Prediction of the prognosis of somatoform disorders using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.

BACKGROUND: Somatoform disorders are frequently resistant to treatment. This study aimed to determine the utility of the Minnesota Multifaceted Personality Inventory (MMPI) in predicting the prognosis of somatoform disorders. METHODS: Overall, 125 patients diagnosed with somatoform disorders between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2017 in the psychiatric department of Fukushima Medical University Hospital were included. Patients with positive outcomes were identified based on a subjective estimation regarding (1) pain and (2) social functions, including activities of daily living. They were divided into the improved group (IG) and the non-improved group (NIG). Each factor was then descriptively compared between the two groups, and the sensitivity and specificity were determined. RESULTS: The NIG had significantly higher scores but only on the Hy scale. Thus, the optimal Hy scale cutoff score was calculated. The cutoff point was 73.5, with a sensitivity of 55.7% and a specificity of 71.7%. CONCLUSION: An MMPI Hy scale score higher than a cutoff value of 73.5 predicts a poor response to conventional supportive psychotherapy or drug therapy in patients with somatoform disorders. This cutoff point may be used as an important index for selecting treatment for somatoform disorders.

Effect of the Temporal Window of Integration of Speech Sound on Mismatch Negativity.

Speech-sound stimuli have a complex structure, and it is unclear how the brain processes them. An event-related potential (ERP), known as mismatch negativity (MMN), is elicited when an individual's brain detects a rare sound. In this study, MMNs were measured in response to an omitted segment of a complex sound consisting of a Japanese vowel. The results indicated that the latency from onset in the right hemisphere was significantly shorter than that in the frontal midline and left hemispheres during left ear stimulation. Additionally, the results of latency from omission showed that the latency of stimuli omitted in the latter part of the temporal window of integration (TWI) was longer than that of stimuli omitted in the first part of the TWI. The mean peak amplitude was found to be higher in the right hemisphere than in the frontal midline and left hemispheres in response to left ear stimulation. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that would be incorrect to believe that the stimuli have strictly the characteristics of speech-sound. However. the results of the interaction effect in the latencies from omission were insignificant. These results suggest that the detection time for deviance may not be related to the stimulus ear. However, the type of deviant stimuli on latencies was found to be significant. This is because the detection of the deviants was delayed when a deviation occurred in the latter part of the TWI, regardless of the stimulation of the ear.

Effect of oxytocin nasal spray on auditory automatic discrimination measured by mismatch negativity.

RATIONALE: As a treatment for cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, oxytocin nasal sprays potentially improve social cognition, facial expression recognition, and sense of smell. Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event-related potential (ERP) reflecting auditory discrimination while MMN deficits reflect cognitive function decline in schizophrenia. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether oxytocin nasal spray affects auditory MMN METHODS: We measured ERPs in healthy subjects during an auditory oddball task, both before and after oxytocin nasal spray administration. Forty healthy subjects were randomly assigned to either the oxytocin or placebo group. ERPs were recorded during the oddball task for all subjects before and after a 24 international unit (IU) intranasal administration, and MMN was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Participants who received oxytocin had significantly shorter MMN latencies than those who received a placebo. Oxytocin had no significant effect on the Change in MMN amplitude. CONCLUSIONS: The shortened MMN latencies that were observed after oxytocin nasal spray administration suggest that oxytocin may promote the comparison-decision stage.

Omission mismatch negativity of speech sounds reveals a functionally impaired temporal window of integration in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that sensory memory associated with the temporal window of integration (TWI) would be impaired in patients with schizophrenia, an issue that had not been evaluated using omission mismatch negativity (MMN) of complex speech sounds. We aimed to assess the functional changes in auditory sensory memory associated with the TWI in patients with schizophrenia by investigating the effect of omission of complex speech stimuli on the MMN. METHODS: In total, 17 patients with schizophrenia and 15 control individuals participated in the study. The MMN in response to omission deviants of complex speech sounds was recorded, while the participants were instructed to ignore the series of speech sounds. RESULTS: The MMN latency in patients with schizophrenia was significantly prolonged by deviant stimuli to omissions corresponding to the early and late parts of the temporal TWI. There were no significant group differences in the amplitude of the MMN to omissions at different time points across the TWI. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that sensory tracing function in patients with schizophrenia is impaired in the early and the later half of the TWI. SIGNIFICANCE: We showed that certain MMN abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia may be caused by an impaired TWI.

Do tone duration changes that elicit the mismatch negativity also affect the preceding middle latency responses?

The human brain can automatically detect sound changes. Previous studies have reported that rare sounds presented within a sequence of repetitive sounds elicit the mismatch negativity (MMN) in the absence of attention in the latency range of 100-250 ms. On the other hand, a previous study discovered that occasional changes in sound location enhance the middle latency response (MLR) elicited in the latency range of 10-50 ms. Several studies have reported an increase in the amplitude of the MLR within the frame of oddball paradigms such as frequency and location changes. However, few studies have been conducted on paradigms employing a duration change. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the peak amplitudes of the MLR components are enhanced by a change in duration. Twenty healthy Japanese men (age: 23.9 ± 2.9 years) participated in the present study. We used an oddball paradigm that contained standard stimuli with a duration of 10 ms and deviant stimuli with a duration of 5 ms. The peak amplitudes of the MLR for the deviant stimuli were then compared with those for the standard stimuli. No changes were observed in the peak amplitude of the MLR resulting from a duration change, whereas a definite MMN was elicited. The amplitude of the MLR was increased within the frame of oddball paradigms such as frequency and location changes. By contrast, the amplitude of the MLR was not changed within the duration change oddball paradigm that elicited the MMN.

