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At least 1,423 records · Page 79Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Antisaccade performance of schizophrenia patients: evidence of reduced task-set activation and impaired error detection.

The antisaccade task is well suited to study the interplay between environmental stimuli and action goals in controlling behavior. It requires subjects to look to the mirror position of visual stimuli. Schizophrenia patients usually show enhanced rates of erroneous saccades toward the stimulus. The present study was designed to investigate the role of task set activation and error detection for this impairment. Fifteen patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and 15 control subjects made antisaccades under standard conditions and under precue conditions. In the precue conditions the imperative visual stimulus was immediately preceded by short precues on either the same or the opposite side. Subjects had to evaluate their performance on each trial. Schizophrenia patients showed enhanced error rates on the standard condition and after same side precues but not after opposite side precues. Opposite side precues entailed increased errors in both groups, but the increase was weaker in schizophrenia patients. This lower precue effect in schizophrenia is proposed to reflect reduced activation of the task set for antisaccades in schizophrenia. The study also revealed strongly impaired error detection in schizophrenia. The relative roles of task-set activation and error detection for poor antisaccade performance in schizophrenia are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

An empirical study of the psychodynamics of suicide.

This paper presents results from an empirical study of four key psychodynamic concepts (self-directed aggression, object loss, ego functioning disturbance, pathological object relations) of suicidal behavior. The sample consists of hospitalized psychiatric patients following a suicide attempt (attempters: n = 52) and demographically similar hospitalized psychiatric patients with no history of suicidal behavior (controls: n = 47). The study was designed to ascertain whether attempters differed from matched psychiatric control patients on the four psychodynamic constructs hypothesized to be associated with suicide. It was predicted that attempters would manifest higher levels of depression and self-targeted anger, a more significant history of loss, less adaptive defenses, and more primitive object representations. Results strongly supported an object-relational view of suicidal behavior. In addition, support for the loss hypothesis was found in the identification of one specific constellation of losses. Namely, attempters were significantly more likely to report a history of childhood loss combined with a recent loss in adulthood than were their nonattempter counterparts. Limited support was provided for the other two hypotheses in differentiating suicidal from nonsuicidal severely ill psychiatric patients. This unexpected finding is examined and suggestions are made for the refinement and greater specification of psychodynamic theories regarding the etiology of suicidal behavior, with the aim of differentiating individuals prone to such action from those with similar psychopathology and dynamic issues who do not actually attempt suicide. Limitations of the study are discussed and implications of the findings for the theory and treatment of suicidal behavior are offered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Effects of d-amphetamine on self-aggression and posturing in stumptail macaques.

The behavioral effects of d-amphetamine sulfate were studied in adult male stumptail macaques living within a large heterogeneous group in an outdoor enclosure. Among five subjects that received a range of doses (.01 to .3 mg/kg), d-amphetamine increased self-aggressive behavior and abnormal posturing in subjects that exhibited these types of behavior prior to drug administration, but it had no effect in subjects not exhibiting those activities in the absence of the drug. For the former subjects, the dose-effect curves for self-aggression were of an inverted U-shape analogous to the effect of d-amphetamine on schedule-controlled behavior. Over the range of doses studied, the curve for abnormal posturing was monotonic. The data indicate that d-amphetamine can have effects on untrained behavior in individual animals in a quasinatural environment that are qualitatively and quantitatively similar to the behavioral effects observed in other laboratory environments, and that d-amphetamine does not evoke or increase a behavioral response in individual subjects that do not exhibit the response in the absence of the drug.

Aggression↗
PubMed1992

Motor behavior and motor nervous system function in the nematode Ascaris suum.

Ascaris suum has a nervous system that is very simple both numerically and morphologically. It comprises only 298 neurons almost all of which are extremely simple in shape. Extensive anatomical descriptions of the morphology of neurons and of their synaptic connections, together with the study, by using intracellular recording techniques, of their physiological properties, have led to a prediction of how the motor nervous system controls behavior. Subsequent discovery of endogenous neuropeptides that have potent activity on subsets of the motor neurons suggests that the description of the motor circuitry is more complex than is apparent from its anatomy.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2004

Has dopamine a physiological role in the control of sexual behavior? A critical review of the evidence.

