Two Modulatory Inputs Exert Reciprocal Reinforcing Effects on Synaptic Input of Premotor Interneurons for Withdrawal in Terrestrial Snails

A cluster of serotonergic cells in the rostral part of pedal ganglia of the terrestrial snail Helix lucorum was shown previously to participate in modulation of withdrawal behavior, and to be necessary for elaboration of aversive withdrawal conditioning in intact snails. In the present experiments local extracellular stimulation of the serotonergic cells elicited a pairing-specific increase (difference between paired and explicitly unpaired sessions was significant, P<0.01) of synaptic responses in the premotor interneurons involved in withdrawal to paired nerve stimulation. Intracellular stimulation of only one Pd4 cell from the pedal group of serotonergic neurons increased (P<0.05) synaptic responses to contingent test nerve stimulation significantly in the same premotor interneurons for 2–3 hr.     

Recognition failure of words with a single meaning

Recognition failure of recallable words was demonstrated with single-meaning target words after a 7-day retention interval. When overall levels of recognition were equated, the magnitude of the effect was the same as that observed with high-frequency words of multiple meanings in other experiments. It was concluded that, contrary to suggestions of Reder, Anderson, and Bjork (1974), encoding specificity is not limited to words that have several semantic senses. The experiment also provided evidence contrary to the hypothesis that recall of unrecognized items comes about because of additional learning opportunities afforded by the recognition test.     

Efficiency of arithmetic operations in bilinguals as a function of language

English-Spanish bilinguals solved simple arithmetic problems and were required to respond In their preferred (P) language. the language In which they originally learned arithmetic, or In their nonpreferred (NP) language. Each arithmetic problem required one. two, or three addition operations. Reaction time was a linear function of number of operations. The intercept for the P language was lower than that for the NP language. but there were no differences In slope. The intercept difference was interpreted In terms of translation time. either as translation of the sum from the P to the NP language or as translation from an abstract representation to the NP as opposed to the P language.     

Story telling in families with children: A therapeutic approach to learning problems

Story telling can be used as an original method to restructure families with children. It actively involves parents in communicating with children in their own language, helping the family to switch from a rational language to an emotional/imaginary one, circumventing resistances and permitting its members to resume a natural path in parent-child communication. This paper illustrates how stories can be used in family interaction for treating problems of family origin. Selected stories were given to parents and children for them to read-listen/make comments/dramatize during the phase of family treatment which dealt specifically with learning problems. Three family cases in which story telling was useful in solving children's disabilities through promoting changes in the family structure and creating or enlightening parental functions of orientation and guidance are analyzed.This work was done at CERF, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and received the Margarita Ravioli Award from the Asociacion Argentina de Psiquiatria Infantil for the best paper in mental health and education, Buenos Aires, September, 1987. We wish to acknowledge psychologists Helen Lamuraglia, Julia Koremblit, and Susana Sola for their therapeutic cooperation with the family cases P and F respectively. We especially thank Harry Aponte, Alberto Gonzalez, and Helen Lamuraglia for their support, comments, and review of the paper, which enriched our scope and discussion.     

A longitudinal study of school adjustment in urban,minority adolescents: Effects of a high school transition program

Described an intervention program designed to prepare elementary school (K-8) eighth-grade students for their transition to high school the following year. Participants in the study were 145, predominantly Hispanic, inner-city public school adolescents. The experimental group received an augmented condition, consisting of Education and Peer Support Components. The control group received a minimal condition consisting of only the Education Component. While no group effects were observed, time effects indicated experimental and control students' improved perceptions of school readiness, but deteriorated perceptions of support from both home and school and diminished grade-point averages and attendance. Time effects also revealed variable changes in school perceptions. Findings are discussed in terms of a developmental perspective of the school transition process. Implications for high school transition programming with the target population and directions for future research are also addressed.     

Impact of the format of user instructions on the handling of a wrist blood pressure monitor

Cognitive Processing - Few studies have focused on procedural documents in the field of home medical devices, although incorrect use and usability problems can have important consequences for the...     

“Now you are the body of Christ,and members in particular” (1 Cor. 12:27): Pentecostalism and its Mission

The paper presents Pentecostalism that is primarily a mission movement more than a hundred years old. It reflects on the place and role in World Christianity of this still young and growing church tradition, and the relationships between Pentecostalism and the ecumenical movement. The challenges that Pentecostalism is facing are discussed, with special attention to the Eastern European context.     

Functioning of integration in Secondary School according to the teachers' perception

The main purpose of this article is to analyse integration in Compulsory Secondary School and the variables that teachers perceive as its indicators. More specifically, we wished to determine teachers' experience, their perceptions of integration students' achievement, participation, acceptance and involvement, and their appraisal of various measures in order to improve integration. Various preferred means of schooling and teachers' perception of the functioning of integration are analysed with a Likert-scaled questionnaire made up of 114 items. The sample comprised 242 secondary education teachers. The results show that the most poorly integrated group of students had behavioural problems and that a significant percentage of the teachers would prefer not to have these students in their classrooms. According to the teachers, integration does not work effectively with some groups of students, mainly due to the lack of resources and adequate strategies.     

Structure of personality pathology in normal and clinical samples: Spanish validation of the DAPP-BQ

Given that the DSM taxonomy of personality disorders is flawed by severe classificatory problems, the development of alternative classificatory systems, such as the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ), has now become a priority. This study examined the internal consistency, second-order factor structure, and criterion validity of a Spanish translation of the DAPP-BQ in two samples: subjects with personality disorder (n = 155) and subjects from the general population (n = 300). Alpha coefficients ranged satisfactorily from .75 to .93. Four second-order factors of Emotional Dysregulation, Dissocial Behavior, Inhibitedness, and Compulsivity were obtained, which were replicable between samples and identical to those reported in the literature. Finally, disordered subjects scored significantly higher than normal subjects on 17 of the 18 DAPP-BQ traits. Some pending issues in the construction of an alternative taxonomy of personality disorders are discussed.