Assessing Educational Impact of Worldwide Webinar on Management of Myopia Progression in Children.

Objective: To assess the educational impact of a worldwide webinar approach to myopia progression management in children <8 years and 8-12 years old.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: A self-administered survey was conducted for attendees of a 3 h worldwide webinar held in two parts on consecutive days on the management of myopia progression in children.

Activation of Subthalamic Nucleus Stop Circuit Disrupts Cognitive Performance.

Much evidence supports a fundamental role for the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in rapidly stopping behavior when a stop signal or surprising event occurs, but the extent to which the STN may be involved in stopping cognitive processes is less clear. Here, we used an optogenetic approach to control STN activity in a delayed-match-to-position (DMTP) task where mice had to recall a response location after a delay. We first demonstrated that a surprising event impaired performance by both slowing the latency to respond and increasing the rate of errors.

Beyond Critical Period Learning: Striatal FoxP2 Affects the Active Maintenance of Learned Vocalizations in Adulthood.

In humans, mutations in the transcription factor forkhead box P2 (FOXP2) result in language disorders associated with altered striatal structure. Like speech, birdsong is learned through social interactions during maturational critical periods, and it relies on auditory feedback during initial learning and on-going maintenance. Hearing loss causes learned vocalizations to deteriorate in adult humans and songbirds.

Bidirectional scaling of vocal variability by an avian cortico-basal ganglia circuit.

Behavioral variability is thought to be critical for trial and error learning, but where such motor exploration is generated in the central nervous system is unclear. The zebra finch songbird species offers a highly appropriate model in which to address this question. The male song is amenable to detailed measurements of variability, while the brain contains an identified cortico-basal ganglia loop that underlies this behavior.

"So we basically let them struggle": Student perceptions of challenges in intergenerational Service-Learning.

Service-learning is a widely used pedagogical practice that integrates community involvement and civic engagement into the classroom. Benefits of service-learning in gerontology include an increased sense of personal growth, greater knowledge of aging, and enhanced interest in aging-related careers. However, relatively little research has specifically explored the challenges associated with intergenerational service-learning.

FoxP2 isoforms delineate spatiotemporal transcriptional networks for vocal learning in the zebra finch.

Human speech is one of the few examples of vocal learning among mammals yet ~half of avian species exhibit this ability. Its neurogenetic basis is largely unknown beyond a shared requirement for FoxP2 in both humans and zebra finches. We manipulated FoxP2 isoforms in Area X, a song-specific region of the avian striatopallidum analogous to human anterior striatum, during a critical period for song development.

To transduce a zebra finch: interrogating behavioral mechanisms in a model system for speech.

The ability to alter neuronal gene expression, either to affect levels of endogenous molecules or to express exogenous ones, is a powerful tool for linking brain and behavior. Scientists continue to finesse genetic manipulation in mice. Yet mice do not exhibit every behavior of interest.

Peripheral androgen action helps modulate vocal production in a suboscine passerine.

Androgenic activation of intracellular androgen receptors (AR) influences avian vocal production, though this has largely been investigated at the level of the brain. We investigated the influence of predominantly peripheral AR on vocal output in wild Golden-collared Manakins (). In this suboscine species, males court females by performing acrobatic displays and by producing relatively simple vocalizations.

Behavior-linked FoxP2 regulation enables zebra finch vocal learning.

Mutations in the FOXP2 transcription factor cause an inherited speech and language disorder, but how FoxP2 contributes to learning of these vocal communication signals remains unclear. FoxP2 is enriched in corticostriatal circuits of both human and songbird brains. Experimental knockdown of this enrichment in song control neurons of the zebra finch basal ganglia impairs tutor song imitation, indicating that adequate FoxP2 levels are necessary for normal vocal learning.

Expression analysis of the speech-related genes FoxP1 and FoxP2 and their relation to singing behavior in two songbird species.

Humans and songbirds are among the rare animal groups that exhibit socially learned vocalizations: speech and song, respectively. These vocal-learning capacities share a reliance on audition and cortico-basal ganglia circuitry, as well as neurogenetic mechanisms. Notably, the transcription factors Forkhead box proteins 1 and 2 (FoxP1, FoxP2) exhibit similar expression patterns in the cortex and basal ganglia of humans and the zebra finch species of songbird, among other brain regions.

Longitudinal study of emerging mental health concerns in youth perinatally infected with HIV and peer comparisons.

Objective: Cross-sectional research indicates high rates of mental health concerns among youth with perinatal HIV infection (PHIV), but few studies have examined emerging psychiatric symptoms over time.

Methods: Youth with PHIV and peer comparisons who were HIV-exposed but uninfected or living in households with HIV-infected family members (HIV-affected) and primary caregivers participated in a prospective, multisite, longitudinal cohort study. Groups were compared for differences in the incidence of emerging psychiatric symptoms during 2 years of follow-up and for differences in psychotropic drug therapy.

Human immunodeficiency virus disease severity, psychiatric symptoms, and functional outcomes in perinatally infected youth.

Objective: To evaluate associations between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease severity and psychiatric and functional outcomes in youth with perinatal HIV infection.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of entry data from an observational,prospective 2-year study.Logistic and linear regression models adjusted for potential confounders were used.

