. Workshop on Internet and Network Economics in Hong Kong, China; 18th European Meeting on Cybernetics and Systems Research in Vienna, Austria; Austropa Interconvention in Vienna, Austria.

Aim: Phenomena within the psychosis continuum that varies in frequency/duration/intensity have been increasingly identified. Different terms describe these phenomena, however there is no standardization within the terminology. This review evaluated the definitions and assessment tools of seven terms – (i) 'psychotic experiences'; (ii) 'psychotic‐like experiences'; (iii) 'psychotic‐like symptoms'; (iv) 'attenuated psychotic symptoms'; (v) 'prodromal psychotic symptoms'; (vi) 'psychotic symptomatology'; and (vii) 'psychotic symptoms'. Methods: EMBASE, MEDLINE, and CINAHL were searched during February–March 2019. Inclusion criteria included 1989–2019, full text, human, and English. Papers with no explicit definition or assessment tool, duplicates, conference abstracts, systematic reviews, meta‐analyses, or no access were excluded. Results: A total of 2238 papers were identified and of these, 627 were included. Definitions and assessment tools varied, but some trends were found. Psychotic experiences and psychotic‐like experiences were transient and mild, found in the general population and those at‐risk. Psychotic‐like symptoms were subthreshold and among at‐risk populations and non‐psychotic mental disorders. Attenuated psychotic symptoms were subthreshold but associated with distress, risk, and help‐seeking. Prodromal psychotic symptoms referred to the prodrome of psychotic disorders. Psychotic symptomatology included delusions and hallucinations within psychotic disorders. Psychotic symptoms was the broadest term, encompassing a range of populations but most commonly involving hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder, and disorganization. Discussion: A model for conceptualizing the required terms is proposed and future directions needed to advance this field of research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There have been recent important advances in conceptualizing and operationalizing involvement in health research and health ‐ care service development. However, problems persist in the field that impact on the scope for meaningful involvement to become a routine – normalized – way of working in primary care. In this review, we focus on current practice to critically interrogate factors known to be relevant for normalization – definition, enrolment, enactment and appraisal. Method: Ours was a multidisciplinary, interagency team, with community representation. We searched EBSCO host for papers from 2007 to 2011 and engaged in an iterative, reflexive approach to sampling, appraising and analysing the literature following the principles of a critical interpretive synthesis approach and using Normalization Process Theory. Findings: Twenty ‐ six papers were chosen from 289 papers, as a purposeful sample of work that is reported as service user involvement in the field. Few papers provided a clear working definition of service user involvement. The dominant identified rationale for enrolling service users in primary care projects was linked with policy imperatives for co ‐ governance and emancipatory ideals. The majority of methodologies employed were standard health services research methods that do not qualify as research with service users. This indicates a lack of congruence between the stated aims and methods. Most studies only reported positive outcomes, raising questions about the balance or completeness of the published appraisals. Conclusion: To improve normalization of meaningful involvement in primary care, it is necessary to encourage explicit reporting of definitions, methodological innovation to enhance co ‐ governance and dissemination of research processes and findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tropical Medicine & International Health is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper investigates dynamic changes in instrumental (i.e., work‐related) tie‐seeking patterns and the structure of a communication network following a downsizing event—whereby many employees are simultaneously eliminated from a network. Our analysis spans a two‐year period and applies a resource‐ and network‐change approach to examine how survivors develop revised resource‐acquisition strategies while repositioning themselves after a downsizing. Our results demonstrate that two temporary logics of tie formation—a suspension of within‐unit homophily and a preference for seeking ties with long‐tenured employees—help employees acquire betweenness centrality during the disruption period. Specifically, we find that disruption initiates a transitional period after downsizing in which new tie‐making logics are employed, including seeking out ties with long‐tenured employees and employees outside of one's department. We observed post‐disruption, during the stabilization period after downsizing, where logics used for tie‐making in the disruption period were abandoned, pre‐disruption tie‐making logics were resumed, and betweenness centrality remained relatively constant. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of these results and suggest future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a patient's treatment decisions are the product of delusion, this is often taken as a paradigmatic case of undermined decisional capacity. That is to say, when a patient refuses treatment on the basis of beliefs that in no way reflect reality, clinicians and ethicists tend to agree that their refusal is not valid. During the COVID‐19 pandemic, however, we have witnessed many patients refuse potentially life‐saving interventions not based on delusion but on conspiracy beliefs. Importantly, many of the beliefs espoused by conspiracy theorists resemble delusions in a number of relevant ways. For instance, conspiracy beliefs often posit states of affairs that could not possibly exist in the world, they are recalcitrant in the face of disconfirming evidence, and they tend to put the believer in a state of paranoia. Given these similarities, how should we think about conspiracy theorists' capacity for making clinical decisions? In this paper, I attempt to answer this question by first offering an account of just what makes some set of beliefs count as a conspiracy theory. Second, I attempt to disambiguate conspiracy beliefs from delusions by exploring important conceptual and psychological features of both. Finally, I apply standard criteria for assessing a patient's decision‐making capacity to instances of conspiracy beliefs and argue that, although the picture is muddy, there may be cases in which conspiracy beliefs undermine capacity. I end by exploring the implications that this might have for surrogate decision‐making and addressing potential objections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several conferences in 2012 related to systems dynamics and behavioral science including System Dynamics Great Britain: Annual Gathering to be held in London South Bank University, London, England on February 9-10, 2012 International Conference on Systems and Informatics (ICSAI) in Yantai, China on May 19-21, and System Dynamics Society in St. Gallen, Switzerland on July 22-26.

