The Use of Humor When Counseling African American College Students

According to the literature, humor is a critical tool to enhance the counseling process because it can reduce stress, build rapport, and aid in the increase of the client's self‐efficacy. In recent years, the critical nature of using humor appropriately from a cultural perspective has been explored. In this article, the authors further explore the cultural foundations, purpose, effectiveness, and implications of using humor when counseling African American college students.     

Medial auditory thalamic stimulation as a conditioned stimulus for eyeblink conditioning in rats

The neural pathways that convey conditioned stimulus (CS) information to the cerebellum during eyeblink conditioning have not been fully delineated. It is well established that pontine mossy fiber inputs to the cerebellum convey CS-related stimulation for different sensory modalities (e.g., auditory, visual, tactile). Less is known about the sources of sensory input to the pons that are important for eyeblink conditioning. The first experiment of the current study was designed to determine whether electrical stimulation of the medial auditory thalamic nuclei is a sufficient CS for establishing eyeblink conditioning in rats. The second experiment used anterograde and retrograde tract tracing techniques to assess neuroanatomical connections between the medial auditory thalamus and pontine nuclei. Stimulation of the medial auditory thalamus was a very effective CS for eyeblink conditioning in rats, and the medial auditory thalamus has direct ipsilateral projections to the pontine nuclei. The results suggest that the medial auditory thalamic nuclei and their projections to the pontine nuclei are components of the auditory CS pathway in eyeblink conditioning.     

Early identification of mental health problems in schools: The status of instrumentation

When embedded within a continuum of mental health services including both prevention and treatment, school-based mental health identification programs can promote improved academic and mental health functioning among students. This article describes the scientific status of assessment instrumentation that may be used for early mental health identification in schools. Currently available instruments are described in terms of their ability to accurately detect youth with mental health problems. Implications for selecting mental health screening and assessment instruments and integrating them into schools are discussed. Finally, a range of approaches to early identification in schools as well as some of the broader ethical and practical issues related to the integration of these strategies into a school-wide continuum of services are presented.     

Stimulation of the lateral geniculate,superior colliculus,or visual cortex is sufficient for eyeblink conditioning in rats

