Self-reported changes in subjective health and anthrax vaccination as reported by over 900 Persian Gulf War era veterans

A 1999 study of United Kingdom servicemembers by Unwin, et al. recently found significant relationships between anthrax and other vaccinations, reactions to those vaccines, and later health problems for male current or former active military Gulf War veterans. Likewise, in 2000 Steele and in 1998 Gilroy found possible adverse effects of vaccinations on Gulf War veterans. However, the role of such vaccinations remains controversial; more recent government reports continue to dispute the existence of any data that might reflect adversely on the role of vaccinations on the health of Gulf War veterans. To address this controversy, the current study assessed similar relationships for over 900 Reserve Component Gulf War Era veterans from Ohio and nearby states. Gulf War veterans were more likely to report poorer health than non-Gulf veterans. Female veterans were more likely to report mild or severe reactions to vaccines than male veterans. Those veterans who received anthrax vaccine reported more reactions to vaccines than those who did not receive anthrax vaccine. Declines in long-term subjective health were associated with receipt of anthrax vaccine by Gulf War veterans but not for those who did not deploy to the Gulf, although few of the latter received anthrax vaccine. Regardless of deployment status, veterans who reported more severe reactions to vaccines were more likely to report declines in subjective health. Female veterans reported poorer health during the Gulf War than did male veterans, but sex was not related to veterans' reports of subjective health at subsequent times. It is recommended that servicemembers who experience severe reactions to anthrax vaccine be medically reevaluated before receiving further anthrax vaccine and that careful follow-ups be conducted of those receiving the vaccine currently, in accordance with Nass's 1999 recommendations. We also recommend that safer alternatives to thimerosal (a mercury sodium salt, 50% mercury) be used to preserve all vaccines.     

War zone stress, personal and environmental resources, and PTSD symptoms in Gulf War veterans: a longitudinal perspective

Cross-sectional research has demonstrated a link between personal and environmental resources and development of emotional distress after war zone service. Less is known about the longitudinal relationship between resources and distress. The authors addressed this issue in a study of 348 Gulf War returnees tested at 2 time points. Resources decreased and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms increased over time. Time 1 avoidance and family cohesion predicted PTSD symptoms at Time 2. Regression analyses revealed a bidirectional relationship over time between resources and PTSD symptoms. Time 1 resources predicted Time 2 psychopathology after accounting for Time 1 emotional distress. PTSD symptoms at Time 1 also predicted changes in coping and family relationships, even after accounting for Time 1 resources. Findings are consistent with the concept of a loss spiral (Hobfoll, 1989), in which resource factors and emotional sequelae to war stress exert reciprocal effects.     

A confirmatory factor analysis of the Impact of Event Scale using a sample of World War II and Korean War veterans

This study assessed the factor structure of the Impact of Event Scale (IES), a measure of intrusion and avoidance, using a sample of World War II and Korean War veterans who had experienced combat 40-50 years earlier. A series of 3 confirmatory factor analytic models were specified and estimated using LISREL 8.3. Model 1 specified a 1-factor model. Model 2 specified a correlated 2-factor model. Model 3 specified a 2-factor model with additional cross-factor loadings for Items 2 and 12. Model 3 was found to fit the data. In addition, this model was found to be a better explanation of the data than the other models. Also in addition, the correlations between the Intrusion and Avoidance factors and the 4 subscales of the 28-item General Health Questionnaire were examined to determine the distinctiveness of the two IES factors.     

Confirmatory factor analyses of posttraumatic stress symptoms in deployed and nondeployed veterans of the Gulf War

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare 6 models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, ranging from 1 to 4 factors, in a sample of 3,695 deployed Gulf War veterans (N = 1,896) and nondeployed controls (N = 1,799). The 4 correlated factors-intrusions, avoidance, hyperarousal, and dysphoria-provided the best fit. The dysphoria factor combined traditional markers of numbing and hyperarousal. Model superiority was cross-validated in multiple subsamples, including a subset of deployed participants who were exposed to traumatic combat stressors. Moreover, convergent and discriminant validity correlations suggested that intrusions may be relatively specific to PTSD, whereas dysphoria may represent a nonspecific component of many disorders. Results are discussed in the context of hierarchical models of anxiety and depression.     

