Intuitive geometry and visuospatial working memory in children showing symptoms of nonverbal learning disabilities.

Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) and intuitive geometry were examined in two groups aged 11-13, one with children displaying symptoms of nonverbal learning disability (NLD; n = 16), and the other, a control group without learning disabilities (n = 16). The two groups were matched for general verbal abilities, age, gender, and socioeconomic level. The children were presented with simple storage and complex-span tasks involving VSWM and with the intuitive geometry task devised by Dehaene, Izard, Pica, and Spelke (2006 ). Results revealed that the two groups differed in the intuitive geometry task. Differences were particularly evident in Euclidean geometry and in geometrical transformations. Moreover, the performance of NLD children was worse than controls to a larger extent in complex-span than in simple storage tasks, and VSWM differences were able to account for group differences in geometry. Finally, a discriminant function analysis confirmed the crucial role of complex-span tasks involving VSWM in distinguishing between the two groups. Results are discussed with reference to the relationship between VSWM and mathematics difficulties in nonverbal learning disabilities

Histiocytosis in a Bernese Mountain dog

Bear, an 8-year-old castrated male Bernese Mountain dog, presented to Cornell University Hospital for Animals on June 9, 2009 for lethargy and wheezing for two days. Bear was febrile and in respiratory distress, with harsh lung sounds in all fields. Radiography revealed tracheobronchial and cranial mediastinal lymphadenopathy, as well as a nodular pattern throughout the lungs. Abdominal ultrasound was relatively unremarkable, however fine needle aspirates of the spleen and liver revealed marked histiocytic infiltrate of both organs without evidence of malignancy. A similar infiltrate was present in his mandibular salivary glands and lymph nodes days later. Histiocytosis from pyogranulomatous infection was ruled out after negative Bartonella PCR, 4DX test, and acid-fast stain. Bear’s histiocytic infiltrate did not show typical signs of malignancy, however Bear had the clinical features of an aggressive, malignant disease. A presumptive diagnosis of disseminated histiocytic sarcoma, an inherited disease in the breed, was made

Do Click Trains Dilate Time Perception due to Physiological Arousal?

This project contains the materials, data, and supplementary materials that accompany the manuscript 'Do click trains dilate time perception due to physiological arousal?

Do Click Trains Dilate Time Perception due to Physiological Arousal?

Presentation of an auditory click-train before a stimulus leads to the relative overestimation of stimulus duration. This is thought to be due to an increase in the rate of the pacemaker (inferred from the slope when estimates are regressed against stimulus duration) of an internal clock, said to be triggered by physiological arousal. Work with emotional stimuli suggests similar temporal dilations, and there is (mixed) evidence suggesting this effect may be due to physiological arousal. We therefore aimed to test the assertion that click trains increase duration estimates due to increased physiological arousal. We compared estimates of tone durations following negative sounds, neutral sounds, click trains, and silence, while recording pupil size and heart rate as measures of arousal. Contrary to click train literature, estimates did not significantly differ following any of the stimulation types, possibly due to large trial baseline periods. However, pupil size change was significantly higher during negative and neutral sounds than both click trains and silence, and higher during click trains than silence. Heart rate change was higher during negative sounds than click trains. Finally, while pupil size change did not correlate with estimation slopes, heart rate change correlated with estimation slopes for neutral sounds and click trains (significantly) and negative sounds and silence (moderate and anecdotal Bayes factors respectively). In conclusion, there was evidence to suggest that click trains increased physiological arousal (pupil size) compared to silence, and that higher arousal (heart rate) during click trains correlates with estimation slopes (pacemaker rate) following click trains