Sex differences in psychological adjustment from infancy to 8 years

The objective of this study was to explore sex differences in development from infancy to 8 years of age in a community sample. Measures of biological, social, interactive, and parental functioning as well as teacher reports were obtained. There were minimal differences in infancy, but major psychosocial differences emerged with increasing age. In the biological sphere boys were disadvantaged only in ratings of language and motor skills at 3 to 4 years old. They showed greater temperamental "difficulty" and low persistence factor scores from 5 years onward. Boys were significantly more likely to have problems with adaptive behavior and social competence and to show behavior problems of the hyperactive and aggressive type, as rated by mothers. Parent and family functioning measures did not differentiate between the sexes. Teachers rated boys as having more problems in academic and behavioral domains the first 3 years of school. Path analyses combining data sets gathered when the children were 3 to 8 years old demonstrated the differential courses of development for boys and girls although temperamental flexibility was the best predictor of behavioral adjustment for both sexes. A social learning explanation of the increased incidence of problems among males is supported, although biological influences are not ruled out.

Effects of therapeutic doses of salbutamol alone and combined with beclomethasone dipropionate on airway responsiveness and cyclic AMP plasma levels in asthmatic patients

Twelve asthmatic patients received by inhalation for 2 weeks, in a double-blind, cross-over design, beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP; 600 micrograms/day) plus salbutamol (S; 900 micrograms/day), or S (900 micrograms/day) alone. Before and after each treatment course the subjects received intravenous cumulative doses of S up to 200 micrograms. In basal conditions and immediately before the next dose forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and plasma cyclic AMP (cAMP) were measured. BDP+S treatment increased FEV1 basal values (p < 0.05) whereas inhaled S resulted in unsignificant improvement of ventilatory parameters. The slopes of the dose-response curves of FEV1 and plasma cAMP to intravenous S were unaffected by the two treatment courses. Our results suggest that DBP+S, differently from S alone, improves ventilatory function in asthmatic patients and that neither S nor S+BDP seem to affect adrenergic function.

Predicting preschool behavior problems from temperament and other variables in infancy

There is uncertainty about the relationship between difficult temperament in infancy and reported problem behaviors later in childhood. In this study data from a large, representative community cohort (total N studied = 1583) were used to determine whether preschool behavior problems (at age 4 to 5 years) could be predicted from difficult temperament and other variables in infancy. Maternal ratings of difficult temperament on the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire predicted only 17.5% of those with preschool behavior problems, a percentage not significantly greater than the 14% of the total sample rated as having problems. There was some improvement in prediction when difficult temperament was added to other variables such as male sex (28%). However, mothers' overall rating of temperament was a more powerful predictor of preschool behavior problems, both alone (26.0%) and in combination with other variables such as perinatal stress (36.8%), male sex (29.5%), and non-Australian parent (29.4%). Similarly, maternal reports of infant behavior problems was a more powerful predictor of preschool behavior problems both alone (21.8%) and in combination with male sex (24.6%), low socioeconomic status (26.1%), non-Australian parent (21.8%), and nurse's overall rating of temperament (21.8%). The best consistent predictor of later problems was the combination of mothers' overall rating of temperament and maternal reports of infant behavior problems (27.0%), especially when combined with other infant variables such as perinatal stress (35.3%), male sex (31.5%), and non-Australian parent (30.0%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Transient versus stable behavior problems in a normative sample: infancy to school age

Identified 3 subgroups of children from a prospective longitudinal study of temperament and development: (a) those with stable, (b) transient, or (c) no-behavior problems, as rated by mothers across the toddler, preschool, and preparatory school grade periods. Children with stable behavior problems were particularly characterized by more difficult temperament, mothers' overall perception of the child as difficult, and aggressive behavior in the 2- to 4-year age period. Group differences were linear rather than categorical with transient behavior problem children showing a lesser degree of difficulty. In a second study where more comprehensive child and family measures were available, temperament was again an important discriminator, with Vineland Adaptive Behavior Composite Score, mothers' overall perception of the child's temperament, and maternal psychological health and stress factors also more adverse for the stable group. However, correct classification of the members of these groups using a combination of the above variables was not impressive.

