Temporal and regional patterns of Smad activation in the rat hippocampus following global ischemia.

In this study, we examined the temporal and regional patterns of Smad activation in the rat hippocampus following global ischemia. We also examined the association between Smad activation and ischemia-induced pathology in the hippocampus. We found that 1) Smad1, -2, -3, and -5 proteins were detected in the rat hippocampus by means of western blot and immunohistochemistry; 2) after 5 min of ischemia, Smad2 and Smad3 proteins accumulated in the nuclei of pyramidal cells in the CA1 region, which is vulnerable to ischemia; 3) after 3 min of ischemia, which was non-lethal, there was no such nuclear accumulation of Smad2 and Smad3 in the CA1 region; 4) following injection of activin A, nuclear accumulation of Smad2 and Smad3 was induced not only in pyramidal cells of the CA1 region, but also in pyramidal cells of the CA3 region as well as in granule cells of the DG region; 5) activin A-induced nuclear accumulation of Smad2 and Smad3 neither caused degeneration of hippocampal neurons nor prevented degeneration induced by ischemia.

[Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and pervasive developmental disorder:attention and response inhibition in the kiddie continuous performance test].

Continuous Performance Test (CPT) is widely used to assess the attention function and response inhibition in both children and adults. This study attempts to examine the performances of boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) with and without comorbid AD/HD using a CPT. Among the various versions of the CPT available, we used the Kiddie CPT (K-CPT) modified for younger children.

Executive function in children with pervasive developmental disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder assessed by the Keio version of the Wisconsin card sorting test.

The Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) comprehensively examines executive function (EF). The Keio version of the WCST (KWCST) uses fewer cards and presents them in two steps, separated by a short pause during which an instruction is given. Being of short duration, this test is suitable for children with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), yet few studies have examined the performance of children with such developmental disorders in the second step of a two-step test such as the KWCST.

[Clinical application of the modified Stroop test to children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder].

The Stroop test has been already applied to many children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). There are, however, differences in the measurement of the Stroop test, and also in the background conditions of the patients, such as the status of comorbidity with learning disorder (LD), medication and the level of Intelligence Quotient (IQ), and presumably as a result, the outcome of the Stroop test shows a diversity. This study was undertaken to compare the performances of children with AD/HD to normal controls using the modified Stroop test according to the subtypes of AD/HD.

[Developmental changes in the kiddie continuous performance test and its appropriate age for application].

The Kiddie Continuous Performance Test (K-CPT) was produced by Conners for children in age from 4 to 5 years. This study attempted to examine the developmental changes and gender differences of this test in children from preschool to adolescence, to verify its appropriate age range for application, and also to obtain a norm for clinical applications. K-CPT was administered to 327 healthy participants from 4 to 18 years of age.

[Standard value and developmental changes in the indices of interference effect in the modified Stroop test].

The Stroop test was originally invented by Stroop to measure selective attention and cognitive flexibility and various versions of this test have been developed by many other researchers. Since the Stroop test requires the examinee's sustained efforts, it is not readily applicable to children with developmental disorders. In order to overcome this weakness, a modified Stroop test by reducing the total number of stimulations from 300 to 72 was proposed for clinical use.

[Clinical application of the modified wisconsin card sorting test to children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder].

The cases with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) are known to have difficulties in performing various neuropsychological tests related to the executive function. Among them, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is already applied to many children with AD/HD. There are, however, differences in the measurement of WCST, and also in the background conditions of the patients, such as the status of medication and the level of Intelligence Quotient (IQ), and presumably as a result, the outcome of WCST shows a diversity.

[Effect of development and aging on the modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in normal subjects].

The Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) is applied to various types of neurological disorders. Since WCST requires the examinee's sustained efforts, it is not readily applicable to children with developmental disorders. In order to overcome this weakness, Keio version WCST (KWCST) was developed by reducing the number of cards from 128 to 48 and presenting them in two steps separated by a short pause.