ROUNDS, a new time-sampling methodology for the quantitative behavioral assessment of schizophrenic withdrawal. Reliability and validity.

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia have been the subject of much research interest. However, there has been a need for a way to measure withdrawal behavior quantitatively over time. We have developed a behavioral time-sampling methodology performed by nursing staff on a schizophrenia inpatient unit. Called ROUNDS, it gathers reliable and valid quantitative data about specific withdrawal behaviors such as posture, daytime sleep and levels of social interaction and activity. This paper describes the development of the method, its implementation, the statistical analysis of its reliability and validity, and the degree to which the data can be replicated with different sampling frequencies. We contend that this method can be applied to the analysis of a wide variety of questions about the nature and treatment response of schizophrenic withdrawal in an inpatient setting.

Quantitative electromyographic response to therapy for myo-oral facial pain: a pilot study.

In this pilot report, four of the five patients in the myofascial pain dysfunction group reported subjective improvement after 6 weeks of therapy, concomitant with a statistically significant decrease in integrated EMG Hz values in the clenched jaw position. Our results agree with those of other investigators who demonstrated a positive contribution by masticatory EMG data to confirm and quantify objectively the subjective symptoms.

Patterns of thought disorder on psychological testing. Implications for adolescent psychopathology.

One-hundred thirty-eight hospitalized adolescents exhibiting a broad range of psychopathology were divided into four groups based on the presence or absence of significant thought disorder on the Wechsler IQ (using Johnston and Holzman's Thought Disorder Index) and the Rorschach (using Exner's Schizophrenia Index). All subjects in the four IQ/Rorschach cross-classified groups (group A, low disordered IQ/low disordered Rorschach; group B, low disordered IQ/high disordered Rorschach; group C, high disordered IQ/high disordered Rorschach; group D, high disordered IQ/low disordered Rorschach) were rated as well on clinical symptomatology (using the Psychiatric Evaluation Form, a scale developed by Spitzer and Endicott). A multivariate analysis of variance comparing the means of the Psychiatric Evaluation Form variables for the four groups yielded significant interactions and significant main effects. The results portrayed a symptomatic picture of depression and acting out in group A, borderline-like traits in group B, psychosis in group C, and interpersonal difficulty in group D. These results are interpreted as support for the value of comparative measures of thought disorder in clinical evaluation. Further research to investigate the heretofore undescribed group D is recommended.

The use of electromyography to quantify muscle pain.

This study was designed to determine the feasibility of using electromyography (EMG) to quantify muscle pain in patients suffering from chronic myofacial pain dysfunction (MPD). Ten patients were carefully selected to include those having mild to severe pain, but not any major psychological or other physiological dysfunction. Measurements of perceived pain and EMG frequency and amplitude were recorded before and after standard analgesic therapy. EMG recordings were collected bilaterally from the masseter and anterior temporalis muscles during the resting, swallowing, clenching and chewing modes of activity. Multiple regression (R) analysis indicated that changes in perceived pain are correlated with changes in the EMG and can be determined by using the following formula: delta P = (delta F) (0.405) + C where P = perceived pain level, F = EMG frequency, and C = 1.533. By computing the Phi coefficients, the highest correlation between EMG recordings and subjective pain ratings was demonstrated in the resting mode. In this mode, 64% (multiple R = 0.80) of the variance in perceived pain difference scores from pre- to post-therapy tests could be determined. A significant relationship exists between the change in perceived pain and the EMG (t = 2.525, p less than 0.05), whether pain levels increase or decrease. The implementation of this method to quantify expected changes in pain due to muscle spasm in uncomplicated individuals is discussed.

A comparison of centric relation with maximum intercuspation based on quantitative electromyography.

The study concerned the nature of the alterations, if any, in muscle activity demonstrable when the mandible shifts from maximum intercuspation into its most retruded physiological relation (i.e. centric relation). An integrator-averager was used to determine micro V average amplitude from masseter and temporal muscles in two maxillo-mandibular positions, centric relation and maximum intercuspation, and three modes, first contact occlusion, chewing and swallowing. Vertical reference marks on the cuspids were used to quantitate horizontal deviation from maximum intercuspation to centric relation. Data were obtained from twelve subjects and analysed for variance. Results demonstrated a significant increase in micro V in all centric relation positions. Statistics yielded an F value of 5.88258 with a probability of 0.005. Results suggest critical limitations in reliance on centric relation as a reference position during clinical therapy.

Coding strategies, perceptual grouping, and the "variability effect" in free recall.

Three experiments examined the effects of constant vs. varied input of letter strings on recall, and then examined the effects of such training in the learning of new lists of letter strings. Letter strings were constructed from pairs of trigrams spatially grouped, and were presented either consistently or with different spatial groupings on successive presentations. In Experiments I and II, varied input produced substantially greater recall than constant input. When transferred to a new list of letter strings, containing either the same general structure or a new scrambled structure, recall of the second list was determined primarily by conditions of first-list input, and unaffected by second-list structure. Although the "variability effect" did not appear in the training phase of Experiment III, Varied input led subjects to regroup or integrate the letter sequences more frequently and produced similar transfer effects as in Experiments I and II.