Premorbid emotional and behavioural adjustment in children with mild head injuries

This study investigated the hypothesis that children sustaining a mild closed head injury have a higher prevalence of premorbid behavioural problems than children in the general community. The prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems among children with a mild closed head injury was compared with the prevalence of problems in children with a severe closed head injury, children in the general community, and children referred to a psychiatric outpatient clinic. The results showed that the children with a mild head injury did not have significantly more premorbid emotional and behavioural problems than other children in the community. The children with a mild head injury also had significantly fewer emotional and behavioural problems than children referred to a psychiatric outpatient clinic. The results suggest that the common assumption that children with a mild closed head injury have a higher prevalence of premorbid emotional and behavioural problems than other children in the general community may not be correct.

Temperament and behavior of preterm infants: a six-year follow-up

To test the commonly held premise that prematurity is a risk factor for problems of behavior and social interaction, as well as cognitive and physical development, temperament and behavior of children born preterm and full-term control subjects were compared at five separate time periods from infancy through early school age. All the preterm infants (n = 126) of a representative group of infants enrolled in a longitudinal study (n = 2443) were surveyed at 4 to 8 months corrected age. Subsamples of the group were studied further in successive years as young toddlers (n = 65), older toddlers (n = 60), preschoolers (n = 84), and at early school age (n = 81). At each period there were no differences between those studied and those not studied on socioeconomic status, gestational age, sex, or birth order. Parental ratings of temperament and behavior were used at appropriate ages: the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire, the Toddler Temperament Scale, the Childhood Temperament Questionnaire, Behaviour Checklist, Preschool Behaviour Questionnaire, and Rutter's Childhood Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ), as well as mother's overall rating of temperament. In infancy there were no significant differences on temperament dimensions, clinical temperament categories, or parental ratings of individual or composite behaviors between the preterm and full-term groups. For toddlers, temperament scores were similar for the two groups but preterm subjects were significantly more likely (P less than .01) to have an easy temperament and less likely to have a difficult temperament. There were no differences on any of the other temperament or behavior ratings.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of hydrogen sulfide exposure on surface properties of lung surfactant

Hydrogen sulfide is an irritant and chemical asphyxiant gas that exerts its primary toxic effects on the respiratory and neurological systems. Exposure to hydrogen sulfide above a threshold value of 200-300 ppm is characterized by the sudden onset of hemorrhagic pulmonary edema. The purpose of this study was to determine whether this response is associated with changes in the surface properties of pulmonary surfactant. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was retrieved from the lungs of Fischer 344 rats exposed to two concentrations of hydrogen sulfide or fresh air for 4 h. Surface tension-lowering properties were assayed using a captive bubble surface tensiometer. Lung injury was assessed by histopathology and measurements of total protein and lactate dehydrogenase activity in the lavagate. Marked abnormalities in surfactant activity were demonstrated in the lavagates from rats exposed to the highest concentration (300 ppm) of hydrogen sulfide. These involved the properties of adsorption to the air-water interface and surface tension lowering under quasi-static interfacial compression. Exposure to 200 ppm hydrogen sulfide had no effect on minimum surface tension despite a significant increase in protein and lactate dehydrogenase in the lavagate. This would suggest a threshold-type response for the inhibition of surfactant activity by hydrogen sulfide. In vitro studies using normal rat surfactant showed that the abnormalities in surfactant activity were due to inhibitors in the edema fluid and not to a direct effect of sulfide on surfactant. The pathophysiological consequences of increased alveolar surface tension after hydrogen sulfide exposure may need to be considered in the clinical setting.

Risk indicators: assessment of infancy predictors of pre-school behavioural maladjustment

The prediction of later outcome from factors present in infancy has been an ongoing concern, with difficult temperament frequently being posited as one important risk factor. Using data from a longitudinal study of a large representative sample of children, and a categorical approach to analysis, a set of infancy risk factors covering within-child, environmental and relationship variables was related to behavioural and emotional adjustment at 4-5 years. Single risk factors, including difficult temperament, resulted in only modest increases in the prevalence of later maladjustment. However, certain combinations of risk factors were associated with markedly increased prevalence rates. The results indicate the cumulative effects of risk factors, and the need to consider temperament within a contextual framework.

