Review of Infantile Autism: a clinical and phenomenological-anthropological investigation taking language as a a guide and Children without Childhood: a study of childhood schizophrenia.

Reviews the books, Infantile Autism: a clinical and phenomenological-anthropological investigation taking language as a a guide by Gerhard Bosch (see record 1971-10363-000); and Children without Childhood: a study of childhood schizophrenia by Benjamin B. Wolman (see record 1970-21272-000). The continuing saga of debate on the etiology of so-called early infantile autism continues, the major workers having gradually polarized around dynamic-sociological-interpersonal causation, neurological-metabolic and genetic etiology and of course learning theory based explanations of origins. These two books stress inter-personal and communication variables. The Bosch book concentrates on the language of the autistic child in order to infer thought process and clues to causations. It is a scholarly and balanced work with a unique and potentially useful viewpoint. Benjamin B. Wolman in his "Children without Childhood" offers still another "personality" view of childhood schizophrenia. The subject matter of the book is broad however, with "childhood schizophrenia" including what Wolman calls pseudo-amentive schizophrenia, autistic schizophrenia, symbiotic schizophrenia and others (including apparently early infantile autism). The unique feature of the book is Wolman's introduction of a fresh classification system for childhood psychosis based on his clinical experience over 30 years. The book would make a useful secondary reference for undergraduates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How is emergent writing based on drawing? Analyses of children's products and their sorting by children and mothers.

Writing and drawing produced by children 28-53 months old were compared. Israeli and Dutch preschoolers were asked to draw and write, to classify their products as drawing and writing, and to decide what they had drawn or written. Israeli and Dutch mothers classified the products. Scores on a scale for writing composed of graphic, "writing-like," and symbolic schemes showed improvement with age. Recognition of drawings as drawings preceded recognition of writings as writings. Scores on writing and drawing were substantially correlated, even with age partialed out, suggesting (a) that when children start drawing objects referentially, they write by drawing "print" and (b) that progress in object drawing involves progress in drawing print, so that their writing becomes more writing-like. Children unable to communicate meaning by writing spontaneously resort to drawing-like devices, indicating the primacy of drawing as a representational-communicative system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the "folkloric" psychotherapy to schizophrenic patients--based on phenomenological study

Psychotherapeutic treatment of schizophrenia is generally considered difficult. One reason for this is that the doctor and patient can easily fall into a relationship of conflict with each other concerning the propriety of "judgments which are morbidly and mistakenly made (K. Jaspers)", referred to as delusions. We carried out close phenomenological structure-analyses of the delusions and of patients' fundamental experiences, based on the premise that a patient with delusions probably has some actual grounding for these in the patient's own concepts, considering the fact that the patient firmly believes these delusions. As a result, we have clarified the following matters from the primary experience of delusions. 1) We found that patients are in a conflicted mental condition which can be considered a collapse of adaptability to "Seken". 2) In this condition of conflict, patients feel guilt relative to "Seken" or feel that they are indebted and should be punished. When patients complained of their primary experience, we were able to persuade them to reserve their judgment of their primary experience, by 3) having each patient listen to the folktale "Torikuyou" in which the "logic of stealing" and the "logic of being stolen", appear in a reciprocal relationship relative to the constitution of crime and punishment, by 4) explaining to each patient about the ambiguity and reciprocity of reality experienced, 5) instead of disputing the propriety of patient's judgment about primary experience, doctor and patient worked together to enable the patient to form a positive understanding of the primary experience. 6) We reduced the patient's psychological conflict relative to primary experience, and were able to defuse and distance the patient's delusions caused by erroneous judgment of primary experience. 7) Regarding the area in which this type of psychotherapeutic approach shows efficacy, we analyzed the concept of "Seken" as a world which can cause conflicts relative to primary experiences. 8) We also analyzed "Giri" as a norm of "Seken" from which patients misconceive that they have deviated, in addition, 9) from the viewpoints of anthropology and cultural anthropology, we analyzed the bases for "Kotowaza (proverbs)" and "Monogatari (folktale)" such as "Torikuyou", which themselves can show psychotherapeutic efficacy. We consider that the psychotherapeutic approach has previously been developed around the concepts of the "individual" and "society", but we made our psychotherapeutic approach from the concept of "Seken" (yononaka = hito: person) that is a structure with deep strata of tradition and culture in Japan, and have reported its concrete development through the presentation of 3 typical cases of schizophrenia with difficulty in adapting to society due to showing the delusion of persecution in their foreground.     

