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Biomedical subjects

D R Cherek

Publications and source records attributed to D R Cherek.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Effects of provocation and alcohol on human aggressive behavior.

Effects of provoking stimuli on human aggressive behavior and on the relationship between alcohol and aggressive behavior were measured. Four adult males manipulated pushbuttons that produced points on their own counters (redeemable for money) or ostensibly subtracted points (money) from the counters of fictitious persons described as participating in the same study at other locations. During five 10-min components, frequency and intensity of point subtractions, ostensibly controlled by another person, were manipulated. Each subject was repeatedly exposed to alcohol doses (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 g/kg of 95% ethanol) over time using a repeated measures design. Aggressive responding was affected by provocation intensity and frequency. The highest dose of alcohol produced selective increases in aggressive responding; however, no interactions between alcohol effects and provocation conditions were observed.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Effects of d-amphetamine on aggressive responding of normal male subjects.

Male research subjects were administered placebo and three doses of d-amphetamine (5, 10, and 20 mg/70 kg of body weight) under double-blind conditions in a laboratory situation that provided both aggressive and nonaggressive response options. The nonaggressive response was button pressing maintained by the presentation of points which were exchanged for money. The aggressive response was button pressing on a separate manipulandum which ostensibly subtracted points from a fictitious person. Aggressive responding was initially established by subtracting points from the research subjects, which was attributed to the other person. d-Amphetamine increased nonaggressive responding, while aggressive responding was generally decreased.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Effects of d-amphetamine on human aggressive behavior.

Male research subjects were administered placebo and three doses of d-amphetamine (5, 10 and 20 mg/70 kg) in a laboratory situation which provided both aggressive and non-aggressive response options. The non-aggressive response was button pressing maintained by presentation of points exchangeable for money at the end of the session. The aggressive response was button pressing on a separate manipulanda which ostensibly subtracted points from a fictitious partner. Aggressive responding was elicited by subtracting points from the research subjects which was attributed to the fictitious partner. d-Amphetamine increased both aggressive and non-aggressive responding, particularly at 5 and 10 mg/70 kg. At the highest dose (20 mg/70 kg), aggressive responding decreased to levels similar to those observed during placebo sessions, while monetary reinforced responding remained elevated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Alternative treatments for withdrawing the long-term benzodiazepine user: a pilot study.

Anxiolytic therapy with benzodiazepines and their potential for dependence are reviewed. Relaxation training and biofeedback have been used for chemically dependent anxious patients. These techniques have been recommended for benzodiazepine-dependent patients, but not investigated. Previous withdrawal studies offer only limited follow-up data. Stress management treatment was based on a successful case study. Recruitment difficulties were encountered. However, seven patients were randomly assigned to stress management or brief psycho-therapy. All showed improvement, but three of four patients available for 1 year follow-up had returned to pretreatment dependence. These withdrawal difficulties suggest the need for more effective treatments and more adequate follow-up studies.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Effects of acute exposure to increased levels of background industrial noise on cigarette smoking behavior.

Automated objective measures of cigarette smoking behavior were recorded while research subjects performed a visual monitoring monetary reinforced operant task. Subjects were required to wear headphones during all sessions. During baseline sessions, subjects were exposed to 60 decibels (dB) of background noise. During experimental sessions, subjects were exposed to 70, 80, or 90 dB of tape-recorded industrial noise via the headphones. Following stabilization of cigarette puffing across sessions, subjects were exposed to different dB levels of industrial noise acutely for one session. Results indicated that increasing dB levels of industrial noise exposure resulted in increased cigarette smoking behavior.

Behavior↗
PubMed1985

Effects of alcohol on human aggressive behavior.

