The antisocial phenomenon in adolescence: What is literature telling us?

Our paper offers a reflection on the state of the art of antisocial behaviors in adolescence, seeking to review and synthesize relevant conclusions from developmental investigation on this subject. We begin by identifying the peculiarities of the antisocial phenomenon in adolescence, with particular focus on social and family aspects that may influence social behaviors at this stage, as well as on individual variables that undergo considerable development in adolescence and may play an important role in risk behaviors, such as psychosocial competence, personality, self-concept, and intelligence. The general conclusion points out questions that remain unanswered. Therefore, work seeking to address some of those questions is presented.     

Psychoanalysis and Epistemology: The Interrelation Between Clinical Work,Culture and Metapsychology

The paradigmatic theory of modern epistemology holds psychoanalysis in its scientific statute. Even if there is no explicit epistemology in the Freudian writings, it is undeniable that the genesis of psychoanalysis has a rigorous dialetic between theorization and clinical observation. Metapsychology is an organized and consistent set of concepts, capable of explaining and coordinating the analytical experience. It is through metapsychology that clinical work encounters the possibility of universalization, while metapsychology finds the possibility of fulfillment in clinical work. Clinical experience also confirms the interrelation between psychopathology and culture. Modern times have brought about new versions for psychopathological symptoms, which, in turn, have special effects on the narcisistic personalities and the manifestations of anxiety, giving place to different neurotic configurations.     

Hand Grip and Load Force Coordination of the Ipsilesional Hand of Chronic Stroke Individuals

Object manipulation depends on a refined control of grip force (GF) and load force (LF). After a brain injury, the GF control is altered in the paretic hand but what happens with the non-paretic hand is still unclear. In this study, we compared the GF control and GF–LF coordination of the non-paretic hand of 10 stroke individuals who suffered right brain damage (RBD) and 10 who suffered left brain damage (LBD), with 20 healthy individuals during lifting and oscillation task, using an instrumented object. GF was recorded with a force transducer, and LF was estimated from the object weight and acceleration. Overall, the ipsilesional hand of stroke individuals, independent of the lesion side, presented similar GF control and GF–LF coordination. However, LBD individuals took longer to start lifting the object, which may be due to the need of more time to obtain somatosensory information from the contact with the object. The findings indicate that stroke individuals preserve their ability to control and coordinate GF and LF when using their ipsilesional hand for object manipulation and the left hemisphere may play an essential role in the processing of somatosensory information needed for the GF control.     

Notes on the theory of variable binding term operators

The general theory of variable binding term operators is an interesting recent development in logic. It opens up a rich class of semantic and model-theoretic problems. In this paper we survey the recent literature on the topic, and offer some remarks on its significances and on its connections with other branches of mathematical logic.     

Effect of pre- and postcompetition emotional state on salivary cortisol in top-ranking wrestlers

The purpose was three-fold: (1) to investigate the effect of baseline, precompetition, and postcompetition stress on salivary cortisol levels in top-ranking Brazilian wrestlers (N = 17) participating in a national competition; (2) to estimate correlations among three stress measures (perceived stress, salivary cortisol, and physiological stress reaction); and (3) to compare cortisol concentrations between losers and winners. Salivary cortisol was collected at baseline, pre-, and postcompetition. Physiological stress reaction and perceived stress scores were measured just before warm-up for the competition. Analysis showed a significant main effect for testing time. Correlations among the stress measures were not significant. Analysis of covariance between the winners (n = 10) and the losers (n = 7) was also not significant. Salivary cortisol concentrations increased after the intense exercise of competition. The wrestlers did not perceive any physiological effects.     

Antagonism of lateral amygdala alpha1-adrenergic receptors facilitates fear conditioning and long-term potentiation