In vivo and in vitro production of monoclonal antibodies: current possibilities and future perspectives. Discussion

It is well known that various perceptual abnormalities exist in autism. However, because perceptual phenomena are intersubjective, a phenomenological approach is required for getting hold of the reality of the modes of perception involved in autism. From this standpoint, the author has proposed the concept of 'perception metamorphosis phenomenon' (PMP) as the mode of perception peculiar to autistics. This mode of perception is notable to some degree in infancy and adolescence, and points to the appearance of behavior that is indicative of the environmental world being perceived in a manner different from before by the autistic child. The phenomenon has been classified into three basic categories according to the aspect of perception: (i) visual PMP; (ii) auditory PMP; and (iii) situational PMP. The proposal of this concept was made with the objective of capturing the onset of autism or the mechanism of appearance of the various symptoms from a more phenomenological viewpoint, to serve as a possible starting point for understanding the inner world of autistics. The proposal was made emphasizing the validity of this approach in mapping out new therapeutic approaches and for re-investigating the relationship between autism and schizophrenia.     

Early lens use: lenses found in context with their original objects

The early history of optical lenses is poorly defined. Lens-like objects were used for jewelry or decorations for thousands of years, and technology necessary to make lenses was available. In antiquity, a number of activities would have benefited from image size enhancement, and a few lens-like objects have been found at sites where lens use was logical. Means for enhancing visibility of objects have been suggested. Two alternative positions are considered in modern literature: (1) Lenses existed and (2) Fine close work was executed by relatively young and/or nearsighted individuals. Neither argument meets necessary and sufficient conditions for proof of the existence of or lack of lens use. Both forms of image size enhancement might have co-existed, and added factors such as ambient illumination, contrast between the object examined and its background, and shadows must have affected visibility of items viewed. Most probably, optical properties of lens-like elements were appreciated often, across time, by artisans. What is not clear is to what extent general use of lenses resulted. Here, I draw attention to a number of individual lens-like artifacts and the objects intended to be viewed through them. All were decorative pieces or articles of jewelry. The existence of such artifacts has been reported previously. The unique feature in each case presented here is that the lens-like element and object to be viewed were permanently linked together, i.e., "frozen" in time and space. It can be inferred that at least the artisan appreciated the resulting optical effects. Clearly, too, the artist/artisan had to intend the object to be viewed through the lens. This analysis provides an additional useful approach to assessment of early lens use.     

Structural equivalences are essential, pictorial conventions are not: Evidence from haptic drawing development in children born completely blind.

Arnheim hypothesized that as children develop they invent increasingly more structural equivalents. Thus, in their drawings children should increase the number and complexity of both representational concepts (e.g., object edges) and associated object shape features (e.g., line junctions). The authors tested whether a framework derived from this hypothesis could describe the progression of raised-line (haptic) drawings made during nine months by three children born totally blind. With no drawing tuition, these children made drawings of objects such as cars, human figures, trees, and flowers. Later drawings had more features than earlier ones and could be mapped onto more complex, predicted representational concepts, supporting Arnheim's conjecture. Because this applied even if children did not have visible models, the increase in features occurred not because children learned to copy ornate pictures (or increasingly more conventions) but because they developed increasingly complex concepts to describe the many features of objects. Our findings and reframing of structural equivalences suggest a view of children's drawing as expression of "everyday aesthetics" through the development of personal creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associative visual agnosia resulting from a disconnection between intact visual memory and semantic systems

We report the case of a patient (RC) who developed a severe visual agnosia, associated to alexia without agraphia, color anomia and amnesia, following an ischemic stroke in the territory supplied by the left posterior cerebral artery. Based on his proficient performance on tests evaluating analysis of elementary visual features, formation of viewer-centered and object-centered representations of visual stimuli and discrimination between drawings representing real and unreal objects, we concluded that the critical locus of deficit was a disconnection between the normally functioning visual memory store and the semantic system. RC's disturbance in visual processing of human faces paralleled his recognition disorder of other classes of objects. The possible contribution of neurobiological factors in determining RC's agnosic deficit is discussed.     

An evaluation of criteria used by clinicians to infer pathology from figure drawings.

