Neurocardiology shows that the central,not peripheral,action of propranolol reduces mortality following acute coronary artery occlusion in the conscious pig

Neurocardiology emphasizes the role of the higher cerebral mechanisms in cardiovascular disorders. Several large clinical trials (BHAT, MIAMI, and ISIS) have consistently shown that treatment with a beta-receptor blocker (propranolol, metoprolol, or atenolol) will produce a 26% to 29% reduction in mortality in high-risk survivors of acute myocardial infarction. Becauseall beta-blockers cross the blood-brain barrier, it is not clear whether the salutary action is on the central or peripheral receptors. Therefore the effects of intracerebral versus intravenous propranolol were observed in 30 conscious pigs following complete occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Controls showed the propranolol to remain confined throughout the experiment to the central or peripheral compartment into which it was injected. To assure the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation (VF), each pig was psychologically stressed by being unconditioned to the laboratory.Intracerebral propranolol (0.05 mg/kg) prevented VF within a 20 min period of reversible ischemia in 6 of 9 pigs, whereas VF was prevented in 0 of 11 controls injected intravenously with either dextro-propranolol (2 pigs) or vehicle (9 pigs) (P<.0006, binomial probability ratio). In some pigs in which VF was not manifested by 20 min, the ischemia was reversed and additional control observations were achieved; a total of 10 counter-balanced within-subjects experiments confirmed the between-subjects result (P<.01, paired-t test). In contrast intravenous propranolol (0.2 to 2.0 mg/kg) in 7 pigs had no effect on VF latency compared to 7 vehicle controls. It is concluded that beta-receptor antagonists prevent VF in the ischemic myocardium by their effect on thebrain andnot the heart.     

Analysis of four measures of positional bias within a multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment

Positional bias is a pattern of responding to a specific location that can be influenced by response effort and/or prior learning history. Prior research on positional bias within stimulus preference assessments have focused primarily on its use in paired stimulus assessments due to the complex nature of the multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment. The present study is a secondary data analysis that utilized four different methods to measure side and center bias in a MSWO preference assessment for 19 young children with autism spectrum disorder. Participants displayed varying degrees of biased responding but collectively engaged in minimal biased responding. This study includes an analysis of the four methodologies, discussion of general patterns of responding, and general recommendations for the application of these methodologies in future research.     

Power and Action in Critical Theory Across Disciplines: Implications for Critical Community Psychology

Although critical scholarship and community psychology share similar aspirations, the links between them remain unexplored and under-theorized. In this article we explore the implications of critical scholarship in various specialties for the field of community psychology. To understand the contributions of critical scholarship to a theory of power and action for social change, we conducted a systematic analysis of a ten-year period of publications in seven journals associated with the critical scholarship tradition. We created precise criteria for the concepts of power and action and applied them to the publications. Results indicate an interesting paradox at play. Whereas community psychology is more action oriented than critical scholarship, its actions fall short of challenging institutionalized power structures and the status quo; and whereas critical scholarship is more challenging of the status quo than community psychology in theory, it has failed to produce viable actions that challenge the status quo. We discuss the implications of this state of affairs for the development of a more critical community psychology.     

Sociocultural studies of families of children with intellectual disabilities

This article reviews recent sociocultural studies of families of children with intellectual disabilities to introduce the range of research conducted from this perspective and to highlight the methodological, conceptual, and theoretical contributions of this approach to the study of mental retardation. Sociocultural studies examine families within their cultural, historical, and sociopolitical contexts. This type of research is comparative across different cultural groups, but is not limited to such comparisons. Sociocultural studies use varied theories and methods, but they share a focus on families' coproduction of meanings and practices related to intellectual disability; families' responses and adaptations to disability; and how their understandings and experiences are shaped within larger social institutions and inequities. Sociocultural approaches take into account community contexts that matter to families with members with mental retardation or developmental delay, and they examine the broader systems that define and position individuals with disabilities and their families. As a whole, these studies provide a more experiential and holistic view of families' beliefs and adaptations within sociopolitical worlds, and offer new tools by which to study the families of children with developmental delays within and across different cultural groups.     

Location serves as a conditional cue when harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) solve object discrimination reversal problems.

We examined the capacity of harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) to use spatial context (i.e., their tank) as a conditional cue to solve a two-choice visual discrimination reversal task. Seals were trained to touch one of two 3D objects. Two of four seals experienced a context shift that coincided with each of five reversals in the reward value of the two stimuli (i.e., a reversal of S+ and S-); these seals solved the six discriminations in significantly fewer trials than did seals that did not experience a context shift with the contingency reversal. Thus, harp seals use contextual cues when encoding information. The findings are discussed in terms of harp seals' adaptations to the pack-ice environment, the constraints of the learning tasks, and the nature of the subjects that were raised in captivity.     

Stigma and Discrimination in Health-Care Provision to Drug Users: The Role of Values, Affect, and Deservingness Judgments

This study examined the role of values, affect, and deservingness judgments in health professionals' views of patients with stigmatized conditions (e.g., drug dependence). Participants were 277 nurses who responded to a survey containing 2 scenarios of a nurse providing high- or low-quality care to a patient with a condition related to prolonged use of alcohol or heroin. Affective responses to the patient were more positive for nurses with higher self-transcendence values, and more negative for nurses with higher conservation values. Deservingness judgments were predicted by positive and negative affect toward the patient, but not by attributions of responsibility for drug use. Deservingness judgments emerged as strong predictors of nurses' satisfaction with the provision of high- or low-quality care. The findings imply that the deservingness judgments made by nurses reflected strong entitlement norms concerning the provision of proper care for patients that were independent of patients' perceived responsibility for their condition.