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This study investigated whether modes of attentional selection (location-based or object-based) are modulated by the cue type, specifically social cues such as eye gaze and pointing fingers, or by a non-social cue, such as an arrow. Earlier studies have demonstrated that the object-based attention effect was found only with arrow cues when presenting a spatial cue at either end of a rectangle: gaze cues did not yield object-based facilitation. We examined whether this deficiency of object-based attention is generalized to social cues such as pointing fingers. We measured the reaction times to the target at each cued location, an opposite side of a cued location in the same object, or the location in a different object equidistant from the cued location for each cue. Results indicated that only the gaze cue weakened the object-based attention effect, even under the condition of participants’ voluntary extension of their attentional focus. The pointing cue induced sufficient object-based facilitation, as did the arrow cue. These results suggest that the deficiency of object-based attention was observed only for the gaze cue, and that it would be caused by a factor that is unique to the gaze cue, which narrows the attentional focus.

Toshiyuki Ohtani,1– 3 Koji Matsuo,4 Chihiro Sutoh,5 Fumiyo Oshima,2,3 Yoshiyuki Hirano,2,3 Akio Wakabayashi,6 Eiji Shimizu2,3,5 1Safety and Health Organization, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan; 2Research Center for Child Mental Development, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan; 3United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Suita, Japan; 4Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan; 5Department of Cognitive Behavioral Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine and School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan; 6Department of Psychology,Graduate School of Humanities, Chiba University, Chiba, JapanCorrespondence: Toshiyuki OhtaniSafety and Health Organization, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoicho, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8522, JapanTel/Fax +81 43 290 2216Email otanit@Chiba-u.jpPurpose: In clinical settings, diagnosing comorbid depression in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often difficult. Neuroimaging studies have reported reduced activation of frontal and temporal regions during emotional face recognition task (EFRT) in ASD and depression. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has examined differences in frontotemporal activation during EFRT between ASD with and without comorbid depression. We aimed to compare the frontotemporal hemodynamic responses to the EFRT in ASD with and without depression and to find clues to help in discriminating the characteristics between them.Patients and Methods: In 24 drug-naïve young adults with ASD (12 with depression [ASD-Dep(+)] and 12 without depression [ASD-Dep(-)]) and 12 with typical development (TD), frontotemporal hemodynamic responses during an EFRT were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).Results: The ASD groups showed reduced activation during EFRT than the TD group in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). Moreover, the ASD-Dep(+) group showed reduced activation during EFRT than the ASD-Dep(-) group in the right anterior temporal cortex (aTC), and reduced activation than the TD group in the left VLPFC.Conclusion: The observed results might reflect reduced regional activation in ASD and ASD with comorbid depression.Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, depression comorbidity, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, emotional face recognition, social cognition, frontotemporal activation

The HEXACO Personality Inventory–Revised (HEXACO–PI–R) has become one of the most heavily applied measurement tools for the assessment of basic personality traits. Correspondingly, the inventory has been translated to many languages for use in cross-cultural research. However, formal tests examining whether the different language versions of the HEXACO–PI–R provide equivalent measures of the 6 personality dimensions are missing. We provide a large-scale test of measurement invariance of the 100-item version of the HEXACO–PI–R across 16 languages spoken in European and Asian countries (N = 30,484). Multigroup exploratory structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analyses revealed consistent support for configural and metric invariance, thus implying that the factor structure of the HEXACO dimensions as well as the meaning of the latent HEXACO factors is comparable across languages. However, analyses did not show overall support for scalar invariance; that is, equivalence of facet intercepts. A complementary alignment analysis supported this pattern, but also revealed substantial heterogeneity in the level of (non)invariance across facets and factors. Overall, results imply that the HEXACO–PI–R provides largely comparable measurement of the HEXACO dimensions, although the lack of scalar invariance highlights the necessity for future research clarifying the interpretation of mean-level trait differences across countries.

A weaker McGurk effect is observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); weaker integration is considered to be the key to understanding how low-order atypical processing leads to their maladaptive social behaviors. However, the mechanism for this weaker McGurk effect has not been fully understood. Here, we investigated (1) whether the weaker McGurk effect in individuals with high autistic traits is caused by poor lip-reading ability and (2) whether the hearing environment modifies the weaker McGurk effect in individuals with high autistic traits. To confirm them, we conducted two analogue studies among university students, based on the dimensional model of ASD. Results showed that individuals with high autistic traits have intact lip-reading ability as well as abilities to listen and recognize audiovisual congruent speech (Experiment 1). Furthermore, a weaker McGurk effect in individuals with high autistic traits, which appear under the without-noise condition, would disappear under the high noise condition (Experiments 1 and 2). Our findings suggest that high background noise might shift weight on the visual cue, thereby increasing the strength of the McGurk effect among individuals with high autistic traits.

