Effects of stress on nonassociative learning processes in male and female rats

In this study we assessed habituation and sensitization of the acoustic startle response (ASR) to discern whether intense, inescapable stress affects nonassociative learning differently in male and female rats. Rats were inescapably stressed 2 hours per day over 3 consecutive days. ASR magnitudes were measured at several times post-stress (1, 4, 8, and 15 days after cessation). Females generally showed greater ASR magnitudes (compared to males), but both sexes exhibited short and long-term habituation across the testing days. ASR magnitudes were only affected by stress in male subjects. The effect in males was an increase in short-term sensitization of the ASR on post-stress day-4. The results suggest that stressed males and females react differently to ASR testing, in that stress males appear to develop an exaggerated ASR response over repeated test sessions due to short-term sensitization. The source of the short-term sensitization is discussed with regards to possible stress-induced enhanced contextual learning during ASR testing on post-stress day-1.     

Adapting the cognitive interview to enhance long-term (35 years) recall of physical activities

The cognitive interview (CI) was modified for use in an epidemiological study in which respondents were asked to recall their daily physical activities from the distant past (35 years ago). In comparison to a traditional epidemiological interview, the CI elicited many more responses and also more precise responses. Several practical costs, however, were incurred by the CI: additional time to train interviewers and to conduct interviews and difficulties in coding the responses. The costs and benefits of conducting the CI are addressed, along with conceptual and methodological challenges. The article ends with an existential question: Is the CI a singular technique if it can be modified so radically for different settings?     

Volume Contents

Volume Contents

Volume Contents     

Vagus nerve stimulation: a new form of therapeutic brain stimulation

Although the vagus nerve has traditionally been considered to perform efferent functions, in reality it performs significant afferent functions as well, carrying information from the body, head, and neck to the brain. Preliminary studies examining this afferent activity led to the theory that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) could successfully control seizure activity in persons who are refractory to antiepileptic medications. Unlike other forms of brain stimulation, VNS is unable to directly stimulate multiple discrete areas of the brain; however, through several pathways, it is able to relay sensory information to higher brain regions. An implantable VNS device known as the VNSTM NeuroCybernetic Prosthesis (NCP) System has been used in approximately 9,000 epilepsy patients in Europe and the United States since 1994. The implant has reduced seizure frequency by an average of 25% to 30%, with minimal side effects. Studies underway are also showing some degree of success in the management of treatment-refractory depression. The future efficacy of the implantable system in other disorders may depend on whether the implant can be more precisely focused to affect different brain regions. Research in this area is underway.     

Global Progress I: Empirical Evidence for ongoing Increase in Quality-of-life

This paper argues that both the relativist and the pessimist critiques of the idea of progress are inadequate. Progress is defined as increase in global quality of life (QOL). Such QOL is intrinsically subjective, but not relative. It can be reliably measured through life satisfaction-type questions. The World Database of Happiness provides extensive data on social, economic and psychological factors that correlate with overall QOL. They include wealth, health, security, knowledge, freedom and equality. Various statistical data suggest that all these QOL indicators have undergone significant improvements during the last half century, in most of the world. This gives strong support to the thesis that progress objectively occurs.     

Resolving disease management problems in European-American and Latino couples with type 2 diabetes: the effects of ethnicity and patient gender

The management of type 2 diabetes requires major life style changes. How patients and family members resolve disagreements about disease management affects how well the disease is managed over time. Our goal was to identify differences in how couples resolved disagreements about diabetes management based on ethnicity and patient gender. We recruited 65 Latino and 110 European-American (EA) couples in which one spouse had type 2 diabetes. Couples participated in a 10-minute videotaped, revealed differences interaction task that was evaluated with 7 reliable observer ratings: warm-engagement, hostility, avoidance, amount of conflict resolution, off-task behavior, patient dominance, and dialogue. A series of 2 x 2, Ethnicity x Sex ANOVAs indicated significant effects for Ethnicity and for the Ethnicity x Sex interaction, but not for Sex. Latino couples were rated as significantly more emotionally close, less avoidant, less hostile toward each other, and had less dominant patients than EA couples; however, Latino couples achieved significantly less problem resolution and were more frequently off-task than EA couples. These findings were qualified by patient gender. The findings highlight important differences     

Reviews of current books

Conclusion Wise counseling can relieve the anxiety and inner conflict of parents torn between the dread of their retarded offspring becoming a parent and the fear of an operation they believe to be illegal, immoral, and castrating.By knowing where to refer patients, clergymen can make it possible for some of these deprived members of society to find support and love within marriage without being overburdened by children they are not capable of rearing properly.