Re-Considering the Structural Covariates of Gun Crime: An Examination of Direct and Moderated Effects

The prevalence of gun violence in the U.S. has resulted in extensive examination of structural covariates of gun crime. The potential influence of institutionally isolated youth and illegal gun availability remains unexplored. Similarly, studies that simultaneously examine the influence of structural disadvantage and Southern culture are scant. We examine the relationships between these measures and gun crime in a sample of U.S. cities (N = 189) through negative binomial regression of data from the NIBRS and ACS. We find illegal gun availability and structural disadvantage maintain direct relationships with city-level gun crime counts. We also report several significant moderated relationships.     

Prospective Possibilism

There has been considerable debate regarding the relative merits of two theses about moral obligation known as actualism and possibilism. Both theses seek to give expression to the general idea that one ought to do the best one can. According to actualism, one’s obligations turn on what would happen if one chose some course of action, whereas, according to possibilism, they turn on what could happen (i.e., what one could make happen) if one chose some course of action. There are two strands to the debate: the substantive verdicts that the two theses render in particular cases, and the accounts that they yield of the conceptual structure of moral obligation. Possibilism is conceptually appealing, whereas actualism is not, but the latter may seem to render superior substantive verdicts. In this paper, it is argued that, by turning from the objectivist’s emphasis on what is actually best to the prospectivist’s emphasis on what one’s evidence indicates is best, possibilists can provide an account of moral obligation that is both conceptually and substantively attractive.     

Post-retrieval disruption of a cocaine conditioned place preference by systemic and intrabasolateral amygdala β2- and α1-adrenergic antagonists

Previous work has demonstrated post-retrieval impairment in associative learning paradigms, including those mediated by drugs of abuse, using nonspecific β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) antagonists. Remarkably little is known about the role of the specific β-AR subtypes, or other adrenergic receptors, in these effects. The current study examined the effects of β₁ and β₂, as well as α₁-adrenergic receptor antagonism following retrieval of a cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP). We found that rats administered the β₂ antagonist ICI 118,551 (8 mg/kg intraperitoneal [IP]) or the α₁ antagonist prazosin (1 mg/kg IP) following a drug-free test for CPP showed attenuated preference during a subsequent test, while the β₁ antagonist betaxolol (5 or 10 mg/kg IP) and a lower dose of prazosin (0.3 mg/kg IP) had no effect. Furthermore, post-test microinfusion of ICI 118,551 (6 nmol/side) or prazosin (0.5 nmol/side) into the basolateral amygdala (BLA) also impaired a subsequent preference. Systemic or intra-BLA ICI 118,551 or prazosin administered to rats in their home cages, in the absence of a preference test, had no effect on CPP 24 h later. ICI 118,551 also attenuated the FOS response in the BLA induced by the CPP test. These results are the first to demonstrate a role for α₁- and β₂-specific adrenergic mechanisms in post-retrieval memory processes. These systemic and site-specific injections, as well as the FOS immunohistochemical analyses, implicate the importance of specific noradrenergic signaling mechanisms within the BLA in post-retrieval plasticity.Substantial evidence indicates that information acquired during a learning event is initially plastic, at which time memory retention can be disrupted, but is strengthened by a time-dependent consolidation process (McGaugh 2000). Recent work has focused on retrieval-induced plasticity, a process by which changes in the retention of previously acquired information are possible. The notion of reconsolidation, one theoretical mechanism by which such changes may occur, suggests that a retrieved memory enters a labile state and is vulnerable to disruption (Sara 2000; Nader 2003). Although the theoretical mechanisms underlying reconsolidation remain unclear, the behavioral effects have been demonstrated across many different learning paradigms using a variety of pharmacological manipulations (for review, see Tronson and Taylor 2007; Diergaarde et al. 2008). Studies with aversive and appetitive preparations, including drug reward-mediated learning, have demonstrated that the noradrenergic system is important for these post-retrieval memory processes (Przybyslawski et al. 1999; Debiec and Ledoux 2004; Bernardi et al. 2006; Diergaarde et al. 2006; Robinson and Franklin 2007; Abrari et al. 2008; Fricks-Gleason and Marshall 2008; Milton et al. 2008). For example, using an animal model of cocaine-conditioned behaviors, Bernardi et al. (2006) demonstrated that systemic post-retrieval administration of propranolol impaired a subsequent conditioned place preference (CPP), suggesting that β-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs) play an important role in processes occurring following drug memory retrieval.However, most of what is known about the noradrenergic system in the memory processes that follow cued reminder trials comes from studies that use nonspecific β-AR antagonists, such as propranolol. As a consequence, several issues regarding ARs and post-retrieval memory processes remain unresolved. First, because propranolol has affinity for both β₁- and β₂-AR subtypes, it is unclear which subtype mediates these effects. To date, no studies have examined reconsolidation-like impairments using subtype-specific β-AR antagonists, which is important because more specific medications may be equally efficacious with less adverse effects. Second, no studies to date have examined α-ARs regarding a potential role in reconsolidation-like effects. α-ARs—specifically α₁-ARs—have a demonstrated role in memory consolidation (Ferry et al. 1999a,b) and may also mediate post-retrieval processes. Third, although the BLA has had a demonstrated role in reconsolidation-like effects in numerous studies, the behavioral conditions during retrieval of drug-associated memories leading to gene expression within the basolateral amygdala (BLA) have not clearly been defined. Specifically, in the CPP paradigm used here, it is unclear whether exposure to a cocaine cue alone will induce gene expression or whether a preference for the drug-associated environment needs to be expressed for BLA involvement (Franklin and Druhan 2000; Miller and Marshall 2005).Understanding the role of specific adrenergic receptors in mediating post-retrieval memory processes is particularly important in drug-induced CPP. In humans, drug-associated stimuli can facilitate drug use (Gawin 1991; See 2005) or precipitate relapse following abstinence (O''Brien et al. 1992). Thus, pharmacotherapies targeting these memory processes would benefit from a clearer understanding of the specific receptors that mediate behavioral effects (Taylor et al. 2009).Here, we first examined the effects of systemic post-test β₁-, β₂-, and α₁-AR antagonism on cocaine CPP. We then focused on the BLA due to its involvement in reconsolidation-like effects in drug learning paradigms (e.g., Lee et al. 2005), employing microinfusions of AR antagonists and measuring FOS immunoreactivity (FOS-IR) to examine the BLA as a potential site of AR-mediated impairments.     

