Search

The concept of learning style is immensely popular despite the lack of evidence showing that learning style influences performance. This study tested the hypothesis that the popularity of learning style is maintained because it is associated with subjective aspects of learning, such as judgements of learning ( JOLs). Preference for verbal and visual information was assessed using the revised Verbalizer-Visualizer Questionnaire ( VVQ). Then, participants studied a list of word pairs and a list of picture pairs, making JOLs (immediate, delayed, and global) while studying each list. Learning was tested by cued recall. The results showed that higher VVQ verbalizer scores were associated with higher immediate JOLs for words, and higher VVQ visualizer scores were associated with higher immediate JOLs for pictures. There was no association between VVQ scores and recall or JOL accuracy. As predicted, learning style was associated with subjective aspects of learning but not objective aspects of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key points The inferior olive (IO) provides climbing fibre input to the cerebellum. Kainic acid lesions of rostral IO of the cat produce several distinct movement deficits., Vestibular disturbances are apparent the first few days after injection but rapidly recover., Disturbances of grasping occur immediately and do not recover over months of testing., After a brief delay, limb movements during reaching and locomotion show a progressive development of ataxia that becomes severe over months of testing., The decomposition of movement during reaching and alterations in reach trajectories are similar to those seen in humans with cerebellar ataxias - degeneration of the IO may contribute to the progressive nature of these diseases., Abstract Cerebellar climbing fibres originate in the inferior olive (IO). Temporary IO inactivation produces movement deficits. Does permanent inactivation produce similar deficits and, if so, do they recover? The excitotoxin, kainic acid, was injected into the rostral IO of three cats. Behaviour was measured during reaching and locomotion. Two cats were injected during the reaching task. Within minutes, grasping became difficult and the trajectories of the reaches showed higher arcing than normally seen. During locomotion, both cats showed head and trunk deviation to the injected side, walking paths curved to the injected side, and the paws were lifted higher than normal. Limbs contralateral to the injections became rigid. Within 1 day, posture had normalized, locomotion was unsteady and high lifting of the paws had reversed to a tendency to drag the dorsum of the paws. Passive body movement produced vestibular signs. Over a few days, locomotion normalized and vestibular signs disappeared. Reach trajectories were normal but grasping deficits persisted. Over the first week, the amplitude of limb lift during reaching and locomotion began to increase. The increase continued over time and, after several months, limb movements became severely ataxic. The effects followed the somatotopy of the rostral IO: a loss of cells in medial rostral IO only affected the forelimb, whereas a loss of cells in medial and lateral IO affected both forelimb and hindlimb. Deficits produced by IO lesions involve multiple mechanisms; some recover rapidly, some appear stable, and some worsen over time. The nature of the progressive deficit suggests a gradual loss of Purkinje cell inhibition on cerebellar nuclear cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We undertook a randomised, controlled trial to compare the analgesic efficacy and opioid sparing effect of nerve stimulator-guided femoral nerve block with fascia iliaca compartment block in patients awaiting surgery for fractured neck of femur. Ten-centimetre visual analogue pain scores were measured before and 2 h after the block and opioid consumption was recorded in the 12-h period after the block. One hundred and ten patients were randomly assigned. Femoral nerve block provided superior pre-operative analgesia for fractured neck of femur compared with fascia iliaca compartment block. The difference in the mean reduction of pain score after the block was 0.9 (95% CI 0-1.8); p = 0.047. Patients receiving a femoral nerve block required less morphine after the block than those receiving fascia iliaca compartment block (p = 0.041). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared college students'long-distance romantic relationships ( N= 80) with those that were not long-distance ( N= 82) on nine variables that have been suggested as fundamentally important in intimate relationships. Members of long-distance relationships (LDKs) reported less descriptive self-disclosure and companionship with their partners, and they were less certain their relationships would endure. The two types of relationships did not differ on the remaining six intimacy processes: intimate self-disclosure, affection, enhancement of worth, instrumental help, nurturance, and partner's perspective-taking. LDRs did not differ from nonLDRs on ratings of closeness, but were rated as less satisfactory. LDRs were no more likely to terminate within a 3-month period than were nonLDKs. In the entire sample, relationship satisfaction was found to be the best predictor of stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benign facial nerve neurilemmomas are frequently misdiagnosed tumors due to subtle and variable clinical presentation. Three cases treated recently at the University of California - San Francisco are presented to demonstrate the clinical features, diagnostic evaluation, and surgical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teflon injection of paralyzed and bowed vocal cords has been performed since 1962. It has been generally accepted that nothing could be done if an excess is injected or a granuloma reaction within the cord occurs causing an early or late convex cord which projects across the midline. A technique is described to correct such convex cord problems and the results are given for 12 patients for whom corrective surgery was done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meniere's disease is a well recognized clinical entity, yet the etiology and pathophysiology of the disease is not fully understood. Impaired endolymphatic sac function resulting in faulty reabsorption of endolymph has been implicated in the production of the disease. The histopathological findings from biopsied sac specimens and observed by transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electronmicroscopy in two patients with early Meniere's disease are presented and discussed. Extensive subepithelial fibrosis with loss of vascularity and obliteration of portions of the lumen of the endolymphatic sac by an ingrowth of collagen is noted in both specimens. The implications of these findings are discussed and the need for more TEM and SEM studies of inner ear disorders is stressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cholesteatoma of the petrous bone extending into the intracranial region is an unusual occurrence. Most cases have been attributed to secondary extension of a primary epidermal blastomatous malformation of the temporal bone into the middle or posterior fossae. Within the past two and a half decades, intracranial extension of acquired aural cholesteatoma has been recognized as a likely alternative to this mechanism. Recent literature has rejoined this observation by considering both primary and secondary cholesteatoma of the petrous bone as a single group, petrosal cholesteatoma. The present study is presented to analyze the clinical presentation, imaging findings, and surgical treatment of six patients with acquired aural cholesteatoma extending into the intracranial region. Findings in this study are compared with the extant literature on congenital and acquired cholesteatoma of the petrous bone. This study proposes that petrosal cholesteatoma is a valid anatomical construct; however, the pathogenesis of petrosal cholesteatoma is still important in understanding the clinical presentation and management of cholesteatoma that extends beyond the usual confines of the middle ear and mastoid., Study Design: Retrospective case review conducted at a tertiary referral center., Methods: From 1985 to 1999, 477 patients were surgically treated for acquired aural cholesteatoma. Patients with intracranial extension of cholesteatoma were studied. Clinical presentation, imaging studies, operative findings, surgical treatment, and postoperative results were evaluated., Results: Six cases in a series of 477 patients with acquired aural cholesteatoma had intracranial extension of disease. In this series, the most frequent pathway for intracranial extension was supralabyrinthine through the supratubal recess into the middle cranial fossa. A less frequent pathway was via the retrofacial air cells into the posterior cranial fossa. Surgical access for removal of intracranial cholesteatoma was accomplished through several approaches including translabyrinthine, transcochlear, retrolabyrinthine, and middle cranial fossa. In two patients who had reoperation for possible residual disease, one was free of residual disease and one was found to have residual cholesteatoma in the region of the horizontal facial nerve., Conclusion: Acquired aural cholesteatoma can extend into either the middle or posterior cranial fossae. In this study, cholesteatoma extended into the middle fossa through the supratubal recess along the labyrinthine facial nerve and into or above the internal auditory canal. A less frequent path is through the retrofacial air cells into the posterior fossa. Intracranial acquired cholesteatoma is generally small and presents with complaints related to underlying otitis media rather than the neurological deficits that are often associated with primary petrous bone cholesteatoma. While computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are both required to differentiate congenital petrous cholesteatoma from other lesions of the petrous bone, computed tomography of the temporal bone is usually sufficient to diagnosis and define intracranial extension of acquired aural cholesteatoma. These lesions can be completely excised rather than exteriorized.

