Blockade of nucleus basalis magnocellularis or activation of insular cortex histamine receptors disrupts formation but not retrieval of aversive taste memory

Recent research, using several experimental models, demonstrated that the histaminergic system is clearly involved in memory formation. This evidence suggested that during different associative learning tasks, histamine receptor subtypes have opposite functions, related to the regulation of cortical cholinergic activity. Given that cortical cholinergic activity and nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) integrity are needed during taste memory formation, the aim of this study was to determine the role of histamine receptors during conditioned taste aversion (CTA). We evaluated the effects of bilateral infusions of 0.5 μl of pyrilamine (100 mM), an H₁ receptor antagonist, into the NBM, or of R-α-methylhistamine (RAMH) (10 mM), an H₃ receptor agonist, into the insular cortex of male Sprague-Dawley rats 20 min before acquisition and/or retrieval of conditioned taste aversion. The results showed that blockade of H₁ receptors in NBM or activation of H₃ receptors in the insular cortex impairs formation but not retrieval of aversive taste memory. These results demonstrated differential roles for histamine receptors in two important areas for taste memory formation and suggest that these effects could be related with the cortical cholinergic activity modulation during CTA acquisition.     

Language Shift and the Inclusion of Indigenous Populations in Large-Scale Assessment Programs

Indicators of academic achievement for bilingual students can be inaccurate due to linguistic heterogeneity. For indigenous populations, language shift (the gradual replacement of one language by another) is a factor that can increase this heterogeneity and poses an additional challenge for valid testing. We investigated whether and how indigenous populations can be validly included in a large-scale assessment program. We gave Mexican preschool Mayan students aged 5 to 6 years the same set of mathematics items in three versions: (1) original in Spanish, (2) Mayan translation, and (3) content equivalent, developed from scratch in Mayan. Also, we collected information on the students’ and the teachers’ use of Spanish and Mayan, and on the communities’ support of the two languages. Students performed poorly on the three versions. Generalizability theory-based analyses revealed considerable performance inconsistency across items and language versions and low generalizability and dependability coefficients. This performance instability appears to stem from a dwindling support of the Mayan language in Mayan schools and communities. Fair, valid assessment of indigenous populations in either their languages or their countries’ dominant languages appears to be difficult to accomplish with current testing models and policies.     

Effects of Decision Training on Decision Making and Performance in Young Tennis Players: An Applied Research

This study examined the effectiveness of a 10-week decision training program on decision making and performance in tennis. Decision training was based on the analysis combining tactical questioning and video feedback about players own actions. A quasi-experimental design with intermediate tennis players (control group, n = 6; experimental group, n = 5) was developed over 18 weeks, divided into 3 phases: preintervention, postintervention, and retention. A total of 13,383 game play actions were analyzed to test differences. Experimental group improves significantly decision making and performance and maintained improvements during the retention phase. Video feedback combined with questioning is recommended to achieve sport expertise.     

AUTISM TREATMENTS IN PRINT: MEDIA'S COVERAGE OF SCIENTIFICALLY SUPPORTED AND ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS

Professionals, celebrities, and media frequently suggest to parents the possible treatment options for their children with autism. Some treatment recommendations advocate for scientifically supported treatments whereas others suggest novel, untested interventions, or potentially ineffective or harmful treatments. The current study examined the print media's coverage of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and non‐scientifically supported autism treatments. Over the last 10 years, print media have increasingly published articles referring to autism treatments with little scientific support and a decreased coverage of ABA. Print media's positive statements about non‐scientifically supported treatments also increased over the last decade, whereas positive statements about ABA decreased. ABA received two times as many positive comments as negative; however, non‐scientifically supported treatments as a group received four times as many positive comments as negative. These results could contribute to parents' decisions to implement treatments for their children with autism. To contribute to future positive perception of ABA, we provided suggestions for the dissemination of information to increase positive reporting of ABA in print media. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identification of the 1PL Model with Guessing Parameter: Parametric and Semi-parametric Results

In this paper, we study the identification of a particular case of the 3PL model, namely when the discrimination parameters are all constant and equal to 1. We term this model, 1PL-G model. The identification analysis is performed under three different specifications. The first specification considers the abilities as unknown parameters. It is proved that the item parameters and the abilities are identified if a difficulty parameter and a guessing parameter are fixed at zero. The second specification assumes that the abilities are mutually independent and identically distributed according to a distribution known up to the scale parameter. It is shown that the item parameters and the scale parameter are identified if a guessing parameter is fixed at zero. The third specification corresponds to a semi-parametric 1PL-G model, where the distribution G generating the abilities is a parameter of interest. It is not only shown that, after fixing a difficulty parameter and a guessing parameter at zero, the item parameters are identified, but also that under those restrictions the distribution G is not identified. It is finally shown that, after introducing two identification restrictions, either on the distribution G or on the item parameters, the distribution G and the item parameters are identified provided an infinite quantity of items is available.     

Examining the Effects of Social Bonds and Shame on Drug Recovery within an On-Line Support Community

Past research has demonstrated the utility of on-line support groups for individuals to form relationships and make connections. Additionally, some on-line communities have expanded to provide various types of support, particularly for deviant behavior. These virtual communities may be particularly indispensable to individuals who, out of fear of condemnation, are reluctant to seek traditional forms of social support. For purposes of this study, we examined how members of a substance abuse recovery on-line support group expressed feelings pertaining to their own substance abuse, as well as their processes of attempted or successful recovery. Using an inductive approach for our preliminary analysis, we first assessed which theories were most prevalent throughout the writers’ journals. We then used these theories, both Hirschi’s theory of social control and Braithwaite’s theory of reintegrative shaming, as frameworks to explore the differences between those who were in recovery and those who were still using.     

Semantic Processing of Foveally and Parafoveally Presented Words in a Lexical Decision Task

Using a lexical decision task in which two primes appeared simultaneously in the visual field for 150 msec followed by a target word, two experiments examined semantic priming from attended and unattended primes as a function of both the separation between the primes in the visual field and the prime-target stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA). In the first experiment significant priming effects were found for both the attended and unattended prime words, though the effect was much greater for the attended words. In addition, and also for both attention conditions, priming showed a tendency to increase with increasing eccentricity (2.3°, 3.3°, and 4.3°) between the prime words in the visual field at the long (550 and 850 msec) but not at the short (250 msec) prime-target SOA. In the second experiment the prime stimuli were either two words (W-W) or one word and five Xs (W-X). We manipulated the degree of eccentricity (2° and 3.6°) between the prime stimuli and used a prime-target SOA of 850 msec. Again significant priming was found for both the attended and unattended words but only the W-W condition showed a decrement in priming as a function of the separation between the primes; this decrement came to produce negative priming for the unattended word at the narrow (2°) separation. These results are discussed in relation to the semantic processing of parafoveal words and the inhibitory effects of focused attention.     

Ethics in Finance Research: Recommendations from an Academic Experts Delphi Panel

This paper examines the flow of thoughts on ethics in finance both from academic experts and from published contributions that constitute an alternative view of the financial field from an ethical point of view. A Delphi method was used to achieve consensus about the perceptions and opinions academic experts hold about ethics in financial matters and in the research agenda. This approach permits the early detection of emerging lines, narrowing the research line and shortening subject selection time. An active research map of researchers, countries and lines of investigation was drawn up, and recommendations made of areas that could be highlighted or moderated.