Inhibition of the LH Surge by Restraint Stress in Cyclic Rats: Studies on the Role of GABAA and GABAB Receptors

There is evidence that stress can alter the activity in the brain of gamma-aminobutyricacid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that has been implicated in the regulation of LH secretion. In the present study the role of GABA in the restraint stress-induced inhibition of the LH surge was investigated in the intact cyclic rat. Intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol (0.1, 0.5 or 1 μg) 5 min before the presumed onset of the pro-oestrous LH surge (at 0900 h) caused a dose dependent suppression of the surge. A single dose of the GABAB receptor agonist baclofen (1 μg; icv) injected at 0855 h postponed the onset of the LH surge, and repeated injections at 0855 and 1130 h suppressed the surge. These data indicate that GABA-ergic activity in the brain can inhibit the LH surge in the cyclic rat via GABAA and GABAB receptors. Pro-oestrous rats were subjected to 5 hrs of restraint starting at 0855 h. Pretreatment with the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculine (1 μg; icv) at 0840, 0940 and 1040 h or pretreatment with the GABAB receptor antagonist phaclofen (10 μg; icv) at 0840 h were ineffective in preventing the restraint-induced inhibition of the LH surge. The results suggest that GABAA and GABAB receptors are not involved in the inhibitory effect of restraint stress on the LH surge.     

Effects of Acute Stress or Centrally Injected Interleukin-1beta on Neuropeptide Expression in the Immune System

Acute stress stimulates the expression and release of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) from the hypothalamus, and the pro-opiomelanocortin products beta-endorphin and ACTH from the anterior pituitary. These neuropeptides are also expressed in immune tissues, and it has been proposed that they may modulate immune responses to stress through paracrine mechanisms. We subjected rats to restraint stress or central injection of interleukin (IL)-1beta to determine whether these acute stimuli can alter the expression of neuropeptides in the spleen and thymus. Restraint stress significantly increased the contents of all these neuropeptides in thymic, but not splenic, extracts. A single icv injection of IL-1beta increased contents of CRH, AVP, ACTH and beta-endorphin in the spleens of both sham-operated and adrenalectomised (ADX) rats. IL-1beta increased thymic contents of CRH and ACTH in sham-operated rats but these increases were not observed in ADX rats. These results suggest that the effects of IL-1beta on neuropeptide expression in the spleen are independent of glucocorticoids, whereas IL-1beta stimulation of neuropeptide expression in the thymus is dependent on circulating glucocorticoids. There were significant correlations between increases in CRH, ACTH and beta-endorphin in the spleen, and between CRH and ACTH in the thymus, consistent with the suggestion that IL-1beta-induced increases in ACTH and beta-endorphin may be mediated through CRH. These results provide evidence that stressors can directly influence neuropeptide expression in immune tissues. Thus stress may influence immune functions through paracrine mechanisms involving locally synthesised neuropeptides as well as through activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis.     

The Development of Person–Vocation Fit: A Longitudinal Study Among Young Employees

This two-phase panel study examines the development of the congruence between vocational interests and perceived skill requirements. Participants were 492 Dutch men and women between 18 and 26 years old, with a paid job in both phases. Three hypotheses inspired by the theory of work adjustment (Dawis and Lofquist 1984) and congruence theory (Holland 1992) were tested, using a composite index of fit proposed by Cronbach and Gleser (1953). The first hypothesis proposing that participants experiencing incongruence between their vocational interests and their perceived skill requirements are dissatisfied with their job was supported. The hypothesis that incongruence has a positive relationship with job change and a negative relationship with tenure was not confirmed. The expectation that the congruence between vocational interests and perceived skill requirements increases over time was confirmed. Furthermore, exploring determinants of change in vocational interests and perceived skill requirements, it was found that change in these domains was predicted by different variables, educational level being the only common factor. It is concluded that this study supports the longitudinal propositions of prevailing work-related person-environment fit theories.     

