Magnetic resonance imaging and neurobehavioral correlates in schizencephaly.

We studied three patients with schizencephaly and related the results of comprehensive neuropsychologic and speech/language assessments to the severity and location of the brain malformations as appreciated by magnetic resonance imaging. Level of general intellectual functioning related to the amount of brain tissue involved, and variations in specific neurobehavioral abilities reflected the location of the brain malformation and the prenatal onset of the disorder. The overall findings emphasize the importance of comprehensive neuropsychologic and speech/language studies for appreciating the impact of prenatal neural insult on the functional reorganization of the brain and subsequent neurobehavioral functioning.

Psychosocial functioning of two groups of morbidly obese patients.

Fourteen morbidly obese women who were candidates for intestinal bypass surgery were compared in terms of psychosocial functioning and dietary behavior to 14 morbidly obese women who elected not to undergo the bypass procedure. Each patient underwent a psychiatric evaluation which included a developmental and dietary history, a mental status exam, and the administration of the MMPI. Diagnoses were based on the DSM-III multi-axial system. There was no difference between the bypass group and the non-bypass group on the Axis I diagnoses, however the bypass group did have a significantly higher frequency of Axis II diagnoses. The bypass group demonstrated significantly higher levels of psychosocial stressors (Axis IV) and lower levels of adaptive functioning (Axis V) when compared to the non-bypass group. The bypass patients also had a significantly higher frequency of past suicide attempts. On the MMPI, the bypass group had significantly higher elevations on scales 2 (depression), 4 (psychopathic deviate), 6 (paranoia), and 0 (social introversion). There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of dietary history and behavior, except that significantly fewer bypass patients could place a numerical estimate on their daily energy intake. These results were discussed in terms of their implications for the assessment and treatment of morbidly obese patients.

Autonomic components of vicarious conditioning and psychopathy.

Examined vicariously instigated electrodermal activity within a classical conditioning paradigm using electric shock to a model as the unconditioned stimulus. Thirty-nine male Ss were selected for the study and divided into three groups: primary psychopaths (PP), secondary psychopaths (SP), and nonpsychopathic normals (NP). The selection procedures were based on scores obtained from the MMPI and the Activity Preference Questionnaire. The conditioning paradigm was composed of three GSR recording periods, which were identified as resensitization, conditioned anticipation, and vicarious instigation, respectively. Results indicated that the PP and the SP groups produced significantly less conditioned anticipatory GSRs than the NP group. The PP group also produced significantly less vicariously instigated GSRs than the SP and NP groups.