RxPG News : Behavioral Science

Faster progress through puberty linked to behavior problems

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Children who go through puberty at a faster rate are more likely to act out and to suffer from anxiety and depression, according to a study by researchers at Penn State, Duke University and the University of California, Davis. The results suggest that primary care providers, teachers and parents should look not only at the timing of puberty in relation to kids' behaviour problems, but also at the tempo of puberty -- how fast or slow kids go through puberty.

Past work has examined the timing of puberty and shown the negative consequences of entering puberty at an early age, but there has been little work done to investigate the effects of tempo, said Kristine Marceau, a Penn State graduate student and the study's primary author. By using a novel statistical tool to simultaneously model the timing and tempo of puberty in children, we present a much more comprehensive picture of what happens during adolescence and why behaviour problems may ensue as a result of going through these changes.

The team -- led by Elizabeth Susman, the Jean Phillips Shibley Professor of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State -- created a unique nonlinear mixed-effects model that incorporated data from 364 white boys and 373 white girls that had been collected as part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, which had an initial goal of determining how variations in the environment are related to children's development. The data included information about breast and pubic hair development in girls and genital and pubic hair development in boys as assessed by nurses, as well as weight and height for both boys and girls. The data also included information on internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems as reported by boys' and girls' parents or other caregivers, and risky sexual behaviours as reported by the kids themselves.

We found that earlier timing for girls was related to a slew of behaviour problems, and we also found that a faster tempo of development independently predicted those same sorts of problem behaviours, said Marceau. Although timing and tempo both predicted behaviour problems in girls, timing and tempo weren't related to each other. For boys, though, we found a strong relationship between timing and tempo. For example, we found that boys who have later timing combined with slower tempo exhibited the least amount of acting out and externalizing problems.

The team's results will appear in the September issue of the journal Developmental Psychology.

Why does going through puberty at a faster rate relate to external behavior problems and internal anxiety and depression?

"The thought is that when the major changes of puberty are compressed into a shorter amount of time, adolescents don't have enough time to acclimate, so they're not emotionally or socially ready for all the changes that happen," said Marceau. "This is the explanation that originally was attributed solely to early timing, but we suggest that the same thing also is happening if the rate of puberty is compressed."

According to Susman, timing and tempo of puberty vary dramatically across kids. "Children are extremely sensitive to how fast or slow other kids are going through puberty, and that may contribute to both the internalizing depression-type problems or the externalizing problems of acting out," she said.

In the future, Susman plans to examine the effects of tempo of puberty on later women's health problems. "One of the things that has concerned me over the years is the relationship between early puberty and later women's health problems," she said. "Specifically, there is some indication that early timing of puberty relates to more reproductive cancers, with the speculated mechanism being estradiol. If you're an early maturer, you have a longer exposure to this hormone. The question is whether the tempo of puberty has similar implications for women's health."

Decreased Dopamine processing ability - cause for high risk behaviour?

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:31:47 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) For risk-takers and impulsive people, New Year's resolutions often include being more careful, spending more frugally and cutting back on dangerous behavior, such as drug use. But new research from Vanderbilt finds that these individuals--labeled as novelty seekers by psychologists--face an uphill battle in keeping their New Year's resolutions due to the way their brains process dopamine. The research reveals that novelty seekers have less of a particular type of dopamine receptor, which may lead them to seek out novel and exciting experiences--such as spending lavishly, taking risks and partying like there's no tomorrow.

The research was published Dec. 31, 2008, in the Journal of Neuroscience.

The neurotransmitter dopamine is produced by a select group of cells in the brain. These dopamine-producing cells have receptors called autoreceptors that help limit dopamine release when these cells are stimulated.

"We've found that the density of these dopamine autoreceptors is inversely related to an individual's interest in and desire for novel experiences," David Zald, associate professor of psychology and lead author of the study, said. "The fewer available dopamine autoreceptors an individual has, the less they are able to regulate how much dopamine is released when these cells are engaged. Because of this, novelty and other potentially rewarding experiences that normally induce dopamine release will produce greater dopamine release in these individuals."

Dopamine has long been known to play an important role in how we experience rewards from a variety of natural sources, including food and sex, as well as from drugs such as cocaine and amphetamine. Previous research has shown that individuals differ in both their number of dopamine receptors and the amount of dopamine they produce, and that these differences may play a critical role in addiction. Zald and his colleagues set out to explore the connection between dopamine receptors and the novelty-seeking personality trait.

"Novelty-seeking personality traits are a major risk factor for the development of drug abuse and other unsafe behaviors," Zald and his colleagues wrote.

"Our research suggests that in high novelty-seeking individuals, the brain is less able to regulate dopamine, and this may lead these individuals to be particularly responsive to novel and rewarding situations that normally induce dopamine release," Zald said.

Previous research in rodents showed that some respond differently to novel environments. Those who explore novel environments more are also more likely to self-administer cocaine when given the chance. Dopamine neurons fire at a higher rate in these novelty-responsive rodents, and the animals also have weak autoreceptor control of their dopamine neurons. Zald and colleagues speculated that the same relationships would be seen in humans.

The researchers used positron emission topography to view the levels of dopamine receptors in 34 healthy humans who had taken a questionnaire that measured the novelty-seeking personality trait. The questionnaire measured things such as an individual's preference for and response to novelty, decision-making speed, a person's readiness to freely spend money, and the extent to which a person is spontaneous and unconstrained by rules and regulations. The higher the score, the more likely the person was to be a novelty seeker.

