Speech disorder in preschool children exposed to Cantonese and English

Speech disorder in monolingual Cantonese- or English-speaking children has been well described in the literature. There appear to be no reports, however, that describe speech-disordered children who have been exposed to both languages. Here we report on the error patterns of two preschool speech-disordered children who were learning two languages. Both children's first language was Cantonese, but they were also exposed to English through the media and child care. Their disorders were of unknown aetiology. The following questions were asked of the data: (a) Do bilingual children, suspected of having speech problems, make errors in Cantonese and English that reflect delay or disorder when compared with normative data on monolingual speech development in each language? (b) How does the children's speech differ from other bilingual children from the same language learning background? (c) Are the children's speech difficulties apparent in both languages? (d) Is the pattern of errors the same in both languages or do language-specific processes operate? The results bear on theories of acquisition, disorder and bilingualism; they also have clinical implications for speech-language pathologists whose caseloads include bilingual preschool children.

Empirically validated interventions for adult disorders

The movement towards evidence-based practice in psychology and medicine should offer few problems in cognitive-behaviour therapies because it is consistent with the principles by which they have been developed and disseminated. However, the criteria for assessing empirical status, including the heavy emphasis on manualised treatments, need close examination. A possible outcome of the evidence-based movement would be to focus on the application of manualised treatments in both training and clinical practice; problems with that approach are discussed. If we are committed to evidence-based treatment, comparisons between psychological and pharmacological interventions should also be included so that rational health care decisions can be made. We should not be afraid of following the evidence, even when it supports treatments that are not cognitive-behavioural in stated orientation. Such results should be taken as an opportunity for theoretical development and new empirical inquiry rather than be a cause for concern.

Comorbidity of mental disorders with substance misuse

The title of this editorial evokes the image of a patient with a psychosis, usually schizo phrenia, who abuses or is dependent upon alcohol or an illicit drug. The suffering of these individuals and their families is un deniable, as are the difficulties that mental health and addiction services face in helping them. None the less, this form of comorbid ity has overshadowed more prevalent and remediable patterns of comorbidity between substance misuse and mental disorders (Hall, 1996).

Assessing deaf and hearing children`s communication in Brazil

In Brazil there are no specific tests for either signed or spoken language for deaf children. A protocol evaluating communicative abilities independent of modality of communication (sign language or spoken language), and comprising assessments of (a) pragmatic profile; (b) modality of communication and linguistic level; (c) complexity of communication; and (d) style and efficacy of communication between parent and child was administered to 127 deaf and hearing children. The children, aged 3-6 years old, were distributed in three groups: 20 with severe hearing loss, 40 with profound hearing loss and 67 normally hearing. Deaf children were found to be delayed, independent of their linguistic level and preferred modality of communication. The protocol in this study proved to be an useful instrument for gathering relevant information about the three groups of preschool children`s communicative abilities, and particularly suitable for use in countries where standardized assessments are not available. Learning outcomes: The reader will be introduced to the use of an assessment protocol comprising its development, application and data analysis. The reader will be informed about assessment of deaf children`s preferred modality of communication, by the participation of a bilingual (sign language user) professional. Communication abilities can be assessed independently of the linguistic modality. In developing countries in general, where simple and easy to administer assessments tools are scarce, such a protocol is of specific value. (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Latent inhibition and autonomic responses: a psychophysiological approach

Latent inhibition, retarded learning after preexposure to the to-be-conditioned stimulus, has been implied as a tool for the investigation of attentional deficits in schizophrenia and related disorders. The present paper reviews research that used Pavlovian conditioning as indexed by autonomic responses (electrodermal, vasomotor, cardiac) to investigate latent inhibition in adult humans. Latent inhibition has been demonstrated repeatedly in healthy subjects in absence of a masking task that is required in other latent inhibition paradigms. Moreover, latent inhibition of Pavlovian conditioning is stimulus-specific and increases with an increased number of preexposure trials which mirrors results from research in animals. A reduction of latent inhibition has been shown in healthy subjects who score high on questionnaire measures of psychosis proneness and in unmedicated schizophrenic patients. The latter result was obtained in a within-subject paradigm that holds promise for research with patient samples. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Frequency of concurrent autoimmune disorders in patients with autoimmune hepatitis - Effect of age, gender, and genetic background

