Developmental disorders

Introduction: Connectionist models have recently provided a concrete computational platform from which to explore how different initial constraints in the cognitive system can interact with an environment to generate the behaviors we find in normal development (Elman et al., 1996; Mareschal & Thomas, 2000). In this sense, networks embody several principles inherent to Piagetian theory, the major developmental theory of the twentieth century. By extension, these models provide the opportunity to explore how shifts in these initial constraints (or boundary conditions) can result in the emergence of the abnormal behaviors we find in atypical development. Although this field is very new, connectionist models have already been put forward to explain disordered language development in Specific Language Impairment (Hoeffner & McClelland, 1993), Williams Syndrome (Thomas & Karmiloff-Smith, 1999), and developmental dyslexia (Seidenberg and colleagues, see e.g. Harm & Seidenberg, in press); to explain unusual characteristics of perceptual discrimination in autism (Cohen, 1994; Gustafsson, 1997); and to explore the emergence of disordered cortical feature maps using a neurobiologically constrained model (Oliver, Johnson, Karmiloff-Smith, & Pennington, in press). In this entry, we will examine the types of initial constraints that connectionist modelers typically build in to their models, and how variations in these constraints have been proposed as possible accounts of the causes of particular developmental disorders. In particular, we will examine the claim that these constraints are candidates for what will constitute innate knowledge. First, however, we need to consider a current debate concerning whether developmental disorders are a useful tool to explore the (possibly innate) structure of the normal cognitive system. We will find that connectionist approaches are much more consistent with one side of this debate than the other

Systematic review and meta-analysis: anxiety and depressive disorders in offspring of parents with anxiety disorders

Objective: We conducted meta-analyses to assess risk of anxiety disorders among offspring of parents with anxiety disorders and to establish whether there is evidence of specificity of risk for anxiety disorders as opposed to depression in offspring, and whether particular parent anxiety disorders confer risks for particular child anxiety disorders. We also examined whether risk was moderated by offspring age, gender, temperament and the presence of depressive disorders in parents. Method: We searched PsycINFO, PubMed and Web of Science in June, 2016 and July, 2017 (PROSPERO CRD42016048814). Study inclusion criteria: published in peer-reviewed journals; contained at least one group of parents with anxiety disorders and at least one comparison group of parents who did not have anxiety disorders; reported rates of anxiety disorders in offspring, and used validated diagnostic tools to ascertain diagnoses. We used random and mixed-effects models and evaluated study quality. Results: We included 25 studies (7285 offspring). Where parents had an anxiety disorder, offspring were significantly more likely to have anxiety (RR: 1.76, 95% CI = 1.58-1.96) and depressive disorders (RR: 1.31, 95% CI = 1.13-1.52) than offspring of parents without anxiety disorders. Parent Panic Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder appeared to confer particular risk. Risk was greater for offspring anxiety than depressive disorders (RR: 2.50, 95% CI = 1.50-4.16), and specifically for offspring Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Separation Anxiety Disorder and Specific Phobia, but there was no evidence that children of parents with particular anxiety disorders were at increased risk for the same particular anxiety disorders. Moderation analyses were possible only for offspring age, gender and parental depressive disorder; none were significant. Conclusions: Parent anxiety disorders pose specific risks of anxiety disorders to offspring. However, there is limited support for transmission of the same particular anxiety disorder. These results support the potential for targeted prevention of anxiety disorders

DNA repair: Disorders

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On the descriptive validity of ICD-10 schizophrenia: Empirical analyses in the spectrum of non-affective functional psychoses

In order to examine the descriptive validity of ICD-10 schizophrenia, 1,476 consecutively admitted in-patients were included in the present study. ICD-10 schizophrenia (n = 951) was compared with other non-affective psychotic disorders {[}persistent delusional disorders (n = 51), acute and transient psychotic disorders (n = 116) and schizoaffective disorders (n = 354)] with respect to socio-demographic, symptomatological and other clinical parameters. Analyses revealed that it is possible to distinguish schizophrenia from other non-affective psychotic disorders according to ICD-10 criteria: schizophrenic patients were characterised by more pronounced negative symptoms and a lower global functioning. They were younger than patients with persistent delusional disorders and schizoaffective disorders but older than patients with acute and transient psychotic disorders. The results are in line with a high descriptive validity of ICD-10 schizophrenia and highlight the importance of negative symptoms for this diagnosis. Copyright (C) 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

