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Differential cerebral activation during observation of expressive gestures and motor acts.

We compared brain activation involved in the observation of isolated right hand movements (e.g. twisting a lid), body-referred movements (e.g. brushing teeth) and expressive gestures (e.g. threatening) in 20 healthy subjects by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Perception-related areas in the occipital and inferior temporal lobe but also the mirror neuron system in the lateral frontal (ventral premotor cortex and BA 44) and superior parietal lobe were active during all three conditions. Observation of body-referred compared to common hand actions induced increased activity in the bilateral posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS), the left temporo-parietal lobe and left BA 45. Expressive gestures involved additional areas related to social perception (bilateral STS, temporal poles, medial prefrontal lobe), emotional processing (bilateral amygdala, bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), speech and language processing (Broca's and Wernicke's areas) and the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA). In comparison to body-referred actions, expressive gestures evoked additional activity only in the left VLPFC (BA 47). The valence-ratings for expressive gestures correlated significantly with activation intensity in the VLPFC during expressive gesture observation. Valence-ratings for negative expressive gestures correlated with right STS-activity. Our data suggest that both, the VLPFC and the STS are coding for differential emotional valence during the observation of expressive gestures.

Adult↗

Do people know how they behave? Self-reported act frequencies compared with on-line codings by observers.

Behavioral acts constitute the building blocks of interpersonal perception and the basis for inferences about personality traits. How reliably can observers code the acts individuals perform in a specific situation? How valid are retrospective self-reports of these acts? Participants interacted in a group-discussion task and then reported their act frequencies, which were later coded by observers from videotapes. For each act, observer-observer agreement, self-observer agreement, and self-enhancement bias were examined. Findings show that (a) agreement varied greatly across acts; (b) much of this variation was predictable from properties of the acts (observability, base rate, desirability, Big Five domain); (c) on average, self-reports were positively distorted; and (d) this was particularly true for narcissistic individuals. Discussion focuses on implications for research on acts, traits, social perception, and the act frequency approach.

Adult↗

Discrimination of facial expressions of emotion by depressed subjects.

A frequent complaint of depressed people concerns their poor interpersonal relationships. Yet, although nonverbal cues are considered of primary importance in interpersonal communication, the major theories of depression focus little attention on nonverbal social perception. The present study investigated the ability of depressed, disturbed control, and normal American adults to make rapid discriminations of facial emotion. We predicted and found that depressed subjects were slower than normal subjects in facial emotion discrimination but were not slower in word category discrimination. These findings suggest that current theories of depression may need to address difficulties with nonverbal information processing. There were also no significant differences between depressed and disturbed control subjects, suggesting that the unique social-behavioral consequences of depression have yet to be identified.

Adolescent↗

The Global Campaign (GC) to Reduce the Burden of Headache Worldwide. The International Team for Specialist Education (ITSE).

The social perception of headache, everywhere at low levels in industrialised countries, becomes totally absent in developing ones. Headache disorders came into the World Health Organization's strategic priorities after publication of the 2001 World Health Report. Among the leading causes of disability, migraine was ranked 19th for adults of both sexes together and 12th for females. The Global Campaign (GC) to Reduce the Burden of Headache Worldwide was planned by the major international headache organizations together with WHO in order to identify and remove those cultural, social and educational barriers recognised as responsible factors for the inadequate treatment of headache disorders worldwide. Within the GC activities, the education of the medical body will represents a central pillar. An International Team for Specialist Education (ITSE) has been created to train physicians from all over the world through the acquisition of a university level Master Degree in Headache Medicine. Once trained as headache specialists, physicians will become trainers, offering education in this field to other health care providers in their own countries. In this way they will give life to a cultural chain raising awareness locally of headache, its burden and its medical control.

Education, Medical, Graduate↗

Mediators and moderators of young adults' drinking.