Narcissism can manifest in a grandiose form - admiration-seeking, exhibitionism, and dominance - or a vulnerable form - anxiety, withdrawal, and hypersensitivity. While grandiose narcissism is conceptually in line with an independent self-construal, as prevalent in Western countries, the vulnerable form can be assumed to relate more to an interdependent self-construal, as prevalent in Eastern countries. We studied both forms of narcissism in Germany and Japan (Ns = 258, 280), which differ fundamentally in their independent and interdependent self-construal, yet are similar regarding global developmental standards. We tested whether (1) mean differences in both narcissism forms would conform to the predominant self-construal, (2) self-construal would explain variance in narcissism beyond broad personality traits, and (3) there would be stronger mental health tradeoffs for culturally incongruent forms of narcissism. Our results largely confirm these expectations for vulnerable narcissism, which is (1) more prevalent in Japan than Germany, (2) related to self-construal beyond broad traits, and, (3) more strongly related to mental health problems in Germany than Japan. For grandiose narcissism, data analyses indicated that construct equivalence can only be assumed for the entitlement factor, and internal structure and nomological networks differ substantially between cultural contexts.

The McGurk effect, which denotes the influence of visual information on audiovisual speech perception, is less frequently observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to those without it; the reason for this remains unclear. Several studies have suggested that facial configuration context might play a role in this difference. More specifically, people with ASD show a local processing bias for faces-that is, they process global face information to a lesser extent. This study examined the role of facial configuration context in the McGurk effect in 46 healthy students. Adopting an analogue approach using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), we sought to determine whether this facial configuration context is crucial to previously observed reductions in the McGurk effect in people with ASD. Lip-reading and audiovisual syllable identification tasks were assessed via presentation of upright normal, inverted normal, upright Thatcher-type, and inverted Thatcher-type faces. When the Thatcher-type face was presented, perceivers were found to be sensitive to the misoriented facial characteristics, causing them to perceive a weaker McGurk effect than when the normal face was presented (this is known as the McThatcher effect). Additionally, the McGurk effect was weaker in individuals with high AQ scores than in those with low AQ scores in the incongruent audiovisual condition, regardless of their ability to read lips or process facial configuration contexts. Our findings, therefore, do not support the assumption that individuals with ASD show a weaker McGurk effect due to a difficulty in processing facial configuration context.

The McGurk effect is a perceptual phenomenon that an observer would perceive the intermediate phoneme when a speaking movie dubbed with an incongruent voice is presented. Several autism spectrum disorders (ASD) studies have shown that individuals with ASD showed weak influence of visual speech in the McGurk effect. Other studies, however, have reported negative results. This inconsistency among previous studies might be caused by the heterogeneity of clinical group. This study examined the relationship between autistic traits and McGurk effect among 51 healthy university students, on the basis of the dimensional model of ASD (Frith, 1991). Results revealed that autistic traits negatively correlated with the rate of visual response and positively correlated with the rate of fused response for the McGurk stimuli, while no correlation with the accuracy in perceiving the audiovisual congruent stimuli. This indicates that autistic traits might predict the weak influence of visual speech in the McGurk effect.

This study investigated the relationship between the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ) and major personality domains (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Honesty–Humility) using two personality questionnaires: the NEO-FFI and the HEXACO-PI. Participants who responded were 1382 university students for the NEO-FFI, and 842 for the HEXACO-PI, with the EQ and SQ. The results showed almost no relationship between the EQ and SQ and the five-factor personality domains of the NEO-FFI. The regression analysis showed that the NEO-FFI explained only 2–3% of the variance of the EQ/SQ, while in the domains of the HEXACO-PI extraversion moderately correlated with the EQ ( r = 0.32) and openness showed the highest correlation with the SQ ( r = 0.44). The regression analysis showed that the HEXACO-PI explained 22% of the variance of the EQ and 28% of the variance of the SQ. The strong relationship between the EQ and agreeableness, which was reported as r = 0.75 by Nettle (2007), was hardly found in the results of the NEO-FFI ( r = 0.16) and HEXACO-PI ( r = 0.17). These results suggest that that empathizing and systemizing, as one-dimensional constructs, are not substantially related to personality, although some weak relationship might be observed between the EQ/SQ and some personality domains.

