EEG alpha activity and personality traits.

Comparisons between EEG spectral power in the fast alpha (9-12 Hz) range and scores obtained on the Millon Clinical Personality Inventory (MCMI) were made in two populations of subjects. The first was a group of 60 individuals who reported no personal or family history of alcoholism. The second was a subgroup of 13 sons of alcoholics and 13 matched control subjects.

Dietary preference for sweet foods in patients with dementia.

Using a telephone survey, patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (n = 31) and vascular dementia (n = 14) were compared with elderly normal controls (n = 43) in preferences for different foods. Patients with Alzheimer's disease had a greater preference than normal controls for relatively high-fat, sweet foods and for high-sugar, low-fat foods, but did not significantly differ in preference for other foods, including those high in complex carbohydrates and protein. Vascular dementia patients showed a similar pattern, not significantly different from that for Alzheimer's patients.

Relation of cognitive status and abnormal behaviors in Alzheimer's disease.

Some studies suggest that abnormal behaviors are associated with increasing cognitive loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Other studies do not show this association. We examined the relation of cognitive loss, represented by Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, with abnormal behaviors in 680 patients with probable AD.

Effects of haloperidol on recall and information processing in verbal and spatial learning.

1. Normal male subjects were tested with either a multi-trial word list learning test or a spatial analogue prior to administration of either 4 mg. or 10 mg.

Assessment of disruptive behavior associated with dementia: the Disruptive Behavior Rating Scales.

Disruptive behavior associated with dementia is a major clinical problem, but there has been limited methodology for assessing it. This study describes the development of a set of rating scales used to measure four dimensions of disruptive behavior that present frequent problems in patients with dementia: physical aggression, verbal aggression, agitation, and wandering. In addition, a total disruptive behavior scale is derived by averaging scores from these four scales.

Effect of haloperidol on a symbol digit substitution task in normal adult males.

Two groups of normal male volunteers were administered oral haloperidol at two dose levels: 4 mg (n = 12), and 10 mg (n = 9). Subjects were administered the Symbol-Digit Substitution Test (SDST) prior to drug administration (0 hours) and at the following intervals after administration: 1, 3, 4, 6, 14, 24, and 36 hours. Overall performance of the 10-mg group was poorer than that of the 4-mg group.

Propranolol for the control of disruptive behavior in senile dementia.

Six patients with senile dementia, exhibiting severe, disruptive behavior were effectively treated with propranolol in doses ranging from 80 mg per day to 560 mg per day. All six patients were given a trial of propranolol after conventional therapy had failed, and in all patients, the agitated behavior significantly improved. There were no adverse side effects requiring the discontinuation of the propranolol, and in all cases, the agitated behavior was controlled without inducing general sedation.

AIDS as a cause of dementia in the elderly.

It has been recognized that AIDS can present initially as dementia without other neurological or clinical manifestations. In addition, HIV-contaminated blood transfusions in the elderly seem to be underreported. Because of these findings, dementia in the elderly may be misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease or other causes of senile dementia.

Psychometric correlates of episodic violent behaviour. A multidimensional neuropsychological approach.

Three groups of neuropsychiatric out-patients, homogeneous according to parameters of violent behaviour, were identified in a previous study using a cluster analysis procedure and compared in this study on psychometric variables. These groups were (a) a group manifesting frequent, impulsive violence (n = 35), (b) a non-violent group (n = 57), and (c) a group whose violent behaviour was much less frequent and severe than in the first group, and more provoked (n = 31). Impulsively violent patients showed language and visual-perceptual deficits, but no other neuropsychological or intellectual deficits.

Successful treatment of psychotic depression with carbamazepine.

A patient with recurrent episodes of major depression with psychotic features was treated successfully with carbamazepine after unsatisfactory response to other interventions. Since psychotic depression is often difficult to treat with medications, carbamazepine may be a useful addition to the clinician's pharmacological armamentarium.

Verbal learning differences in epileptic patients with left and right temporal lobe foci.

A verbal learning test patterned after and using the same format as the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test was administered to the following three groups: (1) patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy (L-TLE) as defined by EEG criteria (n = 11); (2) patients with right temporal lobe epilepsy (n = 10); and (3) normal controls (n = 11). Performance was highly similar for all three groups during the five immediate recall learning trials. The performance of the L-TLE group, averaged across three delayed recall trials (free recall, phonemic cued recall, semantic cued recall), was significantly poorer than that of the other two groups.

Hypersomnia in major depressive disorders.

Hypersomnia was experienced by 17 of 102 patients with major depressive disorder. Comparisons between hypersomnic and non-hypersomnic depressives demonstrated significant associations between hypersomnia and increased appetite, weight gain, agitation, headaches, depression in a first-degree relative, and earlier age of illness onset.

An empirical analysis of specific syndromes of violent behavior.

One hundred thirty-eight neuropsychiatric outpatients were rated according to relevant behavioral parameters of violence. A cluster analysis based on these ratings yielded five homogenous subgroups. Two groups, which differed only in severity of violence, were defined by a behavioral pattern closely resembling the episodic dyscontrol syndrome.

Interictal behavior abnormality in temporal lobe epilepsy. A specific syndrome or nonspecific psychopathology?

Two studies examine the degree to which the traits measured by the Bear and Fedio personality inventory are specific to temporal lobe epilepsy. In the first study, none of the 18 traits discriminated among a group of temporal lobe epileptics with behavioral-psychiatric disorders, a group of patients with concomitant neurological and behavioral-psychiatric disorders, and a group of patients with psychiatric but not neurological illness. The second study demonstrated that a very large percentage of variance in the traits can be accounted for by presence or absence of psychiatric illness.

The Personality Research Form as a therapy outcome measure of social behavior.

Reported two studies that examined the efficacy of the Personality Research Form (PRF) as an outcome measure for interventions designed to increase social competence. In the first study (N = 83), the degree to which PRF scales can predict criteria frequently used in social skills training outcome research was examined, and the PRF was shown to be sensitive to such criteria. The second study (N = 24) assessed the relative degree to which the PRF scales and more frequently used outcome measures, including the above criteria, are affected by factors non-specific to social skills training interventions (suggestion for improvement).