Similar autobiographical memory impairment in long-term secondary progressive multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: Memory disturbance is a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS), but little is known about autobiographical memory deficits in the long-term course of different MS subtypes. Inflammatory activity and demyelination is pronounced in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) whereas, similar to Alzheimer's disease, neurodegeneration affecting autobiographical memory-associated areas is seen in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). OBJECTIVE: In light of distinct disease mechanisms, we evaluated autobiographical memory in different MS subtypes and hypothesized similarities between elderly patients with SPMS and Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: We used the Autobiographical Memory Interview to assess episodic and semantic autobiographical memory in 112 education- and gender-matched participants, including healthy controls and patients with RRMS, SPMS, amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and early Alzheimer's dementia (AD). RESULTS: Patients with SPMS, AD, and aMCI, but not with RRMS, exhibited a pattern of episodic autobiographical memory impairment that followed Ribot's Law; older memories were better preserved than more recent memories. In contrast to aMCI and AD, neither SPMS nor RRMS was associated with semantic autobiographical memory impairment. CONCLUSION: Our neuropsychological findings suggest that episodic autobiographical memory is affected in long-term patients with SPMS, possibly due to neurodegenerative processes in functional relevant brain regions.

Neural correlates of irony comprehension: the role of schizotypal personality traits.

To detect that a conversational turn is intended to be ironic is a difficult challenge in everyday language comprehension. Most authors suggested a theory of mind deficit is crucial for irony comprehension deficits in psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia; however, the underlying pathophysiology and neurobiology are unknown and recent research highlights the possible role of language comprehension abnormalities. Fifteen female right-handed subjects completed personality testing as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neuropsychology. Subjects were recruited from the general population. No subject had a lifetime history of relevant psychiatric disorder; however, subjects differed in their score on the German version of the schizotypal personality questionnaire (SPQ). During fMRI scans, the subjects silently read 44 short text vignettes that ended in either an ironic or a literal statement. Imaging was performed using a 3 T Siemens scanner. The influence of schizotypy on brain activation was investigated by using an SPM5 regression analysis with the SPQ total score and the SPQ cognitive-perceptual score as regressors. Reading ironic in contrast to literal sentences activated a bilateral network including left medial prefrontal and left inferior parietal gyri. During reading of ironic sentences, brain activation in the middle temporal gyrus of both hemispheres showed a significant negative association with the SPQ total score and the SPQ cognitive-perceptual score. Significant positive correlation with the SPQ total score was present in the left inferior frontal gyrus. We conclude schizotypal personality traits are associated with a dysfunctional lateral temporal language rather than a theory of mind network.

Deaf college students' perceptions of communication in mainstream classes.

Fifty deaf and hard-of-hearing students who were mainstreamed in postsecondary classes rated their classroom communication ease with hearing instructors, hearing peers, and deaf peers. A subgroup of these students participated in an in-depth interview that focused on perceptions of communication ease, support services, and attitudes of teachers and students toward deaf students in mainstreamed classes. Quantitative analyses indicated that students more comfortable in using speech in this setting reported being able to receive and send a greater amount and a higher quality of information than did students who were less comfortable in using speech. Both quantitative and qualitative results indicated that students varied considerably in their communication with hearing peers and professors, in their relations with deaf peers, and in their concerns about access. It is a challenge for interpreting and other support services to serve these various needs, especially when it is not unusual for these variations to occur in the same classroom.

[Structure analysis of the skin surface using computer-assisted laser profilometry. New method for the quantitative assessment of roughness structure of the skin]. / Strukturanalyse der Hautoberfläche durch computergestützte Laser-Profilometrie. Neues Verfahren zur quantitativen Bestimmung der Rauheitsstruktur der Haut.

Up to now, it has been difficult to record the roughness of the skin and to define it satisfactorily by measuring techniques. A new method for computer-assisted structural analysis of the skin surface is introduced, which uses laser beams for measurement without contact. This measuring technique is suitable for quantitative characterization of normal skin surfaces and for pathological alterations to the skin surface. Because of the dynamic properties of the skin, it is characterized by means of silicone replicas of the skin surface. Different parameters of roughness are determined and completed by mathematical and statistical processes such as Fourier transform and an autocorrelation function. These processes are related to the digitally stored three-dimensional profile of the skin surface. The new method is presented by means of some examples characterizing a typical clinical finding of rough eczematous skin. A comparison with photographs taken with a scanning electron microscope demonstrates the quality of resolution achieved with the measuring technique.

Duration of afterimage disability after viewing simulated sun reflections.

A scene was simulated of an automobile driver's view through his windshield. It contained a roadway, an identification target consisting of a Landolt C in various orientations on the road 96 m ahead, and a glare reflection of the sun arising from the direction of the driver's windshield wiper arm. The product of luminance times area of each of the four glare sources employed was about 0.1 of the maximum implied in the Federal Safety Standards. The target required a visual acuity of 20/40 on the Snellen scale, equal to that imposed by driver license requirements. After being exposed for realistic intervals while looking directly at the glare source, the duration of the interval required by thirty-five observers for identification of the target orientation was measured. Averages showed that the increase of identification time over that required after no glare exposure varied from 0.8 sec to 2.7 sec. Reduction of apparent area of the glare source reduced afterimage disability more than did reduction of intensity.