6 psychologists and 8 nonpsychologists were given a mixture of figure drawings made by 30 normal and 30 psychiatric adolescents and instructed to infer which drawings were by patients and to state the criteria used. All criteria were cross-validated on a new sample (N = 86). Valid criteria of pathology were "bizarre," "distorted," "incomplete," and "transparent." Valid criteria of normality were: "happy expression" and "nothing pathological." Many criteria used by clinicians led to inaccurate inferences. Nonpsychologists discriminated as well as psychologists (65% and 64% accuracy, respectively). An empirically based prediction formula discriminated with 79% accuracy on cross-validation. It is concluded that elimination of invalid criteria can lead to a sharpening of clinical judgment and more accuracy in evaluation of figure drawings. (59 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Attribution and expressed emotion in the relatives of patients with schizophrenia": Correction to Brewin, MacCarthy, Duda, and Vaughn (1991).

Reports an error in "Attribution and expressed emotion in the relatives of patients with schizophrenia" by Chris R. Brewin, Brigid MacCarthy, Karin Duda and Christine E. Vaughn (Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1991[Nov], Vol 100[4], 546-554). An incorrect sentence was published. The sentence that ends the fourth paragraph on p. 547 ought to read: A more recent onset of illness would be expected to produce more unstable attributions, and more disturbed behavior (particularly involving violence toward the relative) would be expected to produce attributions that were more internal and personal to the patient but more external and uncontrollable as regards the relative. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1992-12907-001.) Indexes of expressed emotion (EE) in 58 relatives of patients with schizophrenia were related to those relatives' spontaneously expressed causal beliefs about the illness and about related symptoms and behaviors. Relatives made attributions predominantly to factors external, universal, and uncontrollable from their own perspective, and to factors internal, universal, and uncontrollable from the patient's perspective. Low-EE relatives were similar in their attributions to emotionally overinvolved relatives. Compared with these 2 groups, critical and/or hostile relatives made more attributions to factors personal to and controllable by the patient. Subsequent analyses suggested that hostile relatives were further characterized by making more attributions to factors internal to the patient and by making attributions with fewer causal elements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A neuropsychological study of prefrontal lobe function in the positive and negative subtypes of schizophrenia

The symptoms of schizophrenia are frequently divided into positive and negative subtypes. It has been suggested that the negative symptoms are similar to those seen with prefrontal lobe cortical dysfunction. Several neuropsychological investigations of that hypothesis have been carried out, but none have directly compared a negative symptom group with a positive symptom group on the same test battery. In the present study, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS; Kay, Fiszbein, & Opler, 1987) was used to distinguish two groups of 20 patients with schizophrenia with predominant positive or negative symptoms. A battery of 7 neuropsychological tests considered capable of isolating prefrontal lobe dysfunction was administered. A significant group difference was noted on 6 of the tests; the negative symptom group performed much worse than the positive symptom group. The results of this study support the hypothesis that a relationship exists between the negative symptoms of schizophrenia and prefrontal lobe dysfunction.     

The Rokitansky morgue. Historical retrospect on the occasion of the anniversary years of Vienna pathology 1996 and 1997

On the occasion of three anniversaries in 1996 and 1997 the historical background of the early pathology in Vienna is documented. 1796 Aloys Rudolph Vetter became the first official prosector of the "Allgemeines Krankenhaus". Since 1817, i.e., 180 years ago, continuously autopsy reports were documented, written by Rokitansky, Kundrat, Kolisko, Weichselbaum and the discoverer of blood groups Landsteiner. 1827 november 1st, Carl Rokitansky entered the old "Leichenhaus" as a practitioner without academic degree. Of this house exist three different pictures, only one of them is an authentic photograph, the others are drawings. This rare original photograph of the working room from the beginning of Viennese pathology is first published in medical literature in honour to the long tradition of autopsy-performing pathology.     

Localisation de l'interférence forme/couleur au niveau perceptuel dans une tache de type Stroop avec des stimuli-dessins.

Four studies with 24 19–35 yr old French-speaking adults examined the localization of perceptual form–color interference in a Stroop task with drawings. Results indicate that the time required to name the color of an incongruently colored object, such as a blue banana, was significantly longer than that for a neutral object (a red book). The same effect was found for identifying the color of the ink in which the names of these observed objects were printed. However, there did not appear to be a common semantic component in the interference observed in the 2 tasks. Extended practice on the task with the names of incongruently colored objects did not transfer to the task with the drawings of the same objects. The time to discriminate the colors of 2 drawings of incongruently colored objects was significantly longer than that for 2 drawings of neutral objects, suggesting that a perceptual inhibition occurred for incongruently colored objects (objects for which color was normally an integral part of the stimulus) that created a delay in perceiving the object's color. This contextual interference may be the complementary phenomenon to the object superiority effect. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group cohesiveness and creative performance.

