Pre-training to find a hidden platform in the Morris water maze can compensate for a deficit to find a cued platform in a rat model of Parkinson's disease

The bilateral intranigral infusion of 1 micromol 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) in adult male Wistar rats caused a specific and partial loss of substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopamine neurons, a partial depletion of striatal dopamine, and a deficit to learn the intra-maze cued version of the Morris water maze. Pre-training the SNc rats in the spatial version of the water maze or simply maintaining the animals on the water maze platform reversed this deficit. This improvement was even observed when the order of the extra-maze cues presented to the rats during pre-training of the spatial version was changed during training of the intra-maze cued version. However, this deficit was not reversed either by maintaining the animals on the platform if the spatial cues were surrounded and covered with a curtain or by swimming sessions in the maze without the escape platform and the curtain. These findings suggest that none of the following elements alone, learned during the spatial task pre-training, could help SNc rats learn the intra-maze cued task: improvement of swimming skills or knowledge of the existence of the escape platform; distance between the platform and the border of the pool; location of a particular extra-maze cue; relations among extra-maze cues. However, the simultaneous presence of the escape platform and extra-maze cues (irrespective of their relational configuration) during the pre-training sessions proved to be necessary for this improving effect to occur.     

What children do on the Internet: domains visited and their relationship to socio-demographic characteristics and academic performance.

HomeNetToo is a longitudinal field study designed to examine the antecedents and consequences of home Internet use in low-income families. Participants included 140 children, mostly 13-year-old African American (83%) boys (58%), living in single-parent households (75%) where the median annual income was $15,000 (USD). This report focuses on children's Internet activities, socio-demographic characteristics related to their Internet activities, and the relationship between academic performance and Internet activities. Overall, findings indicate that low-income children initially use the Internet primarily for entertainment. As home Internet use loses its novelty children become more focused in their Internet activities, reducing the number of websites they visit and visiting more websites targeted to their specific interests. Pornography websites are popular initially, especially among boys, but their popularity decreases dramatically after 3 months. Age, race, and sex have little influence on which websites are most popular. Academic performance predicts subsequent Internet activities, and Internet activities predict subsequent academic performance. Directions for future research to identify mechanisms that mediate the relationship between Internet activities and academic performance and implications for the digital divide are discussed.     

Combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder: a case report using virtual reality exposure therapy with physiological monitoring.

The current report summarizes a case study from an Office of Naval Research (ONR) funded project to compare the effects of virtual reality graded exposure therapy (VRGET) with cognitive behavioral group therapy in active-duty corpsmen. Details of the collaborative program between the Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC) and Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) will be discussed.     

Use of virtual reality distraction to reduce claustrophobia symptoms during a mock magnetic resonance imaging brain scan: a case report.

The present case series with two patients explored whether virtual reality (VR) distraction could reduce claustrophobia symptoms during a mock magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan. Two patients who met DSM-IV criteria for specific phobia, situational type (i.e., claustrophobia) reported high levels of anxiety during a mock 10-min MRI procedure with no VR, and asked to terminate the scan early. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either VR or music distraction for their second scan attempt. When immersed in an illusory three-dimensional (3D) virtual world named SnowWorld, patient 1 was able to complete a 10-min mock scan with low anxiety and reported an increase in self-efficacy afterwards. Patient 2 received "music only" distraction during her second scan but was still not able to complete a 10-min scan and asked to terminate her second scan early. These results suggest that immersive VR may prove effective at temporarily reducing claustrophobia symptoms during MRI scans and music may prove less effective.     

Fatigue estimation using voice analysis

In the present article, we present a means to remotely and transparently estimate an individual's level of fatigue by quantifying changes in his or her voice characteristics. Using Voice analysis to estimate fatigue is unique from established cognitive measures in a number of ways: (1) speaking is a natural activity requiring no initial training or learning curve, (2) voice recording is a unobtrusive operation allowing the speakers to go about their normal work activities, (3) using telecommunication infrastructure (radio, telephone, etc.) a diffuse set of remote populations can be monitored at a central location, and (4) often, previously recorded voice data are available for post hoc analysis. By quantifying changes in the mathematical coefficients that describe the human speech production process, we were able to demonstrate that for speech sounds requiring a large average air flow, a speaker's voice changes in synchrony with both direct measures of fatigue and with changes predicted by the length of time awake.     

Promoting foot–leg movements in children with multiple disabilities through the use of support devices and technology for regulating contingent stimulation

The present study assessed the possibility of promoting pre-ambulatory foot–leg movements in children with multiple disabilities by motivating their action through contingent stimulation combined with a support device. Two children aged 10 and 8 years participated. Microswitch technology (i.e., pressure sensors under the shoes or optic sensors at the front–inner side of the shoes) served for detecting the foot–leg movements and providing contingent stimulation on their occurrence. Sensor activation produced 5 s of stimulation during intervention. Data showed that both children had significant increases in foot–leg movements during the intervention phases. Implications of the data in terms of skill acquisition and further intervention prospects are discussed.     

Promoting adaptive foot movements and reducing hand mouthing and eye poking in a boy with multiple disabilities through microswitch technology

This study assessed the viability of a microswitch cluster (i.e. a combination of microswitches) plus contingent stimulation for promoting adaptive responding and reducing aberrant behavior in a boy with profound multiple disabilities. The boy was initially taught an adaptive foot-movement response that activated a motion microswitch and produced preferred stimuli. Subsequently, his foot response led to preferred stimuli only if it occurred in the absence of aberrant behavior (i.e. hand mouthing and eye poking which were detected through optic microswitches). Moreover, full access to the stimuli required that the boy refrain from aberrant behavior during their presentation as well. The study also included a 3-month post-intervention check and a social validation assessment. Data showed that the boy (i) increased his adaptive responding, (ii) learned to perform this responding largely free from aberrant behavior and refrained from that behavior for most of the session time, and (iii) maintained this performance at the post-intervention check. The social validation ratings of 40 teachers and teacher assistants significantly favored the last intervention period (in which aberrant behavior was reduced) over the initial period.     

Mechanisms of the associated nontargets effect: processes influenced by statistical learning in a simple visual environment

In three visual search experiments participants were asked to make a target response if either of two targets was present and to make a nontarget response if neither target was present. Some target-absent displays included only nontarget features that never occurred in the same displays as target features, whereas other target-absent displays included nontarget features that did sometimes occur with target features. Nontarget responses were reliably faster in the former case than in the latter. This “associated nontargets effect” appears to arise from participants' ability to learn and to use contingencies between the presence of certain nontargets and the absence of any target.     

Personality Correlates of Self-Esteem

The current study examined the relation between self-esteem and the Big Five personality dimensions. Data were collected over the Internet from a large heterogeneous sample of individuals who ranged in age from 9 to 90 years (N = 326,641). Collectively, the Big Five accounted for 34% of the variance in self-esteem. High self-esteem individuals were emotionally stable, extraverted, and conscientious and were somewhat agreeable and open to experience. Despite an extensive search for potential mediators and moderators of this general pattern, the relations between self-esteem and the Big Five largely cut across age, sex, social class, ethnicity, and nationality (United States vs non-United States). High self-esteem individuals tended to ascribe socially desirable traits to themselves, and this tendency partially mediated relations between the Big Five and self-esteem. Discussion focuses on interpreting the social desirability effects, limitations of the study, and directions for future research.