The researchers found that those that scored higher on the novelty-seeking scale had decreased dopamine autoreceptor availability compared to the subjects that scored lower.

STAMP system can help medical professionals to predict violence

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 21:00:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A researcher who spent nearly 300 hours observing patients in an accident and emergency department has developed a method for identifying possible flashpoints, according to the latest Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Lauretta Luck, who carried out her research at the University of Western Sydney, Australia, points out that the STAMP violence assessment framework could have much wider applications than just hospitals.

The five-month research project was carried out in a 33-bedded emergency department in a public hospital serving a large rural, remote and metropolitan community in Australia.

It serves a multi-cultural community, which includes a high number of tourists and seasonal workers as well as a large metropolitan population.

Luck carried out 290 hours of observation and interviewed 20 Registered Nurses who agreed to take part in the study.

"During my time in the department there were 16 violent episodes aimed at staff taking part in the study," says Luck. "Because I was on the spot I was able to obtain feedback from them while the event was still fresh in their minds. They were able to tell me how they perceived the event and how they tried to handle it.

"Many more episodes were observed during the study period and I was keen to note how staff managed to defuse potentially violent episodes".

âViolence towards healthcare staff and other professionals such as police officers and social security staff are an increasing part of daily lifeâ says Luck.

âWe feel that the STAMP system provides an easy to remember checklist that can be used in a wide range of potentially stressful situations to provide an initial indication of possible violence.

âRecognising the early signs that can lead to a violent episode can give staff the time they need to defuse the situation before it escalates.

âSTAMP also provides a basic framework that can be developed by healthcare organisations and other agencies â using research, observation and experience - to meet their own specific needs.â

New Insights Into the Nature of Pride as a Social Function

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:00:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Pride has perplexed philosophers and theologians for centuries, and it is an especially paradoxical emotion in American culture. We applaud rugged individualism, self-reliance and personal excellence, but too much pride can easily tip the balance toward vanity, haughtiness and self-love. Scientists have also been perplexed by this complex emotion, because it is so unlike primary emotions like fear and disgust.

University of British Columbia psychologist, Jessica Tracy, and Richard Robins of the University of California, Davis, have been exploring the origins and purpose of pride, both in the laboratory and in the field. They wanted to know if pride is as universal as, say, joy or anger.

In the June issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Tracy and Robins review several recent studies on the nature and function of pride.

In one experiment, researchers used photographs of models with varying facial expressions and body language, asking subjects to identify the nonverbal signs of pride. And they did indeed find a prototypical prideful look, which was recognized by children as young as four, and people in many different cultures, including members of an isolated, preliterate tribe in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

So, pride appears to be universal, but that still leaves the question: What is it What is its purpose To explore this, Tracy and Robins first asked people to come up with words that they associated with pride. They found that either people link pride to such achievement-oriented ideas as accomplishment and confidence (authentic pride) or, people connect pride to self-aggrandizement, arrogance and conceit (hubristic pride).

People who tend to feel authentic pride were more likely to score high on extraversion, agreeableness, genuine self-esteem and conscientiousness. However, those who tend to feel hubristic pride were narcissistic and prone to shame. Further, they found that people who felt positive, achievement-oriented feelings of pride viewed hard work as the key to success in life, whereas hubristic people tended to view success as predetermined, due to their stable abilities.

Tracy and Robins argue that the primitive precursors of pride probably motivated our ancestors to act in altruistic and communitarian ways, for the good of the tribe, and the physical display of pride both reinforced such behavior and signaled to the group that this person was worthy of respect. So individual pride, at least the good kind, contributed in important ways to the survival of the community.

But what about pride's dark side Tracy and Robins speculate that hubris might have been a social "short cut", a way of tricking others into paying respect when it was not warranted. Those who could not earn respect the old-fashioned way figured out how to look and act accomplished in order to gain status. Social cheaters puffed themselves up because deep down they did not have what it took to succeed in their world. Whatever respect they got would have been fleeting, of course, as it is today

Girls Select Partners Who Resemble Their Dads - Research

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:00:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Women who enjoy good childhood relationships with their fathers are more likely to select partners who resemble their dads research suggests.In contrast, the team of psychologists from Durham University and two Polish institutions revealed that women who have negative or less positive relationships were not attracted to men who looked like their male parents.

Due to be published in the July issue of Evolution and Human Behaviour, the study investigated evidence of parental sexual imprinting, the sexual preference for individuals possessing parental characteristics, in women. The team used facial measurements to give a clear view of how fathers' facial features relate directly to the features of faces their daughters find attractive.

The study helps shed further light on how we choose partners and the impact of a parent's role in this process, which until recently researchers believed to be a passive one. It adds to growing theories that suggest sexual imprinting is an active process which involves the relationship between the child and the adult upon whom they imprint. This reveals the importance of parental relationships in partner selection, which could move studies in areas like evolutionary biology, fertility and genetics a step forward and offer new insights in areas such as relationship counselling and psychology.

Author Dr Lynda Boothroyd of Durham University explains: "While previous research has suggested this to be the case, these controlled results show for certain that the quality of a daughter's relationship with her father has an impact on whom she finds attractive. It shows our human brains don't simply build prototypes of the ideal face based on those we see around us, rather they build them based on those to whom we have a strongly positive relationship. We can now say that daughters who have very positive childhood relationships with their fathers choose men with similar central facial characteristics to their fathers."

Well known "daddies' girls" such as Nigella Lawson and Zoe Ball back up these findings. A comparison of pictures of Charles Saatchi with Nigel Lawson and Norman Cook with Johnny Ball reveals some close correlations, especially in the central facial area, including the nose, chin and eyes.