Estimating WAIS-R IQ from the National Adult Reading Test: a cross-validation

The National Adult Reading Test (NART) was devised to predict premorbid intellectual functioning in people suspected of having dementia, so that the extent of cognitive decline could be assessed by comparing these results with current performances. This study undertook a double cross-validation of the NART on a neurologically normal sample (N = 104) and on a clinically relevant sample (49 aged subjects). The results provide encouragement for the clinical utility of the NART. The study also demonstrated that the inclusion of demographic variables with the NART gives a substantially better estimate of premorbid cognitive functioning than that given by the NART or by demographic data alone.

Autistic children's knowledge of thinking and feeling states in other people

Autistic children, pair matched on chronological and verbal mental age with control children, were given Hobson's task of recognition of emotions and Baron-Cohen's False Belief tasks to assess the replicability of their findings of deficits in understanding of feeling and mental states in autism. There were no group differences on the emotion tasks and performance was related to chronological and verbal mental age. An autism specific deficit was shown in only one of the false belief conditions and again performance was related to verbal comprehension ability. There was some consistency within the group in responses across the two kinds of tasks. Parent reported social behaviour and experience in the autistic children was only weakly related to the ability to pass the tasks. It is argued that the results reflect developmental factors and that claims for an autism specific problem in these kinds of social/cognitive processing may need further exploration.

Assessment of temperament in the toddler age group

We used the Toddler Temperament Scale with large representative samples of younger (mean age = 20.5 months; N = 1188) and older (mean age = 35.4 months; N = 1360) Australian toddlers. There were significant sex differences on 6 of the temperament dimensions for the young group, and on 5 of the 9 dimensions for the older group. Older boys were also more likely to be categorized clinically as having a "difficult" temperament and less likely to have an "easy" temperament. Each group was divided into quartiles according to socioeconomic status. For the younger toddlers there were significant differences in 3 of 9 temperament dimensions, and for the older group there were significant differences in 7 of 9 dimensions. Groups with higher socioeconomic status had temperament ratings which were more likely to make them easier to manage, and to be categorized clinically as having an easy temperament, but toddlers with low socioeconomic status were more likely to have a difficult temperament. There were significant differences in temperament dimension scores between Australian toddlers and those studied in an American setting. These results indicate that toddler temperament ratings differ according to age, sex, social class, and cultural context. Great caution needs to be taken in interpreting individual temperament profiles utilizing comparison data obtained from different sociocultural settings. Future temperament "norms" may need to specify characteristics of the group of children from which they were derived to allow more valid comparisons.

Assessment of musical processing in brain-damaged patients: implications for laterality of music

Reception and production aspects of musical ability were assessed in two studies of left cerebro-vascular accident (LCVA) and right cerebro-vascular accident (RCVA) patients and controls. Musical tasks included perception of rhythm and pitch variations in familiar and unfamiliar tunes; and production of a well-known song, three original melodies, and imitation of rhythm patterns. The only "laterality of music" effect to emerge in the first study was impaired ability in LVCA patients to correctly perceive rhythmic changes. In the second study LCVAs were poorer than the other two groups in the singing of novel melodies, and both lesioned groups were poorer than controls in singing a familiar tune and in tapping rhythms. Premorbid musical ability was significantly related to performance over all groups combined. The RCVA group showed an inconsistent pattern of performance. The LCVA group was consistently more impaired over all tasks but apart from the aforementioned effects this was nonsignificant. It is argued that laterality effects for music processing cannot be reliably established.

Capsaicin pretreatment modifies hydrogen sulphide-induced pulmonary injury in rats

One of the major target organs of hydrogen sulphide gas is the lung. Exfoliation of upper respiratory epithelia and pulmonary edema are prominent effects. Various neuropeptides contained in afferent C-fibres are intimately associated with the epithelia of the conducting airways and are liberated upon exposure to noxious gases. We sought to determine their role in the pathogenesis of hydrogen-sulphide-induced pulmonary injury by pretreating rats with the neurotoxin, capsaicin, which is known to ablate a subpopulation of vagal afferent C-fibres. Groups of capsaicin and saline (control) pretreated Fischer 344 rats were exposed to an edemogenic concentration of hydrogen sulphide (525-559 mg/m3) for 4 hr. Mortality was significantly greater (p less than 0.01) in the capsaicin treated rats (12/12) compared to the control animals (2/12). Pulmonary injury was also more severe in the capsaicin pretreated animals as assessed by lung water content, histological grade of pulmonary edema and protein in the broncho-alveolar fluid. Animals depleted of substance P exhibited a significantly greater (p less than 0.01) degree of bronchial epithelial cell exfoliation and ulceration following exposure to hydrogen sulphide. These experiments indicate that capsaicin sensitive sensory nerves may play a major role in pulmonary defense against the effects of inhaled toxic gases such as hydrogen sulphide.

