Perception and recognition of faces in adolescence.

Most studies on the development of face cognition abilities have focussed on childhood, with early maturation accounts contending that face cognition abilities are mature by 3-5 years. Late maturation accounts, in contrast, propose that some aspects of face cognition are not mature until at least 10 years. Here, we measured face memory and face perception, two core face cognition abilities, in 661 participants (397 females) in four age groups (younger adolescents (11.27-13.38 years); mid-adolescents (13.39-15.89 years); older adolescents (15.90-18.00 years); and adults (18.01-33.15 years)) while controlling for differences in general cognitive ability. We showed that both face cognition abilities mature relatively late, at around 16 years, with a female advantage in face memory, but not in face perception, both in adolescence and adulthood. Late maturation in the face perception task was driven mainly by protracted development in identity perception, while gaze perception abilities were already comparatively mature in early adolescence. These improvements in the ability to memorize, recognize and perceive faces during adolescence may be related to increasing exploratory behaviour and exposure to novel faces during this period of life.

In Parkinson's disease pallidal deep brain stimulation speeds up response initiation but has no effect on reactive inhibition.

The fronto-striatal circuits are considered to mediate inhibitory control over action. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of the internal segment of the pallidum (GPi), one of the final output pathways from the basal ganglia to the cortex, in inhibition. We examined the effect of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the GPi (GPi-DBS) in patients with Parkinson's disease who performed a conditional stop signal task, with DBS on and off. Modulation of GPi activity was associated with significantly faster Go reaction times with DBS on than off, but stop signal reaction times were not altered. Application of the drift diffusion model indicated that GPi-DBS was associated with significantly lower response thresholds compared to GPi-DBS off. However, the drift rate was significantly lower than healthy controls with both GPi-DBS on and off. These results suggest that the GPi plays a crucial role in the 'Go' pathway, perhaps facilitating reaching the required threshold to initiate actions. However, GPi-DBS does not alter the functioning of the indirect 'NoGo' pathway, and other basal ganglia nuclei, such as the STN, may play a greater role in reactive response inhibition and conflict resolution.

[Dentistry: the twentieth century and the future. Opinions of Dutch dentistry professors]. / Tandheelkunde: de twintigste eeuw en de toekomst. Opinies van Nederlandse tandarts-hoogleraren.

The main objective of this study was to investigate the opinions of Dutch dentist professors about the main developments in dental science and Dutch dental care in the period 1900-2000 and their expectations for the coming 25 years. In the Dentist Directory of the Dutch Dental Association 51 professors were found of which 23 were still active; 45 were interviewed. The answers were categorized into 5 groups. The majority of the respondents (n = 31) mentioned as the most important development in dental science in the past century the gathered knowledge of the preventive effects of fluoride and the wide application of it in practice. The foundation of the dental health insurance in the Dutch National Health system was seen as the most significant development in Dutch dental care in this period (n = x32). More than half of the group (n = 26) was worried about the future demand of dentists and about the coming problems of supply and demand of dental care. It is concluded that the results of this study seem to be an accurate representation of the opinions of Dutch dentist professors on the main developments in dental science and Dutch dental care in the period 1900-2000. Respondents were pleased with the dental advances in the past century but they felt uneasy for the coming 25 years, especially concerning the issue of the availability of dental care for the majority of the Dutch population.