1,721,041 research outputs found
Qualitatively different forms of pure alexia.
No full textIn this study we investigated two patients with pure alexia, F. C. and L. D. S., in order to make inferences about how processes and levels involved in the early stage of visual word recognition are organized and how they can be selectively damaged. Moreover, we investigated whether pure alexia can be caused by different functional deficits. F. C. and L. D. S. were presented with tasks of letter processing and tasks of orthographic integration. There was a clear double dissociation between the pattern of performance of F. C. and L. D. S. F. C. was able to process single letters rapidly and accurately, but was unable to group together the letters that he had correctly identified. By contrast, L. D. S. was slower and more impaired at letter identification, but she could use letter groups to assist reading. Thus, two different forms of pure alexia emerged: F. C. has a higher level deficit in integrating letters, whereas L. D. S. has a lower level deficit in letter processing. The results support the assumption of a functional organization of the reading process that involves a series of orthographic units ( i.e., single letters, sub-lexical letter groups, and the lexical unit), which can be selectively damaged. Finally, our data present difficulties for models of pure alexia that assume all patients to have a low-level processing deficit
WORD-FREQUENCY MONITORING IN PARKINSON DISEASE - AN ANALYSIS OF ACCURACY AND PRECISION
No full textThe judgment of frequency of occurrence of stimuli appearing in a task is a complicated decision. This decision can be independently analyzed using estimates of subject accuracy (where their estimate resembles the true frequency of the stimuli) and precision (sensitive to response bias). In this study, the accuracy and precision of Parkison's disease (PD) patients estimates of the frequency of occurrence of word stimuli were analyzed. The results indicated that the accuracy estimates of PD patients were not significantly different from normal controls whereas their precision of frequency judgments was impaired. Poorer precision scores were associated with fewer categories achieved on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Using accuracy and precision estimates should improve the characterization of the cognitive processes required in frequency judgments
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
ALS Mimics due to Affection of the Cervical Spine: From Common Compressive Myelopathy to Rare CSF Epidural Collection
No full textAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a clinically heterogeneous disease, with chameleon presentations and several mimics. Considering the poor prognosis of ALS, their precise and timely identification is pivotal. Affection of the cervical spine represents one potential source of ALS mimics that should never be missed, since it is potentially treatable. We hereby present 5 cases initially diagnosed as ALS but eventually found to have different kinds of cervical spine affection, from a common compressive myelopathy to a rare space-occupying cystic fluid collection
Italian telephone-based Mini-Mental State Examination (Itel-MMSE): item-level psychometric properties
Full text linkBackground: The Italian telephone-based Mini-Mental State Examination (Itel-MMSE), despite being psychometrically sound, has shown relevant ceiling effects, which may negatively impact the interpretation of its scores. In address to overcome such an issue, this study aimed at providing item-level insights on the Itel-MMSE through Item Response Theory (IRT) analyses. Methods: Five-hundred and sixty-seven healthy Italian adults (227 males, 340 females; mean age: 51 ± 17 years, range 18–96; mean education: 13.31 ± 4.3 years). A two-parameter logistic IRT model was implemented to assess item discrimination and difficulty of the Itel-MMSE. Construct unidimensionality, statistical independence of items, and model and item fit were tested. Informativity levels were also assessed graphically. Results: With respect to the Itel-MMSE total score, ceiling effects were found in 92.7% of participants. Unidimensionality was violated; both model and item fit were poor; a few items showed statistical dependence. Both the whole test and its items proved to be scarcely informative, especially for medium-to-high levels of ability, except for attention and spatial orientation subtests, which consistently yielded the highest discriminative capability. Discussion: The Itel-MMSE appears to be most informative in low-performing healthy individuals. However, the present findings should not lead practitioners to aprioristically equate ceiling effects/low informativity to clinical uselessness. Items assessing attention and, to a lesser extent, spatial orientation appear to be the most informative
Coma, alterazioni della coscienza e sonno
No full textComa - Stato simile al sonno di protratta non responsività dal quale il paziente non può essere risvegliato con appropriati stimoli sensoriali.
- E’ la conseguenza di un insulto che interessa in maniera estesa gli emisferi cerebrali e/o la sostanza reticolare attivante.
- Le cause del coma sono ascrivibili a problemi di tipo strutturale (traumi, lesioni occupanti spazio, ischemia ed emorragia cerebrale) o non strutturale (cause infettivo-infiammatorie delle meningi e dell’encefalo, encefalopatie tossico-metaboliche, anossia).
- Tra un individuo in pieno stato di coscienza ed un paziente in coma profondo esiste un continuum di condizioni nelle quali può essere maggiormente compromesso lo stato di vigilanza, ossia il livello di coscienza piuttosto che il suo contenuto o viceversa
IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT MEMORY IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSONS-DISEASE WITH AND WITHOUT DEMENTIA
No full textObjective: To study explicit and implicit memory processes in patients with Parkinson's disease. Design: Case-control design. All subjects were given a neuropsychological test battery, and the test scores were compared among the groups. Setting: Government-funded research facility. All subjects were examined as outpatients. Patients: We tested nondemented (n=13) and demented (n=5) patients with Parkinson's disease and normal controls (n=12) matched for age, gender, and educational level. Main Outcome Measures: Memory for verbal and pictorial stimuli under both explicit and implicit retrieval conditions. Results: Both nondemented and demented patients with Parkinson's disease exhibited impairment on tests of explicit memory. Their impairment could be graded based on the level of effort required by the task: impaired free recall in nondemented patients and impaired free recall, cued recall, and recognition in demented patients. By contrast, neither group showed evidence of impairment on automatic (modality monitoring and word frequency estimation) or implicit (word and picture fragment identification) memory tasks. Correlation analyses did not support any association between the effortful memory deficits and neurologic variables, mood, or performance on executive function tests. Conclusions: Memory deficits in patients with Parkinson's disease primarily involve the conscious, effortful strategic aspects of searching long-term memory
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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