Judgement of mood in music following right hemisphere damage

Evidence on hemispheric specialization has implicated the right hemisphere as having a special role in the mediation of emotion. Since music is an area in which both cognitive and affective aspects of perception can be assessed, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of right hemisphere damage on perception of emotional meaning or mood in music. An initial pilot study was conducted to select music on which normal subjects were consistent in their judgement of musical mood. The musical stimuli consisted of extracts of classical piano music. The technique used as a measure of musical mood was the Semantic Differential. Tracks of music and adjectival scales were selected for the experimental study in which 15 right hemisphere lesioned patients and normal controls were compared in their response to music. The right hemisphere group demonstrated a characteristic response in their judgement of mood in music. The results are discussed in terms of the role of pitch in judgement of mood in music and in terms of the relationship between music and language.

Serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor in hairy cell leukaemia: a reliable marker of neoplastic bulk

In hairy cell leukaemia (HCL), the strong membrane expression of the Tac antigen, corresponding to the p55 chain of the interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R), is associated with the presence in the serum of high levels of a soluble form of the same molecule (sIL-2R). Previous observations that therapy-induced clinical and haematologic improvement in HCL is accompanied by a progressive decrease of sIL-2R suggest a possible correlation between sIL-2R levels and tumour burden. To verify this hypothesis, we monitored the variation of sIL-2R values in 13 non-splenectomized HCL patients admitted for treatment with recombinant interferon alpha-2. The data were correlated with the estimated weight of bone marrow (BM) and spleen infiltration, which in these patients almost entirely account for the tumour mass. The regression analysis test showed a direct correlation between sIL-2R values and both BM neoplastic involvement (r = 0.63) and spleen tumour mass (r = 0.76). In addition, the correlation was further improved (r = 0.86) when sIL-2R values were correlated with the total neoplastic mass, as calculated by the sum of spleen and BM neoplastic tissue weight. These data indicate that the detection of sIL-2R in HCL is a reliable non-invasive marker of tumour burden, which can be regarded as an additional useful tool for monitoring treatment response.

Child behavior ratings: the influence of maternal characteristics and child temperament

This study investigated the extent to which maternal characteristics, such as psychological health problems, marital adjustment and confidence in mother/wife roles, influenced how mothers rated the behavior of their first-born children (n = 100) on the Pre-school Behavior Questionnaire. Results showed that these characteristics were powerful predictors of behavior ratings. In contrast, the independent contribution of child temperament ratings was relatively small. It was concluded that child behavior problem and temperament measures may be confounded. Maternal ratings constitute a valuable source of information concerning parent-child interaction which deserve further investigation, especially of their influence on generally accepted measures of child behavioral adjustment.

Origin of the soluble interleukin-2 receptor in the serum of patients with hairy cell leukemia

High levels of soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) are detectable in the serum of HCL patients. To determine the cell source of this molecule, we evaluated the presence of sIL-2R in the supernatants obtained from in vitro cultures of leukemic (hairy cell, HC) and non-leukemic lymphocytes from six untreated HCL patients and from an additional four patients under therapy with rIFN-alpha 2. We demonstrated that cultured HCs at resting conditions were able to spontaneously release the sIL-2R, whereas control enriched B cells did not. This phenomenon was present only when culturing HCs recovered from patients observed at the time of diagnosis but was not observed during treatment with rIFN-alpha 2. Following activation in vitro with a series of different stimulatory agents including BCGF, phorbol myristate acetate, and anti-human IgM antibody, cultured HCs increased their capability to shed the IL-2R molecules. On the other hand, the release of sIL-2R from enriched T cell populations from HCL patients did not significantly differ from the value obtained in controls. Taken together, these findings provide evidence that leukemic B cells represent the main source of sIL-2R in HCL patients and further emphasize the importance of evaluating this parameter as a relevant marker for monitoring the effectiveness of rIFN-alpha 2 therapy.