Study of developmental disorders among newborns in Fukushima City after the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear power plant accident; an adjunct study of the Fukushima Regional Center of the Japan Environmental and Children's Study (JECS).

This is based on a survey of two-year-old but not three-year-old cohorts. Therefore, we cannot state anything about the incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in over three-years-old children. We submit corrections in the following errata, because the original sentences might mislead the readers without evidence from three-year-old children. Also, we would like to exclude the phrase of "low-dose radiation" from the sections of Key word, Abstract, and Conclusion, because this study did not cover its influence.Author Shuntaro ItagakiAugust 05, 2019.

Study of developmental disorders among newborns in Fukushima City after the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear power plant accident; an adjunct study of the Fukushima Regional Center of the Japan Environmental and Children's Study (JECS).

The present adjunct study of the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) aimed to determine the occurrence of developmental disorders in Fukushima Prefecture, which was exposed to low-dose radiation. At two medical institutions in Fukushima City, we enrolled 339 pregnant women from September 2013 through May 31, 2014, who delivered 335 neonates (174 male, including one set of twins) between November 4, 2013 and November 11, 2014. The parents of four neonates declined to participate in the present study and one neonate died. Therefore, 334 families agreed to participate in additional surveys until March 2017. Child Behavior Checklists (CBCL) were mailed to all 334 families during the month of their infant's second birthday and we received 236 responses (response rate, 70%). All responses were below the 69th percentile in the CBCL, and no responses indicated significant problem behaviors. Boys tended to have higher values for items associated with developmental problems, but symptoms of autism were not evident. The mental health of the mothers indicated in the previous study might not have influenced the children. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not obvious by the age of three years and thus it might become apparent as the children grow older.

Stereoselective Synthesis of Z-α,ß-Unsaturated Sulfones Using Peterson Reagents.

New Peterson reagents were prepared by introducing alkyloxy groups on the silicon atom in order to fix the conformation of the sulfone anion. The reagents 1d and 1e reacted with a variety of aldehydes after the treatment with Li-base to give Z-α,ß-unsaturated sulfones with up to >99:1 selectivity in good to excellent yields. For the reaction with aliphatic aldehydes, CPME (cyclopentyl methyl ether) is the choice of solvent, while DME (1,2-dimethoxyethane) gave higher selectivity for the reaction with aromatic aldehydes.

Effects of Arm Bracing on Expiratory Flow Limitation and Lung Volume in Elderly COPD Subjects.

BACKGROUND: Although it is useful for COPD patients to relieve their dyspnea by bracing their arms, the relationships between the arm bracing posture and expiratory flow limitation (EFL) and lung volume are unknown. Whether arm bracing affects dyspnea, EFL, and lung volume in elderly COPD patients was investigated. METHODS: Sixteen elderly subjects (median [interquartile range] age 81 [77-85] y) with stable COPD (percent-of-predicted FEV1 50.9 [31.3-64.9] %) and 16 age-matched healthy subjects were studied. Breathing patterns, EFL, lung volume, SpO2 , and heart rate during quiet breathing were randomly evaluated in 3 standing postures: erect, leaning forward, and arm bracing. Dyspnea was also assessed for each posture with a Borg dyspnea score at the end of the test. RESULTS: Lung volume was significantly higher with arm bracing than with the other postures in both groups (P < .05). Breathing patterns, SpO2 , and pulse rate were not significantly different among the 3 postures in both groups. However, EFL and Borg dyspnea scores were significantly lower with arm bracing than with the other postures in COPD subjects (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: The decreased EFL in the arm bracing position may be caused by breathing at a higher lung volume than in the erect position, which may be one of the factors relieving dyspnea in elderly COPD patients.

Primary Antiphospholipid Syndrome Associated with Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage and Pulmonary Thromboembolism.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is clinically characterized by arterial or venous thrombosis; however, non-thromboembolic lung manifestations, such as diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH), have also been previously reported. DAH is relatively common in APS patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, although it is rare in primary APS. We encountered a 78-year-old man who presented with hemoptysis and dyspnea. Chest CT showed diffuse ground-glass opacity with pulmonary thromboembolism. He was successfully treated with corticosteroids and heparin; however, DAH recurred after the corticosteroid treatment was stopped. The treatment was intricate due to the concurrent bleeding and thrombotic manifestations.

Neurosurgical robotic system for brain tumor removal.

PURPOSE: Brain tumor (e.g., glioma) resection surgery, representing the first step for many treatments, is often difficult and time-consuming for neurosurgeons. Thus, intelligent neurosurgical instruments have been developed to improve tumor removal. METHODS: The concept and robotic structure of intelligent neurosurgical instruments were introduced. These instruments consist of a surgical robot, a master device and operating software. The robot incorporates a surgical motion base and tool manipulator, including a volume control suction tool. Open Core Control software was developed for connecting intelligent neurosurgical instruments through a network connection and integrating the instruments into a system. RESULTS: Mechanical evaluation tests on the components and a preliminary system evaluation were performed. A phantom model was fixed on a head frame, and a tumor-removal procedure was successfully performed using prototype intelligent neurosurgical instruments. CONCLUSION: Intelligent neurosurgical instruments are feasible and suitable for on-going evaluation in practical tasks, including in-vivo animal testing.