The role of dopaminergic systems in the control of sexual behavior has been a subject of study for at least 40 years. Not surprisingly, reviews of the area have been published at variable intervals. However, the earlier reviews have been summaries of published research rather than a critical analysis of it. They have focused upon the conclusions presented in the original research papers rather than on evaluating the reliability and functional significance of the data reported to support these conclusions. During the last few years, important new knowledge concerning dopaminergic systems and their behavioral functions as well as the possible role of these systems in sexual behavior has been obtained. For the first time, it is now possible to integrate the data obtained in studies of sexual behavior into the wider context of general dopaminergic functions. To make this possible, we first present an analysis of the nature and organization of sexual behavior followed by a summary of current knowledge about the brain structures of crucial importance for this behavior. We then proceed with a description of the dopaminergic systems within or projecting to these structures. Whenever possible, we also try to include data on the electrophysiological actions of dopamine. Thereafter, we proceed with analyses of pharmacological data and release studies, both in males and in females. Consistently throughout this discussion, we make an effort to distinguish pharmacological effects on sexual behavior from a possible physiological role of dopamine. By pharmacological effects, we mean here drug-induced alterations in behavior that are not the result of the normal actions of synaptically released dopamine in the untreated animal. The conclusion of this endeavor is that pharmacological effects of dopaminergic drugs are variable in both males and females, independently of whether the drugs are administered systemically or intracerebrally. We conclude that the pharmacological data basically reinforce the notion that dopamine is important for motor functions and general arousal. These actions could, in fact, explain most of the effects seen on sexual behavior. Studies of dopamine release, in both males and females, have focused on the nucleus accumbens, a structure with at most a marginal importance for sexual behavior. Since accumbens dopamine release is associated with all kinds of events, aversive as well as appetitive, it can have no specific effect on sexual behavior but promotes arousal and activation of non-specific motor patterns. Preoptic and paraventricular nucleus release of dopamine may have some relationship to mechanisms of ejaculation or to the neuroendocrine consequences of sexual activity or they can be related to other autonomic processes associated with copulation. There is no compelling indication in existing experimental data that dopamine is of any particular importance for sexual motivation. There is experimental evidence showing that it is of no importance for sexual reward.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Exercise adherence in breast cancer survivors training for a dragon boat race competition: a preliminary investigation.

Recent research has applied the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understanding exercise after a cancer diagnosis, but studies are few and have been limited by retrospective designs, self-report measures of exercise and varied results. In the present study, we extended this research by using a prospective design and an objective measure of exercise adherence. Participants were a convenience sample of 24 breast cancer survivors attending a twice weekly, 12-week training program in preparation for a dragon boat race competition. Participants completed a baseline questionnaire that assessed demographic and medical variables, past exercise, and the TPB (i.e. beliefs, subjective norm, attitude, perceived behavioral control and intention). Program attendance was monitored over a 12-week period by the class instructor. Overall, participants attended 66% of the training sessions. Multiple regression analyses indicated that: (a) intention was the sole determinant of program attendance and explained 35% of the variance; (b) the TPB constructs explained 49% of the variance in intention with subjective norm being the most important determinant; and (c) the key underlying beliefs were support from physician, spouse, and friends, and confidence in being able to attend the training class when having limited time, no one to exercise with, fatigue, and other health problems. Based on this preliminary study, it was concluded that the TPB may provide a good framework on which to base interventions designed to promote exercise in breast cancer survivors.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Methods for studying nonhuman primates in neurobehavioral toxicology and teratology.

The behavioral repertoire of nonhuman primates is highly evolved and includes advanced problem-solving capabilities, complex social relationships, and sensory acuity equal or superior to humans. These factors make nonhuman primates valuable animal models for studies of the functional effects of neurotoxicants. This review provides descriptions of tests designed to study learning, memory, schedule-controlled behavior, information processing, social behavior, sensory functioning, and visual-motor coordination and/or visuospatial orientation in macaque monkeys. Whenever possible, the results of studies in primate behavioral toxicology are provided for individual test measures. The primate model is especially useful for studies of developmental exposures because monkeys, like humans, have relatively prolonged periods of gestation, infancy, and adolescence. In recognition of this, a special section is provided for tasks that are specifically designed to study behavioral processes in infant monkeys.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Weight loss in wrestlers.

