Role of muscarinic M1 receptors in inhibitory avoidance and contextual fear conditioning

The objective of the present study was to observe the effects of pre-training or post-training administration of dicyclomine, a M1 muscarinic antagonist, on inhibitory avoidance (IA) and contextual fear conditioning (CFC) and to investigate if the effects observed with the pre-training administration of dicyclomine are state-dependent. For each behavioral procedure (IA and CFC) groups of Wistar male rats were treated with saline or dicyclomine either 30 min before training (pre-training), immediately after training or 30 min before training/30 min before test (pre-training/pre-test). The animals were tested 24 h after training. The acquisition of IA and CFC was impaired by pre-training administration of dicyclomine. The consolidation of both tasks was not affected by dicyclomine given immediately after training. Pre-training/pre-test administration of dicyclomine impaired both tasks, an effect similar to that observed in the group which only received pre-training administration. Pre-test treatment induced dissociation between both tasks, impairing CFC retrieval, without interfering with the animals avoidance response. These results show that the dicyclomine did not affect IA and CFC consolidation, suggesting specific involvement of M1 muscarinic receptor only in acquisition these tasks, and these effects was not state-dependent. However, it is possible that the retrieval of these tasks may be mediated, at least in part, by different neurochemical mechanisms and may be dissociated by dicyclomine.     

The entorhinal cortex plays a role in extinction

In this study, we analyzed the participation of the entorhinal cortex in extinction of a learned aversive response. Rats with infusion cannulae aimed to the entorhinal cortex were trained in a one-trial step-down inhibitory avoidance task (IA) and submitted to four consecutive daily test sessions without the footshock, a procedure that induced extinction of the conditioned response in control animals. When infused into the entorhinal cortex immediately after the first extinction session at doses able to block consolidation of IA memory, the NMDA receptor antagonist, AP5 (25 nmol/side), the inhibitor of protein synthesis anisomycin (300 nmol/side) and the inhibitor of CaMKII, KN-93 (10 nmol/side), but not the MEK1/2 inhibitor PD-98059 (5 nmol/side) hindered extinction of the IA response. The same results were obtained when the interval between the first and second test session was 48 instead of 24h. The data indicate that normal functionality of the NMDA receptors, together with CaMKII activity and protein synthesis are necessary in the entorhinal cortex at the time of the first test session to generate extinction. Our results also suggest that the ERK1/2 pathway does not play a role in this process.     

Assessment of Anxiety in Older Adults: Translation and Psychometric Evaluation of the German Version of the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS)

Anxiety occurs frequently among older adults, and can have deleterious impacts on the quality of daily life. Due to the dearth of well-validated elder-specific anxiety screening instruments available in the German language, this study aimed to translate the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS), a reliable and valid 30-item self-report screening instrument for assessing anxiety based on DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria (Segal et al. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24(7), 709–714, 2010a), into German, and to validate the new measure. The German version of the GAS was developed through a translation and back translation process, with careful attention paid to culturally-sensitive expressions of anxiety in the German older adult population. The final version of the German GAS was tested in a sample of 242 community-dwelling older adults (M_age?=?72.0 years, SD?=?6.9 years; 59 % women) who completed either an online (26 %) or a paper-pencil (74 %) version of the questionnaire. The findings confirmed the successful translation of the GAS into German and provided psychometric support for the new measure. The validation of the factor structure based on confirmatory factor analyses was in support of a unidimensional structure of the GAS-G. Correlational analyses with inventories measuring anxiety related and non-anxiety related personality traits additionally confirmed the convergent and discriminant validity of the GAS for use as an assessment measure for anxiety among German older adults.     

The Heritability of Job Satisfaction Reconsidered: Only Unique Environmental Influences Beyond Personality

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which genetic and environmental influences explain differences in job satisfaction and its relationship to personality in order to explain the heritability of job satisfaction.

Design

Behavior genetic analyses are based on a dataset containing 622 individuals, including 185 MZ (M = 39.5 years) and 126 DZ twin pairs (M = 40.1 years).

Findings

The results showed that all genetic influences (28 %) on job satisfaction could be explained by its relation to personality, especially Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness, representing a high genetic overlap between job satisfaction and personality. Non-shared environmental influences explained the remaining three fourths of the variance.

Implications

By showing that genetic influences of job satisfaction overlap completely with personality, including common non-additive genetic influences, the results support an interactionist view of job satisfaction in that both situational and dispositional determinants of job satisfaction are relevant.

Originality

In contrast to previous studies, we used a more appropriate behavior genetic approach meaning that our approach allows to directly estimate parameters of specific and common (additive and non-additive) genetic and environmental influences. Building on this, interpretations of behavior genetic findings were explained in detail to avoid common misunderstandings.