Temperament in Australian toddlers

A revised validated version of the Toddler Temperament Scale (TTS) was used to develop normative data for temperament in Australian toddlers. Results confirm the accepted practice of dividing the group into younger and older toddlers, with normative data reported for those younger and older than 24 months. The TTS can be used above the normal cut-off age of 36 months. Care must be taken with interpretation of temperament scores, especially when comparing children of different backgrounds.

Histologic and ultrastructural alterations in lungs of rats exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of hydrogen sulfide

Fischer-344 rats were killed 1, 18, and 42 hr after a single 4-hr exposure to an atmosphere of 0, 116, or 615 mg m-3 of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Lungs, fixed by the intratracheal route, were examined by light and electron microscopy. Histologic changes were transient and mainly present in rats exposed to 615 mg m-3 H2S. Lesions included severe but transitory pulmonary edema and fibrinocellular alveolitis which was restricted to the proximal alveolar region of the lung. Electron microscopically, ciliated bronchiolar cells were the only cells that developed necrosis; they were rapidly replaced by mitosis. Alveolar endothelium had cytoplasmic blebs, but alveolar epithelium had minor changes. No mast cell degranulation was detected in lungs with edema. A 4-hr exposure to 615 mg m-3 is markedly edematogenic for the lung but only moderately cytotoxic for pulmonary cells.

Processing of timbre and rhythm in musicians and non-musicians

Expert musicians and non-musicians of similar educational and social class background were compared in two experiments involving perception of timbre and rhythm. In Experiment 1 where dichotic monitoring for the sound of the violin was required, there was a practice effect but no ear or group differences. The rhythm monitoring experiment produced a group by ear interaction with musicians faster on the right ear than the left and faster than non-musicians on the right ear only. Analysis of strategies reported by subjects showed that verbal labelling did not apparently influence laterality. Lack of evidence for individual laterality effects reinforces the claim that with stringent experimental and subject controls there is minimal evidence for musicians non-musician laterality effects.

Nasal lesions in rats exposed to hydrogen sulfide for four hours

Fischer-344 rats were exposed for 4 hours to 0, 14, 280, or 560 mg of hydrogen sulfide.m-3 and killed 1, 18, or 44 hours later. We evaluated the nasal epithelial cells and determined the anatomic distribution of lesions. Inhalation of 560 mg of hydrogen sulfide.m-3 induced necrosis and exfoliation of respiratory and olfactory mucosal cells, but not squamous epithelial cells. The anatomic distribution of lesions was midway along the nasal passages involving nasal and maxillary conchae, but not ethmoidal conchae. Injured respiratory mucosa repaired rapidly, whereas olfactory mucosa continued to exfoliate at 44 hours after exposure.

Urinary MHPG, platelet 3H-imipramine binding and symptomatology in depression: an exploratory study of clinical heterogeneity

Urinary MHPG concentrations and platelet 3H-imipramine binding (Bmax, Kd) were measured in 20 psychiatric inpatients with diagnoses of major depressive disorder. Clinical assessments were performed using the Present State Examination (PSE) interview, and several dimensions of symptomatology were constructed on the basis of the PSE items. There was a significant positive relationship between Bmax and items reflecting both psychomotor retardation and anxiety. Urinary MHPG bore a comparatively complex nonlinear relationship to Bmax and to the psychomotor retardation symptom dimension. Urinary MHPG also showed an inverse, curvilinear correlation with certain neurotic symptoms. The implications of these findings are briefly discussed in the light of the "dysregulation" hypothesis of affective disorder.

