Sexual arousal in response to aggression: ideological, aggressive, and sexual correlates

In two experiments we assessed the impact of aggression on nonrapists' sexual arousal. In the first, both male subjects (n = 37) and female subjects (n = 43) reported more sexual arousal in response to nonaggressive than to aggressive depictions when the portrayals were sexually explicit, but the opposite occurred when the portrayals were nonsexual. Only male subjects (N = 359) participated in the second experiment. On the basis of their self-reported sexual arousal to the use of force, they were classified into the no arousal, moderate arousal or high arousal from force groups. To evaluate the veridicality of this classification, we assessed some subjects' (n = 118) penile tumescence in response to various depictions. The findings generally replicated those of the first experiment and confirmed the accuracy of the arousal-from-force classification. The no arousal and the moderate arousal from force subjects were less sexually aroused by aggressive than by nonaggressive portrayals, but the opposite was found for the high arousal from force group. Using the entire sample (N = 359), we also assessed differences on various factors among these three groups. We found strong differences on ideological factors, including acceptance of violence against and dominance over women. We also found differences in acceptance of nonsexual aggression and in subjects' beliefs that they might actually use force against women. In contrast, differences were not found on sexuality factors. The data's implications for theories on the causes of rape are discussed.     

Hippocampal tauopathy in tau transgenic mice coincides with impaired hippocampus-dependent learning and memory, and attenuated late-phase long-term depression of synaptic transmission

We evaluated various forms of hippocampus-dependent learning and memory, and hippocampal synaptic plasticity in THY-Tau22 transgenic mice, a murine tauopathy model that expresses double-mutated 4-repeat human tau, and shows neuropathological tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation throughout the brain. Focussing on hippocampus, immunohistochemical studies in aged THY-Tau22 mice revealed prominent hyper- and abnormal phosphorylation of tau in CA1 region, and an increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in hippocampus, but without signs of neuronal loss. These mice displayed spatial, social, and contextual learning and memory defects that could not be reduced to subtle neuromotor disability. The behavioral defects coincided with changes in hippocampal synaptic functioning and plasticity as measured in paired-pulse and novel long-term depression protocols. These results indicate that hippocampal tauopathy without neuronal cell loss can impair neural and behavioral plasticity, and further show that transgenic mice, such as the THY-Tau22 strain, might be useful for preclinical research on tauopathy pathogenesis and possible treatment.     

Sex-typing and cross-sex-typing in "androgynous" subjects

Bem Sex-Role Inventory protocols from 848 subjects were categorized as androgynous or nonandrogynous according to each of three current scoring systems. Androgynous protocols by each scoring system were then examined for sex differences in trait item endorsements. The t-score method generated androgynous subjects who were cross-sex-typed, while androgynous subjects defined by the median split method tended to be same-sex-typed. Androgynous subjects by the intersect method presented the fewest number of sex differences. These method-specific versions of androgyny appear linked to the use of summated Masculinity and Femininity subscales of the BSRI.     

Evening and morning EEG differences between young men and women adults

Evening and morning waking EEG (eyes closed) was recorded in 16 women and 13 men aged 18-26 years old. Participants were fitted with a 13-electrode montage (Fp1, Fp2, FZ, F7, F8, C3, C4, T3, T4, P3, P4, O1, and O2) referred to linked ears. For each recording electrode, EEG total spectral amplitude power (microV/Hz, 0.75-19.75 Hz) was compared using 2 (Gender) x 2 (Moments) analyses of variance for repeated measures and LSD post-hoc tests. We found significant simple Gender effects, with women displaying higher EEG values for Central, Frontal, Parietal, and left Temporal leads. Simple Moment effects were also found, with lower morning values in Temporal and left Frontal recording sites. A Gender x Moment interaction was found at the right Frontal recording site. No significant effects were found for Prefrontal and Occipital recording sites, whatsoever. These results bring new understandings of gender and time of day effects in waking EEG and point to different sensitivity in different cortical areas. The present results could explain some of the observations related to gender differences in cognitive performance.     

