An fMRI study indicating increased cortical recruitment during a cognitive interference task in Huntington's disease patients

We used an event related fMRI design to study the BOLD response in Huntington’s disease (HD) patients during performance of a Simon interference task. We hypothesised that HD patients will demonstrate significantly slower RTs than controls, and that there will be significant differences in the pattern of brain activation between groups. Seventeen HD patients and 15 age and sex matched controls were scanned using 3T GE scanner (FOV = 24 cm2; TE = 40 ms; TR = 3 s; FA = 60°; slice thickness = 6 mm; in-plane resolution = 1.88x1.88 mm2). The task involved two activation conditions, namely congruent (for example, left pointing arrow appearing on the left side of the screen) and incongruent (for example, left pointing arrow appearing on the right side of the screen), and a baseline condition. Each stimulus was presented for 2500 ms followed by a blank screen for 500 ms. Subjects were instructed to press a button using the same hand as indicated by the direction of the arrow head and were given 3000 ms to respond. Data analysis was performed using SPM2 with a random effects analysis model. For each subject parameter estimates for combined task conditions (congruent and incongruent combined) were calculated. Comparisons such as these, based on block designs, have superior statistical power for detecting subtle changes in the BOLD response anywhere in the brain. The activations reported are significant at PFDR_corr

Empirically validated treatments and child clinical interventions - Comment

This commentary argues that empirically validated treatments for child and youth behaviour and emotional difficulties are available, but they are relatively inaccessible to the vast majority of Australian children and their families. Although effective interventions have been developed, few children receive these services. There are many children who have identifiable problems or who are at increased risk for psychosocial problems whose needs have not been adequately addressed by either the research or the professional community. These include children in rural and remote areas, Aboriginal and Tones Strait Islander children, children of migrants, and children with chronic physical illnesses. A comprehensive, preventively focused clinical science of prevention is needed to improve the reach and impact of psychological services for children.

Family size, economics and child gender preference: A case study in the Nyeri district of Kenya

Kenyan women have more children, especially in rural areas, than in most developing nations. This is widely believed to be an impediment to Kenya’s economic development. Thus, factors influencing family size in the Kenyan context are important for its future. A brief review of economic theories of fertility leads to the conclusion that both economics and social/cultural factors must be considered simultaneously when examining factors that determine the number of children in a family. The need to do this is borne out in Kenya’s situation by utilising responses from a random sample of rural households in the Nyeri district of Kenya. Economic and social/cultural factors intertwine to influence family sizes in this district. After providing a summary of the main statistical results from the survey, we use multiple regression analysis to explore the influences of a woman’s age, level of education, whether she has outside employment, whether the family keeps livestock, whether she expresses a preference for more boys than girls, whether the family uses only family labour (including child labour) and the size of the farm, which is used as a proxy for family income. It was found that preference for male children has an important positive influence on family size in this district. Women were found to have greater preference for male children than their male counterparts possibly because of their fear of being disinherited if they do not produce an heir for their husbands. Preference for sons was also found in allocation of human capital resources at the household level in that the female respondents were found to have lower levels of education than their male counterparts. Various long-term policies are outlined that may help to reduce the number of offspring of women in Kenya.