Biochemical and cytologic alterations in the respiratory tract of rats exposed for 4 hours to hydrogen sulfide

Fischer-344 rats were killed by exsanguination 1, 20, and 44 hr after a single 4-hr exposure to an atmosphere of 0, 10, 200, and 400 ppm of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Alterations in the activities of lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase, and cytomorphology of epithelial cells in fluids obtained by nasal and bronchoalveolar lavage were used as indicators of cell injury. Changes in the number of leukocytes were used as indicators of inflammatory response, and changes in the concentration of protein were used as indicators of altered vascular permeability. Inhalation of H2S resulted in 139, 483, and 817% increased cellularity in the nasal cavity of rats exposed to 10, 200, and 400 ppm, respectively. This was due to marked exfoliation of degenerated epithelial cells and exudation of neutrophils. The high dose of H2S resulted in a moderate increase in lactate dehydrogenase and protein in nasal passages; values returned to baseline levels 20 hr later. Bronchoalveolar cell counts were decreased in rats exposed to 400 ppm and unchanged in those exposed to 10 and 200 ppm. Enzymatic activities in lung lavage fluid were moderately elevated (up to 90%), yet protein concentrations were increased by more than 3000% and remained significantly elevated up to 44 hr after exposure to 400 ppm. It was concluded that inhalation of H2S has a severe cytotoxic effect on the nasal epithelium and a severe edematogenic effect on lung parenchyma. These results are in agreement with autopsy findings of individuals killed by accidental exposure to H2S-containing sour gas.

Effect of vehicular volume on the early pulmonary injury and inflammatory response in rats inoculated intratracheally with silica

The effect of vehicular saline solution volume on early lesions induced in rats by intratracheal administration of silica was evaluated. Seventy-two male Long-Evans rats were randomly assigned 6 each to 12 factorial groups (3 X 2 X 2): 3 doses of silica (0, 2.5, and 5 mg), 2 volumes of vehicle (saline solution; 0.1 and 0.5 ml), and 2 postinoculation times (1 and 3 days). Lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase activities in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid supernatant and cell viability of bronchoalveolar cells were used as indicators of cell injury. The number of pulmonary alveolar macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes were used as indicators of inflammatory response. Dose of silica and postinoculation time had a significant (P less than 0.05) effect on the biochemical and cellular composition of lavage fluid. The volume of vehicle in which silica was suspended significantly (P less than 0.05) enhanced the pulmonary injury and inflammatory response. However, dose-volume interaction was only significant (P less than 0.05) in 1 of 6 parameters, indicating that the effect was additive, but not synergistic, in nature. Seemingly, vehicle volume had an enhanced effect on the injury and the inflammatory response induced by intratracheal inoculation of silica.

Speech and language development in preschool twins

While language, articulation and reading problems have been well documented in young twins, it is not clear how extensive such problems can be or how early in childhood they become evident. At the age of 30 months, twin boys in the La Trobe Twin Study were 8 months behind matched singletons and twin girls on expressive language and 6 months behind on verbal comprehension. They were also 5 months behind on symbolic play and this delay was closely related to language. "Secret" language characterised most of the twin boys but not the girls and the relation of this to articulation delays is discussed. To examine if exposure to other children helps the twin boys, 38-53 month old twins and singletons were matched on the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale at the time of starting preschool. The twin boys had more articulation problems and all twins scored much lower on a Sociability questionnaire completed by the teacher. After 8 months at preschool, all children had advanced in Sociability, but the twins remained just as far behind with poor Sociability relating to poor articulation. The role of intervention programs is discussed.

Remediation for subgroups of retarded readers using a modified oral spelling procedure

The effectiveness of Bradley's modification of the method of Simultaneous Oral Spelling (SOS) remedial training for both spelling and reading was assessed in this study. Subgroups of disabled readers, 'Chinese' (dysphonetic) and 'Phonecians' (dyseidetic), received six remedial sessions and were assessed immediately after treatment and then two months later on spelling of the training words and on general reading measures. Compared with a non-treated group, the two experimental groups showed significant but different general gains in reading. SOS training appears to be more effective for the teaching of regular words, as opposed to exceptional ones.

Visual and auditory attention performance in hyperactive children: competence or compliance

The effect of self-control and compliance on the attentional performance of hyperactive children was assessed. Visual and auditory attention tasks were presented in conditions in which the experimenter was either absent and therefore not imposing external control, or present and therefore imposing some degree of control. There was no difference in performance between hyperactives and controls when the experimenter was present, but the hyperactives' performance showed a greater deterioration than controls when the experimenter was absent. The amount of movement displayed during the tasks was greater for hyperactives and increased more for this group during experimenter-absent conditions. The results support the contention that noncompliance is a major contributor to the poor performance of hyperactive children, which can be seen as an "application" deficit rather than an "ability" deficit. These findings have relevance for the current debate on the association between hyperactivity and conduct disorder, and from an applied perspective they serve to stress the importance of situational contributors to the problem behaviors of hyperactive children.