Assessment of combat-related stress and physical symptoms of Gulf War veterans: criterion validity of selected hand test variables

We examined the utility of selected Hand Test (Wagner, 1983) variables in relation to posttraumatic stress and physical symptoms in Gulf War (GW) veterans. In this study, we sought to replicate and expand on prior empirical findings that have demonstrated efficacy of the Hand Test in the assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Walter, Hilsenroth, Arsenault, Sloan, & Harvill, 1998). Based on this previous research, Hand Test variables were selected a priori and examined across three groups of veterans: (a) a control group of participants who were in a reserve unit not deployed to the GW theater of operations, (b) a subclinical group of deployed GW veterans who reported 1 to 5 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria for PTSD, and (c) a group of deployed GW veterans who met DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. Analyses demonstrated significant differences across the three groups and significant relationships among selected Hand Test variables with the number of DSM-IV symptoms of PTSD reported in the interviews as well as with the number of physical problems reported by these veterans. We discuss these findings in relation to the assessment and treatment of posttraumatic stress symptomatology.     

The problem of confounding social support and depressive symptoms: A brief report on a college sample

The problem of confounding social support and depressive symptoms was addressed by examining the convergent and discriminant validity of interview and questionnaire measures of social support and depression using the multitrait-multimethod matrix approach. Participants were 40 late-adolescent college students with half the sample selected on the basis of mild to moderate scores on self-reported depressive symptoms. Measures of depression displayed excellent convergent and discriminant validity, and measures of objective features of social networks were found to have moderate convergent and discriminant validity. However, the subjective measures of satisfaction with social support used were found to have neither adequate convergent nor discriminant validity. Implications for the conceptualization and assessment of social support are highlighted.     

Objective and subjective assessments of socioeconomic status and their relationship to self-rated health in an ethnically diverse sample of pregnant women.

A new measure of subjective socioeconomic status (SES) was examined in relation to self-rated physical health in pregnant women. Except among African Americans, subjective SES was significantly related to education, household income, and occupation. Subjective SES was significantly related to self-rated health among all groups. In multiple regression analyses, subjective SES was a significant predictor of self-rated health after the effects of objective indicators were accounted for among White and Chinese American women; among African American women and Latinas, household income was the only significant predictor of self-rated health. After accounting for the effects of subjective SES on health, objective indicators made no additional contribution to explaining health among White and Chinese American women; household income continued to predict health after accounting for subjective SES among Latinas and African American women.     

Posttraumatic stress disorder in a national sample of female and male Vietnam veterans: risk factors, war-zone stressors, and resilience-recovery variables

Relationships among pretrauma risk factors (e.g., family instability, childhood antisocial behavior), war-zone stressors (e.g., combat, perceived threat), posttrauma resilience-recovery variables (e.g., hardiness, social support), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity were examined. Data from a national sample of 432 female and 1,200 male veterans were analyzed using structural equation modeling. For both genders, direct links to PTSD from pretrauma, war-zone, and posttrauma variable categories were found; several direct associations between pretrauma and posttrauma variables were documented. Although war-zone stressors appeared preeminent for PTSD in men, posttrauma resilience-recovery variables were more salient for women. Researchers, policymakers, and clinicians are urged to take a broad view on trauma and its sequelae, especially regarding possible multiple exposures over time and the depletion and availability of important resources.     

Personality and alienation of creative writers: a brief report

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and an alienation scale were administered to 100 creative Indian writers. Creative writers appeared to be introverted, high on neuroticism and psychoticism, and more alienated; they also had higher L scores.     