Despite a growing body of evidence admonishing the behavior, weight cutting (rapid weight reduction) remains prevalent among wrestlers. Weight cutting has significant adverse consequences that may affect competitive performance, physical health, and normal growth and development. To enhance the education experience and reduce the health risks for the participants, the ACSM recommends measures to educate coaches and wrestlers toward sound nutrition and weight control behaviors, to curtail "weight cutting," and to enact rules that limit weight loss.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

Geographic variation in sexual selection among populations of an iguanid lizard, Sauromalus obesus (=ater).

Geographic variation in selection pressures may result in population divergence and speciation, especially if sexual selection varies among populations. Yet spatial variation in targets and intensity of sexual selection is well studied in only a few species. Even more rare are simultaneous studies of multiple populations combining observations from natural settings with controlled behavioral experiments. We investigated how sexual selection varies among populations of the chuckwalla, Sauromalus obesus. Chuckwallas are sexually dimorphic in color, and males vary in coloration among populations. Using field observations and multiple regression techniques, we investigated how sexual selection acts on various male traits in three populations in which males differed in coloration. The influence of sexual selection on male coloration was then investigated in more detail using controlled experiments. Results from field observations indicate that phenotypic selection was acting on territory quality in all three populations. In two populations, selection was also acting either directly or indirectly on male coloration. Male color likely functions as an indicator of food resources to females because male color is based partly on carotenoid pigments. In controlled experiments, significantly more females from these two populations chose males with brighter colors over dull males, a result consistent with studies on carotenoid pigments in other taxa. In a third population, no evidence of sexual selection on male coloration was found in either the field study or controlled experiment. Lack of female preferences for male color in this population, in which chuckwalla densities are low and home ranges are large, may result from searching costs to females.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Impact of an educational program on physician cancer control knowledge and activities.

Continuing medical education (CME) programs are a common way for physicians to keep up with new developments in medical care. CME has been criticized as poorly evaluated at best and ineffective at worst. Proposed modifications in the traditional CME format include a role for influential peers, physician discussion groups, and self-formulated contracts. As part of a project that is testing methods to improve primary care physician cancer control performance, we provided an eight-hour educational program that included these proposed modifications and that addressed early detection of breast, cervical, and colon cancer and counseling on nutrition and smoking cessation. Physician knowledge improved after the program in four of the five content areas. In addition, physicians reported significant increases in their cancer control activities after six months. We conclude that cancer control CME programs that use interactive discussion groups, influential peers, and self-formulated contracts are feasible, well received by physicians, and result in improvements in knowledge and self-reported cancer control behavior.

Education, Medical, Continuing↗
PubMed1985

Evaluation of long-term consequences in behavioral and/or neural function following neonatal chlordecone exposure.

The effects of neonatal exposure of rats to chlordecone, during the major postnatal period of neuroendocrine differentiation were assessed after the animals matured to 90 days of age. On day 4 postpartum, pups received a s.c. injection of either DMSO vehicle or chlordecone (1 mg/pup) dissolved in DMSO. The neonatal exposure produced a significant sex-dependent alteration in adult body weight; chlordecone-exposed males were lighter than vehicle-exposed controls and chlordecone-exposed females were heavier than vehicle-exposed controls. Behavioral tests sensitive to neonatal chlordecone exposure during preweaning development--i.e., spectral analysis of movement, activity, and auditory startle responsiveness--gave no statistically significant evidence for residual effects of the early organochlorine treatment. When challenged with harmine, a known tremorogen with putative effects on olivocerebellar pathways, chlordecone-exposed males were less responsive than vehicle-exposed littermates in a spectral analysis of movement. The movement spectrum of chlordecone-exposed females was not differentially sensitive to the harmine challenge. However, subsequent evaluation of the auditory startle reflex indicated that harmine interacted with the neonatal treatment and sex of the animal; chlordecone-exposed males were less responsive and chlordecone-exposed females more responsive than same sex vehicle-exposed littermates. The responsiveness to a d-amphetamine challenge, expressed as a ratio of baseline activity in a pre- and post-test design, suggested the chlordecone-exposed males gave an exaggerated response to the drug challenge. Collectively, these findings suggest that the neonatal chlordecone exposure had a significant organizational effect on the development of behavioral and/or neural function. These findings also suggest the predictive utility of early behavioral tests; that is, long-term alterations were noted in each component of the toxicological syndrome previously identified during preweaning development.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Presence of muscle dysmorphia symptomology among male weightlifters.

