加压素对记忆巩固过程作用的研究 Ⅲ.GABA能药物对加压素易化大白鼠被动回避反应的影响

本文以平台被动回避反应为行为模式,采用侧脑室微量注射AVP和GABA能受体激动剂蝇蕈醇(Muscimol)、受体拮抗剂印防己毒素(Picrotoxin),进一步研究了AVP易化记忆巩固效应及与中枢GABA能系统的关系。主要实验结果如下: 1.AVP对被动回避行为模式的学习训练过程无促进作用,但促进了这种行为的记忆巩固过程,注射AVP的动物记忆保持能力显著高于对照组动物,有效剂量为30ng/大鼠。 2.侧脑室注射100ng/大鼠蝇蕈醇后,AVP仍非常显著地保持其行为效应,但注射100ng/大鼠印防己毒素后,AVP的效应已见下降,剂量增至300ng/大鼠后,AVP的效应已被完全消除。 实验结果再次提示,加压素具有促进记忆巩固过程的中枢性效应,脑内GABA能神经元的活动可能参与了这种效应。     

7-9岁汉、藏、东乡、保安、裕固、哈萨克族儿童语义理解的比较研究

本报告运用三种不同类型的汉语语句,测试六个民族儿童对汉语语义理解的结果表明:(1)在双语教育环境中,六个民族7—9岁儿童对三类句型的理解,由于动机因素的不同,影响第二语言的学习效果。(2)在口语与书面语的转换关系上,无本族文字的民族儿童,学习汉语教材是初次接触到书面语言。(3)文化发展的差异,不仅存在于不同地区的民族之间,而且也存在于不同地区的同一民族之内。(4)进一步分析少数民族儿童使用双语的具体特点,可作为解决双语教育的一个关键问题进行研究。     

Social and Situational Factors Associated With Contraceptive Switching: Implications for Practitioners1

This study was an investigation of contraceptive switching in the context of a 5-wave panel design of diaphragm and pill users from the New York City metropolitan area. The respondents were 525 women between the ages of 14 and 46, who came to one of 10 family planning clinics to obtain birth control, Results indicated a hazard function for switching in which the hazard rate increased in the initial weeks and then gradually declined over time. Clinic experiences on the part of the women were found to alter survivorship trends. Implications of the data for service providers were developed.     

加压素对记忆巩固过程作用的研究 Ⅱ.GABA在加压素易化记忆巩固过程中作用的探讨

本文探讨了脑内GABA能神经元在加压素易化记忆巩固过程中的作用。结果表明,第三天建立实验后立即腹腔注射印防己毒素(picrotoxin,0.5mg/kg),消除了加压素对条件反应消退过程的延缓作用,而注射氨氧乙酸(aminooxy-acetic acid,20mg/kg)获得相反结果。 实验结果提示,脑内GABA能神经元可能参与了加压素对记忆巩固过程的易化作用。     

The relation between type A behavior and chronic emotional distress: a meta-analysis

A meta-analysis was conducted of studies examining the relation between Type A behavior and chronic emotional distress as measured by standard psychological scales. Aggregating across all studies, the average effect size was .27, indicating a positive association between Type A and chronic dysphoria; however, there was considerable variability in the size of the relation among studies. Partitioning by Type A measure revealed that Structured Interview-assessed Type A was unrelated to chronic dysphoric emotions; however, most of the self-report measures of Type A behavior were moderately correlated with upset. The Framingham Type A Scale and the Bortner Scale showed the strongest relations. Thus, contrary to the traditional view, Type A measured by self-report does have some emotional concomitants, although they are not in the pathological range. Also discussed are how the results bear on the proposal that the maladjusted personality confers coronary risk, the implications for reported associations between Type A and illness complaints, and for the study of the Type A as a social psychological construct.     