A brief retraining regulates the persistence and lability of a long-term memory

An experience extending the persistence of a memory after training Aplysia californica with inedible food also allows a consolidated memory to become sensitive to consolidation blockers. Long-term (24 h) memory is initiated by 5 min of training and is dependent on protein synthesis during the first few hours after training. By contrast, a more persistent (48 h) memory is dependent on a longer training session and on a later round of protein synthesis. When presented 24 h after training, a 3-min training that produces no memory alone can cause a memory that would have persisted for only 24 h to persist for 48 h. After a 48 h memory has been consolidated, 3 min of training also makes the memory sensitive to a protein-synthesis inhibitor. These findings suggest that a function of allowing a consolidated memory to become sensitive to blockers of protein synthesis may be to allow the memory to become more persistent.Long-term memory of an experience is dependent on a consolidation process that follows the experience. Before the memory is consolidated it is labile and can be disrupted (Lechner et al. 1999; Dudai 2004; Alberini and Taubenfeld 2008), particularly by blocking mRNA and protein synthesis (Alberini and Taubenfeld 2008; Klann and Sweatt 2008), which are needed to produce the changes in synaptic structure and function that underlie long-term memory (Sigurdsson et al. 2007; Bailey and Kandel 2008; De Roo et al. 2008). After long-term memory is established by the initial stages of consolidation, later rounds of consolidation may be needed to extend the persistence of the memory (Wittenberg and Tsien 2002; Bekinschtein et al. 2007). Consolidated memories may also be modified when they are retrieved (Dudai 2006; Alberini and Taubenfeld 2008). Retrieving a memory by exposure to the conditioned stimulus, or by re-experiencing aspects of the original training, can destabilize it and initiate an additional protein-synthesis-dependent process of memory stabilization (Nader 2003; Dudai 2006; Alberini and Taubenfeld 2008). The aim of this communication is to explore whether an experience that alone does not cause long-term memory can make a memory more persistent and can also destabilize a consolidated memory and makes it labile.Training Aplysia californica with inedible food until they stop responding to the food initiates long-term memory that can be measured as a reduction in the time to stop responding. Long-term memory is present 1, 2, and 7 d after a single training session (Schwarz et al. 1991). We examined some of the parameters of training that lead to persistence of memory by determining whether shorter training sessions also produce a persistent long-term memory.As in previous studies (Schwarz et al. 1991; Botzer et al. 1998; Lyons et al. 2005), Aplysia californica were trained with inedible food, the seaweed Ulva wrapped in plastic net. This food induced biting, leading to food entering the mouth. Animals then attempted to swallow the food. The netted food cannot be swallowed and it became lodged in the buccal cavity, producing repetitive failed swallowing responses. Food eventually left the buccal cavity. The experimenter continued to hold the food against the lips, inducing further biting responses, entries into the mouth, and failed swallows. As training proceeded many bites failed to cause entry of food into the mouth. When food did enter the mouth it stayed within for progressively shorter periods, eliciting fewer attempted swallows. In all animals, food was in the mouth eliciting failed attempts to swallow for at least 100 sec of the initial training, since previous experience showed that such animals almost always show long-term memory. Animals in which food was not in the mouth for 100 sec during training were discarded. A full training session until animals stop responding to food requires 10–25 min of training (Fig. 1). Such a training session caused long-term memory measured after 24 h or after 48 h (Fig. 1A). Memory was measured by comparing the time to stop responding to inedible food during training to the time to stop responding when animals were tested 24 or 48 h later, in a procedure identical to that during training. All tests of memory were performed using a blind procedure in which the experimenter was unaware of the previous training procedure.Open in a separate windowFigure 1.Memory 24 and 48 h after different training procedures. The figure shows the time to stop responding in a group of naïve animals trained with a full training session (training continued until animals stop responding to food), as well as the time to stop responding on memory trials 24 and 48 h later (N = 38 naïve animals [naïve animals were run as controls for the various other groups and data from the naïve animals were then combined. There was no significant difference between the various groups of naïve animals: P = 0.405, F_(5,32) = 1.053]); (A) N = 13 animals tested 24 h after a full training; N = 6 animals tested 48 h after a full training; (B) N = 9 animals tested 24 h after a 5-min training; N = 17 animals tested 48 h after a 5-min training; (C) N = 14 animals tested 24 h after a 3-min training; (D) N = 7 animals tested 48 h after a 5-min training, plus an additional 3-min training 24 h later. A one-way analysis of variance showed significant differences between the seven groups shown (P < 0.001, F_(6,97) = 11.95). A post-hoc test (Student-Newman-Keuls, α = 0.05) showed that there were no significant differences between the time to stop in naïve animals and in animals tested 48 h after a 5-min training, or