Limited research exists on muscle dysmorphia (MD) in men and in nonclinical populations. The current study evaluated types of body image disturbance among 237 male weightlifters. Latent class analysis of 8 measures of body image disturbance revealed 5 independent types of respondents: Dysmorphic, Muscle Concerned, Fat Concerned, Normal Behavioral, and Normal. One-way analysis of variance of independent measures of body image disturbance and associated psychopathology confirmed significant differences between groups. The Dysmorphic group reported a pattern of body image disturbance consistent with MD by displaying a high overall level of body image disturbance, symptoms of associated psychopathology, steroid use, and appearance-controlling behavior. Findings generally supported classifying MD as a subtype of body dysmorphic disorder and an obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder. Implications for studying body image disturbance in male weightlifters, and further evaluation of the MD diagnostic criteria are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

GABAA receptor gamma 2 subunit knockdown mice have enhanced anxiety-like behavior but unaltered hypnotic response to benzodiazepines.

BACKGROUND: Gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAA-Rs) are the major inhibitory receptors in the mammalian brain and are modulated by a number of sedative/hypnotic drugs including benzodiazepines and anesthetics. The significance of specific GABAA-Rs subunits with respect to behavior and in vivo drug responses is incompletely understood. The gamma2 subunit is highly expressed throughout the brain. Global gamma2 knockout mice are insensitive to the hypnotic effects of diazepam and die perinatally. Heterozygous gamma2 global knockout mice are viable and have increased anxiety-like behaviors. To further investigate the role of the gamma2 subunit in behavior and whole animal drug action, we used gene targeting to create a novel mouse line with attenuated gamma2 expression, i.e., gamma2 knockdown mice. RESULTS: Knockdown mice were created by inserting a neomycin resistance cassette into intron 8 of the gamma2 gene. Knockdown mice, on average, showed a 65% reduction of gamma2 subunit mRNA compared to controls; however gamma2 gene expression was highly variable in these mice, ranging from 10-95% of normal. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that gamma2 protein levels were also variably reduced. Pharmacological studies using autoradiography on frozen brain sections demonstrated that binding of the benzodiazepine site ligand Ro15-4513 was decreased in mutant mice compared to controls. Behaviorally, knockdown mice displayed enhanced anxiety-like behaviors on the elevated plus maze and forced novelty exploration tests. Surprisingly, mutant mice had an unaltered response to hypnotic doses of the benzodiazepine site ligands diazepam, midazolam and zolpidem as well as ethanol and pentobarbital. Lastly, we demonstrated that the gamma2 knockdown mouse line can be used to create gamma2 global knockout mice by crossing to a general deleter cre-expressing mouse line. CONCLUSION: We conclude that: 1) insertion of a neomycin resistance gene into intron 8 of the gamma2 gene variably reduced the amount of gamma2, and that 2) attenuated expression of gamma2 increased anxiety-like behaviors but did not lead to differences in the hypnotic response to benzodiazepine site ligands. This suggests that reduced synaptic inhibition can lead to a phenotype of increased anxiety-like behavior. In contrast, normal drug effects can be maintained despite a dramatic reduction in GABAA-R targets.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Influence of serotonergic transmission anD postsynaptic 5-HT2C action on the feeding behavior of Coturnix japonica (Galliformes: Aves).