The development of Australian normative data for infant temperament

Utilizing the revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire previously validated for use with Australian populations, a cohort of 2443 infants aged 4-8 months was studied. This sample was recruited in such a manner as to be representative of all infants of this age group in the State of Victoria. Temperament values obtained differed significantly from American norms on four of the nine temperament dimensions, providing further evidence for the importance of using culturally appropriate norms. There were associations between temperament and problem behaviours and some parent characteristics. The normative values for temperament presented are recommended for use in Australian settings.

Temperament of preterm versus full-term infants

The temperament of a group of preterm infants (n = 126) was studied as part of a large, longitudinal study of infant temperament and behavior in a representative sample of Australian infants (n = 2443). Utilizing the Infant Temperament Questionnaire of Carey and McDevitt, previously revised and validated for an Australian population, ratings were made at 4 to 8 months corrected age, and data for the preterm group (less than 37 weeks gestation) were compared to those infants born at term (37 to 41 weeks). There were no significant differences between the two groups on any of the sociodemographic variables, on the mother's global rating of temperament, or on the reported incidence of colic, sleep problems, and excessive crying. There were also no differences between premature and full-term infants on any of the individual dimensions or clinical categories of temperament. We conclude that prematurity per se does not affect observed temperament at 4 to 8 months. However, we cannot extend these conclusions to high-risk infants who experience medical complications of prematurity, and who require intensive care for prolonged periods of time. These may represent an entirely different category of risk for subsequent difficult temperament and behavior problems.

Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity: a critique

The DSM III category of Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity is considered within a framework of Rutter's (1977) outline of criteria for adequacy of psychiatry classification. Discussion of problems with the operationalization and definition of 'attention deficit' and the difficulty of using this rubric in distinguishing between ADDH and other related childhood disorders, along with the consequent failure to meet other important criteria, leads to the conclusion that the concept needs re-appraisal.

Temperament in infants born prematurely

The temperament of infants born prematurely was studied to examine further the notion that prematurity may be a risk factor for an infant's subsequent social interaction. The Infant Temperament Questionnaire of Carey and McDevitt was revised and revalidated for an Australian population and sent to mothers of infants who had been born prematurely (36 weeks or less) and who were aged 4 to 8 months (corrected for prematurity). Two hundred and twenty-six questionnaires were distributed and 110 (49%) returned. There were no differences between respondents and nonrespondents with respect to gestational age, birth weight, method of delivery, Apgar scores, or perinatal complications. When compared to a control group (N = 240) of infants born at term and who came from families with similar demographic characteristics, infants born prematurely did not differ significantly on any of the nine temperament dimensions. Both groups had similar proportions of "easy," "difficult," and "slow to warm up" infants, and there were no significant differences in maternal global ratings of temperament between the two groups. Comparisons of infants of less than 33 weeks gestation gave results similar to those reported above. These data indicate that infants born prematurely have temperament profiles at 4 to 8 months similar to infants born at term.

Auditory attentional abilities in hyperactive children

Using dichotic monitoring procedures, various aspects of auditory attention were examined in hyperactive children and matched normal controls. Hyperactive children did not show deficits in the ability to sustain attention, although signal detection analysis showed some lowered capacity in both focused and selective attention to targets. Subsamples of learning-disabled and neurologically impaired hyperactive children showed minimal impairment of auditory attentional capacities. It was argued that more evidence concerning task and situational effects is needed before it can be claimed that hyperactive children show attention deficits.

Motor imitation abilities and neurological signs in autistic children

Autistic children were compared with chronological and mental age-matched normal children on two tests of motor imitation and on the Herzig Battery for Non-Focal Neurological Signs. The results indicated that autistic children have significant handicaps in the neurodevelopmental area, with very poor performance on motor imitation tasks and a universal and significant excess of soft signs of neurological dysfunction. Such "dyspraxias" may underlie the failure of these children to learn to use gesture.