     

Review of the Book Child Street Life. An Inside View of Hazards and Expectations of Street Children in Peru (SpringerBriefs in Well-Being and Quality of Life Research)

Applied Research in Quality of Life -     

Self-compassion increases self-improvement motivation

Can treating oneself with compassion after making a mistake increase self-improvement motivation? In four experiments, the authors examined the hypothesis that self-compassion motivates people to improve personal weaknesses, moral transgressions, and test performance. Participants in a self-compassion condition, compared to a self-esteem control condition and either no intervention or a positive distraction control condition, expressed greater incremental beliefs about a personal weakness (Experiment 1); reported greater motivation to make amends and avoid repeating a recent moral transgression (Experiment 2); spent more time studying for a difficult test following an initial failure (Experiment 3); exhibited a preference for upward social comparison after reflecting on a personal weakness (Experiment 4); and reported greater motivation to change the weakness (Experiment 4). These findings suggest that, somewhat paradoxically, taking an accepting approach to personal failure may make people more motivated to improve themselves.     

Forced treadmill exercise prevents oxidative stress and memory deficits following chronic cerebral hypoperfusion in the rat

Physical activity impacts functional recovery following stroke in humans, however its effects in experimental animals submitted to chronic cerebral hypoperfusion have not been investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic potential of exercise, as assessed by cognitive activity in the Morris water maze and the brain oxidative status, through measurement of macromolecules damage, TBARS levels and total cellular thiols, as well as antioxidant enzymes in hippocampus, striatum and cerebral cortex. Adult male Wistar rats were submitted to the modified permanent bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries (2VO) method, with right common carotid artery being first occluded, and tested 3 months after the ischemic event. The effects of three different exercise protocols were examined: pre-ischemia, post-ischemia and pre+post-ischemia. Physical exercise consisted of sessions of 20-min, 3 times per week during 12 weeks (moderate intensity). Rats were submitted to cognitive assessment, in both reference and working spatial memory and after the last testing session were sacrificed to have oxidative stress parameters determined. Hypoperfusion caused a significant cognitive deficit in both spatial water maze tasks and this effect was reversed in rats receiving exercise protocol post and pre+post the ischemic event. Moreover, forced regular treadmill exercise regulated oxidative damage and antioxidant enzyme activity in the hippocampus. These results suggest that physical exercise protects against cognitive and biochemical impairments caused by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.     

Walking the Walk or Just Talk?: A Global Examination of Men’s Intentions to Take Violence Preventative Action

Given the increasing prominence of both bystander-based approaches to gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and of proactively engaging men and boys to join efforts to end GBV, understanding the factors that support men’s antiviolence bystander behavior is important. This study examined correlates of willingness to engage in violence preventative bystander behavior in a global sample of 299 adult men engaged in GBV prevention events or work. Participants came from over 50 countries and provided data via an online, anonymous survey available in English, Spanish, and French. Path analysis was used to model participants’ willingness to engage in a variety of violence-preventative behaviors in the future, with variable selection guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and by research implicating gender-related attitudes in bystander willingness and behavior. Findings suggest that bystander willingness was supported by past bystander behavior, self-efficacy to engage in bystander behavior, positive beliefs about the contributions of antiviolence involvement, and by an awareness of male privilege. Social network support for GBV prevention work, and support for gender equity were not significant correlates of bystander willingness in the full path model. These findings held across participants from the Global North and Global South, suggesting that self-efficacy, an awareness of male privilege, and positive attitudes toward antiviolence work are factors which may support men’s violence preventative actions across broad regional contexts.     

Genetic Counseling/Consultation in South-East Asia: A Report from the Workshop at the 10th Asia Pacific Conference on Human Genetics

This paper reports on the workshop ‘Genetic Counseling/Consultations in South-East Asia’ at the 10^th Asia Pacific Conference on Human Genetics in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in December 2012. The workshop brought together professionals and language/communication scholars from South-East Asia, and the UK. The workshop aimed at addressing culture- and context-specific genetic counseling/consultation practices in South-East Asia. As a way of contextualizing genetic counseling/consultation in South-East Asia, we first offer an overview of communication-oriented research generally, drawing attention to consultation and counseling as part of a communicative continuum with distinctive interactional features. We then provide examples of genetic counseling/consultation research in Hong Kong. As other countries in South-East Asia have not yet embarked on communication-oriented empirical research, we report on the current practices of genetic counseling/consultation in these countries in order to identify similarities and differences as well as key obstacles that could be addressed through future research. Three issues emerged as ‘problematic’: language, religion and culture. We suggest that communication-oriented research can provide a starting point for evidence-based reflections on how to incorporate a counseling mentality in genetic consultation. To conclude, we discuss the need for creating a platform for targeted training of genetic counselors based on communication-oriented research findings.