Visual search for feature conjunctions: an fMRI study comparing alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) to ADHD.

Background: Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) falls under the umbrella of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Diagnosis of ARND is difficult because individuals do not demonstrate the characteristic facial features associated with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). While attentional problems in ARND are similar to those found in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the underlying impairment in attention pathways may be different.

Comparison of spatial working memory in children with prenatal alcohol exposure and those diagnosed with ADHD; A functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Background: Alcohol related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) falls under the umbrella of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), but individuals do not demonstrate the facial characteristics associated with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), making diagnosis difficult. While attentional problems in ARND are similar to those found in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the underlying impairment in attention pathways may be different.

Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of a working memory (1-back) task of 63 children, 10 to 14 years old, diagnosed with ARND and ADHD, as well as typically developing (TD) controls, was conducted at 3 T.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of facial information processing in children with autistic disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and typically developing controls.

The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare the neural activation patterns of children diagnosed with autistic disorder (AD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and typically developing controls (TCs) in response to a task involving evaluation of facial expressions. Substantially greater functional activity was noted in TCs compared to both subjects diagnosed with AD and ADHD. Consistent with previous studies, differences in functional activation of the amygdala, fusiform gyrus, cerebellum, mesolimbic, and temporal lobe cortical regions of the brain during a task evaluating facial expressions were noted in AD compared to TCs.

Functional evaluation of hidden figures object analysis in children with autistic disorder.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during performance of a hidden figures task (HFT) was used to compare differences in brain function in children diagnosed with autism disorder (AD) compared to children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and typical controls (TC). Overall greater functional MRI activity was observed in the two control groups compared to children with AD. Laterality differences were also evident, with AD subjects preferentially showing activity in the right medial temporal region while controls tended to activate the left medial temporal cortex.

The role of pain in reduced quality of life and depressive symptomology in children with spina bifida.

Objectives: Children with spina bifida report both chronic and acute pain caused by both their condition and the treatments they undergo regularly. This research provides a description of the impact of this pain on their quality of life.

Methods: A sample of 68 children (56% female) between the ages of 8 and 19 completed the Varni/Thompson Pediatric Pain Questionnaire, a supplementary questionnaire on pain, the Children's Depression Inventory, the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children, and a pediatric measure of health related quality of life.

Pain in children and adolescents with spina bifida.

The Pediatric Pain Questionnaire and relevant medical records were used to investigate the frequency, intensity, location, and duration of pain experienced by children with spina bifida and to examine the concordance between child self-report and parent proxy report of pain. There were 68 children with spina bifida (30 males, 38 females) between the ages of 8 and 19 years (mean age 12y 8m). Fifty-nine children (87%) were diagnosed with myelomeningocele, six (9%) with lipomyelomeningocele, and three (4%) with lipomeningocele (4%).

Spectroscopic and morphological studies of human retinal lipofuscin granules.

The emission properties of ocular lipofuscin granules isolated from human retinal pigment epithelial cells are examined by using steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy and spectrally resolved confocal microscopy. The shape of the emission spectrum of a thick sample of lipofuscin granules dried on glass varies with excitation energy. The polarization of this emission is wavelength-dependent, exhibiting significant polarization near the excitation wavelength and becoming mostly depolarized over the majority of the emission spectrum.