Transistor Circuits

Contains reports on two research projects

Transistor Circuits

Contains reports on two research projects

Feeling the beat where it counts: fostering multi-limb rhythm skills with the haptic drum kit

This paper introduces and explores a tool known as the Haptic Drum Kit. The Haptic Drum Kit employs four computer-controlled vibrotactile devices, one attached to each limb via the wrists and ankles. In the mode of use discussed in this paper, haptic pulses are used to guide the playing, on a drum kit, of rhythmic patterns that require multi-limb co-ordination. The immediate aim is to foster rhythm skills and multi-limb coordination. A broader aim is to systematically develop skills in recognizing, identifying, memorizing, retaining, analyzing, reproducing and composing monophonic and polyphonic rhythms. We consider the implications of three different theories for this approach: the work of the music educator Dalcroze (1865-1950 [1]; the entrainment theory of human rhythm perception and production [2,3]; and sensory motor contingency theory [4]. In this paper we introduce the Haptic Drum Kit; consider the implications of the above theories for this approach; report on a design study; and identify and discuss a variety of emerging design issues. As part of the design study, audio and haptic guidance was compared for five people learning to play polyphonic drum patterns of varying complexity. The results indicate that beginning drummers are able to learn intricate drum patterns from the haptic stimuli alone, although haptic plus audio is the mode of presentation preferred by subjects

Transistor Circuits

Contains reports on three research projects

Transistors

Contains reports on eight research projects.Lincoln Laboratory under Contract AF19(122)-45

Early Motor Developmental Milestones and Schizotypy in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort Study 1966.

Delayed motor developmental milestones have been reported to be associated with schizophrenia in previous studies, but no study has examined the relationship between early motor developmental milestones and schizotypy. We have examined this relationship in a prospective birth cohort.In the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, data on 9 early motor developmental milestones were collected prospectively from visits to child welfare centers, and data on adult schizotypy were collected through a questionnaire (N = 4557-4674). Positive schizotypy was measured by the Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS), negative schizotypy was measured by Physical Anhedonia Scale (PhAS) and Social Anhedonia Scale (SAS). Three related scales were included: Schizoidia Scale (SCHD), Hypomanic Personality Scale (HPS), and Bipolar II Scale (BIP2). We examined the milestone-schizotypy associations before and after excluding cases of schizophrenia from this population-based sample. Hierarchical regression analyses adjusted for covariates and separately for both genders were performed. In men, each extra month of delay in achievement of touching thumb with index finger, sitting unsupported, standing up, walking with support, or walking unsupported was associated with an increase in PAS, PhAS, or SCHD scores, or decrease in BIP2 score (P < .05). In women, each extra month of delay in achievement of turning from back to tummy was associated with an increase in PhAS and SAS scores (P < .05). Schizotypy is associated with delayed motor developmental milestones in early-life, but there is some heterogeneity with regards to types of milestones and gender. These findings suggest delayed motor development confers risk across the continuum of schizophrenia syndrome

Attention deficit hyperactivity and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms in adolescence and risk of substance use disorders - a general population-based birth cohort study

BACKGROUND: Externalizing symptoms are associated with risk of future substance use disorder (SUD). Few longitudinal studies exist using general population-based samples which assess the spectrum of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: We aimed to study the associations between adolescent ADHD symptoms and subsequent SUD and additionally examine whether the risk of SUD is influenced by comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms. METHODS: The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 was linked to nationwide health care register data for incident SUD diagnoses until age 33 years (n = 6278, 49.5% male). ADHD/ODD-case status at age 16 years was defined using parent-rated ADHD indicated by Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD symptoms and Normal Behaviors (SWAN) questionnaire with 95% percentile cut-off. To assess the impact of ODD comorbidity on SUD risk, participants were categorized into four groups based on their ADHD/ODD case status. Cox-regression analysis with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to study associations between adolescent ADHD/ODD case statuses and subsequent SUD. RESULTS: In all, 552 participants (8.8%) presented with ADHD case status at the age of 16 years, and 154/6278 (2.5%) were diagnosed with SUD during the follow-up. ADHD case status was associated with SUD during the follow-up (HR = 3.84, 95% CI 2.69-5.50). After adjustments for sex, family structure, and parental psychiatric disorder and early substance use the association with ADHD case status and SUD remained statistically significant (HR = 2.60, 95% CI 1.70-3.98). The risk of SUD remained elevated in individuals with ADHD case status irrespective of ODD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: ADHD in adolescence was associated with incident SUD in those with and without symptoms of ODD. The association of ADHD and SUD persisted even after adjustment for a wide range of potential confounds. This emphasizes the need to identify preventative strategies for adolescents with ADHD so as to improve health outcomes

Transistors

Contains reports on six research projects

Taste function in early stage treated and untreated Parkinson’s disease

Since brain stem regions associated with early Parkinson’s disease (PD) pathology encroach upon those involved in taste function, the ability to taste may be compromised in PD. However, studies on this point have been contradictory. We administered well-validated wholemouth and regional taste tests that incorporated multiple concentrations of sucrose, citric acid, caffeine, and sodium chloride to 29 early stage PD patients and 29 age-, sex-, and race-matched controls. Electrogustometry was also performed on the anterior tongue. The PD cohort was tested both on and off dopamine-related medications in counterbalanced test sessions. While whole-mouth taste identification test scores for all stimuli were, on average, nominally lower for the PD patients than for the controls, a trend in the opposite direction was noted for the intensity ratings at the lower stimulus concentrations for all stimuli except caffeine. Moreover, regional testing found that PD subjects tended to rate the stimuli, relative to the controls, as more intense on the anterior tongue and less intense on the posterior tongue. No significant associations were evident between taste test scores and UPDRS scores, L-DOPA medication equivalency values, or [99mTc]TRODAT-1 SPECT imaging of dopamine transporter uptake within the striatum and associated regions. Our findings suggest that suprathreshold measures of taste function are influenced by PD and that this disease differentially influences taste function on anterior (CN VII) and posterior (CN IX) tongue regions. Conceivably PD-related damage to CN IX releases central inhibition on CN VII at the level of the brainstem, resulting in enhanced taste intensity on the anterior tongue