Relationship between the Delay Task and Rating Scale measures of Inattention and Hyperactivity

A group of 187 elementary school children were administered a microcomputer version of the Delay Task (Gordon, 1979) in which responses were reinforced only when they followed the preceding response by at least 6 seconds. They were also rated on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS) by their classroom teacher. Performance on the Delay Task was not correlated with any of the CTRS subscales for the overall sample. Sex differences were found in the Conduct, Inattention, and Hyperactivity factors of the CTRS. No sex difference was found for performance on the Delay Task. When performance on the Delay Task was correlated with the four CTRS factors by sex, correlations between the Delay Task and the inattention subscale and hyperactive subscale were significant only for the male subsample. Implications of the findings for assessment of hyperactivity are discussed.The research was supported by an equipment grant from the University of Auckland Research Committee. The first author's contribution was supported by a postgraduate scholarship from the Medical Research Council of New Zealand. We thank Lisa Tapp and Julia Rooke for assistance with data collection. We also acknowledge the support and cooperation of the staff of Mt. Eden Normal Primary School.     

The effect of high ambient temperature on timing behavior in rats

The present experiments demonstrated a reliable within-session increase in rectal temperature (T(re)) at 25 degrees C during stable differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL) performance. The thermal response was found to be independent of the DRL value and reinforced DRL performance, but dependent on the state of the animal's deprivation. Exposure to a 35 degrees -C environment increased the post-session T(re) significantly above the 25 degrees -C post-session T(re) for seven of eight subjects. Response and reinforcement rate at 35 degrees C was found to be independent of DRL value, although it decreased as DRL value increased at 25 degrees C. A discriminative stimulus used to mark the end of the interval increased the reinforcement rate at 25 degrees C but provided no advantage at 35 degrees C. Measurement of the pattern of responding during DRL performance revealed increases in the proportion of long interresponse times at 35 degrees C. Reinforcement rate was found to decrease progressively at 35 degrees C, reaching a minimum within 40 to 50 min of the 90-min session. Visual observation of overt behaviors during DRL performance at 35 degrees C revealed a reduction in the frequency of overt behavior, characteristic of 25 degrees -C performance, and a time-dependent increase in the probability of an alternative set of behaviors.     

Effect of a novel experience prior to training or testing on retention of an inhibitory avoidance response in mice: involvement of an opioid system

These experiments examined the effects of a novel experience prior to training or retention testing on 24-h retention of an inhibitory avoidance response in mice. The experiments were based on previous evidence that novel training experiences release hypothalamic beta-endorphin. When given 1 h prior to training, the novel experience (clinging to the wire-mesh ceiling and exploring a small box) attenuated the memory-enhancing effects of post-training administration of naloxone as well as the enhancing effects of beta-endorphin administered prior to the retention test. The novel experience given prior to training did not block the enhancing effects of post-training administration of epinephrine. beta-Endorphin and the novel experience both enhanced retention performance when administered 1 h (as well as 3 but not 6 h) prior to the retention test. The enhancement found with both treatments was blocked by simultaneous administration of naloxone or by administration of propranolol a few minutes prior to the retention test. The findings of these experiments are consistent with the view that the effects of the novel experience are due to a release of endogenous beta-endorphin and provide additional evidence that the effects, on retention, of naloxone given post-training and beta-endorphin given prior to a retention test, are based on training-induced release of beta-endorphin.     

Factors that influence test session performance measured 0, 3, or 6 h after inhibitory avoidance training

Rats were trained in a step-down inhibitory avoidance task using a 0.3-mA, 60-Hz footshock, and were tested at 0, 3, and 6 h from training. Retrieval scores (test session minus training session step-down latencies) were higher in control groups at 0 than at 3 or 6 h. Test session performance at 0 h was unaffected by the pretraining ip injection of ACTH1-24 (0.2 microgram/kg), epinephrine-HCl (5.0 micrograms/kg), human beta-endorphin (1.0 microgram/kg), or naloxone-HCl (0.4 mg/kg); or by a pretreatment with dexamethasone phosphate (2.0 mg/kg in divided doses 24 and 12 h before training); or by anterior or posterior hypothalamic deafferentation. Test session performance at 0 h was depressed by prior bilateral transection of the fornix, which suggests it depends on hippocampal function. The effect of the fornix lesion on test session performance at 0 h was not counteracted by ACTH, epinephrine, or beta-endorphin administration. When animals were tested 3 h after training, the post-training administration of ACTH and epinephrine caused an enhancement of test session performance; neither post-training beta-endorphin or naloxone, nor pretest ACTH, epinephrine, or beta-endorphin administration, had any effect in these animals. At 6 h from training, the post-training facilitatory action of ACTH and epinephrine was still present and the post-training depressant effect of beta-endorphin and the post-training facilitatory effect of naloxone became manifest, and so did the naloxone-reversible pretest facilitation induced by ACTH, epinephrine, or beta-endorphin. The influence of post-training naloxone or pretest beta-endorphin on retrieval scores at 6 h was not observed in the fornix-lesioned animals. In conclusion: Test session performance of this task at 0 h from training is regulated by different mechanisms than those which regulate test session performance at 3 or 6 h; in particular, it is less susceptible to modulation by the drugs used in the present study and it depends on the fornix; At least two major classes of modulatory factors influence retrieval scores at later times: consolidation-enhancing effects of ACTH and epinephrine, which become manifest at 3 h, and mechanisms related to beta-endorphin, which involve a form of state dependency and only become manifest at 6 h from training.     

