Pomiar

Tekst referatu wygoszonego w roku 1957 na konferencji wykadowców logiki w Osiecznej, zorganizowanej przez MSW w zwizku z nowym programem logiki dla przyrodników.Allatum est die 25 Julii 1960     

Complex effects of NMDA receptor antagonist APV in the basolateral amygdala on acquisition of two-way avoidance reaction and long-term fear memory

Although much has been learned about the role of the amygdala in Pavlovian fear conditioning, relatively little is known about an involvement of this structure in more complex aversive learning, such as acquisition of an active avoidance reaction. In the present study, rats with a pretraining injection of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, 2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (APV), into the basolateral amygdala (BLA) were found to be impaired in two-way active avoidance learning. During multitrial training in a shuttle box, the APV-injected rats were not different from the controls in sensitivity to shock or in acquisition of freezing to contextual cues. However, APV injection led to impaired retention of contextual fear when tested 48 h later, along with an attenuation of c-Fos expression in the amygdala. These results are consistent with the role of NMDA receptors of the BLA in long-term memory of fear, previously documented in Pavlovian conditioning paradigms. The APV-induced impairment in the active avoidance learning coincided with deficits in directionality of the escape reaction and in attention to conditioned stimuli. These data indicate that normal functioning of NMDA receptors in the basolateral amygdala is required during acquisition of adaptive instrumental responses in a shuttle box but is not necessary for acquisition of short-term contextual fear in this situation.     

Science in Poland

The Nencki Institute in Warsaw was founded in 1918 to honor one of Poland’s most distinguished biochemists, Marceli Nencki. Since its inception, the institute has evolved from a confederation of privately supported laboratories to a center of research productivity intimately associated with the Polish Academy of Sciences. Early relations with Pavlov’s laboratory laid the foundation for the emergence of a Polish School of Neurophysiology under the leadership of Jersy Konorski. The impact of Konorski and his colleagues has transformed the interpretation of conditioning to include a systematic physiologic basis that more adequately considers the psychology of learning processes. The prestige of the Nencki Institute within contemporary Eastern European and Soviet science was achieved despite the economic pressures on a new nation and its total devastation of World War II. Moreover, the more than 60 years of scientific work in an independent Poland have provided a critical transition between Eastern and Western research efforts, and the Nencki Institute has filled a leading role in facilitating communication among scientists.     

Das weltbild und die begriffsapparatur

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Personality dimensions and cigarette smoking behavior in polish and U.S. adolescents

Abstract

To contribute to the design of adequate intervention and prevention programs, data on smoking behavior were collected from over 300 male and female 15 year olds from Poland and the United States, approximately half from each country. Several personality measures were obtained from each subject. Fifty of these students were already smoking and over 100 more had tried cigarettes. Results indicate that for both countries, smokers had a characteristic personality profile which included being anxious, angry, and impulsive/antisocial. In short they appear to be emotionally distressed and females were more extreme than males in this regard. Possible intervention and prevention strategies and future needed research are discussed.