The Higgs as a Portal to Plasmon-like Unparticle Excitations

12 LaTeX pages, 2 figures.-- Published in: JHEP04(2008)028.-- Final full-text version available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1126-6708/2008/04/028.A renormalizable coupling between the Higgs and a scalar unparticle operator O_U of non-integer dimension d_U<2 triggers, after electroweak symmetry breaking, an infrared divergent vacuum expectation value for O_U. Such IR divergence should be tamed before any phenomenological implications of the Higgs-unparticle interplay can be drawn. In this paper we present a novel mechanism to cure that IR divergence through (scale-invariant) unparticle self-interactions, which has properties qualitatively different from the mechanism considered previously. Besides finding a mass gap in the unparticle continuum we also find an unparticle pole reminiscent of a plasmon resonance. Such unparticle features could be explored experimentally through their mixing with the Higgs boson.Work supported in part by the European Commission under the European Union through the Marie Curie Research and Training Networks “Quest for Unification” (MRTN-CT- 2004-503369) and “UniverseNet” (MRTN-CT-2006-035863); by the Spanish Consolider- Ingenio 2010 Programme CPAN (CSD2007-0042); by a Comunidad de Madrid project (P-ESP-00346) and by CICYT, Spain, under contracts FPA 2007-60252 and FPA 2005-02211

Alertness and visuospatial attention in clinical depression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cognitive deficits are a substantial burden in clinical depression. The present study considered dysfunction in the right-hemispheric attention network in depression, examining alertness and visuospatial attention.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Three computerized visuospatial attention tests and an alertness test were administered to 16 depressive patients and 16 matched healthy controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Although no significant group effect was observed, alertness predicted reduced visuospatial performance in the left hemifield. Furthermore, sad mood showed a trend towards predicting left visual field omissions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Decreased alertness may lead to lower left hemifield visuospatial attention; this mechanism may be responsible for a spatial bias to the right side in depression, even though treatment of depression and anxiety may reduce this cognitive deficit.</p

Parkinson's disease and dopaminergic therapy—differential effects on movement, reward and cognition

Cognitive deficits are very common in Parkinson's disease particularly for ‘executive functions’ associated with frontal cortico-striatal networks. Previous work has identified deficits in tasks that require attentional control like task-switching, and reward-based tasks like gambling or reversal learning. However, there is a complex relationship between the specific cognitive problems faced by an individual patient, their stage of disease and dopaminergic treatment. We used a bimodality continuous performance task during fMRI to examine how patients with Parkinson's disease represent the prospect of reward and switch between competing task rules accordingly. The task-switch was not separately cued but was based on the implicit reward relevance of spatial and verbal dimensions of successive compound stimuli. Nineteen patients were studied in relative ‘on’ and ‘off’ states, induced by dopaminergic medication withdrawal (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1–4). Patients were able to successfully complete the task and establish a bias to one or other dimension in order to gain reward. However the lateral prefrontal cortex and caudate nucleus showed a non-linear U-shape relationship between motor disease severity and regional brain activation. Dopaminergic treatment led to a shift in this U-shape function, supporting the hypothesis of differential neurodegeneration in separate motor and cognitive cortico–striato–thalamo–cortical circuits. In addition, anterior cingulate activation associated with reward expectation declined with more severe disease, whereas activation following actual rewards increased with more severe disease. This may facilitate a change in goal-directed behaviours from deferred predicted rewards to immediate actual rewards, particularly when on dopaminergic treatment. We discuss the implications for investigation and optimal treatment of this common condition at different stages of disease

Attentional Performance in Children and Adolescents with Tic Disorder and Co-Occurring Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: New Insights from a 2 × 2 Factorial Design Study

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of both tic disorder (TD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on attentional functions. N = 96 children and adolescents participated in the study, including n = 21 subjects with TD, n = 23 subjects with ADHD, n = 25 subjects with TD+ADHD, and n = 27 controls. Attentional performance was tested based on four computerized attention tasks (sustained attention, divided attention, go/nogo and set shifting). The effect of TD as well as ADHD on attentional performance was tested using a 2 × 2 factorial approach. A diagnosis of TD had no negative impact on attentional functions but was associated with improved performance in the set shifting task. By contrast, regardless of a diagnosis of TD, subjects with ADHD were found to perform worse in the sustained attention, divided attention and go/nogo task. No interaction effect between the factors TD and ADHD was revealed for any of the attention measures. Our results add to findings from other areas of research, showing that in subjects with TD and ADHD, ADHD psychopathology is often the main source of impairment, whereas a diagnosis of TD has little or no impact on neuropsychological performance in most cases and even seems to be associated with adaptive mechanisms

Standards bei der Anwendung der fiberendoskopischen Schluckuntersuchung in Deutschland

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Die fiberendoskopische Schluckuntersuchung („fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing“, FEES) gilt als ein unverzichtbares instrumentelles Verfahren im Management schluckgestörter Patienten. Das eingeführte Ausbildungscurriculum hat das Ziel, die Qualitätsstandards zu erhöhen und zu einer Aufwertung des Verfahrens beizutragen. Fragestellung Die Studie untersucht, inwieweit eine standardisierte Durchführung, Auswertung und Dokumentation der FEES in Deutschland nach Einführung des Curriculums stattfindet. Material und Methoden Insgesamt 603 neurologische und geriatrische Kliniken in Deutschland wurden mithilfe eines Onlinefragebogens bezüglich struktureller Merkmale und deren Ablauf der Untersuchung befragt. Ergebnisse Insgesamt 190 Institutionen führten die Befragung vollständig durch. 43,31 % der Institutionen haben erst seit der Publikation des Curriculums die FEES implementiert. Die praktische Anwendung findet vermehrt durch Mediziner statt (59 %), das Schreiben des Befundes und die Kostempfehlung durch Logopäden (62 % und 83 %). Mit erhöhtem Ausbildungsgrad steigt die praktische Anwendung durch Logopäden. Die Durchführung weist trotz der Orientierung am Standardprotokoll nach Langmore besonders in Bezug auf die Durchführung der anatomisch-physiologischen Untersuchung, die verabreichten Konsistenzen und Nahrungsmittel und das Scoring schluckrelevanter Parameter Unterschiedlichkeiten auf. Diskussion Die Einführung des Curriculums hat zur Aufwertung der FEES und zu einer Stärkung der Logopädie als durchführende Berufsgruppe geführt. Zum jetzigen Stand liegt ein in wesentlichen Aspekten homogener Ablauf der Untersuchung vor, der jedoch Bedarf nach weiterer Vereinheitlichung zeigt. Das FEES-Curriculum könnte als Steuerungsinstrument zur weiteren Standardisierung verwendet werden. </jats:sec