Explore the vast range of titles available.

Purpose: Developmental dyslexia (DD) is commonly thought to arise from phonological impairments. However, an emerging perspective is that a more general procedural learning deficit, not specific to phonological processing, may underlie DD. The current study examined if individuals with DD are capable of extracting statistical regularities across sequences of passively experienced speech and nonspeech sounds. Such statistical learning is believed to be domain-general, to draw upon procedural learning systems, and to relate to language outcomes. Method: DD and control groups were familiarized with a continuous stream of syllables or sine-wave tones, the ordering of which was defined by high or low transitional probabilities across adjacent stimulus pairs. Participants subsequently judged two 3-stimulus test items with either high or low statistical coherence as being the most similar to the sounds heard during familiarization. Results: As with control participants, the DD group was sensitive to the transitional probability structure of the familiarization materials as evidenced by above-chance performance. However, the performance of participants with DD was significantly poorer than controls across linguistic and nonlinguistic stimuli. In addition, reading-related measures were significantly correlated with statistical learning performance of both speech and nonspeech material. Conclusion: Results are discussed in light of procedural learning impairments among participants with DD.

Failure to detect psychiatric patients' intellectual disabilities may lead to inappropriate treatment and greater use of coercive measures. In this prospective dynamic cohort study we screened for intellectual disabilities in patients admitted to psychiatric wards, and investigated the use of coercive measures with these patients. We used the Screener for Intelligence and Learning disabilities (SCIL) to screen patients admitted to two acute psychiatric wards, and assessed patient characteristics and coercive measures during their stay and over the last 5 years. Results on the SCIL suggested that 43.8% of the sample had Mild Intellectual Disability or Borderline Intellectual Functioning (MID/BIF). During their current stay and earlier stays in the previous 5 years, these patients had an increased risk of involuntary admission (OR 2.71; SD 1.28-5.70) and coercive measures (OR 3.95, SD 1.47-10.54). This study suggests that functioning on the level of MID/BIF is very prevalent in admitted psychiatric patients and requires specific attention from mental health care staff.

Background and Objectives Previous literature using small sample sizes and limited geographic areas report that overweight/obesity and physical inactivity occur at higher rates among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to typically developing peers. The purpose of this study was to examine obesity, overweight, physical activity, and sedentary behavior among children and youth with and without ASD using nationally representative data and controlling for secondary conditions, including intellectual and learning disabilities, ADHD, developmental delay, and other mental, physical, and medical conditions, as well as medication use. Methods Data were collected from the 2011–2012 National Survey of Children’s Health, a cross-sectional survey of 65,680 (weighted N = 49,586,134) children aged 6–17 (1385 with ASD, weighted N = 986,352). Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios, adjusting for demographics and possible secondary conditions. Results Having a diagnosis of ASD was associated with higher odds of obesity (OR 1.76, CI 1.27–2.43; p  = <0.001). However, after additional adjustment for possible secondary conditions, ASD diagnosis was no longer associated with obesity. Those with moderate ASD (OR 0.58, CI 0.36–0.93; p  = <0.05) reported lower odds of sedentary behavior, but this association failed to achieve significance after adjustment for secondary conditions and medication use. No significant associations between ASD and overweight or physical activity were found. Conclusions These findings suggest that ASD diagnosis is not significantly associated with obesity status after adjustment for possible secondary conditions and medication use. Decision makers, clinicians, and researchers developing interventions for children with ASDs should consider how secondary conditions may impact obesity and related activities.

Dementia is a major cause of morbidity in the western society. Pharmacological therapies to delay the progression of cognitive impairments are modestly successful. Consequently, new therapies are urgently required to improve cognitive deficits associated with dementia. We evaluated the effects of physical and cognitive activity on learning and memory in a rat model of vascular dementia (VasD). Male Sprague-Dawley rats (6 months old) were exposed to either regular chow or a diet rich in saturated fats and sucrose and chronic bilateral common carotid artery occlusion or sham surgery. First, this model of VasD was validated using a 2 × 2 experimental design (surgery × diet) and standard cognitive outcomes. Next, using identical surgical procedures, we exposed animals to a paradigm of cognitive rehabilitation or a sedentary condition. At 16 weeks post surgery, VasD animals demonstrated significant learning and memory deficits in the Morris water maze, independent of diet. Rehabilitation significantly attenuated these cognitive deficits at this time point as well as at 24 weeks. Further, rehabilitation normalized hippocampal CA1 soma size (area and volume) to that of control animals, independent of cell number. Importantly, these findings demonstrate beneficial neuroplasticity in early middle-aged rats that promoted cognitive recovery, an area rarely explored in preclinical studies.

To assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with specific language impairment (SLI). In a prospective sample at a Learning Disabilities Reference Center, proxy-rated HRQOL (KIDSCREEN-27) was assessed for children with SLI and unaffected children from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015. Quality of life predictors for children with SLI were evaluated by recording the length and number of speech therapy and psychotherapy sessions and the specific school organization that the children had participated in. The KIDSCREEN scores of the two groups were compared using nonparametric statistics. The questionnaires were completed by the parents of 67 children with SLI and 67 unaffected children. For children with SLI, the mean HRQOL scores were significantly lower for physical and psychological well-being, autonomy and parent relation, social support, and school environment compared to the reference group, controlling for age and parental education (β = -6.7 (-12.7;-.7) P = 0.03, β = -4.9 (-9.5;-.3) P = 0.04, β = -8.4 (-14.2;-2.6) P = 0.005, β = -11.6 (-19.5;-3.7) P = 0.004, β = -7.1(-12.4;-1.7) P = 0.010, respectively). Multivariate analyses in the group of children with SLI found that children who had undergone psychotherapy sessions or who had been enrolled in specific schooling programs had reduced HRQOL scores in social support and school environment and that children who were in a special class had higher scores in physical well-being. Children with SLI had significantly lower HRQOL scores as compared to unaffected children. Measurement of HRQOL could serve as one of the strategies employed throughout the follow-up of these individuals to provide them with the most appropriate and comprehensive care possible.

