Using brief assessments to evaluate aberrant behavior maintained by attention

We examined the use of brief functional assessments to identify idiosyncratic variables associated with aberrant behavior maintained by positive reinforcement in the form of attention. Two participants with severe developmental disabilities and their parents were involved in the assessment and treatment evaluation process. A modified attention condition was introduced, which involved both parents interacting with a third person. Results of the assessment demonstrated that aberrant behavior occurred only in the modified attention condition for both participants. Treatment consisted of the parents delivering attention on a fixed-time schedule during this specific social context. Results indicated that the treatment reduced problem behavior. Follow-up evaluations with 1 participant indicated maintenance of treatment effects for up to 6 months.     

Using fMRI to study recovery from acquired dysphasia

We have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to characterize brain activations associated with two distinct language tasks performed by a 28-year-old woman after partial recovery from dysphasia due to a left frontal hemispheric ischemic stroke. MRI showed that her ischemic lesion extended posteriorly from the left inferior frontal to the perisylvian cortex. fMRI scans of both language tasks revealed substantial differences in activation pattern relative to controls. The nature of this difference was task-specific. During performance of a verbal semantic decision task, the patient, in contrast to controls, activated a network of brain areas that excluded the inferior frontal gyrus (in either hemisphere). A second task involving rhyme judgment was designed to place a heavier cognitive load on language production processes and activated the left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca's area) strongly in normal controls. During this task, the most prominent frontal activation in the patient occurred in the right homologue of Broca's area. Subsequent analysis of this data by methods able to deal with responses of changing amplitude revealed additional, less sustained recruitment by the patient of cortex adjacent to the infarct in the region inferior to Broca's area during rhyming. These results suggest that in addition to changes in cognitive strategy, recovery from dysphasia could be mediated by both the preservation of neuronal networks in and around the infarct and the use of homologous regions in the contralateral hemisphere.     

Dementia with Lewy bodies: a pure case

A pure case of autopsy-confirmed dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is described. The patient presented with distinctive verbal fluency deficits in the context of mild language impairment, intact recognition memory, and impaired paragraph recall. Neuroimaging (CT and SPECT) showed progressive medial temporal lobe atrophy. Neuropathology revealed Lewy bodies, degeneration in the substantia nigra, nucleus basalis of Meynert (Nakano & Hirano, 1984), and locus ceruleus, but no pathology characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. It is in this sense that the case is "pure" DLB. Early neuropsychological diagnosis of DLB is essential (Salmon et al., 1996) given the potentially fatal hazard of neuroleptics (McKeith et al., 1992) and the difficulties associated with clinical neurological diagnoses (Litvan et al., 1998).     

Choice in a self-control paradigm with human subjects: Effects of changeover delay duration

The present experiment examined the choices of human subjects as a function of changeover delay (COD) duration. A self-control paradigm was used; subjects chose between larger, more delayed and smaller, less delayed reinforcers. The COD durations were 1 s, 15 s, and 30 s. The results indicated that at the 1-s COD, the subjects distributed their responses approximately equally between the two response alternatives. However, at the 15-s and 30-s COD durations, the subjects tended to demonstrate virtually exclusive preference for the larger, more delayed reinforcer. Furthermore, increasing the COD duration significantly increased the subjects' sensitivity to variation in reinforcer delay. Increasing the COD duration also increased the subjects' sensitivity to reinforcer amount, but this effect was not significant. The results are qualitatively consistent with an interpretation that the subjects followed a strategy which attempted to maximize overall amount of reinforcement.     

Relationship between perceived job stress and physical and psychological strain among university administrators

The relations between eight job stresses and symptoms of physical and psychological strain were examined among 56 university administrators. Only three of the 16 stressor-strain correlations were significant, suggesting that stress is weakly related to individual strain in this sample.     

Test-taking behaviors by hypertensive and normotensive individuals

Systematic ratings were made on the Tulane Test-Behavior Scale of the global and integrated behaviors observable for hypertensive and normotensive subjects as they worked to complete a battery of neuropsychological tests--the degree of attention and effort displayed, for example, self-confidence and self-criticism. The results for 82 subjects (41 subject pairs matched for age, race, and education) revealed substantial and consistent differences between groups. Early, mild hypertensive subjects (unmedicated) displayed significantly less optimal behaviors than did normotensive controls. These may be best understood as subtle functional consequences of the abnormal physiological state imposed on the brain by a chronically elevated blood pressure, just as the functional disruptions of reduced kidney filtration fraction or minor abnormalities of the electrocardiogram appear early in the course of the disorder for other target organs. Certain testable implications of this hypothesis are discussed.     

Song repertoire development in male cowbirds (Molothrus ater): its relation to female assessment of song potency

Two studies were conducted to investigate the relation between the male cowbird's (Molothrus ater ater) development of a song repertoire and the female cowbird's assessment of song potency. Male development was assayed by vocal copying and female assessment by copulatory responsiveness to song playback. The results demonstrate that males do not copy most often the particular songs that females respond to most often. Whereas rank orderings of potency were highly correlated across two independent samples of playback females, male and female rank orderings were not significantly correlated. The data highlight the potential significance of social interactions between and across the sexes for repertoire development.     

Social metrics of song learning

Five metrics of song learning are described for brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater). The intent of these metrics is to capture not only the behavior of the song learner but the social context in which song learning occurs. Playback procedures, observations of mating, and acoustic and functional assessment of song content are combined to yield measures of song potency, functional validity, social dynamics, vocal flexibility, and social reactivity. Taken as a whole, the results revealed by these metrics indicate that males learn to be effective singers by attending to the social consequences of their behavior.     

Religious and therapeutic elements in Sufi teaching stories

Like the teaching stories of many other religions—the parables of Jesus, Zen koans, Hasidic tales—the stories of the Sufis, or Islamic mystics, offer important insights into the nature of religious experience and emotional well-being. This paper discusses the comments of selected Sufi tales on the basic structure of situations, non-rational or lateral problem-solving techniques, the process of consciousness-raising, and the experience of confronting unexpected reality.     

Treatment of incest and pedophilic offenders: A pilot study

Twenty-nine incest and 22 heterosexual pedophilic offenders, under sentence, participated in a study of therapeutic outcome. Results showed the two groups were remarkably similar in their pretreatment level of psychosocial functioning. However, pedophiles had a significantly higher recidivism rate than incestuous men. Incest offenders, on the whole, changed most relative to single or married pedophiles. Pedophiles appeared more treatment resistant in dealing with their disturbed family relations, verbal hostility, irritability, and feelings of anger that, in part, underlie their sexual anomaly. At follow-up 36 months later, only 2 incest and 4 pedophilic men had recidivated. The discussion links these findings with earlier research and proposes a multimodal, group-oriented approach to treating sex offenders.