Direct effects of modeling and indirect effects of social perception processes have been implicated in the acquisition and maintenance of alcohol use. Parental and peer drinking behavior (assessed from self-reports), and student perceptions about parent and peer drinking (assessed from student estimates of their parents' and friends' alcohol use) were examined through surveys of college students, their parents, and a same-sex best friend. Results showed that students' perceptions about their parents' drinking and parents' self-reported quantity of alcohol consumed were significant correlates of students' own drinking. Perceptions about their friends' alcohol use were found to mediate the strong correlation between student and friend drinking. Perceived similarity to parents, but not perceived similarity to their friend, moderated the relation between students' alcohol use and their perceptions about the alcohol use of significant others. When parents were asked to estimate the alcohol use of their sons, daughters, and the average college student, they consistently estimated lower consumption for their offspring than for the average student.

Adolescent↗

Partnership with nursing mothers: an interim strategy for combating childhood enteric diseases in Nigeria.

Five hundred and fifteen homes of nursing mothers in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, who had earlier brought their children for treatment of diarrhoeal diseases at the IUTHC infant child welfare clinics were visited between January 1982 and June 1984. The mothers' perceptions as to causes, prevention and control of childhood enteritis were elicited: 49.7% of the mothers attributed the cause of the disease to evil spirits; and 9.5% believed enteritis in children to be due to contamination of children's feeds. Modern medicine was perceived to be the ideal method for treating this disease by only 7.4% of the mothers, while 88.8% opted for any of the traditional methods. In order to reduce the devasting effects of enteric diseases among children born to mothers in tropical countries of Africa and Asia, it is imperative that all health workers understand the cultural and social perceptions of their clients towards the disease in question. Illiteracy, and unsanitary and unhygienic environmental conditions were found to be the main factors precipitating enteritis. Implications and strategies for minimizing diarrhoea and other childhood enteric diseases are discussed in the text.

Attitude to Health↗

The medicalization of race: scientific legitimization of a flawed social construct.

The term "race" has many definitions, ranging from a family unit to a species, but in common and medical usage, defining "race" has meant separating Homo sapiens into three to six groups. This division of Homo sapiens into race taxons started in the 18th century, when the sciences of genetics and evolutionary biology were not yet invented. These disciplines have since shown that human race taxonomy has no scientific basis. Race categories are social constructs, that is, concepts created from prevailing social perceptions without scientific evidence. Despite modern proof that race is arbitrary biological fiction, racial taxons are still used widely in medical teaching, practice, and research. Human diversity is inconsistently taught in medical schools and erratically presented in medical texts. Race taxons have been "medicalized"; that is, race groupings have been legitimized by their use in medical literature and practice as acceptable descriptive labels that are integral to the proper diagnosis and treatment of disease in humans. Assumptions about disease that are made because a race has been assigned can result in important negative consequences for individual patients and inaccurate genetic inferences for populations. In contrast, ethnicity is a concept that incorporates social, religious, linguistic, dietary, and other variables to identify individual persons and populations. Ethnicity may be able to impart clinical clues to diagnosis if the clinician taking the history is well informed and open minded. Ethnic boundaries are dynamic and imprecise, and a strict methodical approach to ethnicity that is equal to the approach required for the study of other variables is necessary if the concept of ethnicity is to be clinically useful.

Biomedical Research↗

Muscarinic cholinergic receptor blockade in the rat prelimbic cortex impairs the social transmission of food preference.

Previous findings demonstrate the involvement of the cholinergic NBM in the acquisition of the social transmission of food preference (STFP), a relational associative odor-guided learning task. There is also evidence that muscarinic receptors in the medial prefrontal cortex, an important NBM target area, may modulate olfactory associative memory. The present experiment determined the consequences of blocking muscarinic cholinergic receptors in a component of the medial prefrontal region (the prelimbic cortex) on the STFP task. Adult male Wistar rats were bilaterally infused with scopolamine (20 microg/site) prior to training and showed a severe impairment in the expression of the task measured in two retention sessions, both immediately and 24h after training. Local scopolamine injections in the prelimbic cortex did not affect other behavioral measures such as olfactory perception, social interaction, motivation to eat, neophobia, or exploration. Results suggest that muscarinic transmission in the prelimbic cortex is essential for the STFP, supporting the hypothesis that ACh in a specific prefrontal area is important for this naturalistic form of olfactory relational memory. Current data are discussed in the context of disruption of learning as a result of interferences in PLC functions such as behavioral flexibility, attention, and strategic planning.