Eleven men were administered placebo and three doses (0.12, 0.23 and 0.46 g of absolute alcohol per kg of body weight) of 50% alcohol (vodka) in a laboratory situation that provided both aggressive and nonaggressive response options. Two aggressive responses were available to subjects: the ostensible subtraction of money from a fictitious other person and the ostensible presentation of a loud noise to a fictitious other person. A nonaggressive monetary reinforced response was also available. Aggressive responding was elicited by the subtraction of money from the subjects which was attributed to the fictitious other person. Relatively low doses of alcohol (0.23 and 0.46 g/kg) increased aggressive monetary subtraction responses, but had no effect on decreased nonaggressive monetary reinforced responses. Thus, the observed increase in aggressive responding cannot be attributed to a generalized stimulant action of low alcohol doses. The increased aggressive responding was observed at blood alcohol levels well below those usually defined as intoxicating. It is suggested that responses to aggression-provoking situations can be altered by the consumption of the equivalent of one or two alcoholic drinks.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Reinforcer interactions under concurrent schedules of food, water, and intravenous morphine.

Responding by six rats was maintained under a concurrent chained fixed-ratio 1, fixed-ratio 9 schedule (conc chain FR1 FR9 ) of food, water, and morphine presentations. The subjects had continuous access to the schedule contingencies on a reversed 12-h light-dark cycle. Local rates and temporal patterns were very similar for responding maintained by the three reinforcers with food and water intake occurring predominantly during the dark cycle, while morphine infusions were evenly distributed. Food and water extinction (24-h duration) decreased the number of ratios completed on both the food and water levers. Moreover, food extinction resulted in a large increase in I.V. morphine self-administration. Morphine extinction increased responding on the morphine lever while almost eliminating responding on the water lever. Changes in the dose of morphine (2.5-40 mg/kg/injection) did not significantly affect food and water intake, but were inversely related to responding on the morphine lever. Saline substitutions resulted in effects similar to those observed during morphine extinction. The schedule used in this study provides a method for examining the specificity of a number of pharmacological and neurochemical manipulations.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Regular or decaffeinated coffee and subsequent human aggressive behavior.

A new methodology was used to study the effects of coffee on human aggressive behavior in a laboratory situation. Aggressive responding was elicited by subtracting money from the research subjects, an action which was attributed to a fictitious person. Regular coffee compared to decaffeinated coffee produced decreases in aggressive responses, but increased nonaggressive monetary reinforced responding. Thus, the suppressing effect of regular coffee on aggressive responding was not due to a nonspecific depressant action.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Effects of cigarette smoking on human aggressive behavior.

Nicotine administered by smoking experimental cigarettes produced decreases in two types of aggressive responses elicited by low and high frequency subtractions of money which were attributed to another "person". The suppressing effects of smoking different doses of nicotine on aggressive responses was dose-dependent, in that smoking the high dose of nicotine produced more suppression than smoking the low dose. The ostensible subtraction of money from another "person", the more aggressive response option available to research subjects, was generally more sensitive to the suppressing effects of nicotine than aggressive noise delivery responses. Although this effect could be attributed to another constituent of tobacco, the dose-dependent effect observed with these cigarettes which contained the same amount of tar suggest the effects are due to nicotine. The relatively selective suppression of aggressive behavior observed in humans in the present study is highly consistent with the effects of nicotine observed in a number of infrahuman species. Nicotine has been found to suppress aggressive behavior in ants (Kostowski 1968), rats (Silverman 1971), and cats (Berntson et. al. 1976). In addition, nicotine has been observed to suppress shock elicited fighting in rats (Driscoll, Baettig 1981; Rodgers 1979; Waldbillig 1980) as well as shock elicited biting in monkeys (Hutchinson, Emley 1973). The importance of determining specificity of drug action on aggressive behavior has been repeatedly emphasized in the field of behavioral pharmacology (Sidman 1959; Cook, Kelleher 1963; Thompson, Boren 1977; Miczek, Krsiak 1979). One method employed to evaluate drug specificity and identify a general non-specific excitatory or depressant drug effect is to determine the drug effect on more than one response option which is available to the subject (Sidman 1959). In this study, the same doses of nicotine which suppressed aggressive responding increased nonaggressive monetary reinforcement responses. This indicates that the suppressing effects of nicotine on human aggressive responses was not due to a non-specific and generalized depression action. This selective action is similar to that observed by Hutchinson and Emley (1973) when they observed that nicotine decreased shock-elicited biting in monkeys while increasing anticipatory manual responses preceding shock. The highly selective and specific suppressing effect of nicotine on aggressive behavior provides a consistent observation in species ranging from insects to man.

