Long-term aversive taste memory requires insular and amygdala protein degradation

Some reports have shown that the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is necessary to degrade repressor factors to produce new proteins essential to memory consolidation. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that memory updating also relies on protein degradation through the UPS. To evaluate whether degradation of proteins is part of the cellular events needed for long-term storage of taste aversion, we injected lactacystin--an UPS inhibitor--into the amygdala and/or insular cortex 30 min before the first or second training trials. The results revealed that degradation of proteins in either the amygdala or insular cortex suffices for long-term stabilization of first-time encounter taste aversion. On the other hand, lactacystin applied in the insula, but not in the amygdala, before the second training prevented long-term storage of updated information. Our results support that degradation of proteins by means of the UPS is required every time taste aversion is to be stored in long-term memory.     

Accuracy of diagnosis of depression in patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus

This study assesses the clinical accuracy of physicians (Specialists in Endocrinology and Nutrition: SEN) to make the diagnosis of depression in patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1). This study involved 11 SEN physicians, and 153 patients with DM1. The diagnosis of depression was performed using the SCID-1 structured interview and clinical assessment. From the initial sample, 50 patients were randomly selected (imposing the condition that it was included 25 patients with depression and 25 without depression). The results show that clinicians performed a higher percentage of negative diagnoses (patients without depression) than positive ones (patients with depression). A significant percentage of patients with depression were not diagnosed (25%). It therefore seems necessary to provide adequate clinical protocols to evaluate the presence of this disorder in DM1, as well as continuing research into the diagnostic process for clinical decision making.     

Behavioral training for myopia: long term maintenance of improved acuity

Two female myopic students participated in a behavioral training program designed to improve uncorrected visual acuity. Following a 3-day baseline, each subject underwent 12 days of training involving stimulus fading and feedback. Acuity measures were taken daily during baseline and training phases and weekly for more than 2 months following the termination of training. Both subjects showed improved acuity as a function of the training program and this improvement was maintained throughout the follow-up period. The results are discussed with respect to the growing body of research evaluating behavioral training for myopia.     

Effect of Questioning Techniques and Interview Setting on Young Children's Eyewitness Memory

The goal of this research was to learn if supposed ineffective questioning techniques (e.g., question repetition within the interview) would reduce the accuracy of five-year-olds' eyewitness memory. In the first study, children viewed a slide show depicting a minor crime and were then interviewed either with a standard interview or one which incorporated ineffective questioning techniques. The results indicated that the type of interview did not affect children's eyewitness memory. In a second study, children were presented with the ineffective interview by an authoritative interviewer in a formal office setting. The results again indicated little influence of interview setting or question technique on children's eyewitness memory, identification accuracy, and suggestibility.     

Ethnic Identity, Legitimizing Ideologies, and Social Status: A Matter of Ideological Asymmetry

This paper examines the ideological asymmetry hypothesis with respect tothe interface between legitimizing ideologies and psychological attachment to one's ethnic group. The ideological asymmetry hypothesis suggests that hierarchy-enhancing legitimizing ideologies should be positively associated with ingroup attachment among high-status groups, but that among low-status groups these associations should be either less positive in magnitude (isotropic asymmetry) relative to high-status groups or negative in direction (anisotropic asymmetry). The opposite pattern should be found with respect to the interface between hierarchy-attenuating legitimizing ideologies and ingroup attachment: Among high-status groups these associations should be negative, but among low-status groups these associations should be either less negative in magnitude (isotropic asymmetry) relative to high-status groups or positive in direction (anisotropic asymmetry). The presence of isotropic versus anisotropic asymmetry is hypothesized to depend on the degree of disparity in status between the groups being compared: Wider status gaps should tend toward anisotropic asymmetries. The relationships between legitimizing ideologies and ingroup attachment were compared for (1) relatively high-status ethnic groups (European and Asian Americans) versus relatively low-status ethnic groups (Latinos and African Americans) in the United States, (2) the higher-status Jewish ethnic group (Ashkenazim) versus the lower-status Jewish ethnic group (Mizrachim) in Israel, and (3) the high-status Israeli Jews versus the low-status Israeli Arabs. The data were largely consistent with the ideological asymmetry hypothesis. The implications of these findings are discussed within the theoretical frameworks of social dominance theory and other approaches to intergroup relations.     

The intercultural recognition of emotional expressions by three national racial groups: English,Italian and Japanese

Similar samples of English, Italian and Japanese subjects were asked to identify 8 emotional states and 4 interpersonal attitudes from video-taped expressions of 2 performers from each of these cultures. AN sets of judgements were above chance, except Italians judging Japanese. The Japanese subjects were no different from English and Italian subjects in recognition ability but the Japanese performances were harder to recognize supporting Ekman's theory of display rules; in fact all Japanese expressions were difficult to recognize, with the exception of happy-friendly. The Japanese (performers) make a clearer distinction between sad and depressed than other cultural groups, but did not distinguish between happy and friendly, or between angry and hostile.     

Education and the Interface between Racial Perceptions and Criminal Justice Attitudes

Recent work has implicated negative attitudes toward blacks in support for toughened criminal-justice measures. This suggests that the issue of crime may be implicitly "racialized," despite a lack of overt racial content. The present study examines the hypothesis that education may weaken the relationship between negative racial perceptions and crime-related policy attitudes. In contrast to traditional views about the role of education in the domain of race-related attitudes, the results of analyses using several different general-population samples suggest that the effects of education are somewhat paradoxical: they reduce the intensity of negative racial perceptions, while bolstering the relationship between these perceptions and criminal justice attitudes.     

Racial Perceptions and Evaluative Responses to Welfare: Does Education Attenuate Race‐of‐Target Effects?

A growing body of research indicates that welfare attitudes may be strongly shaped by negative perceptions of Blacks. This raises questions about what might inhibit the racialization of welfare attitudes. In this vein, a long line of work indicating that education leads to increased tolerance suggests that the relationship between negative racial perceptions and welfare attitudes may be weaker among the highly educated. However, recent studies suggest that the role of education may be more complex: While negative racial perceptions may be less prevalent among the highly educated, the relationship between these perceptions and policy attitudes appears to be stronger among highly educated individuals. The present study attempts to extend this finding by examining the hypothesis that the presence of a racial cue would be more (rather than less) likely to strengthen the relationship between negative racial perceptions and evaluative responses to welfare among college-educated Whites. Data from a survey-based experiment included in the 1991 National Race and Politics Study provided a clear pattern of support for this hypothesis.     

The consolidation of object and context recognition memory involve different regions of the temporal lobe

These experiments investigated the involvement of several temporal lobe regions in consolidation of recognition memory. Anisomycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor, was infused into the hippocampus, perirhinal cortex, insular cortex, or basolateral amygdala of rats immediately after the sample phase of object or object-in-context recognition memory training. Anisomycin infused into perirhinal or insular cortices blocked long-term (24 h), but not short-term (90 min) object recognition memory. Infusions into the hippocampus or amygdala did not impair object recognition memory. Anisomycin infused into the hippocampus blocked long-term, but not short-term object-in-context recognition memory, whereas infusions administered into the perirhinal cortex, insular cortex, or amygdala did not affect object-in-context recognition memory. These results clearly indicate that distinct regions of the temporal lobe are differentially involved in long-term object and object-in-context recognition memory. Whereas perirhinal and insular cortices are required for consolidation of familiar objects, the hippocampus is necessary for consolidation of contextual information of recognition memory. Altogether, these results suggest that temporal lobe structures are differentially involved in recognition memory consolidation.