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PubMed2006

Motivational predictors of prosocial and antisocial behaviour in football.

This study examined (a) the main and interactive effects of goal orientations and perceived motivational climate on prosocial and antisocial behaviour, and (b) whether number of seasons one has played for the team interacts with motivational climate in predicting prosocial and antisocial behaviour in association football. Participants were 325 male association football players, whose age ranged from 12 to 17 years. Athletes completed questionnaires measuring frequency of prosocial and antisocial behaviours in football, goal orientation, motivational climate and social desirability, and indicated the number of seasons they had played for their current team. Regression analyses revealed that task orientation and mastery climate were positive predictors of prosocial behaviour, whereas ego orientation and performance climate were positive predictors of antisocial behaviour. In addition, task orientation negatively predicted antisocial behaviour, while ego orientation negatively predicted prosocial behaviour. No significant interactions between task and ego orientation and mastery and performance motivational climate were found. Finally, mastery climate negatively predicted antisocial behaviour for those who had played many seasons for the team. In conclusion, strengthening task orientation and mastery climate and weakening ego orientation may enhance prosocial behaviour. However, for antisocial conduct to be eliminated from the context of association football, ego orientation and performance climate need to be tempered, as these constructs exert unique independent effects on antisocial behaviour.

Achievement↗
PubMed2006

Context-sensitive cognitive-behavioural supports for young children with TBI: a replication study.

OBJECTIVE: To replicate an investigation of the effects of a multi-component cognitive-behavioural intervention on the challenging behaviour of two young children with growing behavioural concerns after TBI. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Single-subject reversal designs used to document the effects of the combined behavioural, cognitive and executive function intervention on the following dependent variables: frequency and intensity of aggressive behaviours, amount of work accomplished. PARTICIPANTS: Two young children with escalating behaviour problems after TBI. INTERVENTION: Integrated components of positive behaviour supports, cognitive supports (e.g. graphic organizers) and an executive function routine (goal-plan-do-review). RESULTS: Reduced frequency and intensity of challenging behaviours; increased quantity of work completed. CONCLUSIONS: Positive replication of previous single-subject experiments demonstrating the potential for successfully treating behaviour disorders in young children with TBI using a support-oriented intervention that combines behavioural, cognitive and executive function components.

Brain Injuries↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Analysis of aberrant behaviour associated with Rett syndrome.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the variables involved in the maintenance of aberrant behaviours associated with Rett syndrome. The occurrence of aberrant behaviours associated with Rett syndrome is typically attributed to biological variables associated with the disorder. In some cases. however, these behaviours have been shown to be sensitive to manipulations of environmental variables (i.e. operant contingencies). However, little research exists regarding the variables involved in the maintenance of these behaviours and the manner in which these variables can be manipulated to effectively reduce the occurrence of these behaviours. METHOD: We conducted functional analyses of the aberrant behaviours exhibited by two females diagnosed with Rett syndrome. Following the functional analyses, treatments were developed to disrupt the relationship between the aberrant response and the reinforcer maintaining it. RESULTS: Results from the functional analysis suggested that in both cases the aberrant behaviours (i.e. hand wringing and hand mouthing) were maintained by automatic reinforcement. Treatment, which included interrupting hand wringing for one individual and preventing hand mouthing for the other participant, resulted in dramatic changes in the levels of aberrant behaviour for both participants. These changes suggested that preventing reinforcement delivery reduced the motivation to engage in aberrant behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that operant variables can be manipulated to influence the occurrence of aberrant behaviour associated with Rett syndrome.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Behavioural patterns of conflict resolution strategies in preschool boys with language impairment in comparison with boys with typical language development.

