Wechsler memory scale is a poor screening test for brain dysfunction

The effectiveness of the Wechsler Memory Scale as a screening test for brain dysfuntion when used with “new” scoring procedures was assessed in this cross‐validation study. The scoring procedures studied were those reported by Bachrach and Mintz (1974) and Kljajic (1975). In general, these procedures were found to be unreliable methods to separate brain dysfunctional patients from psychiatric patients. While the Wechsler Memory Scale may be a good test of short‐term verbal memory, it samples too narrow a band of behaviors to be a reliable screening instrument of brain dysfunction in a large range of patients. Copyright © 1977 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Compan

Tail pinch-induced arousal and stimulus-bound behavior in rats with lateral hypothalamic lesions: Further evaluation of hypothalamic control of feeding and drinking

Arousal induced by tail pinching results in stimulus-bound feeding, licking and gnawing in male rats during the aphagic and adipsic phase that follows electrolytic damage to the lateral hypothalamus (LH). Such stimulus-bound behavior is very similar to electrically induced stimulus-bound behavior. Furthermore, brain-damaged animals during tail pinch-induced drinking trials are responsive to the sensory properties of the test liquid. Chocolate milk is consumed but tap water is actively rejected. Tail pinch to sham-operated control rats failed to induce such behavior; instead, it induced rage behavior towards the hand that pinched the tail. The results support the conclusion that rats with LH lesions require an arousing stimulus for feeding but that the same externally applied arousing stimulus enhances active rejection of tap water. © 1976 S. Karger AG, Basel

Relationship of age and education to Halstead Test performance in different patient populations

Examined the effects of age and education on Halstead Neuropsychological Test Battery performance in a cross-validation of the A. Vega and O. A. Parsons\u27s study (see record 1968-01419-001). Ss in the present study were 32 male and 3 female brain-damaged patients (mean age, 34.6 yrs) and 18 male and 7 female non-brain-damaged medical-surgical and psychiatric controls (mean age, 33.2 yrs). Age was significantly correlated with performance on the Category Test, Tactual Performance Test Time, Memory, Location, and the Impairment Index but not with Speech, Rhythm, or Tapping in brain-damaged patients. In medical-surgical and psychiatric patients, however, age was significantly correlated with all Halstead test performances. Education was not significantly correlated with performance in brain-damaged or psychiatric patients but was correlated with 6 Halstead tests in the medical-surgical group. Differences between correlation in psychiatric patients and medical-surgical control Ss are discussed. The importance of taking age into consideration as well as differences in various control or reference groups when making clinical inferences about the presence of brain dysfunction is stressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1976 American Psychological Association

Chronic Hepatic Encephalopathy Treated with Oral Lactose in a Patient with Lactose Malabsorption

LACTULOSE has been used successfully in the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy. © 1974, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved

Autonomic nervous system changes associated with a spider phobic reaction

Tested the theory that autonomic nervous system arousal increases during a phobic reaction. 11 spider phobics and 11 nonphobics (female undergraduates) viewed spider, seascape, and surgical slides while several physiological responses were continuously recorded. Spider phobics showed significantly faster heart rate, greater heart-rate variability, and vasoconstriction during spider slide presentations than nonphobics. Spider phobics also showed more frequent phasic skin responses but not larger skin response amplitudes to spider slides. Respiration rate and respiration amplitude were not significantly different for the 2 groups. It appears that while a general autonomic nervous system arousal occurs during a spider-phobic reaction, the demand characteristics of the phobic situation seem to determine which physiological responses are most affected. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1974 American Psychological Association

Weight regulation with palatable food and liquids in rats with lateral hypothalamic lesions

Maintained 25 female Carworth CFE albino rats with 4- or 7-sec 1-ma bilateral lesions of the lateral hypothalamus (LH) for 87 days on a high-fat diet and a sequence of fluids (water, 6% sucrose, and 1 or .2% saccharin). Lesioned Ss reached a greater weight than 9 sham-lesioned Ss offered the same diet and fluids, and maintained greater weight regardless of the fluid offered. These data do not support the hypothesis that LH lesions lower the set point for weight. Rather, the finickiness of LH Ss results in smaller intake of unpalatable foods and water which, in turn, results in stablization of weight below that of controls. If sufficiently hydrated, LH Ss eat greater quantities of highly palatable foods than do controls, resulting in greater body weight. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1972 American Psychological Association