Theory of mind and unawareness of illness in schizophrenia: Is poor insight a mentalizing deficit?

PubMed ID: 17171312This study investigates the impact of theory of mind (ToM) deficits on poor insight in schizophrenia. The scale for unawareness of mental disorder (SUMD) was administered to 58 stable outpatients with schizophrenia. First and second order false belief tasks, the Eyes test and a battery of nonToM cognitive measures were administered. The Second order false belief task was the best predictor of each global insight and symptom attribution scores of the SUMD. ToM tasks explained the substantial amount of the variance (ranging from 22.5% to 29.9%) for the insight scores and classified the significant amount of the patients who were aware of the illness correctly. WCST perseveration scores did not contribute to insight scores beyond that contributed by second order false belief tasks. The Second order ToM tasks seems to have critical importance for the awareness of the disorder. Beyond more direct self-evaluation, the awareness of the disorder and its consequences may also require the ability to evaluate the self from the perspective of others. "Understanding the others' belief about another person" may be conceptually very similar to "understanding the others' belief about self" (instead of another person). © 2006 Steinkopff Verlag

The Relationships Between Craniofacial Structure and Frontal Sinus Morphology: Evaluation With Conventional Anthropometry and CT-Based Volumetry

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of craniofacial structure and nasal septal deviation on frontal sinus morphology 3-dimensionally. This study of anatomy, anthropology, morphology, and radiology included 74 dry skulls as study sample. The craniofacial measurements were made through conventional anthropometric methods by the use of calipers. The nasal septal deviation measurements were done by computerized software on photographs taken from frontal view. Frontal sinus volumes were estimated by the computerized tomography-based volumetry. The relationships between craniofacial structure, nasal septal deviation, and frontal sinus morphology were tested by linear regression and correlation analysis. The analysis of numerical variables and categorical variables within different groups was done by Mann-WhitneyU/Kruskal-Wallis, and chi(2)tests, respectively. There appeared a positive relationship between the dimensions of the frontal sinuses and the maximal cranial length and the nasal height especially on the left side (P< .05). However, after multivariate linear regression model for both factors was created, solely the nasal height kept being a positive factor for frontal sinus size as an independent variable. No statistical relevance was detected between the presence of metopic suture and frontal sinus morphology. Septal deviation itself affected frontal sinus morphometry, but the morphometry did not differ between the deviation side and the opposite side. In conclusion, the cranial structure does not affect the frontal sinus morphology but nasal structure affects. The true influences, among measured craniofacial elements, in relationship with the pneumatization of frontal sinus are appeared to be the nasal structure related

Cochlear and vestibular effects of combined intratympanic gentamicin and dexamethasone

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of an intratympanic gentamicin-dexamethasone combination on the inner ear. MATERIALS and METHODS: Twenty-six Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups: Group I (Control), group II (Intratympanic dexamethasone; ITD), group III (Intratympanic gentamicin; ITG), and group IV (Intratympanic gentamicin and dexamethasone; ITGD). On the first day after basal auditory brainstem response (ABR) measurements, the ITG group received 0.03 mL of intratympanic gentamicin (26.7 mg/mL). Intratympanic injection of 0.06 mL of a solution containing 13.35 mg/mL gentamicin and 2 mg/mL dexamethasone was performed in the ITGD group. 0.03 mL of physiological intratympanic serum and dexamethasone (4 mg/mL) was applied in control and ITD groups, respectively. On the 7th day, ABR measurements were repeated and vestibular functions were evaluated. On the 21th day, ABR and vestibular tests were repeated, and the animals were sacrificed for histopathological investigation. RESULTS: The ITG group’s hearing thresholds deteriorated in all frequencies. The ITGD group’s hearing thresholds were significantly better than the ITG group, except at 8 kHz on the 7th day and in all frequencies at the 21th day measurements. The vestibular function scores of the ITG and ITGD groups were higher than the controls. Apoptotic changes were seen in cochlea, spiral ganglion, and vestibule of the ITG group. Cochlear and vestibular structures were well preserved in the ITGD group, similar to the controls. CONCLUSION: The ITGD combination led to a significant hearing preservation. Although in subjective vestibular tests, it seemed that vestibulotoxicity was present in both ITG and ITGD groups the histopathological investigations revealed no signs of vestibulotoxicity in the ITGD group in contrast to the ITG group. Further studies using a combination of different concentrations of gentamicin and dexamethasone are needed

The classification of frontal sinus pneumatization patterns by CT-based volumetry

We aimed to define the classification of frontal sinus pneumatization patterns according to three-dimensional volume measurements