Chronic self-destructiveness: Conceptualization,measurement, and initial validation of the construct

Individual differences in various behaviors suggest that those who are primarily motivated by current emotional factors are more likely than those motivated by more distant cognitive considerations to engage in acts that are ultimately self-destructive. To assess and explore these behavioral differences, 12 samples of undergraduate subjects, totaling 864 (527 females, 337 males), a group of 15 businesswomen, and 111 male VA patients were used to develop a measure of this construct in a series of reliability and construct validity studies. By means of internal-consistency item analyses, two cross-validated 52-item measures of chronic self-destructiveness were constructed for males and females. Reliability was established with respect to internal consistency (alpha coefficients range from .73 to .97) and temporal consistency over a 1-month period (test-retest correlations range from .90 to .98). There is a slight drop in chronic self-destructiveness scores across age groups. Test scores were found to be positively related to external locus of control, negatively related to Type A coronary-prone behavior, and unrelated to either social desirability response set or need for achievement. Individuals high in chronic self-destructiveness, compared to those with low scores, are more likely to be in treatment for drug or alcohol abuse, to report having cheated in courses, to have had traffic violations, to report having gone through a rebellious stage in adolescence, and to postpone obtaining a medical test for cancer. Chronic self-destructiveness appears to be a personality dimension that affects behavior across a wide range of ages and situations.We wish to thank John Wapner for his assistance in obtaining data in the clinical sample.     

The role and impact of affect in the process of resistance to persuasion

This investigation dealt with the role and impact of affect in the process of resistance. A total of 597 participants took part in the study in 4 phases spanning 6 weeks. Initial results indicated that the cognitive, affective‐anger, and affective‐happiness inoculation treatments all conferred resistance to persuasive attacks. Structural equation analyses were conducted on the cognitive, affective‐anger, and affective‐happiness experimental inoculation conditions in order to examine the process of resistance. The results across all 3 conditions revealed a direct path in which inoculation treatments directly induced resistance to persuasive attacks. However, indirect paths to resistance varied across the 3 experimental conditions. Cognitive inoculation treatments contributed to receiver threat and counterarguing output, which, in turn, enhanced resistance. Thus, the cognitive inoculation treatments triggered a process that is consistent with McGuire's theoretical explanation for resistance. By contrast, both affective‐anger and affective‐happiness inoculation treatments relied more heavily on elicited emotional responses. Finally, the results indicated that greater receiver involvement was positively associated with experienced anger and, therefore, indirectly contributed to resistance, whereas greater receiver self‐efficacy tended to dampen resistance.     

Age-related effects in inter-trial inhibition of attention

Young and older adults indentified the shape of a color oddball in a visual search task, and both showed faster and more accurate responses when the distractor color was passively viewed in the preceding target-absent trial than when the target color was previewed. This inter-trial effect, known as the distractor previewing effect (DPE), reflects an attentional bias that prevents attention from focusing on recently inspected features that failed to produce a target. The results showed that the DPE pattern was preserved across the lifespan, and that the age-related increase in the magnitude of the DPE appeared rooted in age-related slowing, suggesting substantial sparing of this inhibitory effect in old age.     

Diurnal cycle of salivary cortisol in older adult men and women with subjective complaints of memory deficits and/or depressive symptoms: relation to cognitive functioning

In populations of young and older adults, it has been shown that individuals may be categorized into one of three diurnal subgroups when salivary cortisol levels are assessed over a 2-day period and compared for their consistency across days: a typical subgroup, a flat subgroup, and an inconsistent subgroup. Interestingly, recent studies have reported that the typical subgroup represents the majority of the young and older adult population, a finding that is difficult to reconcile with previous studies showing increased cortisol levels in older adults with depression or cognitive impairments. In order to assess whether a typical diurnal cortisol profile is representative across different subgroups of older adults, we assessed diurnal cortisol cycle representation in a sample of older adults with subjective complaints of depression and/or memory problems. Furthermore, given the robust relationship between cortisol and cognitive function, the present study examined the association between the three diurnal subgroups and cognitive performance. Forty-two older individuals were recruited on the basis of reporting subjective complaints of either memory problems and/or depressive mood. Participants were asked to sample their saliva over a 2-day period and were then asked to undergo a neuropsychological evaluation that taps into short-term memory, declarative memory and language. The results showed that 69% of the sample presented a Flat cycle of salivary cortisol over a 2-day period while 19% presented an inconsistent pattern and 12% presented a typical pattern. Participants in the flat subgroup were significantly impaired on letter verbal fluency. Furthermore, a relationship was found between diurnal cortisol subgroup representation and subjective complaint profile. These findings show that older adults with complaints of memory problems and/or depressive symptoms do not present the typical profile of the diurnal cortisol cycle, and they provide a preliminary view of how diurnal cortisol profile relates to cognitive function during human aging.