in animals tested 24 h after a 3-min training, indicating that these treatments did not cause memory. By contrast, the times to stop in these three groups were significantly different from that in the other four groups, which were not significantly different from one another. These findings indicate significant memory 24 or 48 h after a full training, as well as 24 h after 5 min of training, and 48 h after 5 min of training with 3 min of reminder training, with no differences in memory after these 4 treatments. Standard errors are shown.We examined whether abbreviated training also caused long-term memory. First, we examined long-term memory when training is stopped after 5 min. During the first 5 min of a full training session, food is in the mouth, and animals are attempting to swallow for a mean of 70% of the time in the mouth during a full training session. Attempts to swallow are an integral part of the training (Katzoff et al. 2006). We confirmed an earlier finding (Botzer et al. 1998) that a 5-min training produced long-term memory measured 24 h after the training (Fig. 1B). However, we have now found that training animals for only 5 min did not cause long-term memory measured 48 h after training (Fig. 1B). A training session that was stopped after 3 min did not give rise to long-term memory measured at 24 h (Fig. 1C), indicating that the last 2 min of a 5-min training are necessary for the production of 24 h memory. These findings allowed us to examine the possible effects of an experience which itself does not cause memory, 3 min of training on memory persistence and memory lability.A 5-min training session gives rise to memory after 24 h, but not after 48 h, whereas additional training gives rise to 48 h memory. Must the additional training take the form of continuing to train animals during the initial training session, or can an additional 3 min of training that itself does not cause 24 h memory enhance the effect of a 5 min of training? To test the ability of a 3-min training to enhance memory, animals were trained with either a full training session, or with a training session that was abbreviated after 5 min. One group of animals trained for 5 min received an additional 3-min training 24 h after the initial training, whereas another group did not. Memory was tested 24 h later, 48 h after the initial training. Animals receiving a full training, and animals receiving a 5-min training plus a reminder consisting of a 3-min additional training, displayed 48 h memory (Fig. 1D; for a fuller presentation of this experiment, see Supplemental material), whereas animals receiving only a 5-min training, with no additional training, showed no 48 h memory. These data show that a 3-min training, which is itself ineffective in producing memory 24 h later, can lead to significant memory when it follows a 5-min training, which itself would not produce 48 h memory.In other learning tasks it has been shown that long-term memory is not a unitary process. An earlier round of protein synthesis is necessary for 24 h memory, but a more persistent memory (>24 h), and the synaptic plasticity underlying it, are dependent on later rounds of protein synthesis (Giustetto et al. 2003; Bekinschtein et al. 2007; Miniaci et al. 2008). We therefore examined whether 24 and 48 h memory differ in their dependence on protein synthesis adjacent to training, or on protein synthesis 6 h after training. The protein-synthesis inhibitor anisomycin was injected into the hemolymph either 10 min before training or 6 h after training. Animals were injected with a 1 cc solution of anisomycin at a concentration that caused a 10 µM concentration within the animals. This concentration blocks protein synthesis in ganglia (Schwartz et al. 1971). Controls were injected with 1 cc of artificial seawater (ASW–NaCl 460 mM, KCl 10 mM, CaCl₂ 11 mM, MgCl₂ 55 mM, and NaHCO₃ 5 mM). Treatment with anisomycin just before training blocked 24 h memory, but anisomycin treatment 6 h after training did not prevent the appearance of 24 h memory, indicating that 24 h memory is consolidated within the first 6 h after training (note that Fig. 2A shows the percent change in time to stop responding during the test of memory, with respect to the time to stop during training). By contrast, 48 h memory was blocked by anisomycin treatment 6 h after training (Fig. 2B), whereas treatment with ASW did not block 48 h memory.Open in a separate windowFigure 2.Protein synthesis dependence of 24 and 48 h memory. Data shows the memory test 24 or 48 h after training as a percent change [−([train-test]/train) × 100] from the initial training session. All tests of memory were after a full training session until animals stopped responding to the food. Memory was tested via two-tailed paired t-tests, in which the time to stop responding in a given animal during the initial training was compared with the time to stop responding 24 or 48 h later, when animals were tested. A significant decrease in the time to stop responding was used as an indicator of memory. Treatments showing such a decrease are marked (*). Standard errors are shown. (A) Anisomycin treatment blocks 24 h memory when applied just before training, but not when applied 6 h after training. Control animals (N = 8) not treated with anisomycin displayed significant 24 h memory (P < 0.001, t₍₇₎ = 10.15). Anisomycin applied 10 min before the training (N = 9) blocked memory, as shown by a lack of significant decrease in the time to stop between the initial training and the test after 24 h (P = 0.96, t₍₈₎ = 0.05). By contrast, application of anisomycin 6 h after the initial training (N = 7) did not block