Analysis of Variance↗

Becoming a nurse: the ethical perspective.

This paper examines selected features of neophyte nursing students' approach to the moral dimension of their future practice. It argues that rapid changes in medical technology and in social perceptions of morality necessitate a critical examination of the content, sequence and methods of introductory ethics education in nursing. It suggests that greater emphasis should be placed upon individual moral development; and that Codes of Ethics and Bills of Rights should be presented as ideal statements, to serve as guides in assessing the ethical situation of the client. Some reactions of students are reported.

Curriculum↗

[Women and health: their concerns].

This investigation is part of a transcultural research project on women and health, which has as its conceptual framework women's life experiences. This research is qualitative in nature, and the methodology utilized is a content analysis of the documented discourses of a group of lower class women in Ribeirão Preto (SP). The results demonstrate that for these women, health is much more than the absence of disease". Their health concerns are biological, interpersonal, social and economic in nature, and are based more upon their personal experiences and social perceptions than on the concept of health and disease. The importance of this research is its relevance for quality nursing care which takes into consideration the many aspects of being a woman.

Adolescent↗

[Quality of life and pemphigus].

INTRODUCTION: Pemphigus is a frequent chronic bullous dermatosis in Morocco that predominantly affects young women. It requires serious therapeutic management and often repeated hospitalizations. The purpose of this study was to assess the particular impact of pemphigus on quality of life by comparing the quality of life in patients suffering from pemphigus with that of the general population using a generic instrument of measure of health related quality of life: the SF-36, in association with a questionnaire exploring the impact of the disease on self perception, social relationship and behaviour. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A French version of the SF-36 underwent 2 translations from French to Moroccan dialect, then two retrograde translations. After a pre-test, the questionnaire survey was administered by the same investigator to 30 patients who suffered from pemphigus, followed-up in the Ibn Rochd UHC in Casablanca and to 60 healthy adults. The two samples were paired according to age and sex. RESULTS: In the pemphigus group, there was a significant decrease of mean scores of all the SF-36 dimensions, except for physical pain and alteration in general status of health. The greatest alteration concerned the impact on physical and emotional status (p<0.00001) and the smallest alteration concerned the perception of general health (p=0.02). The factors influencing this impact were: profession, face involvement and extent of lesions. Other results concerning the psychosocial impact of pemphigus are presented. CONCLUSION: Our study confirmed that pemphigus is responsible for great alterations in health related quality of life. Therefore, the management of this disease must take into account its impact on various fields of life of the patients.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗

The psychosocial impact of hair loss among men: a multinational European study.

OBJECTIVE: Hair plays an important role in determining self-image, social perceptions, and psychosocial functioning. The objectives of this survey were to identify the impact of hair loss on the self-image of men in five European countries and their level of concern about hair loss with regard to image and personal attractiveness. Moreover, we evaluated participants' use of treatments for hair loss and whether treatment success was associated with psychological benefit. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A structured questionnaire of closed-ended questions was administered by telephone in major cities in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Random sampling was used, and eligible respondents were men from 18 to 45 years old. RESULTS: Of the 1536 men responding to the telephone survey, 729 (47%) reported hair loss; these men are the subject of this report. Over 70% of these men reported hair to be an important feature of image, and 62% agreed that hair loss could affect self-esteem. The realization that they were losing hair was linked to concern about losing an important part of personal attractiveness (43% of men), fear of becoming bald (42%), concern about getting older (37%), negative effects on social life (22%), and feelings of depression (21%). Reduced self-confidence in personal attractiveness was also reported by 38% of men who were not in stable romantic relationships. Less than 10% of men were currently pursuing treatment for hair loss, and three out of four had never pursued treatment for hair loss, either at present or in the past. Those few men who pursued treatment and reported success (n = 73) also reported psychosocial benefits as a result: from 43% to 59% experienced improvements in parameters of self-esteem and perception of personal attractiveness. Reliance on self-reporting of hair loss and use of nonvalidated instruments to measure psychological outcomes are important study limitations. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this survey indicate a gap between the need for treatment of hair loss and initiation of such treatment among men in five European countries. Further research is needed into the factors affecting men's willingness to seek treatment for hair loss.

