Both the amplitude and latency of P300 vary with changes in stimulus parameters. Stimuli at intensities or pitch separations near threshold evoke a smaller and later P300. P300 is also affected by extraneous stimulus parameters in tasks where stimulus frequency separation is large and stimuli are well above intensity thresholds. For example, the presence of background white noise when tones are suprathreshold and easily detectable has been reported to increase P300 latency. However, the effects of background masking noise on P300 amplitude and scalp topography have not been reported. Subjects performed an oddball task both in the presence and in the absence of background noise. Performance accuracy was unaffected by background noise. P300 showed latency increases when noise was present, but P300 peak amplitude was unaffected. P300 scalp topography was stable across both conditions. P300 latency is affected by background noise, even when performance is not, but amplitude and amplitude topography remain unaffected.
Purpose:To identify mental health specialists' cultural receptivity and flexibility, prejudice, and barriers concerning mental health problems among minority ethnic groups with cultural adaptation problems through a questionnaire survey. Material and method:The study will use a questionnaire survey to compare mental health professionals involved in mental health support for minority ethnic groups with cultural adaptation problems in Japan. Results:What are the barriers to support for foreign residents of Japan?Over half of those supporting foreign residents of Japan expressed dissatisfaction in their own experience, with the lack of smooth collaboration with external institutions being a factor that showed a strong correlation with supporter dissatisfaction.Issues in providing support for foreign residents of Japan have been identified as the need for improvement of infrastructure by the administration and the lack of the establishment of networks among supporters, and it was clear that these issues impact the satisfaction levels of supporters.Also, the fact that supporters have difficulties understanding the cultural and religious backgrounds of foreign residents of Japan suggest that they may sense their own lack of cultural competence.In this way, the two major factors that emerged as barriers to support for foreign residents of Japan were the environment and individual factors. Conclusion:Summary 1) In order to increase the number of people providing support for foreign residents of Japan, it is necessary to increase opportunities for intercultural contact in everyday life, increase the number of medical interpreters to cover the lack of linguistic competence, and provide training to improve cultural competence through educational programs for professionals.2) In order to increase satisfaction levels in support for foreign residents of Japan, infrastructure needs to be improved by the administration, and networks of supporters need to be constructed.
The corpus callosum, the largest white matter tract in the brain, is a midline structure associated with the formation of the hippocampus, septum pellucidum, and cingulate cortex, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Corpus callosum shape deformation, therefore, may reflect a midline neurodevelopmental abnormality.Corpus callosum area and shape were analyzed in 14 first-episode psychotic patients with schizophrenia, 19 first-episode psychotic patients with affective disorder, and 18 normal comparison subjects.No statistically significant corpus callosum area differences between groups were found, but there were differences in the structure's shape between the patients with schizophrenia and the comparison subjects. A correlation between width and angle of the corpus callosum was found in patients with affective disorder.Corpus callosum shape abnormalities in first-episode psychotic patients with schizophrenia may reflect a midline neurodevelopmental abnormality.
The basal forebrain (BF) strongly regulates cortical activation, sleep homeostasis, and attention. Many BF neurons involved in these processes are GABAergic, including a subpopulation of projection neurons containing the calcium-binding protein, parvalbumin (PV). However, technical difficulties in identification have prevented a precise mapping of the distribution of GABAergic and GABA/PV+ neurons in the mouse or a determination of their intrinsic membrane properties. Here we used mice expressing fluorescent proteins in GABAergic (GAD67-GFP knock-in mice) or PV+ neurons (PV-Tomato mice) to study these neurons. Immunohistochemical staining for GABA in GAD67-GFP mice confirmed that GFP selectively labeled BF GABAergic neurons. GFP+ neurons and fibers were distributed throughout the BF, with the highest density in the magnocellular preoptic area (MCPO). Immunohistochemistry for PV indicated that the majority of PV+ neurons in the BF were large (>20 μm) or medium-sized (15-20 μm) GFP+ neurons. Most medium and large-sized BF GFP+ neurons, including those retrogradely labeled from the neocortex, were fast-firing and spontaneously active in vitro. They exhibited prominent hyperpolarization-activated inward currents and subthreshold "spikelets," suggestive of electrical coupling. PV+ neurons recorded in PV-Tomato mice had similar properties but had significantly narrower action potentials and a higher maximal firing frequency. Another population of smaller GFP+ neurons had properties similar to striatal projection neurons. The fast firing and electrical coupling of BF GABA/PV+ neurons, together with their projections to cortical interneurons and the thalamic reticular nucleus, suggest a strong and synchronous control of the neocortical fast rhythms typical of wakefulness and REM sleep.
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