Information Processing of the Rorschach's Traumatic Content Index in Trauma-exposed Adults: An Event Related Potential (ERP) Study.

PTSD elicits hypervigilance to trauma-related stimuli. Our novel research examined event-related potentials from Blood, Anatomy, and Morbid content derived from the Rorschach's traumatic content index (TCI). Participants included: 16 with PTSD, 24 trauma-exposed without PTSD (non-PTSD), and 16 non-traumatized Controls. P3 oddball paradigms were used with TCI-derived Distractors and neutral Targets/Standards. We predicted larger P3 amplitudes in the context of TCI-related Distractors among trauma-exposed participants. Significant interaction of Group and Distractor type was found for P3 amplitude. PTSD and non-PTSD groups exhibited larger P3 amplitudes from Blood and Anatomy Distractors, and attenuated amplitudes from Morbid; the reverse pattern was found among Controls. A late negative component was observed, denoting a significantly larger area under the curve (AUC) among the PTSD group for Anatomy and Blood Distractors. Larger AUC's were observed for Distractors among the PTSD group, and Targets among Controls. The findings concur with the neurocircuitry model of PTSD and suggest impairment in cerebral suppression of attention to stimuli that may have been perceptually primed with trauma.

Stress among healthcare students--a cross disciplinary perspective.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSES: Perceived stress (PS) among healthcare students worldwide is a recognized problem. To address the paucity of data about the actual degree of PS, this study aimed to: 1) evaluate and compare PS across three healthcare programs (Physical Therapy [PT], Communication Disorders [CD], and Nutrition Sciences [NS]) in one university; 2) evaluate changes in PS across study years; 3) identify the contribution of academic- and socio-demographic-related variables to PS; and 4) determine whether the Israeli students' PS levels differ from those of their peers in other countries. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was performed among all undergraduate PT, CD, and NS students from one university. Data were collected using anonymous questionnaires. Instruments included the Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS) and the Undergraduate Sources of Stress (USOS). ANOVA was used to evaluate the differences between the three programs, and regression analysis to evaluate the contribution of socio-demographic factors to PS and USOS. RESULTS: A total of 312 students (PT--154; CD--92; NS--66) participated in the study. Mean PSS (range: 13.5-13.6) was similar in the three programs. The USOS academic factor was the most reported source of stress in all programs. Most socio-demographic variables were not related to either PS or USOS. CONCLUSIONS: Students from PT, CD, and NS programs perceived similar levels of stress. The academic factor was perceived as the most important source of stress by students from the three departments, despite differences in the academic educational programs. Further studies are needed to generalize these results and enable a comparison between healthcare students and other students' stress perceptions.

Cross-cultural differences in comorbid symptoms of children with autism spectrum disorders: an international examination between Israel, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between culture and symptoms of comorbid psychopathology in those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). DESIGN: Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) for each country and each sub-scale of the Autism Spectrum Disorders-Comorbid for Children (ASD-CC). Follow-up independent univariate analyses and post-hoc tests as needed. METHODS: Separate samples from South Korea, the UK and Israel were compared to a sample from the US in order to examine cultural contributions, using the ASD-CC. RESULTS: Overall, few differences were found. Significantly, the US had significantly higher scores than South Korea on the avoidant sub-scale. Additionally, the US had significantly higher scores than Israel on the over-eating and tantrum sub-scales. No significant differences were found between the US and the UK. CONCLUSION: Cultural factors, such as views of typical behaviour, should be taken into account when examining symptoms of comorbidity in children with ASD.

Event related potentials (ERP) and behavioral measurements to verbal stimulation of visual fields.

Event related potentials (ERP) to visually presented linguistic stimuli were examined using a lexical-decision task and an oddball paradigm. Stimuli were presented to the central, right or left visual fields (CVF, RVF and LVF) and generated ERP with very clear N100-P300 components. The question addressed was whether there is ERP evidence for left hemisphere (LH) superiority in linguistic discrimination as reported behaviorally. Nineteen young, right-handed male subjects participated. The main factor influencing the latency and amplitude of N100 was that of contralateral versus ipsilateral stimulation. Shorter N100 latency and larger amplitude were recorded over the hemisphere contralateral to the visual field stimulated. In contrast, the factors influencing the P300 parameters were the visual field stimulated and the hemisphere over which the ERP was recorded. P300 amplitude was significantly larger and P300 latency significantly shorter over the LH than over the RH. Significantly shorter P300 latency and larger peak amplitude were found for RVF than for LVF stimulation.