The study used a sample of 49 Polish eldest daughters. Each chose the most attractive face from 15 distinct faces, whose ears, hair, neck, shoulders and clothing were not visible, removing any external influences which could potentially skew results. The male stimuli's facial measurements were taken and compared with each daughter's father's measurements, so that the researchers knew which faces correlated most closely with the fathers' faces.

The daughters were asked to rate their paternal relationships looking at areas such as how much a father engaged in bringing up his daughter, how much leisure time he spent with her and how much emotional investment she received from him. These scores then made up an overall "positivity" score.

The benefits of social contact

Mon, 21 May 2007 04:00:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Have you ever wondered why people surrounded by friends or family appear happier and healthier? University of Virginia psychologist James Coan will set out to answer this question when he addresses the Association for Psychological Science's annual convention in Washington, DC, May 24th-27th.

Coan's research lies at the intersection of social psychology and neuroscience and is sure to provide intriguing insights into how social contact promotes health and well being by focusing on the function of social regulation when responding with emotions to a wide array of life's stressors.

His presentation will explore the social regulation of neural circuits responsive to fear, using an experimental paradigm that blends functional neuroimaging with supportive social interaction and emotional stress.

Sex Differences are also Reflected in Brain

Fri, 11 May 2007 04:18:02 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) When male primates tussle and females develop their social skills it leaves a permanent mark â on their brains. According to research published in the online open access journal BMC Biology, brain structures have developed due to different pressures on males and females to keep up with social or competitive demands.

An international research team consisting of Patrik Lindenfors, Charles Nunn and Robert Barton examined data on primate brain structures in relation to traits important for male competition, such as greater body mass and larger canine teeth. The researchers also took into account the typical group size of each sex for individual primate species in order to assess sex-specific sociality - the tendency to associate with others and form social groups. The researchers then studied the differences between 21 primate species, which included chimpanzees, gorillas, and rhesus monkeys, using statistical techniques that incorporate evolutionary processes.

The authors found that sexual selection had an important influence on primatesâ brains. Greater male-on-male competition (sexual selection) correlated with several brain structures involved with autonomic functions, sensory-motor skills and aggression. Where sexual selection played a greater role the septum was smaller, and therefore potentially exercised less control over aggression.

In contrast, the average number of females in a social group correlates with the relative size of the telencephalon (or cerebrum), the largest part of the brain. The telencephalon includes the neocortex, which is responsible for higher functions such as sensory perception, generation of motor commands and spatial reasoning. Primates with the most sociable females evolved a larger neocortex, suggesting that female social skills may yield the biggest brains for the species as a whole. Social demands on females and competitive demands on males require skills handled by different brain components, the authors suggest. The contrasting brain types, a result of behavioural differences between the sexes, might be a factor in other branches of mammalian brain evolution beyond anthropoid primates, too.

Abstinence Education Does Not Impact Sexual Behavior

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 08:28:09 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A recent study of four abstinence education programs finds that the programs had no effect on the sexual abstinence of youth. But it also finds that youth in these programs were no more likely to have unprotected sex, a concern that has been raised by some critics of these programs. The study found that youth in the four evaluated programs were no more likely than youth not in the programs to have abstained from sex in the four to six years after they began participating in the study. Youth in both groups who reported having had sex also had similar numbers of sexual partners and had initiated sex at the same average age.

âThis is the first study of multi-year abstinence programs, and it is one of the few that has tracked its sample members for as long as six years,â notes Christopher Trenholm, the project director and a senior researcher at Mathematica. âThe study finds that the sexual abstinence of students in four programs selected for the study was much the same as that of students who did not participate in these programs.â

âSome policymakers and health educators have criticized the Title V, Section 510 abstinence education programs, questioning whether the focus on abstinence puts teens at risk of having unprotected sex,â says Barbara Devaney, one of the study's principal investigators and vice president and director of Human Services Research at Mathematica. âThe evaluation findings suggest that this is not the case. Participants in the abstinence education programs and nonparticipating youth had similar rates of unprotected sex at first intercourse and over the past 12 months.â

The study findings highlight the challenges faced by programs aiming to reduce adolescent sexual activity. Two lessons are important for future programming in this area:

Targeting youth at young ages may not be sufficient. Most Title V, Section 510 abstinence education programs are implemented in upper elementary and middle schools and most are completed before youth enter high school. The findings from this study provide no evidence that abstinence programs implemented at these grades reduce sexual activity of youth during their high school years. However, the findings provide no information on the effects programs might have if they were implemented in high school or began at earlier ages but continued through high school.

Peer support for abstinence erodes during adolescence. Peer support for abstinence is a significant predictor of later sexual activity. Although the four abstinence programs had at most a small impact on this measure in the short term and no impact in the long term, this finding suggests that promoting support for abstinence among peer networks should be an important feature of future abstinence programs.

The study used the most rigorous, scientifically based approach to measure the impacts of the programs. Much like a clinical trial in medicine, this approach compares outcomes for two statistically equivalent groupsâa program group and a control groupâcreated by random assignment (similar to a lottery). Youth in the program group were eligible to receive the abstinence education program services, while those in the control group were not, and received only the usual health, family life, and sex education services available in their schools and communities. When coupled with sufficiently large sample sizes, longitudinal surveys conducted by independent data collectors, and appropriate statistical methods, this design is able to produce highly credible estimates of the impacts of the programs being studied.