We investigated the reliability of the HEXACO-Personality Inventory (HEXACO-PI) using the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Big Five scales in a Japanese sample of 492 respondents (mean age = 20.4 years). The psychometric properties of the HEXACO-PI were examined and found to be satisfactory. The results of the factor analysis showed that the six hypothesized personality domains were found independently. A total of 307 participants responded to the NEO-FFI and the IPIP Big Five scales. The results showed that the five domains of the HEXACO model corresponded to the Five-Factor domains and were relative to the Big Five personality domains as a whole, but the sixth domain, Honesty-Humility, showed weak to moderate correlations with some factors of the NEO-FFI and the IPIP Big Five scales. These results suggest that the Honesty-Humility domain is independent of the five fundamental personality factors and that the HEXACO-PI is a useful and reliable questionnaire for investigating personality structure in cross-cultural and other context.

Prior research indicates that, on average, females are superior at tasks concerned with the social cognitive domain, whereas males are superior at tasks concerned with physical cognitive domains. The empathizing-systemizing (E-S) theory explains these differences by proposing two independent cognitive drives: empathizing and systemizing. The present study explores sex differences and the relationship between these cognitive domains. Participants were 267 elementary school children (mean age = 9.8) and 102 university students (mean age = 20.7) who performed two tasks: the Eyes test and the intuitive physics test. Results showed that females scored higher than males on the Eyes test in both participant groups, whereas no marked sex differences appeared in the intuitive physics test. Distributions of cognitive styles, derived from performance differences in the two tasks, showed marked sex differences, and correlations between performances in the two tasks were near zero in both groups, were consistent with E-S theory.

Deficits in understanding the mental state of others (“mind-reading”) have been well documented in individuals with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). However, it is unclear whether this deficit in social cognition differs between the subgroups of PDD defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. In this study, PDD was divided into high-functioning autistic disorder (HFA) ( n = 17) and other PDD ( n = 11) consisting of Asperger's disorder ( n = 8) and PDD-NOS ( n = 3), and differences in mind-reading ability was examined between the two clinical groups and controls ( n = 50) using a new advanced naturalistic task consisting of short scenes from a TV drama showing communication in social situations. The task was divided into visual and auditory tasks to investigate which modality was more valuable for individuals with PDD to understand the mental state of others. The results suggest that social cognition differs significantly between individuals with HFA and those with other PDD, with no difference being found between those with other PDD and controls. Neither the auditory or visual modality was found to be dominant in subjects with PDD in the mind-reading task. Taken together, complex mind-reading tasks appear to be effective for distinguishing individuals with HFA from those with other PDD.

The Motion Picture Mind Reading (MPMR) Test is a novel naturalistic mind-reading task, designed to measure individual differences in a young adult population in Japan. Short scenes from TV films showing characters in social situations were presented to 128 university students; participants judged the mental state of a character in these films. The distribution of task performance (MPMR Test) of participants was approximately normal and its psychometric properties were found to be satisfactory. The MPMR Test scores correlated positively with those of the Eyes Test and also with scores on the empathy quotient (EQ); they correlated negatively with scores on the systemizing quotient (SQ). The MPMR Test provides a further method for assessing subtle individual differences in mind-reading ability in the general population.

Degree of prenatal testosterone exposure in individuals is indexed by the biomarker, digit ratio, which is the length ratio between second and fourth digit fingers (2D:4D). Recent research has suggested a relationship between the digit ratio and individual differences in empathizing and systemizing, which are the two fundamental cognitive drives hypothesized by Baron-Cohen (2003) . However, some studies on the relationship between digit ratio and empathy quotient (EQ) and systemizing quotient (SQ) have reported inconsistent results ( Manning et al., 2010 , von Horn et al., 2010 , Voracek and Dressler, 2006 ). This study examined the relationship between digit ratio and EQ and SQ in a sample of Japanese university students (174 males and 174 females, mean age = 19.6). Results showed that, on average, male digit ratio was lower than female digit ratio, and digit ratio correlated positively with scores on EQ and negatively with scores on SQ, although correlation coefficients were very low. These results suggest that the fetal testosterone level as estimated by the digit ratio is related to individual differences in adult cognitive and behavioral patterns.