Histamine reverses a memory deficit induced in rats by early postnatal maternal deprivation

Early partial maternal deprivation causes long-lasting neurochemical, behavioral and brain structural effects. In rats, it causes a deficit in memory consolidation visible in adult life. Some of these deficits can be reversed by donepezil and galantamine, which suggests that they may result from an impairment of brain cholinergic transmission. One such deficit, representative of all others, is an impairment of memory consolidation, clearly observable in a one-trial inhibitory avoidance task. Recent data suggest a role of brain histaminergic systems in the regulation of behavior, particularly inhibitory avoidance learning. Here we investigate whether histamine itself, its analog SKF-91844, or various receptor-selective histamine agonists and antagonists given into the CA1 region of the hippocampus immediately post-training can affect retention of one-trial inhibitory avoidance in rats submitted to early postnatal maternal deprivation. We found that histamine, SKF-91844 and the H2 receptor agonist, dimaprit enhance consolidation on their own and reverse the consolidation deficit induced by maternal deprivation. The enhancing effect of histamine was blocked by the H2 receptor antagonist, ranitidine, but not by the H1 receptor antagonist pyrilamine or by the H3 antagonist thioperamide given into CA1 at doses known to have other behavioral actions, without altering locomotor and exploratory activity or the anxiety state of the animals. The present results suggest that the memory deficit induced by early postnatal maternal deprivation in rats may in part be due to an impairment of histamine mediated mechanisms in the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus.     

Cognitive predictors of symptom return following depression treatment

This study tested whether poor cognitive change during depression treatment predicted time to return of depressive symptoms. Depressed participants (N = 121) completed assessments of dysfunctional attitudes and extreme thinking (i.e., number of totally agree and totally disagree responses) during hospitalization and again after 6 months of outpatient treatment. Participants then completed monthly depression assessments for 1 year. Survival analyses for time to symptom recurrence during follow-up were conducted among participants who reported 50% improvement in their depressive symptoms and were at least partially asymptomatic at the end of treatment (n = 53). Poor change in dysfunctional attitudes and poor change in extreme thinking both predicted shorter time to return of depressive symptoms.     

Patient Personality and Relational Patterns in Psychotherapy: Factor Structure,Reliability, and Validity of the Psychotherapy Relationship Questionnaire

The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and the psychometric properties of the Psychotherapy Relationship Questionnaire (PRQ; Bradley, Heim, &; Westen, 2005 Bradley, R., Heim, A. K., &; Westen, D. (2005). Transference patterns in the psychotherapy of personality disorders: Empirical investigation. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 186, 342–349. doi:10.1192/bjp.186.4.342[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), a clinician report instrument that measures a wide spectrum of thoughts, feelings, motives, conflicts, and behaviors expressed by patients toward their therapists in psychotherapy. A national sample of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists (N = 314) of different theoretical orientations completed the PRQ, as well as the Shedler–Westen Assessment Procedure–200 (SWAP–200; Westen &; Shedler, 1999a Westen, D., &; Shedler, J. (1999a). Revising and assessing Axis II, Part I: Developing a clinically and empirically valid assessment method. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 258–272.[PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 1999b Westen, D., &; Shedler, J. (1999a). Revising and assessing Axis II, Part I: Developing a clinically and empirically valid assessment method. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 258–272.[PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to assess the personality of a patient in their care. Factor-analytic procedures identified 6 transference dimensions that showed excellent internal consistencies: (a) hostile, (b) positive/working alliance, (c) special/entitled, (d) anxious/preoccupied, (e) avoidant/dismissing attachment, and (f) sexualized. Factor scores were significantly related to patients’ personality characteristics and psychological functioning, regardless of the clinicians’ orientations. The findings support that the PRQ is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating the patients’ relational patterns emerging in clinical practice in a clinically coherent and psychometrically robust way. Clinicians’ careful understanding of these patterns can be very useful for making accurate diagnostic formulations, as well as for providing a roadmap for effective therapeutic intervention.     

HPA-Axis Activation as a Key Moderator of Childhood Trauma Exposure and Adolescent Mental Health

Individual differences in a child’s sensitivity to stress may influence whether youth exposed to trauma develop symptoms of psychopathology. We examined the interaction between HPA-axis reactivity to an acute stressor and exposure to different types of childhood trauma as predictors of mental health symptoms in a sample of youth. Youth (n?=?121, ages 9–16; 47% female) completed a standardized stress task, including 5 post-stress salivary cortisol samples. Parents also completed the Child Behavior Checklist as a measure of child internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the past month, and completed the Early Trauma Inventory (ETI) as a measure of their child’s trauma exposure. More emotional abuse and non-intentional trauma were associated with greater internalizing symptoms. Youth exposed to physical abuse who demonstrated slower HPA-axis reactivity had elevated internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Youth exposed to emotional abuse or non-intentional traumatic events who demonstrated faster HPA-axis reactivity had elevated internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Profiles of exaggerated or attenuated HPA-axis reactivity to acute stress may be risk factors for psychopathology in children facing different stressful social environments.