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PubMed1992

[Psychological stress and sexual behavior in male rats. II. Effect of psychological stress on dopamine and its metabolites in the critical brain areas mediating sexual behavior].

We have reported that sexual behavior of male rats is impaired by long-term psychological stress. We measured dopamine (DA) and its metabolites (3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, DOPAC, and homovanillic acid, HVA) in the brain of rats which were exposed to the long-term stress. Our experiment was focused on the medial preoptic area (MPOA), which is perhaps the single most critical area of the brain mediating sexual behavior, the amygdala, the substantia nigra, the striatum, the nucleus accumbens and the cortex. In the MPOA, dopamine, DOPAC, and HVA decreased; in the substantia nigra and amygdala, dopamine and HVA decreased; and in the striatum and nucleus accumbens only HVA decreased after long-term psychological stress. In the cortex, however, no evidence of change was recognized. These changes indicate low activity of dopamine neurons which have an important role in male sexual behavior. Therefore, we suspect that exposure of male rats to psychological stress leads to a decrease in the activity of dopamine neurons, especially in the MPOA, amygdala, and substantia nigra, impairing their sexual behavior.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1999

American Indian and Alaska Native health behavior: findings from the behavioral risk factor surveillance system, 1992-1995.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences between American Indian and white adults in behavioral risk factors for chronic disease and injury. METHODS: Data were drawn from the 1992-1995 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an ongoing telephone survey of health behaviors of adults. Prevalence estimates by sex were calculated for American Indian and white respondents in 15 states and the significance of their differences evaluated by chi-square tests. RESULTS: American Indians were found to be at significantly higher risk than whites for fair to poor general health status, medical cost difficulties, binge drinking, cigarette smoking, not always using safety belts, being diagnosed as diabetic, and obesity. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce the gap in behavioral risk factors between American Indians and whites, more resources need to be dedicated to American Indian health. Note. The term "American Indian" henceforth refers to those who identify themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Tests of the mediational role of preparatory safer sexual behavior in the context of the theory of planned behavior.

The present research details 2 empirical tests within the context of the theory of planned behavior (I. Ajzen & T. Madden, 1986) of the assumption that preparatory behaviors (e.g., discussing safer sex, obtaining condoms) play a mediational role in the relation between psychological variables (e.g., attitudes toward safer sex, social norms about safer sex) and condom use. The assumption of the mediational role of preparatory behaviors is examined in sexually experienced samples from 2 different populations: inner-city high school students (N = 226) and college students (N = 160). The results suggest that the mediational role of preparatory behaviors is a highly significant one. Results indicate no gender differences with regard to the main mediational hypotheses. The methodological, theoretical, and practical implications and importance of these findings are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Learning power of single behavioral units in acquisition of a complex spatial behavior: an observational learning study in cerebellar-lesioned rats.

By combining an observational spatial learning paradigm with a cerebellar lesion that blocks the acquisition of new spatial strategies, it is possible to separate a complex spatial behavior into its fundamental units to study which relationships among units have to be maintained so that the entire behavior might be acquired. Normal rats were first allowed to observe demonstrator rats performing single explorative behaviors (circling, extended searching, direct finding), then were hemicerebellectomized and, finally, tested in the Morris water maze. In spite of the cerebellar lesion, the observer rats displayed exploration abilities that closely matched the previously observed behaviors. These results indicate that the single facets that form the strategy repertoire can be independently acquired.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

AIDS-related knowledge and behavior among married Kenyan men: a behavioral paradox?

The heterosexual character of HIV/AIDS transmission in sub-Saharan Africa, a context where men are dominant in sexual and reproductive matters, underscores the importance of assessing male behavior in sexual and related health arenas. Despite condom use being the recommended and expected behavioral response to knowledge about the fatal outcome of HIV/AIDS infection, use continues to be extremely low in sub-Saharan Africa. This article explores the relationship between various facets of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and condom use among married Kenyan men. The main finding is one of a significant interaction effect of the recognition that it is impossible to visually identify infected parties and one's perception of self-risk. Although neither is in itself significant, simultaneously recognizing that healthy-looking persons may be infected and perceiving that one is himself not at risk significantly reduces condom use among men. This finding--of an interaction effect--plausibly explains why a perception of self-risk, on its own, does not necessarily translate into safe behavior. After all, those who believe they can identify infected persons may think they are at low risk because they avoid contact with the infected and, in selecting partners they deem free of infection, they may be less inclined to use condoms. This finding has implications for how specific aspects of AIDS-related knowledge are imparted to communities and individuals as well as for our understanding of other health-related behaviors.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Behavior therapy and neurotic behavior].