A History of Dystonia: Ancient to Modern

Before 1911, when Hermann Oppenheim introduced the term dystonia, this movement disorder lacked a unifying descriptor. While words like epilepsy, apoplexy, and palsy have had their meanings since antiquity, references to dystonia are much harder to identify in historical documents. Torticollis is an exception, although there is difficulty distinguishing dystonic torticollis from congenital muscular torticollis. There are, nevertheless, possible representations of dystonia in literature and visual art from the pre-modern world. Eighteenth century systematic nosologists such as Linnaeus, de Sauvages, and Cullen had attempted to classify some spasmodic conditions, including torticollis. But only after Charcot's contributions to clinical neuroscience were the various forms of generalized and focal dystonia clearly delineated. They were categorized as névroses: Charcot's term for conditions without an identifiable neuroanatomical cause. For a time thereafter, psychoanalytic models of dystonia based on Freud's ideas about unconscious conflicts transduced into physical symptoms were ascendant, although there was always a dissenting “organic” school. With the rise of subspecialization in movement disorders during the 1970s, the pendulum swung strongly back toward organic causation. David Marsden's clinical and electrophysiological research on the adult-onset focal dystonias was particularly important in establishing a physical basis for these disorders. We are still in a period of “living history” of dystonia, with much yet to be understood about pathophysiology. Rigidly dualistic models have crumbled in the face of evidence of electrophysiological and psychopathological overlap between organic and functional dystonia. More flexible biopsychosocial frameworks may address the demand for new diagnostic and therapeutic rationales

Anderson Localization from Berry-Curvature Interchange in Quantum Anomalous Hall System

We theoretically investigate the localization mechanism of the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) in the presence of spin-flip disorders. We show that the QAHE keeps quantized at weak disorders, then enters a Berry-curvature mediated metallic phase at moderate disorders, and finally goes into the Anderson insulating phase at strong disorders. From the phase diagram, we find that at the charge neutrality point although the QAHE is most robust against disorders, the corresponding metallic phase is much easier to be localized into the Anderson insulating phase due to the \textit{interchange} of Berry curvatures carried respectively by the conduction and valence bands. At the end, we provide a phenomenological picture related to the topological charges to better understand the underlying physical origin of the QAHE Anderson localization.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Establishing diagnostic criteria: the role of clinical pragmatics

The study of pragmatic disorders is of interest to speech-language pathologists who have a professional responsibility to assess and treat communication impairments. However, these disorders, it will be argued in this paper, have a significance beyond the clinical management of clients with communication impairments. Specifically, pragmatic disorders can now make a contribution to the diagnosis of a range of clinical conditions in which communication is adversely affected. These conditions include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the autistic spectrum disorders, schizophrenia and the dementias. Pragmatic disorders are already among the criteria used to diagnose some of these conditions (e.g. ADHD), although they are not described in these terms. In other conditions (e.g. the dementias), pragmatic disorders have potential diagnostic value in the absence of reliable biomarkers markers of these conditions and similar initial presenting symptoms. Using clinical data, and the findings of empirical studies, the case is made for the inclusion and/or greater integration of pragmatic disorders in the formal classificatory systems that are used to diagnose a range of disorders. A previously unrecognised role for pragmatic impairments in the nosology and diagnosis of clinical disorders is thereby established

Treating substance abuse is not enough: Comorbidities in consecutively admitted female prisoners

Publisher Copyright: © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.Introduction: Several studies have pointed to high rates of substance use disorders among female prisoners. The present study aimed to assess comorbidities of substance use disorders with other mental disorders in female prisoners at admission to a penal justice system. Methods: A sample of 150 female prisoners, consecutively admitted to the penal justice system of Berlin, Germany, was interviewed using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). The presence of borderline personality disorder was assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview II for DSM-IV. Prevalence rates and comorbidities were calculated as percentage values and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Ninety-three prisoners (62%; 95% CI: 54-70) had substance use disorders; n = 49 (33%; 95% CI: 24-42) had alcohol abuse/dependence; n. = 76 (51%; 95% CI: 43-59) had illicit drug abuse/dependence; and n. = 53 (35%; 95% CI: 28-44) had opiate use disorders. In the group of inmates with substance use disorders, 84 (90%) had at least one other mental disorder; n. = 63 (68%) had comorbid affective disorders; n. = 45 (49%) had borderline or antisocial personality disorders; and n. = 41 (44%) had comorbid anxiety disorders. Conclusions: Female prisoners with addiction have high rates of comorbid mental disorders at admission to the penal justice system, ranging from affective to personality and anxiety disorders. Generic and robust interventions that can address different comorbid mental health problems in a flexible manner may be required to tackle widespread addiction and improve mental health of female prisoners

The role of family relationships in eating disorders in adolescents: a narrative review

Abstract: Background: Adolescents’eatingdisordershavebeenexploredthroughvariousconceptual andempiricalmodels. Onlyrecently,scientificliteratureinthisareahasmorespecificallyinvestigated theroleofrelationships,withparticularattentiontofamilyfunctioning. Objective: Thispaperreviews family relationships aspects of eating disorders in adolescence. Methods: A narrative literature review of relational issues in adolescents’ eating disorders was performed. Results: Empirical evidence of family relationships in adolescents’ eating disorders confirms the relevance of relational aspects in the development and maintenance of the pathology. In particular, the contribution of the relational-systemic approach is wide, suggesting the need to refer to the family context for a better understanding of adolescents’ sufferance. Additionally, the empirical contributions from the conceptual model of Developmental Psychopathology, highlighting the importance of risk and protection factors in family relationships, provides knowledge about the phenomenon of adolescents’ eating disorders in terms of complexity. Conclusions: An integrated relational model aimed to explore adolescents’ eating disorders is worthy of investigation to accomplish specific program of intervention