Viewing the public sphere with influentials and citizens

The currently popular emphasis on democratic discussion in the “public sphere” often is critically viewed by observers commenting on issues of participation, empowerment, and efficacy without input from influentials, whose voices often are the content of public debates. Habermas was critical of the quality of democratic discourse, arguing for an “ideal speech situation” where participants are free to question all proposals; introduce proposals; and express their attitudes, wishes, and needs. This article examines perceptions of the climate of communication in the public sphere by influentials and the general public of a major urban area

Planum temporale asymmetry in people who stutter

Purpose: Previous studies have reported that the planum temporale – a language-related structure that normally shows a leftward asymmetry – had reduced asymmetry in people who stutter (PWS) and reversed asymmetry in those with severe stuttering. These findings are consistent with the theory that altered language lateralization may be a cause or consequence of stuttering. Here, we re-examined these findings in a larger sample of PWS. Methods: We evaluated planum temporale asymmetry in structural MRI scans obtained from 67 PWS and 63 age-matched controls using: 1) manual measurements of the surface area; 2) voxel-based morphometry to automatically calculate grey matter density. We examined the influences of gender, age, and stuttering severity on planum temporale asymmetry. Results: The size of the planum temporale and its asymmetry were not different in PWS compared with Controls using either the manual or the automated method. Both groups showed a significant leftwards asymmetry on average (about one-third of PWS and Controls showed rightward asymmetry). Importantly, and contrary to previous reports, the degree of asymmetry was not related to stuttering severity. In the manual measurements, women who stutter had a tendency towards rightwards asymmetry but men who stutter showed the same degree of leftwards asymmetry as male Controls. In the automated measurements, Controls showed a significant increase in leftwards asymmetry with age but this relationship was not observed in PWS. Conclusions: We conclude that reduced planum temporale asymmetry is not a prominent feature of the brain in PWS and that the asymmetry is unrelated to stuttering severity.</p

Early changes of brain connectivity in primary open angle glaucoma

5noreservedOur aim was to assess in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), a major cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, whether diffuse brain changes recently shown in advanced stage can be detected since the early stage. We used multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 57 patients with the three POAG stages and in 29 age-matched normal controls (NC). Voxelwise statistics was performed with nonparametric permutation testing. Compared with NC, disrupted anatomical connectivity (AC) was found in the whole POAG group along the visual pathway and in nonvisual white matter tracts (P < 0.001). Moreover, POAG patients showed decreased functional connectivity (FC) in the visual (P = 0.004) and working memory (P < 0.001) networks whereas an increase occurred in the default mode (P = 0.002) and subcortical (P < 0.001) networks. Altered AC and FC were already present in early POAG (n = 14) in both visual and nonvisual systems (P ≤ 0.01). Only severe POAG (n = 30) showed gray matter atrophy and this mapped on visual cortex (P < 0.001) and hippocampus (P < 0.001). Increasing POAG stage was associated with worsening AC in both visual and nonvisual pathway (P < 0.001), progressive atrophy in the hippocampus and frontal cortex (P < 0.003). Most of the structural and functional alterations within and outside the visual system showed correlation (P < 0.001 to 0.02) with computerized visual field and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness. In conclusion, the complex pathogenesis of POAG includes widespread damage of AC and altered FC within and beyond the visual system since the early disease stage. The association of brain MRI changes with measures of visual severity emphasizes the clinical relevance of our findings. Hum Brain Mapp 37:4581–4596, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.mixedFrezzotti, Paolo; Giorgio, Antonio; Toto, Francesca; De Leucio, Alessandro; De Stefano, NicolaFrezzotti, Paolo; Giorgio, Antonio; Toto, Francesca; De Leucio, Alessandro; DE STEFANO, Nicol