Norepinephrine receptors have been studied in emotion, memory, and attention. However, the role of alpha1-adrenergic receptors in fear conditioning, a major model of emotional learning, is poorly understood. We examined the effect of terazosin, an alpha1-adrenergic receptor antagonist, on cued fear conditioning. Systemic or intra-lateral amygdala terazosin delivered before conditioning enhanced short- and long-term memory. Terazosin delivered after conditioning did not affect consolidation. In vitro, terazosin impaired lateral amygdala inhibitory postsynaptic currents leading to facilitation of excitatory postsynaptic currents and long-term potentiation. Since alpha1 blockers are prescribed for hypertension and post-traumatic stress disorder, these results may have important clinical implications.Although norepinephrine (NE) has been widely studied as an important modulator of memory and emotion, comparatively little is known about the role of NE in amygdala-dependent Pavlovian fear conditioning, a major model for understanding the neural basis of fear learning and memory. In fear conditioning, an emotionally neutral conditioned stimulus (CS; i.e., tone) is temporally paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US; i.e., footshock). After very few pairings, a lasting, robust CS–US association is acquired, and the CS elicits stereotypical defensive responses, including behavioral freezing (Blanchard and Blanchard 1969; Bolles and Fanselow 1980).The lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA) is a key structure underlying fear conditioning (LeDoux 2000). Convergence of CS and US information in LA is believed to play an important role in initiating synaptic plasticity. Long-term potentiation (LTP)-like changes in LA CS processing are critical for fear memory storage (LeDoux 2000; Blair et al. 2001; Maren 2001; Walker and Davis 2002). LA receives auditory CS inputs from the thalamus and cortex and connects directly and indirectly with the central nucleus of the amygdala to control expression of Pavlovian fear responses.Of the noradrenergic receptor subtypes, alpha1 receptors have received the least attention in fear conditioning. LA receives NE-containing inputs from the locus coeruleus that fire tonically and phasically in response to aversive stimuli like footshock (Pitkänen 2000; Tanaka et al. 2000; Aston-Jones and Cohen 2005). Alpha1-adrenergic receptors are expressed in LA, most likely on both excitatory and inhibitory neurons (Jones et al. 1985; Domyancic and Morilak 1997). Alpha1 receptor activation stimulates GABA-mediated miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents in LA (Braga et al. 2004), suggesting that alpha1 receptors contribute to inhibition in fear conditioning pathways. Several elegant experiments recently demonstrated that LA inhibition gates synaptic plasticity necessary for fear conditioning, and this inhibitory gate can be influenced by neuromodulators including NE (Stutzmann and LeDoux 1999; Shumyatsky et al. 2002; Bissière et al. 2003; Shaban et al. 2006; Shin et al. 2006; Tully et al. 2007). However, the role of alpha1 receptor activity in gating amygdala LTP and fear learning has never been examined.We hypothesized that alpha1 blockers would facilitate fear learning, possibly by impairing LA inhibition and facilitating LA LTP. To test this hypothesis, we injected rats with terazosin, a selective alpha1-adrenergic receptor antagonist, systemically or directly into LA before or after fear conditioning. We examined in vitro the effect of terazosin on LA pyramidal cell inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) and excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in response to fiber stimulation of the thalamic CS input pathway to LA, as well as the effect of terazosin on LA LTP in this same pathway. We found that intra-LA terazosin facilitated fear conditioning when injected before but not after training. We also found that terazosin impaired IPSCs in LA pyramidal cells, leading to facilitated EPSCs and LTP.Behavioral experiments were conducted on adult, male Sprague–Dawley rats (Hilltop Laboratory Animals) weighing approximately 300 g upon arrival. Rats were individually housed, maintained on a 12/12 h light/dark schedule, and allowed free access to food and water. Testing was conducted during the light phase. All procedures and experiments were approved by NYU''s Animal Care and Use Committee.For systemic injections, terazosin (20 mg/kg; Sigma) was dissolved in saline and injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) 30 min prior to conditioning in 1 mL/kg volume. For bilateral infusions, terazosin (125 ng/0.25 µL) was dissolved in aCSF and infused into the LA at 0.1 µL/min 30 min prior to or immediately after fear conditioning. Bilateral guide cannulae (22 gauge; Plastics One) aimed at LA (−3.3 mm anterior, 5.2 mm lateral, −7 mm dorsal to bregma) were surgically implanted as previously described (Sotres-Bayon et al. 2009). Rats were given at least 7 d to recover from surgery before testing. For infusions, dummy cannulae were removed, and infusion cannulae (28 gauge, +1 mm beyond guides) were inserted into guides. Infusion cannulae were connected to a 1.0 μL Hamilton syringe via polyethylene tubing. Infusion rate was controlled by a pump (PHD22/2000; Harvard Apparatus), and infusion cannulae were left in place for an additional 60 sec to allow diffusion of the solution away from the cannula tip, then dummy cannulae were replaced. Upon completion of the experiment, rats were euthanized, brains removed, and cannulae placements verified histologically as previously described (Sotres-Bayon et al. 2009).Two contexts (A and B) were used for all testing as previously described (Schiller et al. 2008). The grid floors in Context B were covered with black Plexiglas inserts to reduce generalization. No odors were used and chambers were cleaned between sessions. CSs were 30 sec, 5 kHz, 80 dB tones, and USs were 1 sec, 0.8 mA scrambled electric footshocks. Experiments consisted of two phases separated by 48 h: (1) fear conditioning in Context A and (2) long-term memory (LTM) test in Context B. On Day 1, rats were placed in Context A, allowed 5 min to acclimate, and then received three CS–US pairings separated by variable 5 min ITIs. On Day 3, rats were placed in Context B and allowed 5 min to acclimate before receiving one CS-alone presentation.The index of fear in behavioral experiments was “freezing,” the absence of all non-respiratory movement (Blanchard and Blanchard 1971; Fanselow 1980). Following testing, freezing was manually scored from DVDs by a scorer blind to group specification. Graphs represent group means ± SEM. Statistical analysis was conducted with GraphPad Prism.Whole-cell electrophysiological recordings were obtained from LA pyramidal cells using in vitro coronal slices from rats aged P21–P30 d as described in Cunha et al. (2010). Terazosin was bath-applied for 10 min to achieve stable responses before testing. The cells were voltage-clamped using an Axopatch 200B amplifier at −35 mV for recording EPSCs and IPSCs. Synaptic responses were evoked with sharpened tungsten bipolar stimulating electrodes. Internal capsule fibers containing thalamic afferents were stimulated for paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) (ISI = 50 msec; 0.1 Hz) using a photoelectric stimulus isolation unit with a constant current output. Cells were rejected if access resistance (8–26 MΩ) changed more than 15%. Signals were filtered at 2 kHz and digitized (Digidata 1440 A; Axon Instruments), and peak amplitude, 10%–90% rise time, and IPSC decay time constants were analyzed offline using pCLAMP10.2 software (Axon Instruments).Brain slices for LTP experiments were prepared from rats aged 3–5 wk as in Johnson et al. (2008) and maintained on an interface chamber at 31°C. Glass recording electrodes (filled with aCSF, 5 MΩ resistance) were guided to LA neurons. Bipolar stainless steel stimulating electrodes (75 kΩ) were positioned medial to LA in internal capsule fibers. Orthodromic synaptic potentials were evoked via an isolated current generator (Digitimer; 100 μsec pulses of 0.3–0.7 mA). Evoked field potentials were recorded with an Axoclamp 2B amplifier and Axon WCP software (Axon Instruments). Data were analyzed offline using WCP PeakFit (Axon Instruments). LTP was measured as a change in evoked field potential amplitude.Baseline responses were monitored at 0.05 Hz for 30 min with a stimulus intensity of 40%–50% of maximum fEPSP before LTP induction. Terazosin (10 µM) was superfused for 15 min, and then LTP was elicited by three tetanus trains (100 Hz × 1 sec, 3 min ITI) with the same intensity and pulse duration as the baseline stimuli. In one experiment, picrotoxin (PTX; 75 µM) was present in the perfusion solution to block fast GABAergic signaling.     