Aggression↗
PubMed1983

Effects of caffeine on human aggressive behavior.

A new methodology was employed to study the effects of caffeine on human aggressive behavior in a laboratory situation. Aggressive responding was elicited by subtracting money from the research subjects, which was attributed to a fictitious person. Caffeine compared to placebo produced decreases in two types of aggressive responses, but increased nonaggressive monetary reinforced responding. Thus, the suppressing effect of caffeine on aggressive responding was not due to a nonspecific depressant action.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Changes in biogenic amine and benzodiazepine receptors correlated with conditioned emotional response and its reversal by diazepam.

Groups of littermate rats were trained to respond for food reinforcement on a variable interval one-min (VI 1) schedule, after which they were classically conditioned to associate a conditioned stimulus (CS) with footshock (conditioned emotional response; conditioned suppression; CER). Two control groups received yoked footshock (no CS) or the visual-auditory stimulus only (no footshock). On test day, a group of the CER conditioned animals received injections of either vehicle or diazepam prior to exposure to the VI 1 food-reinforced schedule. After 30 min of the VI 1 schedule, the CS was presented continuously for 15 min, after which the animals were decapitated, the brains removed, membranes prepared and in vitro receptor binding evaluated. During the CS, the CER animals suppressed responding and exhibited conditioned fear (emotional) behavior, while the control groups, and animals given acute diazepam, maintained normal responding. [3H]Diazepam binding was reduced in the CER animals, yet acute benzodiazepine administration did not effect this binding. [3H]QNB binding was reduced by CER and increased by diazepam administration. Adrenergic, serotonergic and dopaminergic systems were also evaluated. Traditional biogenic amine systems may respond to CER and diazepam administration in some compensatory manner.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Biogenic monoamine turnover in discrete rat brain regions is correlated with conditioned emotional response and its conditioning history.

The content and turnover of dopamine, norepinephrine and 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin), and the content of their respective major metabolites were evaluated in 19 discrete brain areas of rats exposed to conditioned emotional response (CER), and in control groups which received either equivalent yoked shock (shock only) or compound stimulus presentation (tone only). On test day, CER animals suppressed responding and exhibited forms of emotional behavior after presentation of the conditioned stimulus (CS); while shock only and tone only control groups, and CER animals which received an acute dose of diazepam prior to testing, did not suppress. Few changes were observed in content of the biogenic amines or their metabolites, suggesting that the behavioral manipulations were acting within normal physiological limits. On the other hand, numerous changes were observed in the utilization of the 3 biogenic monoamines, which were correlated with the conditioning-anxiety (comparisons of CER vs shock only) and the shock history (comparison of shock only vs tone only). These observations are consistent with putative neural pathways in the frontal cortex, septum, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, striatum, hippocampus and brain stem (which utilize specific monoamines), and with discrete brain areas which have been implicated in classical conditioning and CER-related phenomena. These observations suggest roles for biogenic monoamines in mediating or responding to the classical conditioning and emotional components of the paradigm.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Amino acid neurotransmitter utilization in discrete rat brain regions is correlated with conditioned emotional response.

The content and utilization of amino acid neurotransmitters were evaluated in discrete brain areas of rats exposed to a conditioned emotional response (CER) procedure and in control groups which received either equivalent yoked shock history (shock only) or compound stimulus presentation (tone only). On test day, CER animals suppressed responding and exhibited anxious behavior after presentation of the CS, while shock only and tone only control groups, or CER animals which received an acute dose of diazepam prior to testing, did not suppress. Few changes were observed in the content of amino acids, suggesting that the behavioral manipulations were acting within normal physiological limits. On the other hand, numerous changes were observed in the utilization (turnover, metabolism) of the amino acid neurotransmitters. The effects of a history of shock presentation (shock only versus tone only) were persistent long after the conditioning sessions were terminated, and resulted in decreased turnover of the amino acids in many areas. CER conditioning-emotion (CER versus shock only) produced an increase in the turnover of aspartate and glutamate in many structures, while changes in GABA turnover were generally limited to decreases in limbic areas. If CER represents an animal model of anxiety, these observations may suggest roles for neurons which utilize amino acids in mediating or responding to emotional components of the paradigm.

Amino Acids↗