Eye movements and neurocognitive function in treatment resistant schizophrenia: a pilot study.

Objectives: It is increasingly important to develop predictors of treatment response and outcome in schizophrenia. Neuropsychological impairments, particularly those reflecting frontal lobe function, appear to predict poor outcome. Eye movement abnormalities probably also reflect frontal lobe deficits. We wished to see if these two aspects of schizophrenia were correlated and whether they could distinguish a treatment resistant from a treatment responsive group. Methods: Ten treatment resistant schizophrenic patients were compared with ten treatment responsive patients on three eye movement paradigms (reflexive saccades, antisaccades and smooth pursuit), clinical psychopathology (BPRS, SANS and CGI) and a neuropsychological test battery designed to detect frontal lobe dysfunction. Ten aged-matched controls also carried out the eye movement tasks. Results: Both treatment responsive (p = 0.038) and treatment resistant (p = 0.007) patients differed significantly from controls on the antisaccade task. The treatment resistant group had a higher error rate than the treatment responsive group, but the difference was not statistically significant. Similar poor neuropsychological test performance was found in both groups. Conclusions: To demonstrate the biological differences characteristic of treatment resistance, larger sample sizes and wider differences in outcome between the two groups are necessary.

Towards a person-centred ‘culture’: the use of community development approaches in the Independent Youth Counselling Service in West Belfast

This paper is drawn from a qualitative study of clients, counsellors and the supervisors views of the value and impact of the Independent Youth Counselling Service (IYCS) in West Belfast. Data collection combined semi-structured interviews, focus groups and an open-ended questionnaire. The findings indicate the significance of factors above and beyond the person-centred counselling experience, in maximising the potential for growth and development for clients and counsellors. This holistic approach to counselling service provision employs a body of community development processes, which collectively combine to embed the counselling service in a complementary principled approach. This paper explores how these community development features bolster the counselling experience to promote a culture of person-centeredness, thereby increasing the empowerment of the client.

Key issues in the study of new and alternative social movements in Spain: The Left, Identity and Globalizing Processes

This article highlights the importance of dedicating a whole special issue on New and Alternative Social movements in Spain. It sets the basis for this endeavour by emphasizing the importance of the 2004, unexpected, electoral victory of the Spanish socialists, and the subsequent satisfaction of the important demands promoted by certain social movements actors and Spanish society in general (the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq, the cancellation of the National Hydrological Plan and the Legalization of same sex marriages. The view supported is that these developments signify the end of a protest cycle, which could have the same effect with the early 1980s socialist victory. After a discussion around the low associationalism that characterizes Spanish society and recent experience of authoritarianism, it is suggested that it is time for the study of new and alternative social movements in Spain and other south European societies to move beyond the emphasis on exceptionality but appreciate differences by focusing on the available political opportunities and the identity of social movement actors. The remainder of the article is dedicated to introducing the contributing articles.

Generalisation between opposing visuomotor rotations when each is associated with visual targets and movements of different amplitude

Previous studies have attempted to identify sources of contextual information which can facilitate dual adaptation to two variants of a novel environment, which are normally prone to interference. The type of contextual information previously used can be grouped into two broad categories: that which is arbitrary to the motor system, such as a colour cue, and that which is based on an internal property of the motor system, such as a change in movement effector. The experiments reported here examined whether associating visuomotor rotations to visual targets and movements of different amplitude would serve as an appropriate source of contextual information to enable dual adaptation. The results indicated that visual target and movement amplitude is not a suitable source of contextual information to enable dual adaptation in our task. Interference was observed in groups who were exposed to opposing visuomotor rotations, or a visuomotor rotation and no rotation, both when the onset of the visuomotor rotations was sudden, or occurred gradually over the course of training. Furthermore, the pattern of interference indicated that the inability to dual adapt was a result of the generalisation of learning between the two visuomotor mappings associated with each of the visual target and movement amplitudes. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Visual feedback alters the variations in corticospinal excitability that arise from rhythmic movements of the opposite limb

Augmented visual feedback can have a profound bearing on the stability of bimanual coordination. Indeed, this has been used to render tractable the study of patterns of coordination that cannot otherwise be produced in a stable fashion. In previous investigations (Carson et al. 1999), we have shown that rhythmic movements, brought about by the contraction of muscles on one side of the body, lead to phase-locked changes in the excitability of homologous motor pathways of the opposite limb. The present study was conducted to assess whether these changes are influenced by the presence of visual feedback of the moving limb. Eight participants performed rhythmic flexion-extension movements of the left wrist to the beat of a metronome (1.5 Hz). In 50% of trials, visual feedback of wrist displacement was provided in relation to a target amplitude, defined by the mean movement amplitude generated during the immediately preceding no feedback trial. Motor potentials (MEPs) were evoked in the quiescent muscles of the right limb by magnetic stimulation of the left motor cortex. Consistent with our previous observations, MEP amplitudes were modulated during the movement cycle of the opposite limb. The extent of this modulation was, however, smaller in the presence of visual feedback of the moving limb (FCR omega(2) =0.41; ECR omega(2)=0.29) than in trials in which there was no visual feedback (FCR omega(2)=0.51; ECR omega(2)=0.48). In addition, the relationship between the level of FCR activation and the excitability of the homologous corticospinal pathway of the opposite limb was sensitive to the vision condition; the degree of correlation between the two variables was larger when there was no visual feedback of the moving limb. The results of the present study support the view that increases in the stability of bimanual coordination brought about by augmented feedback may be mediated by changes in the crossed modulation of excitability in homologous motor pathways.