The psychometric properties and factor structure of the Padua Inventory (PI), a measure of obsessive–compulsive phenomena, were examined in a non-clinical sample of 671 Japanese university students. Results showed high internal consistencies of both the total scale and its subscales in the Japanese sample. A factor analysis replicated a four-factor structure, consisting of three factors corresponding to those found in previous studies (‘Impaired control of mental activity’, ‘Being contaminated’ and ‘Checking behaviour’) and one factor (‘Impulsive thoughts’), which partly differed from that found previously. The total score of the PI correlated moderately with two Obsessive–Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) measures, but two subscales of the PI did not show a correlation with OCPD. Results of a multiple regression analysis revealed the PI did not explain the degree of OCPD traits well, suggesting the PI measures OCD traits better than OCPD in non-clinical samples.

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have sensory processing problems, and this has recently been included as a core symptom of ASD in DSM-5. The Glasgow Sensory Questionnaire (GSQ), which is based on a dimensional model of ASD, measures the experience of sensory difficulties in daily life. However, the psychometric properties of the GSQ have not been studied in the general population. In this study, we investigated the psychometric properties of the GSQ, including reliability, score distribution, item analysis, gender differences, and the correlation between the Autism Quotient (AQ) and GSQ in a sample of 417 (206 males and 211 females) university students. We also examined the overlap between the AQ and GSQ using a joint factor analysis. The results revealed that the Japanese version of the GSQ has relatively poor psychometric properties compared to the AQ. Gender differences were found in both scales. Individuals with high AQ scores reported experiencing abnormal sensory events more frequently than those with low AQ scores. The overlap between the scales was small; therefore, it might be possible to investigate abnormal sensory processing independently of other symptoms of ASD in the general population.

This study tests the empathizing-systemizing (E-S) theory of sex differences and the extreme male brain (EMB) theory of autism. Three groups of participants took part: n = 48 people with autism spectrum, n = 137 general population controls, and n = 1,250 university student controls. Each participant completed the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the Systemizing Quotient (SQ). Results: The autism spectrum condition (ASC) group scored significantly lower than controls on the EQ, and significantly higher on the SQ. Among both control groups, females scored significantly higher than males on the EQ, whilst males scored significantly higher than females on the SQ. The distribution of ‘brain types’, based on the difference between EQ and SQ scores, showed distinct profiles for people with ASC, control males and control females.

This study examines the relation between autistic traits and the personality dimensions of the Big Five model in a sample of 320 university students. We administered the Autism-Spectrum Questionnaire (AQ) and the NEO-PI-R. Results showed the AQ correlated with Extraversion and Conscientiousness negatively, and Neuroticism positively. Results of multiple regression analyses suggested the NEO-PI-R did not predict AQ score. Joint factor analyses also suggested autistic traits are independent of the big five personality dimensions. High AQ scorers, who are an analogue model of autism spectrum conditions, showed a profile of high Neuroticism, low Extraversion and low Conscientiousness. Results are discussed in terms of autistic traits representing a sixth factor of personality.

The empathizing–systemizing (E–S) theory has been tested using the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the Systemizing Quotient (SQ). The present study tested n = 1761 students with these instruments, to determine if short versions of these scales could be constructed. This would be desirable both for faster assessment and to establish which are the key items on each scale. Principal component analysis and factor analysis suggested that a 22-item version of the EQ (EQ-Short) and a 25-item version of the SQ (SQ-Short) were highly correlated with the full scale versions. The reliability of each short scale was reasonable. Results showed that females scored significantly higher than males on the EQ-Short, whilst males scored higher than females on the SQ-Short. Additionally, scores were analyzed according to the degree the student was studying. On the EQ-Short, students studying humanities scored higher than students studying sciences, whereas on the SQ-Short, the results were the opposite. Finally, distributions of the population who showed ‘brain types’ based on the scores on two scales were examined. The pattern of distribution of the brain types was consistent with the E–S theory. These results suggest that the EQ-Short and SQ-Short are useful instruments for measuring fundamental cognitive styles.

