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PubMed2004

Neuroeconomics: the consilience of brain and decision.

Economics, psychology, and neuroscience are converging today into a single, unified discipline with the ultimate aim of providing a single, general theory of human behavior. This is the emerging field of neuroeconomics in which consilience, the accordance of two or more inductions drawn from different groups of phenomena, seems to be operating. Economists and psychologists are providing rich conceptual tools for understanding and modeling behavior, while neurobiologists provide tools for the study of mechanism. The goal of this discipline is thus to understand the processes that connect sensation and action by revealing the neurobiological mechanisms by which decisions are made. This review describes recent developments in neuroeconomics from both behavioral and biological perspectives.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Time preferences and preventive health behavior: acceptance of the influenza vaccine.

BACKGROUND: Many preventive health behaviors involve immediate costs and delayed benefits. Time preference is the extent to which decision makers value future outcomes relative to immediate ones. Consequently, people with future-oriented time preferences should be more likely to adopt preventive measures. The relationship between time preferences and acceptance of a free influenza vaccination was examined. SAMPLE: The participants were 412 corporate employees who were offered free influenza vaccinations at their workplace. MEASURES: Participants' time preferences were measured in each of two domains: money and health. They also reported on whether they had accepted the influenza vaccination and their beliefs and attitudes about the vaccine. RESULTS: There was a small (OR = 2.38) relationship of vaccination acceptance to monetary time preferences but not to the health time-preference measures. Other variables, such as perceived effectiveness of the vaccine, were more predictive. CONCLUSION: This study provides some evidence of a small relationship between time preferences and preventive health behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Independent use of activity materials by the elderly in a residential setting.

A lottery was implemented to encourage the elderly clients of a residential home to use activity materials any time they wished, independently of staff intervention and the institutional routine of the home. During baseline, there were minimal levels of independent use of activity materials by residents. Various conditions were implemented but only the introduction of a ł20 lottery prize brought about a significant increase in the frequency of independent use of activity materials. A follow-up suggested that the reinforcing properties of the activity materials themselves eventually maintained the target behavior.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

[The behavioral determinants for health centers in health districts of urban Africa: results of a survey of households in Kinshasa, Congo].

This study analyses the choice determinants of the population for health centres through a survey of the behaviour of families in a representative sample of 1,000 households in the health districts of Kinshasa, Congo in 1997. For the most recent episode of illness, the respondents turned to seven types of care: the health centre (37%), private dispensaries (26.5%), self-medication through a pharmacy (23.9%), traditional practitioner (21%), traditional self-medication (16.9%), private outpatients' clinic (16.7%) and a reference hospital (10.4%). Past logistics have shown that patients resort to a health centre rather than another type of care structure (P = 0.05) when looking for quality care, reasonable prices and the availability of varied services. On the other hand, concern about the geographical proximity in relation to the family's residence calls for using the private dispensary. When looking for a doctor or the existence of a 'convention', families are more inclined to choose a private officially recognized outpatients' clinic. Those who had been looking for a solution to a special type of illness opted primarily for a traditional practitioner. In conclusion, the results of this study show that if people choose the care offered by health centres, it is because they judge it to be of good quality. The integrated care offered by the same technician, with a required training, is a major asset in the acceptability of the first line of primary health care in Kinshasa. This study suggests that it would no doubt be beneficial to integrate non-official private care structures into the primary health care system, as far as it is possible for them to achieve a level of quality comparable to that of the health centres. In order that the traditional practitioner might play an important complementary role in the realization of primary health care, even in urban areas, the possibility of promoting sites of communication should be studied. Moreover, considering the weak buying power of the city's inhabitants and the previous existence of tontines out of solidarity, the 'conventions' providing relief of health care costs, under the leadership of the local communities, should be integrated into the organization of the urban health system.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Behavioral assessment of impulsivity: a comparison of children with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