The first part of the lecture presents three classical aspects of behavior therapy: therapeutic efficiency, utilisation of well defined methods, rapidity of treatment. Emphasis is brought to the importance of behavior analysis and to the dangers arisen from insufficient knowledge or ignorance of learning theories and fundamental principles of behavior analysis. One insists on experimental analysis which is the basis for methods of action having as consequence for the therapeut: controlling strategy of treatment and direct responsibility concerning success and failure. Then, actual limitations of behaviour therapy are described. The second part deals with one of the most important working hypothesis on human neurosis originating from laboratory and clinical research. Behavior therapy refuses to elaborate hypothetical deductive constructions, unless working hypotheses to be verified. Then the four essential clues to behavioural psychotherapy are formulated. The main methods of action presently utilized are presented: aversive methods, operational and systematic desensitization technics through reciprocal inhibition. Finally, some of the main criticism usually made on behaviour therapy are being discussed.

Anxiety↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Behavioral effects of prenatal d-amphetamine in rats: a parallel trial to the Collaborative Behavioral Teratology Study.

Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats treated with 0, 0.5 or 2.0 mg/kg of d-amphetamine sulphate on days 12-15 of gestation or left untreated as part of the NCTR Collaborative Behavioral Teratology Study were assigned to either the Collaborative Study or Cincinnati Test protocol after birth. Offspring assigned to the Cincinnati test system were evaluated for growth, mortality, incisor eruption, eye opening, vaginal patency, surface righting, negative geotaxis, pivoting, auditory startle, olfactory orientation, swimming ontogeny, figure-8 activity, and complex water maze (Biel) problem solving. Amphetamine at both doses caused fewer offspring to be born per litter and reduced the proportion of males born in the 0.5 mg/kg group. Amphetamine produced no reliable effects on offspring growth as reflected by weight or survival. The 0.5 mg/kg amphetamine group showed delayed eye opening, but the 2.0 mg/kg group did not. Amphetamine produced no significant effects on other physical landmarks of development or on measures of behavioral performance except swimming ontogeny. Early swimming direction scores were significantly lower in the amphetamine groups compared to controls, but the effect was isolated; no other aspect of swimming was affected. It was concluded that at the doses and exposure period used here, d-amphetamine appears to be at best weakly behaviorally teratogenic using the Cincinnati test system. This finding is in general agreement with the results obtained with the same treatment regiment in the NCTR Collaborative Study. Both test systems appear comparable at correctly identifying the low level of behavioral teratogenicity of moderate doses of prenatal d-amphetamine.

Aging↗
PubMed1986

Measuring severity of behavior: a revision of Part II of the Adaptive Behavior Scale.

This study was designed to: (a) assess the degree to which rehabilitation staff rate the severity of maladaptive behaviors on Part II of the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale (ABS) and, on the basis of the obtained rating, (b) develop a socially validated revision of the scoring system to allow more accurate classification of mentally retarded individuals as having mild, moderate, or severe behavior problems. On the basis of the modal ratings obtained from various service agencies for "occasionally" and "frequently" on Part II of the ABS, we constructed a revised scoring system. Preliminary use of the scoring system suggests satisfactory agreement between "severity profile" scores and subjective ratings of individuals classified by service agencies as demonstrating mild, moderate, or severe behavior problems.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

[Effect of stress-inducing factors on the behavior of monkeys. I. The behavior of monkeys under acute emotional stress].

The behavior of Papio hamadryas pubertal males under the immobilizational stress conditions has been studied. It has been established that this very type of stress appeared to be a powerful irritant for the individuals of this species and age leading them into the depression state. The process of normalization of behavior after the 2-hour immobilization lasted for about 72 h. The main consequences of the stress were the violation of locomotion, the reception by individuals of unnatural postures, the trembling of limbs and the violation of coordination. The reaction of stress was greatly influenced by the position of individual in the hierarchic system. The dominant (alpha) and the most subdominant (z) males bore the stress easier. The intensification of food activity was marked within the male z. In certain period after the immobilization the tendency of the growth of friendly contacts between the individuals was found. The frequency of aggressive behavior after the stress lowered. The violation of manipulation activity was also marked. These regularities are of great importance for the reconstruction of group social behavior models of protohominid's societies.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1979

Categorizing behavior in terms of severity: considerations for part two of Adaptive Behavior Scale.

Forty-five respondents were asked to rate the items in the Violent and Destructive Behavior domain from Part Two of the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale on a 1 (not very severe) to 4 (extremely severe) scale. In addition, they were asked to assign the items to one of five categories based on the effects of the behavior on the environment. There was considerable agreement concerning both the severity and the appropriate category for each item. Suggestions for revision of Part Two, including the need for a weighting system and more precise definitions of the behavior items, were discussed.

Humans↗
PubMed1980

Adaptive Behavior Scale part two: Relative severity of maladaptive behavior.