大学二年级学生人际宽恕与报复心理及其与抑郁的关系研究

采用沉思量表、报复动机量表、宽恕倾向量表、宽恕态度量表和流调中心用抑郁量表对236名大二学生进行问卷调查,综合探讨大学生人际宽恕和报复心理及其与抑郁的关系。研究发现:(1)男大学生的报复倾向显著高于女大学生。(2)宽恕倾向与报复倾向及对侵犯的沉思程度显著负相关。沉思程度和抑郁显著正相关。(3)沉思程度和宽恕倾向对抑郁分别具有显著的正向和负向的预测作用。(4)大学生的宽恕倾向和宽恕态度的相互作用以及宽恕倾向和报复倾向之间的交互作用对抑郁均没有显著预测作用。     

Great Expectations – and What Comes of it: The Effects of Unmet Expectations on Work Motivation and Outcomes Among Newcomers

The present research focused on newcomers' socialization process in a three‐wave study among 1477 newcomers from seven Western (mainly European) countries. Based on previous research, we expected that unmet expectations regarding selected intrinsic work aspects would have adverse effects on work outcomes such as worker motivation for learning, effort, and turnover. Further, we expected that the strength of the effects of unmet expectations would vary as a function of the perceived importance of the work aspects in question. Structural equation modeling supported our expectations regarding the adverse effects of unmet expectations. However, the strength of these relationships did not depend on the importance attached to the work aspects. Instead, workers who attached much importance to particular work aspects reported higher levels of effort and a higher motivation for learning new behavior patterns. Further, newcomers tended to consider work aspects for which their expectations were not met as less important across time. We conclude that unmet expectations affect work outcomes both directly and indirectly, through the importance attached to particular work aspects.     

Mothers' depressed mood and anxiety levels are reduced after massaging their preterm infants

Forty mothers whose preterm infants were about to be discharged from the Neonatal Intermediate Care Nursery (NICU) were randomly assigned to two groups: the first group of mothers conducted preterm infant massage and the second group only observed their preterm infants receiving massage. Both groups of mothers had lower depressed mood scores following the session. However, only the group who massaged their infants had lower anxiety scores after the session.     

Learning and strain among newcomers: a three-wave study on the effects of job demands and job control

The present 3-wave longitudinal study was an examination of job-related learning and strain as a function of job demand and job control. The participants were 311 newcomers to their jobs. On the basis of R. A. Karasek and T. Theorell's (1990) demand-control model, the authors predicted that high demand and high job control would lead to high levels of learning; low demand and low job control should lead to low levels of learning; high demand and low job control should lead to high levels of strain; and low demand and high job control should lead to low levels of strain. The relation between strain and learning was also examined. The authors tested the hypotheses using ANCOVA and structural equation modeling. The results revealed that high levels of strain have an adverse effect on learning; the reverse effect was not confirmed. It appears that Karasek and Theorell's model is very relevant when examining work socialization processes.     

Impulsivity in the eye of the beholder: an analysis of teachers' concepts of impulsive and reflective behaviour

The aim of this research was to investigate teachers' perception of the concept of impulsivity and its relation to the concept of reflectivity. Teacher rating scales for both concepts were constructed by means of the prototype method (Study 1). It appeared that impulsivity refers to social behaviour, whereas reflectivity is more cognitive in character. A Principal Components Analysis (Study 2) showed that the item pools for impulsive and reflective behaviour account for separate components. It is concluded that impulsivity and reflectivity as perceived by teachers are not two extremes of one dimension, but refer to different behavioural domains: social and cognitive.     

Spiral aftereffect duration as a correlate of impulsiveness

In a correlational analysis impulsiveness (Imp), assessed by means of a questionnaire concerned with speed of judgment and decision making, was found to be negatively related to spiral aftereffect (SAE) duration. However, this relationship was present only in a sample of subjects with high neuroticism scores. In this group SAE duration was also positively related to debilitating anxiety. A parallel was seen between Imp and Heymans' “Secondary function,” a personality dimension which was similarly operationalized in a visual aftereffect experiment. Some other SAE correlates are also discussed.     

Information processing bias against emotional facial expressions in social anxiety

The present study examined whether information processing bias against emotional facial expressions is present among individuals with social anxiety. College students with high (high social anxiety group; n  = 26) and low social anxiety (low social anxiety group; n  = 26) performed three different types of working memory tasks: (a) ordering positive and negative facial expressions according to the intensity of emotion; (b) ordering pictures of faces according to age; and (c) ordering geometric shapes according to size. The high social anxiety group performed significantly more poorly than the low social anxiety group on the facial expression task, but not on the other two tasks with the nonemotional stimuli. These results suggest that high social anxiety interferes with processing of emotionally charged facial expressions.