In the current study, the child AQ was administered in Japan, to examine whether the UK results for reliability and validity generalize to a different culture. Assessment groups were: Group 1: n = 81 children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA); Group 2: n = 22 children diagnosed PDD-NOS with average IQ; and Group 3: n = 372 randomly selected controls from primary and secondary schools. Both clinical groups scored significantly higher than controls (AS/HFA mean AQ = 31.9, SD = 6.93; PDD-NOS mean AQ = 28.0, SD = 6.88; controls mean AQ = 11.7, SD = 5.94). Among the controls, males scored significantly higher than females. The pattern of difference between clinical groups and controls was found to be similar in both countries.

Empathizing is a drive to identify another person's emotions and thoughts and respond to them appropriately. Systemizing is a drive to analyze systems or construct systems. The Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) model suggests that these are major dimensions in which individuals differ from each other, and women being superior in empathizing and men in systemizing. In this study, we examined new questionnaires, the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the Systemizing Quotient (SQ). Participants were 1 250 students, 616 men and 634 women, from eight universities, who completed both the EQ and SQ. Results showed that women scored higher than men on the EQ, and the result was reversed on the SQ. Results also showed that humanities majors scored higher than sciences majors on the EQ, and again the result was reversed on the SQ. The results were discussed in relation to the E-S theory of gender differences.

Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Skinner, Martin, and Clubley (2001) constructed brief, self-administered instruments named the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), for measuring the degree to which an adult with normal intelligence has the traits associated with the autistic spectrum. In this paper, we report on a Japanese version of this new instrument. Three groups of Japanese subjects were assessed. Group 1 (n = 57) consisted of adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA). The other two groups were control groups. Subjects of Group 2 (n = 194) were normal adults and those of Group 3 (n = 1 050) were students selected from five Universities in Tokyo and Chiba. The adults with AS/HFA had a mean AQ score of 37.9 (SD = 5.31), which was significantly higher than the two control groups (Group 2: X = 18.5, SD = 6.21, and Group 3: X = 20.7, SD = 6.38). While eighty-eight percent of the adults with AS/HFA scored more than 33 points, only 3% of subjects in the two control groups indicated those points. Among the controls, males scored slightly but significantly higher than females. The reliability of the AQ in both test-retest and inter-rater measures were significantly high.

The purpose of this study was to test the safety and efficacy of a high vacuum pressure drainage system with a 7F double lumen chest tube. Methods included animal experiments, where seven rabbits were subjected to bilateral tube thoracostomies, using a 7F double lumen chest tube at 340 torr on one side and more than 500 torr on the other for 30 minutes. Then, a preliminary clinical study was done. Three patients were treated with a 7F double lumen chest tube and a vacuum box at 340 torr after a thoracoscopic sympathectomy for approximately 60 minutes. An additional 460 patients were treated with a conventional system, using a 20F single lumen chest tube and chest drainage system at 14.7 torr following the same operation. All animals tolerated the test well. Suction injury of the lung was noted on the control side. In the clinical study, the air leaks stopped within 15 minutes, and no patients showed a radiologic sign of lung suction injury. Six patients in the control group developed subcutaneous emphysema. In conclusion, high vacuum pressure drainage of the chest using the 7F double lumen chest tube is safe and effective.

The relationship between coping styles and stress responses of teachers was examined in an experiment. With the scores of Manifest Anxiety and Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scales, teacher-participants were classified into four groups of six each; repressor, sensitizer, low-anxious, and defensive-anxious. Then, they performed a word-association task, and were individually interviewed by a woman they met for first time. Intermittently during the sessions, the participant rated own state anxiety; heart rate (HR) and skin conductance level (SCL) were monitored; and reaction time and successful recall rate on the task were recorded. Results were as follows: Repressors showed high state anxiety and a significantly greater increase in HR, but a smaller increase in SCL than the others. In contrast, sensitizers showed low state anxiety and a significantly greater increase in SCL. The low-anxious showed high state anxiety at the beginning which decreased immediately, and remained at an intermediate and steady physiological arousal level, except SCL. The defensive-anxious showed low state anxiety and low HR. On the whole, it was suggested that coping styles could predict stress responses.

