The relationship between frontalis muscle activity and self-reports of headache pain

The relationship between levels of frontalis muscle activity and self-reports of pain was evaluated in two studies. In Study I frontalis muscle activity and self-reports of pain collected during biofeedback treatment of muscular contraction headache clients were correlated. In Study II frontalis EMG activity was increased and decreased using biofeedback techniques while concurrent reports of headache pain were recorded. The results of Study I indicated a significant relationship between EMG activity and reported headache pain for only two of the five subjects studied. The biofeedback procedures in Study II were associated with reliable increases and decreases in EMG activity. Concordance between EMG and pain reports occurred only during the EMG increase condition. Overall correlations were significant for one of the 2 subjects. The results suggest that EMG activity may not be sufficient to account for pain reports in all chronic headache clients, and variables other than EMG activity may be influencing reports of pain in some patients.     

Individualized behavior therapy for alcoholics: a third year independent double-blind follow-up.

An independently conducted double-blind study providing third year follow-up data for 53 of 70 male alcoholics who served as subjects in an experiment evaluating “Individualized Behavior Therapy (IBT)” techniques is reported. In the original study, subjects were initially assigned to either a controlled drinking or non-drinking (abstinence) treatment goal, and were then randomly assigned to either an experimental group receiving IBT or a control group receiving conventional state hospital treatment oriented towards abstinence. Previously reported results showed that IBT subjects functioned significantly better than control subjects throughout the first year of follow-up. Second year follow-up results found that IBT subjects treated with a controlled drinking goal functioned significantly better than their respective control subjects on a variety of measures, including drinking behavior. Differences between IBT subjects treated with a non-drinking goal and their control subjects did not retain statistical significance during the second year of follow-up. The independently determined follow-up data showed that during the third post-treatment year, subjects in the experimental groups generally functioned better than their respective control subjects. Comparison of the controlled drinking experimental group with its control group showed the significantly better functioning of subjects in the experimental condition on a number of drinking and other life functioning measures. Comparison of the non-drinking groups indicated only one possible difference on the drinking related measures involving a trend for subjects in the experimental condition to abstain more than those in the non-drinker control group. On other life functioning measures, however, subjects in the non-drinking experimental condition showed consistent improvement over their respective control subjects. Both of the controlled drinking groups reported more controlled drinking days than the non-drinking groups throughout the third year follow-up period.     

The development of ethnic identity and ethnic role taking skills in children from different school settings

The current studies were designed to investigate the influence of variations in type of school setting on the development of role-taking skills and ethnic identity. We were interested in groups of school children in grades 1 to 5 inclusive from three different types of language programs: (1) instruction in the native language (English in this case); (2) total instruction in a second language (French); and (3) partial instruction in a second language (French). All children were native-English speaking, and came from perdominantly middle class families with monolingual English-speaking parents. The children from each program were equated at each grade level on age, and verbal and non-verbal I.Q. It was expected that (1) children in the second language programs would develop identity with their native language reference group later and less consistently than children in the native language programs; because (2) the second language children would identify more with the second language ethnic group; (3) the second language children would be able to understand at an earlier grade level than the native language group the principle of reciprocity in role-taking; and (4) these difference would be more pronounced for the totally than for the partially immersed second language children. The children were required to rate a number of ethnic dolls on a 20 point rating scale according to (1) how much each would be desired as a personal friend, (2) how much each would be desired as a friend for a member of another specific ethnic group, and (3) how similar each doll was to the child. The results indicated general support for hypotheses (1), (2) and (4), particularly among the primary school samples (1, 2), but a lack of support for hypothesis (3). These results demonstrate the influence of socio-cultural factors on the development of ethnic identity and ethnic role-taking skills.     

Behavioral effects of neurotoxic lesions of the ascending monoamine pathways in the rat brain

Intracranial microinjections of 6-hydroxydopamine or 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine into six ascending monoamine pathways produced the expected patterns of depletion of telencephalic serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Serotonin level was specifically lowered after dorsal or median raphe lesions but not after mesolimbic or nigrostriatal system lesions which lowered both norepinephrine and dopamine. Lesions in the locus coeruleus or ventral nor-adrenergic bundle lowered only norepinephrine, and locus coeruleus lesions elevated serotonin level. Behavior was examined in an open field, one-way active avoidance, and two passive avoidance tasks, and measures were taken of water consumption and body weight. Dorsal raphe lesions had no effect on any of the measures; the other five lesion groups exhibited deficient acquisition of the one-way active avoidance task. In the appetitive passive avoidance task, only the substantia nigra lesion group exhibited a deficiency. In the step-through passive avoidance task, both the substantia nigra and the median raphe groups exhibited a deficit, with the median raphe group exhibiting hyperactivity in the start box during testing. Water consumption was decreased by lesions in the ventral noradrenergic bundle during the first postoperative week and was increased in the median raphe group by the fourth postoperative week. Lastly, lesions in the locus coeruleus dramatically decreased activity in the open field. The results are discussed in regard to the search for specificity of behavioral functions of the distinct ascending monoamine pathways.     

Inferior temporal lesions do not impair discrimination of rotated patterns in monkeys.

Ablation of inferior temporal cortex in the rhesus monkey produces a visual discrimination learning deficit. The severity of this deficit has often been found to be a function of task difficulty. This report concerns a type of visual discrimination problem that, although difficult, is not sensitive to inferior temporal lesions. Monkeys with anterior, posterior, and complete inferior temporal lesions were repeatedly unimpaired or only slightly impaired in learning to discriminate a pattern from the same pattern rotated 90 degrees or 180 degrees; yet they were very severely impaired in learning equally or more difficult discriminations of two different patterns. This demonstration that discrimination of orientation of patterns is relatively spared after inferior temporal lesions helps specify the pattern-recognition processes that require inferior temporal cortex.     

A functional measurement analysis of the development of dimensional coordination in children

The development of children's dimensional coordination was investigated using kindergarten, second, fourth, and sixth grade subjects (Ages 5, 7, 9, and 11 years, respectively), and an adult sample, by means of a perceptual estimation task requiring the subjects to match in total area a stimulus rectangle to an adjustable square stimulus. The problem was formulated using information integration theory, and the procedures and techniques of functional measurement were used in the analysis. Dimensional coordination was found to develop from a stage of total centration on one dimension to a stage of total decentration with equal weighting applied to both dimensions.Contrary to extant hypotheses, the vertical dimension was not the salient dimension for single dimension centerers. Rather, the spatial axis on which the compared-objects were placed determined the displacement of attention. When this frame of reference effect was controlled, the longer of the two dimensions was the salient dimension for centering subjects.