Study protocol for a randomised placebo-controlled trial of pramipexole in addition to mood stabilisers for patients with treatment resistant bipolar depression (the PAX-BD study).

Background: Treatment Resistant Bipolar Depression (TRBD) is a major contributor to the burden of disease associated with Bipolar Disorder (BD). Treatment options for people experiencing bipolar depression are limited to three interventions listed by National Institute for Health and Care: lamotrigine, quetiapine and olanzapine, of which the latter two are often not well tolerated. The majority of depressed people with BD are therefore prescribed antidepressants despite limited efficacy.

A novel use for suture button suspension: reconstruction of the dorsal ulnar ligament to treat thumb metacarpal dislocation.

There are numerous treatment algorithms that have been developed to treat thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) arthritis. A newer treatment option for these patients is CMC stabilization using suture button suspensionplasty. The authors of this case report have extensive experience with the suture-button suspensionplasty using the Mini TightRope CMC technique (Arthrex).

Ultrasound localization of a tunneled leech beneath a microvascular scalp reconstruction: A case report.

Medicinal leech therapy is a common adjuvant modality used to treat venous congestion following threatened microvascular anastomosis. Migration and tunneling of a leech beneath a surgical reconstruction is a rare event that is seldom mentioned in the literature and worthy of further discussion. We present a rectus abdominus myocutaneous free tissue transfer that was used to cover a large alloplastic cranioplasty following resection of a previously radiated skull base malignant meningioma.

Teaching children with autism spectrum disorder to mand for information using "which?".

We examined a procedure consisting of a preference assessment, prompting, contrived conditioned establishing operations, and consequences for correct and incorrect responses for teaching children with autism to mand "which?" We used a modified multiple baseline design across 3 participants. All the children learned to mand "which?" Generalization occurred to the natural environment, to a novel activity, and to a novel container; the results were maintained over time.

On the relation between reinforcer efficacy and preference.

Most research on stimulus preference and reinforcer assessment involves a preference assessment that is followed by a reinforcer assessment. Typically, the most and least preferred stimuli are tested as reinforcers. In the current study, we first quantified the reinforcing efficacies of six food items and then assessed relative preference for each item.

Evaluation of a self-instructional manual for conducting discrete-trials teaching with children with autism.

Discrete-trials teaching (DTT) is commonly used to implement applied behavior analysis treatment for children with autism. The authors investigated a revised self-instructional manual for teaching university students to implement a 21-component DTT procedure to teach three tasks to confederates role-playing children with autism. Also, as a motivational contingency, for each DTT session in which a student scored at or above 90% accuracy, they received US$10.

Teaching Object-Picture Matching to Improve Concordance between Object and Picture Preferences for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities: Pilot Study.

We evaluated teaching object-picture matching to improve concordance between preference assessments using objects and pictures of the same objects. Three participants with developmental disabilities who showed high and low preferences during assessments with objects but not with pictures were taught object-picture matching tasks unrelated to the items used during preference assessments. Training was evaluated in a modified multiple-baseline design and preference assessments with objects and pictures were repeated after training each object-picture matching task.

Discrimination Skills Predict Effective Preference Assessment Methods for Adults with Developmental Disabilities.

We examined the relationship between three discrimination skills (visual, visual matching-to-sample, and auditory-visual) and four stimulus modalities (object, picture, spoken, and video) in assessing preferences of leisure activities for 7 adults with developmental disabilities. Three discrimination skills were measured using the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities Test. Three participants mastered a visual discrimination task, but not visual matching-to-sample and auditory-visual discriminations; two participants mastered visual and visual matching-to-sample discriminations, but not auditory-visual discrimination, and two participants showed all three discriminations.

The assessment of basic learning abilities test for predicting learning of persons with intellectual disabilities: a review.

The Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) Test uses standard prompting and reinforcement procedures to assess the ease or difficulty with which a testee is able to learn a simple imitation and five two-choice discriminations. The authors review studies that have examined performance of participants with developmental disabilities (DD) on the ABLA test to predict (a) performance on a variety of simple imitations and two-choice discriminations, (b) performance on three-choice and four-choice discriminations, (c) the relative efficacy of three presentation modes (objects vs. photographs vs.

Predicting Optimal Preference Assessment Methods for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities.

The single-stimulus (SS) preference assessment procedure has been described as more appropriate than the paired stimulus (PS) procedure for "lower functioning" individuals, but this guideline's vagueness limits its usefulness. We administered the SS and PS preference assessment procedures with food items to seven individuals with severe or profound developmental disabilities who scored at level 2 of the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) and seven who scored at ABLA level 3. Thirteen of the 14 participants also received these assessments (PS and SS), with non-food items.

Predicting learning ability of people with intellectual disabilities: assessment of basic learning abilities test versus caregivers' predictions.

Two sets of predictions were compared concerning the ability of 20 adults with profound, severe, or moderate intellectual disabilities to learn 15 everyday tasks. Predictions were made by caregivers who had worked with the participants for a minimum of 24 months and consideration of participant performance on the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) test. Standardized training procedures were used to attempt to teach each task to each participant until a pass or fail criterion was met.

Does ABLA Test Performance on the ABLA Test Predict Picture Receptive Name Recognition with Persons with Severe Developmental Disabilities.