We conducted a brief computer-based assessment involving choices of concurrently presented arithmetic problems associated with competing reinforcer dimensions to assess impulsivity (choices controlled primarily by reinforcer immediacy) as well as the relative influence of other dimensions (reinforcer rate, quality, and response effort), with 58 children. Results were compared for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were and were not receiving medication, and with typically developing children without ADHD. Within-subject and between-groups analyses of the ordinal influence of each of the reinforcer dimensions were conducted using both time- and response-allocation measures. In general, the choices of children with ADHD were most influenced by reinforcer immediacy and quality and least by rate and effort, suggesting impulsivity. The choices of children in the non-ADHD group were most influenced by reinforcer quality, and the influence of immediacy relative to the other dimensions was not statistically significant. Results are discussed with respect to the implications for assessment and treatment of ADHD.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Neural mechanisms of involuntary attention to acoustic novelty and change.

Behavioral and event-related brain potential (ERP) measures were used to elucidate the neural mechanisms of involuntary engagement of attention by novelty and change in the acoustic environment. The behavioral measures consisted of the reaction time (RT) and performance accuracy (hit rate) in a forced-choice visual RT task where subjects were to discriminate between odd and even numbers. Each visual stimulus was preceded by an irrelevant auditory stimulus, which was randomly either a "standard" tone (80%), a slightly higher "deviant" tone (10%), or a natural, "novel" sound (10%). Novel sounds prolonged the RT to successive visual stimuli by 17 msec as compared with the RT to visual stimuli that followed standard tones. Deviant tones, in turn, decreased the hit rate but did not significantly affect the RT. In the ERPs to deviant tones, the mismatch negativity (MMN), peaking at 150 msec, and a second negativity, peaking at 400 msec, could be observed. Novel sounds elicited an enhanced N1, with a probable overlap by the MMN, and a large positive P3a response with two different subcomponents: an early centrally dominant P3a, peaking at 230 msec, and a late P3a, peaking at 315 msec with a right-frontal scalp maximum. The present results suggest the involvement of two different neural mechanisms in triggering involuntary attention to acoustic novelty and change: a transient-detector mechanism activated by novel sounds and reflected in the N1 and a stimulus-change detector mechanism activated by deviant tones and novel sounds and reflected in the MMN. The observed differential distracting effects by slightly deviant tones and widely deviant novel sounds support the notion of two separate mechanisms of involuntary attention.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1987

Individual differences in behavioral and subjective responses to alcohol.

The reinforcing properties and subjective effects of alcohol were assessed in 29 normal volunteers using a seven-session choice procedure. On the first four sessions, subjects sampled an alcohol (0.5 g/kg) and a placebo beverage twice each. On three subsequent choice sessions, subjects chose the drink they preferred. The number of times they chose alcohol was the measure of its reinforcing properties. On all sessions subjects completed mood questionnaires before and several times after consuming the beverage. Other dependent measures during the experiment included a cognitive performance task, drug liking and identification questionnaires, and breathalyzer alcohol determinations. Demographic and personality data also were obtained. Approximately one-third of the subjects chose the alcohol-containing beverage on all three choice sessions, one-third alternated in their choices of alcohol and placebo, and one-third consistently chose the placebo. When the subjective effects of alcohol (determined during sampling sessions) were compared across the three choice groups, qualitative differences in response to alcohol were observed. For example, alcohol increased elation and vigor scores in the consistent choosers of alcohol, whereas it decreased scores on these measures in the consistent placebo choosers. Consistent alcohol choosers did not differ from placebo choosers in gender or age but they reported more marijuana use and slightly more alcohol use outside the laboratory. They also scored higher on certain measures of arousal and depression, on the Sensation Seeking Scale and on the Psychopathic State Inventory. The results are discussed in terms of individual differences in vulnerability to excessive use of alcohol.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Effects of early androgens on sex-typed activities and interests in adolescents with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

