The effect of exercise on total and regional bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women is reviewed. Studies on non-estrogen-replete postmenopausal women show 1-2% changes in regional BMD with 1 year of weight-bearing exercises. Studies of exercise training in the estrogen-replete postmenopausal population suggest large BMD changes.…

Reviews age-related declines in motor performance, examining the known types of sensorimotor deficits in the elderly. The article highlights recent data that show changes in kinematics of arm movements, prehension tasks, and handwriting that reveal why movement becomes slower and less accurate in older adults. (SM)

Discusses future increases in the number of older employees in the workforce; outlines physiological changes in vision, hearing, and memory that are known to occur as part of the aging process; and suggests training adaptations to diminish or eliminate the adverse consequences of these changes in a learning environment. (LRW)

Explores the impact of having a hearing-impaired peer on preschool children's understanding of hearing and deafness, comparing children with and without a hearing-impaired peer. All children referred to their own experiences to explain hearing loss. Children with a hearing-impaired classmate understood sign language and the consequences of hearing…

Autonomic reactivity to cognitive stress was assessed in 10-year-old boys who were rated as either disruptive (n=18), anxious-disrupted (n=18), or not disruptive or anxious (n=15). Electrodermal activity, cardiac reactivity, and muscle tension were higher during a mental arithmetic stress task for the anxious-disruptive group. (Author/SW)

Reports on experimental comparisons between the leopard frog, currently captured for laboratory use, and the African clawed frog, raised specifically for research. Except for the increased longevity of isolated nerve axons in the clawed frog, no other significant differences were established. Recommends laboratory use of clawed frogs as…

This study, with 10 adult patients with cystic fibrosis, found that the improvement in lung function and ergometry parameters obtained by a short in-patient training program could be maintained on an out-patient basis through a voluntary self-treatment program. (DB)

This study tested the interrater reliability of the Modified Ashworth Scale in measuring upper and lower limb spasticity in 34 hemiplegic adult patients examined by 2 physiotherapists and 2 doctors. Findings indicated satisfactory reliability for upper limb spasticity but less satisfactory results for lower limb spasticity. (DB)

A century ago, Harvard University established a B.S. degree program in anatomy, physiology, and physical training. The paper examines the circumstances surrounding the program's inception and rapid demise, focusing on nineteenth-century interest in the subject and related developments at Harvard. (SM)

Discusses the sensory systems of sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, and equilibrium as tools of children's mental development. (MKR)

Discussed are the developments in neural networks technology that promise to make computers a great deal smarter. The brain is described, and its workings are compared to that of a computer. Computer programs that allow the construction of a simulated neural network are discussed and evaluated. (KR)

A graphic, interactive software program that is suitable for teaching students about the measurement and ion dependence of cell membrane potentials is described. The hardware requirements, the aim of the program, how to use the program, other related programs, and its advantages over traditional methods are included. (KR)

Adolescent students with voice disorders need information concerning the physiological, environmental, and psychosocial aspects of voice production. This paper describes a multiple-choice quiz format that has been used effectively as part of the awareness phase of vocal reeducation. (Author)

In a roundtable discussion, a panel of experts address how physicians can identify active patients for whom exercise poses the risk of serious heart complications, how useful stress tests are, what exercise intensity is best, and what physicians can tell patients about the risks of exercise versus its benefits. (SM)

Describes the measurement of blood speed in blood vessels by using the Doppler effect. (WRM)