Sex reversal in female Betta splendens as a function of testosterone manipulation and social influence

In Experiment 1, female Betta given daily injections of testosterone (T) for 9 weeks acquired anatomical features characteristic of males as indicated by changes in fin length, body coloration, and gonadal morphology. These findings suggested that a potential for sex reversal exists in females of this species. In Experiment 2 we measured changes in aggressive behavior during testosterone-induced anatomical changes. Aggression decreased toward females and increased toward males as treatment with T progressed. The final displays of aggressive behavior and anatomical characteristics of fish injected with T resembled those of typical males. In Experiment 3, female Betta primed with T injections for 3 or 6 weeks and permitted to interact socially with females continued to display characteristics of sex reversal after T supplementation ceased. Sex reversal in isolated fish injected with T for 3 or 6 weeks was not sustained, and fish receiving only the control vehicle showed negligible change in both the isolated and community conditions. We discuss the results in terms of similarities with the sex change process found in isolated communities of coral reef fish.     

Hartmann's "Ego Psychology and the Problem of Adaptation"

Hartmann's monograph is an argument for the problem-solving value of all aspects of the mind and for the subordination of intelligence to the organism's larger, primarily social purposes. Hartmann proposed that, in psychoanalytic treatment, intelligent reflection serves one's largest purposes by taking respectful account of non-rational but adaptive ways of appraising reality, with a view toward making the best use of non-rational as well as rational propensities. He regarded it as the kind of thinking that the sociologist, Karl Mannheim, had recommended to government planners faced with immensely complicated, incompletely masterable forces. Hartmann's view of the role of the intellect in analytic treatment suggests that therapists should maintain both their demand for intelligent reflection and their hopefulness about other kinds of work that may be going on sub rosa.     

Experimentally induced taste aversions in humans: effects of overshadowing on acquisition.

This study used vection-induced symptoms of motion sickness as an unconditioned stimulus to condition food aversions in humans and to evaluate the efficacy of an overshadowing agent (novel flavored candy: CS2) to attenuate acquisition of the aversion. Subjects unfamiliar with a target food (CS1) were assigned to one of the following three groups which were identical except for order of exposure to stimuli: Taste Aversion Group (CS1-US-CS2-Test), Control Group (US-CS1-CS2-Test), and Overshadowing Group (CS1-CS2-US-Test). Subjects were tested on aversion ratings and consumption of the target flavor and ratings of the overshadowing agent. Subjects in the Taste Aversion group rated the target flavor as significantly more aversive and consumed less of it, although not significantly so, that did those in the Control group. The Overshadowing group consumed significantly more of the target food than did the Taste Aversion Group. Considering only subjects unfamiliar with the overshadowing agent, those in the Overshadowing group rated the agent (CS2) as significantly more aversive than the Taste Aversion and Control groups. Implications of these findings to taste aversions in humans are discussed.     

Family functioning and psychopathology among adolescents with severe emotional disturbances

Family psychosocial functioning and its relation to psychopathology among adolescents with severe emotional disturbances (SED) was assessed. Subjects were 353 adolescents with SED, ages 12–18, and their parents. During a semistructured interview, adolescents were administered Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES-III), Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Child Version (DISC-C), and the Self-Derogation Scale. Parents were administered FACES-IIII and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in a phone interview. Results indicated that on the FACES-IIII cohesion dimension, both parents and adolescents perceived their family relations as more disengaged and less connected than did normative families (p < .001). In contrast, only parent FACES-IIII adaptability scores were significantly more extreme than a normative sample (p < .01). Additionally, both parent and adolescent cohesion scores were significantly correlated with adolescent psyehopathology measures: DISC-C conduct disorder (p < .01), depression (p < .05), alcohol/marijuana (p < .01), and CBCL externalizing symptoms (p < .01). These relationships did not deviate from linearity. We gratefully acknowledge Eric C. Brown, Sue Greer, and Sharon P. Lardieri for assistance in data management of this project. Preparation of this article was supported by grant H133B90004-01 from the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation Research and the National Institute of Mental Health.     

Lesion localization of phonological agraphia.

Phonological agraphia is a neurolinguistically specific profile of spelling impairment. It is characterized by an impairment in spelling pronounceable pseudowords ('sild') and by an impairment in spelling real words related to their familiarity, length, and often, part of speech (Shallice, 1981; Roeltgen, 1985; Bub & Chertkow, 1988). We report two cases of phonological agraphia, each with a different lesion profile. Analysis of the small number of published cases that include lesion data, plus our own cases, suggests that phonological agraphia can be produced by lesions in a wide range of perisylvian cortical regions that have in common some role in central phonological processes.     