In patients who are unable to undergo a lobectomy for a small peripheral lung cancer, a partial thoracoscopic resection appears to be one viable alternative. However, since the regional lymphatics are disrupted in an anatomical fashion with a segmentectomy, it appears superior to a wedge resection. This experimental study was conducted to determine whether or not an anatomical segmental resection is feasible by thoracoscopy. A segmental resection of porcine lungs was performed using thoracoscopy. The segmental vessels were divided between ligatures. The segmental bronchus was divided by an endoscopic stapler. The intersegmental lung parenchyma was divided using a cotton dissector and a contact neodymium-yttrium aluminum garnet laser. Forty-three pigs were divided into seven groups as follows. Group 1: S1 + 2; group 2: S3; group 3: upper division; group 4: lower division; group 5: S6; group 6:S8; and group 7: S9 + 10. The operating times ranged from 145 +/- 15 min to 191 +/- 47 min. Blood loss ranged from 36 +/- 35 ml to 151 +/- 48 ml in all groups. The blood loss in the group with a resection of S6 and S9 + 10 was significantly greater than that of the other five groups. Most of the blood loss occurred during the division between the intersegmental planes. In conclusion, a thoracoscopic segmentectomy is considered to be technically feasible; however, further refinements in this technique are warranted before beginning clinical trials.

The abilities to empathize and to systemize, two fundamental dimensions of cognitive style, are characterized by apparent individual differences. These abilities are typically measured using an empathizing quotient (EQ) and a systemizing quotient (SQ) questionnaire, respectively. The purpose of this study was to reveal any correlations between EQ and SQ scores and regional gray matter volumes in healthy children by applying voxel-based morphometry to magnetic resonance images. We collected MRIs of brain structure and administered children's versions of the EQ and SQ questionnaires (EQ-C and SQ-C, respectively) to 261 healthy children aged 5–15 years. Structural MRI data were segmented, normalized, and smoothed using an optimized voxel-based morphometric analysis. Next, we analyzed the correlation between regional gray matter volume and EQ-C and SQ-C scores adjusting for age, sex, and intracranial volume. The EQ-C scores showed significant positive correlations with the regional gray matter volumes of the left fronto-opercular and superior temporal cortices, including the precentral gyrus, the inferior frontal gyrus, the superior temporal gyrus, and the insula, which are functionally related to empathic processing. Additionally, SQ-C scores showed a significant negative correlation with the regional gray matter volume of the left posterior parietal cortex, which is functionally involved in selective attention processing. Our findings suggest that individual differences in cognitive style pertaining to empathizing or systemizing abilities could be explained by differences in the volume of brain structures that are functionally relevant to empathizing and systemizing.

Giant bullae of the lungs are readily recognizable on plain chest x-ray films and are rare. Only 17 of more than 500 cases of thoracoscopic treatment of bullous lung disease over the past 3 years involved giant bullae, which included both types 1 and 4. Type 1 bullae have smooth internal lining without trabeculae and type 4 have trabeculae. The indications were dyspnea in 10 cases, spontaneous pneumothorax in 6, and infection in 1. The mean age of the patients was 55 years. Five patients were oxygen dependent, 1 was wheelchair-bound, and 3 were steroid dependent. Preoperative spirometry was available in 1 patient with type 1 bullae (forced vital capacity = 95% and forced expiratory volume in 1 second = 55% of the predicted values) and in 10 patients with type 4 bullae (forced vital capacity = 46.90% +/- 15.29% and forced expiratory volume in 1 second = 23.50% +/- 7.46% of the predicted values). Under general anesthesia with one-lung ventilation, the giant bullae were excised, plicated, or contracted by the laser, depending on the type, by means of thoracoscopy. Thoracoscopic surgery was successful in all patients, and no procedure was converted to thoracotomy. The duration of anesthesia was 4.44 +/- 1.49 hours, postoperative ventilatory support 42.24 +/- 64.22 hours, and postoperative air leaks 14.59 +/- 14.11 days. All patients did very well and pain was minimal. There was no recurrence for up to 3 years of follow-up. In conclusion, thoracoscopic treatment of giant bullae of the lungs is an effective alternative to conventional thoracotomy with minimal morbidity.

The McGurk effect is a well-known illustration that demonstrates the influence of visual information to hearing in speech perception. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show weaker visual influence in the McGurk effect. This might result from abnormalities in the processing of facial information. In this study, we examined the effect of face perception (holistic vs part-based processing) and the individual differences in the McGurk effect among 48 healthy students. The McGurk tasks were tested under 3 presentation conditions of visual images: mouth only, mouth and eyes, and face. The result revealed that individuals with higher scores for autistic traits respectively might report less visually captured responses in all conditions. This suggests that autistic traits might be related to “weak central coherence” in speech perception rather than abnormalities in face perception.

