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At least 1,135 records · Page 63Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Stalling HIV through social marketing: prospects in Pakistan.

Over the last two decades HIV/AIDS has evolved from a series of interesting case-reports to a growing epidemic that threatens the entire world. It is feared to cause devastation among large pockets of populations and may roll back more than thirty years of public health achievements. This killer disease has been more amenable to behavioral change than by provision of curative services and attempts are being made to educate the public about this threat. Various techniques of promotion have been tried through out the world including television dramas/soaps, mass media and school curricula. Social marketing is an evolving strategy used to influence human behavior and choices. By using the principles of marketing and promoting behavior as a product, social marketers attempt to understand the dynamics of human behaviour and devise messages and products to change, modify, accept or reject unsafe behaviors or practices. Thus, social marketers provide an effective force to combat the spread of HIV and may serve to be invaluable allies in health promotion efforts. In a complex and diversified cultural milieu of Pakistan, social marketing can have a significant impact on health determinants and the conditions that will facilitate the adoption of health-oriented behaviors and practices. This paper gives an account of the elements needed for the success of a health promotion strategy adopted in a developing country and makes a case for social marketing to be adopted as the lead strategy for stalling HIV/AIDS in Pakistan.

HIV Infections↗
PubMed1986

Gene-culture coevolution of complex social behavior: human altruism and mate choice.

The hypothesis is examined that genes bias the development of complex social behavior in one direction over alternatives. Studies of altruism and political attitudes in twins estimate that approximately 50% of the variance is associated with direct genetic inheritance, virtually 0% with the twin's common family environment, and the remainder with each twin's specific environment. Studies of human marriages show that spouses choose each other on the basis of similarity, assorting on the most genetically influenced of a set of homogeneous attributes. These data imply a genetic canalization of social influences such that, within the constraints allowed by the total spectrum of cultural alternatives, people create environments maximally compatible with their genotypes.

Altruism↗
PubMed2001

Determinants of food choice: relationships with obesity and weight control.

The decision to eat, and to eat particular foods, varies for different individuals and situations. Individual differences in food likes and desires develop throughout life because of differing food experiences and attitudes. There are many internal and external cues, not just stimulation from foods or hunger, which can trigger the immediate desire to eat or orient eating toward certain foods. Food desires and intake are an outcome of interactions between these cues and more stable individual physiological and psychological characteristics. Overweight and obese individuals show a tendency toward greater liking and selection of energy-dense foods, which may contribute to development and maintenance of these conditions. However, although liking (pleasure from eating) is an important part of food choice, it may make only a modest contribution to overall variation in food choice and eating behaviors. Indeed, difficulties of weight control may reflect problems with cues and motivations to eat, rather than with heightened pleasure derived from eating. Paradoxically, individuals highly concerned with food intake and weight control may be particularly susceptible to thoughts, emotions, and situational cues that can prompt overeating and undermine their attempts to restrain eating. Repeat dieting, high day-to-day fluctuations in intakes, and attempts to enforce highly rigid control over eating all seem to be counterproductive to weight control efforts and may disrupt more appropriate food choice behaviors. Longer-term weight maintenance solutions and programs that offer a degree of structuring of the personal food environment, while retaining flexibility in choices, therefore, may be particularly beneficial in weight management.

Body Weight↗
PubMed2005

Exposure to externalizing peers in early childhood: homophily and peer contagion processes.

Guided by a transactional model, we examined the predictors and effects of exposure to externalizing peers in a low-risk sample of preschoolers and kindergarteners. On the basis of daily observations of peer interactions, we calculated measures of total exposure to externalizing peers and measures of exposure to same- and other-sex externalizing peers. Analyses of predictors of externalizing peer exposure supported a homophily hypothesis for girls. Tests of peer contagion effects varied by sex, and exposure to externalizing peers predicted multiple problem behaviors for girls but not for boys. Sex differences were a function of children's own sex, but not of peers' sex. The study provides evidence of externalizing peer exposure effects in a low-risk sample of young children, notably for girls.

Child↗
PubMed1975

Behavioural thermoregulation and activity patterns in the green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus.

Behavioural thermoregulation and locomotory activity of green sunfish were examined in a temporal temperature-gradient apparatus. Green sunfish actively avoided temperatures exceeding 30.3 degrees C and below 26.5 degrees C and had a median preferred temperature of 28.2 degrees C. Temperature preference did not vary significantly during the diel period even though locomotory activity patterns were markedly crepuscular. Activity was stimulated by the change in illumination levels at dawn and dusk.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Testosterone as appetitive and discriminative stimulus in rats: sex- and dose-dependent effects.

