Group singing and health-related quality of life in Parkinson's disease.

Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Previous studies have shown that participating in group singing activities can improve quality of life in some patient populations (e.g.

Selective preservation of the beat in apperceptive music agnosia: a case study.

Introduction: Music perception involves processing of melodic, temporal and emotional dimensions that have been found to dissociate in healthy individuals and after brain injury. Two components of the temporal dimension have been distinguished, namely rhythm and metre. We describe an 18 year old male musician 'JM' who showed apperceptive music agnosia with selectively preserved metre perception, and impaired recognition of sad and peaceful music relative to age and music experience matched controls after resection of a right temporoparietal tumour.

Mirror neuron system involvement in empathy: a critical look at the evidence.

It has been proposed that the human mirror neuron system (MNS) plays an integral role in mediating empathy. In this review, we critically examine evidence from three bodies of research that have been cited as supporting this notion: (1) behavioral studies that have examined the relationship between imitation and empathy, (2) findings from functional neuroimaging studies that report a positive correlation between MNS activation and self-report on an empathy questionnaire, and (3) observations of impaired imitation and empathy in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In addition, we briefly review lesion studies of the neural correlates of imitation and empathy.

Psychological factors in retrograde amnesia: self-deception and a broken heart.

We explored potential contributing psychological factors in a patient ('XF') with focal retrograde amnesia, within the framework proposed by Kopelman (2000, Cognitive Neuropsychology, 17, 585). In particular, we investigated the psychological trait of self-enhancement. We constructed a self-report questionnaire measure of self-enhancement and compared XF's score on this measure with the scores of 61 control participants.

Neurological control of human sexual behaviour: insights from lesion studies.

We review the human literature examining the effects of neurological insult on human sexual behaviour. We provide a synthesis of the findings to date, and identify key brain regions associated with specific aspects of human sexual behaviour. These include subcortical and cortical regions, with the mesial temporal lobe and the amygdala in particular being a crucial structure in the mediation of human sexual drive.

The amygdala and sexual drive: insights from temporal lobe epilepsy surgery.

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between the amygdala and human sex drive. We compared amygdalar volume in groups of patients with or without sexual changes after temporal lobe resection and in age-matched neurologically normal subjects. Forty-five patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy who underwent surgical resection in the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre completed a semistructured interview and questionnaire relating to sexual outcome after surgery.

Hypersexuality after Temporal Lobe Resection.

Hypersexuality has occasionally been reported in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy following temporal lobe resection. The mechanism underlying this phenomenon is poorly understood. We describe seven patients who spontaneously reported dramatic postoperative changes in sexual behavior after unilateral temporal lobe resection.