A study of the development of epilepsy in adolescents with autism investigated the brain dysfunctions in 158 patients (ages 15-28) with autism through the examination of paroxysmal electroencephalographic abnormalities. Results indicated that 47.5% of the individuals with autism had such abnormalities in the frontal region. (CR)

The visual imagery ability of 40 adolescents with mental retardation due to organic reasons (n=20) and sociocultural reasons (n=20) was compared with the ability of 36 nondisabled children. Results found that adolescents with mental retardation had poorer visual imagery than nondisabled children with the same mental age. (CR)

Discusses how human evolution affects the achievement of flow experiences, including the role of complexity, or people's need to take on a greater range of challenges and opportunities to increase their skill level. Describes evolutionary obstacles to complexity, such as genetic instructions to conserve energy, and ways to overcome these…

Findings from a study in which twins were given tests of onward repetition and auditory processing are discussed. Children with specific language impairments were impaired on both measures, but deficits had different origins. Auditory processing problems showed no evidence of genetic influence, whereas the nonword repetition deficit was highly…

This article provides a description of the human genome and patterns of inheritance and discusses genes that are associated with some of the syndromes for which hearing loss is a common finding, including: Waardenburg, Stickler, Jervell and Lange-Neilsen, Usher, Alport, mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, and sensorineural hearing loss. (Contains…

This article introduces the concept of genetic testing for deafness. Two genes that make appreciable contributions to the autosomal recessive non-syndromic deafness (ARNSD) genetic load are reviewed, GJB2 and SLC26A4. In addition, the unique aspects of genetic counseling for deafness and recurrence chance estimates are explained. (Contains…

The 1994 publication of "The Bell Curve" by R. Herrnstein and C. Murray is compared to other examples of eugenic principles, including the sterilization of "feebleminded" Carrie Buck, family degeneracy studies focusing on lower class Caucasian families, and other works that view the poorest and least educated members of society…

Current evidence suggests that the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) disturb cell homeostasis at very low intensities by influencing discrete intracellular magnetic fields. The article reviews current research about the health effects of EMF, examining historical implications, childhood studies, adult studies, and popular press reports, and…

Discusses recent research findings, which do not appear to support the idea that boys' superiority in mathematics is biological. Cerebral lateralization studies are discussed; meta-analysis showed that the gender gap has narrowed, casting doubt on the importance of innate ability determining mathematics performance. Discusses implications of…

Theories are discussed concerning the relative significance of biological and environmental issues to giftedness, with discussion organized into the "onset" period of the late nineteenth century, with contributions by Charles Darwin, Frances Galton, and Karl Pearson; and the "flowering" period of the early twentieth century with Lewis Terman. (JDD)

Addresses two areas where science has been and still is used to justify policies and attitudes that are discriminatory and oppressive: homosexuality and alcoholism. This article analyzes the debate over whether these correlations are biologically or socially determined. Of particular concern is the potential impact of biological determinism on the…

Studies with 65 adults found two new visual processing tasks, visual change detection and visual movement detection, to be correlated with inspection time and the nonverbal scores from the Alice Helm 4 test of general intelligence. Results are discussed in terms of the correlation between inspection time and intelligence and the psychobiological…

This article reviews recent evidence supporting a biological basis for developmental dyslexia. It concludes that the combined evidence demonstrating macroscopic morphologic, microscopic neuronal, and microstructural white matter abnormalities in dyslexia is consistent with a localization of the principle pathophysicological process to perisylvian…

An Institute of Medicine committee examined the links between biological, psychosocial, and behavioral factors and health; reviewed effective applications of behavioral interventions (individual behavior, families, organizations, communities, and society); and discussed the production and maintenance of behavior change. The paper presents a…

Uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth for 1,943 full siblings and 129 half-siblings to study genetic and shared environmental influences on IQ, education, and income. Results suggest that social inequality in the United States has its origins in genetically based traits and in different environmental backgrounds. (SLD)