Selective Synaptic Plasticity within the Cerebellar Cortex Following Complex Motor Skill Learning

Complex motor skill learning, but not mere motor activity, leads to an increase in synapse number within the cerebellar cortex. The present experiment used quantitative electron microscopy to determine which synapse types were altered in number. Adult female rats were allocated to either an acrobatic condition (AC), a voluntary exercise condition (VX), or an inactive condition (IC). AC animals were trained to traverse an elevated obstacle course requiring substantial motor coordination to complete. VX animals were housed with unlimited access to running wheels and IC animals received no motor training but were handled briefly each day. Results showed the AC animals to have significantly more parallel fiber to Purkinje cell synapses than both the VX and IC animals. No other synapse type was significantly altered. Thus, the learning-dependent increase in synapse number observed within the cerebellar cortex is accomplished primarily through the addition of parallel fiber synapses.     

Self-Esteem, Erotophobia, and Retention of Contraceptive and AIDS Information in the Classroom

It has been well documented that people with negative emotional reactions to sex (e.g., "erotophobia,""sex guilt") have less knowledge about contraception than do people with more positive reactions. Recent research has suggested that this deficit is not related to an inability to learn the information, but is due at least in part to the fact that erotophobics actively avoid contraceptive information. The current study was designed to examine the role of erotophobia and high self-esteem in resistance to learning sexual information. More specifically it compared pretest and posttest knowledge of contraception and AIDS in high self-esteem and low self-esteem, erotophobia, and erotophilic women in a university class on human reproduction. As expected, high self-esteem erotophobic subjects were less Likely than other subjects to retain contraceptive and AIDS information presented in the class. Implications of this study for contraceptive and AIDS educational strategies are discussed.     

The Acquaintance Predicament of a Rape Victim1

The acquaintance predicament of a rape victim was examined in six experiments with between-subjects designs with samples drawn from the undergraduate student population of the University of Bombay. The experiments used rape vignettes for the manipulation of all independent variables except subject's sex and were done in three pairs such that each pair had the same independent variables and first dependent measure, namely, recommended years of imprisonment for the rapist. The second dependent measure was attributed victim's fault in the first experiment and perceived likelihood of rape in the second experiment of each pair. The first pair of experiments had a 2 (subject's sex) × 2 (acquainted vs. unacquainted rapist) × 3 (rapist's status: manager, stenotypist, or watchman) × 2 (complaint vs. no complaint by victim) design, with the rape victim being described as a stenotypist. The second pair of experiments differed from the first pair in only one respect, with victim's marital status (married vs. divorced victim) replacing the independent variable of complaint of the first pair. The third pair of experiments had a 2 (subject's sex) × 2 (physically hurt vs. not hurt victim) × 5 (rapist's relationship with victim: husband, fiance, friend, acquaintance, or stranger) design. Female subjects, as compared to male subjects, recommended longer imprisonment for the rapist, attributed less fault to the victim, and perceived greater likelihood of rape. The victim was attributed less fault in case of stranger rape versus acquaintance rape and also less fault in the complaint versus the no complaint condition. Longer imprisonment was recommended for the rapist when the victim was physically hurt rather than not hurt.     

Bullying in elementary school, high school, and college

This study investigated the continuity in being a bully, victim, or bully-victim from elementary school through college in 119 undergraduates. Of 25 who bullied in college, 18 (72%) had been bullied in high school and elementary school. Of 26 bullies in college, 14 (53.8%) had been bullies in high school and elementary school. Of 12 bully-victims in college, 5 (41.6%) had been bully-victims in high school and elementary school. There were significant positive correlations between being a bully in college, high school, and elementary school, and being bullied in college and high school, and high school and elementary school, and between being both a bully and victim in elementary school, a bully and victim in high school, and a bully and victim in college.     

Withdrawal from cocaine self-administration produces long-lasting deficits in orbitofrontal-dependent reversal learning in rats

Drug addicts make poor decisions. These decision-making deficits have been modeled in addicts and laboratory animals using reversal-learning tasks. However, persistent reversal-learning impairments have been shown in rats and monkeys only after noncontingent cocaine injections. Current thinking holds that to represent the human condition effectively, animal models of addiction must utilize self-administration procedures in which drug is earned contingently; thus, it remains unclear whether reversal-learning deficits caused by noncontingent cocaine exposure are relevant to addiction. To test whether reversal learning deficits are caused by contingent cocaine exposure, we trained rats to self-administer cocaine, assessed cue-induced cocaine seeking in extinction tests after 1 and 30 d of withdrawal, and then tested for reversal learning more than a month later. We found robust time-dependent increases in cue-induced cocaine seeking in the two extinction tests (incubation of craving) and severe reversal-learning impairments.     

Adolescents let sufficient evidence accumulate before making a decision when large incentives are at stake

Adolescent decision‐making has been described as impulsive and suboptimal in the presence of incentives. In this study we examined the neural substrates of adolescent decision‐making using a perceptual discrimination task for which small and large rewards were associated with correctly detecting the direction of motion of a cloud of moving dots. Adults showed a reward bias of faster reaction times on trials for which the direction of motion was associated with a large reward. Adolescents, in contrast, were slower to make decisions on trials associated with large rewards. This behavioral pattern in adolescents was paralleled by greater recruitment of fronto‐parietal regions important in representing the accumulation of evidence sufficient for selecting one choice over its alternative and the certainty of that choice. The findings suggest that when large incentives are dependent on performance, adolescents may require more evidence to accumulate prior to responding, to be certain to maximize their gains. Adults, in contrast, appear to be quicker in evaluating the evidence for a decision when primed by rewards. Overall these findings suggest that rather than reacting hastily, adolescents can be incentivized to take more time to make decisions when large rewards are at stake. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at http://youtu.be/1g4F5vzFDl0     

Work Family Conflict Among Parents of Atypically Developing Children: Exploring the Impact of Worker,Work, and Child Factors

The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of worker characteristics (e.g., time spent caring for others), workplace support, and child characteristics on work family conflict among parents of atypically developing children. Participants (N = 51) were employed parents of atypically developing children who completed measures of work family conflict, workplace supports (i.e., supervisory support and organizationally supportive cultures), the availability and use of family supportive workplace programs, child characteristics, and worker characteristics. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that worker and child characteristics significantly predicted work family conflict, work in family interference, and family in work interference. In addition, workplace supports significantly predicted work family conflict and family in work interference. Implications of the results for managing the work family life interface are discussed.     

Comparing Education,Employment, Social Support and Well-being among Youth with Disabilities and Their Peers in South Africa

Youth with disabilities face many challenges in life which are thought to have a negative impact on their well-being. Evidence, however, suggests that individuals differ in their resilience to deal with adverse life-events and protect their well-being. These differences may be explained by an individual’s resources such as education, employment, and social support. Studies on how youth with disabilities perceive their well-being and resources important to their well-being are, however, lacking. In this study we therefore compared education, employment, social support, and well-being between youth with disabilities (n?=?120) and their peers (n?=?117) in South Africa. In addition, we investigated the relationship between background characteristics, having a disability, access to resources, and well-being. The unemployment rate among youth with disabilities is higher, they are less educated, receive less social support and report poorer states of well-being. Our study showed that having a disability, social support, and employment were associated with the well-being of youth in South Africa. While having a disability predicted well-being in youth, the effect was mediated by employment and social support, indicating that those two resources influence wellbeing through both a direct and buffer effect. Therefore, employment and social support may mitigate the negative consequences of a disability and have a substantial role in improving or maintaining well-being.