scholarly journals Startle Habituation and Midfrontal Theta Activity in Parkinson Disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 1923-1932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuan-Hua Chen ◽  
Katrina L. Okerstrom ◽  
Jonathan R. Kingyon ◽  
Steven W. Anderson ◽  
James F. Cavanagh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Theta Activity ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Aversive Stimuli ◽  
Control Signals ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Startle Habituation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

The ability to adapt to aversive stimuli is critical for mental health. Here, we investigate the relationship between habituation to startling stimuli and startle-related activity in medial frontal cortex as measured by EEG in both healthy control participants and patients with Parkinson disease (PD). We report three findings. First, patients with PD exhibited normal initial startle responses but reduced startle habituation relative to demographically matched controls. Second, control participants had midfrontal EEG theta activity in response to startling stimuli, and this activity was attenuated in patients with PD. Finally, startle-related midfrontal theta activity was correlated with the rate of startle habituation. These data indicate that impaired startle habituation in PD is a result of attenuated midfrontal cognitive control signals. Our findings could provide insight into the frontal regulation of startle habituation.

Openings and closures: Mental health in Joachim Trier’s cinematic universe

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Gjelsvik
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Sudden Death ◽  
Drug Addict ◽  
Main Character ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Psychological Issue ◽  
Multiple Challenges ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

This article argues that mental health and mental illness are important topics in Joachim Trier’s oeuvre. In Reprise (2006), two aspiring writers face multiple challenges when one of them suffers a mental breakdown and is hospitalized. Oslo, August 31st (2011) chronicles the final day of a depressed drug addict before he commits suicide. In Louder Than Bombs (2015), three family members try to process trauma and loss after the mother’s sudden death; the main character in Thelma (2017) struggles with emancipation while at the same time suffering from strange seizures, seemingly caused by some unidentified psychological issue. Focusing on close readings of central scenes in Oslo, August 31st and Thelma, the article investigates how the relationship between the protagonists and their environment is used to portray mental illness and create insight into the experience of depression and anxiety.

scholarly journals Predictors of Gait Speeds and the Relationship of Gait Speeds to Falls in Men and Women with Parkinson Disease

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel T. Nemanich ◽  
Ryan P. Duncan ◽  
Leland E. Dibble ◽  
James T. Cavanaugh ◽  
Terry D. Ellis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Disease Severity ◽  
Gait Speed ◽  
Balance Confidence ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Walking Speeds ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

Gait difficulties and falls are commonly reported in people with Parkinson disease (PD). Reduction in gait speed is a major characteristic of Parkinsonian gait, yet little is known about its underlying determinants, its ability to reflect an internal reservation about walking, or its relationship to falls. To study these issues, we selected age, disease severity, and nonmotor factors (i.e., depression, quality of life, balance confidence, and exercise beliefs and attitudes) to predict self-selected (SELF), fast-as-possible (FAST), and the difference (DIFF) between these walking speeds in 78 individuals with PD. We also examined gender differences in gait speeds and evaluated how gait speeds were related to a retrospective fall report. Age, disease severity, and balance confidence were strong predictors of SELF, FAST, and, to a lesser extent, DIFF. All three parameters were strongly associated with falling. DIFF was significantly greater in men compared to women and was significantly associated with male but not female fallers. The results supported the clinical utility of using a suite of gait speed parameters to provide insight into the gait difficulties and differentiating between fallers in people with PD.

Social comparisons on social media: online appearance-related activity and body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
M. Scully ◽  
L. Swords ◽  
E. Nixon
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Body Dissatisfaction ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Social Comparisons ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Thin Ideal ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
The Relationship

Introduction: Adolescents’ engagement with online social networking platforms is advancing at an exponential rate and research is needed to investigate any impact on young users’ mental health. This study examined appearance-related activity (e.g. looking at photos of friends) on social media and body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls. Methods: Self-report measures of online appearance-related activity, social comparisons to female target groups, internalization of the thin ideal, body dissatisfaction, and self-esteem were administered to 210 girls (mean age = 15.16 years). Results: Body dissatisfaction was significantly related to (i) time spent engaged in social comparisons and (ii) upward social comparisons with various female targets while online. Evaluating oneself less favorably than the target group of close friends was most strongly associated with poorer body image appraisals. Serial multiple mediation analysis revealed that even after controlling for age and self-esteem, time spent engaged in social comparisons significantly mediated the relationship between online appearance-related activity and body dissatisfaction. This association was then further partially mediated by internalization of the thin ideal, which significantly mediated the relationship between time engaged in social comparisons and body dissatisfaction. Discussion: Results are discussed in terms of online social media platforms representing an additional appearance culture environment for adolescent girls. The effects of this on the mental health of vulnerable users and how future research should investigate protective factors that may buffer young girls from the adverse effects of social media are considered.

