Polymorphism in the CHRNA4 gene is associated with rapid scene categorization performance

The CHRNA4 gene is known to be associated with individual differences in attention. However, its associations with other cognitive functions remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the effects of genetic variations in CHRNA4 on rapid scene categorization by 100 healthy human participants. In Experiment 1, we also conducted the Attention Network Test (ANT) in order to examine whether the genetic effects could be accounted for by attention. CHRNA4 was genotyped as carrying the TT, CT, or CC allele. The scene categorization task required participants to judge whether the category of a scene image (natural or man-made) was consistent with a cue word displayed at the response phase. The target–mask stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) ranged from 13 to 93 ms. In comparison with CC-allele carriers, CT- and TT-allele carriers responded more accurately at the long SOA (93 ms) only during natural-scene categorization. In contrast, we observed no consistent association between CHRNA4 and the ANT, and no intertask correlation between scene categorization and the ANT. To validate our natural-scene categorization results, Experiment 2, carried out with an independent sample of 100 participants and a different stimulus set, successfully replicated the association between CHRNA4 genotypes and natural-scene categorization accuracy at long SOAs (67 and 93 ms). Our findings demonstrate, for the first time, that genetic variations in CHRNA4 can moderately contribute to individual differences in natural-scene categorization performance.     

Obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders: cross-national and ethnic issues

Epidemiological and clinical data from a variety of cultural and geographic settings on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and many of the obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, suggest that this is a group of disorders with a good degree of transcultural homogeneity. However, the content and themes that predominate in patients with these disorders, and the course of illness, can be shaped by cultural, ethnic, and religious experiences. Across cultures, OCD is commonly comorbid with mood, anxiety, and impulse-control disorders. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which culture and ethnicity may affect the expression of OCD and related disorders. Cross-national comparative studies exploring culturally influenced differences in clinical course, treatment outcome, including ethnogenetic differences in drug response, and prognosis are needed.     

Enhanced recovery of NK cell activity in mice under restraint stress by the administration of a biological response modifier derived from the mycelia of the basidiomycete Tricholoma matsutake

Some types of stressor act on the immune system via the network comprising the endocrine-immune-nervous systems, and are reportedly responsible for the onset of diseases as well as giving impetus to their advance. It is important for the maintenance and promotion of health to cope with stress-induced changes in immunocompetence. Therefore, we studied the effects of administration of a novel biological response modifier (CM6271) derived from the mycelia of the basidiomycete Tricholoma matsutake on the NK cell activity in mice under restraint stress, in order to evaluate its potential to modulate immune responsiveness in stress-loaded individuals. (1) When C57BL/6 mice were restrained in 50-ml tubes for more than 6 h, splenic NK cell activity decreased significantly, but recovered gradually after the mice were released. The extent of the reduction of activity and the degree of recovery depended on the duration of the restraint. (2) The oral administration of CM6271 caused a significant acceleration of the recovery of the activity. This effect was dependent on the timing of administration and the dose given. (3) The administration of CM6271 had no clear effect on the blood levels of ACTH, corticosterone or lipid peroxide levels in the liver. These findings suggest that CM6271 promotes recovery from the decrease in NK cell activity induced by restraint stress.     

Transmission electron microscopy of dislocations in SrTiO3

Dislocations have been introduced in SrTiO₃ by Vickers indentation at room temperature and analysed by transmission electron microscopy. The slip systems in SrTiO₃ were identified as ?110?-{110}. ?110? dislocations are dissociated into two partial dislocations. The stacking-fault energy γSF was determined to be 136 ± 15 mJm^-2.     

Reaction times for fine discrete movements

Three experiments (ns = 20, 10, and 20) were conducted in which the reaction times for responses to complexity were investigated for small-scale, discrete, terminated movements. In a choice reaction-time situation, the reaction time for the finger-lift response was longer than that for the finger-lift response followed by the pressing of another key with the same finger. The reaction times for these responses, however, did not differ in a simple reaction-time situation. The difference in reaction times between these responses may have been associated with some differences in allocation of the subjects' internal resources. The subjects' attention might be more attracted to the more complex response.     

Underlying Circuits of Social Support for Bullied Victims: An Appraisal‐Based Perspective on Supportive Communication and Postbullying Adjustment

This study examined the working mechanisms of social support for victims of bullying. Structural equation modeling analyses based on retrospective survey data (N = 448) revealed that the effects of supportive messages varied distinctively, depending on the content of the messages; emotional and esteem support enhanced, but network support impeded, positive reappraisal (the effects of informational support were not significant). Except for that which was related to network support, discrepancy between desired and received support was associated with less positive appraisal. Finally, positive appraisal was found to enhance victims' postbullying adjustment both behaviorally and psychologically. These findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications with reference to the literature on social support and coping of bullied victims.     