BACKGROUND: Children with language impairment (LI) experience social difficulties, including conflict management. This paper is therefore motivated to examine behavioural processes guiding preschool peer conflict progression, which ultimately contributes to overall development. AIMS: To describe behavioural sequences in conflicts between children with typically developing language (TL) and between children with LI. Attention is particularly focused on the conflict resolution strategy reconciliation, i.e. friendly contact between former opponents shortly following conflict termination. It is hypothesized that children with LI, with weaker language skills, experience difficulties attaining effective reconciliation. METHODS & PROCEDURES: Unstructured play of 11 boys with LI (4-7-years-old), at a specialized language preschool, and 20 TL boys (4-6-years-old), at mainstream preschools, were video filmed. Conflicts were identified and recorded according to a validated coding system. Recorded conflict details included behavioural sequences constituting conflict cause (conflict period) and in the post-conflict period, reconciliatory behaviours that were classified into six 'categories' (Invitation to play, Body contact, Object offer, Verbal apology, Self-ridicule, Cognition, i.e. offering privileges/negotiating) and the verbal character of accepted behaviours were determined. The mean proportion of individual target children's conflicts in which specific behavioural sequences had occurred were calculated and thereafter compared between and within the groups. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: Boys with LI reconcile fewer conflicts than TL boys (LI: 47.3 +/- 4.5%; TL: 63.6 +/- 2.0%). Contributory factors include the occurrence of conflicts caused by aberrance, i.e. conflicts initiated by inappropriate behavioural play intensities (i.e. 'a pillow fight' where one partner swings so intensively the other partner cannot participate as a player in the game) and protests that are no longer directed to the opponent within reciprocal exchanges, but escalate to screaming/physical ranting. Aberrant caused conflicts were rarely observed as the conflict cause for TL boys, but represent nearly 15% of LI conflicts and aberrant caused conflicts are reconciled at lower rates than conflicts not caused by aberrance. Displayed reconciliatory behaviours were accepted by opponents at similar rates in both groups and the distribution of reconciliatory behavioural 'categories' was similar between the groups. However, boys with LI attempt reconciliation in relatively fewer conflicts. In addition, the individual boys with LI attain reconciliation with strictly verbal reconciliatory behaviours in a smaller proportion of conflicts. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that in addition to traditional psycholinguistic remediation, intervention programmes for children with LI should address that learned language and communication skills are applied effectively in initiating and maintaining naturalistic peer interactions.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed2001

Assessment of chronic pain behaviour: reliability of the method and its relationship with perceived disability, physical impairment and function.

The aim of the present study was to develop a reliable assessment of pain behaviour performed during the execution of a range of functional assessment measures. For the initial reliability study 18 subjects (consecutive referrals) were assessed. Subjects were observed and videotaped during a variety of physical tasks and demonstrations of pain behaviour were recorded; the videotapes were scored by two independent observers on two occasions. The relationships between pain behaviour, distress and physical function and impairment were also investigated in a group of 51 patients with chronic back pain. Self-report of disability and pain intensity were assessed using the Finnish version of Oswestry disability questionnaire and the pain visual analogue scale (VAS). Depression and somatic perception were assessed using the modified Zung and modified somatic perception questionnaire. The Tampa scale for kinesiophobia was used to evaluate fear of movement and (re)injury. The results of the intra- and interobserver reliability study demonstrate good to excellent levels of agreement. The exception was facial expression (kappa 0.29), which was excluded from the final instrument. There was a strong correlation between pain behaviour and subjective pain report and disability (p < 0.01). The correlations between total pain behaviour and performance of physical function tasks is striking (p < 0.01). Subjective disability was analysed by means of multiple regression analysis. Pain measured on the VAS was the most important variable explaining 36% of the variance, pain behaviour and pain combined explained 48% of the variance for self reported disability. In conclusion, this functional videobased assessment of pain behaviour is a reliable measure of pain behaviour. The total scores for pain behaviour correlate with tasks that involve the back; tests involving upper limbs were not affected. This test is suitable for the assessment of those with pain problems specifically involving the back. Furthermore, in the group studied pain and pain behaviour were the two most important determinants of self-reported disability.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

A new method for describing smokers' consulting behaviours which indicate their motivation to stop smoking: an exploration of validity and reliability.