This study examined influences of ethanol exposure on phosphorylation of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and CRE-binding activity in the striatum of rats. The phosphorylated form of CREB increased 180% during acute intoxication, compared to sham conditions. After chronic ethanol exposure, induction of CREB phosphorylation by an acute ethanol challenge was markedly attenuated (50%) compared with acute ethanol exposure in the pair-fed condition. Gel retardation assays with oligomers encoding the rat proenkephalin CRE-1 and CRE-2 were performed to determine the effects of ethanol on CRE-binding activity. Supershift experiments demonstrated that striatal nuclear protein contains CREB and CEBPPbeta (CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein) and that both transcription factors are involved in specifically binding to the DNA sequence. Rechallenging rats that had been chronically exposed to ethanol with an acute ethanol challenge reduced the CRE/nuclear protein complexes. However, supershift analyses did not show that chronic ethanol exposure altered the dimerization patterns of CREB and CEBPbeta within the complexes. Associated with these impairments in CREB binding and CREB phosphorylation was a significant reduction in two CREB-modulated factors, proenkephalin and c-fos expression. In summary, acute ethanol exposure activates the phosphorylation of CREB. Neuroadaptation to chronic ethanol exposure includes alterations in CREB physiology that may impair genes that are dependent upon CREB for transcriptional activation.

A questionnaire was sent to 101 Nucleus 22-channel cochlear implant recipients aged 65 years and older to investigate the perceived impact of cochlear implantation on their quality of life. The questionnaire was designed to gain insight into the patient's daily use of the Nucleus implant. Sixty-seven questionnaires were returned over a 3-month period. The results of the survey showed that elderly cochlear implant patients obtained similar benefits to younger adult patients who were implanted with the same device. We believe that the results of this study will aid other centers when counseling elderly patients on the expected daily functional benefits of this device.

Obliterative otosclerosis has been a challenge since the advent of stapes surgery. "Drill-out" procedures have had a generally poorer prognosis than conventional stapes surgery because of excessive bleeding, acoustic trauma from the burr, and reclosure of the oval window by otosclerosis. In this report, we describe our early experience using a hand-held fiberoptic argon laser for small fenestra stapedotomy in 10 cases of obliterative otosclerosis. Closure of the air-bone gap to within 10 dB was seen in 100% of the patients. There was no significant sensorineural hearing loss, vertigo, or facial weakness. Argon-laser stapedotomy using a hand-held fiberoptic system is a safe and effective alternative to drill-out stapedotomy in cases of obliterative otosclerosis.

Schwannomas of the jugular foramen are relatively uncommon tumors. The growth and initial presentation of these tumors are variable and may not be associated with neuropathies of cranial nerves IX, X and XI. Seven patients with jugular fossa schwannomas are presented. Auditory brain stem response, electronystagmogram, computed cranial tomography, and carotid angiography are helpful in diagnosis and preoperative evaluation. The surgical approach should be individualized to the lesion and may include transmastoid with extended facial recess, translabyrinthine, retrolabyrinthine, and infratemporal/cervical approaches.