Effects of the Novel Acetylcholinesterase InhibitorN-Octyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9-aminoacridine on Locomotor Activity and Avoidance Learning in Mice

The acetylcholinesterase reversible inhibitorN-octyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9-aminoacridine (THA-C8) is a new synthesized derivative of tacrine (THA) characterized by an alkyl chain in the molecular structure which ameliorates the penetrability of the compound into the central nervous system. THA-C8 (0.1–5 mg/kg) significantly reduced spontaneous locomotor activity in CD1 mice at a dose of 3 mg/kg. Moreover, THA-C8 (0.2–2 mg/kg) significantly improved shuttle-box avoidance acquisition at doses (0.25, 0.3, 1 mg/kg) not affecting locomotion and that are much lower than the doses reported to be effective for THA in animal models. From the data reported it seems that the new compound could be interesting for therapeutic purposes.     

Technology-based intervention to help persons with minimally conscious state and pervasive motor disabilities perform environmentally relevant adaptive behavior

Persons with a diagnosis of minimally conscious state and pervasive motor disabilities tend to be passive and isolated. A way to help them improve their adaptive behavior (relate to their environment) involves the use of intervention packages combining assistive technology with motivational strategies. The types of assistive technology included in those packages may consist of (a) microswitches allowing direct access to environmental stimuli, (b) combinations of microswitches and voice output communication devices (VOCAs) allowing stimulus access and calls for caregivers' attention, respectively, and (c) computer presentations of stimulus options and microswitches allowing choice among those options and access to them.     

Optimal experience among teachers: new insights into the work paradox

Several studies highlighted that individuals perceive work as an opportunity for flow or optimal experience, but not as desirable and pleasant. This finding was defined as the work paradox. The present study addressed this issue among teachers from the perspective of self-determination theory, investigating work-related intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as well as autonomous and controlled behavior regulation. In Study 1, 14 teachers were longitudinally monitored with Experience Sampling Method for one work week. In Study 2, 184 teachers were administered Flow Questionnaire and Work Preference Inventory, respectively investigating opportunities for optimal experience, and motivational orientations at work. Results showed that work-related optimal experiences were associated with both autonomous regulation and with controlled regulation. Moreover, teachers reported both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation at work, with a prevailing intrinsic orientation. Findings provide novel insights on the work paradox, and suggestions for teachers' well-being promotion.     

Influence of perceived social support and functioning on the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia and their caregivers

Perception of social support and functioning of patients with schizophrenia and their primary caregivers and its relationship to quality of life are described. Forty-five patients and their 45 relatives, treated at the Mental Health Services in Arica, Chile, participated. Both patients and caregivers in the study have a poor perception of social support with regard to extra-family people, as well as a low social integration. However, patients showed adequate capacity to function within their immediate family. Unlike what was found in developed countries, these patients showed moderate levels of quality of life, with a strong relationship with perceptions of the social support they receive from family and significant others and the ability to establish and maintain social contacts. Quality of life of primary caregivers is linked to patients' ability to establish and maintain social contacts within the family group, as in other social instances, such as keeping a job. The results of the study suggest the need to consider the design and application of programs of support for these patients and their caregivers, with the central aim of the social functioning of the above-mentioned patients and their familiar and community integration.     

Increasing magnitude counts more: asymmetrical processing of ordinality in 4-month-old infants

While infants' ability to discriminate quantities has been extensively studied, showing that this competence is present even in neonates, the ability to compute ordinal relations between magnitudes has received much less attention. Here we show that the ability to represent ordinal information embedded in size-based sequences is apparent at 4months of age, provided that magnitude changes involve increasing relations. Infants in Experiments 1A and 1B discriminated changes in ordinal relations after habituation to ascending sequences, but did not show evidence of discrimination after habituation to descending sequences. In Experiment 2 we replicated this asymmetry in magnitude discrimination even when additional cues known to boost ordinal competence were provided. The presence of an asymmetry between ascending vs. descending order during infancy suggests a developmental continuity in the underlying code used to represent magnitude, whereby the reported addition advantage in children and adults' arithmetic performance emerges.     