The goal of this study was to examine the relation of early androgen exposure to sex-typed activities and interests in adolescence. Participants aged 9-19 years included 24 girls and 18 boys with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and 16 unaffected sisters and 24 unaffected brothers who served as controls. Using standardized questionnaires, adolescents reported on their participation in sex-typed activities and interest in sex-typed occupations, and parents reported on the adolescents' activities. As hypothesized, girls with CAH showed sex-atypical preferences: increased interest in male-typical activities and careers and reduced interest in female-typical activities and careers compared to the unexposed control girls. These results extend findings of sex-atypical play in young girls with CAH and suggest that the sex-atypical activities and interests of females with CAH reflect direct effects of androgens on the developing brain rather than social responses to virilized genitalia. These results also suggest that population sex differences in activities and interests arise in part from sex differences in early androgens.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

The influence of dehydration on the thermal preferences of the Western tiger snake, Notechis scutatus.

Temperature selection in tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) is strongly influenced by hydration state and this response varies between two distinct neighbouring populations on semi-arid Carnac Island and mainland wetland (Herdsman Lake). Fed and hydrated (control) Carnac Island snakes selected a preferred body temperature of 26.2+/-1.2 degrees C and an average maximum temperature of 32.5+/-0.5 degrees C in a photo-thermal gradient. Dehydrated Carnac Island snakes selected a significantly lower preferred body temperature (19.7+/-1.6 degrees C) and average maximum temperature (27.7+/-1.0 degrees C). Control Herdsman Lake snakes selected a preferred body temperature of 27.5+/-0.6 degrees C and an average maximum temperature of 33.3+/-0.4 degrees C. Dehydrated Herdsman Lake snakes selected a significantly lower preferred body temperature (23.3+/-1.1 degrees C) and a lower average maximum temperature (31.8+/-0.6 degrees C). Thermal depression (decreased preferred body and average maximum temperatures) in response to dehydration was greater for Carnac Island than Herdsman Lake snakes. As decreases in temperature and activity can reduce water loss, our laboratory data suggest that the survival of the relict population of tiger snakes on Carnac Island is associated with thermoregulatory modifications, which may have the effect of enhancing water conservation in this waterless habitat.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Experience modulates the influence of gonadal hormones on sexual orientation of male rats.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether heterosexual experience influences the male's partner preference and the role of gonadal hormones, including several androgens and estradiol, on female-oriented behavior. In the first experiment, the animals were exposed to a four-stimuli test situation including a sexually active male, a castrated male, an estrous female, and an ovariectomized (ovx) female. Castrated naive and experienced male rats were implanted with either testosterone (T), estradiol (E2), or an empty tubing (blank) and compared to intact naive and experienced male rats. None of the naive animals, whether castrated or intact, showed a consistent preference for any of the four stimuli. Whereas when sexually experienced, only intact and T-treated males showed a female-oriented preference. In the second experiment, the animals were allowed to choose between an active male and an estrous female. Castrated naive male rats were implanted with either T, E2, or DHT, or injected daily SC with the synthetic nonaromatizable androgen, methyltrienelone (R 1881). Two groups of intact males, one consisting of experienced and the other of naive animals, were also included in this experiment. The experienced intact males showed a significant preference for the estrous female, while the intact naive males showed no preference for either of the two stimuli. After the animals had gained heterosexual experience, intact and androgen-treated males showed a significant preference for the female. Neither the administration of R 1881 nor E2 promoted a female-oriented behavior.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Behavioral and physiological effects of capsaicin in red-winged blackbirds.

We injected red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) subcutaneously with capsaicin, and assessed (a) changes in basal body temperature, (b) ability to discriminate warm from cool drinking water, and (c) sensitivity to oral and topical applications of capsaicin, a trigeminal irritant. As predicted from studies of mammals, the injections seemed to disrupt thermoregulation when the ambient temperature increased, and eliminated discrimination between warm and cool drinking water (Figs. 1 and 2). In contrast to effects on mammals, injections failed to observably diminish oral or topical sensitivity to capsaicin and apparently induced a capsaicin preference in two-bottle drinking tests between capsaicin and its vehicle (Fig. 3). Such preferences were context-dependent, however, since water was reliably preferred to capsaicin or vehicle in three-bottle tests. To our knowledge, the present work is the first to report physiological and behavioral effects of capsaicin on birds, and the first to suggest that the substance may have different behavioral and physiological effects on different classes of animals.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Intergenerational family conversations and decision making about eating healthfully.

