Correlations of normality and nervousness with cardiovascular functions in pointer dogs

Methylphenidate, 0.5 mg/kg, injected intravenously, was used in 10 normal (A line) and 10 genetically nervous (E line) dogs in a blind-design experiment to aid in prediction, from cardiovascular recordings alone, of behavioral normalityversus nervousness. The prediction was 75 per cent correct, based on heart rate (HR), form of the electrocardiogram (EKG), pattern of sinus arrhythmia, and pattern of HR response to methylphenidate. Nervous dogs were found to have slower baseline HR’s, delayed return of HR to baseline after methylphenidate, greater occurrence of baseline EKG abnormalities and much greater frequency of these after methylphenidate. Degree of nervousness was found to correlate rather highly (1)negatively with baseline HR level, (2)negatively with speed of BP response, and (3)positively with frequency of some of the EKG manifestations. These data, indicative of a relative inertness of physiological functions of nervous pointer dogs compared with normal pointers, are consistent with the behavioral and some of the biochemical findings previously reported.     

A color aftereffect contingent on complex pattern features

It was shown that a McCollough-type color aftereffect could be induced using a pair of patterns each of which contained lines of many orientations (radial lines and concentric circles). That is, the two patterns appear to be color adapted independently. The effect could simply be a new version of the McCollough effect facilitated by a tendency to fixate the centers of the patterns. Also, the size features of the displays could be used as the basis of a spatial frequency analyzer explanation. Experimental data were used to test both of these suggestions, but very little support was found for either. It was therefore suggested that the major basis of the effect was the color adaptation of “curvature analyzers.”     

Parent and actometer measures of motor activity level in the young infant

Motor activity level is one dimension of infant temperament for which parental judgment can be validated against a truly independent criterion. Two studies were conducted, the first involving a 27-min sample of behavior in a structured, attention-getting situation, and the second involving a 24-hr sample of in-home behavior. In both studies, parent perception of the 3- or 4-month-old as measured by the Activity Level (AL) scale of the Rothbart Infant Behavior Questionnaire was compared to the composited readings from four mechanical motion recorders (actometers) worn, one per limb, by the infant. The AL scale did not correlate with the actometer measure, r=.05 and R=.00, and the expected convergence of the 3-month version of the IBQ activity scale with its mechanical counterpart was not found. In the 24-hr study, birth order and ponderal index were significantly correlated with 24-hr actometer scores; first-borns and thin infants were most active.     

Prevalence and prediction of chemotherapy-related anxiety, nausea and vomiting in cancer patients

Anxiety, nausea and vomiting before, during and after chemotherapy administration were studied in 50 cancer patients. In addition, patient responses to the Autonomic Perception Questionnaire (APQ) and their relation to the anxiety, nausea and vomiting scores was studied. Anticipatory anxiety occurred in 66% and anticipatory nausea in 40% of the patients; 14% showed anticipatory vomiting. The number of patients reporting anxiety decreased to 38% after chemotherapy, whereas nausea and vomiting increased to 47 and 49%, respectively. APQ scores correlated significantly with anxiety and nausea reports during all time periods, but not with the frequency of vomiting.