Provides information on two events about systems research and behavioral science. The 2nd International Conference on Politics and Information Systems: Technologies and Applications, in Orlando, Florida on July 21-25, 2004; The Second International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, in Tuscany, Italy on July 20-23, 2004.

This paper introduces a novel, temporally sensitive analytical method for qualitative researchers, which is simultaneously timely and necessary given increasing recognition of the fundamental role that time plays in organizational life and scholarship. As a result of this recognition, research designs considering temporality have substantially increased over the past decade. However, while methods for qualitative data collection using longitudinal and 'shortitudinal' designs, in particular qualitative diary methods, have become increasingly common, analytical methods capable of fully exploiting the temporal nature of such data have lagged behind their quantitative counter‐parts, where we see marked progression in analytical methods and procedures. In this paper, we argue that this lack of progression in approaches for analysing qualitative diary data hinders our knowledge and theoretical development when it comes to incorporating temporality, particularly in the exploration of phenomena at individual‐/micro‐levels, arguably most salient to organizational psychology researchers. We respond to these challenges by introducing a novel, step‐by‐step analytical approach that facilitates rigorous incorporation of temporality into the analysis and theorization of micro‐level, qualitative diary data, termed Thematic Trajectory Analysis (TTA). Practitioner points: Existing qualitative analytical methods have limitations when applied to qualitative diary data and have thereby limited the questions that may be explored, and understood, through qualitative data.Offers an alternative, step‐by‐step, analytical approach for researchers and practitioners seeking to understand within‐person changes and dynamism in organizations.Enables the benefits of qualitative diaries to be better exploited by both researchers and practitioners and thereby lead to better understanding of how organizational processes unfold, and in turn, lead to stronger intervention mechanisms.Demonstrates the utility of combing textual and visualized data outputs in understanding complex and dynamic phenomena in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terms like 'levels' and 'nested' are used to describe relationships between components of conceptual systems (theories, models etc.). However, they have not been fully explored. This paper investigates levels to better understand how theories are structured and so how we may develop more useful theories and models to better support more effective practice. We find a horizontal dimension (represented by causal connections between concepts at one ontological level) and a vertical dimension (represented by connections of emergence between concepts of differing ontological levels). This view of emergence offers a new way to structurally distinguish between conceptual components of a theory, thus supporting a new approach to building theories that better reflects our systemic world. A third, perspectival, approach may be applied to aid in the understanding of both dimensions. A typology is proposed as are conventions for diagramming theories and new criteria for improving the structure of theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social innovation projects commonly refer to operationalized theories of change to inform strategy and to deliver intended outcomes. Community‐based sustainability campaigns, as one example, emphasize the elicitation of pro‐environmental activities and decision‐making among members of a host community, drawing on mainstream psychological theories of behaviour, motivation and cognitive (mental) processes. Locating an argument within the neurobiological base of structure determinism, this paper explores how theories of change for sustainability campaigns might be reimagined through