Speech production, syntax comprehension, and cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease.

Speech samples were obtained that were analyzed for voice onset time (VOT) for 40 nondemented English speaking subjects, 20 with mild and 20 with moderate Parkinson's disease. Syntax comprehension and cognitive tests were administered to these subjects in the same test sessions. VOT disruptions for stop consonants in syllable initial position, similar to those noted for Broca's aphasia, occurred for nine subjects. Longer response times and errors in the comprehension of syntax as measured by the Rhode Island Test of Sentence Comprehension (RITLS) also occurred for these subjects. Anovas indicate that the VOT overlap subjects had significantly higher syntax error rates and longer response times on the RITLS than the VOT nonoverlap subjects--F(1, 70) = 12.38, p less than 0.0008; F(1, 70) = 7.70, p less than 0.007, respectively. The correlation between the number of VOT timing errors and the number of syntax errors was significant. (r = 0.6473, p less than 0.01). VOT overlap subjects also had significantly higher error rates in cognitive tasks involving abstraction and the ability to maintain a mental set. Prefrontal cortex, acting through subcortical basal ganglia pathways, is a component of the neural substrate that regulates human speech production, syntactic ability, and certain aspects of cognition. The deterioration of these subcortical pathways may explain similar phenomena in Broca's aphasia. Results are discussed in relation to "modular" theories.     

Increase in arab women's perceived power in the second half of life

An increase in perceived power in midlife was demonstrated among 60 middle-class Arab women in Israel. 20 of the women were young (age 20–40) 20 were middle aged (45–55) and 20 were older (60–80). Perceived power was studied using card 4 of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). The TAT stories were rated on three dimensions of perceived power: security, inner strength, and interpersonal influence. Results indicate that the young Arab women ranked lowest in security and inner strength. There was a bigger difference between the young women and the two other groups than between the middle-aged and older women. In addition, all three groups, while describing men as having more interpersonal power and security, still described women as having more inner strength.The authors wish to thank Latifa Manzur and Anat Zohar-Aizen, students at Tel-Aviv University, for their help in the data collection.     

Catostrophizing and Untimely Death

Participants in the Terman Life-Cycle Study completed open-ended questionnaires in 1936 and 1940, and these responses were blindly scored for explanatory style by content analysis. Catastrophizing (attributing bad events to global causes) predicted mortality as of 1991, especially among males, and predicted accidental or violent deaths especially well. These results are the first to show that a dimension of explanatory style is a risk factor for mortality in a large sample of initially healthy individuals, and they imply that one of the mechanisms linking explanatory style and death involves lifestyle.     

Poststroke depression: Prevalence,course, and associated factors

Despite the considerable amount of research that has been undertaken on poststroke depression, a review of the literature demonstrates that there are many inconclusive findings in the area. In particular, the causes and course of the disorder remain to be firmly established. While studies of prevalence differ with respect to the nature and timing of their assessment procedures, most conclude that poststroke depression has a negative impact on the rehabilitation of the stroke patient. Very little research is available on the relationship between poststroke depression and care-giver burden. However, recent studies have adopted more rigorous methodological procedures, allowing some insights into the complex mixture of factors which determine the occurrence of poststroke depression.     

Psychological differentiation as a factor in conflict resolution.

Previous studies have shown that persons matched in level of differentiation are likely to develop greater interpersonal attraction in the course of an interaction than are mismatched persons. These studies were all conducted in situations where the interacting persons were working toward a common goal. To test the hypothesis that situational variables may moderate match-mismatch effects, the present study investigated these affects when the interacting persons were in conflict. Based on their performance in tests of field dependence-independence, subjects were selected as relatively high or relatively low in level of differentiation. Three kinds of dyads were composed-high-differentiation/high-differentiation, low-differentiation/low-differentiation, and high-differentiation/low-differentiation--and their task was to reconcile conflict on an issue about which they were known to disagree. It was predicted that because of the more accommodating quality of low-differentiation persons, dyads including one or two such subjects would more often reconcile their disagreements and show greater interpersonal attraction than would dyads consisting of two high-differentiation subjects. Both predictions were confirmed, supporting the hypothesis that the outcome of match or mismatch is mediated by situational variables.