Simon B. N. Thompson

Long-term retention deficits in two cases of disproportionate retrograde amnesia

The status of very long-term retention, together with detailed brain imaging correlates, is presented in two patients with disproportionately dense retrograde amnesia. The first patient suffered a severe closed head injury and was left with dense autobiographical amnesia for events that she had experienced prior to her injury. She showed relatively mild, patchy memory impairment on standard anterograde memory tests. Postinjury autobiographical memory was relatively spared. However, postinjury long-term knowledge acquisition was significantly impaired. The second patient also suffered a severe head injury and was left with marked retrograde amnesia for events that she had experienced prior to her injury. She also showed relatively mild, patchy impairment on standard anterograde memory tests. Using specially designed tests, this patient showed normal immediate learning and delayed recall using a range of materials, but displayed significantly faster rate of forgetting over a period of 6 weeks than control subjects who were matched on initial delayed levels of retention. In both cases, there was major pathology in the region of the left temporal lobe, with lateral structures being more affected than medial structures. Our findings provide further evidence relating to the independence of certain anterograde and retrograde memory mechanisms, and support recent observations (De Renzi & Lucchelli, 1993) that link some instances of retrograde amnesia to impairment in very long-term retention. The possibility is raised that some forms of retrograde amnesia, such as the present cases, represent a type of disconnection syndrome, whereby visual-semantic and other associations are disconnected from verbal representations of such associations. Lesions to intrahemispheric fasciculi or similar association fibers, in combination with lesions to critical anterior or posterior cerebral structures, may play an important role in such a disconnection.

ANTEROGRADE BUT NOT RETROGRADE MEMORY LOSS FOLLOWING COMBINED MAMMILLARY BODY AND MEDIAL THALAMIC LESIONS

We report the first human case of combined mammillary body and medial thalamic lesions due to focal pathology. A patient presented with a multi-lobular lesion that affected the mammillary bodies, the medial thalamus and the brain stem. On neuropsychological testing, he showed significant anterograde memory impairment, with marked impairment on delayed story recall, but normal or only mildly impaired performance on retrograde memory tasks. Our findings corroborate the results of recent non-human lesion studies and indicate that some of the well-established features of the amnesic syndrome, such as severe retrograde amnesia, may not be due to primary diencephalic pathology. Significant retrograde amnesia may result from cortical pathology or from an interaction between cortical and subcortical pathology.

A meta‐analysis of prevalence rates and moderating factors for cancer‐related post‐traumatic stress disorder

Systematic reviews highlight a broad range of cancer‐related post‐traumatic stress disorder (CR‐PTSD) prevalence estimates in cancer survivors. This meta‐analysis was conducted to provide a prevalence estimate of significant CR‐PTSD symptoms and full diagnoses to facilitate the psychological aftercare of cancer survivors.

The dawn of the yawn: is yawning a warning? Linking neurological disorders.

Yawning continues to pose as a scientists conundrum. Evidence is presented of yawning and contagious yawning in a number of different neurological disorders. Explanations are discussed in the context of disparate neurological disorders together with proposals for how theses findings may be linked. Thus, greater understanding of yawning and of neurological disorders may be achieved by exploring common neuro-chemical pathways and the involvement of neurotransmitters that are implicated in these different disorders. Finally, contagious yawning is discussed in the context of the susceptibility of persons and the similarity this presents with our understanding of the mechanisms involved in hypnosis.

Design and evaluation of a computerised version of the Benton visual retention test

The use of computers in the administration of psychological assessments is often considered standard practice. However, the evidence clearly shows that computerisation of each test needs to be evaluated independently. The current study examined the hypothesis that a computerised administration of the Benton visual retention test (BVRT) should yield comparable results to paper-and-pencil administration of this measure. Forty participants (23 females and 17 males) from a non-clinical population were assessed using a computerised version of the BVRT and the conventional paper-and-pencil administration. Parallel forms of the test were used in the two administrations in order to eliminate practice effects. Participants found the conventional method of assessment easier to use but less fun. Importantly, performances of the participants were poorer when using the computerised version, giving rise to extreme caution when using this method of assessment administration with a clinical population.