BACKGROUND: Smokers vary in their readiness to try stopping smoking, but there currently are no objective tools for identifying smokers' consulting behaviours which indicate their level of motivation to try stopping smoking. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the construct validity and inter-observer reliability of the Smokers' Motivation Code (SMC). METHODS: General practice consultations between 29 different Leicestershire GPs and their patients were video-recorded. In 47 consultations, regular or occasional smokers discussed smoking with their GPs and their consulting behaviour was coded using the SMC. The reliability of three different observers' codings was investigated. Construct validity was also investigated by comparing smokers' consulting behaviours coded using the SMC with measures of motivation to stop smoking recorded on pre-consultation questionnaires. RESULTS: Two pairs of observers achieved good reliability when using the SMC to code smokers' consulting behaviours during a subset of 11 video-recorded consultations. For readiness behaviours (indicating motivation to stop smoking), kappas were 0.82 and 0.65, and for resistance behaviours (indicating little motivation to stop smoking), kappas were 0.74 and 1.0. For the 37 consultations attended by regular smokers, complete pre-consultation questionnaires were obtained. Smokers displaying readiness behaviours were significantly more likely than others to report having tried to stop in the past year, thinking about or trying to stop and to agree that their health would improve if they stopped smoking. Smokers displaying resistant behaviours were significantly less likely to report thinking about stopping/trying to stop smoking. CONCLUSION: We have provided some evidence to support the construct validity and inter-observer reliability of the SMC and have identified some consulting behaviours which might indicate smokers' motivation to stop smoking. Further work is needed to determine whether smokers' consulting behaviour can be used to predict future quit attempts.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Evidence-based practices in intellectual disability and behaviour disorders.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To critically review the most recently published studies on the treatment of challenging behaviours/behaviour disorders for individuals with intellectual disability. RECENT FINDINGS: Literature published in the review period was from three traditions: applied behaviour analysis, psychopharmacology, and service evaluation. Applied behaviour analysis treatments have a large evidence base, and recent research has focused on refining issues such as dealing with low rate behaviours, improving generalization, the effects of choice-making, and setting event variables that may affect treatment outcomes. Recent interest in risperidone as a treatment for behaviour disorder has dominated the literature on pharmacological interventions. Several empirical studies support the use of risperidone in children, although a recent review is more sceptical of the quality of the evidence to date. A small number of service evaluation studies suggest in particular that applied behaviour analysis technologies can be scaled up to benefit large numbers of patients. SUMMARY: Applied behaviour analysis methods for the assessment and treatment of behaviour disorders continue to be the focus of research, and continue to result in positive outcomes. Recent data show the value of using applied behaviour analysis technologies as a service model for people with behaviour disorders. Pharmacological treatments, especially risperidone, also have a developing evidence base despite a lack of understanding of their mechanisms of action. A number of questions about behaviour disorders remain unanswered, especially whether early intervention may be effective and their putative relationship with psychiatric conditions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

When smokers are resistant to change: experimental analysis of the effect of patient resistance on practitioner behaviour.

AIMS: In the field of motivational interviewing, practitioner confrontational behaviour has been associated with lower levels of patient behaviour change. We set out to explore whether resistance to change among smokers affects practitioner confrontational and other behaviours. DESIGN: Experimental manipulation of levels of patient resistance in a role play. SETTING: The study was conducted at the start of a 2-day health behaviour change workshop. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-two practitioners who had registered for the workshop. INTERVENTION: The practitioners were assigned randomly to interview a standardized patient (actor) who portrayed a smoker who had been briefed to display either high or low levels of resistance to change. MEASUREMENTS: Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. Practitioners and standardized patients completed interview ratings at the end of each interview. After listening to each taped interview practitioners were assigned a global score for confrontation, empathy and expert instructional style. Interviews were then submitted to a qualitative analysis. FINDINGS: Higher levels of practitioner confrontational behaviour were observed in the high resistance group. This was evident both from the global scores (median 2 versus 0, P = 0.001) and the qualitative analysis. Global scores for empathy and expert instruction were not significantly different. Qualitative analysis also suggests a pervasive negative impact on other practitioner behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: Higher patient resistance probably leads to an increase in confrontational and other negative behaviours in health professionals attempting to promote behaviour change. This challenges important assumptions about the influence of practitioner behaviour on patient behaviour and subsequent health-related outcomes.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Syndrome specificity and behavioural disorders in young adults with intellectual disability: cultural differences in family impact.