the lens of enactive theory. Following a brief introduction to the enactive model of embodied cognition, implications associated with trying to operationalize the model to inform how theories of change are mapped out and used in sustainability initiatives are discussed. The paper concludes by drawing on insights from approaches to psychotherapy, which also endeavoured to apply this model of mind, and considers these within the strategic context of sustainability initiatives and public engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic foot ulceration (DFU) is a common and debilitating complication of diabetes that is preventable through active engagement in appropriate foot‐related behaviours, yet many individuals with diabetes do not adhere to foot care recommendations. The aim of this paper was to synthesise the findings of qualitative papers exploring diabetic people's perceptions and experiences of DFU in order to identify how they could be better supported to prevent ulceration or manage its impact. Five databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science) were searched in May 2016 to identify eligible articles. Findings were synthesised using a meta‐ethnographic approach. Forty‐two articles were eligible for inclusion. Synthesis resulted in the development of five overarching themes: personal understandings of diabetic foot ulceration; preventing diabetic foot ulceration: knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours; views on health care experiences; development of diabetic foot ulceration and actions taken; and wide‐ranging impacts of diabetic foot ulceration. The findings highlight various barriers and facilitators of foot care experienced by people with diabetes and demonstrate the significant consequences of ulcers for their physical, social, and psychological well‐being. The insights provided could inform the development of interventions to promote foot care effectively and provide appropriate support to those living with ulceration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a paper concerned with the effects of layoffs upon survivors, Brockner et al. (1993) suggest that managers may make survivors with low self esteem worried about future layoffs to increase work motivation. This conclusion may be suspect for a number of reasons: (a) only a small percentage of the variance was accounted for by the interaction in a field study; (b) measurements of self-esteem, worry and motivation were taken either concurrently or very close to each other in the two studies reported; and (c) potential health related consequences may eventually lead to decreased work motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops incentive schemes which motivate a manager to release private information that he has concerning the probabilities of occurrence of the various output levels of his firm. It is shown that, in the context of a pure-exchange economy, a complete prohibition on the manager's trading in his firm's stock is sufficient to motivate him to truthfully release his private information. When the setting is extended to that of a production-exchange economy, the manager must also be allowed to choose the production plan that he most prefers in order for him to be motivated to release his information truthfully. In fact, no incentive scheme in a general production-exchange economy can be guaranteed to motivate the manager to release his information truthfully if he is not allowed to choose the production plan freely. However, when more structure is placed on the economy, such an incentive scheme can be developed as described in the latter part of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on applying behavioral science procedures to managerial accounting and the paper "The Effect of Frequency of Feedback on Attitudes and Performance" by Doris M. Cook. He discusses the limitations and ambiguities that are contained in the paper by Cook in order to help future researchers. The empirical test of hypotheses relating success or failure to the frequency of feedback of performance is, to the author, not needed.

