Disturbances of consciousness in dementia with Lewy bodies associated with alteration in nicotinic receptor binding in the temporal cortex

Disturbances of consciousness, including fluctuations in attention and awareness, are a common and clinically important symptom in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). In the present study we investigate potential mechanisms of such disturbances of consciousness (DOC) in a clinicopathological study evaluating specific components of the cholinergic system. [3H]Epibatidine binding to the high-affinity nicotinic receptor in the temporal cortex (Brodmann's areas 20 and 36) differentiated DLB cases with and without DOC, being 62-66% higher in those with DOC (F=4.5,p=.025). The were no differences between DLB patients with or without DOC in 125I-labeled alpha-bungaratoxin binding to the low-affinity nicotinic receptor, [3H]pirenzepine binding to the muscarinic M1 receptor, or in choline acetyltransferase activity. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that cholinergic activity is an important neural correlate if consciousness and suggest a mechanism of DOC in DLB involving alterations in the nicotinic receptor, composed of predominantly alpha4 and beta2 subunits.     

Candidate Personality as an Influence on Selection Interview Assessments

Les interviewers décrivent couramment leur travail comme une tâche ďévaluation de la personnalité. Pourtant, on recense peu de recherches sur la façon dont la personnalité des candidats influence les jugements de ľinterviewer. Dans cette étude, des demandeurs de formation ont rempli la "self-monitoring scale" de Snyder, ľE.P.I. et une mesure de ľanxiété comportementale; ces données ont été corrélées avec les appréciations des interviewers. Conformé-ment aux hypothèses, on a trouvé que les extravertis étaient jugés plus positivement. Le névrotisme, bien que corrélé avec plusieurs appréciations ďinterviewers, ne semblait pas liéà la décision finale. Contrairement aux prédictions, les scores ďautonomie n'étaient pas corrélés avec les appréciations des interviewers.
Interviewers frequently see their task as being one of personality assessment, yet there is little research on how candidate personality influences interviewer assessments. In this study, applicants for places on a course completed Snyder's self-monitoring scale, the E.P.I, and a measure of state anxiety, and their scores were correlated with interviewers' ratings. As had been hypothesised, there was some indication that extraverts were judged to be more acceptable. Neuroti-cism, despite being correlated with several interviewer ratings, did not seem to be related to final acceptance decision. Contrary to prediction, self-monitoring scores did not correlate with the interviewers' assessments.     

Spiritual Confusion: a critique of current educational policy in England and Wales

This article constitutes an analytical survey of recent approaches to spiritual development and, in particular, a critique of government policy and practice in the documentation produced by OFSTED and SCAA (now QCA). It questions the consistency and adequacy with which spiritual development has been addressed and the ambiguity inherent in the SCAA approach when set alongside the pronouncements of its Chief Executive Nicholas Tate. By drawing on selected writers the claims for inclusivity, exclusivity and consensus as bases for educational practice are scrutinized and the case for a relativist approach to the subject advanced. The writer argues that teachers should engage with the process of spiritual development rather than being concerned with a pre‐determined outcome aligned to either moral ends or faith commitment.     

‘Theology on Its Knees’: The Arts as Religion

Books reviewed in this article: Paul Corby Finney (ed.), Seeing Beyond the Word: Visual Arts and the Calvinist Tradition David Morgan, Protestants and Pictures: Religion, Visual Culture, and the Age of American Mass Production Richard Viladesau, Theological Aesthetics: God in Imagination, Beauty, and Art     

Association of Economic Internality With Saving Behavior and Motives,Financial Confidence,and Attitudes Toward State Intervention1

This study investigates economic locus of control (ELOC) in a Greek sample using Furnham's (1986) scale. In particular, it examines the association between ELOC and saving behavior and motives, attitudes toward state intervention in the economic field, and factors engendering confidence in economic matters. The main hypotheses predicted that internal ELOC should be associated with (a) desire for less state intervention; (b) confidence in factors under one's own control (knowing the other party in transactions, being well informed) more strongly than with other factors of economic trust, such as the state and the law; (c) more saving; and (d) that respondents with internal and external ELOC should be differentiated with respect to saving motives. Analysis was based on a sample of 135 participants from Athens. Principal components analysis of the Greek translation of Furnham's ELOC questionnaire gave results similar to those reported from England, yielding 4 factors interpretable as chance, internal, external/denial, and powerful others. The findings of the study include confirmation of all of the hypotheses.     

The effects of direction and movement of attractors on users' behavior in virtual environments.

Despite fast technological developments in virtual reality (VR), methodologies and guidelines for evaluating the design of virtual environments (VEs) are lacking. The theory of perceptual opportunities (POs) has previously been proposed as a basis of such a design methodology. This paper presents an empirical study investigating the effect of representation of POs on users' behavior in VEs. The effects of both direction and movement of attractor on choice of objects in a simple VE were studied. Results showed that vertical static attractors were chosen least frequently. Furthermore, there was an effect of direction for static attractors in favor of the take-off direction. Implications for VE design in the framework of POs are discussed.     

Growth in infancy and childhood and hospitalization for personality disorders in adulthood: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

This study examined the associations between infant and childhood growth and severe personality disorders. Among 4,689 men and 4,200 women of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study 1934-1944, 81 men and 68 women had been hospitalized with an ICD (-8, -9, -10) diagnosis of personality disorder in adulthood. Among men, slower gain in BMI between birth and 6 months, faster gain in weight and BMI between 6 months and 1 year, and slower gains in them between 7 and 11 years of age predicted an increased risk of hospitalization for personality disorders. Thinness at 6 months and again at 11 years also showed significant association with personality disorders among men. Among women, slower gain in height between 2 and 7 years predicted hospitalization for personality disorders. Our findings show the importance of early growth as a vulnerability factor of personality disorders severe enough to justify hospitalization.     

Norming and Performing: Using Microworlds to Understand the Relationship Between Team Cohesiveness and Performance1

The current study used a microworld simulation to investigate the direction of the relationship between group cohesiveness and performance. The study involved ten 4‐person teams who undertook 12 sessions of an air traffic control simulation. Performance and cohesiveness data were collected at each 1‐hr session. Using hierarchical linear modeling, group performance was found to predict group cohesiveness and not vice‐versa. These findings are discussed with respect to previous research and popular theories of group development.