BACKGROUND: This study examined whether behaviour problems and adaptive behaviour of low functioning young adults, and well-being of their families, varied by diagnostic syndrome [intellectual disability (ID) only, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism], as well as by cultural group. METHODS: Behaviour disorders in young adults with moderate to severe ID were assessed from information provided by 282 caregivers during in-home interviews. The sample consisted of 150 Anglo participants, and 132 Latino, primarily Spanish-speaking, participants drawn from Southern California. RESULTS: Behaviour disorders and maternal well-being showed the same pattern across disability syndromes. Autism was associated with the highest scores in multiple behaviour problem areas as well as maternal reports of lower well-being. Down syndrome was associated with the lowest behaviour problem scores and the highest maternal well-being. When behaviour problems were controlled for, diagnostic groups accounted for no additional variance in maternal stress or depression. The pattern of behaviour problems and well-being did not differ by sample (Anglo vs. Latino), although level on well-being measures did. Latina mothers reported significantly higher depression symptoms and lower morale, but also higher positive impact from their child than did Anglo mothers. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers of young adults with autism report more maladaptive behaviour problems and lower personal well-being, or stress, relative to other diagnostic groups, regardless of cultural group. However, cultural differences exist in caregiver reports of depression, morale, and positive perceptions. Implications for service provision aimed at families of children with challenging behaviour problems are discussed in the context of culture.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1996

Spontaneous behaviours of rats are differentially affected by substantia nigra infusions of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-3.

The effects on spontaneous behaviour after 7 and 14 days of continuous unilateral infusion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF, 12 micrograms/day) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3, 12 micrograms/day) into the rat substantia nigra were investigated during the day and night. Animals subjected to these treatments were compared to untreated controls and vehicle-infused controls that were weight-matched for the decreases in body weight produced by BDNF and NT-3. BDNF increased feeding and food retrieval, indicating that BDNF did not decrease appetite. BDNF but not NT-3 markedly decreased drinking, suggesting that weight loss in BDNF-treated rats may be secondary to hypodypsia, whereas in NT-3-treated rats weight loss was more likely a direct consequence of decreased feeding. Exploratory behaviours, limb flicks and contralateral postural bias were increased by BDNF. The behavioural profile of BDNF-treated rats is consistent with an increase in dopaminergic activity. In addition, BDNF increased backwards walking, a behaviour that requires the activation of both dopamine and serotonin systems. In contrast, NT-3 selectively increased behaviours that are mediated primarily by serotonin, such as wet-dog shakes. NT-3 increased limb flicks and mouth movements, but had a smaller effect than BDNF on exploratory behaviour. Vehicle infusions produced behavioural effects consistent with cannula- or infusion-induced damage to the nigrostriatal dopamine system, and some of these effects were reversed by BDNF. Most of the behavioural effects of the neurotrophins are consistent with the view that BDNF increases activity of both dopaminergic and serotonergic systems within the nigrostriatal system, and that NT-3 increases serotonin activity. Effects of BDNF and NT-3 on grooming behaviours, possibly indicative of actions on nigral neuropeptides, provide further evidence of consistencies between reported neurochemical and behavioural effects of neurotrophins.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1980

Behavioural changes induced by N,N-dimethyl-tryptamine in rodents.