Co-occuring psychiatric symptoms in children perinatally infected with HIV and peer comparison sample.

Objective: To compare the rates of psychopathology in youths perinatally infected with HIV (N = 319) with a comparison sample of peers (N = 256) either HIV-exposed or living in households with HIV-infected family members.

Method: Participants were randomly recruited from 29 sites in the United States and Puerto Rico and completed an extensive battery of measures including standardized DSM-IV-referenced ratings scales.

Results: The HIV+ group was relatively healthy (73% with CD4% >25%), and 92% were actively receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Age influences the effects of nicotine and monoamine oxidase inhibition on mood-related behaviors in rats.

Rationale: Epidemiological studies have demonstrated a comorbidity of smoking with depression and anxiety, particularly during adolescence. However, few animal studies have considered possible synergistic interactions between nicotine and other tobacco smoke constituents, such as monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, in the regulation of mood.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that nicotine combined with the irreversible MAO inhibitor, tranylcypromine, will differentially affect depression- and anxiety-related behaviors in adolescent and adult rats.

Mental health treatment patterns in perinatally HIV-infected youth and controls.

Background: Youths perinatally infected with HIV often receive psychotropic medication and behavioral treatment for emotional and behavioral symptoms. We describe patterns of intervention for HIV-positive youth and youth in a control group in the United States.

Methods: Three hundred nineteen HIV-positive youth and 256 controls, aged 6 to 17 years, enrolled in the International Maternal Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials 1055, a prospective, 2-year observational study of psychiatric symptoms.

Psychosocial profile of HIV-infected adolescents in a Southern US urban cohort.

We undertook a retrospective medical chart review of HIV-infected adolescents referred to a Southern US urban comprehensive adolescent HIV clinic between 1992 and 2003 to describe the psychosocial profile of adolescents infected with HIV via high-risk behaviours.Ninety-one adolescents (59 females, 32 males, 95% African-American, median age 17 years) were identified. Common reasons for initial HIV testing included routine prenatal screening (20%), clinical symptoms suggestive of HIV (20%), and recognized risk-related behaviours (20%).

Stressors and development: a reciprocal relationship.

In this article we have attempted to delineate the importance of developmental levels in a young person's response to stressors and, conversely, the effect of stressors on levels of development. In so doing, we isolated specific lines of development from their context. We neglected the important roles of rewards and punishments, permissions and prohibitions, family and community dynamics, values, stories and myths.

Management of zonular dialysis in phacoemulsification and IOL implantation using the capsular tension ring.

Background And Objectives: Cataract surgery with zonular dialysis remains a challenge for surgeons performing phacoemulsification and posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation. In this article, the authors report the results of cataract surgery with zonular dialysis that was managed with the capsular tension ring.

Patients And Methods: Of the 14 cataract surgery cases with loose or broken zonules managed with capsular tension rings that were retrospectively reviewed, 5 selected cases are presented in this article.

The role of small-incision cataract surgery in combined cataract and glaucoma surgery.

Small-incision cataract surgery widens the scope of combined cataract and glaucoma surgery. Phacoemulsification is gaining in importance, although extracapsular extraction techniques are still commonly used. Trabeculectomy remains the standard filtration operation combined with cataract surgery.

Results of treatment one year later: child and adolescent partial hospitalization.

Objective: One criticism of academicians is that they evaluate and disseminate outcome studies based more on the value and merit of the research design than on the utility of the findings for improving clinical practice. Increasing pressure on programs to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral health care is transitioning outcome measurement from the exclusive domain of the researcher toward the clinical/organizational domain. To explore the multiple applications of such clinical outcome data, this article presents the results from a study of 114 patients completing treatment in two child and adolescent partial hospital programs.

Anticipatory stress in children and adolescents.

Objective: Circumstances surrounding the New Madrid earthquake prediction on Dec. 3, 1990, offered a unique opportunity to study the effects of a disaster warning stage on children and adolescents.

Method: An initial structured interview was administered to 553 third- and 10th-grade students before December 3, with follow-up interviews conducted 6-8 weeks later.

Physical and sexual abuse in childhood: relationship with post-traumatic stress disorder.

This study describes the reactions of children and adolescents to physical and/or sexual abuse, suggesting two distinct symptom pictures. Findings indicate that a majority (55%) of this clinical population develop symptoms characteristic of post-traumatic stress disorder, whereas abused children and adolescents who do not develop associated post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms exhibit more anxiety, depression, externalizing behaviors, and more problems overall. Significant differences were also found between children and adolescents reacting to single event abuse who display more behavior disorders and victims of ongoing abuse who appear significantly more disturbed, with symptoms ranging from depression to psychosis.

Treatment protocols in child and adolescent day treatment.

Twenty treatment protocols in a day treatment program for children and adolescents have been developed by multidisciplinary groups based on a review of 200 patients. The protocols classify patients according to symptom clusters and provide standardized treatment plans for each classification. Each protocol contains a definition of the symptom cluster, a list of presenting problems, a list of other protocols to consider, admission guidelines, treatment options, and discharge criteria.