Stimulus properties of subcutaneously injected testosterone were studied in male and female rats. In a conditioned place preference procedure, dose-dependent effects (doses: 0, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg) were observed in males. In females, no place preference could be established (doses: 0, 1, and 3 mg/kg). In addition, 1 mg/kg testosterone acquired discriminative stimulus control in male rats in a taste aversion procedure. Animals injected with this hormone prior to saccharin-LiCl pairings and with its vehicle prior to saccharin-NaCl pairings suppressed fluid intake following the administration of testosterone and not following the administration of the vehicle. Subsequent generalization tests revealed dose-dependent stimulus control of this hormone (range of substitution doses: 0.125-2 mg/kg). It is concluded from the results that at least pharmacological (supraphysiological) doses of testosterone may act as appetitive stimuli in male rats, but not in female rats. Furthermore, in male rats (pharmacological doses of) testosterone also possess discriminative stimulus properties.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The effects of intraventricular injections of bombesin on temperature selection in the rat.

The purpose of these experiments was to elucidate further the possibility that intraventricular injections of bombesin (BBS) lower the set point around which an animal regulates its core body temperature. In an attempt to prevent a confounding of general activity and thermoregulatory behavior which occurred in earlier work, a horizontal temperature gradient was used. Intraventricular injections of bombesin resulted in the selection of temperatures that were approximately 9-13 degrees C colder than those selected by animals following control injections. Additionally, the increase in core body temperature observed following control injections was reversed by the highest dose of bombesin. No significant alterations in general locomotor activity were observed. These findings suggest that bombesin may act centrally to reduce the set point around which behavioral responses are regulated.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of alcohol on behavioral and autonomic thermoregulation in mice.

Male, BALB/c mice were injected intraperitoneally with ethyl alcohol (ethanol) in dosages of 0, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 g/kg and then placed in a temperature gradient which permitted the measurement of preferred ambient temperature (Ta). The 3 g/kg dosage of ethanol resulted in a slight, but statistically equivocal, lowering of the preferred Ta during the first 30 min of placement in the gradient. A replication of this experiment using a higher sample size indicated that a 3 g/kg dosage of alcohol caused a statistically significant decrease in preferred Ta. In another experiment, BALB/c mice were treated with the aforementioned ethanol dosages while metabolic rate (MR), evaporative water loss (EWL), and colonic temperature were measured 60 min postinjection at Ta's of 20, 30, and 35 degrees C. At a Ta of 20 degrees C a dosage of 3 g/kg caused a significant decrease in MR, EWL, and colonic temperature. At a Ta of 30 degrees C this same dosage caused significant reduction in colonic temperature, however; at a Ta of 35 degrees C ethanol had no effect on these parameters. In conclusion, mice treated with a relatively large dose of ethanol will select a significantly cooler Ta, which is associated with hypothermia. These combined behavioral and autonomic thermoregulatory effects suggest that ethanol led to a decrease in the set-point body temperature.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Behavioural, neural and cardiovascular adaptations in mice lacking the NPY Y1 receptor.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is primarily synthesised and released by neurones, it is co-localised with noradrenaline and is involved in the regulation of cardiovascular function. In a mouse model lacking NPY Y1 receptor (KO), the ability of NPY to potentiate noradrenaline-induced vasoconstriction is abolished during stress but normal in baseline conditions, locomotor activity and metabolic rate are lowered, blood insulin levels and glucose storage activity are increased. The present study was aimed at further characterising NPY Y1 mutants, with special emphasis on: behavioural responses to novelty seeking and open-field with objects tests, heart rate responsiveness during acute social defeat, alpha2-adrenoceptor (alpha2-ARs) function in brain areas involved in cardiovascular regulation, and cardiac structure. As compared to wild-type controls (n=9), NPY Y1 KOs (n=9) showed: reduced somatomotor activation during non-social challenges, lower heart rate in baseline conditions, larger heart rate responsiveness during social defeat, increased number of alpha2-ARs in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (nX) and the locus coeruleus (LC), moderately larger volume fraction of myocardial fibrosis. The remarkable increment of alpha2-adrenoceptor density in the nX and LC allows to view KO mice behavioural and anatomo-physiological peripheral characteristics as 'adaptations' to central adrenergic rearrangement due to NPY Y1 receptor deletion.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2004

The effects of IDRA 21, a positive modulator of the AMPA receptor, on delayed matching performance by young and aged rhesus monkeys.

IDRA 21, a positive allosteric modulator of the glutamate AMPA receptor, produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of glutamate-induced inactivation of membrane currents in recombinant HEK 293 (human embryonic kidney) cells stably transfected with human GluR1/2 flip receptors. IDRA 21 doubled the charge transfer at a concentration of 70 microM, suggesting that this compound can facilitate excitatory neurotransmission via GluR 1/2 receptors. We next sought to exploit this mechanism of action by examining the drug as a potential cognition-enhancing agent in non-human primates. Oral administration of IDRA 21 produced a highly significant improvement in the performance of a delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) task by young adult rhesus monkeys. The pattern of task improvement over the dose range 0.15-10 mg/kg was maintained to 48 hr after the single dose administration. For sessions run after administration of the individualized Best Dose of IDRA 21, task accuracy for Long delay (most difficult) trials was increased by 34% of vehicle. Animals were randomly assigned fixed doses of IDRA 21 to determine whether the positive mnemonic response could be maintained. The repeated doses were separated by 3 days, thus allowing for potential cumulative effects. IDRA 21 produced a gradual increase in task accuracy that was maintained on average above vehicle performance levels over an intermittent dosing schedule during a total period of 3 weeks. A separate group of aged monkeys (>20 y) were, as a group, impaired (during vehicle testing) in DMTS performance efficiency relative to the young cohort. IDRA 21 also improved task accuracy by aged rhesus monkeys over the same dose range, but the responses were not as robust as those exhibited by young animals. Aged subjects also appeared to be more individually sensitive to drug dose, and they exhibited shorter task latencies than did the young group. Despite these differences, when the individualized Best Doses were considered, IDRA 21 produced a robust increase in DMTS accuracy of up to 18% of vehicle for trials associated with Medium delay intervals. For both study groups, no obvious untoward effects of IDRA 21 were noted. These findings support the use of AMPA modulators like IDRA 21 in the treatment of cognitive/memory disorders, including those associated with aging. They also indicate that the drug is associated with long-term effects that could limit dosing regimens to one dose every two or three days. The nature of the protracted mnemonic effects produced by the compound remains to be elucidated.

