Children’s sensitivity to speaker accuracy and explanatory competence with biological concepts

This thesis investigated children’s selective trust in contexts that extend beyond a direct comparison of a distinctly accurate labeller with a distinctly inaccurate labeller in the domain of artifacts. First, it was examined whether children’s evaluations of informant trustworthiness is similar across the biological domain and the domain of artifacts. Second, it was investigated how children interpret novel labellers when compared to accurate and inaccurate labellers. Finally, children were presented with informants who provided functional or surface information for body parts to determine whether they prefer learning from informants who provided functional explanations. Across five experiments, children aged between 3 and 8 years of age (N = 379) were tested. The main findings were as follows: (a) 4- and 5-year-olds knew more about external body parts than internal organs; (b) 5-year-olds began to appreciate that speakers offering novel information were more trustworthy than those offering inaccurate information; (c) 4- to 8-year-olds had difficulty with distinguishing between informants who provided either functional explanations or obvious descriptions for highly unfamiliar organs; (d) however, when presented with informants who provided either functional or obvious information for highly familiar body parts, 8-year-olds (and to some extent, 5-year-olds) showed better recall of which informant provided a particular type of explanation, but they did not consider either informant to be a more trustworthy source. These findings indicate that children demonstrate selective trust in the biological domain, as well as in contexts that go beyond comparing accurate and inaccurate labellers. It is apparent that children are balanced in their evaluations of informants who provide new information, as well as those provide information that varies in explanatory depth. However, they are yet to fully consider functional explanations to be superior to superficial descriptions

Gender and obesity

The effects of olanzapine on the symptomatology of children with pervasive developmental disorder with emphasis on problems of communication and the safety of the drug were investigated in a 3-month open-label, open-dosage study. Participating in the study were 25 children age 6 to 16 years with a diagnosis of either autistic disorder or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. Psychometric measures included the Clinical Global Impression of Severity/Improvement, the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, and the TARGET (a checklist of five target symptoms). Communication skills were assessed during behavioral analysis of a playroom session. Safety measures included clinical chemistry variables, electrocardiography, the SimpsonAngus Neurological Rating Scale, the Barnes Akathisia Scale, and vital signs. Twenty-three children completed the study and showed significant improvement on three subscales of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (Irritability, Hyperactivity, and Excessive Speech) and the TARGET. The final mean dose was 10.7 mg/day. Several aspects of communication were also improved after olanzapine treatment. However, only three children were considered responders in terms of the Clinical Global Impression of Severity/Improvement scores. The most important adverse events were weight gain, increased appetite, and loss of strength. Three children showed extrapyramidal symptoms that disappeared after the dose was lowered. Thus, while olanzapine was a relatively safe medication in children, its clinical relevance in children with pervasive developmental disorder may be limited

Is 18 months too early for the CHAT?

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A controlled study of formal thought disorder in children with autism and multiple complex developmental disorders.

Contains fulltext : 48929.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Along with well-defined categories in classification systems (e.g., autistic disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)), practitioners are confronted with many children showing mixed forms of developmental psychopathology. These clusters of symptoms are on the borderlines of more defined categories. The late Donald Cohen proposed heuristic criteria to study a group defined by impaired social sensitivity, impaired regulation of affect, and thinking disorders under the name multiple complex developmental disorders (MCDD). Although these children meet criteria for pervasive developmental disorder--not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), they have additional important clinical features, such as thought disorder. After highlighting similarities and differences between MCDD and comparable groups (e.g., multidimensionally impaired children), this paper presents the findings of a study comparing formal thought disorder scores in children with MCDD to children with autism spectrum diagnoses, such as autistic disorder (AD), and to children with nonspectrum diagnoses, such as ADHD and anxiety disorders. METHODS: Videotaped speech samples of four groups of high-functioning, latency-aged children with MCDD, AD, ADHD, and anxiety disorders were compared to a control group of normal children using the Kiddie Formal Thought Disorder Rating Scale (K-FTDS). RESULTS: High formal thought disorder scores were found both in the AD and MCDD groups, low rates in the ADHD groups, and no thought disorder in the anxiety disorder and normal control groups. The severity of formal thought disorder was related to verbal IQ scores within the AD and MCDD groups. CONCLUSION: High formal thought scores in children with complex developmental disorders, such as AD and MCDD, appear to reflect impaired communication skills rather than early signs of psychosis