Research has shown that performance on the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) test correlates with language assessments for persons with developmental disabilities. This study investigated whether performance on ABLA Level 6, an auditory-visual discrimination, predicts performance on a receptive language task with persons with severe developmental disabilities. Five participants who passed ABLA Level 6, and five who failed ABLA Level 6, were each tested on five 2-choice discriminations that required them to point to pictures of common objects after hearing their names.

SENSITIVITY OF PASSIVE APPROACH DURING PREFERENCE AND REINFORCER ASSESSMENTS FOR CHILDREN WITH SEVERE AND PROFOUND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND MINIMAL MOVEMENT.

We evaluated the use of passive approach to assess preferences of two children, with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. Both children had physical challenges and exhibited minimal physical movement. We also compared the relative reinforcing effects of the identified high and low preference stimuli for a switch pressing response, and for a more passive looking response.

On Choice, Preference, and Preference for Choice.

In this paper, we examine several common everyday meanings of choice, propose behavioral definitions of choice, choosing, and preference, and recommend ways for behavioral researchers to talk consistently about these concepts. We also examine the kinds of performance in the contexts of various procedures that might be appropriately described as a preference for choice. In our view, the most appropriate procedure for demonstrating preference for choice as a consequence is a concurrent chains method, in which choice is a reinforcer for an approach response.

Experimental studies of psychological interventions with athletes in competitions: why so few?

During the past three decades, behavioral practitioners have been applying techniques to improve the performance of athletes. To what extent are interventions, designed to improve the directly and reliably measured performance of athletes in competitions, based on experimental demonstrations of efficacy? That is the question addressed by this review. All issues of three behavioral journals and seven sport psychology journals, from 1972 through 2002, were examined for articles that addressed the above question.

Predicting the relative efficacy of verbal, pictorial, and tangible stimuli for assessing preferences of leisure activities.

We measured the relationships between choice stimulus modalities and three basic discriminations (visual, visual matching-to-sample, and auditory-visual) using the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test. Participants were 9 adults who had moderate to profound developmental disabilities. Their most and least preferred leisure activities, identified by prior preference assessments, were presented using choice stimuli in three modalities (tangibles, pictures, and verbal descriptions) in an alternating-treatments design.

Studies using single-subject designs in sport psychology: 30 years of research.

A prominent feature of behavior-analytic research has been the use of single-subject designs. We examined sport psychology journals and behavioral journals published during the past 30 years, and located 40 studies using single-subject designs to assess interventions for enhancing the performance of athletes and coaches. In this paper, we summarize that body of research, discuss its strengths and limitations, and identify areas for future research.

Choice, Degree of Preference, and Happiness Indices with Persons with Intellectual Disabilities: A Surprising Finding.

Two persons with severe intellectual disabilities and two persons with profound intellectual disabilities were repeatedly presented with five different pairs of food items. The five pairs of items represented different degrees of preference, from highest to lowest. Happiness indices were monitored from the time that a pair of items was presented until a choice was made.

Effects of Choice of Work Tasks on On-Task, Aberrant, Happiness and Unhappiness Behaviours of Persons with Developmental Disabilities.

Effects of choice versus no choice of work tasks on work performance, inappropriate behaviours, happiness and unhappiness indices were examined in three studies. Study 1 examined the effects of a choice between a high and a low preference task, versus the assignment of the high preference task. Study 2 was similar to Study 1 except that the tasks in the choice condition were equally and moderately preferred.

Visual-visual nonidentity matching assessment: a worthwhile addition to the assessment of basic learning abilities test.

The Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test (ABLA) is a useful tool for choosing appropriate training tasks for persons with developmental disabilities. This test assesses the ease or difficulty with which persons are able to learn six hierarchically positioned discrimination tasks. A visual-visual nonidentity matching prototype task was examined to assess its (a).

Feedback and its effectiveness in a computer-aided personalized system of instruction course.

In a computer-managed version of Keller's personalized system of instruction, students received frequent feedback from more advanced students within the course. Overall accuracy of student-provided feedback was 87%, and students complied with 61% of the feedback.

Tangibles, Pictures, and Verbal Descriptions: Which Should Be Used in Choice Presentations?

Little research has examined how stimulus modalities influence choice responding. Should choice alternatives be presented using tangibles, pictures, or verbal descriptions? How should caregivers decide which modality to use? We have completed several studies to examine how discrimination skills, as measured by the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test, interact with choice stimulus modalities to influence responding. Our results suggest that for persons with developmental disabilities with limited or no communication skills, the ability to make simple visual, visual matching to sample, and auditory-visual discriminations should be the prime determinant of stimulus modalities in choice presentation and preference assessment.

The hierarchical relationship between several visual and auditory discriminations and three verbal operants among individuals with developmental disabilities.

This study examined the relationship between performance on the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test (ABLA), two auditory matching tasks, and a test of echoics, tacts, and mands with persons with developmental disabilities. It was found that discrimination skill (visual, auditory-visual, and auditory-auditory discriminations) was a better predictor of performance on verbal operant assessments than level of functioning based on diagnosis. The results showed high test-retest reliability for the test of verbal operants and no hierarchical relationship was found among the three verbal operants.

Analysis of proctor marking accuracy in a computer-aided personalized system of instruction course.

In a computer-aided version of Keller's personalized system of instruction (CAPSI), students within a course were assigned by a computer to be proctors for tests. Archived data from a CAPSI-taught behavior modification course were analyzed to assess proctor accuracy in marking answers as correct or incorrect. Overall accuracy was increased by having each test marked independently by two proctors, and was higher on incorrect answers when the degree of incorrectness was larger.