Cerebral Asymmetries: Complementary and Independent Processes

Most people are right-handed and left-cerebrally dominant for speech, leading historically to the general notion of left-hemispheric dominance, and more recently to genetic models proposing a single lateralizing gene. This hypothetical gene can account for higher incidence of right-handers in those with left cerebral dominance for speech. It remains unclear how this dominance relates to the right-cerebral dominance for some nonverbal functions such as spatial or emotional processing. Here we use functional magnetic resonance imaging with a sample of 155 subjects to measure asymmetrical activation induced by speech production in the frontal lobes, by face processing in the temporal lobes, and by spatial processing in the parietal lobes. Left-frontal, right-temporal, and right-parietal dominance were all intercorrelated, suggesting that right-cerebral biases may be at least in part complementary to the left-hemispheric dominance for language. However, handedness and parietal asymmetry for spatial processing were uncorrelated, implying independent lateralizing processes, one producing a leftward bias most closely associated with handedness, and the other a rightward bias most closely associated with spatial attention

Executive functions and borderline personality features in adolescents with major depressive disorder

BackgroundExecutive functions (EF) consolidate during adolescence and are impaired in various emerging psychiatric disorders, such as pediatric Major Depressive Disorder (pMDD) and Borderline Personality Disorder. Previous studies point to a marked heterogeneity of deficits in EF in pMDD. We examined the hypothesis that deficits in EF in adolescents with pMDD might be related to comorbid Borderline Personality features (BPF).MethodsWe examined a sample of 144 adolescents (15.86 ± 1.32) diagnosed with pMDD. Parents rated their child’s EF in everyday life with the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and BPF with the Impulsivity and Emotion Dysregulation Scale (IED-27). The adolescents completed equivalent self-rating measures. Self- and parent-ratings of the BRIEF scores were compared with paired t-Tests. Correlation and parallel mediation analyses, ICC, and multiple regression analyses were used to assess symptom overlap, parent-child agreement, and the influence of depression severity.ResultsOver the whole sample, none of the self- or parent-rated BRIEF scales reached a mean score above T > 65, which would indicate clinically impaired functioning. Adolescents tended to report higher impairment in EF than their parents. Depression severity was the strongest predictor for BPF scores, with Emotional Control predicting parent-rated BPF and Inhibit predicting self-rated BPF. Furthermore, the Behavioral Regulation Index, which includes EF closely related to behavioral control, significantly mediated the relationship between depression severity and IED-27 factors emotional dysregulation and relationship difficulties but not non-suicidal self-injuries.ConclusionOn average, adolescents with depression show only subtle deficits in executive functioning. However, increased EF deficits are associated with the occurrence of comorbid borderline personality features, contributing to a more severe overall psychopathology. Therefore, training of executive functioning might have a positive effect on psychosocial functioning in severely depressed adolescents, as it might also improve comorbid BPF.Clinical trial registrationwww.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03167307

Iron status in Swiss adolescents with paediatric major depressive disorder and healthy controls: a matched case–control study

Purpose: Depression is associated with low-grade systemic inflammation and impaired intestinal function, both of which may reduce dietary iron absorption. Low iron status has been associated with depression in adults and adolescents. In Swiss adolescents, we determined the associations between paediatric major depressive disorder (pMDD), inflammation, intestinal permeability and iron status. Methods: This is a matched case-control study in 95 adolescents with diagnosed pMDD and 95 healthy controls aged 13-17 years. We assessed depression severity using the Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised. We measured iron status (serum ferritin (SF) and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR)), inflammation (C-reactive protein (CRP) and alpha-1-acid-glycoprotein (AGP)), and intestinal permeability (intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP)). We assessed history of ID diagnosis and treatment with a self-reported questionnaire. Results: SF concentrations did not differ between adolescents with pMDD (median (IQR) SF: 31.2 (20.2, 57.0) μg/L) and controls (32.5 (22.6, 48.3) μg/L, p = 0.4). sTfR was lower among cases than controls (4.50 (4.00, 5.50) mg/L vs 5.20 (4.75, 6.10) mg/L, p < 0.001). CRP, AGP and I-FABP were higher among cases than controls (CRP: 0.16 (0.03, 0.43) mg/L vs 0.04 (0.02, 0.30) mg/L, p = 0.003; AGP: 0.57 (0.44, 0.70) g/L vs 0.52 (0.41, 0.67) g/L, p = 0.024); I-FABP: 307 (17, 515) pg/mL vs 232 (163, 357) pg/mL, p = 0.047). Of cases, 44% reported having a history of ID diagnosis compared to 26% among controls (p = 0.020). Finally, 28% of cases had iron treatment at/close to study inclusion compared to 14% among controls. Conclusion: Cases had significantly higher systemic inflammation and intestinal permeability than controls but did not have lower iron status. Whether this is related to the higher rate of ID diagnosis and iron treatment in adolescents with depression is uncertain

