Internet use in the contemporary media environment

Although a significant amount of research has focused on traditional media choice and use, and even on some ‘new’ media, these studies have either neglected the Internet and World Wide Web or were conducted prior to their recent popularity. This study offers a novel exploration of individuals' use of three Internet functions (information retrieval, information giving, and conversation capabilities) in the context of the use of other communication media. Data from 684 individuals demonstrate that the Internet is a multidimensional technology used in a manner similar to other, more traditional media. Specifically, conversation features of the Internet align with mediated interpersonal technologies (the telephone and electronic mail), whereas the Internet's information‐retrieval and information‐giving features are used in ways similar to mass media channels (newspapers, television, and books and magazines). In addition, needs fulfilled by these channels cluster in ways consistent with past research, regardless of the technologies employed to meet them.     

In Vivo Hippocampal Acetylcholine Release During Exposure to Acute Stress

Hippocampal extracellular acetylcholine (ACh) and choline levels were evaluated using in vivo microdialysis in male Fischer 344 rats before, during, and following an 80-min exposure to two different stress conditions. Measurements were taken in rats restrained and immersed in a water bath containing either 37 degreesC (normothermic-restraint) or 20 degreesC (cold-restraint) water. Results were compared to normothermic-freely-moving rats. Cold-restrained rats displayed decreased ACh levels during cold exposure relative to both normothermic-restrained and normothermic-freely-moving rats. By the end of the cold exposure period and following removal from cold, ACh levels had returned to near-baseline values. Normothermic-restrained rats had levels similar to those of normothermic-freely-moving rats, except for a marked increase in ACh following removal from restraint. Cold-restrained rats displayed a gradual elevation in choline levels during cold stress, followed by a gradual decline after stress termination, whereas both normothermic-restrained and normothermic-freely-moving rats displayed gradual decreases during the microdialysis session. These findings demonstrate that central cholinergic neurotransmission can be altered by the application of, and removal from, acute stressors. In addition, the results suggest a possible relationship between the magnitudes of both the stressor and its cholinergic consequences.     

Clamped Corticosterone (B) Reveals the Effect of Endogenous B on Both Facilitated Responsivity to Acute Restraint and Metabolic Responses to Chronic Stress

To determine the effects of both corticosterone (B) and chronic stressors on acute ACTH responses to restraint, young male rats were exposed to streptozotocin-induced diabetes, cold (5-7 degreesC) or intracerebroventricular (icv) neuropeptide Y (NPY) for 5 d and then exposed to restraint within 2 h after lights on. Two groups of rats were studied: intact and adrenalectomized replaced with B pellets that maintained plasma B in the normal mean 24-h range of intact rats. In addition to ACTH and B responses to restraint on d 5, body weight, food intake, fat depots, glucose and other hormones were measured to determine the role of stress-induced elevations in B on energy balance. ACTH responses to restraint were normal in intact rats subjected to diabetes or cold. By contrast, there was no ACTH or B response to restraint in NPY-infused intact rats. All 3 groups of chronically stimulated adrenalectomized rats with clamped B had facilitated ACTH responses to restraint compared to their treatment controls. Overall food intake increased in all groups of stressed rats; however, augmented intake occurred only during the light in intact rats and equally in the light and dark in B-clamped rats. White adipose depot weights were decreased by both diabetes and cold and increased by NPY in intact rats; the decreases with cold and increases with NPY were both blunted and changes in fat stores were not significant in adrenalectomized, B-clamped rats. We conclude that: 1. diabetes- and cold-induced facilitation of restraint-induced afferent input to hypothalamic control of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is opposed in intact rats by the elevated feedback signal of B secretion; 2. NPY does not induce facilitation of afferent stress pathways; 3. chronic stimulation of the HPA axis induces acute hyperresponsiveness of hypothalamic neurons to restraint provided that the afferent input of this acute stimulus is not prevented by B feedback; 4. stimulus-induced elevations in B secretion result in day-time feeding; 5. insensitivity of both caloric efficiency and white fat stores to chronic stress in adrenalectomized, B-clamped rats results from loss of normally variable B levels.     

Infant-mother attachment can be improved through group intervention: a preliminary evaluation in Spain in a non-randomized controlled trial

The quality of infant-mother attachment has been linked to competence in different domains of child development. Research indicates that early intervention can enhance the quality of infant-mother attachment, though its efficacy in a group format has yet to be evaluated. The current study is aimed at examining the usefulness of a group intervention in enhancing infant-mother attachment. An intervention aimed at addressing aspects such as maternal responsivity, sensitivity and childrearing behaviour was developed by the researchers and experienced psychologists. The intervention spanned a period of 14 months starting from the third quarter of pregnancy. The intervention was evaluated among 24 mothers from the Basque region of Spain. The sample consisted of children of both genders in a similar proportion: 45.8% were boys and 54.2% were girls. The children in this sample were full-term born and did not present symptoms of any serious pre- or postnatal complications. The intervention had a statistically non-significant medium effect. Infants whose mothers had received the intervention showed higher rates of secure attachment compared to children from the control group, as assessed by the Strange Situation observation procedure. A potentially significant confounding variable, maternal attachment, was balanced across the intervention and comparison groups. We can tentatively point out that a group intervention may enhance the quality of infant-mother attachment. Nevertheless, because the study design was not randomized, the results of this study remain preliminary and need replication in a full randomized controlled trial designed study.     