Increasing the use of intervention research evidence in public health policy and practice: roles of policy makers, practitioners, researchers and funders in research generation and utilization

The effective application of research evidence to guide public health policy and practice is an ongoing and significant challenge which was investigated in this thesis through 6 separate but related studies organised under 4 research themes: 1) frameworks for translating research evidence into policy and practice; 2) types of research used to inform public health action; 3) scaling up public health action; and 4) impacts of research. Methodologies used included systematic reviews, case studies, bibliometric and content analysis, document review, surveys, in-depth interviews and expert consensus processes. It was found that the translation models can be used to better understand the use of research evidence in ‘real world’ policy and practice. A bibliomteric analysis found that intervention research remains only a small proportion of published literature across health issues and timeframes (between 10-23%). Studies that focused on scaling up resulted in the development of a guide and concluded that more intervention research that focuses on the effectiveness, reach, and costs of operating at scale and key service delivery issues (including acceptability and fit of interventions and delivery models) will increase relevance and ultimately usability of research evidence for scaling up population health action. Finally, an assessment of the impacts of a government applied research funding scheme found that projects achieved the greatest policy and practice impacts if they engaged end-users from the inception, utilized existing policy networks and structures in research development and dissemination. A better understanding of the science of implementation and impacts of research is essential to maximising the policy and practice related returns of research investment

Subtyping stereotype behavior in children: the association betwen stereotypic behavior, mood and heart rate

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Timing of social gaze behavior in children with pervasive developmental disorder

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Stroop interference and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a review and meta-analysis.

Contains fulltext : 53204.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Previous reviews and meta-analyses that addressed abnormal Stroop interference in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) yielded mixed results. The authors of the present study argue that the inconsistencies may reflect the problematic nature of 2 frequently used methods to quantify Stroop interference-the difference score and Golden's method (C. J. Golden, 1978). Golden's method correction for base-word reading is inadequate, and the difference score is sensitive to the nature of the outcome variable. The latter can be remedied with a ratio score. Contrasting previous meta-analyses, this meta-analysis covers all age groups and all Stroop test variants, and it excludes studies using the Golden quantification method. Mean effect sizes for interference in ADHD as quantified by difference scores relative to control scores were 0.24 across all studies but 1.11 for time-per-item studies; outcome variable was a significant moderator variable, reflecting the sensitivity of the difference score to this variable. Consistency analysis of ratio scores across 19 studies reveals more interference for the ADHD groups relative to the control groups. It is concluded that interference control is consistently compromised in individuals with ADHD

The role of IQGAP1 during mitosis

Mitosis is a tightly regulated fundamental process and its mis-regulation is commonly associated with tumourigenesis. IQ-domain GTPase-activating Protein-1 (IQGAP1) is a scaffold protein that interacts with many proteins implicated in mitosis. IQGAP1 is essential for successful completion of cytokinesis in yeast but its role in mammalian mitosis remains unknown. The novel mitotic functions of IQGAP1 in mammalian cells were examined in this thesis. During mitosis, IQGAP1 phosphorylation at Ser-86, Ser-330 and Thr-1434 are significantly up-regulated. Thr-1434 is identified as a substrate of cyclin A-CDK2 and cyclin A/B-CDK1 complexes in vitro. Depletion of IQGAP1 results in numerical centrosome abnormality, chromosome misalignment, and mis-regulation of astral microtubule activities. These functions are dependent on the three mitotic phosphorylation sites identified. IQGAP1 also regulates the expression levels and localisation of dynein and the Gαi/LGN/NuMA complex, which explains the atypical distribution of astral microtubules at the cell cortex in IQGAP1-depleted cells. IQGAP1 is not required for recruitment and contractility of the actinomyosin contractile ring for ingression. Instead, phosphorylation at Ser-330 coordinates efficient reassembly of the nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) for abscission completion. This thesis revealed the diverse roles of IQGAP1 in regulating mitosis, which may ultimately lead to the discovery of new anti-cancer therapeutic targets

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and autonomic nervous system activity in disruptive children and matched controles

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