1 N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in pargyline pretreated rodents induced a dose-dependent behavioural syndrome consisting of hyperactivity, prostration and hindlimb abduction, mild tremor, Straub tail, retropulsion and jerking. 2 In rats pretreated with pargyline, the behavioural syndrome induced by DMT differed from that induced by L-tryptophan or quipazine, in the lack of forepaw treading and head-weaving and in the presence of only mild tremor. 3 The hyperactivity component of the DMT-induced behavioural syndrome in pargyline-pretreated mice was potentiated by cyproheptadine, methergoline, and mianserin, inhibited by cinanserin, haloperidol, pimozide, methiothepin and propranolol, and not affected by 501C67-sulphate and methysergide. 4 The maximal behavioural changes induced by DMT in rats, other than hyperactivity, were unaffected by pretreatment with cyproheptadine, methysergide, and cinanserin. However, propranolol reduced the intensity of all behavioural effects apart from body jerking, and methergoline decreased the duration of prostration. Phenoxybenzamine and haloperidol, in contrast, enhanced prostration. 5 DMT plus pargyline did not induce circling behaviour in mice with a unilateral 6-hydroxy-dopamine lesion of the nigro-striatal pathway. 6 The DMT-induced behavioural syndrome appears to consist of two components, (a) hyperactivity and (b) other behavioural changes. They differ in their response to drugs affecting brain monoamines. The hyperactivity component may be expressed via dopamine mechanisms, but the other behavioural changes are not. The two behaviours do not respond consistently to drugs believed to alter brain 5-hydroxytryptamine function.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

A behavioural and biochemical study in rats of 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor agonists and antagonists, with observations on structure-activity requirements for the agonists.

1 The effect of the putative 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor antagonists, methysergide, methergoline, mianserin, cyproheptadine, cinanserin (all at 10 mg/kg), methiothepin (5 mg/kg) and (-)-propranolol (20 mg/kg) on the behavioural responses to tranylcypromine (10 mg/kg) followed 30 min later by L-tryptophan (100 mg/kg) was examined.2 Methysergide, methergoline, methiothepin and (-)-propranolol inhibited head weaving, forepaw treading and hind-limb abduction. Methysergide and methergoline increased reactivity. In contrast, cypropheptadine, cinanserin and mianserin had no effects on the behaviour.3 Similar findings were obtained when the behaviours were elicited by administration of tranylcypromine (10 mg/kg) followed by the putative 5-HT receptor agonist, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeODMT) (2 mg/kg).4 When the behaviours were elicited by the putative 5-HT receptor agonist, quipazine (50 mg/kg), all the drugs effectively inhibited head weaving and forepaw treading.5 When the dose of cypropheptadine was doubled to 20 mg/kg an inhibition of the tranylcypromine/L-tryptophan induced behaviours was seen.6 Methiothepin produced a marked inhibition of apomorphine-induced locomotor activity whilst all the others enhanced this response, suggesting that only methiothepin inhibits the 5-HT behaviours by dopamine antagonism and that the increased reactivity seen following tranylcypromine/L-tryptophan after pretreatment with methysergide or methergoline might be due to enhanced dopamine function.7 Pretreatment with p-chlorophenylalanine resulted in enhanced behavioural responses to both 5-MeODMT and quipazine.8 Both methergoline and methiothepin decreased the rate of 5-HT synthesis in whole brain but not spinal cord and methergoline decreased spinal cord 5-HIAA concentration. None of the other drugs had any significant effects on the concentration of 5-HT, 5-HIAA or 5-HT synthesis rate in brain or spinal cord.9 Experiments with compounds structurally related to quipazine and with molecular models suggested that quipazine produces behavioural changes probably by stimulating the 5-HT receptor in a similar way to 5-HT but that it would bind weakly, in agreement with ligand-receptor binding studies.10 It is suggested, therefore, that cyproheptadine, cinanserin and mianserin fail to inhibit 5-HT and 5-MeODMT-induced behaviours because they are weak antagonists whilst they are able to inhibit the same behaviours induced by quipazine because it is a weak agonist.11 These data indicate that extreme care should be taken in accepting or rejecting 5-HT as a mediator of behaviours or of other responses unless several antagonists or agonists have been examined.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

A behavioural and biochemical study in mice and rats of putative selective agonists and antagonists for 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 receptors.