This study examined the effects of task cohesiveness and interpersonal cohesiveness on group performance on a novel group creativity task. S. J. Zaccaro and M. C. McCoy (see record 1989-04984-001) suggested that cohesiveness is 2-dimensional and that the effects of task cohesiveness and interpersonal cohesiveness depend on the task type and the way in which performance is evaluated. The creativity task used here was more interactive than classic idea-generation tasks. Three-person groups were asked to draw a single projected image created by superimposing the images from 3 separate overhead projectors. Drawing performance was judged for creativity and technical quality. The predicted interaction between task and interpersonal cohesiveness was found such that groups in the high task-cohesive and high interpersonal-cohesive conditions produced the most creative group drawings for 1 of the 2 objects presented. Also as predicted, high task cohesiveness alone improved technical quality of the drawings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coexisting psoriatic arthritis, gout, and chondrocalcinosis

BACKGROUND: Constructional impairment following left vs. right hemisphere damage has been extensively studied drawing tasks. A confounding factor in these studies is that right-handed patients with left hemisphere damage (LHD) are often forced by weakness to use their non-dominant (left) hand or hemiparetic dominant hand. Qualitative differences in the drawing characteristics of left and right hand drawings by normal subjects have not previously been characterized. The present study was undertaken to determine the qualitative differences between left and right hand drawings of normal subjects. METHODS: Thirty right-handed, elderly subjects without a history of neurological disease were asked to draw, from memory, seven objects using the right and left hand. Half of the subjects were randomly assigned to draw with the left hand first, and half the right hand first. Right and left hand drawings were compared using a standardized scoring system utilized in several previous studies of drawing in focal and diffuse neurological disease. Each drawing was scored on eighteen criteria. Right and left hand drawing scores were then compared using the t-test for paired samples or the Wilcoxon matched-pairs test. RESULTS: Drawings made using the left hand were found to be significantly simpler, more tremulous and of poorer overall quality than drawings made by the same subjects using the right hand. CONCLUSIONS: The deficits found in left versus right hand drawings of normals are similar to those found in patients with LHD, suggesting that much of the drawing impairment seen following LDH is due to an elementary motor disturbance related to use of the non-dominant hand.     

Effects of varying stimulus size on object recognition in pigeons.

The authors investigated the pigeon's ability to generalize object discrimination performance to smaller and larger versions of trained objects. In Experiment 1, they taught pigeons with line drawings of multipart objects and later tested the birds with both larger and smaller drawings. The pigeons exhibited significant generalization to new sizes, although they did show systematic performance decrements as the new size deviated from the original. In Experiment 2, the authors tested both linear and exponential size changes of computer-rendered basic shapes to determine which size transformation produced equivalent performance for size increases and decreases. Performance was more consistent with logarithmic than with linear scaling of size. This finding was supported in Experiment 3. Overall, the experiments suggest that the pigeon encodes size as a feature of objects and that the representation of size is most likely logarithmic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Scheme and schema in children's memory of their own drawings.

4 groups of 78 6-yr-old children made drawings of 6 themes. One month later new drawings of the same themes were made by the same Ss under 4 conditions: free drawing, memory of the 1st drawing, making a copy of the 1st drawing, making a drawing that appeared different from the 1st one. A week later the Ss were tested for recognition of their own drawings and identification as to when they had been drawn. Recognition of 2nd-session drawings was about equal among the 4 conditions, even though order identification varied significantly and adults found perceptual matches of drawings from the same S much easier with the copy than with the different condition. Results support Piaget's scheme-schema memory distinction in that a basic operative scheme lies behind alternative figural representations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of a physical symptom as a defense against psychosis.

It was hypothesized that, since anxiety is one of the main stress factors in producing psychotic symptoms, a psychotic's symptoms might decrease if his anxiety could be decreased. Using a single schizophrenic patient the authors attempted to relieve him of his psychotic symptoms by replacing them with a physical one. The symptom chosen was backache because the patient's history suggested that it would be more acceptable to him. A "conditioning" method, extending over a period of 3 months, was followed by all staff members having contact with the patient. Following this procedure, although no basic personality change occurred, the patient was able to make a satisfactory adjustment outside the hospital using his "back pain" as a defense. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)