Youth were enrolled in the study sample over three consecutive school years, from fall 1999 through fall 2001, and randomly assigned within schools to either the program or the control group. The results in this report are based on a survey given to 2,057 youth in 2005 and 2006, roughly four to six years after they began participating in the study; 1,209 had participated in one of the Title V, Section 510 abstinence education programs and 848 had been assigned to the control group. By the time the last follow-up survey was completed, youth had entered their mid to late teens, permitting the researchers to reliably measure program impacts on teen sexual activity and other risk behaviors.

School bullying affects majority of elementary students

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:59:57 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Nine out of 10 elementary students have been bullied by their peers, according to a simple questionnaire developed by researchers at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine. What's more, nearly six in 10 children surveyed in the preliminary study reported participating in some type of bullying themselves in the past year.

The survey explored two forms of bullying: direct, such as threatening physical harm, and indirect, such as excluding someone or spreading rumors. The researchers say the five-minute questionnaire is the first simple, reliable way for teachers and physicians to identify kids at risk and to measure the success of interventions aimed at reducing bullying in schools.

"We know that both bullies and victims tend to suffer higher levels of depression and other mental health problems throughout their lives," said child psychiatrist Tom Tarshis, MD, lead author of the study. "We need to change the perception that bullying at school is a part of life and that victims just need to toughen up."

Tarshis was completing a fellowship in child psychiatry and research at Packard Children's at the time he developed the questionnaire. He is currently the director of the Bay Area Children's Association. The research will be published in the April issue of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

"When I first started to study this subject, there was no real questionnaire that had been tested," said Tarshis. "We couldn't take the next step until we had a tool that we knew worked."

Although the classic definition of bullying brings to mind fistfights in the schoolyard, other more subtle forms of torment also were surveyed. Tarshis recounted a girl in the ninth grade whose friends decided to stop speaking to her, spread nasty rumors about her and exclude her from activities, all right under the nose of an unsuspecting teacher.

"It was a little distressing how prevalent the problem is even in the middle- to upper-middle-class schools we surveyed," said Tarshis.

He and his co-author, Lynne Huffman, MD, associate professor of pediatrics and of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, surveyed 270 children in grades three through six in two schools in California and one in Arizona to determine if the 22-item questionnaire yielded statistically accurate results. Students were scored based on their responses - never, sometimes or often - to such statements as, "At recess I play by myself," "Other students ignore me on purpose," and "Other students leave me out of games on purpose."

Tarshis and Huffman then compared the results to those of other, more complicated surveys intended to identify bullies and victims. They also administered their survey twice to 175 of the students to determine if the results were consistent over time. They found that the responses were highly reliable, and the survey was easily understood and completed by even the youngest students in the sample.

"We found it particularly interesting that these indications of victimization and bullying are apparent at very young ages," said Huffman. "Our hope is that this questionnaire will be utilized by teachers, pediatricians and even child psychiatrists to identify those children needing early and direct intervention."

The stakes are high. Previous research has shown that, without intervention, bullying behavior persists over time: a child who is a bully in kindergarten is often a bully in elementary school, high school and beyond. Such behaviors are not without consequence, though. These career bullies are not only slightly more likely than their peers to serve prison time as adults, they also tend to suffer from depression.

Perhaps not surprisingly, kids who are routinely victimized exhibit higher levels of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts than do non-victims. Such statistics highlight the importance of being able to identify at-risk kids and assess the effectiveness of interventions.

Efforts to stop school bullying have been gathering steam for several years. Those most likely to be effective, according to Tarshis, promote an attitude change from the principal to the recess monitors to the parents. They range from presentations to entire schools to discussions with individual students about how to respond when they are bullied or when they see someone bullying another student.

"Positive peer pressure is an important component of effective intervention," said Tarshis. "When uninvolved students step up and let the perpetrator know that their behavior is not acceptable, it's a powerful message."

Cell phone tunes could reflect one's personality

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 14:17:59 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, Dec 10 - Hello tunes - the myriad melodies you hear when you call someone on the mobile phone - could reflect the user's personality and also affect the mood of the listener, say psychologists.

'Bright and light tones may reflect a bright personality but it could also be associated with someone who is feeling low and wants to feel bright,' leading psychiatrist Sanjay Chugh told IANS.

'Sad tones suggest an underlying depression or low mood. Romantic tones have their own story to tell,' adds Chugh, who is the founder chairman of the International Institute of Mental Health here.

But a hello tune could also prove to be a complete contrast to the user's personality.

'When we choose something, our conscious and sub-conscious minds are involved. And unknowingly, our choice reflects our personality. In an effort to be what you feel like, the choice of the hello tune can depict the core of a person. But sometimes it can be completely contradictory to that as well,' says S.K. Sharma, another Delhi-based psychologist.

Hello tunes have now become an alternative for those who are shy to speak up or send a message. According to Chugh, the content and tone of the hello tune 'directly affects the mood of the listener'.

Says Amit Soni, a student: 'I set my hello tune according to my mental state. It has a direct effect on the caller. If I'm in love, I will set a romantic hello tune because I want my love interest to listen what I'm feeling. If I've just broken off, I'll put a sad song like 'Tadap Tadap Ke...'.'

But some believe that the user's surroundings and current trends also contribute to the selection of hello tunes.

'The hello tune also depends on the nature and surroundings of an individual. If someone is religious by nature, he will put a spiritual tune. And college-going people will prefer a trendy tune,' remarks Ajeet Singh, a media professional.

The surge in demand for hello tunes can also be attributed to the successful strategies of telecom companies.