Reliability of self-reported attachment style in patients with severe psychopathology

Little is known about whether severe psychopathology influences the assessment of self-reported attachment style. Fifty-eight randomly selected adult psychiatric inpatients completed the Experiences in Close Relationship questionnaire (ECR; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998) and were administered the 24-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS; Ventura et al., 1993) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS; Hamilton, 1960) at both admission and discharge. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I; First, Spitzer, Gibbon, & Williams, 1996) was used to establish Axis I diagnoses. The ECR scales showed good internal consistency and absolute stability both in patients with (n = 24) and without (n = 34) a psychotic disorder. Relative stability was only fair among patients with psychotic disorders but good among patients without psychotic disorders. Neither higher BPRS or HDRS scores, nor the presence of a psychotic disorder, significantly reduced the retest reliability of the ECR scales. These findings suggest that self-report measures might provide a reliable assessment of attachment style in patients with severe psychopathology, except for the most severely impaired patients.     

Analysis of the US-preexposure effect in flavor acceptance conditioning

In three experiments, rats received exposure to a sucrose solution followed by conditioning with a neutral flavor as the conditioned stimulus (CS) and sucrose as the unconditioned stimulus (US). In Experiments 1 and 2, some rats were given both the preexposure and the conditioning phases in a highly familiar context (the homecage), whereas other animals received both phases in a novel and distinctive context. In both cases the magnitude of the conditioning effect was reduced by preexposure to the US. Experiment 3 directly assessed the possible role of contextual cues by changing the context between the exposure phase and the conditioning phase but found no loss of the US-preexposure effect in these conditions. These results lend no support to the blocking-by-context account of the US-preexposure effect; alternative interpretations are considered.     

The impact of subjective recognition experiences on recognition heuristic use: A multinomial processing tree approach

The recognition heuristic (RH) theory states that, in comparative judgments (e.g., Which of two cities has more inhabitants?), individuals infer that recognized objects score higher on the criterion (e.g., population) than unrecognized objects. Indeed, it has often been shown that recognized options are judged to outscore unrecognized ones (e.g., recognized cities are judged as larger than unrecognized ones), although different accounts of this general finding have been proposed. According to the RH theory, this pattern occurs because the binary recognition judgment determines the inference and no other information will reverse this. An alternative account posits that recognized objects are chosen because knowledge beyond mere recognition typically points to the recognized object. A third account can be derived from the memory-state heuristic framework. According to this framework, underlying memory states of objects (rather than recognition judgments) determine the extent of RH use: When two objects are compared, the one associated with a “higher” memory state is preferred, and reliance on recognition increases with the “distance” between their memory states. The three accounts make different predictions about the impact of subjective recognition experiences—whether an object is merely recognized or recognized with further knowledge—on RH use. We estimated RH use for different recognition experiences across 16 published data sets, using a multinomial processing tree model. Results supported the memory-state heuristic in showing that RH use increases when recognition is accompanied by further knowledge.     

Evaluation of Affect in Mexico and Spain: Psychometric Properties and Usefulness of an Abbreviated Version of the Day Reconstruction Method

The aims of the present study were to assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish-language version of the abbreviated Day Reconstruction Method (DRM), and to investigate differences in affective experience in Mexico and Spain. A total of 2,629 adults from Mexico and 4,583 from Spain were interviewed. Information was obtained using an abbreviated version of the DRM, which had been translated into Spanish. Reliability, validity, and the structure of affect were assessed and compared between countries. The diurnal variation of affect, the changes in affect along the life span, time use, and the relationship between affect and socio-demographic characteristics were also analysed. Adequate psychometric properties for the Spanish-language version of the abbreviated DRM were found in both the Mexican and the Spanish samples, and affect tended to improve along the life span in both countries. However, net affect did not have the same distribution function (Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistic = 0.25, p < 0.001) in both countries, being higher in Spain. Moreover, both samples showed opposite patterns in the diurnal variation of affect. The results showed that the Spanish-language version of the DRM is a feasible and valid method to measure affect, its diurnal rhythms, and time use in large-scale surveys.