Prolonged inactivation of the hippocampus reveals temporally graded retrograde amnesia for unreinforced spatial learning in rats

We investigated whether systems consolidation of spatial memory could be detected in a non-navigational, spatial-learning test that takes advantage of rats’ natural propensity to preferentially investigate an object that was displaced relative to spatial cues more than an object that remained stationary. Previous studies using navigational spatial-learning tests have generally failed to reveal temporally-graded retrograde amnesia, possibly because the hippocampus needs to be intact for the retrieval and/or processing of navigational information during the test. In the present study, the hippocampus of rats was kept inactivated, at two sites along its septo-temporal axis (dorsal and intermediate), for four consecutive days, beginning either 3 h or 5 days after familiarization to two identical objects in an open field. Rats that had their hippocampus inactivated beginning 5 days but not 3 h after familiarization showed evidence that they remembered the previous location of the displaced object. The results suggest that systems consolidation of spatial memories can be detected using a non-navigational test of spatial memory.     

Food satiation in the pigeon

The experiment was designed to find the shape of food satiation curves of the pigeon as a function of hours of deprivation or percentage of free-feeding weight, and to study the fluctuation in free-feeding weight as a function of deprivation and satiation. At a systematically and progressively increased number of hours'' deprivation, eight birds were allowed to satiate on grain presented contingent upon the emission of a pecking response. In the second part of the experiment, in which two birds were used, a similar procedure was followed except that the independent variable was percentage of free-feeding weight. These were the conclusions.1. Approximately 64% of the satiation curves were classified as straight with an abrupt stop. The next highest percentage of curves was 18% for curves classified as straight with a curvilinear stop. No “classic” satiation curves, curvilinear with curvilinear stop, were found.2. The pigeons responded at fairly constant rate during the early part of each satiation session, or they did not respond at all. The critical weight, above which they did not respond, was 85% of free feeding.     

Therapeutic Practices and Ethical Beliefs of Professionals Working With Adolescents in Residential Treatment

The authors investigated dual relationships between 2 groups of staff (direct care and professional) and adolescent clients in 2 residential treatment programs. Staff were surveyed on their behavior and corresponding ethical beliefs regarding interactions they believed to be acceptable with minor clients specifically at termination of the treatment program. Direct care staff were more likely than were professional staff to have inconsistencies in behaviors and ethical beliefs. The American Counseling Association's (1995) Code of Ethics would prohibit some of the staff beliefs regarding acceptable behavior. Both groups were uncertain about the ethical appropriateness of certain interactions with adolescent clients. Implications are discussed.     

I TO WE: THE ROLE OF CONSCIOUSNESS TRANSFORMATION IN COMPASSION AND ALTRUISM

It is clear that human consciousness can be transformed through spiritual experiences and practices. Little is known, however, about what the predictors, mediators, and outcomes are of such transformations in consciousness. In‐depth structured interviews were conducted with forty‐seven teachers and scholars from religious and spiritual traditions and modern transformative movements to identify factors common to the transformative process across traditions. Compassion and altruism were almost universally identified as important outcomes of positive consciousness transformation. Results of our analysis suggest that altruism and compassion may arise as natural consequences of experiences of interconnection and oneness. These experiences appear to lead to shifts in perspective and changes in one's sense of self and self in relationship to others. Based on these findings, we suggest several mechanisms by which transformative experiences and practices might influence the development of compassion and altruism.     

Convex and Concave,Part I: Images of Emptiness in Women

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

The reliability and validity of the panic disorder self-report: a new diagnostic screening measure of panic disorder

This study examined the Panic Disorder Self-Report (PDSR), a new self-report diagnostic measure of panic disorder based on the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). PDSR diagnoses were compared with structured interview diagnoses of individuals with generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, and panic disorder and nonanxious controls. Receiver operating characteristic analyses revealed that the PDSR showed 100% specificity and 89% sensitivity. The PDSR also demonstrated retest reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and kappa agreement of .93 with a structured interview. Finally, the PDSR demonstrated clinical validity. Students who were identified as having panic disorder using the PDSR did not have significantly different scores on the Panic Disorder Severity Scale--Self-Report form (P. R. Houck, D. A. Speigel, M. K. Shear, & P. Rucci, 2002) than a panic disordered community sample. However, both groups had significantly higher scores than students identified as not meeting criteria for panic disorder.