We investigated the role of 5-HT2C receptors and serotonergic transmission in the feeding behavior control of quails. Administration of serotonin releaser, fenfluramine (FEN) and 5-HT2C agonists, mCPP and MK212, 1.0 and 3.3 mg/Kg induced significant inhibition of food intake in previously fasted fowls (0.71 +/- 0.18 g and 0.47 +/- 0.2 g; 0.49 +/- 0.22 g and 0.48 +/- 0.29 g; 0.82 +/- 0.13 g and 0.71 +/- 0.16 g, respectively). Control groups ranged from 2.89 +/- 0.21 g to 2.97 +/- 0.22 g, 60 min after reintroduction of food, P < 0.0001). Similar results were obtained with normally fed quails. Both serotonin releaser and 5-HT2C agonists, in a 3.3 mg/Kg dose, induced hypophagy (FEN, 0.78 +/- 0.08 g; mCPP, 0.89 +/- 0.07 g; MK212, 1.25 +/- 0.17 g vs. controls, 2.05 +/- 0.12 g, 120 min after food was presented, P < 0.0001 to P < 0.01). Previous administration of 5-HT2C antagonist, LY53857 (5.0 mg/Kg) blocked the hypophagic response induced by 5-HT2C agonists 60 min after food was reintroduced. Current data show a modulatory role of serotonin release and postsynaptic 5-HT2C receptors in the feeding behavior of quails.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Behavior analysis and the search for the origins of hypertension.

Hypertension is a disorder of sodium regulation that develops over time in a context of the interactions of the individual with the environment. Experimental hypertension can be induced in laboratory animals and normotensive humans via increases in sodium intake under conditions of aversive behavioral control. Readiness for avoidance contingencies includes a breathing pattern characterized by subnormal rate and normal tidal volume. Studies with humans have shown that this inhibitory breathing pattern is associated with increased plasma acidity, increased renal sodium reabsorption, increased secretion of digitalis-like hormones that inhibit sodium-pump activity, and increased vasoconstriction and blood pressure. Behavioral research is needed that defines the necessary and sufficient conditions for inhibitory breathing and its role in the development of hypertension.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Breathing impairment in Rett syndrome.

Four patients with Rett syndrome had prominent abnormalities of breathing during active wakefulness, characterized by prolonged apnea intermixed with irregular and frequent respiratory movements. The apneic periods were associated with severe drops in O2 saturation, which assumed a periodic pattern. Respiration was regular during sleep and quiet wakefulness. These respiratory patterns seem characteristic of Rett syndrome and are probably related to impairment of the behavioral control system of respiration. These severe hypoxic episodes could contribute to permanent neurologic damage and secondary neurochemical changes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Increase in tannin consumption by sifaka ( Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi) females during the birth season: a case for self-medication in prosimians?

In this study we report preliminary data on the consumption of tannin-rich plants by sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi) living in the Kirindy forest, western Madagascar. Sifakas spent most of their time feeding on only a few plant species. The tannin intake during the period between the pregnancy and birth season was significantly higher in pregnant females or females with lactating infants than in non-reproductive females and males. These periparturient females secured a larger proportion of condensed tannins by short feeding bouts on plants not included in the group's limited preferred food species. The measured increase in tannin intake is puzzling in light of the fact that tannins are commonly known for their protein-binding properties. Since protein demands are highest in pregnant and lactating females, possible medicinal benefits of tannin ingestion are considered. Tannin consumption is associated with an increase in body weight and stimulation of milk secretion. Veterinarians administer tannins as an astringent, anti-hemorrhagic and anti-abortive. Their high potential as an alternative anthelminthic has also recently been recognized. Thus, when viewed as self-medicating behavior, controlled increase in tannin intake could have multiple prophylactic advantages for females during the periparturient period. The high selectivity in their plant choice, and the presence of unusual feeding habits by a particular group of individuals (females with infants) limited in time (birth season), suggests that an increase in tannin ingestion may be a self-medicating behavior with multiple directly adaptive benefits to female reproduction.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Proteins synthesized in medial hypothalamus and transported to midbrain in estrogen-treated female rats.

Results on the anatomy of ventromedial hypothalamic outputs, together with the temporal aspects of electrophysiological studies, predict that for reproductive behavior control sex steroids alter hypothalamic protein synthesis and transport of proteins to the dorsal midbrain. We have studied labeled proteins arriving in the dorsal midbrain after local microinjection of tritiated amino acids to the ventromedial hypothalamus. Estrogen treated and control ovariectomized female rats are significantly different in this respect, and in particular some proteins appear to be synthesized or transported in greater amounts in the estrogen treated animals. Physical characterization of these proteins and comparisons under a variety of endocrine conditions will suggest whether their synthesis could be part of the mechanism by which ovarian steroids affect behavior.

Amino Acids↗