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.     

USING LAG SCHEDULES TO INCREASE TOY PLAY VARIABILITY FOR CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Relatively few studies have evaluated procedures for increasing play skills in children with intellectual disabilities. To address this limitation, this study evaluated the extent to which lag schedules increased novel toy play responses for three children who exhibited little or no appropriate toy play. Results show that the lag 1 schedule increased toy play variability for all three participants and the lag 2 schedule produced very little additional variability for the two participants exposed to this condition. The results of a social validity assessment suggest that classroom paraprofessionals (i) perceived the participants' toy play as typical and (ii) were satisfied with the outcomes produced by the lag schedules. We discuss the clinical implications and the potential limitations of the findings. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

DETECTING CHANGES IN NON‐SIMULATED EVENTS USING PARTIAL INTERVAL RECORDING AND MOMENTARY TIME SAMPLING: EVALUATING FALSE POSITIVES,FALSE NEGATIVES,AND TRENDING

Several studies have evaluated false positives and false negatives produced with partial interval recording (PIR) and momentary time sampling (MTS) using simulated data. However, no study to date has evaluated false positives and negatives using a large sample of non‐simulated behaviors. In addition, few studies have evaluated whether interval methods of data collection alter trends that are evident in continuous records. We conducted three experiments to evaluate the extent to which various interval sizes of MTS and PIR produced false negatives (Experiment 1), false positives (Experiment 2), and trends that were inconsistent with the continuous records (Experiment 3). Collectively, the results show the following: (i) 10‐s PIR and 10‐s MTS produced few false negatives and few false positives (i.e., both were sensitive) to changes in duration events; (ii) 10‐s PIR produced very few false negatives, but an unexpected high percentage of false positives for frequency events; and (iii) each interval size of PIR and MTS produced a high percentage of changes in trending for duration events and frequency events. We briefly discuss the potential limitations and clinical implications of these findings. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Regulation Following Lesions of the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala

Previous reports indicate that the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) stimulates adrenocorticotropin and corticosterone secretion, suggesting a role for this region in central hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) stress regulation. To evaluate this hypothesis, this study assessed the impact of CeA lesion on the response of hypophysiotrophic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) neurons to acute restraint and chronic unpredictable stress exposure. In contrast to previous reports, CeA lesions did not affect corticosterone or ACTH secretion induced by acute stress. Acute restraint increased PVN corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) mRNA expression, increased the number of parvocellular PVN neurons expressing the co-secretagogue arginine vasopressin (AVP), and induced cFOS mRNA expression in the parvocellular PVN. However, there was no additional effect of CeA lesion on any measure of PVN activation. Chronic unpredictable stress exposure induced long-term activation of the HPA axis, noted by thymic involution, adrenal hypertrophy and increased PVN CRH mRNA expression. Stress-induced changes in thymus and adrenal weights were not affected by CeA lesion. Further, CeA lesion rats did not differ from controls in post-stress CRH mRNA expression. However, basal CRH mRNA expression was increased in the PVN of CeA rats, suggesting that the CeA plays a role in long-term inhibition of the PVN. The results of these studies are not consistent with the hypothesis that the CeA is necessary for stress-induced pituitary-adrenocortical activation. Rather, this region may play a stressor-specific modulatory role in regulation of HPA function.     

Evaluating parent-implemented behavioral skills training for teaching firearm safety skills

Research shows that behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training (IST) are effective interventions for teaching safety skills to children. In addition, the efficiency of these interventions can be increased when parents, teachers, or peers are taught to implement them. The purpose of this study was to replicate Novotny et al. (2020) and evaluate a web-based program for teaching parents to conduct BST to teach safety skills to prevent gunplay. We randomly assigned 18 children to the parent-conducted BST group or a control group and evaluated the intervention in a posttest only control group design. Children in the control group or treatment group who did not score a three in the in situ assessment (do not touch, get away, and tell an adult) received IST from their parents and were assessed again. Results showed that safety skill scores were statistically significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control group. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant increase in safety skills scores following IST for children who received it.     

Evaluating small‐scale simulation for training firearm safety skills

There is limited research using small‐scale simulation in applied behavior analysis. We used small‐scale simulation to train firearm safety skills to 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children and assessed whether the skills generalized to the natural environment through in situ assessment. Three participants completed the training, and all participants learned the safety skills from simulation training. Two of the participants acquired the safety skills after the first simulation training, and the third participant required one booster training before demonstrating the safety skills in the natural environment.     

Outcome measures for clinical drug trials in autism

This paper identifies instruments and measures that may be appropriate for randomized clinical trials in participants with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The Clinical Global Impressions scale was recommended for all randomized clinical trials. At this point, however, there is no "perfect" choice of outcome measure for core features of autism, although we will discuss five measures of potential utility. Several communication instruments are recommended, based in part on suitability across the age range. In trials where the intention is to alter core features of ASDs, adaptive behavior scales are also worthy of consideration. Several "behavior complexes" common to ASDs are identified, and instruments are recommended for assessment of these. Given the prevalence of cognitive impairment in ASDs, it is important to assess any cognitive effects, although cognitive data from ASD randomized clinical trials, thus far, are minimal. Guidance from trials in related pharmacologic areas and behavioral pharmacology may be helpful. We recommend routine elicitation of side effects, height and weight, vital signs, and (in the case of antipsychotics) extrapyramidal side-effects assessment. It is often appropriate to include laboratory tests and assessments for continence and sleep pattern.