Adolescent↗

Asthma, health behaviors, social adjustment, and psychosomatic symptoms in adolescence.

The association of health behaviour, indicators of social adjustment, and psychosomatic symptoms with diagnosed asthma was assessed in a community-based sample of 4550 adolescents in South Western Sydney, Australia. The results of this survey found an asthma prevalence among 11-15-year-olds of 17.5%, being consistent with previous studies. Tobacco use and alcohol consumption were higher among asthmatic compared with nonasthmatic adolescents. Asthmatics reported feeling lonely more often, having a number of negative social perceptions and feelings, and having more frequent psychosomatic symptoms. The findings of the study suggest that adolescents with asthma represent an important vulnerable group of school children. Asthma education may need a greater life-style change focus, besides asthma self-management training.

Adolescent↗

Political skill: an antidote in the role overload-strain relationship.

Political skill is characterized by social perceptiveness and the ability to adjust one's behavior to different and changing situational needs to influence others. The authors argue that politically skilled individuals enjoy a sense of personal security that allows them to perceive interpersonal control over the process and outcomes of interpersonal interactions within organizations. The authors examine the buffering effects of political skill on the perceived role overload-strain relationship, with strain operationalized as job tension, job (dis)satisfaction, and general anxiety. Results support the hypothesized moderating effects of political skill such that greater political skill reduces the negative effects of role overload on all types of strain. The contributions and limitations of the study are discussed, as are directions for future research.

Adult↗

Explaining the social patterns of depression: control and problem solving--or support and talking?

Research on the social patterns of depression in the community finds consistently that high levels of education and income, being male, and being married are associated with lower levels of depression. We attempt to explain these patterns as the result of two essential social perceptions: the sense of controlling one's own life rather than being at the mercy of powerful others and outside forces, and the sense of having a supportive and understanding person to talk to in times of trouble. In theory, the sense of control reduces depression because it encourages active problem solving, and the sense of support reduces depression because it provides others to talk to. We find evidence for the first proposition: persons who feel in control of their lives are more likely to attempt to solve problems. Perceived control and problem solving decrease depression and largely explain the effects of income and education on depression. We find, however, that support has mixed effects. Support decreases depression, but talking to others when faced with a problem, which increases with the level of support, increases depression. Support explains a small part of the effect of marriage on depression. Control and support have an interactive effect on depression, suggesting that control and support can substitute for one another to decrease depression: a high level of one reduces the need for the other, and a low level of one is remedied by a high level of the other.

Adolescent↗

The view from two worlds: The convergence of social network reports between mental health clients and their ties.

Traditionally, concerns with the similarities and discrepancies between the reports of persons (or focal respondents) and their collaterals (or network ties/respondents) about the former's social support network is framed as a methodological concern. As individuals experience the devastating effects of illness, and especially as their cognitive capabilities or social perceptions may be impaired by mental health problems, these listings are seen as potentially problematic. While we share this concern, we expand the investigation of the comparison of network ties from focal and network respondents to consider the nature of differences. Using data from Wave I of the Indianapolis Network Mental Health Study, we target the "health matters" network of individuals making their first major contact with the city's largest public and voluntary facilities. Overall, we find that the networks on which "first timers" rely to discuss health matters are small, with both focal and network respondents mentioning four individuals on average. The overlap in ties mentioned is just over 2 people (or 56 percent), on average, and differ with regard to the number of friends and health care professionals mentioned. Ironically, listings are more accurate for focal respondents who have more serious mental illnesses or larger networks. The extent of overlap is lower for women focal respondents than men. In sum, while convergence is in a range considered acceptable in network studies, the substantive nature of discrepancies have interesting and important theoretical and clinical implications.

Adolescent↗