Radioligand binding techniques have demonstrated the existence of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) binding subtypes: 5-HT2, 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B. These techniques have also indicated that certain drugs appear to show sub-type specificity: 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin(8-OH-DPAT), a 5-HT1A agonist; 5-methoxy-3(1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl)1-H indole (RU 24969), a 5-HT1B agonist; and ritanserin, a 5-HT2 antagonist. (-)-Propranolol is a 5-HT1 antagonist of uncertain sub-type specificity. An examination has been made in mice and rats of the behavioural and biochemical effects of these drugs to determine whether the binding sites have physiological functions and further characterise the behavioural models. Administration of carbidopa (25 mg kg-1) plus 5-hydroxytryptophan (100 mg kg-1) produced head-twitch behaviour in mice which was antagonized by ritanserin (ED50 = 65 micrograms kg-1) but not (-)-propranolol (20 mg kg-1). 8-OH-DPAT (1-10 mg kg-1 s.c.) and RU 24949 (5 mg kg-1 i.p.) did not produce head-twitch behaviour. 8-OH-DPAT decreased 5-HTP- but not 5-methoxy-N-N-dimethyltryptamine (5 mg kg-1)-induced head-twitch by a (-)-propranolol-insensitive mechanism. Locomotor activity produced in mice by RU 24969 (3 mg kg-1) was antagonized by (-)-propranolol (20 mg kg-1) but not the (+)-isomer. (-)-Propranolol did not antagonize the behaviour induced in rats. In mice, both 8-OH-DPAT and RU 24969 markedly inhibited whole brain 5-HT synthesis and this effect was not antagonized by (-)-propranolol. In rats, 8-OH-DPAT (3 mg kg-1 s.c.) produced all the behavioural changes seen after quipazine (25 mg kg-1). (-)-Propranolol inhibited the behaviour changes produced by both agonists, while ritanserin antagonized the behaviour produced by quipazine but not 8-OH-DPAT. It is concluded, therefore, that the 5-HT1A receptor exists between the 5-HT2 receptor and the behavioural effectors. 8-OH-DPAT (at 20 degrees C ambient temperature) rapidly decreased rat body temperature, an effect antagonized by (-)-propranolol but not ritanserin. Quipazine (at 27 degrees C ambient temperature, but not 20 degrees C) increased body temperature but the effect was not blocked by either antagonist. Ritanserin does not antagonize apomorphine-induced locomotion in either species. 9 We suggest that 5-HT-induced head-twitch behaviour in mice is a useful 5-HT2 receptor model and the temperature change following 8-OH-DPAT injection in rats may be a 5-HT,A model. While (-)- propranolol antagonizes 8-OH-DPAT effects in rat, it does not inhibit 8-OH-DPAT effects in mice, and instead antagonizes RU 24969-induced locomotion. Its status as a 5-HT, antagonist remains illdefined.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗
PubMed1989

Involvement of 5-HT2 receptors in the behaviours produced by intrathecal administration of selected 5-HT agonists and the TRH analogue (CG 3509) to rats.

1. The behavioural effects of the intrathecal injection of a thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) analogue L-orotyl-L-histidyl-prolineamide (CG 3509, 0.5 micrograms), the non-selective 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 receptor agonist 5-methoxy-N,N'-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeODMT, 2-100 micrograms) and the selective 5-HT2 receptor agonist 2,5-dimethoxy-alpha,4-dimethyl-benzene ethamine hydrochloride (DOM, 2-25 micrograms) were compared with the response of systemically administered 5-MeODMT (2 mg kg-1, i.p.) in rats, to establish whether the agonist-induced behaviours were mediated by bulbospinal 5-HT1 or 5-HT2 receptors. 2. Intrathecal injection of 5-MeODMT or DOM produced dose-related back muscle contractions (a previously undocumented behaviour) and wet-dog shakes which were both markedly attenuated by ritanserin pretreatment (1 mg kg-1, i.p.) indicating the involvement of 5-HT2 receptors. In contrast, reciprocal forepaw treading, flat body posture and Straub-tail were evoked by 5-MeODMT but not by DOM indicating that these behaviours were not produced by 5-HT2 receptor activation alone. However, as ritanserin pretreatment reduced the reciprocal forepaw treading induced by intrathecal 5-MeODMT, this behaviour may be facilitated by 5-HT2 receptor activation. 3. Intrathecal 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT, 2 x 150 micrograms) treatment decreased thoraco-lumbar spinal cord 5-HT (-95%) and potentiated the back muscle contractions produced by intrathecal DOM injection without altering the wet-dog shake behaviour. None of the components of the 5-HT syndrome produced by 5-MeODMT (2 mg kg-1, i.p.), with the exception of a small increase in wet-dog shakes, was significantly altered by intrathecal 5,7-DHT (which reduced thoraco-lumbar spinal cord 5-HT by 84%). Taken together these data suggest that the only 5-HT agonist-induced behaviour mediated by the activation of 5-HT2 receptors located postsynaptic to bulbospinal 5-hydroxytryptaminergic (5-HTergic) neurones was back muscle contractions. 4. The wet-dog shake and forepaw licking behaviors produced by intrathecal CG 3509 (0.5 micrograms) were attenuated when ritanserin was administered intrathecally 30 min before, but not when it was given at the same time as CG 3509 and neither behaviour was altered by intrathecal 5,7-DHT. This suggests that bulbospinal 5-HTergic neurones are not involved in the production of these TRH analogue-induced behaviours and that the 5-HT2 receptors which mediate these behaviours are not located in the spinal cord.