Part Two of the Adaptive Behavior Scale contains statements that cover 13 domains of maladaptive behavior. The present system of scoring and profiling reflects the frequency of occurrence of behavior (either occasionally or frequency) and not severity or relative importance. Thirty-three psychologists with experience in mental retardation rated the 452 statements contained in Part Two along a continuum of severity. Median severity scores were computed for all statements. Results indicated that statements prefaced by "frequently" were judged as more serious than those prefaced by "occasionally," and domains varied greatly with regard to relative severity. Correlational analysi revealed that irrespective of absolute differences due to frequency of occurrence, different types of maladaptive behavior were systematically placed along a relative continuum. Substantial reliability was found among judgments. Possible clinical and psychometric advantages of using these severity scores were suggested.

Humans↗
PubMed1996

Male bisexual behavior and HIV risk in the United States: synthesis of research with implications for behavioral interventions.

This paper reviews recent literature on male bisexuality and HIV risk and suggests new directions for intervention and research in the United States. AIDS case reports and behavioral studies based on convenience samples suggest that behaviorally bisexual men use condoms inconsistently with male and female partners, seldom disclose their bisexuality to their female partners, and are more likely than exclusively homosexual men to report multiple HIV risk behaviors. Male bisexuality may present greatest HIV risk in the context of (a) male prostitution, (b) injecting drug use, (c) sexual identity exploration, and (d) culturally specific gender roles and norms such as those that may characterize some African American and Hispanic communities in the United States. We review individual and community level interventions to reach men within these four contexts as well as the larger population of bisexual men. We also suggest a heuristic model to encourage additional research examining multiple dimensions of bisexual behavior and HIV risk.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1998

Cardiovascular disease risk factors and preventive practices among adults--United States, 1994: a behavioral risk factor atlas. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System State Coordinators.

UNLABELLED: PROBLEM/CONDITIONS: Cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, is the leading cause of death in the United States, and state rates of CVD vary by state and by region of the country. Several behavioral risk factors (i.e., overweight, physical inactivity, smoking, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus) and preventive practices (i.e., weight loss and smoking cessation) are associated with the development of CVD and also vary geographically. This summary displays and analyzes geographic variation in the prevalences of selected CVD risk factors. REPORTING PERIOD: 1994 (1992 for prevalence of hypertension). DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM: The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a state-based random-digit-dialing telephone survey of noninstitutionalized adults aged > or =18 years; 50 states and the District of Columbia participated in BRFSS in 1994, and 48 states and the District of Columbia participated in 1992. METHODS: Several different analyses were conducted: a) analysis of state risk factor and preventive practice prevalences by sex and race (i.e., black and white); b) mapping; c) cluster analysis; d) correlations of state prevalence rates by sex and race; and e) regression of state risk factor prevalences on state CHD and stroke mortality rates. RESULTS: Mapping the prevalence of selected CVD risk factors and preventive health practices indicates substantial geographic variation for black and white men and women, as confirmed by cluster analysis. Data for blacks are limited by small sample size, especially in western states. Geographic clustering is found for physical inactivity, smoking, and risk factor combinations. Risk factor prevalences are generally lower in the West and higher in the East. White men and white women are more similar in state risk factor rates than other race-sex pairs; white women and black women ranked second in similarity. State prevalences of physical inactivity and hypertension are strongly associated with state mortality rates of CVD. INTERPRETATION: Geographic patterns of risk factor prevalence suggest the presence (or absence) of sociocultural environments that promote (or inhibit) the given risk factor or preventive behavior. Because the risk factors examined in this summary are associated with CVD, further exploration of the reasons underlying observed geographic patterns might be useful. The BRFSS will continue to provide geographic data about cardiovascular health behaviors with a possible emphasis on more data-based small- area analyses and mapping. This will permit states to more adequately monitor trends that affect the burden of CVD in their regions and the United States. Mapping also facilitates the exploration of patterns of morbidity, health-care use, and mortality, as well as the epidemiology of risk factors. Finally, by identifying those segments of the population with high levels of these risk factors and lower levels of the preventive health practices, public health personnel can better allocate resources and target intervention efforts for the prevention of CVD.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Behavioral correlates of focal hippocampal x-irradiation in rats II. Behavior related to adaptive function in a natural setting.

Prior investigations have shown the effects of hippocampal degranulation on behaviors such as two-way avoidance, open-field behavior, and operant schedules of reinforcement. Little, however, has been done with behaviors related to adaptive function in a natural setting; the present study has addressed this issue. Long-Evans hooded rats, subjected to focal neonatal X-irradiation of the hippocampus, were tested in passive avoidance and four dominance situations. The experimental animals, which had approximately a 70% reduction in the granule cells of the hippocampal dentate gyrus, showed response perseveration in the passive avoidance task and were generally non-competitive in the dominance situations when compared to non-irradiated control animals. The single exception to this was noted in the test where an experimental rat and control animal were competing for a receptive female rat. Here the degranulated animals were strikingly superior to the control subjects with many more successful mounts. Some support for the response suppression model of hippocampal functioning was noted.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Effects of chronic kombucha ingestion on open-field behaviors, longevity, appetitive behaviors, and organs in c57-bl/6 mice: a pilot study.