Lateral biases and reading direction: a dissociation between aesthetic preference and line bisection

Perceptual asymmetries for tasks involving aesthetic preference or line bisection can be affected by asymmetrical neurological mechanisms or left/right reading habits. This study investigated the relative contribution of these mechanisms in 100 readers of Japanese and English. Participants made aesthetic judgments between pairs of mirror-reversed pictures showing: (a) static objects, (b) moving objects and (c) landscapes. A line bisection task was also administered. There was a strong effect of reading direction for static and mobile objects whereby Japanese readers preferred objects with a right-to-left directionality (and vice versa for English readers). In contrast, similar patterns were observed for the Japanese and English readers for the landscape and line bisection tasks. The results show that reading habits affect aesthetic judgments for static and moving object tasks, but not the landscape and line bisection tasks. The difference between the tasks may be related to the horizontal/vertical geometry of the stimuli, which makes the landscape and line bisection tasks more prone to universal effects related to cerebral dominance.     

Book reviews

Religion in Europe: Contemporary Perspectives SEAN GILL, GAVIN D'COSTA & URSULA KING, eds, 1994 Kampen: Kok Pharos 213 pp., £22.50 ISBN 90–390–0508–7

Religion in Contemporary Europe JOHN FULTON & PETER GEE, eds, 1994 Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: Edwin Meilen Press 181 pp., £39.95 ISBN 0–7734–9028–0

Pluralisme religieux et Laïcités dans l'Union européenne ALAIN DIERKENS, ed., 1994 Brussels: Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles (Problèmes d'histoire des religions, No. 5) 176 pp., 700 Belgian francs, 129 French francs ISBN 2–8004–1097–3

Religion and the Transformations of Capitalism: Comparative Approaches RICHARD H. ROBERTS, ed., 1995 London: Routledge xi + 347 pp., £60.00 ISBN 0–415–11917–0

The Sociology of Religion: Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives MALCOLM B. HAMILTON, 1994 London: Routledge 238 pp., £13.99 ISBN 0–415–02187–1 (hb), 0–415–10659–1 (pb)

American Congregations Volume 1: Portraits of Twelve Religious Communities JAMES P. WIND & LAMES W. LEWIS, eds, 1994 Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press xi + 712 pp., US$34.95 ISBN 0–226–90188–6

Volume 2: New Perspectives in the Study of Congregations ix + 292 pp., US$22.50 ISBN 0–222–90188–20

A History of the Quaker Movement in Africa ANE MARIE BAK RASMUSSEN, 1995 London: British Academic Press 190 pp., £34.50 (hb) ISBN 1–85043–904–4

Ceremony and Ritual in Japan: Religious Practices in an Industrialized Society JAN VAN BREMEN & D. P. MARTINEZ, eds, 1995 London: Routledge 286 pp., £40.00 ISBN 0–415–11663–5

Choose Peace: A Dialogue between Johan Galtung and Daisaku Ikeda J. GALTUNG & D. IKEDA, 1995 London: Pluto Press 172 pp., £40.00 (hb), £13.95 (pb) ISBN 0–7453–1039–7 (pb), 07453–1040–0 (hb)

The Toronto Blessing—Or Is It? STANLEY PORTER & PHILIP RICHTER, eds, 1995 London: Darton, Longman & Todd 130 pp., £6.95 ISBN 0–232–52130–1

Sex, Slander, and Salvation. Investigating the Family/Children of God JAMES R. LEWIS & J. GORDON MELTON, eds, 1994 Stanford, CA: Center for Academic Publications xi + 288 pp., £5.99 ISBN 0–9639501–2–6

Christians in the Holy Land MICHAEL PRIOR & WILLIAM TAYLOR, eds, 1994 London: World of Islam Festival Trust 235 pp., £10.00 ISBN 0–905–035–32–1

City of Wrong: a Friday in Jerusalem M. KAMEL HUSSEIN, translated by KENNETH CRAGG, 1994 Oxford: Oneworld Publications 234 pp., £7.95 ISBN 1–85168–072–1

>Faith in Dialogue Number One: Faiths in Britain Together CHRISTOPHER LAMB, ed., 1995 61 pp., £2.00

Faith in Dialogue Number Two: Jewish and Christian Mysticism RABBI PROFESSOR DAN COHN SHERBOK, 1995 20 pp., £1.00

Faith in Dialogue Number Three: Jewish Views of Jesus HYAM MACCOBY 20 pp., £1.00 London: Centre For Inter‐Faith Dialogue ISSN 13585045

Jewish & Christian Mysticism: An Introduction DAN COHN‐SHERBOK & LAVINIA COHN‐SHERBOK, 1994 New York: Continuum viii +186 pp., £15.99 ISBN 0–85244–259–9

Sabbath and Synagogue. The Question of Sabbath Worship in Ancient Judaism HEATHER A. MCKAY, 1994 Leiden: E. J. Brill xiii + 279 pp., Nlg. 125,00, US$71.50 ISSN 0927–7633

The Road to Canterbury: A Modern Pilgrimage SHIRLEY DU BOULEY, 1994 London: Harper Collins 245 pp., £15.99 (hb) ISBN 0–00–627693–8