A simple and unified approach to human voluntary movements

In his provocative article, F. Mechsner (2004) advances the thesis that human voluntary movements are subject to "psychological" or "perceptual -cognitive" control and are thus organized "without regard to efferent patterns" (p. 355). Rather than considering in detail the experiments that he proffered by way of support, the present author discusses the degree to which that supposition has appeal on the grounds of simplicity and is defined in terms that are compatible with a unified science.

The preparation of reach to grasp movements in adults with Down syndrome

The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which adults with Down syndrome (DS) are able to utilise advance information to prepare reach to grasp movements. The study comprised ten adults with DS; ten children matched to an individual in the group with DS on the basis of their intellectual ability, and twelve adult controls. The participants used their right hand to reach out and grasp illuminated perspex blocks. Four target blocks were positioned on a table surface, two to each side of the midsagittal plane. In the complete precue condition, participants were provided with information specifying the location of the target. In the partial precue condition, participants were given advance information indicating the location of the object relative to the midsagittal plane (left or right). In the null condition, advance information concerning the position of the target object was entirely ambiguous. It was found that both reaction times and movement times were greater for the participants with DS than for the adults without DS. The reaction times exhibited by individuals with DS in the complete precue condition were lower than those observed in the null condition, indicating that they had utilised advance information to prepare their movements. In the group with DS, when advance information specified only the location of the target object relative to the midline, reaction times were equivalent to those obtained when ambiguous information was given. In contrast, the adults without DS exhibited reaction times that were lower in both the complete and partial precue conditions when compared to the null condition. The pattern of results exhibited by the children was similar to that of the adults without DS. The movement times exhibited by all groups were not influenced by the precue condition. In summary, our findings indicate that individuals with DS are able to use advance information if it specifies precisely the location of the target object in order to prepare a reach to grasp movement. The group with DS were unable, however, to obtain the normal advantage of advance information specifying only one dimension of the movement goal (i.e., the position of an object relative to the body midline). (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of obstacle position on reach-to-grasp movements

Numerous everyday tasks require the nervous system to program a prehensile movement towards a target object positioned in a cluttered environment. Adult humans are extremely proficient in avoiding contact with any non-target objects (obstacles) whilst carrying out such movements. A number of recent studies have highlighted the importance of considering the control of reach-to-grasp (prehension) movements in the presence of such obstacles. The current study was constructed with the aim of beginning the task of studying the relative impact on prehension as the position of obstacles is varied within the workspace. The experimental design ensured that the obstacles were positioned within the workspace in locations where they did not interfere physically with the path taken by the hand when no obstacle was present. In all positions, the presence of an obstacle caused the hand to slow down and the maximum grip aperture to decrease. Nonetheless, the effect of the obstacle varied according to its position within the workspace. In the situation where an obstacle was located a small distance to the right of a target object, the obstacle showed a large effect on maximum grip aperture but a relatively small effect on movement time. In contrast, an object positioned in front and to the right of a target object had a large effect on movement speed but a relatively small effect on maximum grip aperture. It was found that the presence of two obstacles caused the system to decrease further the movement speed and maximum grip aperture. The position of the two obstacles dictated the extent to which their presence affected the movement parameters. These results show that the antic ipated likelihood of a collision with potential obstacles affects the planning of movement duration and maximum grip aperture in prehension.

Manual asymmetries in the preparation and control of goal-directed movements

The primary purpose of this experiment was to determine if left hand reaction time advantages in manual aiming result from a right hemisphere attentional advantage or an early right hemisphere role in movement preparation. Right-handed participants were required to either make rapid goal-directed movements to small targets or simply lift their hand upon target illumination. The amount of advance information about the target for a particular trial was manipulated by precuing a subset of potential targets prior to the reaction time interval. When participants were required to make aiming movements to targets in left space, the left hand enjoyed a reaction advantage that was not present for aiming in right space: or simple finger lifts. This advantage was independent of the amount or type of advance information provided by the precue. This finding supports the movement planning hypothesis. With respect to movement execution, participants completed their aiming movements more quickly when aiming with their right hand, particularly in right space. This right hand advantage in right space was due to the time required to decelerate the movement and to make feedback-based adjustments late in the movement trajectory. (C) 2001 Academic Press.