'We launched this service in September 2004 and till April 2006, there have been 75 million downloads of all music forms - hello tunes, ring tones and music tracks,' says an informed source in Airtel, a leading telecom service provider in India.

'We have a database of 25,000 songs in 20 different languages, which we keep updating,' the source adds.

But the love for cinema and film songs is also a known driving force among the youngsters.

'There is a huge demand for Hindi and English songs but there is also considerable demand for regional music. Every time a new Bollywood flick releases, the demand for its songs as Hello tunes goes up,' the source says.

But Chugh notes that telecom service providers 'often thrust these tunes down the user's throat' but added that people could turn to these tunes in an 'effort to keep up with the vogue.'

Making the connection between a sound and a reward changes behavioral response

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 23:34:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) If youve ever wondered how you recognize your mothers voice without seeing her face or how you discern your cell phones ring in a crowded room, researchers may have another piece of the answer.

Their work indicates that once you figure out your mothers voice is a good thing most days - fairly significant changes occur in the sensory cortex, the part of the brain that responds to sound.

When something starts to predict a good outcome is going to happen, the sensory part of the brain that responds to those events starts to respond more strongly, making it easier for the brain to cause a behavioral response, says Dr. David T. Blake, neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia and lead author on a study in the Oct. 19 issue of Neuron.

By monitoring the action potentials of about a dozen key neurons in monkey test subjects, researchers found neuronal responsiveness increases dramatically after just a few training sessions.

These neuronal fireworks were short-lived, replaced by a rewiring of the brain that shows the animal has learned, Dr. Blake says.

In the few monkeys that initially didnt make the connection that a change in pitch in a series of sounds meant they were getting a juice reward, no brain changes occurred.

The same processes happen to people as we learn, especially in the area of sensory discrimination, Dr. Blake says. We learn how to tell peoples faces apart, we learn how to distinguish different words whether they are delivered orally or written. We can identify different speakers by the tenor and tone of their voice. All of these abilities are part of sensory discrimination, so we are studying how the brain changes as part of sensory discrimination learning.

The findings have wide implications for learning, including improving treatment for children with language learning impairments, such as dyslexia, and increasing literacy, Dr. Blake says. California-based Scientific Learning, a neuroscience company that grew out of the University of California, San Francisco, already is using advances in understanding behavioral learning to develop computer programs that dramatically improve the reading skills of dyslexic children. Another San Francisco-based neuroscience company, Posit Science, is exploring its potential in age-related cognitive decline, he says.

People have studied since the time of Pavlov how associating sensory stimuli with reward causes behavioral change, Dr. Blake says. What we have done is identify how that change occurs and over what time course it occurs in one part of these multiple brain systems that are linked together so that Pavlovs dog can start salivating after the bell rings.

More than 100 years ago, while studying the gastric system of dogs, the Russian physiologist found what he called a conditioned reflex: that after a period of ringing a metronome during feeding that the dogs began salivating just hearing the metronomes beat.

Dr. Blake is studying the neuronal responses of more humanlike monkeys with the idea of better understanding why.

Researchers were able to monitor neuronal response using technology Dr. Blake helped develop that is similar to deep brain stimulation used in patients but with much smaller electrodes.

In work published in 2002 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Blake first taught monkeys that when they leaned forward to break an infrared beam, a series of sounds would start. If they leaned back after a change in the sound series, they got an appetitive reward, he says. When they do this, the response of their neurons to those sounds doubles and triples in the first two days after they learn that very simple behavior. They learn that moving their head at that time will lead to reward.

The new study indicates that the monkeys just have to make the connection between the sound change and juice reward for brain changes to occur and that at least some of them dont have to move a muscle to make that happen.

This work suggests the learning does not have to be active for some animals, that they dont all have to cause the reward to make the brain changes, says Dr. Blake. They just have to learn that the stimulus predicts the reward.

Its an important computational point because there is a lot of interest right now in the brains ability to backtrack in time from rewards to find out the earliest thing that predicts that reward. When the monkey identifies the sound change as the cue its supposed to respond to get rewarded, learning and brain changes happen.

How behaviors can be changed or created

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 03:06:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) UC Riverside researchers have made a major leap forward in understanding how the brain programs innate behavior. The discovery could have future applications in engineering new behaviors in animals and intelligent robots.

Innate or "instinctive" behaviors are inborn and do not require learning or prior experience to be performed. Examples include courtship and sexual behaviors, escape and defensive maneuvers, and aggression.

Using the common fruit fly as a model organism, the researchers found through laboratory experiments that the innate behavior is initiated by a "command" hormone that orchestrates activities in discrete groups of peptide neurons in the brain. Peptide neurons are brain cells that release small proteins to communicate with other brain cells and the body.

The researchers report that the command hormone, called ecdysis-triggering hormone or ETH, activates discrete groups of brain peptide neurons in a stepwise manner, making the fruit fly perform a well-defined sequence of behaviors. The researchers propose that similar mechanisms could account for innate behaviors in other animals and even humans.

Study results appear as the cover article in this week's issue of Current Biology.

"To our knowledge, we are the first to describe how a circulating hormone turns on sequential steps of an innate behavior by inducing programmed release of brain chemicals," said Young-Joon Kim, a postgraduate researcher in UCR's Department of Entomology working with Michael Adams, professor of cell biology and neuroscience and professor of entomology, and the first author of the paper. "It is well known that such behaviors for example, sexual behavior or those related to aggression, escape or defense are programmed in the brain, and all are laid down in the genome. We found that not only do steps involved in innate behavior match exactly with discrete activities of the neurons in the brain but also that specific groups of peptide neurons are activated at very precise times, leading to each successive step of the behavioral sequence."