Aging↗
PubMed2006

Effect of hypernatraemia and the neurohypophysial peptide, arginine vasotocin (AVT) on behavioural thermoregulation in the agamid lizard, Ctenophorus ornatus.

Hypernatraemia induced by chronic injections of sodium chloride provokes thermal depression in the agamid lizard, Ctenophorus (formerly Amphibolurus) ornatus, with a fall of two degrees Celsius in the mean body temperature selected behaviourally in a photo-thermal gradient. The placement of an electrolytic lesion in the base of the hypothalamus, designed to eliminate secretion of the neuropeptide arginine vasotocin (AVT), did not affect the lizards' thermoregulatory behaviour and their Preferred Body Temperature (PBT) was not significantly different from that of unoperated controls. Saline loading, however, did not induce thermal depression in these tract-operated individuals and their PBT was significantly higher than that of salt-loaded intact individuals. When AVT was injected into operated, salt-loaded, animals, however, thermal depression was observed, supporting the hypothesis that thermal depression brought about by hypernatraemia is mediated through the action of AVT. AVT similarly significantly depressed the PBT of injected intact individuals by 3.2 degrees C when compared with hydrated controls. Immunostaining for AVT confirmed that the lesions placed in the region of the median eminence virtually eliminated AVT located in the neurohypophysial tract, and the pars nervosa. This is the first report of an effect of this peptide on behavioural thermoregulation in a lizard.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1999

An economic theory of cigarette addiction.

In this paper we present a model in which individuals act in their own best interest, to explain many behaviors associated with cigarette addiction. There are two key features of the model. First, there is an explicit representation of the withdrawal effects experienced when smokers attempt to quit smoking. Second, there is explicit recognition that the negative effects of smoking generally appear late in an individual's life. Among the things we use the model to explain are: (1) how individuals can become trapped in their decision to smoke; (2) the conditions under which cold-turkey quitting and gradual quitting may occur; and (3) a reason for the existence of quit-smoking treatments.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2000

Clomethiazole protects against hemineglect in a primate model of stroke.

Permanent occlusion of the M1 segment of the middle cerebral artery (pMCAO) in the marmoset, a New World species of monkey, produces unilateral functional deficits, including motor neglect with the contralesional arm and contralesional spatial hemineglect. In this study we examined whether clomethiazole, a drug which modulates the gamma-aminobutyric acid(A) receptor, reduced the severity of the hemineglect and other deficits in this primate model of stroke. Nine monkeys received pMCAO; 1 h later four of the nine were administered clomethiazole by intraperitoneal injection and subcutaneous implantation of osmotic mini-pumps, which released clomethiazole for 48 h. The monkeys had been trained and tested on a number of behavioral tasks prior to surgery and were re-tested 3 and 10 weeks later. Three weeks after pMCAO, monkeys treated with clomethiazole had a significantly reduced degree of spatial neglect compared to untreated controls. Clomethiazole was not effective against the severe contralesional motor impairment in the current study, although it ameliorated a somewhat less severe motor deficit in a previous study in which the more distal, M2 segment of the middle cerebral artery had been occluded. Postmortem analysis of the brains showed that clomethiazole treatment had significantly reduced the area of damage in part of the parietal cortex. These data suggest that clomethiazole may reduce the neglect that can be a debilitating consequence of right-sided stroke in man.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

The formation of cognitive maps of adjacent environments: evidence from the head direction cell system.

In 2 experiments the authors tested whether the head direction (HD) cell system underlies a sense of direction maintained across environments. In Experiment 1, HD neurons failed to maintain their firing directions across T mazes in adjacent environments but rather reoriented to the T maze within each environment. Such reorientation suggests that familiar landmarks override an internal directional sense, so in Experiment 2 the authors recorded HD neurons as rats walked between novel and familiar "rooms" of a 4-chamber apparatus. In novel rooms, HD neurons maintained the firing direction of the preceding environment. However, in familiar rooms, HD neuron firing directions shifted to agree with the landmarks therein. With repeated experience, a homogeneous representation of all rooms developed in a subset of the rats.

Action Potentials↗