Using the signal-to-noise ratio of GPS records to detect motion of structures

Although major breakthroughs have been achieved during the last decades in the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology on structural health monitoring, the mitigation of the biases and errors impeding its positioning accuracy remains a challenge. This paper tests an alternative approach that can increase the reliability of the GPS system in structural monitoring by using the spectral content of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of GPS signals to detect frequencies of antenna vibrations. This approach suggests the potential of using SNR data analysis as a supplement to low-quality positioning solution or as a near real-time alert of excessive vibration proceeding the position solution calculation. Experiments, involving a GPS antenna subjected to vertical vibrations of 0.4- to 4.5-cm amplitude at a range of frequencies between 0.007 and 1 Hz, examine the dynamic multipath-induced SNR response corresponding to the antenna motion. Synchronised fluctuations in the SNR time series were observed to reflect the antenna motion and their spectral content to include the frequencies of motion. SNR records from the GPS monitoring of the Wilford suspension bridge were used to validate the SNR sensitivity to controlled vibrations of the bridge deck. The natural frequency of 1.64 Hz was extracted from SNR measurements using spectral analysis on a 6-mm amplitude vibration, and the frequency of the semistatic displacement (∼0.02 Hz) was revealed in the SNR records permitting, after appropriate filtering, the estimation of a few millimetre semistatic displacement from the GPS time series without the need for any other sensor

Executive functions and borderline personality features in adolescents with major depressive disorder

BackgroundExecutive functions (EF) consolidate during adolescence and are impaired in various emerging psychiatric disorders, such as pediatric Major Depressive Disorder (pMDD) and Borderline Personality Disorder. Previous studies point to a marked heterogeneity of deficits in EF in pMDD. We examined the hypothesis that deficits in EF in adolescents with pMDD might be related to comorbid Borderline Personality features (BPF).MethodsWe examined a sample of 144 adolescents (15.86 ± 1.32) diagnosed with pMDD. Parents rated their child’s EF in everyday life with the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and BPF with the Impulsivity and Emotion Dysregulation Scale (IED-27). The adolescents completed equivalent self-rating measures. Self- and parent-ratings of the BRIEF scores were compared with paired t-Tests. Correlation and parallel mediation analyses, ICC, and multiple regression analyses were used to assess symptom overlap, parent-child agreement, and the influence of depression severity.ResultsOver the whole sample, none of the self- or parent-rated BRIEF scales reached a mean score above T &gt; 65, which would indicate clinically impaired functioning. Adolescents tended to report higher impairment in EF than their parents. Depression severity was the strongest predictor for BPF scores, with Emotional Control predicting parent-rated BPF and Inhibit predicting self-rated BPF. Furthermore, the Behavioral Regulation Index, which includes EF closely related to behavioral control, significantly mediated the relationship between depression severity and IED-27 factors emotional dysregulation and relationship difficulties but not non-suicidal self-injuries.ConclusionOn average, adolescents with depression show only subtle deficits in executive functioning. However, increased EF deficits are associated with the occurrence of comorbid borderline personality features, contributing to a more severe overall psychopathology. Therefore, training of executive functioning might have a positive effect on psychosocial functioning in severely depressed adolescents, as it might also improve comorbid BPF.Clinical trial registrationwww.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03167307

