Principal components analysis of agitation outcomes in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: We developed a composite measure of agitation as a secondary outcome of change over time in the Citalopram for Agitation in Alzheimer's disease study (CitAD). CitAD demonstrated a positive effect of citalopram on agitation on the Neurobehavioral Rating Scale agitation subscale (NBRS-A). CitAD included additional agitation measures such as the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory.

Portrayed emotions in the movie "Forrest Gump".

Here we present a dataset with a description of portrayed emotions in the movie "Forrest Gump". A total of 12 observers independently annotated emotional episodes regarding their temporal location and duration. The nature of an emotion was characterized with basic attributes, such as arousal and valence, as well as explicit emotion category labels.

Perfusion, hypoperfusion, and ischemia processes: the effect on bodily function.

Adequate perfusion is requisite for normal body function. Should perfusion be disrupted, a cascade of events may result that can lead to disruption of function and potentially cell, tissue, organ, and ultimately organism death. Contrary to logic, reperfusion as a modality of treatment is not without issues in the form of reperfusion injury.

Stress level and stress management skills of admitted baccalaureate nursing students.

The purpose of this study was to review the stress levels and the stress management skills of admitted baccalaureate nursing students at a rural public university. Subjects completed a questionnaire to estimate stress levels, causes of stress, stress management skills, and the use of stress management skills. Stress levels by gender and group were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Pressure ulcers and the home health aide: evaluation of an educational program.

In a 6-month period, it was noted that 3 home care patients had developed pressure ulcers although they had been visited by home health aides providing full hygienic care. In an attempt to improve care, an educational program was developed and provided to the home health aides. After implementation of this program, posttest scores improved.

A comparison of the effectiveness of an opioid analgesic and a nonpharmacologic intervention to improve incentive spirometry volumes.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of opioid analgesics and relaxation as interventions for incentive spirometry in postcardiovascular surgery patients. With the use of incentive spirometry change scores from pre- to posttreatment, 72 patients received either relaxation, opioid analgesia, or no intervention. Pre- to posttreatment differences in achieved spirometry volumes were significantly different for the 3 groups (F[2, 69] = 7.

Self psychology interpretation of the Thematic Apperception Test.

Self psychology theory of personality has gained recognition as an important contribution to the psychoanalytic understanding of personality. The authors present guidelines for the interpretation of Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) material in accordance with self psychology, and provide as a case example a detailed interpretation of the TAT material of one patient. Material from the therapist's summary of the treatment is provided in support of the self psychology interpretation proposed.

Reverse intermetamorphosis--a rare misidentification phenomenon.

The authors present a case including two variants of delusional misidentification: Fregoli variant and intermetamorphosis. The present case has two interesting aspects: a) intermetamorphosis occurred in the patient himself, rather than in another person; b) the intermetamorphosis was only psychological and not physical.

Effect of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine on striatal dopamine receptors in C57BL/6 mice.

The effect of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), a neurotoxin which selectively destroys the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and produces Parkinson's disease-like syndrome, on striatal dopamine receptors was determined in a mouse strain known to be very sensitive to the neurotoxic effect of MPTP. Daily intraperitoneal administration of MPTP (30 mg/kg) for 7 days to male C57BL/6 mice reduced the concentration of striatal dopamine by 90%. This decrease in dopamine concentration was not associated with changes either in the receptor density (Bmax) or the apparent dissociation constant (Kd) of [3H]spiroperidol to bind to striatal dopamine receptors.

Accessory olfactory bulb transplants correct hypogonadism in mutant mice.

Transplantation of normal fetal gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons from the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) to the third ventricle of GnRH-deficient adult mutant mice reverses the genetically determined reduction in pituitary hormones and poorly developed gonads. The transplanted heterotopic AOB neurons adapt their morphology and secretory functions to what is observed with preoptic GnRH neurons when transplanted into deficient mice and in the normal intact mature animal. This suggests the presence of median eminence trophic factors affecting the growth, terminal sprouting, and functional behavior of the transplanted neurons.

Implantation of fetal preoptic area into the lateral ventricle of adult hypogonadal mutant mice: the pattern of gonadotropin-releasing hormone axonal outgrowth into the host brain.

Transplantation of fetal preoptic area tissue containing gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons into the third ventricle of male hypogonadal mice resulted in an elevation of pituitary gonadotropin levels and correction of hypogonadism. This reversal of the neuroendocrine deficit was correlated with innervation of the median eminence by gonadotropin-releasing hormone axons. The specificity of fiber outgrowth suggested that local neuromodulatory factors might guide these axons to the nearby median eminence.

Brain grafting as a treatment for Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is an illness with neuropathological and neuroanatomical abnormalities in many areas of the central nervous system. Some clinical manifestations of this illness are correlated with pathological changes in the substantia nigra and with a loss of dopamine in the nigra and striatum. The most effective pharmacological treatments have used agents that either replace the lost dopamine or act as agonists on dopamine receptors.

Fine structure of adrenal medullary grafts in the pain modulatory regions of the rat periaqueductal gray.

Recent findings in our laboratory indicate that adrenal medullary grafts produce significant alterations in pain sensitivity. Electron microscopic studies were undertaken to correlate these behavioral changes with the neural interactions of the host and graft tissue in the periaqueductal gray. A striking change found 8 weeks after transplantation is that pronounced myelination has taken place both in the graft and in the host tissue.

Alterations in nociception following adrenal medullary transplants into the rat periaqueductal gray.

Adrenal medullary chromaffin cells were transplanted to the midbrain periaqueductal gray, a region known to play a primary role in the modulation of nociception. Chromaffin cells were chosen for transplantation since they contain several neuroactive substances (e.g.

Adrenal medullary tissue transplants in the rat spinal cord reduce pain sensitivity.

Adrenal chromaffin cells contain and release several neuroactive substances which induce analgesia when injected directly into the spinal cord (e.g. opioid peptides and catecholamines).

Evaluation of ciladopa hydrochloride as a potential anti-Parkinson drug.

The effects of the putative dopamine agonist, ciladopa hydrochloride (AY 27,110) a non-ergot compound, were investigated in animal models of dopaminergic activity to evaluate its possible role in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Ciladopa induced stereotyped behavior in both rats and guinea pigs. Unlike apomorphine, however, ciladopa did not produce a maximum behavioral response, i.

Myelination by transplanted fetal and neonatal oligodendrocytes in a dysmyelinating mutant.

Demyelination is a major feature of CNS injury and disease, including multiple sclerosis. To examine the potential for myelination by transplanted oligodendrocytes, initially described by Gumpel et al., we have transplanted neonatal cortex of mice with normal myelin into a dysmyelinating mutant, the shiverer mouse.