Placental corticotrophin-releasing hormone, local effects and fetomaternal endocrinology

The human placenta produces corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) in exponentially increasing amounts during pregnancy with peak levels during labour. CRH in human pregnancy appears to be involved in many aspects of pregnancy including placental bloodflow, placental prostaglandin production, myornetrial function, fetal pituitary and adrenal function and the maternal stress axis. Since fetal cortisol levels are associated with pulmonary development and maturity, placental CRH may have an indirect role in fetal development.Although the precise role of placental CRH in the regulation of gestational length and timing of parturition is unclear it appears to be involved in a placental clock. While glucocorticoids inhibit hypothalamic CRH production they stimulate CRH gene expression in the placenta.This difference may allow the fetal and maternal stress axes to influence this placental clock.Maternal CRH levels are elevated in many pathological conditions of pregnancy where fetal well-being is compromised, and in these situations it may act to maintain a stable intrauterine environment. Therefore, CRH appears to link placental function, maternal well-being, fetal well-being and fetal development to the duration of gestation and the timing of parturition.     

Subjective well-being is heritable and genetically correlated with dominance in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

The hypothesis that subjective well-being (SWB) is heritable and genetically correlated with Dominance was tested using 128 zoo chimpanzees. Dominance was a chimpanzee-specific personality factor including items reflecting Extraversion and low Neuroticism. SWB was measured with a 4-item scale. The best behavior genetic model included additive genetic and nonshared environmental effects for SWB and Dominance, marginal matemal effects for SWB, a high genetic correlation, and a low nonshared environmental correlation. Results indicated that the shared variance between SWB and Dominance was a consequence of common genes and that the unique variance between SWB and Dominance was a consequence of the nonshared environment. These findings indicate that common genes may underlie the correlation between human personality factors and SWB.     

Temporal integration between visual images and visual percepts

Using a temporal integration task, subjects in 5 experiments were expected to combine information from temporally separated visual presentations. Evidence from these experiments indicated that perceptual information can be integrated with previously generated and currently maintained visual images to form a representation that contains information from each source. Properties and limitations of this integration process were also explored, including the time required to generated the image, the speed at which percepts were integrated with images, and the capacity of the representation. Implications for theories of visual processing and memory are discussed.     

The presumption of sociality: social learning in diverse contexts in brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater)

Data are presented on social and vocal learning in cowbirds (Molothrus ater) housed in large aviaries and given more degrees of freedom than in conventional experimental studies. The studies show that social and vocal outcomes are facultative responses to social contexts. Several findings are reviewed: First, cowbirds quickly self-organize into groups by age and sex; second, opportunities to interact across age and sex do exist and affect courtship competence; third, female cowbirds organize themselves differently in the presence and absence of male competition; and fourth, young, naive cowbirds show rapid and differential sensitivity to group dynamics. Taken as a whole, the data show that social Umwelten are dynamic, developmental ecologies.     

Baby you can Drive my Bed: Technology and Old Age in Japanese Animated Film

Narratives of Japan's maturation as a postindustrial society raise critical interest in narratives of personal and collective maturation within the most rapidly aging population in the world. Japanese popular culture is a rich source of representations of tensions between institutional projects of modernization and significant cultural and social changes that these projects have unintentionally engendered. The animated movie Rjin-Z represents the tensions between the experience of old age and high technology and draws attention to how technologies of care are not always socially and culturally attuned to personal biographies. This article proposes linkages between representations of old age, postmodernization of the life course, and structural changes shaped by information technologies in contemporary Japan.     

Fear of the beast: a prospective study on the effects of negative information on childhood fear

The current study examined the effects of negative information on the enhancement of childhood fear. A large group of normal primary school children aged between 4 and 12 years (N=285) received either negative or positive information about an unknown, doglike animal, called 'the beast'. Children's fears were assessed at three points in time: before, directly after, and one week after the information about the beast was provided (i.e., pre-, post- and follow-up assessment). Results showed that type of information changed children's fear of the beast in the predicted direction with negative information increasing fear levels and positive information decreasing fear levels. This was not only the case directly after the experimental manipulation but also at one week follow-up. Furthermore, fear of the beast appeared to generalize, that is, children who became more fearful of the beast after receiving negative information, also became more apprehensive of other dogs and predators.     

Telephone counselling for adolescent suicide prevention: changes in suicidality and mental state from beginning to end of a counselling session

Telephone counselling is an accessible and confidential means by which distressed young people can seek help. Telephone counselling services were funded under Australia's National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy between 1997 and 2000. In this study, the effectiveness of telephone counselling for young people seeking help in the context of suicidal ideation or intent was evaluated in an investigation of calls made by suicidal young people to a telephone counselling service. Independent raters measured callers' suicidality and mental state at the beginning and end of 100 taped counselling sessions. Changes in suicidality and mental state were measured using a reliable rating scale developed for the study. Significant decreases in suicidality and significant improvement in mental state were found to occur during the course of counselling sessions, suggesting positive immediate impact. Limitations of the study with respect to longer-term outcomes and the relevance of the results for suicide prevention are discussed. Notwithstanding the study limitations, the results lend support for continuing development of hotline services.     

Simultaneous spatial updating in nested environments

When one moves, the spatial relationship between oneself and the entire world changes. Spatial updating refers to the cognitive process that computes these relationships as one moves. In two experiments, we tested whether spatial updating occurs automatically for multiple environments simultaneously. Participants turned relative to either a room or the surrounding campus buildings and then pointed to targets in both the environment in which they turned (updated environment) and the other environment (nonupdated environment). The participants automatically updated the room targets when they moved relative to the campus, but they did not update the campus targets when they moved relative to the room. Thus, automatic spatial updating depends on the nature of the environment. Implications for theories of spatial learning and the structure of human spatial representations are discussed.     

Sexually abused children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder: assessment and treatment strategies

Child sexual abuse is a highly prevalent problem that frequently occasions the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder in the victimized youngster. This selective review addresses recent advances in the assessment and treatment of sexually abused children with post-traumatic stress disorder. Firstly, we outline the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder and significant moderating variables in the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Secondly, we address the clinical assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder in sexually abused children, recommending a developmentally sensitive, multi-informant approach. Thirdly, we consider a family-wide cognitive-behavioural treatment framework for sexually abused children with post-traumatic stress disorder that involves both child and non-offending caregivers. Fourthly, we examine the results of recent evaluation studies supportive of cognitive-behavioural therapy in the treatment of sexually abused children. Lastly, we consider conclusions for clinical practice and directions for future research.