In their experiments, which involved state of the art imaging techniques that helped the researchers see activated neurons light up in the fruit fly brain, the researchers specifically focused on arthropods, such as insects. Insects pass through multiple developmental stages during their life history. Each transition requires molting, a process in which a new exoskeleton (or cuticle) is produced and the old is shed. Insects shed the old cuticle by performing an innate behavior consisting of three distinct steps lasting about 100 minutes in total.

First, the researchers described the ecdysis sequence, an innate behavior that insects perform to escape their old cuticle, and showed that the insect initiates behavior shortly after appearance of ETH in the blood. The researchers then demonstrated that injection of the hormone into an animal generates the same behavior. To investigate mechanisms underlying this hormone-induced behavior, they used real-time imaging techniques to reveal activities in discrete sets of peptide neurons at very precise times, which corresponded to each successive step of the behavioral sequence. The researchers confirmed the results by showing that behavioral steps disappear or are altered upon killing certain groups of brain neurons with genetic tools.

"Our results apply not only to insects; they also may provide insights into how, in general, the mammalian brain programs behavior, and how it and the body schedule events," said Adams, who led the research team. "By understanding how innate behavior is wired in the brain, it becomes possible to manipulate behavior change its order, delay it or even eliminate it altogether all of which opens up ethical questions as to whether scientists should, or would want to, engineer behavior in this way in the future."

The fruit fly is a powerful tool and a classic laboratory model for understanding human diseases and genetics because it shares many genes and biochemical pathways with humans.

How people behave differently when they are being watched

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 04:39:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Scientists have found a way of making people behave more honestly in an experiment that could aid strategies for tackling anti-social behaviour.

A team from Newcastle University found people put nearly three times as much money into an 'honesty box' when they were being watched by a pair of eyes on a poster, compared with a poster that featured an image of flowers.

The researchers say the eye pictures were probably influential because the brain naturally reacts to images of faces and eyes. It seems people were subconsciously cooperating with the honesty box when it featured pictures of eyes rather than flowers.

They also say the findings show how people behave differently when they believe they are being watched because they are worried what others will think of them. Being seen to co-operate is a good long-term strategy for individuals because it is likely to mean others will return the gesture when needed.

Details of the experiment, believed to be the first to test how cues of being watched affect people's tendency for social co-operation in a real-life setting, are published today, Wednesday June 28, in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

An honesty box is a system of payment which relies on people's honesty to pay a specified price for goods or services - there is no cashier to check whether they are doing so.

For this experiment, lead researcher Dr Melissa Bateson and her colleagues Drs Daniel Nettle and Gilbert Roberts, of the Evolution and Behaviour Research Group in the School of Biology and Psychology at Newcastle University, made use of a long-running 'honesty box' arrangement.

This had been operating as a way of paying for hot drinks in a common room used by around 48 staff for many years, so users had no reason to suspect an experiment was taking place.

An A5 poster was placed above the honesty box, listing prices of tea, coffee and milk. The poster also featured an image banner across the top, and this alternated each week between different pictures of flowers and images of eyes.

The eye pictures varied in the sex and head orientation but were all chosen so that the eyes were looking directly at the observer.

Each week the research team recorded the total amount of money collected and the volume of milk consumed as this was considered to be the best index available of total drink consumption.

The team then calculated the ratio of money collected to the volume of milk consumed in each week. On average, people paid 2.76 as much for their drinks on the weeks when the poster featured pictures of eyes.

Lead author of the study, Melissa Bateson, a Royal Society research fellow based at Newcastle University, said: "Our brains are programmed to respond to eyes and faces whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

"I was really surprised by how big the effect was as we were expecting it to be quite subtle but the statistics show that the eyes had a strong effect on our tea and coffee drinkers."

The findings could have applications in initiatives to curb anti-social behaviour or in law enforcement - perhaps in areas such as payment for public transport, road safety or the general issue of behaviour in public places.

The group now hopes to expand the study to involve a larger sample population.

Dr Bateson said: "Our findings suggest that people are less likely to be selfish if they feel they are being watched, which has huge implications for real life.

"For example, this could be applied to warnings about speed cameras. A sign bearing an image of a camera would have to be actively processed by our brains, as it is an artificial stimulus. Our research and previous studies suggest drivers would react much more quickly and positively to natural stimuli such as eyes and faces."

What do football and alcohol have to do with being a man?

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 17:01:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Men across the world will be getting the pints in and staring at the big screen this month as the World Cup kicks off in Germany. But what do football and alcohol have to do with being a man? A recent psychological study by the University of Sussex reveals that the roaring crowds may be drinking their way through the game in an effort to compensate for not being man enough to play in it.

The study, made up of in-depth interviews with thirty-one 18-21 year olds in inner London, investigates what young men consider to be masculine behaviour and how this affects their health. Dr Richard de Visser, lead researcher on the study Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) sponsored study 'Young Men, Masculinity and Health' explains: "What is really interesting about the study, is the idea of using one type of typically masculine behaviour to compensate for another. For example, men who are not confident in their sporting abilities may try and make up for this by drinking excessively."

Because some men engage in unhealthy masculine behaviour, whilst others build their masculine identities through positive behaviour such as sport, the policy implications are huge. The project calls for greater understanding of attitudes to masculinity in health promotion.

"It seems that many young men aspire to an idea of masculinity that includes emotional and physical toughness, being the bread-winner, confidence in risk-taking and sexual confidence. A variety of behaviours, some that have a positive impact on health, some that have a negative, are employed to develop and demonstrate such masculine identities" says Dr de Visser.