The time course of neural changes underlying auditory perceptual learning

Improvement in perception takes place within the training session and from one session to the next. The present study aims at determining the time course of perceptual learning as revealed by changes in auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) reflecting preattentive processes. Subjects were trained to discriminate two complex auditory patterns in a single session. ERPs were recorded just before and after training, while subjects read a book and ignored stimulation. ERPs showed a negative wave called mismatch negativity (MMN)—which indexes automatic detection of a change in a homogeneous auditory sequence—just after subjects learned to consciously discriminate the two patterns. ERPs were recorded again 12, 24, 36, and 48 h later, just before testing performance on the discrimination task. Additional behavioral and neurophysiological changes were found several hours after the training session: an enhanced P2 at 24 h followed by shorter reaction times, and an enhanced MMN at 36 h. These results indicate that gains in performance on the discrimination of two complex auditory patterns are accompanied by different learning-dependent neurophysiological events evolving within different time frames, supporting the hypothesis that fast and slow neural changes underlie the acquisition of improved perception.     

From hand to mouth in the evolution of language: the influence of vocal behavior on lateralized hand use in manual gestures by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Studies in human subjects indicate that manual gestures accompanied by speech are produced more often by the right compared to the left hand. Additional studies indicate that the production of sign language is controlled by the same brain areas as speech, suggesting similar neurobiological substrates for language that are not modality specific. We report evidence that chimpanzees exhibit preferential use of the right hand in gestural communication. Moreover, use of the right hand in gestural communication is significantly enhanced when accompanied by a vocalization, particularly among human‐reared chimpanzees. Taken together, the data suggest that the lateralization of manual and speech systems of communication may date back as far as 5 million years ago.     

Intercultural Study of Personal Space: A Case Study

The study of intercultural differences in personal space attempts to identify factors that could be helpful in guiding people from different cultures to live and work together in international ventures. The objective of this research was to measure interpersonal distance in a cross-cultural environment. Twenty-three participants classified in 4 cultural groups answered an 11-questions interview where the personal distance and orientation between seated interactants were measured. Results showed that Anglo Saxons used the largest zone of personal space, followed by Asians, then Caucasians, and, as expected, Mediterraneans and Latinos used the shortest distance. Where Latinos adopt a face-to-face position, Caucasians tend to orient themselves to the side of the interviewer, which has an impact on interpersonal communication.     

Implicit and explicit self-esteem discrepancies in paranoia and depression

The main purpose of the present study was to examine implicit and explicit self-esteem (SE) in patients with persecutory delusions. In samples of paranoid patients, depressed patients, and healthy controls, implicit SE was assessed using the experimental go/no-go association task, whereas explicit SE was measured using 2 self-reporting questionnaires: the self-worth subscale of the World Assumption Scale (Janoff-Bulman, 1989) and the self-acceptance subscale of the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). Our analysis revealed that depressed patients showed lower explicit SE than did paranoid and healthy control participants. However, participants with persecutory delusions had significantly lower implicit SE scores than did healthy controls. We interpret the discrepancies observed between overt and covert measures in the paranoid group as psychological defense mechanisms. The present study stresses the clinical and theoretical importance of the use of implicit measures in psychopathology.     

Differential use of vocal and gestural communication by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in response to the attentional status of a human (Homo sapiens)

This study examined the communicative behavior of 49 captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), particularly their use of vocalizations, manual gestures, and other auditory- or tactile-based behaviors as a means of gaining an inattentive audience's attention. A human (Homo sapiens) experimenter held a banana while oriented either toward or away from the chimpanzee. The chimpanzees' behavior was recorded for 60 s. Chimpanzees emitted vocalizations faster and were more likely to produce vocalizations as their 1st communicative behavior when a human was oriented away from them. Chimpanzees used manual gestures more frequently and faster when the human was oriented toward them. These results replicate the findings of earlier studies on chimpanzee gestural communication and provide new information about the intentional and functional use of their vocalizations.     

Blood pressure responses of defensive hostile women when facing a real stress task

Objective: This study investigated the importance of the combination of the hostility and defensiveness variables as psychosocial factors that predict the risk of cardiovascular dysfunction. We examined the impact of a stressful situation on blood pressure responses, using a continuous psychophysiological assessment approach.

Design: We measured the evolution of these responses over three experimental phases (adaptation, task and recovery), also considering a minute-by-minute analysis within each phase.

Main Outcome Measures: We used the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale and the Social Desirability Questionnaire to form four groups (high hostility and high defensiveness, high hostility and low defensiveness, low hostility and high defensiveness, and low hostility and low defensiveness).

Results: We expected the group of hostile defensive women to record higher activation (task phase: an academic exam) and slower habituation (recovery phase) compared to the other groups. The results confirmed our hypothesis, as the profile of the hostile defensive individuals was one of constant or sensitization during the task phase, while during the recovery phase those individuals underwent a slow recovery.

Conclusion: Therefore, it can be indicated that the low hostility and low defensive group is the most adaptive, as recorded very little activation in response, and rapid recovery.