memory measured 24 h after training, as shown by significant savings after 24 h (P = 0.05, t₍₆₎ = 2.45). (B) Forty-eight hour memory is dependent on a later stage of protein synthesis. Anisomycin (N = 26), but not ASW (N = 5) applied 6 h after training blocks 48 h memory, as shown by significant memory after treatment with ASW (P = 0.007, t₍₄₎ = 5.08) but not with anisomycin (P = 0.49, t₍₂₅₎ = 0.69). However, a 3-min reminder training 24 h after the training (N = 12) rescues 48 h memory after it was blocked by anisomycin treatment 6 h after training (P = 0.01, t₍₁₁₎ = 2.93).Memory 48 h after training is dependent on protein synthesis 6 h after training. As shown above, 3 min of training can establish 48 h memory after a 5-min training that alone is too brief to establish 48 h memory. Can 3 min of training also establish 48 h memory after it has been blocked by inhibiting protein synthesis at 6 h? To test this possibility, animals were trained with inedible food until they stopped responding, and were then treated with either ASW or anisomycin 6 h later. One group of animals also received 3 min of training with inedible food 24 h after the initial training. When tested 48 h after training, memory was present in animals treated with ASW and in animals that had received the additional 3-min training, but not in animals receiving only the anisomycin treatment (Fig. 2B). This finding indicates that a 3-min training that is effective in causing 48 h memory after 5 min of training can also rescue 48 h memory after it has been blocked by anisomycin.If 3 min of training saves a blocked 48 h memory, it could also amplify an already-formed 48 h memory. We tested the effect on 48 h memory of a 3-min training 24 h after a full training session, which alone produces 48 h memory. There was no significant difference in memory between animals tested 24 h after training, and animals receiving a 3-min retraining, and then tested 48 h after training, indicating that the 3-min training did not affect the already consolidated 48 h memory (Fig. 3, cf. column 1 and column 3).Open in a separate windowFigure 3.Brief training makes memory labile. Twenty-four hours after training with inedible food, animals were treated with anisomycin, or with ASW. The animals treated with ASW (N = 9), as well as one of the two groups treated with anisomycin (N = 9), were also given a 3-min training session 10 min later. Memory was then tested again 24 h later, 48 h after the training, by comparing the time to stop measured 48 h after training with the time to stop measured during the original training session, using a two-tailed paired t-test. A significant decrease in the time to stop responding was used as an indicator of memory. Data are also shown for 24 h memory after a full training session, to allow a test of whether a 3-min retraining at 24 h improves memory tested at 48 h. Treatment with anisomycin alone (N = 8) did not block 48 h memory (P = 0.002, t₍₇₎ = 4.66). The 3-min reminder training plus treatment with ASW also did not block 48 h memory (P = 0.001, t₍₈₎ = 5.02). By contrast, when the 3-min reminder training was preceded by anisomycin treatment, there was no significant difference between training and the 48 h test (P = 0.27, t₍₈₎ = 1.18), indicating that the 3-min reminder allowed the anisomycin to block 48 h memory. Note that there is also no significant difference in savings after the 3-min training following ASW treatment and 24 h memory following training (P = 0.13, t₍₁₀₎ = 1.63), indicating that the 3-min training on day 2 alone did not affect memory.The 3-min training does not affect an already-formed 48 h memory, but does cause effects 24 h later if the memory is not fully consolidated. Formation of a long-term memory requires protein synthesis, and recalling a consolidated memory can make a memory sensitive to inhibitors of protein synthesis (Nader et al. 2000). Does a 3-min training 24 h after an initial full training initiate a renewed dependence of 48 h memory on protein synthesis? Animals were trained to criterion and then subjected to either anisomycin, or ASW, 24 h later. Both groups then received a 3-min reminder training 10 min later. Memory was then assessed 24 h later (48 h after initial training). There was significant memory 48 h after the training after treatment with ASW, but not after treatment with anisomycin, indicating that the 3-min reminder training restored the ability of anisomycin to block memory (Fig. 3).Our data have shown that 3 min of training with inedible food alone does not produce long-term memory (Fig. 1), and does not amplify an already established 48 h memory (Fig. 3). Nonetheless, 3 min of training induces a protein-synthesis-dependent state in which memory can be modified (Figs. 2, ​,3).3). After a previous training leading to only 24 h memory (Fig. 1), or after a treatment blocking 48 h memory, the 3-min training makes the memory more persistent (Fig. 2). In addition, after a 48 h memory has already been consolidated, 3 min of training makes the memory labile, so that it can be blocked by inhibitors of protein synthesis (Fig. 3).Reconsolidation is a process by which a consolidated memory returns to a protein-synthesis-dependent labile state by retrieving the memory (e.g., Nader et al. 2000; Sangha et al. 2003; Kemenes et al. 2006). In learning that food is inedible 3 min of training makes the memory labile. There has been much speculation on the possible function of memory reconsolidation. It has been suggested that the destabilization of memory by retrieval could function as a means to update and modify the magnitude and the persistence of the original memory trace (Dudai 2002, 2006). There is good evidence that reconsolidation can update (Rodriguez-Ortiz et al. 2005; Morris et al. 2006), strengthen (Frenkel et al. 2005; Tronson et al. 2006; Lee 2008), or modify (Rossato et al. 2006) memories, as well as block them (Nader et al. 2000), but the possible role of reconsolidation in regulating memory persistence has not been examined. Indeed, many of the previous studies on reconsolidation used a conditioned stimulus (CS) alone as a reminder, and thereby caused extinction along with reconsolidation (Eisenberg et al. 2003; Pedreira and Maldonado 2003), rather than causing a strengthening of memory. Previous studies have indicated that after memory is initially consolidated, its persistence is dependent on successive waves of protein synthesis (Giustetto et al. 2003; Bekinschtein et al. 2007; Miniaci et al. 2008) and that reactivation of a memory improves its persistence (Spear 1973). Later waves of protein synthesis affecting persistent memories could be modulated or modified by retrieving a memory.We have taken advantage of a memory task affecting Aplysia feeding to examine the possibility that memory retrieval via a brief additional training affects later waves of protein synthesis, and thereby affects the persistence of a memory. We found that pairing a brief additional training with block of protein synthesis blocks memory (Fig. 3). We also found that a more persistent memory measured at 48 h is dependent on a longer training session (Fig. 1), and a later wave of protein synthesis (Fig. 2) than is 24 h memory. Retrieval of memory by a 3-min retraining can establish 48 h memory even when the latter portion of training is absent (Fig. 1), or when the later wave of protein synthesis is blocked (Fig. 2). This finding suggests that the initial experience required to establish 48 h memory, as well as the wave of protein synthesis elicited by this experience, can be deferred. A later experience, and a later wave of protein synthesis, can substitute for the absence of experience in the initial training, or for the blocked wave of protein synthesis. In addition to creating a more persistent memory, a 3-min retraining also makes a consolidated memory sensitive to blocking by inhibitors of protein synthesis (Fig. 3). Thus, a function of experiences that permit reconsolidation may also be to extend the persistence of a memory.In our study we cannot exclude the possibility that the 3-min retraining does more than just retrieve memory, and thereby make it labile. The increased persistence of memory could be caused by processes initiated by the 3-min training, such as increased consolidation, that are not related to the ability of the added training to make the memory labile. Indeed, previous studies have suggested that memory consolidation and reconsolidation may utilize different molecular mechanisms (Taubenfeld et al. 2001; Lee et al. 2004; Alberini 2005). The different molecular mechanisms activated by consolidation or reconsolidation have been used to classify the process by which retrieval affects memory, although use of the molecular markers to classify a behavioral process is controversial (Nader et al. 2005). Such studies have shown that changing a memory when it is retrieved sometimes utilizes a molecular mechanism for consolidation (Tronel et al. 2005), and sometimes for reconsolidation (Lee 2008). In the learning task utilized we have not examined separate molecular markers for consolidation and reconsolidation, raising the possibility that a 3-min retraining affects persistence by activating molecular mechanisms that are specifically associated with a separate round of consolidation, rather than activating reconsolidation.Memory reconsolidation also affects a number of other molluscan learning paradigms (Sekiguchi et al. 1997; Sangha et al. 2003; Gainutdinova et al. 2005; Kemenes et al. 2006). In some, the memory becomes labile when animals are exposed to a CS alone, which does not itself create memory, whereas in others the memory becomes labile only when the CS is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US), as in the original training (see Eisenhardt and Stollhoff 2008). In our experiments, memory was made labile by a second training session, which was shorter than that needed to itself create memory. It will be of interest to determine whether components of the experience alone in which animals learn that food is inedible do not give rise to memory, such as lip stimulation alone (Schwarz et al. 1988), can also give rise to reconsolidation, although they would not cause a more persistent memory.Where in the Aplysia nervous system are molecular changes related to reconsolidation and the persistence of memory localized? The earliest molecular changes leading to long-term memory that a food is inedible (e.g., increased expression of C/EBP and sensorin), are localized to the buccal ganglia, specifically to a population of mechanoafferents (Levitan et al. 2008a,b). It is possible that the later molecular changes leading to a persistent memory are also localized to these neurons, similar to the localization to the same sensory neurons of earlier and later molecular events leading to long-term facilitation underlying sensitization in Aplysia (Miniaci et al. 2008). However, it is also possible that the later phases of consolidation, and reconsolidation, may arise by molecular changes localized to other sites with the Aplysia nervous system, similar to the movement of earlier and later phases on long-term declarative memories from the hippocampus to the neocortex (Squire and Kandel 1999). Future studies will need to examine these points.     