Background: Concurrent autoimmune disorders (CAIDs) have been shown to occur in 22% to 34% of the patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Their presence has been linked to female gender, older age, and to certain HLA antigens, namely HLA-A11. DRB1*04, and DRB4*01. Aims: To assess the frequency and nature of CAID in Brazilian patients with AIH types 1 (AIH-1) and 2 (AIH-2) and to investigate the influence of age, gender, and genetic background in their occurrence. Patients and Methods: The presence and nature of CAID was studied in 143 patients [117 females, median age 11 (1.3 to 69)] with AIH-1 (n = 125) and AIH-2 (n = 28). HLA typing and tumor necrosis factor a gene promoter and exon I cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) gene polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction-based techniques. Results: The frequency of CAID was similar in patients with AIH-1 (14%) and AIH-2 (18%), but their nature was shown to vary. Arthritis was seen in half of the patients (n = 8) with CAID and AIH-1 and in none of those with AIH-2. Subjects with AIH-1 and CAID were shown to be older [24 (1.3 to 6 1) vs. 11 (1.3 to 69) y P = 0.02] and to have more often circulating antinuclear antibody (76% vs. 40%, P = 0.008) and less frequently antiactin antibodies (33% vs. 75%, P = 0.008) when compared with their counterparts without CAID. No particular HLA-DR and DQ alleles, as well as tumor necrosis factor a and CTLA-4 genotypes, were associated with CAID. Conclusions: The nature, but not the frequency, of CAID was shown to vary in AIH-1 and AIH-2. In subjects with AIH-1, CAID was linked to older subjects and to the presence of antinuclear antibody. No predisposition to CAID was associated to HLA-DRB1*04 or DDB4*01 alleles. The observed lower frequency of CAID could be attributed to the lower age of disease onset in Brazilians and to differences in HLA-encoded susceptibility to AIH-1 observed in South America.

Spatial learning ability of rats following differing levels of exposure to alcohol during early postnatal life

Rats exposed to a relatively high dose (7.5 g/kg body weight) of alcohol on either the fifth or tenth postnatal day of age have been reported to have long-lasting deficits in spatial learning ability as tested on the Morris water maze task. The question arises concerning the level of alcohol required to achieve this effect. Wistar rats were exposed to either 2, 4 or 6 g/kg body weight of ethanol administered as a 10% solution. This ethanol was given over an 8-h period on the fifth postnatal day of age by means of an intragastric cannula. Gastrostomy controls received a 5% sucrose solution substituted isocalorically for the ethanol. Another set of pups raised by their mother were used as suckle controls. All surgical procedures were carried out under halothane vapour anaesthesia. After the artificial feeding regimes all pups were returned to lactating dams and weaned at 21 days of age. The spatial learning ability of these rats was tested in the Morris water maze when they were between 61-64 days of age. This task requires the rats to swim in a pool containing water made opaque and locate and climb onto a submerged platform. The time taken to accomplish this is known as the escape latency. Each rat was subjected to 24 trials over 3 days of the test period. Statistical analysis of the escape latency data revealed that the rats given 6 g/kg body weight of ethanol had significant deficits in their spatial learning ability compared with their control groups. However, there was no significant difference in spatial learning ability for the rats given either 2 or 4 g/kg body weight of ethanol compared with their respective gastrostomy or suckle control animals. We concluded that ethanol exposure greater than 4 g/kg over an 8-h period to 5-day-old rats is required for them to develop long-term deficits in spatial learning behaviour. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.

A method to immunolabel rodent spinal cord neurons and glia for molecular study in specific laser microdissected cells involved in neurodegenerative disorders

Neuron-glia interaction is involved in physiological function of neurons, however, recent evidences have suggested glial cells as participants in neurotoxic and neurotrophic mechanisms of neurodegenerative/neuroregenerative processes. Laser microdissection offers a unique opportunity to study molecular regulation in specific immunolabeled cell types. However, an adequate protocol to allow morphological and molecular analysis of rodent spinal cord astrocyte, microglia and motoneurons remains a big challenge. In this paper we present a quick method to immunolabel those cells in flash frozen sections to be used in molecular biology analyses after laser microdissection and pressure catapulting.