Young men's health is currently an area of serious concern, with adolescent and young adult men being more likely to drink excessively and use illegal drugs, to engage in risky casual sex and to be to be killed or injured in road traffic accidents. This research shows that understanding the desire to appear masculine may hold the potential to reduce such unhealthy behaviour

"If these findings are used effectively," says Dr de Visser, "they may be able to have an impact on the growing levels of anti-social behaviour such as binge-drinking, violence and illicit drug-use. Young men could be encouraged to develop a competence in a healthy typically male area such as football to resist social pressures to engage in unhealthy masculine behaviours."

Switch for brain's pleasure pathway found

Thu, 23 Mar 2006 18:04:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Amid reports that a drug used to treat Parkinson's disease has caused some patients to become addicted to gambling and sex, University of Pittsburgh researchers have published a study that sheds light on what may have gone wrong.

In the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Pitt professor of neuroscience, psychiatry, and psychology Anthony Grace and Pitt neuroscience research associate Daniel Lodge suggest a new mechanism for how the brain's reward system works.

The main actor in the reward system is a chemical called dopamine. When you smell, touch, hear, see, or taste a pleasurable stimulus, the dopamine neurons in your brain start firing in bursts. So-called "burst firing" is how the brain signals reward and modulates goal-directed behavior. But just how the stimulus you perceive causes neurons to switch into or out of this mode has been a mystery.

Using anesthetized rats, Lodge and Grace found that one area in the brain stem, known as the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus, is critical to normal dopamine function.

"We've found, for the first time, the brain area that acts as the gate, telling neurons either to go into this communication mode or to stop communicating," says Grace. "All the other parts of the brain that talk to the dopamine neurons can only do it when this area puts them into the communication mode."

As a result, disruption in that area may play a major role in dopamine-related brain function, both in normal behaviors and psychiatric disorders.

The brain area identified by the Pitt researchers is regulated by the "planning" part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex (PFC), thereby providing a powerful indirect means for the PFC to affect the activity of dopamine neurons. Such a link could explain how changes in the PFC, seen in disorders like schizophrenia and drug addiction, disrupt the signaling of dopamine neurons.

'Executive' monkeys influenced by other executives, not subordinates

Thu, 23 Mar 2006 17:47:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) When high-ranking monkeys are shown images of other monkeys glancing one way or the other, they more readily follow the gaze of other high-ranking monkeys, Duke University Medical Center neurobiologists have discovered. By contrast, they tend to ignore glance cues from low-status monkeys; while low-status monkeys assiduously follow the gaze of all other monkeys.

The discovery represents more than a confirmation of what most people believe about their bosses, said the researchers. The findings reveal that gaze-following is more than a reflex action; that it also involves lightning-fast social perception.

Such a discovery in monkeys gives the researchers an invaluable animal model that enables them to tease apart the reflexive-versus-social mechanisms that govern behavior, they said.

In particular, they can begin to understand the physiology and neural machinery of status, they said. Further animal studies will enable them to use drugs and genetic analysis to figure out what hormonal and/or genetic influences determine who becomes the monkey or human equivalent of Donald Trump, and who becomes a Woody Allen.

The researchers -- graduate student Stephen Shepherd, postdoctoral fellow Robert Deaner and Assistant Professor of Neurobiology Michael Platt -- published their findings in the Feb. 21, 2006, issue of Current Biology. The research was supported by the Cure Autism Now Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health.

"By and large, most studies of gaze-following in humans supported the idea that it was a reflexive attention mechanism," said Platt. "People in those studies would tend to shift their attention where they saw another person looking, even if it wasn't predictive of some event happening around them. And people didn't seem able to inhibit or control their reaction." However, he said, there were hints that gaze-following didn't have all the features of a purely reflexive action, but these were only hints.

Such hints -- as well as previous studies in the Platt laboratory -- led Shepherd and Platt to explore whether social stimuli might also play a role in such decisions. Those previous studies showed both that monkeys will follow the gaze of other monkeys and that they will forego a juice reward to look at high-status monkeys.

Said Shepherd, "It seemed reasonable to me that in the natural environment monkeys would preferentially follow some individuals' gaze and not others. High-status monkeys, for example, do more to determine where the group is going to go. So there's more information to be gleaned by finding out where high-status individuals are looking. Also, it's fairly important, if you're a low-ranking macaque, not to compete with a high-ranking individual, so you want to know where they're paying attention."

In the experiments, Shepherd showed macaque monkeys images of monkeys known to be of higher or lower status than themselves. The images depicted the monkeys looking left or right. Immediately after each image, a target was flashed onto the screen, randomly in the direction the monkey image was looking or in the opposite direction. The monkeys were given juice rewards for their participation in each trial.

After a large number of trials, the researchers statistically analyzed whether status played a role in the monkeys' tendency to follow the gaze on the screen. They found that the high-status monkeys were significantly more likely to follow the gaze of other high-status monkeys than low-status monkeys; while the low-status monkeys tended to follow the gaze of all the other monkeys.

However, noted, Shepherd and Platt, it was entirely possible that low-ranking monkeys might be too anxious at seeing images of high-ranking images, and would avoid eye contract altogether.

"But our results were pretty striking," said Shepherd. "Low-ranking macaques are extremely fast to follow gaze, while the high-ranking monkeys were pretty blasé about it, being slower to respond."

