Are there Picky Preschool Eaters in Japan?

Background: Picky eating or refusing certain foods (or food groups) and/or having strong likes and dislikes around food is common among preschool children in the United States. Japanese children under 5 years of age may have minimal amounts of picky eating due to the Japanese preschool programs that emphasize shared eating.Methods: In this study, we visited 8 hoikuen and yochiens (kindergardens) in Tokyo and Chiba prefectures. Interviews were conducted with managers, teachers and dietitians and observations were made of meal and snack times. Results: Japanese preschool/nursery meal times are structured and follow a specific format of thanks, group seating and multiple plates/bowls of food, none of which are finger foods. Conclusion: We conclude that the frequency of picky eating in the United States may be a culture bound syndrome, or a behavior/syndrome specific to American and Western cultural norms.

Children's Down Behavior Syndrome: Difficulty Concentrating and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

This article discusses the behavior of children with Down syndrome who have difficulty concentrating and obsessive-compulsivity, characteristics of Down syndrome children, factors that cause Down syndrome children, problems with Down syndrome sufferers and cognitive and behavioral problems. The development of a child with Down Syndrome is certainly different from the development of a healthy child. Excessive expression of chromosomes leads to a decrease in the number of nerves in the central nervous system, delayed myelination, disruption of cell cycle regulation, and causes excessive protein production and abnormal neurotransmission. Problems for people with Down syndrome are hearing problems and impaired vision, congenital heart disease, and growth problems when they were babies. The tendency for psychological and mental disorders in children with Down syndrome can cause compulsive obsession. Obsession is a thought or image that cannot be prevented and continues to exist in a person's consciousness even if he views it as something unpleasant and wants to avoid. A compulsion is a stereotypical act that prompts a person to repeat the action.

Catatonia in DSM-III and After

For almost a century, catatonia was considered only as a sign of schizophrenia and cases were classified as “schizophrenia, catatonic type,” as in DSM-III in 1980. Awareness that catatonia was an identifiable syndrome independent of schizophrenia and treatable with approaches not effective in relieving schizophrenia led to the development of rating scales to identify catatonia, benzodiazepine challenge tests to verify the diagnosis, and efficient protocols to successfully treat the syndrome. By 1994, in DSM-IV, catatonia was also identified as a syndrome secondary to a medical condition and assigned a unique identification number. By 2013, in DSM-5, the class of catatonic schizophrenia was deleted, and catatonia was recognized as an identifiable, verifiable, and treatable behavior syndrome.