scholarly journals Genioglossus muscle responses to resistive loads in severe OSA patients and healthy control subjects

2019 ◽  
Vol 127 (6) ◽  
pp. 1586-1598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren R. Ruehland ◽  
Peter D. Rochford ◽  
Robert J. Pierce ◽  
John Trinder ◽  
Amy S. Jordan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stimulus Intensity ◽  
Negative Pressure ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Neuromuscular Response ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Neuromuscular Responses ◽  
Resistive Loads ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

This study aimed to determine whether there is impairment of genioglossus neuromuscular responses to small negative pressure respiratory stimuli, close to the conscious detection threshold, in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We compared genioglossus electromyogram (EMGgg) responses to midinspiratory resistive loads of varying intensity (≈1.2–6.2 cmH2O·L−1·s), delivered via a nasal mask, between 16 severe OSA and 17 control participants while the subjects were awake and in a seated upright position. We examined the relationship between stimulus intensity and peak EMGgg amplitude in a 200-ms poststimulus window and hypothesized that OSA patients would have an increased activation threshold and reduced sensitivity in the relationship between EMGgg activation and stimulus intensity. There was no significant difference between control and OSA participants in the threshold ( P = 0.545) or the sensitivity ( P = 0.482) of the EMGgg amplitude vs. stimulus intensity relationship, where change in epiglottic pressure relative to background epiglottic pressure represented stimulus intensity. These results do not support the hypothesis that deficits in neuromuscular response to negative upper airway pressure exist in OSA during wakefulness; however, the results are likely influenced by a counterintuitive and novel genioglossus muscle suppression response observed in a significant proportion of both OSA and healthy control participants. This suppression response may relate to the inhibition seen in inspiratory muscles such as the diaphragm in response to sudden-onset negative pressure, and its presence provides new insight into the upper airway neuromuscular response to the collapsing force of negative pressure. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our study used a novel midinspiratory resistive load stimulus to study upper airway neuromuscular responses to negative pressure during wakefulness in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Although no differences were found between OSA and healthy groups, the study uncovered a novel and unexpected suppression of neuromuscular activity in a large proportion of both OSA and healthy participants. The unusual response provides new insight into the upper airway neuromuscular response to the collapsing force of negative pressure.

Skeletal elements of crinoid echinoderms: High-resolution structural and microanalytical results

1983 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 194-195
Author(s):  
D. F. Blake ◽  
L. F. Allard ◽  
D. R. Peacor
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Sea Urchins ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Sea Stars ◽  
High Resolution Tem ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

Echinodermata is a phylum of marine invertebrates which has been extant since Cambrian time (c.a. 500 m.y. before the present). Modern examples of echinoderms include sea urchins, sea stars, and sea lilies (crinoids). The endoskeletons of echinoderms are composed of plates or ossicles (Fig. 1) which are with few exceptions, porous, single crystals of high-magnesian calcite. Despite their single crystal nature, fracture surfaces do not exhibit the near-perfect {10.4} cleavage characteristic of inorganic calcite. This paradoxical mix of biogenic and inorganic features has prompted much recent work on echinoderm skeletal crystallography. Furthermore, fossil echinoderm hard parts comprise a volumetrically significant portion of some marine limestones sequences. The ultrastructural and microchemical characterization of modern skeletal material should lend insight into: 1). The nature of the biogenic processes involved, for example, the relationship of Mg heterogeneity to morphological and structural features in modern echinoderm material, and 2). The nature of the diagenetic changes undergone by their ancient, fossilized counterparts. In this study, high resolution TEM (HRTEM), high voltage TEM (HVTEM), and STEM microanalysis are used to characterize tha ultrastructural and microchemical composition of skeletal elements of the modern crinoid Neocrinus blakei.

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