Co-Planar Stereotaxic Atlas of the Human Brain—3-Dimensional Proportional System: An Approach to Cerebral Imaging, J. Talairach, P. Tournoux. Georg Thieme Verlag, New York (1988), 122 pp., 130 figs. DM 268

Objective To describe the psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a brief measure of the prosocial behavior and psychopathology of 3–16-year-olds that can be completed by parents, teachers, or youths. Method A nationwide epidemiological sample of 10,438 British 5–15-year-olds obtained SDQs from 96% of parents, 70% of teachers, and 91% of 11–15-year-olds. Blind to the SDQ findings, all subjects were also assigned DSM-IV diagnoses based on a clinical review of detailed interview measures. Results The predicted five-factor structure (emotional, conduct, hyperactivity-inattention, peer, prosocial) was confirmed. Internalizing and externalizing scales were relatively "uncontaminated" by one another. Reliability was generally satisfactory, whether judged by internal consistency (mean Cronbach α: .73), cross-informant correlation (mean: 0.34), or retest stability after 4 to 6 months (mean: 0.62). SDQ scores above the 90th percentile predicted a substantially raised probability of independently diagnosed psychiatric disorders (mean odds ratio: 15.7 for parent scales, 15.2 for teacher scales, 6.2 for youth scales). Conclusion The reliability and validity of the SDQ make it a useful brief measure of the adjustment and psychopathology of children and adolescents.

Psychometric properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire.

Functional neuroimaging studies have started unravelling unexpected functional attributes for the posteromedial portion of the parietal lobe, the precuneus. This cortical area has traditionally received little attention, mainly because of its hidden location and the virtual absence of focal lesion studies. However, recent functional imaging findings in healthy subjects suggest a central role for the precuneus in a wide spectrum of highly integrated tasks, including visuo-spatial imagery, episodic memory retrieval and self-processing operations, namely first-person perspective taking and an experience of agency. Furthermore, precuneus and surrounding posteromedial areas are amongst the brain structures displaying the highest resting metabolic rates (hot spots) and are characterized by transient decreases in the tonic activity during engagement in non-self-referential goal-directed actions (default mode of brain function). Therefore, it has recently been proposed that precuneus is involved in the interwoven network of the neural correlates of self-consciousness, engaged in self-related mental representations during rest. This hypothesis is consistent with the selective hypometabolism in the posteromedial cortex reported in a wide range of altered conscious states, such as sleep, drug-induced anaesthesia and vegetative states. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of precuneus, together with its wide-spread connectivity with both cortical and subcortical structures, as shown by connectional and neurophysiological findings in non-human primates, and links these notions with the multifaceted spectrum of its behavioural correlates. By means of a critical analysis of precuneus activation patterns in response to different mental tasks, this paper provides a useful conceptual framework for matching the functional imaging findings with the specific role(s) played by this structure in the higher-order cognitive functions in which it has been implicated. Specifically, activation patterns appear to converge with anatomical and connectivity data in providing preliminary evidence for a functional subdivision within the precuneus into an anterior region, involved in self-centred mental imagery strategies, and a posterior region, subserving successful episodic memory retrieval.

/pdf/the-precuneus-a-review-of-its-functional-anatomy-and-q9xsn3nfnb.pdf

The precuneus: a review of its functional anatomy and behavioural correlates.

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(99)01376-8.pdf

Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function

Epidemiology of insomnia: what we know and what we still need to learn

. Mallon L, Broman J-E, Hetta J (University Hospital, Uppsala, and Falun Hospital, Falun; and Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Goteborg; Sweden). Sleep complaints predict coronary artery disease mortality in males: a 12-year follow-up study of a middle-aged Swedish population. J Intern Med 2002; 251: 207–216.



Objectives. Only a few prospective surveys have been performed to investigate the relationship between sleep complaints and coronary artery disease (CAD) mortality. This study was conducted to determine whether sleep complaints in a middle-aged population predicted total mortality and CAD mortality.



Design. A population-based prospective study.



Setting. The County of Dalarna, Sweden.



Subjects and methods. In 1983, a random sample of 1870 subjects aged 45–65 years responded to a postal questionnaire (response rate 70.2%) including questions about sleep complaints and various diseases. Mortality data for the period 1983–95 were collected, and Cox proportional hazard analyses were used to examine the mortality risks.



Results. At 12-year follow-up 165 males (18.2%) and 101 females (10.5%) had died. After adjustment for a wide range of important putative risk factors, difficulties initiating sleep (DIS) were related to CAD death in males [relative risk (RR), 3.1; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.5–6.3; P < 0.01], but not in females. Short or long sleep duration did not influence risk of CAD mortality or total mortality for either gender. Depression in males increased the risk of death attributed to CAD (RR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.1–8.4; P < 0.05) and total mortality (RR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.1–4.5; P < 0.05).



