Reward Influence on the Heart: Cardiovascular Response as a Function of Incentive Value at Five Levels of Task Demand

This study examined cardiovascular effects of incentive value in men and women confronted with cognitive challenges that were more and less difficult to meet. Participants performed computer memory tasks varying in difficulty from low to high, with instructions that they could earn chances toward a $100 prize or $10 prize by attaining a 90% success rate. Analysis of cardiovascular responses assessed during work revealed an interaction between difficulty and incentive value for heart rate. Participants' heart rate responses were proportional to task difficulty and unaffected by incentive value in all conditions except for the most difficult one. Where difficulty was greatest, $100 participants showed relatively high heart rate responsiveness, whereas $10 participants showed low heart rate responsiveness. This heart rate finding corroborates and extends cardiovascular results from previous experiments, and lends further support to the view that cardiovascular responses will be proportional to incentive value only under some task conditions.     

β-受体阻滞剂治疗慢性心力衰竭的哲学发展观

随着科学技术的快速发展和人们认识的不断深入,慢性心力衰竭（CHF）的发病机制处于不断嬗变的过程,CHF的药物治疗概念也发生了根本性的变化。β-受体阻滞剂在CHF的治疗策略中,经历了从禁用到必用的过程,成为了CHF药物治疗的重大突破。大量临床试验表明,β-受体阻滞剂不仅能改善患者预后,而且能明显改善左室的舒张和收缩功能,全面改善患者的血流动力学,提高患者的运动耐量和生活质量,延长生存时间。β-受体阻滞剂在CHF治疗中地位的变化,体现了哲学发展观与疾病的治疗以及药物应用的紧密联系,指导着我们的临床实践,也体现了哲学与自然科学的密切联系。本文将β-受体阻滞剂治疗CHF的新旧观念进行阐述、比较,对其作用机制以及临床用药进行介绍,并对其发展空间进行展望。随着科学的进步,人类有能力从长远的角度控制疾病。     

Action versus state orientation moderates the relation between executive function task performance and resting heart rate variability

Despite a considerable rationale for a relationship between executive functions (EFs) and resting heart rate variability based on the neurovisceral integration model, meta-analyses reveal relatively small effect sizes. This study aims to evaluate this relationship in three EF tasks by taking task characteristics and implicit affect and attention regulation measured by action-state orientation into account. Analyzing 154 participants (M = 23.56 years; SD = 3.14) indicated that the relationship was moderated by action-state orientation. However, the Johnson-Neyman test only found a relationship for state-oriented individuals, which also differed in the direction between demanding and low-demanding tasks. Therefore, this study cannot fully confirm the neurovisceral integration model. Implications for future research are discussed.     

工作记忆刷新训练改善抑郁倾向大学生情绪调节能力的HRV证据

根据流调中心用抑郁量表(CES-D)和贝克抑郁量表(BDI-II-C)的得分情况招募健康被试20例, 抑郁倾向被试40例, 以自愿参加的分组方式将抑郁倾向被试分为工作记忆刷新训练组和对照组, 每组20例。对训练组进行为期20天的工作记忆刷新训练, 对照组不做处理。记录各组被试在前后测的刷新功能以及在情绪调节任务中量表的得分情况, 并收集各组被试在5种实验条件下的心率变异性(HRV)的频域指标值, 结果发现：前测时抑郁倾向个体的HF-HRV显著低于健康个体的平均水平。经过工作记忆训练, 后测的抑郁倾向训练组在情绪调节任务中的HF-HRV水平有显著的提高, 贴近健康对照组的水平, 并与抑郁倾向对照组分离。研究表明, 工作记忆刷新训练能够使抑郁倾向大学生的HRV活动更接近健康被试的HRV活动, 表明抑郁倾向大学生的情绪调节能力得到了改善。     

Self-Report Versus Performance-Based Activities of Daily Living Capacity Among Heart Transplant Candidates and Their Caregivers

Transplant candidates completed the Every Day Problems test (EPT), a performance-based measure of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and the Katz self-report scale of IADL functioning. Caregivers estimated the candidate's IADL capacity using the Katz scale. A healthy community group and patients with cardiac disease not undergoing transplant evaluation and their caregivers served as controls. Discrepancies between the EPT and Katz scales were generated. Results showed that the total number of discrepancies was significantly higher among the two patient groups as compared to controls. Three or more discrepancies (a total of 7 IADL domains were assessed) occurred in 40–52% of the participants and their caregivers in the two patient groups. Similarly, the total number of discrepancies between the Katz scale of the participant and their caregiver was significantly higher among the two patient groups as compared to controls, with only 33–44% showing perfect agreement in the patient groups as compared to 97% among controls. Despite a high prevalence of discrepancies in both patient groups, results did not support the hypothesis that transplant candidates tend systematically to overestimate their ability level on self-report IADL measures.     