The aim of this study was to review articles to learn how current thoracoscopic surgery was developed to the present status. The Internet literature search engines PubMed and Index Medicus were used to search for the published articles. Interpretation of the articles was reflected in the reviewer’s personal experience, who was closely associated with the developmental history. Altogether, 49 articles were selected and reviewed. A variety of applications of thoracoscopy have been developed. It remains the major surgical technique in thoracic surgery.

Little is known regarding the relationship between cortisol (a stress hormone) levels and psychological cognitive styles. Baron-Cohen proposed two fundamental cognitive styles, which are measured by the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the Systemizng Quotient (SQ). Previous studies have examined the influences of prenatal testosterone exposure on EQ and SQ scores. This study aimed to examine the relationships between morning cortisol levels and EQ and SQ scores, and the 'brain types' which were determined by two quotients in both sexes. These relationships are potentially important in the developmental psychopathology of autism and neuroeconomics of empathy.We assessed morning cortisol levels with LC/MS (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry) and ESQ in healthy male and female university students.Results indicate clear sex differences between brain types: i.e. E-type males and S-type females (participants with atypical cognitive styles) have significantly higher cortisol levels than S-type males and E-type females (participants with typical cognitive styles). Implications for the role of sex in social adaptation of autistic patients are discussed.

We explored the relationships between 'autistic' traits as measured by the AQ (Autism-Spectrum Quotient; Baron-Cohen et al., J. Autism Develop. Disord. (2001b) 31 5) and various personality traits or cognitive ability, which usually coincide with autistic symptoms, for general populations. Results showed the AQ was associated with tendencies toward an obsessional personality as defined by the TCI (Temperament and Character Inventory), higher depression and anxiety, and higher frequency of experience of being bullied. These results parallel the patterns in autism and corroborate the validity of the AQ for general populations. Contrary to our prediction, however, there was no relationship between the AQ and cognitive ability, such as theory of mind, executive functioning, and central coherence, suggesting the AQ does not reflect autism-specific cognitive patterns in general populations.

The AQ (Autism-Spectrum Quotient) is a self-administered instrument for measuring the degree to which an adult with normal intelligence has the traits associated with the autistic spectrum. The AQ was administered in Japan to test whether the UK results would generalize to a very different culture. Three groups of subjects, adults with AS or HFA (n = 57), adult controls (n = 194), and University students (n = 1050) were assessed. The adults with AS/HFA had a mean AQ score which was significantly higher than both the controls and the University students. Among the controls, males scored significantly higher than females. The similarity of results in both the general population and the clinical group across the two cultures was remarkable.

Background: Empathizing is a specific component of social cognition. Empathizing is also specifically impaired in autism spectrum condition (ASC). These are two dimensions, measurable using the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). ASC also involves strong systemizing, a dimension measured using the Systemizing Quotient (SQ). The present study examined the relationship between the EQ, AQ and SQ. The EQ and SQ have been used previously to test for sex differences in 5 ‘brain types’ (Types S, E, B and extremes of Type S or E). Finally, people with ASC have been conceptualized as an extreme of the male brain. Method: We revised the SQ to avoid a traditionalist bias, thus producing the SQ-Revised (SQ-R). AQ and EQ were not modified. All 3 were administered online. Sample:Students (723 males, 1038 females) were compared to a group of adults with ASC group (69 males, 56 females). Aims: (1) To report scores from the SQ-R. (2) To test for SQ-R differences among students in the sciences vs. humanities. (3) To test if AQ can be predicted from EQ and SQ-R scores. (4) To test for sex differences on each of these in a typical sample, and for the absence of a sex difference in a sample with ASC if both males and females with ASC are hyper-masculinized. (5) To report percentages of males, females and people with an ASC who show each brain type. Results: AQ score was successfully predicted from EQ and SQ-R scores. In the typical group, males scored significantly higher than females on the AQ and SQ-R, and lower on the EQ. The ASC group scored higher than sex-matched controls on the SQ-R, and showed no sex differences on any of the 3 measures. More than twice as many typical males as females were Type S, and more than twice as many typical females as males were Type E. The majority of adults with ASC were Extreme Type S, compared to 5% of typical males and 0.9% of typical females. The EQ had a weak negative correlation with the SQ-R. Discussion:Empathizing is largely but not completely independent of systemizing. The weak but significant negative correlation may indicate a trade-off between them. ASC involves impaired empathizing alongside intact or superior systemizing. Future work should investigate the biological basis of these dimensions, and the small trade-off between them.