The Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Research Program at the National Human Genome Research Institute

Organizers of the Human Genome Project (HGP) understood from the beginning that the scientific activities of mapping and sequencing the human genome would raise ethical, legal, and social issues that would require careful attention by scientists, health care professionals, government officials, and the public. The establishment of the ELSI (ethical, legal, and social implications) programs at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Department of Energy (DOE) was thought to be vital to the success of the HGP in the United States. It also provided a novel approach to the simultaneous study of ethical, legal, and social issues and basic scientific issues. Eric Juengst, the first director of the ELSI program, described its origins in a previous issue of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal (Juengst 1991). Now in its seventh year, the ELSI program has accomplished much. This article summarizes the evolution and goals of the ELSI program at NHGRI, outlines the program's current research priorities with examples of activities within each priority area, and provides a look to the future, including the initiation of a strategic planning process.     

Coping Strategies,Substance Use,Sexual Activity,and HIV Sexual Risks in a Sample of Gay Male STD Patients1

The relationships of coping strategies with levels of substance use and sexual activity, and with HIV sexual risks, are examined in a sample of gay male STD clinic patients (n = 416). Previous research has suggested that use of problem-focused coping strategies should be negatively related to levels of substance use, levels of sexual activity, and HIV sexual risks; use of emotion-focused coping strategies should be positively related to these outcomes. It is argued that substance use and sexual activity clearly fit within a coping perspective, but that the HIV sexual risks/coping relationship is less clear. In multivariate analysis, the problem-focused strategy of advice seeking is negatively related to the number of types of drugs used and to the number of sexual partners; the problem-focused strategy of support seeking is negatively related to the number of days using drugs; and the use of emotion-focused strategies is positively related to the number of types of drugs used. Problem-focused coping strategies are less directly related to engaging in HIV sexual risks when measures of substance use and of sexual activity are included in the prediction; emotion-focused coping strategies are more stably related to HIV risk. Indirect effects of coping on HIV risk are also identified through the effects of coping on the number of types of drugs used, number of sex partners, and number of times having sex. It is proposed that the relationships between coping and levels of substance use and sexual activity reflect the use of these activities as ways of relieving strain, but that relationships between coping and HIV sexual risks involve less clearly understood direct and indirect relationships.     

Desire and the female analyst

The literature on erotic transference and countertransference between female analyst and male patient is reviewed and discussed. It is known that female analysts are less likely than their male colleagues to act out sexually with their patients. It has been claimed that a) male patients do not experience sustained erotic transferences, and b) female analysts do not experience erotic countertransferences with female or male patients. These views are challenged and it is argued that, if there is less sexual acting out by female analysts, it is not because of an absence of eros in the therapeutic relationship. The literature review covers material drawn from psychoanalysis, feminist psychotherapy, Jungian analysis, as well as some sociological and cultural sources. It is organized under the following headings: the gender of the analyst, sexual acting out, erotic transference, maternal and paternal transference, gender and power, counter-transference, incest taboo - mothers and sons and sexual themes in the transference.     

Individual differences in entrainment of mood to the weekly calendar

This study addressed two questions: Do daily fluctuations in mood exhibit a 7-day (circaseptum) cycle, and are there reliable individual differences in how entrained people's moods are to such a weekly cycle? Spectral analysis of daily mood over 84 occasions revealed a strong weekly rhythm in the temporal organization of mood in a sample of 74 undergraduates. A sine wave with a period of 7 days accounted for 40% of the variance in the daily mood data. Individual differences were also found in how entrained subjects' moods were to this weekly rhythm. We predicted that extraverts (compared with introverts) should be less entrained to a weekly cycle. Results suggest that the novelty- and sensation-seeking behavior of extraverts most likely serves to lessen the cyclical predictability of their day-to-day moods. The origin and psychological meaning of the 7-day week are discussed.     

MRI evaluation of the size and symmetry of the planum temporale in adolescents with developmental dyslexia

MRI technique was used to examine the size and symmetry of the plana temporale in 19 dyslexic students in grade 8 and in carefully matched control subjects. The results demonstrated a high frequency of planum symmetry among the dyslexics (70%) whereas symmetry was observed in only 30% of the control subjects. It was not possible to demonstrate any clear association between symmetry/asymmetry of planum temporale and handedness. Word-reading strategies among the dyslexics and control subjects were investigated with computerized tasks where accuracy and naming latency were recorded. All subjects with pure phonological deficits in reading had symmetrical plana temporale indicating a possible neuroanatomical basis for a characteristic symptom of linguistic processing deficiency in developmental dyslexia.     

University students' priorities: Life goals vs. relationships

To assess the importance of life goals and relationships, a specially designed Life Goals Scale was administered to 303 university students (200 women and 103 men). Women's average ratings for relationships exceeded those of men. Men and women did not differ in average importance ratings of goals nor in tendency to sacrifice goals for a heterosexual relationship. Seventy-three percent were willing to sacrifice a majority of their goals for the relationship. The goal vs. relationship choices were influenced by sex role orientation, by dating status, and by the importance of marriage. Gender, age, year in school, parents' marital status, and grade point average were unrelated to goal vs. relationship choices. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated different predictors of goal vs. relationship choices for men and women.     

Measuring efficiency of selection from briefly exposed visual displays: a model for partial report

In the proposed model for partial report, performance reflects the number of targets in a short-term memory buffer. The total number of items (targets, distractors, or extraneous noise) entering the buffer is independent of the number of targets and distractors in the stimulus. Entrance is determined by selective sampling according to a Luce (1959) ratio rule. The model was tested in a variety of conditions with partial reports based on brightness, color, shape, or alphanumeric class. With three parameters, the model accounted for 99% of the variance with number of targets and number of distractors in data obtained by averaging across conditions. Parameter K (number of items entering the buffer) showed little variation with the selection criterion, and estimates for parameter epsilon (total impact of extraneous noise with impact per target as the unit) were rather small. Estimates for parameter alpha (impact per distractor with impact per target as the unit) varied widely across conditions. Parameter alpha is a measure for the efficiency of selecting targets rather than distractors.     

Reduction of intraspecies aggression in rats by positive reinforcement of incompatible behaviors

Fighting responses were elicited by response-independent shocks delivered to pairs of rats. Food pellets were presented following different non-fighting responses to shock: some pairs of rats received pellets dependent upon a specific non-fighting response to shock; others received pellets dependent upon any non-fighting response to shock; and control pairs never received pellets. The mean probability of an elicited aggressive response to shock was reduced to 0.2 by food reinforcement for a specific non-fighting response, and to 0.5 by food reinforcement for any kind of non-fighting response. These values contrasted with the 0.8 probability of elicited aggression when pairs of rats received no food reinforcement. Consistent findings were obtained when treatment conditions were changed for individual pairs of rats.