Polyaminergic agents modulate contextual fear extinction in rats

Polyamines, such as spermidine and spermine, have been reported to improve memory retention through the activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDAr). However whether polyamine agonists and antagonists alter extinction remains unclear. In the current study, we investigated whether spermidine and polyamine antagonists that selectively block the NR2B subunit at the NMDAr alter the extinction of contextual conditioned fear in male Wistar rats. The bilateral intra-hippocampal administration of exogenous spermidine (2 nmol/site) immediately after, but not 6 h after extinction training, facilitated the extinction of fear conditioning. The injection of the NMDAr antagonists arcaine (0.2 nmol/site), ifenprodil (20 nmol/site) and traxoprodil (0.2 nmol/site), disrupted fear extinction and, at doses that had no effect per se, reversed the facilitatory effect of spermidine on fear extinction. These results suggest that exogenous and endogenous polyamines facilitate the extinction of contextual conditioned fear through activation of NR2B subunit-containing NMDAr in the hippocampus. Since extinction-based exposure therapy is widely used as treatment for a number of anxiety-related disorders, including phobias and post-traumatic stress, the currently reported facilitation of extinction by polyaminergic agents suggest these compounds as putative candidates for drug development.     

Effects of motor action on affective preferences in autism spectrum disorders: different influences of embodiment

In the embodied cognition framework, sensory, motor and emotional experiences are encoded along with sensorimotor cues from the context in which information was acquired. As such, representations retain an initial imprint of the manner in which information was acquired. The current study reports results indicating a lack of embodiment effects in ASD and, further, an association between embodiment differences and ASD symptomatology. The current results are consistent with an embodied account of ASD that goes beyond social experiences and could be driven by subtle deficits in sensorimotor coordination.     

More than Men: Latino Feminist Masculinities and Intersectionality

This qualitative study analyzes the definitions of manhood provided by a US sample of 36 adult, working class Latinos who identify as feminist, and have attended institutions of higher education. Using an intersectional framework, we analyze in-depth interviews and address the research questions “To what extent did participants identify with their gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and class background? How did participants subjectively define what it means to be a man?”. Results indicate that participants identified with their significant social groups to varying degrees. Manhood was defined in relational, ethical, and counter-hegemonic ways. Our discussion examines the way participants wove in and out of discourses related to hegemonic notions of manhood deemed as positive, while simultaneously rejecting aspects of hegemonic masculinity.     

Building Alliances with (In)Voluntary Clients: A Study Focused on Therapists’ Observable Behaviors

This study aimed to compare therapists’ observable behaviors to promote alliances with involuntary and voluntary clients during brief family therapy. The therapists’ contributions to fostering alliances were rated in sessions 1 and 4 using videotapes of 29 families who were observed in brief therapy. Using the System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances, trained raters searched for specific therapist behaviors that contributed to or detracted from the four alliance dimensions: engagement in the therapeutic process, an emotional connection with the therapist, safety within the therapeutic system, and a shared sense of purpose within the family. The results showed that when working with involuntary clients, therapists presented more behaviors to foster the clients’ engagement and to promote a shared sense of purpose within the family. However, in the fourth session, the therapists in both groups contributed to the alliance in similar ways. The results are discussed in terms of (a) the therapists’ alliance‐building behaviors, (b) the specificities of each client group, and (c) the implications for clinical practice, training, and research.