OBJECTIVE: To explore how youth, parents, and grandparents discuss issues related to eating healthfully and unhealthfully and to identify intergenerational strategies for educators to improve this communication. DESIGN: In three intergenerational focus groups, each with 4-8 families, a trained moderator asked questions about family practices and conversations for eating healthfully and unhealthfully. SETTING: Three focus group sites, each with Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Program sites (PANEP) programs serving low-income populations and multigenerational clientele, based in geographically and culturally diverse communities in Pennsylvania. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-four individuals (21 pre-teens, 16 parents, and 7 grandparents) from 17 families. PHENOMENON OF INTEREST: How youth, parents, and grandparents discuss and influence each other's healthful and unhealthful eating practices. ANALYSIS: "Strength" of evidence determined by repetition of ideas across focus groups and from the respondents' quotes providing in-depth information. RESULTS: Families demonstrated a wide range of ways that family communication is associated with the adoption of healthful and unhealthful patterns of eating. Parents and grandparents expressed anguish over their struggle and inability to help their children eat more healthfully. All three generations enumerated strategies for dealing with disagreement. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Grandparents, parents and children indicate that they need opportunities to learn together and communicate about ways to improve nutrition behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Calcium deprivation increases the palatability of calcium solutions in rats.

Calcium-deprived rats have elevated intakes of CaCl2, other calcium salts, and some non-calcium compounds. We used taste reactivity to examine the effects of calcium deprivation on the palatability of CaCl2 and other solutions. Nine male Sprague-Dawley rats were calcium-deprived by maintenance on a low-calcium diet, and eight replete rats were used as controls. All rats were videotaped during intraoral infusion of the following solutions: 30 and 300 mM CaCl2, 30 mM calcium lactate, 100 and 600 mM NaCl, 30 mM MgCl2, 1 mM quinine.HCl, 2.5 mM sodium saccharin, and deionized water. We counted individual orofacial and somatic movements elicited by the infusions and used them to calculate total ingestive and aversive scores. Relative to controls, calcium-deprived rats gave a significantly larger number of tongue protrusions and had higher total ingestive scores for CaCl2, calcium lactate, NaCl, and MgCl2. Our results suggest that CaCl2, calcium lactate, NaCl, and MgCl2 taste more palatable to rats when they are calcium-deprived than replete, and this may be responsible for the increased intake of these solutions following calcium deprivation.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2001

Effect of water supply method and flow rate on drinking behavior and fluid balance in horses.

This study investigated three methods of water supply on drinking preference and behavior in six Standardbred geldings (2-9 years, 505+/-9 kg). The water sources were buckets (B), pressure valve (PV), and float valve (FV) bowls. In an initial drinking preference test, PV was tested at three flow rates: 3, 8, and 16 l/min (PV3, PV8, and PV16), and FV at 3 l/min (FV3). Water intake was measured in l and presented as the percentage of the total daily water intake from each of two simultaneously presented alternatives. The intake from PV8 was greater than from both PV3 (72+/-11% vs. 28+/-11%) and PV16 (90+/-4% vs. 10+/-4%). All horses showed a strong preference for B, 98+/-1% of the intake compared to 2+/-1% from PV8. Individual variation in the data gave no significant difference in preference between the two automatic bowls. In the second part of the study, drinking behavior and fluid balance were investigated when the horses drank from FV3, PV8, and B for 7 consecutive days in a changeover design. Despite a tendency for an increase in total daily drinking time from FV3, the daily water intake was significantly lower (43+/-3 ml/kg) than from PV8 (54+/-2 ml/kg) and B (58+/-3 ml/kg). Daily net water gain [intake-(fecal+urinary output)] was only 0.5+/-3 ml/kg with FV3, resulting in a negative fluid balance if insensible losses are included. These results show that the water supply method can affect both drinking behavior and fluid balance in the horse.

Animals↗