Increasing compliance with wearing a medical device in children with autism

Health professionals often recommend the use of medical devices to assess the health, monitor the well-being, or improve the quality of life of their patients. Children with autism may present challenges in these situations as their sensory peculiarities may increase refusals to wear such devices. To address this issue, we systematically replicated prior research by examining the effects of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) to increase compliance with wearing a heart rate monitor in 2 children with autism. The intervention increased compliance to 100% for both participants when an edible reinforcer was delivered every 90 s. The results indicate that DRO does not require the implementation of extinction to increase compliance with wearing a medical device. More research is needed to examine whether the reinforcement schedule can be further thinned.     

Living liver donation: Attitudes of the general public and general practitioners in Scotland

In April 2006, the Scottish Liver Transplant Unit in Edinburgh became the first NHS transplant unit in the UK to offer adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). This procedure allows a healthy individual to donate part of their liver to someone with end-stage liver disease. With donations from the deceased in short supply, this procedure has the capacity to save lives. The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes of the general public and general practitioners (GPs) towards LDLT, before its implementation. A total of 1041 members of the Scottish general public and 155 GPs working in Scotland completed a short questionnaire devised for this study. The majority of participants supported the option of LDLT, but frequency counts showed that only 34% of the general public wish to donate their organs following death compared to 85% of GPs. With regards to an acceptable risk of death before volunteering to donate, 25% of GPs would accept a 1 in 20 risk of death, whereas 50% of the general public either could not make a decision or selected ‘No risk’. The question of how well people understand the concept of risk was again highlighted in this study.     

Lifestyle differences between smokers,ex-smokers and non-smokers,and implications for their health

Abstract

Much evidence has been published in order to demonstrate that smoking cessation leads to a decrease in morbidity and mortality. Using data from the Health and Lifestyle Survey respondents were divided into three groups: smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers and lifestyle characteristics such as diet and exercise were compared. Smokers were more likely to eat chips (French fries), fried food, butter and less likely to eat fresh fruit in winter, green vegetables and margarine high in polyunsaturated fats. Non-smokers were more likely than smokers and ex-smokers to take part in keepfit, jogging and swimming. Non-smokers in smoking households were more likely than non-smokers in non-smoking households to eat fried food, chips and butter and less likely to eat fruit in winter or margarine high in polyunsaturated fats. Results suggest that part of the assumed health benefits of smoking cessation are due to ex-smokers having a healthier diet than that of smokers.     

Chinese values and health: A cultural-level examination

Abstract

Previous research has identified two factors from the Chinese Value Survey, Integration vs Inwardness and Reputation vs Morality. In an effort to further establish their validities, the scores of a student sample on these two dimensions were calculated for each of 23 countries. These value profiles were then used as predictors of a number of health indices, after partialing out the confounding influence of per capita GNP. This country-level analysis revealed many relationships between the two value dimensions and 1. longevity measures, 2. modes of death, 3. health endangering behaviors, and 4. indicators of social well-being. These findings were related to theorizing about cultural emphases on individualism and on material success. It is hoped that this research will stimulate more comprehensive within-and cross-cultural research on the link between values and health.     

Resilience is associated with better recovery in Chinese people diagnosed with coronary heart disease

This study investigated the impact of personal resilience (a composite measure of optimism, perceived control and self-esteem) on outcome measures in 67 Chinese coronary heart disease patients in response to an 8-week rehabilitation programme. The effect of personal resilience on posttraumatic growth attributed to the onset of heart disease was also examined. Results indicated that coronary heart disease patients high in personal resilience achieved better outcomes than those low in personal resilience, as indicated by higher physical and mental summary measures in SF-36, lower cholesterol levels and better performance on the 6?min walk test. Moreover, personal resilience was demonstrated to be a significant predictor of the level of posttraumatic growth although the rehabilitation programme exerted a weak mediating effect on the link between personal resilience and posttraumatic growth. Findings were discussed in relation to clinical implications of the construct of personal resilience and the intervention programme.