DOM 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-Methylamphetamine↗
PubMed1995

Behavioural rehabilitation of chronic low back pain: comparison of an operant treatment, an operant-cognitive treatment and an operant-respondent treatment.

Seventy-one chronic low back pain patients were assigned to one of three behavioural rehabilitation treatments or a waiting-list condition. The first intervention consisted of an operant treatment, aimed at increasing health behaviours and activity levels and at reducing pain and illness behaviours. In the second intervention, a cognitive treatment, aimed at the reinterpretation of catastrophizing pain cognitions and at enhancing self-control, was combined with an operant treatment. The third intervention consisted of the combination of the operant approach and a respondent treatment. During the respondent treatment, patients were taught to decrease muscle tension levels, using the 'applied relaxation' technique supported by EMG-biofeedback and graded exposure to tension-eliciting situations. A repeated measurements design included observer rating of pain behaviours, observer ratings of mood, self-reported depression, residual health behaviours, pain cognitions and experienced pain intensity. Follow-up assessment occurred at six months and one year after termination of treatment. Results suggest that, for the sample as a whole, improvements are found on measures of pain behaviours, health behaviours, pain cognitions and affective distress and that these improvements are maintained at six months and one year follow-up. During the treatment the three treatment groups improved significantly more than the waiting-list control group on most of the measures. Further, the results of this study provide evidence that the operant-cognitive and operant-respondent conditions are more efficacious in decreasing pain behaviours and in increasing health behaviours and efficacy expectations than operant treatment alone. This differential effect among the conditions is maintained at follow-up. Patients who received the OC and OR treatments catastrophize less than OP patients, and OC patients showed better scores on outcome-efficacy than OR patients. In general, the results suggest that behavioural rehabilitation programmes for chronic low back pain are effective and that the effects of an operant treatment are magnified when self-control techniques are added.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1997

Treatment choice for agoraphobic women: exposure or cognitive-behaviour therapy?

OBJECTIVES: The paper describes a treatment trial where exposure was compared with cognitive-behaviour therapy in the treatment of 39 female participants with a diagnosis of agoraphobia (DSM-111-R). The primary objective of the study was to see if cognitive therapy enhanced the effectiveness of exposure in the treatment of agoraphobia. DESIGN: Participants were randomly assigned to either exposure or cognitive-behaviour therapy. The two treatment groups were balanced for severity and duration of agoraphobia, presence of panic disorder, and age. METHODS: The exposure and the cognitive-behaviour therapy groups received the same amount of therapist-assisted exposure to feared situations but the participants in the cognitive-behaviour therapy group were, additionally, taught to identify and challenge negative automatic thoughts and dysfunctional assumptions. In the cognitive-behaviour therapy condition exposure was presented as an opportunity to identify and challenge negative thoughts. In the exposure condition, participants were given a behavioural rationale for doing exposure. Participants were seen individually for 10 sessions. Assessments were carried out before and after the treatment programme and, also, six months later. Assessments included self-reports of fear and avoidance, a behavioural test and questionnaire measures of relevant cognitions. Thirteen participants dropped out of treatment leaving 14 in the exposure condition and 12 in the cognitive-behaviour condition. Therapy sessions were taped and a sample of tapes was given to a judge who rated the quality of the cognitive-behaviour therapy. RESULTS: Substantial improvement was seen on virtually all measures irrespective of treatment condition both at the end of treatment and six months later. The cognitive-behaviour therapy group and the exposure group did not differ significantly at post-treatment or at six-month follow-up.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Moment-to-moment dynamics of ADHD behaviour.