Forensic sexual abuse evaluations of older children: Disclosures and symptomatology

This study examines the results of forensic evaluations of 399 children between the ages of 8 and 15 who were seen at an urban evaluation center regarding allegations of sexual abuse. Data collected included demographic, family environment, and abuse variables, outcome of a multidisciplinary forensic evaluation, and psychological distress as measured by the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC Briere, in press). Children were grouped according to the outcome of the evaluation: nonabused, abused-disclosing, and abused-nondisclosing (composed of children for whom there was external evidence of abuse but who denied being abused). A number of variables predicted group membership, including subject race, sex, cognitive delays, mother's belief or disbelief in the allegation, and psychological distress. Sexually abused children who disclosed abuse reported particularly high levels of distress, abused but nondisclosing children reported the lowest levels, and nonabused children reported intermediate symptom levels. The data are discussed in terms of the role of denial, maternal support, and symptomatology in forensic evaluations.     

Sleepwalking Into Infertility: The Need for a Public Health Approach Toward Advanced Maternal Age

In Western countries today, a growing number of women delay motherhood until their late 30s and even 40s, as they invest time in pursuing education and career goals before starting a family. This social trend results from greater gender equality and expanded opportunities for women and is influenced by the availability of contraception and assisted reproductive technologies (ART). However, advanced maternal age is associated with increased health risks, including infertility. While individual medical solutions such as ART and elective egg freezing can promote reproductive autonomy, they entail significant risks and limitations. We thus argue that women should be better informed regarding the risks of advanced maternal age and ART, and that these individual solutions need to be supplemented by a public health approach, including policy measures that provide women with the opportunity to start a family earlier in life without sacrificing personal career goals.     

Structural Analysis of the Trauma Symptom Inventory–2

The Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI; Briere, 1995), a measure of the psychological effects of trauma and other adverse events, was recently expanded and updated (TSI–2; Briere, 2011). This study evaluated 4 competing models of TSI–2 dimensionality and determined the predictive validity of the best fitting solution. Data were collected from 679 adults in the general population. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a 4-factor solution best fit the data. All 4 factors of the final model were significant predictors of exposure to trauma or some other very upsetting event, especially posttraumatic stress. Additional research is indicated to further probe the characteristics of the TSI–2, including its dimensionality in other groups.     

Benefits and limits of explicit counting for discriminating temporal intervals.

Segmenting information into smaller parts helps to process it, and this is also true for temporal information. The aim of the present article is to compare the benefits of using explicit counting in a temporal discrimination task under various marker-type conditions and to show the limits of this strategy. In Experiment 1, conditions with and without counting were compared for two implicit standard durations, .8 and 1.6 s, in connection with three marker-type conditions, which were intervals marked by: 1) two brief auditory signals (Auditory-Auditory); 2) two brief visual signals (Visual-Visual); and 3) one auditory signal followed by a visual signal (Auditory-Visual). At .8 s, marker-type differences are significant (best in audition, worse with a bimodal sequence), and remain present with an explicit counting strategy. At 1.6 s, explicit counting provides clear improvements of performance in all marker-type conditions and annihilates marker-related differences. Experiment 1 also suggests that standard deviation remains constant from .8 to 1.6 s in the counting condition, while Experiment 2 shows that when standard intervals are extended up to 4 s, explicit counting does not totally prevent variance from increasing as base duration becomes progressively longer. The benefits derived from using explicit counting in duration discrimination are argued to depend (1) on a reduction of variance in the memory process involved in the timing mechanism, and (2) on a change in the decisional process.     

Self-reported likelihood of sexually aggressive behavior: Attitudinal versus sexual explanations

The present study compared the relative effectiveness of sexuality variables versus attitudes hypothesized to be rape-supportive in the prediction of “likelihood to rape” (LR) and “likelihood to use sexual force” (LF) measures. This research was guided by the suggestion that understanding the variables which underlie LR and LF may shed light on the factors which cause some men to actually commit acts of violence against women. The results were inconsistent with viewing rape as primarily caused by sexual frustration or sexual maladjustment, since sexuality variables were generally not predictive of LF or LR. In contrast, a variety of rape-supportive attitudes and beliefs such as blaming the victim for her rape or viewing sexual violence as sexually arousing to women were successful predictors of both LF and LR. These data were interpreted as supporting theories of rape which consider cultural, socially transmitted attitudes about women and rape to be psychological releasers for sexual aggression. The findings also supported the notion of an “aggression toward women” continuum, rather than a conceptualization of rape as a discrete, isolated phenomenon with its own determinants.