Masseteric silent period in healthy young adults.

The length of the silent period (SP) has been subject of extensive researches and its use has been established for the diagnosis of dysfunctional individuals. Because of its great variability we should be cautious about its assessment. This study is aimed to find the normal values taken in symptomless subjects using a commercial/medical recording system, designed for clinical use. Thirty-six readings of the SP have been taken causing a chin tap. The assessment of the motor dysfunction and the subsequent depressed activity gave the result of 32.37 ms (SD = 19.47, ranged from 15 to 110). This is slightly more extended than the results described by the majority of the Authors.

[Memory complaints and memory deficits in healthy and depressed elderly individuals]. / Quejas sobre la memoria y déficits mnémicos en ancianos sanos y deprimidos.

The objective of this study is: a) to determine if there is a relationship between memory complaints and depression and b) to compare actual verbal memory and memory complaints in depressed elderly patients and normal elderly individuals. The California Verbal Learning test (CVLT) was applied to measure memory performance. A questionnaire was used to evaluate complaints about memory. Depression was measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The results show that depressive patients do not have deficits in verbal memory compared with normal aging individuals. There is an association between memory complaints and depressive symptoms. The depressive patients are significantly superior to the normal persons in memory complaints and depressive symptoms. The two groups are not different in objective measures of memory and learning tasks.

Rendimiento intelectual en enfermos con Parkinson y con Alzheimer, comparados con ancianos normales / Intellectual performance in patients with Parkinson and Alzheimer disease, compared with normal old aged patients

En esta investigación se examina si el rendimiento intelectual de los ancianos sanos es diferente del observado en enfermos con Parkinson y con Alzheimer. Los tres grupos eran similares en edad y educación. La Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler para Adultos-Revisada (WAIS-R), adaptada y con normas para la población argentina, fue administrada individualmente. Las personas ancianas sanas y los enfermos con Parkinson tuvieron el mismo nivel de rendimiento en todos los subtests. Los pacientes con Alzheimer mostraron un rendimiento mucho más bajo que los otros dos grupos. El descenso es menos marcado en la parte verbal que en la ejecución, la cual requiere velocidad, habilidad motriz y memoria. Se recomienda que ante la sospecha de una enfermedad de Alzheimer se calcule, aproximadamente, el rendimiento probable del enfermo antes del comienzo de su enfermedad y que se observe si todos los subtests están marcadamente descendidos con respecto a lo esperable

Rendimiento intelectual en enfermos con Parkinson y con Alzheimer, comparados con ancianos normales / Intellectual performance in patients with Parkinson and Alzheimer disease, compared with normal old aged patients

En esta investigación se examina si el rendimiento intelectual de los ancianos sanos es diferente del observado en enfermos con Parkinson y con Alzheimer. Los tres grupos eran similares en edad y educación. La Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler para Adultos-Revisada (WAIS-R), adaptada y con normas para la población argentina, fue administrada individualmente. Las personas ancianas sanas y los enfermos con Parkinson tuvieron el mismo nivel de rendimiento en todos los subtests. Los pacientes con Alzheimer mostraron un rendimiento mucho más bajo que los otros dos grupos. El descenso es menos marcado en la parte verbal que en la ejecución, la cual requiere velocidad, habilidad motriz y memoria. Se recomienda que ante la sospecha de una enfermedad de Alzheimer se calcule, aproximadamente, el rendimiento probable del enfermo antes del comienzo de su enfermedad y que se observe si todos los subtests están marcadamente descendidos con respecto a lo esperable (AU)

Memoria en ancianos normales, con parkinson y con alzheimer / Memory in normal, parkinsonian and alzheimer's patients

Las alteraciones de la memoria son un primer indicio de la posibilidad de un comienzo demencial. Este estudio compara, por medio de la escala de memoria Wechsler, el rendimiento mnémico en tres grupos bien definidos: 1) ancianos normales, 2) enfermos con parkinson y 3) pacientes con alzheimer. Los tres grupos eran similares en edad y nivel de instrucción. Los resultados señalaron una clara superioridad del grupo normal con respecto al grupo alzheimer. Algunas pruebas parecen discriminar bien en los comienzos de la demencia de tipo alzheimer, mientras que otras no son útiles en los comienzos sino en una etapa posterior, cuando el proceso demencial es más grave. El grupo parkinson, que en pruebas cognoscitivas (WAIS-R) se diferenciaba claramente del grupo alzheimer, en las pruebas de memoria tiene un rendimiento intermedio entre los otros dos grupos.