In this case report, a patient with severe learning disability and bipolar affective disorder developed de-nova obsessive compulsive symptom (OCS) with haloperidol, a conventional antipsychotic medication and the OCS stopped with stopping haloperidol. Antipsychotics are recommended and used as augmentation therapy in resistant cases of obsessive compulsive disorder. Although second generation antipsychotics have been reported to have induced OCS but haloperidol, which is a first generation antipsychotic has not been implicated in OCS induction. There is no published report of antipsychotics induced OCS in learning disability population. Clinician should be aware of this potential side effect of haloperidol.

Between 5% and 8% of school-age children have some form of memory or cognitive deficit that interferes with their ability to learn concepts or procedures in one or more mathematical domains. A review of the arithmetical competencies of these children is provided, along with discussion of underlying memory and cognitive deficits and potential neural correlates. The deficits are discussed in terms of three subtypes of mathematics learning disability and in terms of a more general framework for linking research in mathematical cognition to research in learning disabilities.

Background Mutations in the proline-rich transmembrane protein 2 (PRRT2) gene have been identified in patients with benign (familial) infantile convulsions (B(F)IC), infantile convulsions with choreoathetosis (ICCA) and paroxysmal dyskinesias (PDs). However it remains unknown whether PRRT2 mutations are causal in other epilepsy syndromes. After we discovered a PRRT2 mutation in a large family with ICCA containing one individual with febrile seizures (FS) and one individual with West syndrome, we analysed PRRT2 in a heterogeneous cohort of patients with different types of infantile epilepsy. Methods We screened a cohort of 460 patients with B(F)IC or ICCA, fever related seizures or infantile epileptic encephalopathies. All patients were tested for point mutations using direct sequencing. Results We identified heterozygous mutations in 16 individuals: 10 familial and 6 sporadic cases. All patients were diagnosed with B(F)IC, ICCA or PD. We were not able to detect mutations in any of the other epilepsy syndromes. Several mutation carriers had learning disabilities and/or impaired fine motor skills later in life. Conclusions PRRT2 mutations do not seem to be involved in the aetiology of FS or infantile epileptic encephalopathies. Therefore B(F)IC, ICCA and PD remain the core phenotypes associated with PRRT2 mutations. The presence of learning disabilities or neuropsychiatric problems in several mutation carriers calls for additional clinical studies addressing this developmental aspect in more detail.

We examined whether problem-solving and diabetes self-management behaviors differ by depression diagnosis – major depressive disorder (MDD) and minor depressive disorder (MinDD) – in adults with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM). We screened a clinical sample of 702 adults with T2DM for depression, identified 52 positive and a sample of 51 negative individuals, and performed a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview. MDD (n=24), MinDD (n=17), and no depression (n=62) were diagnosed using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) Text Revised criteria. Health Problem-Solving Scale (HPSS) and Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) questionnaires determined problem-solving and T2DM self-management skills, respectively. We compared HPSS and SDSCA scores by depression diagnosis, adjusting for age, sex, race, and diabetes duration, using linear regression. Total HPSS scores for MDD (β=−4.38; p<0.001) and MinDD (β=−2.77; p<0.01) were lower than no depression. Total SDSCA score for MDD (β=−10.1; p<0.01) was lower than for no depression, and was partially explained by total HPSS. MinDD and MDD individuals with T2DM have impaired problem-solving ability. MDD individuals had impaired diabetes self-management, partially explained by impaired problem-solving. Future studies should assess problem-solving therapy to treat T2DM and MinDD and integrated problem-solving with diabetes self-management for those with T2DM and MDD.

To further our understanding of the association between self-reported childhood learning disabilities (LDs) and atypical dementia phenotypes (Atypical Dementia), including logopenic primary progressive aphasia (L-PPA), Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA), and Dysexecutive-type Alzheimer's Disease (AD). This retrospective case series analysis of 678 comprehensive neuropsychological assessments compared rates of self-reported LD between dementia patients diagnosed with Typical AD and those diagnosed with Atypical Dementia. 105 cases with neuroimaging or CSF data available and at least one neurology follow-up were identified as having been diagnosed by the neuropsychologist with any form of neurodegenerative dementia. These cases were subject to a consensus diagnostic process among three dementia experts using validated clinical criteria for AD and PPA. LD was considered Probable if two or more statements consistent with prior LD were documented within the Social & Developmental History of the initial neuropsychological evaluation. 85 subjects (Typical AD n=68, Atypical AD n=17) were included in the final analysis. In logistic regression models adjusted for age, gender, handedness, education and symptom duration, patients with Probable LD, compared to patients without Probable LD, were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with Atypical Dementia vs. Typical AD (OR 13.1, 95% CI 1.3-128.4). All three of the L-PPA cases reporting a childhood LD endorsed childhood difficulty with language. By contrast, both PCA cases reporting Probable childhood LD endorsed difficulty with attention and/or math. In people who develop dementia, childhood LD may predispose to atypical phenotypes. Future studies are required to confirm whether atypical neurodevelopment predisposes to regional-specific neuropathology in AD and other dementias.