Sense of meaning and study perseverance and completion: a brief report

The study examines sense of meaning influences on study perseverance and course completion among students within a faculty of management sciences at a South African university (n = 40). Participants were selected for high scores on the Purpose in life (PIL) scale (n = 20; 50%) and contrasting low scores on the same (n = 20; 50%) (age range = 27 to 30 years, females = 73%, majority ethnicity = 70% Sotho speaking). Data were analysed using independent-samples t-test group comparison procedure. The results suggest that a high sense of meaning can explain study perseverance and completion.     

Personality traits and subjective health in the later years: The association between NEO-PI-R and SF-36 in advanced age is influenced by health status

This study examined the association between personality traits (as measured by the NEO-PI-R) and subjective ratings of mental and physical health (as measured by the SF-36) in two samples of older adults differing in health status (Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, BLSA, n = 393, vs. Medicare Primary and Consumer-Directed Care Demonstration, Medicare PCC, n = 648). The association between personality traits and subjective mental health did not differ significantly across samples. The association between personality and subjective physical health, however, was significantly stronger in the healthy BLSA sample than in the medically challenged Medicare PCC sample. Differences in health conditions and recent hospitalizations partially accounted for this effect. Lifespan developmental considerations and implications for the use of subjective health ratings as outcome measures in clinical studies are discussed.     

经济地位和计量地位:社会地位比较对主观幸福感的影响及其年龄差异

采用麦克阿瑟梯子启动方法对个体的社会地位比较进行启动,主要探讨社会经济地位和社会计量地位对年轻人和老年人主观幸福感作用的年龄差异。120名年轻人(27.26±4.80岁)和120名老年人(65.12±6.49岁)参加了正式实验。实验首先测量被试的主观幸福感,3~7天后启动社会地位比较,随后再次测量主观幸福感。社会地位比较分为4种启动条件,即经济上行比较、经济下行比较、计量上行比较和计量下行比较,被试被随机分配到其中一种启动条件。结果发现:年轻人的主观幸福感更容易受到社会经济地位比较的影响,而老年人的主观幸福感更容易受到社会计量地位比较的影响。由于原有的等级评定方式并未验证启动的有效性,补充实验通过对麦克阿瑟梯子进行改进降低了锚定化的影响,为启动的有效性提供了直接的证据。本研究验证了主观幸福感悖论,并从社会比较的角度解释了老年人维持主观幸福感的机制,同时改进了麦克阿瑟梯子等级评定方法使其适用于中国情境。     

