Belin et al. [3] noticed in their database of emotional vocalisations an acoustic similarity between the samples portraying the categories "sad" (realised as crying) and "happy" (realised as laughing). This observation is in line with anecdotal evidence of many people who felt unsure whether somebody was crying or laughing when visual and other context information was missing. This is a situati...

Early developments in toddlers’ responses to adults’ distress have been extensively examined, but less work has been directed to young children’s responses to other children in distress. In the current study, we examined 12-, 18-, and 24-month-old children’s (N = 71) behavioral and affective responses to a crying infant (doll) present in the room with the child. A comparison condition included ...

QUESTION Crying is common in infants; however, caring for infants with inconsolable crying, previously also known as colic or reflux, is often extremely distressing for parents. Is there a benefit to using gastric acid suppression (eg, proton pump inhibitors [PPIs]) in these infants? ANSWER The use of PPIs in infants and children has increased in recent years. The efficacy of proton pump inhi...

BACKGROUND Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is prevalent in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but there is limited information on its associations and course. OBJECTIVES Explore prevalence, associations, course and manifestations of PBA in outpatient cohort of patients with ALS and examine its relationship to depression. METHODS Self-reported measures of PBA and depression (Center for Neurologi...

Problem crying in the first few months of life is both common and complex, arising out of multiple interacting and co-evolving factors. Parents whose babies cry and fuss a lot receive conflicting advice as they seek help from multiple health providers and emergency departments, and may be admitted into tertiary residential services. Conflicting advice is costly, and arises out of discipline-spe...

OBJECTIVE To review the clinical features, neurobiological correlates and treatment of pathological laughing and crying. METHOD Selective literature review. RESULTS Attacks of involuntary, irresistible laughing or crying have long been recognised as sequelae of brain damage. There is controversy about the clinical features of these attacks, the stimuli that provoke them and their relation t...

Crying is a universal vocalization in human infants, as well as in the infants of other mammals. Little is known about the neural structures underlying cry production, or the circuitry that mediates a caregiver's response to cry sounds. In this review, the specific structures known or suspected to be involved in this circuit are identified, along with neurochemical systems and hormones for whic...

INTRODUCTION A study examined the appropriateness and likelihood of usage of the north American Period of PURPLE Crying® intervention program in far north Queensland, to educate families about the risk of infant abusive head trauma (AHT)/shaken baby syndrome. METHODS A mixed-method cross-sectional study with a questionnaire and semi-structured interview was conducted with 33 health profession...

Gelastic seizures (GS) describe ictal laughter and are associated with hypothalamic lesions, as well as other cortical areas. Dacrystic seizures (DS), characterized by ictal crying, also have been reported in hypothalamic lesions and focal epilepsy. We describe a young girl with drug resistant focal dyscognitive seizures associated with gelastic and dacrystic features. However, neither laughter...

Excessive infant crying can be troublesome for parents and health-care providers, even though for the most part, it is quite benign for the infant. 1 However, in the context of post-partum depression (PPD), excessive crying behaviour may be problematic if it leads to a failure to elicit appropriate maternal responses. This may have substantial and lasting adverse consequences for development. U...