This paper attempts to formulate a generic model of living and social system at all levels with three parts. The first is the Dynamics of Life diagram, which follows flows of energy, matter and information through the system. A rule set controls how the parts co‐operate to maintain internal and external processes. As a system acts, it creates the space for a shadow system that opposes it. Unmanaged entropy is expelled or remains as a toxic element. The second is the Tree of Life that outlines the levels of functioning in a human being from biological to psychological to social. Each level manifests the flows as in the Dynamics of Life diagram. The third explores the processes of living and social systems through time and borrows heavily from Holling and Gunderson's Adaptive Cycle. The three parts present an integrated overview of the functioning of living and social systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kenyan Ministry of Health (MOH) and a consortium of nutritionists, researchers and communication, and design specialists developed a novel approach to create an evidence‐based recipe book promoting complementary feeding (CF) in Kenya. The ADAPT approach includes five steps: applied research (A), dialogue with stakeholders (D), adapted behaviour change communication (BCC) theories (A), purpose‐driven visual communication (P), and tailoring to priority audiences (T). Through this approach, the recipe book addresses key knowledge gaps using behaviour change theories and visual communication best practice to increase accessibility, acceptability, retention and motivation for behaviour change. The book addresses barriers to CF identified through formative applied research. Dialogue with stakeholders helped ensure cultural appropriateness and the book's alignment with MOH recommendations and key messages. The book uses behaviour change theories to approach the reader in a respectful way that motivates behaviour change. The use of consistent, purpose‐driven visuals helps ensure key messages are easily understood and accessible to all caregivers regardless of literacy level. The book's tone and content are tailored to its audiences’ attributes, needs and preferences. This five‐step process inspired the development of ADAPT, a novel approach that integrates behaviour change and visual communication for greater impact. This paper outlines how the consortium used the ADAPT approach to develop an evidence‐based book that thoughtfully and holistically addresses a wide range of barriers, provides practical solutions and increases self‐efficacy around CF. It offers a blueprint for public health practitioners from any field who are interested in using visual behaviour change communication to promote healthy behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Person-centered care and assessment calls for measurement tools that help researchers and providers understand people with dementia, their social relationships, and their experience of the care environment. This paper reviewed available measures and evaluated their psychometric properties. Methods: Literature searches of major databases (PsycInfo, PubMed, EBSCO, CINAHL) for papers examining person-centered constructs in samples of people living with dementia or mild cognitive impairment. Reliability and validity coefficients were reviewed and reported. Results:We identified 26 unique measures that had been tested in samples of people living with dementia. Twelve measures of hope, well-being, engagement, social relationships, meaning, resilience, stigma, spiritual beliefs and practices, values and preferences, and positive psychology constructs had strong psychometric properties in samples with dementia. Discussion: A variety of reliability and valid measures were identified for use in person-centered care and research with people living with dementia. Additional measure development is needed for key person-centered concepts including dignity and strengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the psychological aspects of inventiveness and describes ways in which some scientists have been inspired by non-scientific sources including dreams and toys. Topics include the scientist David Gracias' exploration of three-dimensional (3D) nanostructures, the mechanical engineering professor Pedro Reis' research into buckling and carbon spheres, and the development of a user-friendly blood typing device by chemical engineer Wei Shen. The creative process is mentioned.

Presents a list of several papers that first appeared in the journal "Behavioral Science." "The Effect of Experience on a Determinate Dynamic System," by W. R. Ashby; "The Concept of Power," by R. A. Dahl; "Is Adaptability Enough?," by G. Vickers; "The World We Manage," by S. Beer.

Chemodetection of common nest predators may be advantageous for nesting birds; however, few studies have examined the ability of songbirds to detect chemical odors from predators. Thus, in 2002, we presented eastern bluebirds Sialia sialis with pairs of nest boxes; one box in the pair was regularly scented with chemical cues from a common nest predator, the black rat snake Elaphe obsoleta, and the other with a neutral cue. In 2004, we again presented bluebirds with pairs of boxes, one scented with chemical cues from a different nest predator, the deer mouse Peromyscus maniculatus, and the other with a neutral scent. Although human females were able to correctly distinguish paper laced with predator cues from paper with neutral cues, bluebirds were as likely to lay eggs in boxes with predator cues as in boxes with neutral cues. While it remains possible that bluebirds may detect scent from potential nest predators, it appears that the presence of these chemical cues does not ultimately influence selection of nest sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal's special issue is presented in which the guest editors discuss the use of the system dynamics approach (SD).

