Capsaicin-sensitive afferent vagal fibers are involved in concurrent taste aversion learning

Taste aversion learning (TAL) is a type of learning characterized by rejection of a gustatory/flavor stimulus as a consequence of its pairing with visceral discomfort and malaise. TAL can be established in the laboratory by two different behavioral procedures, concurrent or sequential. Neural mechanisms of these learning modalities remain to be elucidated, but several studies have discussed the implication of various anatomical structures, including the vagus nerve. The aim of this study was to examine the role of capsaicin-sensitive vagal afferent fibers in concurrent (Experiment 1) and sequential (Experiment 2) TAL in Wistar rats. Results showed that perivagal administration of capsaicin (1mg of capsaicin dissolved in 1ml of vehicle (10% Tween 80 in oil)) blocked acquisition of concurrent but not sequential TAL. These data support the hypothesis of two different modalities of TAL mediated by distinct neurobiological systems, with vagal nerve participation only being essential in concurrent TAL.     

The development of a Spanish language version of the Worn Out scale of the General Well-Being Questionnaire (GWBQ)

The paper describes the development of a short Spanish-language version of the General Well-Being Questionnaire (GWBQ; Cox and Gotts, 1987), based on the 12 items of its Worn Out scale. Research has shown the English-version Worn Out scale to be sensitive to aspects of the design and management of work. This study aimed to test its cross-cultural consistency in a Spanish-language workplace context. The data were collected from a sample of 229 workers in Valencia (Spain). Confirmatory Factor Analyses showed the factorial validity, reliability, and concurrent validity of the new Spanish version to be adequate. The sensitivity of the new measure to safety behavior and the reporting of accidents was also assessed and shown to be good. The new questionnaire extends the usefulness of the parent questionnaire to occupational health psychology research in the Spanish language by offering a short assessment tool appropriate for workplace studies.     

Do transposed-letter similarity effects occur at a prelexical phonological level?

Nonwords created by transposing two letters (e.g., RELOVUTION) are very effective at activating the lexical representation of their base words (Perea & Lupker, 2004). In the present study, we examined whether the nature of transposed-letter (TL) similarity effects was purely orthographic or whether it could also have a phonological component. Specifically, we examined transposed-letter similarity effects for nonwords created by transposing two nonadjacent letters (e.g., relovución-REVOLUCION) in a masked form priming experiment using the lexical decision task (Experiment 1). The controls were (a) a pseudohomophone of the transposed-letter prime (relobución-REVOLUCION; note that B and V are pronounced as /b/ in Spanish) or (b) an orthographic control (relodución-REVOLUCION). Results showed a similar advantage of the TL nonword condition over the phonological and the orthographic control conditions. Experiment 2 showed a masked phonological priming effect when the letter positions in the prime were in the right order. In a third experiment, using a single-presentation lexical decision task, TL nonwords produced longer latencies than the orthographic and phonological controls, whereas there was only a small phonological effect restricted to the error data. These results suggest that TL similarity effects are orthographic--rather than phonological--in nature.     

Experimental challenges to theories of classical conditioning: application of an attentional model of storage and retrieval

Several studies have recently challenged the accuracy of traditional models of classical conditioning that account for some experimental data in terms of a storage deficit. Among other results, it has been reported that extinction of the blocking or overshadowing stimulus results in the recovery of the response to the blocked or overshadowed stimulus, backward blocking shows spontaneous recovery, extinction of the training context results in the recovery from latent inhibition, interposing a delay between conditioning and testing in latent inhibition increases latent inhibition, and latent inhibition antagonizes overshadowing. An existing neural network model of classical conditioning (N. A. Schmajuk, Y. Lam, & J. A. Gray, 1996), which includes an attentional mechanism controlling both storage and retrieval of associations, is able to quantitatively describe these results.     

Personality factors in relation to violent crimes

The personalities of a group of 54 persons (51 men and 3 women), imprisoned for the perpetration of violent crimes, were evaluated. The results were then compared to a normative group. This study considers personality factors and dimensions on three levels: (a) Basic factors: the "Big Five", (b) Personality disorders and clinical syndromes, (c) Personality dimensions related to personal wellbeing and social adaptation said to define a psychologically healthy individual. The results of the study show that it is not possible to define a basic personality profile for this group of violent delinquents based on the "Big Five" factors. It is, however, possible to find two habitual patterns of behaviour if the Millon Model (1990) is applied. These two behaviour patterns and attitudes towards life situations will be named "Dependent with compulsive traits" and "Psychopath tendencies". Both relate to indicators of mental health.     

Vocational choice and career planning. Spanish adaptation of Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS-R)

The Self-Directed Search is a career-planning guide that works similarly to a vocational and professional interests inventory. A preliminary study allows detection of 68 ítems that need to be rectified, since they do not meet psychometric and semantic criteria. The current study demonstrates reliability and validity of the new adaptation. It is applied to a sample of 1460 subjects from different educational levels. As for reliability, the discrimination index of the items and internal consistency of the scales have improved. Additionally, procedures performed to verify validity (content, construct and concurrent) demonstrate that the instrument has acceptable validity. On balance, we can conclude that the instrument has sufficient scientific and technical credibility for application to the Spanish population.     

Anxiolytic-like activity of SB-205384 in the elevated plus-maze test in mice

Recent studies point to a major role for alpha2-containing GABA-A receptors in modulating anxiety. However, the possible implication of GABA-A receptors containing the alpha3 subunit on anxiety is less known. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of SB-205384 (0.5-4 mg/kg, i.p.), an alpha3 subunit positive modulator of GABA-A receptor, on anxiety tested in the elevated plus-maze in male mice, using classical and ethological parameters. Mice treated with SB-205384 showed an increase in the frequency of entries and the time spent in open arms, as well as a reduction in the time spent in closed arms, as compared with the control group. A notable increase of "head-dipping" unprotected and a reduction of "stretched-attend posture" protected was also evident. These findings indicate that SB-205384 exhibits an anxiolytic-like profile in the elevated plus-maze test, suggesting that GABA-A receptors which contain the alpha3 subunit might be involved in regulation of anxiety.     

Selective attention affects implicit and explicit memory for familiar pictures at different delay conditions

Three experiments investigated the effects of two variables -selective attention during encoding and delay between study and test- on implicit (picture fragment completion and object naming) and explicit (free recall and recognition) memory tests. Experiments 1 and 2 consistently indicated that (a) at all delays (immediate to 1 month), picture-fragment identification threshold was lower for the attended than the unattended pictures; (b) the attended pictures were recalled and recognized better than the unattended; and (c) attention and delay interacted in both memory tests. For implicit memory, performance decreased as delay increased for both attended and unattended pictures, but priming was more pronounced and lasted longer for the attended pictures; it was still present after a 1-month delay. For explicit memory, performance decreased as delay increased for attended pictures, but for unattended pictures performance was consistent throughout delay. By using a perceptual object naming task, Experiment 3 showed reliable implicit and explicit memory for attended but not for unattended pictures. This study indicates that picture repetition priming requires attention at the time of study and that neither delay nor attention dissociate performance in explicit and implicit memory tests; both types of memory require attention, but explicit memory does so to a larger degree.