Dementia and memory : a handbook for students and professionals

Contents: Preface Introduction. Part I Defining dementia and memory: Introduction to dementia Definition of dementia Memory disorders Learning disability and dementia. Part II Coping with memory problems: How to treat memory problems Advanced memory strategies Case studies on Memory. Part III Coping with Dementia: How to assess dementia How to cope with dementia How to manage dementia Case studies on dementia Case studies on dementia and learning disability Future directions for people with dementia Test your long-term memory Glossary of terms Useful journals and magazines Bibliography Index.

Occupational Therapy for Stroke Rehabilitation

Epidemiology assessment treatment approaches occupational therapy biofeedback in rehabilitation of stroke database techniques and expert systems expert systems in occupational therapy.

Clinical considerations and comparative measures of assessing curvature of the spine

Two instruments, an inclinometer and a flexicurve for surface measurement of spine curvature were compared. No significant correlations were found between sets of measurements using these devices to measure a known curve whose angles of curvature at marked points have been calculated mathematically. However, differences were found between actual values and those measured by each instrument with respect to total discrepancies, and those were in favour of the flexicure. Several advantages were noted in using the flexicure as a measuring device not only for assessing range of motion in limbs. Additional advantages over use of the inclinometer included cheapness, ease of use, better accuracy and better reliability.

Born to yawn? Cortisol linked to yawning: A new hypothesis

Yawning has become an interesting and curious scientific conundrum. Links between several neurological disorders can be found through the commonality of yawning episodes and contagious yawning. However, the reasons why we yawn are uncertain. Cortisol levels are known to rise during stress and fatigue; yawning may occur when we are under stress or tired. We do not know whether cortisol levels fluctuate during yawning. Potentially, yawning and cortisol levels may provide a valuable diagnostic tool and warning of untoward underlying neurological problems. A new hypothesis is proposed that links cortisol levels with yawning episodes.

Born to Yawn? Understanding Yawning as a Warning of the Rise in Cortisol Levels: Randomized Trial

Background Yawning consistently poses a conundrum to the medical profession and neuroscientists. Despite neurological evidence such as parakinesia brachialis oscitans in stroke patients and thermo-irregulation in multiple sclerosis patients, there is considerable debate over the reasons for yawning with the mechanisms and hormonal pathways still not fully understood. Cortisol is implicated during yawning and may link many neurological disorders. Evidence was found in support of the Thompson cortisol hypothesis that proposes cortisol levels are elevated during yawning just as they tend to rise during stress and fatigue. Objectives To investigate whether saliva cortisol levels rise during yawning and, therefore, support the Thompson cortisol hypothesis. Methods We exposed 20 male and female volunteers aged between 18 and 53 years to conditions that provoked a yawning response in a randomized controlled trial. Saliva samples were collected at the start and again after the yawning response, or at the end of the stimuli presentations if the participant did not yawn. In addition, we collected electromyographic data of the jaw muscles to determine rest and yawning phases of neural activity. Yawning susceptibility scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, General Health Questionnaire, and demographic and health details were also collected from each participant. A comprehensive data set allowed comparison between yawners and nonyawners, as well as between rest and yawning phases. Collecting electromyographic data from the yawning phase is novel, and we hope this will provide new information about neuromuscular activity related to cortisol levels. Exclusion criteria included chronic fatigue, diabetes, fibromyalgia, heart conditions, high blood pressure, hormone replacement therapy, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. We compared data between and within participants. Results In the yawning group, there was a significant difference between saliva cortisol samples (t 10 = –3.071, P = .01). Power and effect size were computed based on repeated-measures t tests for both the yawning and nonyawning groups. There was a medium effect size for the nonyawners group (r = .467) but low power (36%). Results were similar for the yawners group: medium effect size (r = .440) and low power (33%). Conclusions There was significant evidence in support of the Thompson cortisol hypothesis that suggests cortisol levels are elevated during yawning. A further longitudinal study is planned to test neurological patients. We intend to devise a diagnostic tool based on changes in cortisol levels that may assist in the early diagnosis of neurological disorders based on the data collected. Trial Registration International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 61942768; http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN61942768/61942768 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6A75ZNYvr)