ABSTRACT
Spondylodiscitis is a rather rare condition with an annual incidence of 1-7 per 100,000. Thus, empirical data on the treatment of this disease are limited. In 2020, the first German guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of spondylodiscitis was published. In a 5-year retrospective analysis, we examined the patient collective, the current diagnosis and treatment strategy, and the effect of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) diagnostics on therapeutic decisions of a consecutive monocentric cohort of 66 patients without neurological symptoms. The majority of the patients were male (55%) with a mean age of 74 years. Non-operative therapy was found to be associated with short-term treatment success in 54 (82%) of the patients. In 12 patients, who underwent surgical therapy, MRI diagnostics and clinical findings were equally important for the decision to perform a surgery. Patients treated operatively stayed for an average of 33.6 (±12.9) days in the hospital and thus significantly longer than non-operatively treated patients with 22.2 (±8.0) days. The in-house standard of care did not essentially deviate from the guideline's recommendations. Future research should address early detection of the need for surgical therapy, and immediate anti-infective treatment appropriate to the detected pathogen.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The long-term effects of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in children and adolescents are increasingly discussed due to their potential impact on psycho-social development and education. This study aims to evaluate post-hospital care of children and adolescents after mild TBI using a physician survey. METHODS: A self-developed, pre-tested questionnaire on diagnostics and treatment of TBI in outpatient care was sent to a representative sample of general practitioners and pediatricians in Germany. RESULTS: Datasets from 699 general practitioners, 334 pediatricians and 24 neuropediatricians were available and included in the analysis. Nearly half of the general practitioners and most pediatricians say they treat at least one acute pediatric TBI per year. However, a substantive proportion of general practitioners are not familiar with scales assessing TBI severity and have difficulties assessing the symptoms correctly. Pediatricians seem to have better knowledge than general practitioners when it comes to treatment and outpatient care of TBI. CONCLUSIONS: To increase knowledge about TBI in outpatient physicians, targeted training courses should be offered, especially for general practitioners. Moreover, handing out written information about long-term effects and reintegration after TBI should be encouraged in outpatient practice.
ABSTRACT
Individual differences in trait levels of openness to experience and creativity have been theoretically linked to dopamine function. However, empirical evidence for this assumption is scarce, especially for causal connections. The present study aims to directly assess the influence of dopamine activity on the established association between openness to experience and divergent thinking (i.e., an index of creativity). We hypothesized that manipulating dopamine activity alters the relationship between self-reported openness to experience and ideational fluency and flexibility. In a placebo-controlled between-subjects design, 193 healthy male volunteers completed four divergent thinking tasks after they received either the dopamine-receptor blocker sulpiride (200 mg) or a placebo. The data revealed an interaction such that openness to experience was more positively associated with divergent thinking in the dopamine blocker group (r = 0.304) than in the placebo group (r = -0.002). Specifically, highly open individuals in the dopamine blocker group reached the highest divergent thinking scores. Thus, sulpiride administration selectively affected divergent thinking as a function of trait levels of openness to experience. Although somewhat limited by the unexpected absence of the association between openness to experience and divergent thinking in the placebo group, the present study provides novel evidence for an association between dopamine activity and both openness to experience and divergent thinking.
ABSTRACT
Information has been suggested to convey incentive value mediated by dopaminergic systems similar to those implicated in extrinsic reward. Although the reward characteristics of information have received preliminary support by behavioral and fMRI findings, EEG correlates and individual differences have not yet been examined. In the current study, a novel perceptual paradigm was developed to probe the associations between anticipation of perceptual information and frontal electroencephalographic alpha asymmetry, i.e., a marker of approach motivation. Assuming individual differences in engaging with perceptual information, trait openness was examined as a moderator of the associations. One hundred and twenty participants viewed partly visible photos that were gradually uncovered. After they indicated state levels of confidence and curiosity, the photos were fully disclosed. During anticipation of the fully disclosed stimuli, left-lateralized asymmetry linearly increased with curiosity. Moreover, a curvilinear relationship between confidence and left-lateralized asymmetry emerged, suggesting enhanced motivational activation during medium levels of uncertainty. The curvilinear relationship was moderated by trait openness, indicating individual differences in the responsiveness to perceptual uncertainty. In summary, our findings provide novel empirical evidence for the incentive motivational value of information.
