No abstract

A case of subperiosteal and Bezold's abscesses that occurred in a 60-year-old man with cholesteatoma has been described and the literature reviewed. Bezold's abscess is rarely seen in the current era of antibiotics. The simultaneous occurrence of a subperiosteal abscess in association with cholesteatoma, particularly in an adult, makes this case even more unusual. Although antibiotics have reduced the complications associated with acute otitis media, rare complications still occur and should be recognized by the otolaryngologist.

Humans and animals can flexibly choose their actions based on different information, ranging from objective states of the environment (e.g., apples are bigger than cherries) to subjective preferences (e.g., cherries are tastier than apples). Whether the brain instantiates these different choices by recruiting either specialized or shared neural circuitry remains debated. Specifically, domain-general theories of prefrontal cortex (PFC) function propose that prefrontal areas flexibly process either perceptual or value-based evidence depending on what is required for the present choice, whereas domain-specific theories posit that PFC sub- areas, such as the left superior frontal sulcus (SFS), selectively integrate evidence relevant for perceptual decisions. Here we comprehensively test the functional role of the left SFS for choices based on perceptual and value-based evidence, by combining fMRI with a behavioural paradigm, computational modelling, and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Confirming predictions by a sequential sampling model, we show that TMS-induced excitability reduction of the left SFS selectively changes the processing of decision-relevant perceptual information and associated neural processes. In contrast, value-based decision making and associated neural processes remain unaffected. This specificity of SFS function is evident at all levels of analysis (behavioural, computational, and neural, including functional connectivity), demonstrating that the left SFS causally contributes to evidence integration for  perceptual but not value-based decisions.