Importance of Human Needs During Retrospective Peacetime and the Persian Gulf War: Mideastern Employees

This study examined the importance of needs during the retrospective peacetime in 1990 and the Persian Gulf War in 1991 using a sample of 378 employees in the Middle East. Results of factor analyses identified three levels of needs during peacetime and wartime. Factor structures of needs did change from peacetime to wartime and were different. The patterns of needs identified in this study were different from needs theories developed in the U.S. Results were discussed in light of cultural differences, available resources in the environment, and the Persian Gulf War.     

Validity of the Overcontrolled-Hostility (O-H) Scale: a brief report.

In order to further assess the validity of the MMPI O-H (overcontrolled hostility) Scale, high and low O-H youthful offenders were administered the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study and their responses classified as extrapunitive, impunitive or intropunitive. Results indicated that high O-H subjects were significantly more impunitive than low O-H subjects and conversely, that low O-H subjects were more extrapunitive than high O-H subjects. Such findings are consistent with the O-H personality typology and lend further support to the construct validity of the Scale.     

Validation of scales from the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory in a sample of Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans

The Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory (DRRI) is a suite of scales that can be used to assess deployment-related factors implicated in the health and well-being of military veterans. Although initial evidence for the reliability and validity of DRRI scales based on Gulf War veteran samples is encouraging, evidence with respect to a more contemporary cohort of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans is not available. Therefore, the primary goal of the present study was to validate scales from the DRRI in a large sample of OIF army personnel diversified in occupational and demographic characteristics. In general, results supported the use of these DRRI scales in this population. Internal consistency reliability estimates were quite strong. Additionally, support was obtained for criterion-related validity, as demonstrated by associations with mental and physical health measures, and discriminative validity, as demonstrated by differences between key military subgroups.     

Story-based scales: development and validation of questionnaires to measure subjective health status and cultural adherence in British Bangladeshis with diabetes

Questionnaires that measure subjective health status are increasingly used in clinical trials. But scales based on the quantification of subjective traits ("rate your feelings on a scale of 1 to 5") and initially developed in western population samples may not be valid for use in minority ethnic groups, even if accurately translated. The measurement of cultural adaptation and assimilation in immigrant groups is important for health research but has well documented methodological challenges. The aim of this study was to develop valid and reliable questionnaires to measure subjective health status and cultural adherence in a minority ethnic group, using the story as the unit of inquiry. The design was a multi-phase study involving (a) narrative interview, (b) vignette construction, (c) questionnaire development, and (d) questionnaire validation in relation to two scales (well-being and cultural adherence) in British Bangladeshis with diabetes. Using data from in-depth narrative interviews (i.e., a non-directive research technique in which the participant is invited to "tell me the story about your diabetes, starting with when you first noticed anything wrong", and the only prompts used are "tell me more about that" or "what happened next?"; Greenhalgh, Helman, & Chowdhury, 1998; Muller, 1999), we constructed culturally congruent vignettes to depict different subjective health states and behaviours. We refined these items in focus group interviews and validated the instruments on 98 Bangladeshi participants, randomly sampled from GP diabetes registers in inner London and interviewed by a Bangladeshi anthropologist. We used factor analysis to explore the underlying structure in the responses to questionnaire items, plus Cronbach alpha tests to measure internal consistency of scales. The questionnaires were acceptable and credible to Bangladeshi participants with diabetes. Ninety of 98 participants were able and willing to complete them with interviewer assistance. Following factor analysis, we produced two definitive instruments. The well-being scale was a single-factor model with four story-based items (measuring depression, anxiety, physical energy, and social activities), with a Cronbach's alpha of .92. The cultural adherence scale was a single-factor model with five items (measuring religious restrictions, ethnic practices, and social ties), with a Cronbach's alpha of .83. In conclusion, this study has produced two important outputs: (a) easy-to-administer, story-based questionnaires that measure well-being and cultural adherence, which are specific to British Bangladeshis with diabetes; (b) a general method for developing story-based instruments to quantify the subjective experience of illness and adherence to cultural norms, which potentially has applications beyond the study population.