BACKGROUND: The behaviour of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is often described as highly variable, in addition to being hyperactive, impulsive and inattentive. One reason might be that they do not acquire complete and functional sequences of behaviour. The dynamic developmental theory of ADHD proposes that reinforcement and extinction processes are inefficient because of hypofunctioning dopamine systems, resulting in a narrower time window for associating antecedent stimuli and behaviour with its consequences. One effect of this may be that the learning of behavioural sequences is delayed, and that only short behavioural sequences are acquired in ADHD. The present study investigated acquisition of response sequences in the behaviour of children with ADHD. METHODS: Fifteen boys with ADHD and thirteen boys without, all aged between 6-9 yr, completed a computerized task presented as a game with two squares on the screen. One square was associated with reinforcement. The task required responses by the computer mouse under reinforcement contingencies of variable interval schedules. Reinforcers were cartoon pictures and small trinkets. Measures related to response location (spatial dimension) and to response timing (temporal dimension) were analyzed by autocorrelations of consecutive responses across five lags. Acquired response sequences were defined as predictable responding shown by high explained variance. RESULTS: Children with ADHD acquired shorter response sequences than comparison children on the measures related to response location. None of the groups showed any predictability in response timing. Response sequencing on the measure related to the discriminative stimulus was highly related to parent scores on a rating scale for ADHD symptoms. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that children with ADHD have problems with learning long sequences of behaviour, particularly related to response location. Problems with learning long behavioural sequences may ultimately lead to deficient development of verbally governed behaviour and self control. The study represents a new approach to analyzing the moment-to-moment dynamics of behaviour, and provides support for the theory that reinforcement processes are altered in ADHD.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Behaviour of laboratory mice in different housing conditions when allowed to self-administer an anxiolytic.

Standard cages prevent mice from performing several natural behaviours for which they are motivated. As a consequence, abnormal behaviours sometimes develop and mice often spend long periods inactive. To improve welfare, cages are sometimes furnished with items such as nesting material, shelters and running wheels. We have previously reported that when allowed to self-administer an anxiolytic, mice in furnished cages consume less anxiolytic than mice in standard cages. This paper presents the results of behaviour studies of the mice in the same experiment. Female C57BL/6J mice (3 per cage) were housed in Standard (n = 10), Unpredictable (n = 10) or Furnished (n = 6) cages. Unpredictable cages were identical to Standard cages, but were exposed to unpredictable events two to three times a week. Furnished cages were double the size of Standard cages and contained nesting material, nest box, tubes, chew blocks and a running wheel. During three consecutive periods, mice had access to only water (control), water or an anxiolytic solution on a daily alternating schedule (forced consumption), and finally, both water and anxiolytic (self-administration). Behaviour was analysed from video recordings taken during the dark phase. The housing type affected behaviour both under the control and the self-administration conditions. Overall, mice in Furnished cages spent less time resting and performing bar-related behaviours and more time on exploratory/locomotory behaviours. Mice in Furnished cages also performed less bar-circling stereotypies than mice in Standard cages. The Unpredictable treatment did not significantly affect behaviour compared to mice in the Standard conditions. There was an overall effect of anxiolytic availability on rest-related behaviours and on exploration-locomotion behaviours, in that mice rested more and spent less time on exploration and locomotion when they were able to self-administer the anxiolytic.

Animals↗