Assessment of Japanese Stimulant Control Law Offenders Using the Addiction Severity Index—Japanese Version: Comparison with Patients in Treatment Settings

The present study assessed problems in Japanese prisoners (inmates) who abused methamphetamine. Fifty-two male inmates were assessed in 2005–2007 using the Addiction Severity Index-Japanese version and compared with 55 male methamphetamine abusers in hospitals and recovery centers. The χ2 and Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon tests showed that the inmates had a significantly lower education level, more frequently had full-time jobs, had more experience living with a sexual partner, and more frequently had a history of juvenile delinquency and criminal records than patients. Although psychiatric symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and hallucinations, were not common among inmates, suicidal behavior and trouble controlling violence were common in both groups

機械的外来刺激 (含筋マッサージ) の生理学的考察と将来展望

Since Hippocrates (BC 460-375), general body massage applied to human body tissues has been in use as a treatment for relief of various health disorders. Nowadays, though, it is mostly considered to be in the category of purely empirical, but not scientifically founded, ancient oriental therapies, because of difficulties to define precisely the biological effects of general body massage that might be potentially beneficial. However, recent advances in industrial technology have contributed importantly to the experimental methodology, and from the general progress in the analysis of biological responses concepts have emerged which, when duly considered, may help to overcome the above-mentioned difficulties to provide a rational basis for massage effects within the framework of modern western medicine. In this review article, therefore, treatment methods of ancient historical origin will be related to concepts established by modern bio-medical science, such as the so-called Skin Pressure Reflex (Takagi K. & Sakurai T. 1950) and the Gate Control Theory (Melzack RD. & Wall PD. 1965). The mutual similarities between experimental procedures from which these scientifically founded concepts were derived, and the mechanical effects of massage, will be pointed out. This includes not only consideration of the functional phenomena experienced under massage treatment, but also the neural mechanisms that may be involved as candidates for the induction of the empirically postulated treatment effects. Such mechanisms are considered as potential modulators of CNS activities-including neuro-endocrine control-affecting neuromuscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, and endocrine functions. With special respect to general massage, observations will be discussed which have provided evidence in support of the effectiveness of general massage according to the scientific standards of modern western medicine

Making a Robot Dance to Music Using Chaotic Itinerancy in a Network of FitzHugh-Nagumo Neurons

Abstract. We propose a technique to make a robot execute free and solitary dance movements on music, in a manner which simulates the dynamic alternations between synchronisation and autonomy typically observed in human behaviour. In contrast with previous approaches, we preprogram neither the dance patterns nor their alternation, but rather build in basic dynamics in the robot, and let the behaviour emerge in a seemingly autonomous manner. The robot motor commands are generated in real-time by converting the output of a neural network processing a sequence of pulses corresponding to the beats of the music being danced to. The spiking behaviour of individual neurons is controlled by a biologically-inspired model (FitzHugh-Nagumo). Under appropriate parameters, the network generates chaotic itinerant behaviour among low-dimensional local attractors. A robot controlled this way exhibits a variety of motion styles, some being periodic and strongly coupled to the musical rhythm and others being more independent, as well as spontaneous jumps from one style of motion to the next. The resulting behaviour is completely deterministic (as the solution of a non-linear dynamical system), adaptive to the music being played, and believed to be an interesting compromise between synchronisation and autonomy.

Parental Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms as Predictors of Psychosocial Problems in Children Treated for Cancer

The purpose of this study was to explore the association between psychosocial functioning of children treated for cancer and that of their parents. Factors associated with psychosocial functioning were also examined. The present study was a cross-sectional survey of 33 mothers and one father (mean age: 37.9), each of whom had a child that had been treated for cancer. The participants answered a package of questionnaires consisting of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Parent Experience of Child Illness (PECI), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Information about the children’s illnesses was collected from medical records. The CBCL total problems T score was correlated with the parental IES-R total scores. Intensity of treatment independently predicted the variance of parental long-term uncertainty. In conclusion, psychosocial problems of children with cancer were associated with parental post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Provision of early, adequate support to parents who are vulnerable to PTSS will help not only the parents, but also their children with cancer