Supplemental Information 7: Statement of purpose/rationale for systematic review

Language lateralisation refers to the phenomenon in which one hemisphere (typically the left) shows greater involvement in language functions than the other. Measurement of laterality is of interest both to researchers investigating the neural organisation of the language system and to clinicians needing to establish an individual’s hemispheric dominance for language prior to surgery, as in patients with intractable epilepsy. Recently, there has been increasing awareness of the possibility that different language processes may develop hemispheric lateralisation independently, and to varying degrees. However, it is not always clear whether differences in laterality across language tasks with fMRI are reflective of meaningful variation in hemispheric lateralisation, or simply of trivial methodological differences between paradigms. This systematic review aims to assess different language tasks in terms of the strength, reliability and robustness of the laterality measurements they yield with fMRI, to look at variability that is both dependent and independent of aspects of study design, such as the baseline task, region of interest, and modality of the stimuli. Recommendations are made that can be used to guide task design; however, this review predominantly highlights that the current high level of methodological variability in language paradigms prevents conclusions as to how different language functions may lateralise independently. We conclude with suggestions for future research using tasks that engage distinct aspects of language functioning, whilst being closely matched on non-linguistic aspects of task design (e.g., stimuli, task timings etc); such research could produce more reliable and conclusive insights into language lateralisation. This systematic review was registered as a protocol on Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/5vmpt/

Speech lateralization and motor control

A relationship between motor control and speech lateralization has long been postulated by researchers and clinicians with an interest in the functional organization of the human brain. Exactly how motor control might be related to speech representation, however, is rarely examined. This chapter examines current issues relating to the organization, development and measurement of motor control and speech representation. We further consider from neuropsychological, developmental, neurological and genetic perspectives that speech and fine motor control involve planning and sequencing processes, which are mediated by an integrated neural network localized to the left hemisphere. Specifically, we discuss studies from our laboratory using functional Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography to determine speech laterality, correlating this with hand preference and pegboard measures of motor laterality. Our findings show that handedness, as measured by a motor skill task, can be predictive of speech laterality, both in typically developing adults and children. We have also shown that individuals with developmental motor coordination impairments also show atypical speech lateralization, providing further evidence that neurological motor and speech systems are intrinsically connected. We consider these results in the context of a left lateralized speech-praxis center model, which could account for the relationship shown between sequenced-based motor and speech tasks

Kinder zwischen Wunsch und Wirklichkeit : über die Determinanten von Kinderwunsch, Fertilitätsintention und deren Realisierung

"Kinder kriegen die Leute sowieso." So lautete ein Ausspruch von Konrad Adenauer aus den 1950er Jahren. Lange Zeit mag dieses Zitat einen allgemeingültigen Charakter gehabt haben. Betrachtet man jedoch die demografische Lage in Europa und in der Schweiz zum heutigen Zeitpunkt, so trifft die Einschätzung Adenauers nicht mehr zu. Abseits von den Diskussionen über "Mehr Kinder braucht das Land", wie sie die Presse mit negativem Unterton führt, und dem wissenschaftlichen Diskurs über "Weniger sind mehr", stellt sich vielmehr die Frage, wer sich heute Kinder wünscht, wer sie intendiert und wer sein Vorhaben tatsächlich realisiert und Kinder bekommt. Bei welchen Prozessen des generativen Verhaltens handelt es sich um die bewusste Abwägung von Kosten und Nutzen einer möglichen Elternschaft und wo spielen psychologische Strukturen eine Rolle? Lässt sich der proklamierte "Gebärstreik" der Akademikerinnen empirisch nachweisen? Gibt es Unterschiede zwischen den Sprachregionen und Ähnlichkeiten zu den Nachbarländern Deutschland, Italien und Frankreich? Das Buch liefert Antworten auf diese und weitere Fragen, und bietet so Erklärungen zu den Bedingungen von generativen Verhaltens