Abstract: Background: Insulin pump therapy (IPT) is a technological advancement that has been developed to help people manage Type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, ways of managing diabetes requiring the implementation of health technologies bring new complexities and a need to understand the factors which enable people with T1D to incorporate a novel device. This new comprehension could provide an exemplar for people with long‐term conditions to incorporate new technologies more generally. Objective: To determine what influences the incorporation, adaptation and use of IPT into the everyday lives of people living with diabetes. Design: Critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) using systematic searches undertaken in 7 electronic databases of literature, published 2008 onwards. Results: A total of 4998 titles were identified, 274 abstracts reviewed, 39 full articles retrieved and 22 papers selected for analysis. Three themes emerged which were of relevance to the introduction and use of IPT; Tensions between expectations and experiences in adoption and early adaptation; Negotiation of responsibility and accessing support; Reflexivity, active experimentation and feedback. Conclusions: This CIS builds on earlier reviews on lived experiences of IPT. Novel insights are offered through examination of the experiences of pump users from children through to adults, their families and health‐care professionals. Expectations of what the device can do to improve self‐management impacts on the early stages of adoption as the reality of the technology requires substantial thought and action. Areas for intervention to improve IPT incorporation include establishing who is responsible for management tasks of the device and enabling navigation to further means of support and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on fourth World Conference on Complex Systems (WCCS) on April 22–25 in Ouarzazate, Morocco.

This paper investigates the effects of preferences on judgments in an investing context, where investors should be motivated to interpret information objectively, yet have clear preferences with respect to what the information they are evaluating conveys (i.e., a gain or a loss on their investment). The results of the experiment are consistent with theories of motivated reasoning that predict when and in what manner directional preferences affect how information is processed. Specifically, investors are motivated to agree unthinkingly with information that suggests they might make money on their investment, but disagree with information that suggests they might lose money. In disagreeing, long investors expect earnings to be relatively high and short investors expect earnings to be relatively low. These results have implications not only for understanding investor behavior, but also for understanding the biased behavior of market participants who face conflicts of interest, such as analysts, managers, and auditors, by providing direct evidence that such behavior can arise for purely psychological reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues that the market significantly overvalues firms with severely underfunded pension plans. These companies earn lower stock returns than firms with healthier pension plans for at least 5 years after the first emergence of the underfunding. The low returns are not explained by risk, price momentum, earnings momentum, or accruals. Further, the evidence suggests that investors do not anticipate the impact of the pension liability on future earnings, and they are surprised when the negative implications of underfunding ultimately materialize. Finally, underfunded firms have poor operating performance, and they earn low returns, although they are value companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does quotation transparency affect financial market performance? Biais's irrelevance proposition in 1993 shows that centralized markets yield the same expected bid--ask spreads as fragmented markets, other things equal. However, de Frutos and Manzano demonstrated in 2002 that expected spreads in fragmented markets are smaller and market participants prefer to trade in fragmented markets. This paper introduces liquidity traders' costs of searching for a better quote into the Biais model and derives opposite conclusions to these previous studies: expected spreads in centralized markets are smaller and liquidity traders prefer centralized markets, while market makers prefer fragmented markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces the papers included in the January 1999 edition of "Systems Research and Behavioral Science."

This paper documents that investors are more likely to hold, buy, and sell the stocks of Finnish firms that are located close to the investor, that communicate in the investor's native tongue, and that have chief executives of the same cultural background. The influence of distance, language, and culture is less prominent among the most investment-savvy institutions than among both households and less savvy institutions. Regression analysis indicates that the marginal effect of distance is less for firms that are more nationally known, for distances that exceed 100 kilometers, and for investors with more diversified portfolios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the paper is to demonstrate the consistency with which investors push stock prices to unsustainable levels—in both directions. They habitually extrapolate recent earnings trends into the future, ignoring the many random walk elements in earnings patterns as well as ignoring the tendency of most divergences from average earnings performance to correct themselves over time by a familiar process known as reversion to the mean. This tendency ultimately leads to painful disappointment for the optimists who have pushed the prices of rapid-growth companies too high while, at the same time, it leads to pleasant surprises for the pessimists who have pushed the prices of troubled companies too low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fields of economics and finance are allied. Indeed finance is sometimes defined as the subfield of economics concerned with intertemporal and portfolio decisions. And yet we are increasingly witnessing the development of two cultures. Researchers in economics examine questions involving financial markets, in ways which seem to researchers in finance to be hopeIessly misguided. Much research in finance is regarded by many economists as doctrinaire or trivial. The paper presented by Marsh [1] at these meetings on Euler equation tests of asset pricing models is not atypically partisan. All references to papers written by researchers located in economics departments are critical. All reference to research by scholars located in finance departments are favorable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]