Effects of anandamide and morphine combinations on memory consolidation in cd1 mice: involvement of dopaminergic mechanisms

In the present research the interaction between the endogenous ligand for the cannabinoid CB1 receptor anandamide (arachidonylethanolamide) and morphine in memory consolidation was investigated. Four sets of experiments were carried out with CD1 mice tested in a one-trial inhibitory avoidance task. The drugs were administered intraperitoneally after training of the animals in the apparatus. In the first set of experiments morphine (0.3 or 0.5, but not 0.15mg/kg) or anandamide (3 or 6 but not 1.5mg/kg) dose-dependently impaired memory consolidation. In the second set of experiments the administration of an otherwise ineffective dose of anandamide (1.5mg/kg) enhanced the memory impairment exerted by morphine (0.3 and 0.5mg/kg) when the drugs were injected immediately after training. In the third set of experiments the combined treatments of anandamide (1.5mg/kg) and morphine (0.5mg/kg) 2h after training were ineffective showing that the effects observed on performance following immediate posttraining administration of anandamide and morphine combinations were reflecting direct influences on memory consolidation. In the fourth set of experiments otherwise ineffective doses of the D1 DA receptor agonist SKF 38393 or the D2 DA receptor agonist LY 171555 antagonized the memory impairment produced by anandamide and morphine in combination, suggesting a possible involvement of dopaminergic mechanisms.     

Syntactic breakdown and recovery of clausal structure in agrammatism

We studied the recovery of clause structures in four agrammatic patients by performing a longitudinal analysis of their spontaneous production. We classified their utterances in terms of legitimacy of the syntactic structure and rate of subordination. The results show that, initially, patients omit verbs, avoid subordination, just employ present tense, and substitute finite verbs with infinitives. During the recovery they start employing other tenses and subordinate clauses and reduce the use of infinitives. Data suggest a mixed syntactic and morphological origin of the impairment. Assuming that phrasal representations are built bottom-up from an array of lexical items, we propose that syntactic structures recover stepwise, with the lower portion of the syntactic tree becoming accessible before higher portions. We claim that, despite superficial similarities between agrammatic and children's speech, e.g., use of infinitives instead of finite verbs, a unified account is not viable.     

Age-of-acquisition effects in delayed picture-naming tasks

We report two experiments that explored the linguistic locus of age-of-acquisition effects in picture naming by using a delayed naming task that involved only a low proportion of trials (25 %) while, for the large majority of the trials (75 %), participants performed another task—that is, the prevalent task. The prevalent tasks were semantic categorization in Experiment 1a and grammatical-gender decision in Experiments 1b and 2. In Experiment 1a, in which participants were biased to retrieve semantic information in order to perform the semantic categorization task, delayed naming times were affected by age of acquisition, reflecting a postsemantic locus of the effect. In Experiments 1b and 2, in which participants were biased to retrieve lexical information in order to perform the grammatical gender decision task, there was also an age-of-acquisition effect. These results suggest that part of the age-of-acquisition effect in picture naming occurs at the level at which the phonological properties of words are retrieved.     

The Repercussions of Emotional Abuse and Parenting Styles on Self-Esteem,Subjective Well-Being: A Retrospective Study with University Students in Brazil

This study verified the differences in the incidence of memory of emotional abuse among the different parenting styles in students from 18 to 30 years of age at a university in southern Brazil. The relationship between memory of emotional abuse and self-esteem, and subjective well-being was also examined. Students (n = 293) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, published scales measuring self-esteem, life satisfaction, parenting styles, and self-report questionnaires. Negative correlations were found between emotional abuse and self-esteem, positive affect, and life satisfaction. Positive correlations were found between emotional abuse, age, and negative affect. Memories of emotional abuse were significantly more frequent in students who reported being raised under negligent and authoritarian parenting styles than in those who were raised under the other parenting styles.     

Impact of Family Efficacy Beliefs on Quality of Family Functioning and Satisfaction with Family Life

The present study tested with 142 families a structural model of the interplay of perceived dyadic and collective forms of efficacy within the interdependent family system, and how these different forms of efficacy are structurally related to quality of family functioning and satisfaction with family life. Dyadic parent–child efficacy, dyadic spousal efficacy, and filial efficacy were linked to family satisfaction through the mediating impact of collective family efficacy. A high sense of collective family efficacy was accompanied by open family communication and candid disclosure by adolescents of their activities outside the home. Collective family efficacy contributed to parents' and adolescents' satisfaction with their family life both directly and through its impact on quality of family functioning. An alternative structural model in which quality of family functioning affects the different forms of perceived family efficacy and family satisfaction provided a poorer fit to the data.     

Line bisection and cognitive plasticity of unilateral neglect of space

Patients with neglect of the left half of space were asked to bisect lines of different lengths. The leftmost points of the represented lines, determined on the basis of the midpoints set by the patients on the objective lines, were the dependent variable. It was thus possible to recognize diverse patterns of behavior which were conceivably averaged away in earlier investigations. In discussing the results, the question is raised of whether unilateral neglect of space may be altered by cognitive processes.     

Authenticity as an aim of Psychoanalysis

This paper will present a series of predominantly clinical observations concerning the lengthy work a patient carries out, with the help of the analyst, in order to achieve greater personal authenticity. When this work is drawing to a close and the patient has gained a degree of authenticity, this authenticity remains within him, almost without his realizing it. The power of authenticity is instead revealed through the patient's most intimate and important relationships. In the long term, the patient's authenticity also alters his perception of himself and of his role in the world. He feels more alive and less overcome by a sense of futility, if earlier this had been the case.     

Teacher-initiated Motivational Climate in Physical Education Questionnaire in an Italian sample

The purpose of the study was to translate and adapt in the Italian language a questionnaire that could effectively assess perceived motivational climate in physical education. An Italian version of the Teacher-initiated Motivational Climate in Physical Education Questionnaire proposed by Papaioannou (1998) was administered to 1,681 young students, 840 girls and 841 boys, ages 11 to 14 years. Data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis to assess the goodness of fit of the expected two-factor solution constituted by a Mastery Climate scale (six items) and a Performance Climate scale (six items). A good fit was indicated between the observed data and theoretical model and supported the two-dimensional structure of the test. In the total sample, the Mastery factor accounted for 33.6% of the variance and the Performance factor accounted for 15.4%. Cronbach alpha of the Mastery and Performance scales were .79 and .70, respectively.     

Value tradeoffs propel and inhibit behavior: Validating the 19 refined values in four countries

We assess the predictive and discriminant validity of the basic values in the refined Schwartz value theory by examining how value tradeoffs predict behavior in Italy, Poland, Russia, and the USA. One thousand eight hundred and fifty‐seven respondents reported their values and rated their own and a partner's behavior. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis supported the distinctiveness of the 19 values and the 19 self‐rated and other‐rated behaviors. Multidimensional scaling analyses supported the circular motivational order of the 19 values. Findings affirmed the theorizing that behavior depends upon tradeoffs between values that propel and values that inhibit it. Across four countries, value importance, behavior frequency, and gender failed to moderate the strength of value–behavior relations. This raises the question of the conditions under which the widely cited assumption that normative pressure weakens value–behavior relations holds.