Masayuki Sawada

Tai Chi exercise versus rehabilitation for the elderly with cerebral vascular disorder: a single-blinded randomized controlled trial

Background:  Cerebral vascular disorder (CVD) might result in a quantifiable decrease in quality of life, which is determined not only by the neurological deficits but also by impairment of cognitive functions. There are few studies that report on the cognitive effect of Tai Chi exercise (Tai Chi) on the elderly with CVD. The purpose of the present study was to examine the cognitive effect of Tai Chi on the elderly with CVD using P300 measurement, in addition to the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Effects of osmotic-release methylphenidate in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder as measured by event-related potentials

Aim:  Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a relatively common central nervous system disorder in school‐age children, which may involve a specific disorder in cognition and/or information processing. Event‐related potentials (ERP) are commonly used as physiological measures of cognitive function as they are easily measured and non‐invasive. Thus, in the present study, we examined the effects of osmotic‐release methylphenidate (MPH) (Concerta), a common treatment for childhood attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in ADHD children as measured by ERP.

Comparison of pervasive developmental disorder and schizophrenia by the Japanese version of the National Adult Reading Test

Abstract Objective. In adults, it is sometimes difficult to discriminate between pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and schizophrenia (SCH) when positive symptoms are not outstanding. We examined whether the Japanese version of the National Adult Reading Test (JART), is a valid scale for evaluating pre-morbid intelligence quotient (IQ) in patients with SCH, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) are useful for helping to discriminate between PDD and SCH. Methods. Sixteen patients with adult PDD and 16 age-, education- and sex-matched patients with SCH participated in the present study. In addition, two groups were matched for JART and GAF scores. All subjects were scored on the JART and WAIS-R after informed consent on the aim of this study. Examiners who were blind to the diagnoses measured JART and WAIS-R. Results. Significant diagnosis-by-IQ examination interactions were found (F[1,30] = 10.049, P = 0.003). Furthermore, WAIS-R scores of the PDD group were higher than those of the SCH group (P = 0.002) considering two groups were matched for JART. Conclusions. The comparison of IQ in the PDD group and in the SCH group by JART and WAIS-R might be an easy and useful method for helping to discriminate between PDD and SCH.

Pervasive developmental disorder with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-like symptoms and mismatch negativity

The present study examined the correlation between the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Rating Scale‐IV Japanese version (ADHD RS‐IV‐J) score and mismatch negativity (MMN), in 10 pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) children with ADHD‐like symptoms, and examined whether MMN become the objective measure to assess the severity of ADHD‐like symptoms in PDD children. Consequently, score of ADHD RS‐IV‐J had a positive correlative tendency with MMN latency and had a significant strong negative correlation with MMN amplitude. Therefore, MMN may become an objective measure to assess the severity of ADHD‐like symptoms in PDD children.