Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to H Weiner.
Ethanol diffusion from rat stomachs containing food particles was slower than from empty stomachs, and blood alcohol concentrations were lower in fed than in fasted rats given ethanol by gavage.
Schizophrenics (n = 12) were conditioned under different multiple fixed-ratio (mult FR FR) schedules of monetary reinforcement. The two FR components of these schedules differed in terms of ratio requirements (reinforcement frequency) or amounts of reinforcement per occurrence of reinforcement. Relatively low rates of responding were emitted by the schizophrenics under these schedules. Further, their response rates were positively correlated with the frequency and amount of FR reinforcement. In previous studies under comparable conditions, normal subjects tended to maximize reinforcement by responding at higher rates and to maintain these rates irrespective of the frequency or amount of FR reinforcement. When given the opportunity to select from among the two components of the mult FR FR schedules, the schizophrenics in the present study tended to respond like normal subjects in previous studies in that they chose to work predominantly under that FR component which provided the highest frequency or amount of reinforcement. It was concluded that schizophrenics resemble normals more and act more rationally in terms of maximizing reinforcement when reinforcement is less dependent upon rates of responding.
Tetrahydroisoquinolines (TIQs) are not only pharmacologically active, but their intraventricular infusion evokes alcohol drinking in rats. It is not known if salsolinol or tetrahydropapaveroline (THP), the two most commonly studied TIQs, spontaneously form in vivo in brain during chronic or acute consumption of ethanol. A theoretical calculation based on a steady-state assumption was made in order to estimate what could be the upper limit of these compounds in rat brain. The model used was that the rate of formation was equal to the rate of disappearance. The latter term is the rate constant for metabolism times the TIQ concentration. The former was estimated for salsolinol from data obtained from human urine while for THP it was simply the second order rate equation. The values obtained for both concentrations were ca 1 ng/g-brain tissue.
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This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the effectiveness of coping mechanisms and physiological indicators of distress in children faced with the experience of hospitalization and surgery. Twenty-five children between the ages of 7 and 11 were studied in the out-patient department, 2 weeks before surgery, and again during their hospital stay. Effectiveness of defenses and defense style was measured by a clinical interview and by the Rorschach test. Cortisol production rates were measured by the analysis of 24-hour urine collections at home and again in the hospital. Ward adjustment was also rated by a ward questionnaire. The results indicated no relationship between defense effectiveness and cortisol production rates in the out-patient department and an inverse relationship between cortisol production and defense effectiveness under the stress of hospitalization. Defense style was found to correlate with coping under stress. Four different groups of children emerged, suggesting four different types of reaction to the hospital experience.
During restraint stress, 30-day-old rats uniformly show an abrupt and persistent decrease in activity with a corresponding increase in quiet wakefulness. However, the effect of restraint on sleep and body temperature depends on whether maternal separation had previously occurred at the customary age (day 22) or 7 days earleir (day 15). If maternal separation took place on day 22, subsequent restraint on day 30 has no effect on the amount of time spend in sleep or on body temperature, relative to a comparison sgroup of unrestrained rats. But if maternal separation took place on day 15, restraint on day 30 elicits a marked initial increase in sleep and a later decrease in sleep and body temperature. The results are consistent with the interpretation that premature maternal separation retards the normal maturation of these behavioral and thermoregulatory responses to restraint stress.
Schizophrenics and controls (normals and alcoholics) were compared in terms of their rates of talking (on any topic) and button-press responding when they were instructed to respond in certain ways and when they were reinforced for responding under a fixed ratio (FR) schedule. Subjects were given complete information about response-reinforcement relationships under the FR schedule. The results showed that, when subjects were told to talk at different rates, response rates of the schizophrenics and controls were fairly comparable. Reinforced rates of talking and button pressing were higher than non-reinforced rates for both the schizophrenics and controls. However, reinforced rates of talking and button-pressing were lower for the schizophrenics compared to the controls. Such apathetic responding by the schizophrenics could not be attributed readily to medication, to a limited capacity for response, to difficulties in understanding the instructions or the contingencies of reinforcement, to the rates of non-reinforced responding, or to the value of the reinforcer (money). It was suggested that the absence of instructions which told the schizophrenics at what rate to respond under the FR schedule may have been a factor.
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Twenty pollen sensitive subjects were classified historically as Groups I-III based upon the elicitation of lower respiratory symptoms at (I) no time of the year, (II) only during the pollen season or (III) during and apart from the pollen season respectively. Neither antigen skin sensitivity nor antigen or mecholyl inhalational sensitivity was useful in delineating these three groups. However, pulmonary function tests during the season demonstrated changes in MMEFR and airflow at 25% vital capacity in Group II subjects, confirming our classifications.
Rat pups that are separated early from their mothers, at postnatal day 15, become hypothermic when subjected to physical restraint on postnatal day 30. Restraint of separated pups also elicits an unusually high incidence of gastric erosions, as well as insomnia and an increase in quiet wakefulness. If hypothermia during restraint is prevented, neither the erosions nor the behavioral responses occur. Rat pups separated at the customary age (postnatal day 22) do not become hypothermic during restraint, and the restraint of such pups is not associated with either gastric erosion or insomnia.
Adrenocortical activity was studied in 19 emaciated women with anorexia nervosa. Relative to body size the patients' mean cortisol production rates of 0.591 mg/kg/day and 16.4 mg m2/day were significantly elevated compared to those of 0.322 mg/kg/day and 11.4 mg/m2/day for age and sex matched normal controls (p less than 0.001 and 0.02, respectively). The 24-hr mean plasma cortisol concentration in 18 patients was 10.6 microgram/dl and was significantly higher than that of the controls (6.8 microgram/dl, p less than 0.001). The average excretion of urinary free cortisol in nine patients was 205 microgram/day, significantly greater than that of 65 microgram/day in the controls (less than 0.01). Three patients underwent overnight suppression with 1 mg of dexamethasone and had inadequate responses. These data suggest that cortisol production is excessive in emaciated patients with anorexia nervosa due to a disturbance of the hypothalamic-pituitary mechanisms regulating adrenocortical function. The excessive adrenal activity may reflect certain psychobiological disturbances as well as the effects of malnutrition.
In previous studies we had established that emaciated women with active primary anorexia nervosa (AN) had immature 24-hr luteinizing hormone (LH) secretory patterns. In this study, we have examined the circadian LH patterns of eight women with AN who had partially or fully recovered their ideal weights. Three of the women were studied before and after weight gain and five women were studied only after the appearance of binge-eating and consequent weight gain (by history). Our findings are: (1) The adult (mature) circadian LH secretory pattern was not present in women who had partially or totally achieved ideal weight but who otherwise remained symptomatic; (2) those women who showed both weight gain and normalization of LH pattern were also symptomatically improved in other respects; (3) the degree of immaturity of pattern did not correlate reliably with the duration of illness, the degree of fatness, or the extent of deficit from ideal weight; (4) the mode of illness onset and the type of secretory pattern were not related; and (5) the return of menses did not show a simple relationship to weight, fatness, or maturity of LH pattern.
It was demonstrated that DOPAL, the aldehyde derived from the action of MAO on dopamine, can condense with dopamine to form THP. This compound is of special interest, since it is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of morphine.
Thirty patients who discontinued private psychotherapy prematurely were evaluated. Factors stemming from the dynamic interaction between the patient and the treatment process were the most common reasons for dropping out, followed by chronic character traits such as impulsivity and masochism. It is hoped that this assessment of variables in the premature termination of therapy will serve to alert the therapist to the probability that treatment will be aborted, suggest which mechanisms will cause interruption, and enable the therapist to use preventive measures sooner.