The role of the cerebellum in eyeblink conditioning is well established. Less work has been done to identify the necessary conditioned stimulus (CS) pathways that project sensory information to the cerebellum. A possible visual CS pathway has been hypothesized that consists of parallel inputs to the pontine nuclei from the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), superior colliculus (SC), pretectal nuclei, and visual cortex (VCTX) as reported by Koutalidis and colleagues in an earlier paper. The following experiments examined whether electrical stimulation of neural structures in the putative visual CS pathway can serve as a sufficient CS for eyeblink conditioning in rats. Unilateral stimulation of the ventral LGN (Experiment 1), SC (Experiment 2), or VCTX (Experiment 3) was used as a CS paired with a periorbital shock unconditioned stimulus. Stimulation was delivered to the hemisphere contralateral to the conditioned eye. Rats in all experiments were given five 100-trial sessions of paired or unpaired eyeblink conditioning with the stimulation CS followed by three paired sessions with a light CS. Stimulation of each visual area when paired with the unconditioned stimulus supported acquisition of eyeblink conditioned responses (CRs) and substantial savings when switched to a light CS. The results provide evidence for a unilateral parallel visual CS pathway for eyeblink conditioning that includes the LGN, SC, and VCTX inputs to the pontine nuclei.Pavlovian eyeblink (eyelid closure and nictitating membrane movement) conditioning is established by pairing a conditioned stimulus (CS), usually a tone or light, with an unconditioned stimulus (US) that elicits the eyeblink reflex. The eyeblink conditioned response (CR) emerges over the course of paired training, occurs during the CS, and precedes the US (Gormezano et al. 1962; Schneiderman et al. 1962). Neurobiological investigations of Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning have primarily focused on the cerebellum, which is the site of memory formation and storage (Thompson 2005). The anterior interpositus nucleus is necessary for acquisition and retention of the eyeblink CR (Lavond et al. 1985; Krupa and Thompson 1997; Freeman Jr. et al. 2005; Thompson 2005; Ohyama et al. 2006). Lobule HVI and the anterior lobe of the cerebellar cortex (lobules I–V) contribute to acquisition, retention, and timing of the CR (McCormick and Thompson 1984; Perrett et al. 1993; Perrett and Mauk 1995; Attwell et al. 1999, 2001; Medina et al. 2000; Nolan and Freeman Jr. 2005; Nolan and Freeman 2006). The brainstem nuclei that comprise the proximal ends of the CS and US input pathways to the cerebellum have also been identified.The pontine nuclei (PN) and inferior olive (IO) receive CS and US information, respectively, and are the primary sensory relays into the interpositus nucleus and cerebellar cortex (Thompson 2005). Conditioned stimulus information converges in the PN, which receives projections from lower brainstem, thalamus, and cerebral cortex (Glickstein et al. 1980; Brodal 1981; Schmahmann and Pandya 1989; Knowlton et al. 1993; Campolattaro et al. 2007). The lateral pontine nuclei (LPN) are the sources of auditory CS information projected into the cerebellum. Lesions of the LPN block CR retention to a tone CS, but have no effect on CRs to a light CS (Steinmetz et al. 1987). Thus, CS inputs from different sensory modalities may be segregated at the level of the PN. Neurons in the PN project CS information into the contralateral cerebellum via mossy fibers in the middle cerebellar peduncle that synapse primarily on granule cells in the cerebellar cortex and on neurons in the deep nuclei (Bloedel and Courville 1981; Brodal 1981; Steinmetz and Sengelaub 1992). Stimulation of the PN acts as a supernormal CS supporting faster CR acquisition than conditioning with peripheral stimuli (Steinmetz et al. 1986, 1989; Rosen et al. 1989; Steinmetz 1990; Tracy et al. 1998; Freeman Jr. and Rabinak 2004). The primary focus of these experiments was to investigate the most proximal components of the CS pathway in eyeblink conditioning. There has been less emphasis on identifying the critical CS pathways that project information to the PN.Recent studies using lesions, inactivation, stimulation, and neural tract tracing have provided evidence that the auditory CS pathway that is necessary for acquisition and retention of eyeblink conditioning is comprised of converging inputs to the medial auditory thalamic nuclei (MATN), and a direct ipsilateral projection from the MATN to the PN (Halverson and Freeman 2006; Campolattaro et al. 2007; Freeman et al. 2007; Halverson et al. 2008). Unilateral lesions of the MATN, contralateral to the conditioned eye, block acquisition of eyeblink CRs to a tone CS but have no effect on conditioning with a light CS (Halverson and Freeman 2006). Inactivation of the MATN with muscimol blocks acquisition and retention of CRs to an auditory CS, and decreases metabolic activity in the PN (Halverson et al. 2008). The MATN has a direct projection to the PN and stimulation of the MATN supports rapid CR acquisition (Campolattaro et al. 2007). Our current model of the auditory CS pathway consists of converging inputs to the MATN, and direct unilateral thalamic input to the PN (Halverson et al. 2008).Less work has been done to identify the visual CS pathway necessary for eyeblink conditioning. A possible parallel visual CS pathway has been hypothesized, which includes parallel inputs to different areas of the PN from the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), superior colliculus (SC), visual cortex (VCTX), and pretectal nuclei (Koutalidis et al. 1988). In the Koutalidis et al. study, lesions of the LGN, SC, VCTX, or pretectal nuclei alone had only a partial effect on CR acquisition with a light CS. Lesions of any two of these structures together produced a more severe impairment on acquisition and combined lesions of all of these areas completely blocked CR acquisition to a light CS (Koutalidis et al. 1988). Each visual area investigated in the Koutalidis et al. study has a direct projection to the PN that could be important for eyeblink conditioning. The ventral LGN projects to the medial, and to a lesser extent, the lateral PN (Graybiel 1974; Wells et al. 1989). The superficial, intermediate, and deep layers of SC send projections to both the dorsomedial and dorsolateral PN (Redgrave et al. 1987; Wells et al. 1989). The VCTX has a direct projection to the rostral and lateral portions of the PN (Glickstein et al. 1972; Baker et al. 1976; Mower et al. 1980; Wells et al. 1989). The pretectal nuclei also have a direct projection to both the medial and lateral PN (Weber and Harting 1980; Wells et al. 1989). However, stimulation of the anterior pretectal nucleus is not an effective CS for eyeblink conditioning (Campolattaro et al. 2007). The failure to establish conditioning with stimulation of the anterior pretectal nucleus as a CS suggests that there may be differences in the efficacy of the various visual inputs to the PN for cerebellar learning. The following experiments investigated the sufficiency of stimulation of the LGN, SC, or primary VCTX as a CS for eyeblink conditioning in rats.     