Kombucha is a lightly fermented tea beverage popularly consumed as a self-prescribed folk-remedy for numerous ailments. Kombucha is claimed to enhance cognition, aid weight loss, and prolong life. This pilot study reports longevity, general health, and open-field exploratory behavioral outcomes from a 3-y longitudinal study of 64 C57-BL/6 mice (males and females), half of which chronically drank kombucha, and all of which experienced natural mortality. Compared by MANOVA to controls, mice that drank kombucha showed greater vertical exploration (P = 0.001) and a sex-interactive effect in novel object manipulation (P = 0.049). MANOVA of kombucha-drinking mice compared to controls detected differences in appetitive behaviors (food consumption, P < 0.001; beverage consumption, P = 0. 008), and gross body weight (P < 0.001). Appetitive behaviors changed with the addition of voluntary exercise on a running wheel, with differing patterns of change noted for males and females. Both male and female mice who drank kombucha lived longer than controls (P < 0.001), with the greatest variability among the male mice (sex interactive effect, P < 0.001). Comparable effects and mechanisms in humans remain uncertain, as do health safety issues, because serious health problems and fatalities have been reported and attributed to drinking kombucha.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Do friendships change behaviors, or do behaviors change friendships? Examining paths of influence in young adolescents' alcohol use.

PURPOSE: This study examined support for models of peer influence, which postulates that young adolescents whose friends use alcohol will also engage in that behavior, and of peer selection, whereby young adolescents seek out friends whose drinking behavior is similar to their own. METHODS: Data for this study are from 1804 adolescents participating in Project Northland, a school- and community-based alcohol use prevention trial. Using latent variable structural equation modeling, a series of models examined directions of influence between participant alcohol use and friend drug use over three points in Grades 7, 8, and 9. RESULTS: Findings indicated that higher levels of friends' drug use led to increased participant alcohol use. The reverse-order relationship (i.e., greater participant involvement in alcohol leading to more drug use among friends) was not supported by these data. Finally, best-fitting models supported the notion that both participants' alcohol use and the alcohol and other drug use of friends were highly stable over time. CONCLUSIONS: Similarity in drinking behavior among adolescent friends may be more related to processes of peer influence than to processes of peer selection. Findings support the utility of alcohol use prevention programs that equip younger teens with skills to resist peer influences to use alcohol.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

The infralimbic cortical area commands the behavioral and vegetative arousal during appetitive behavior in the rat.

The infralimbic cortical area is a good candidate to send processed motivational signals to initiate the arousing and autonomic responses that characterize appetitive behaviors. To test this hypothesis we enticed hungry rats with food while assessing locomotion (as an index of arousal level) and temperature responses, and evaluated Fos immunoreactivity (IR) in the infralimbic area and in subcortical nuclei involved in thermoregulation or arousal. We also recorded from single infralimbic neurons in freely moving rats while enticing them with food. We found that 83% of infralimbic neurons were excited or inhibited by feeding and, in particular, that 33% of infralimbic neurons increased their discharge rate during food enticing. Intact rats showed increased Fos IR in the infralimbic area, as well as in many other cortical areas. The excitotoxic lesion of the infralimbic cortex abolished the arousing and hyperthermic responses observed in intact rats, as well as the expression of Fos IR in the ascending arousal system and subcortical thermoregulatory regions. We conclude that the infralimbic area plays a central role in implementing behavioral arousing and thermal responses during an appetitive behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Public health surveillance for behavioral risk factors in a changing environment. Recommendations from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Team.

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a state-based system of health surveys. Information regarding health risk behaviors, clinical preventive health practices, and health-care access, primarily related to chronic disease and injury is obtained from a representative sample of adults in each state. Approximately 200,000 adult interviews are completed each year in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. The challenge for BRFSS is how to effectively manage an increasingly complex surveillance system that serves the needs of numerous programs while facing changing telecommunication technology and the greater demand for more local-level data. To determine options and recommendations for how best to meet BRFSS future challenges, CDCs Behavioral Surveillance Branch conducted a 2-day strategy workshop, attended by survey-research specialists. The workshop featured presentations on the current system; emerging technologic challenges; telephone-surveying techniques; program perspectives of CDC, partner organizations, and states; and recommendations for change. This report summarizes the recommendations resulting from that workshop.

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System↗