Parietal dysfunction during number processing in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Number processing deficits are frequently seen in children prenatally exposed to alcohol. Although the parietal lobe, which is known to mediate several key aspects of number processing, has been shown to be structurally impaired in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), effects on functional activity in this region during number processing have not previously been investigated. This fMRI study of 49 children examined differences in activation associated with prenatal alcohol exposure in five key parietal regions involved in number processing, using tasks involving simple addition and magnitude comparison. Despite generally similar behavioral performance, in both tasks greater prenatal alcohol exposure was related to less activation in an anterior section of the right horizontal intraparietal sulcus known to mediate mental representation and manipulation of quantity. Children with fetal alcohol syndrome and partial fetal alcohol syndrome appeared to compensate for this deficit by increased activation of the angular gyrus during the magnitude comparison task.

The development of integrated health care models in Scotland.

Integrated health care is a key policy aim of Scotland's newly devolved government. 'Partnership working' is the mechanism that has been selected to achieve this goal. Three illustrative examples of health care integration models developed in Scotland are considered; system organisation and structure; Local Health Care Co-operatives (LHCCs); and Managed Clinical Networks. Using these examples the paper explores the nature of 'partnership' and asks if it can deliver integrated care.

Restructuring health care: the social geography of public and private health care under the British Conservative Government.

The 1979 election of the Conservative Government in Britain was not followed by the demolition of the welfare state. However, a variety of policy initiatives were introduced both to restructure National Health Service (NHS) expenditure, and to facilitate private provision of health services. This article considers the effects of such policies on the existing and future distribution of health care resources. A historical introduction discusses the main thrusts of conservative welfare policy. This is followed by an examination of the current financial situation of NHS authorities, at the regional and sub-regional scales; the political response to the 1983 manpower reductions is also considered. Events in the NHS are then contrasted with the deregulation of the private sector. The emergence and distribution of commercial acute hospitals are examined, as are other initiatives designed to transfer some of the financial burden of welfare provision away from the state. A concluding section compares and contrasts these developments and considers prospects for the future form of health care provision in Britain.