These data indicate that N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists produce a broad range of symptoms, behaviors, and cognitive deficits that resemble aspects of endogenous psychoses, particularly schizophrenia and dissociative states.

These findings are consistent with a smaller right hippocampal volume in PTSD that is associated with functional deficits in verbal memory.

Three well-matched groups of non-surgical, pharmacologically controlled epileptic patients with unilateral seizure foci in either the left temporal lobe, the right temporal lobe or a frontal lobe, and a normal control group were compared on several verbal and non-verbal memory tasks. Results revealed significant impairment of verbal memory in left temporal epileptic subjects, and significant impairment of non-verbal, visual memory in right temporal epileptic subjects. Seizure patients with unilateral frontal lobe foci did not differ from the control sample on any measure. Results support previous research which emphasizes the importance of temporal lobe systems in memory function. The findings are discussed with regard to the nature and specificity of the observed deficits.

This longitudinal study investigated the relationship between denial of illness and the course of recovery in patients with coronary heart disease. Using a newly developed interview instrument, the Levine Denial of Illness Scale (LDIS), the level and modes of denial were assessed in 45 male patients who were hospitalized for myocardial infarction or for coronary bypass surgery, of whom 30 were followed for 1 year after discharge. The reliability, internal consistency, and validity of the LDIS were found to be satisfactory. Furthermore, the LDIS showed discriminant validity from trait measures of denial. LDIS scores were not associated with severity of illness or risk factors. High deniers spent fewer days in intensive care and had fewer signs of cardiac dysfunction during their hospitalization relative to low deniers. However, in the year following discharge, high deniers adapted more poorly than low deniers: high deniers were more noncompliant with medical recommendations and required more days of rehospitalization. The findings suggest that denial of illness is adaptive during acute hospital recovery, but is maladaptive in the long-run after hospital discharge.