Memoria en ancianos normales, con parkinson y con alzheimer / Memory in normal, parkinsonian and alzheimers patients

Las alteraciones de la memoria son un primer indicio de la posibilidad de un comienzo demencial. Este estudio compara, por medio de la escala de memoria Wechsler, el rendimiento mnémico en tres grupos bien definidos: 1) ancianos normales, 2) enfermos con parkinson y 3) pacientes con alzheimer. Los tres grupos eran similares en edad y nivel de instrucción. Los resultados señalaron una clara superioridad del grupo normal con respecto al grupo alzheimer. Algunas pruebas parecen discriminar bien en los comienzos de la demencia de tipo alzheimer, mientras que otras no son útiles en los comienzos sino en una etapa posterior, cuando el proceso demencial es más grave. El grupo parkinson, que en pruebas cognoscitivas (WAIS-R) se diferenciaba claramente del grupo alzheimer, en las pruebas de memoria tiene un rendimiento intermedio entre los otros dos grupos. (AU)

[Evaluation of Piotrowsky's organic signs in the Rorschach test of patients with an early stage of dementia]. / Evaluación de los signos de organicidad, según Piotrowsky, en el Rorschach de pacientes con un comienzo de demencia.

This paper aims at observing how frequently Piotrowsky's organic signs are detected when Rorschach test is administered to patients with suspected dementia. The organic group was a 15-patient sample, compared with a normal subjects control group. Both groups were similar as far as age, I.Q., and education were concerned. Our findings show that Perplexity was the sole item to get significant results. Out of the remaining signs, only two--namely, Movement and Automatic Phrases--were somewhere near a significant level. These findings were compared with other researchers'. Postulating that Perplexity, Movement, and Automatic Phrases might constitute useful clues when assessing the possibility of an early stage of dementia is the conclusion this article aims at.

Evolution of digestibility by Hind III: an analysis by light and electron microscopy.

Digestion of Chinese hamster metaphase chromosomes from the Don cell line by Hind III restriction endonuclease followed by Giemsa staining were analysed by light and electron microscopy. The evolution of digestibility was studied and four digestion stages were characterized by different levels of chromosome structure. Three different condensation stages were established according to morphological criteria of length, width and separation among chromatids. It was observed that there are statistically significant differences in the digestion progress at the three condensation stages previously defined.

Evaluación de los signos de organicidad, según Piotrowsky, en el Rorschach de pacientes con un comienzo de demencia. / [Evaluation of Piotrowskys organic signs in the Rorschach test of patients with an early stage of dementia]

This paper aims at observing how frequently Piotrowskys organic signs are detected when Rorschach test is administered to patients with suspected dementia. The organic group was a 15-patient sample, compared with a normal subjects control group. Both groups were similar as far as age, I.Q., and education were concerned. Our findings show that Perplexity was the sole item to get significant results. Out of the remaining signs, only two--namely, Movement and Automatic Phrases--were somewhere near a significant level. These findings were compared with other researchers. Postulating that Perplexity, Movement, and Automatic Phrases might constitute useful clues when assessing the possibility of an early stage of dementia is the conclusion this article aims at.

Psychometric patterns on the Rorschach of healthy elderly persons and patients with suspected dementia.

The Rorschachs of two groups of 15 elderly subjects, one normal, the other in the early stages of a suspected dementia process, were compared. Both groups were similar in years of education, IQ, and age. An analysis of variance to test for the existence of group psychometric patterns was applied to 11 Rorschach variables, 10 of them were formed by Rorschach determinants and localization scores; one variable was built considering the level of energy projected in M. The analysis showed a real difference between the two groups' profiles. Movement responses of all types contributed heavily to this difference. Results agree with other findings indicating that low Movement score is characteristic of various types of organic diseases. However, the present study indicates that the weak energy level projected in the movement responses is a promising sign that might help in the diagnosis of a suspected dementia.

Personality dimensions as assessed by projective and verbal instruments.

An attempt was made to explore personality dimensions with projective and verbal tests. The Holtzman Inkblot Technique (HIT), the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale (RDS) were administered to 161 college students of both sexes. A description of the canonical correlations between the two subsets of projective and verbal instruments is presented, as well as three separate factor analyses, one of the HIT, another of the CPI-RDS and the third of the HIT and CPI-RDS together. The results support the conclusion that, with the exception of one factor that includes HIT and CPI-RDS variables, the HIT factors have no relationship with the CPI-RDS factors. Furthermore, of the 19 canonical correlations only the first is significant.