Prediction of reading disability in twin boys

Thirty-six twin boys aged between nine and 13 were assessed for intelligence and reading disability. Records of their birth status, early language development and social demographic characteristics were also available. 72 per cent of the sample had an accuracy reading age below their chronological age, and 59 per cent had a comprehension reading age below their chronological age, despite above-normal IQ. The best predictor of reading disability was preschool language status, accounting for 33 per cent of the variance in accuracy reading age discrepancy, and 23 per cent in comprehension reading age discrepancy in regression equations. This study shows that male twins are at very high risk for reading disability, and also offers support for the claim that language disability is basic to the development of reading problems.

Temperament in Australian infants

A convenience sample of 240 infants aged 4-8 months was studied to evaluate the suitability of a revised version of Carey's Infant Temperament Questionnaire (ITQ) for an Australian population. Data analyses indicated all item/dimension correlations significant at P less than 0.01 or better, satisfactory internal consistency of the instrument as measured by alpha coefficients, and test retest reliability of 0.79. Infants rated as having a 'difficult' temperament were significantly more likely to be reported as having problem behaviours. Significant differences were found between Australian and American infants on three of the nine temperament dimensions - rhythmicity, activity and intensity. The results of this study indicate that this revised ITQ is suitable for use with Australian infants.

Bilingual biscriptal deep dyslexia

Studies of deep dyslexia in Japanese patients, and of non-word reading by deep dyslexic readers of alphabetic scripts, suggest a general principle that reading that depends on the mapping of characters onto phonological segments (phonemes in the case of alphabetic scripts, syllables in the case of syllabaries) is impossible in deep dyslexia.

We describe a case of deep dyslexia in a patient who premorbidly could read English and Nepalese. As the latter is written in the syllabic Devanagari script, this case may be used to explore the generality of this principle. It would be expected that reading Nepalese words written in the syllabic script would be more difficult than reading English words written in the Roman alphabet. In oral reading tasks this was the case, even though Nepalese was the patient's first language. However, further studies showed that he could understand Nepalese words written in the syllabic script at least as well as English words written in the Roman alphabet, and that he could read aloud Nepalese words written in the Devanagari script, provided he was allowed to respond in English. In addition, naming of pictures was much worse in Nepalese than in English. Therefore this patient's difficulties in reading Nepalese aloud were output difficulties, not difficulties in reading a syllabic script.

We argue that the superiority of expressive speech in English over expressive speech in Nepalese arose because the patient had had intensive speech therapy in English and no speech therapy in Nepalese. We also conclude that his reading performance demonstrates that the reading of syllabic scripts is not necessarily abolished in deep dyslexia. The inability of Japanese deep dyslexics to read aloud or comprehend the syllabic script kana is thus not simply a function of this script being a syllabary. This inability therefore remains to be explained.

Schedule-induced behavior in hyperactive children

A schedule-induced behavior paradigm was used to investigate the activity patterns of hyperactive children in a standardized situation. In Experiment I, 10 hyperactive and 10 normal control children matched for age, sex, and IQ were observed under conditions of baseline and schedule. Measures of a number of categorized activities were taken on a time-sampling basis. Hyperactive children were more active than controls in baseline and did not respond to the schedule, unlike the controls who became significantly more active in schedule conditions. In Experiment II, 12 hyperactive and 6 normal children were again subjected to the same experimental paradigm, but in two of the four experimental sessions the stimulant drug methylphenidate was administered in an attempt to reduce the amount of baseline activity. Results were substantially similar to those of Experiment I, with hyperactive children more active than controls in baseline and insensitive to the schedule. There was no overall effect of drug administration on the behavior of either group. There were some rate-dependent effects of both drug and schedule conditions.

Acquired and developmental spelling dyslexia

Two cases of acquired spelling dyslexia and one case of developmental spelling dyslexia are described along with accounts of their performance on various psycholinguistic tasks. It is argued that there is some evidence that spelling dyslexia may exist in developmental form but that parallels are difficult to draw because of the very different histories of child and adult cases. It is also suggested that features of surface dyslexia exist in at least a proportion of spelling dyslexic cases and that this may be influenced by level of premorbid reading skill.