Conclusion. These results provide evidence that there is an association between difficulties falling asleep and CAD mortality in males.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1365-2796.2002.00941.x

Sleep complaints predict coronary artery disease mortality in males: a 12-year follow-up study of a middle-aged Swedish population.

A new English instrument for screening mental health in children and adolescents, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), was translated into Swedish and used for parental ratings of 900 children aged 6-10 years from the general population. The SDQ which comprises 25 items, divided into 5 subscales (prosocial, hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, and peer problems) was developed from the Rutter scales. An earlier English validation study has shown the two instruments to have equal ability to identify child psychiatric cases, but the SDQ also provides screening on empathy and prosocial behaviour which are aspects of child development emphasized in current child psychiatry. The design of the SDQ with both strengths' and difficulties' items supposedly increases acceptability of the instrument on behalf of informants and makes the questionnaire especially suitable for studies of general population where the majority of children are healthy. Our results, which are novel findings on the instrument, confirmed the postulated factor structure and showed significant gender-differences in results on the total scale, prosocial and hyperactivity subscales and on some of the single items. Moreover, our investigation showed that a Swedish translation of the parental version of the SDQ worked well.

Psychometric properties of a Swedish version of the “Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire”

OBJECTIVE —The aim of this study was to investigate the possible relationship among sleep complaints, sleep duration, and the development of diabetes prospectively over a 12-year period in a middle-aged Swedish population. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS —A random sample of 2,663 subjects aged 45–65 years living in mid-Sweden were sent a postal questionnaire including questions about sleep complaints, sleep duration, sociodemographic characteristics, behavioral risk factors, medical conditions, and depression (response rate 70.2%). Twelve years later, a new questionnaire with almost identical questions was sent to all the survivors ( n = 1,604) in 1995, and the questionnaire was answered by 1,244 subjects (77.6%). RESULTS —Men reporting new diabetes at follow-up more often reported short sleep duration (≤5 h per night) (16.0 vs. 5.9%, P P P P CONCLUSIONS —Difficulties maintaining sleep or short sleep duration (≤5 h) are associated with an increased incidence of diabetes in men.

https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/diacare/28/11/2762.full.pdf

High incidence of diabetes in men with sleep complaints or short sleep duration: a 12-year follow-up study of a middle-aged population.

We examined the effect of GH supplementation on the psychological capacity and sense of well-being in 36 patients with adult-onset GH deficiency (GHD). Recombinant human GH was given in a 21-month cross-over, double blind trial, and quality of life was assessed by using three self-rating questionnaires: the Hopkins Symptom Check List (HSCL), the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), and the Psychological General Well-Being index. In addition, at the final examination the spouses completed a short questionnaire concerning their partner. Before treatment, the patients had lowered quality of life as determined by the HSCL and NHP inventories, and a correlation between the duration of GHD and the reported symptoms was observed. Upon treatment, the HSCL score was lower (better) after placebo administration (mean +/- SD, 84 +/- 21.3) than at baseline (89 +/- 18.9; P = NS) and fell to 80.2 +/- 18.5 (P < 0.001) when active drug was given. The subscales regarding anxiety, fearfulness, and cognition were the most sensit...

Quality of life in adults with growth hormone (GH) deficiency: response to treatment with recombinant human GH in a placebo-controlled 21-month trial.

Associations between sleep and behaviour in 635 children, aged six to eight years, were investigated using parental responses to a sleep habits questionnaire, and to a behavioural screening form, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Global reports of sleep problems in 4.9% of the children were associated with a total SDQ score indicative of behaviour problems in 36% of the cases. Conversely, 15% of children with behaviour problems had global reports of sleep problems. Associations between specific sleeping features and different dimensions of behaviour and emotions were also explored. Hyperactivity was associated with tossing and turning during sleep, and with sleep walking; conduct problems were related to bedtime resistance; and emotional symptoms were associated with night terrors, difficulty falling asleep and daytime somnolence. Peer problems were associated with somewhat shorter total sleep time. Finally, a total SDQ score indicative of behaviour problems was associated with bedwetting, nightmares, tossing and turning during sleep and sleep walking, as well as with a slightly shorter total sleep time. We conclude that sleep and behaviour problems are associated in children, and that characteristic associations exist between particular sleep disturbances and specific dimensions of behaviour.

Jerker Hetta

Papers

Sleep complaints predict coronary artery disease mortality in males: a 12-year follow-up study of a middle-aged Swedish population.

Psychometric properties of a Swedish version of the “Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire”

High incidence of diabetes in men with sleep complaints or short sleep duration: a 12-year follow-up study of a middle-aged population.

Quality of life in adults with growth hormone (GH) deficiency: response to treatment with recombinant human GH in a placebo-controlled 21-month trial.

Associations between disturbed sleep and behavioural difficulties in 635 children aged six to eight years: a study based on parents' perceptions