When the expectations from a message will not be realized: Naïve theories can eliminate expectation-congruent judgments via correction

Research typically reveals that individuals like an object more when a persuasive message convinces them that this object is pleasant. In this paper, two experiments were conducted to understand the influence of such message-induced affective-expectations on judgments of experienced affect following direct encounter with an alcohol type of drink. As predicted, before trying the drink, recipients of the positive-expectation message had more positive expectations than recipients of the negative-expectation message. After drinking, participants judged the beverage to elicit affect congruent with message-induced expectations to the extent they did not endorse a naïve theory that their affective expectations congruently influence their experienced affect. In contrast, after drinking, the effect of the message disappeared when participants did endorse this naïve theory. Moderation of these effects, as well as theoretical and practical implications, are addressed.     

Psychological plausibility of the theory of probabilistic mental models and the fast and frugal heuristics

The theory of probabilistic mental models (PMM; G. Gigerenzer, U. Hoffrage, & H. Kleinb?lting, 1991) has had a major influence on the field of judgment and decision making, with the most recent important modifications to PMM theory being the identification of several fast and frugal heuristics (G. Gigerenzer & D. G. Goldstein, 1996). These heuristics were purported to provide psychologically plausible cognitive process models that describe a variety of judgment behavior. In this article, the authors evaluate the psychological plausibility of the assumptions upon which PMM were built and, consequently, the psychological plausibility of several of the fast and frugal heuristics. The authors argue that many of PMM theory's assumptions are questionable, given available data, and that fast and frugal heuristics are, in fact, psychologically implausible.     

Increasing and decreasing motor and cognitive output: a model of general action and inaction goals

General action and inaction goals can influence the amount of motor or cognitive output irrespective of the type of behavior in question, with the same stimuli producing trivial and important motor and cognitive manifestations normally viewed as parts of different systems. A series of experiments examined the effects of instilling general action and inaction goals using word primes, such as "action" and "rest." The first 5 experiments showed that the same stimuli influenced motor output, such as doodling on a piece of paper and eating, as well as cognitive output, such as recall and problem solving. The last 2 experiments supported the prediction that these diverse effects can result from the instigation of general action and inaction goals. Specifically, these last 2 studies confirmed that participants were motivated to achieve active or inactive states and that attaining them decreased the effects of the primes on behavior.     

GABA(A) receptors determine the temporal dynamics of memory retention

Four experiments studied the role of GABA(A) receptors in the temporal dynamics of memory retention. Memory for an active avoidance response was a nonmonotonic function of the retention interval. When rats were tested shortly (2 min) or some time (24 h) after training, retention was excellent, but when they were tested at intermediate intervals (1-4 h), retention was poor. Activity at GABA(A) receptors was critical for impairing memory retention at the intermediate intervals because injection of the GABA(A) receptor partial inverse agonist FG7142 prior to test significantly improved performance. These retention enhancing effects of FG7142 were dose-dependent and not due to any nonspecific effects of FG7142 on activity. Our results suggest that the temporal dynamics of memory retention may be caused by variations in neurotransmission through the GABA(A) receptor in the post-training period.     

Agency,perception, space and subjectivity

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences - The goal of this paper is to illuminate the connections between agency, perception, subjectivity, space and the body. Such connections have been the...     

Enhancing Outcomes for Struggling Readers: Empirical Analysis of The Fluency Development Lesson

This study investigated the efficacy of the Fluency Development Lesson (FDL) in improving reading achievement in primary grade struggling readers. 30 readers, enrolled in a summer reading clinic, participated in daily 40-min mini-reading lessons across 5 weeks. During the fluency lessons, readers practiced and developed their literacy skills through participation in repeated readings, word work, rehearsal, and performance. Assessments measured comprehension, reading fluency, including word recognition accuracy, reading speed, and prosody. Control students also took the pre- and post-intervention tests; their performance did not change with repeated testing. The Fluency Development Lesson students showed significant gains on all measures.