Body image and explicit and implicit anti-fat attitudes: the mediating role of physical appearance comparisons

Prejudice against overweight people is rife. However, there is a paucity of research on the underlying reasons for it. In two studies the relationship between body image, the tendency to make physical appearance-related comparisons (PACS), and both explicit and implicit anti-fat attitudes was examined. In Study 1 (n = 227) people with a high tendency to make physical appearance-related comparisons (high PACS scorers) reported lower self-appearance evaluation, but higher appearance orientation and explicit anti-fat attitudes. The PACS fully mediated the relationship between appearance orientation and explicit anti-fat attitudes. Study 2 (n = 134) found that the PACS also mediated the relationship between appearance orientation and implicit anti-fat attitudes. Thus, individual differences in factors such as body image and the tendency to make appearance-related comparisons, appear to play a central role in both explicit and implicit anti-fat attitudes.     

The Coming-Out Process and Its Adaptational and Health-Related Associations Among Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youths: Stipulation and Exploration of a Model

A model is proposed and explored that links the coming-out process to the psychological functioning (i.e., self-esteem and distress) and sexual behaviors of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths recruited from gay-focused community-based and college organizations in New York City. The coming-out process is multidimensional, consisting, as defined here, of involvement in gay/lesbian activities, attitudes toward homosexuality, comfort with homosexuality, self-disclosure of sexual identity to others, and sexual identity. The coming-out dimensions were related to self-esteem, distress, and unprotected sexual behaviors. In addition, the relations between the coming-out dimensions and unprotected sexual behaviors were explained by psychological functioning. In particular, limited involvement in gay/lesbian activities was associated with more unprotected sex. Negative attitudes toward homosexuality were related directly to more unprotected sex, and they were related indirectly to more unprotected sex by means of increasing emotional distress. These and other findings have implications for designing preventive interventions to increase the youths' psychological functioning and reduce their unprotected sexual behaviors.     

Long-term memory in adulthood: An examination of the development of storage and retrieval processes at acquisition and retention

Although it is generally acknowledged that decrements in long-term memory play an important role in the decline of everyday cognitive functioning in adulthood, problems have arisen in localizing the source of these memory deficits. In this article we address three of the methodological and measurement issues that have led to difficulties in interpreting research on adulthood developmental differences in acquisition and long-term retention. Specifically, these issues are stages-of-learning confounds, failures to separate storage and retrieval processes, and failures to separate forgetting from other factors that influence long-term retention tests. A general framework is presented in which each of these problems is dealt with. This model is subsequently applied to an experiment that examined the acquisition and long-term retention of pictures and words in associative memory in both young and old adults. The major findings were that (a) the picture-word manipulation had asymmetrical effects on acquisition and retention, (b) these asymmetries were different for the young and old adults, and (c) the locus (storage/retrieval) of age differences was different at acquisition than at retention. These results strongly suggest that the rules governing acquisition and forgetting are different, not only within age groups, but also across developmental levels in adulthood. More importantly, because the locus of developmental differences was different for acquisition and forgetting, it may be that different mechanisms underly the processing deficits experienced by the elderly when acquiring information than when trying to retain that information over extended periods of time.     

Life cycle and loss--the spiritual vacuum of heroin addiction

This research studied the function of heroin addiction as a family-learned method of coping with death, separation, and loss across the life cycle. Heroin addicts, psychiatric outpatients, and normal students were given an extensive interview and test battery to determine the incidence of loss of family members and significant others. Because the impact of death is often overcome through religious rituals, this study also investigated the subjects' perception of their families' religious values and orientation to life's meaning and purpose. Results indicate that the incidence of death differs significantly across groups and that addicts have a distinct orientation to death, are more suicidal, and have more premature and bizarre death experiences. During childhood they have more family separations, and they tend to develop a distinct pattern of continuously separating from and returning to their families. They are also less likely to have a clearly defined purpose in life. A subset of parents from each group were also interviewed and tested, and these results support the theory of the intergenerational transmission of behavior.     

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF AN INFANT-CARE TRAINING PROGRAM WITH FIRST-TIME FATHERS

We evaluated the effectiveness of a multicomponent package in training infant-care skills to first-time fathers. After developing and socially validating a set of infant-care skills, we assessed the effects of training in a hospital-based program with expectant fathers (Experiment 1) and in a home-based program with fathers having varied degrees of experience with their infants (Experiment 2). In both experiments, a multiple probe design demonstrated that the training package was responsible for producing criterion performance by the expectant and first-time fathers. A 1-month generalization probe in Experiment 1 showed that the effects transferred across training conditions (training doll to human infant) and settings (hospital to home). An increase in the number of infant-stimulation activities performed by fathers was also observed in both experiments.