Said Platt, "So, now we have an excellent model of how temperament or status can modulate the strength of these two seemingly independent attention systems -- cognitive and reflexive -- in the brain. We can begin to trace the neural pathways by which social information feeds into the structures that control the eyes. And, we can explore whether such influences as hormonal levels, particularly testosterone, influence ranking. For example, we can manipulate testosterone levels, or give anxiety-reducing drugs, to determine an effect on social status, using gaze-following as a measure."

The neurobiologists' basic studies could also have application to understanding the origins of autism, said Platt. One theory, for example, holds that high levels of testosterone in utero cause "hypermasculinization" of the brain, which suppresses the reflexive ability to orient socially -- a characteristic of autism, he noted. Also, he said, such studies could aid understanding a wide range of disorders such as social anxiety.

More broadly, said Shepherd, such studies in monkeys will enable greater insight into the basic machinery of social interaction.

"Thanks to a combination of molecular and behavioral studies, we're starting to be able to investigate the neural machinery that allows humans to empathize, to form strong social bonds, to do things like share food and to cooperate," he said. "Besides suggesting ways of diagnosing or assisting people with autism and other disorders, such studies are also a means of understanding what enables us to be social."

Manipulating Cell Receptor Alters Animal Behavior

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 08:16:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of Pennsylvania were the first to demonstrate that two intracellular events, both stimulated by the same cell receptor, can provoke different behaviors in mammals.

The broad implication of the findings may alter the way behavioral neuroscientists think about sub-cellular underpinnings of mammalian behavior, according to the researchers.

Daniels says, "The research highlights the importance of intracellular events in the regulation of behavioral states and provides new information about the means through which a single hormone can influence multiple mammalian behaviors like learning and memory, eating, drinking, reproduction and social interaction."

The study examines intracellular signaling pathways stimulated by AT1, a receptor for angiotensin, a polypeptide hormone that regulates internal equilibrium among body fluids.

By using drugs to effect these neural signaling pathways in animal subjects, the team was able manipulate this equilibrium, a finding that Daniels says provides a better understanding of the regulation of blood pressure, and body fluid composition, and could lead to new strategies for treating cardiovascular diseases.

The study of intracellular events in the field of behavioral neuroscience has blossomed over the past 20 years as a result of increased NIH funding for neuroscience research and general strides in

molecular biology and technology that permit scientists to examine exactly how cells function at the molecular level.

Daniels explains that the kidneys and lungs produce enzymes that eventually provoke production of angiotensin. It previously was known that angiotensin has robust behavioral effects on animals, causing them to drink water and consume salt. It was also known that angiotensin acts on the surface of cells by binding to receptor molecules, which, in turn, activate proteins and small molecules inside the cells that form "signaling pathways" to cause further cellular changes.

"In our study," he says, "we wanted to examine the connection between these intracellular changes and behavior by looking at the function of two particular signaling pathways that are activated by the receptor for angiotensin."

"We gave the animals a drug that bound the AT1 receptor and activated one signaling pathway, which activates a protein inside the cell called MAP kinase, but didn't activate another pathway, which increases levels of something called IP3 inside the cell," Daniels says. "Surprisingly, the animals given this drug increased their salt intake without increasing their water intake.

"This supports our hypothesis that intracellular signaling pathways stimulated by the activation of angiotensin receptors can be separated based on behavioral relevance," he says, "something that had not been shown before."

"Understanding how signaling pathways work to regulate the ingestion of water and salt may shed light on how similar events affect other behaviors, including learning and memory, feeding, reproduction and social interactions.

Daniels says the regulation of behavioral states by angiotensin "is a well-studied problem that has provided a wealth of information about the interface between peripheral hormones and central control of behavior.

"A good deal of attention had been paid to the intracellular signaling pathways under the control of the receptors for angiotensin," he says, "but our research makes strides toward understanding how these processes mechanistically affect behavior."

Daniels's research in behavioral neuroscience focuses on the genomic and neural substrates of ingestive behaviors critical for the maintenance of body-fluid, cardiovascular and energy homeostasis. Specific areas of interest include the neural circuits that contribute to these behaviors and the intracellular events that occur at various nodes within the circuits pathways.

Morphine addiction and the tendency to explore linked

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 01:13:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A team of researchers from the UAB has found experimental evidence in rats showing a link between addiction to morphine and the tendency to explore perseveringly. This is the first time a direct relationship has been found without other psychological characteristics, such as anxiousness, that might affect results. Published in Behavioural Brain Research, the results of this study are useful for planning preventative strategies in the risk population.

The tendency to use drugs depends on each individual person. Not all those who have access to drugs become addicts, therefore there may be personality characteristics that influence their use. One such characteristic is the pursuit of new sensations found in people that like looking for risk at all times. Although some studies have already suggested a link between these people and a higher probability of becoming drug addicts, shopaholics or gambling addicts, until now no study has objectively found a direct relationship without the influence of other psychological factors, such as anxiousness.

A team of researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience, the Department of Psychobiology and Health Sciences Methodology and the Department of Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology, directed by Roser Nadal and Antonio Armario, has shown scientifically through experiments with rats that addiction to morphine is related to a tendency to explore perseveringly and to search for new sensations. Using mazes and cages, the scientists observed in their experiments that the animals with a greater tendency to explore are more inclined towards an addiction to morphine.

The researchers had classified the rodents according to whether they had a tendency to explore repeatedly a new situation (persevering explorers) or they became disinterested in the new situation within a short amount of time. This was done by placing them in a circular corridor they had never seen before and observing their behaviour. Only the persevering animals that persistently explored their new environment had a preference for being administered morphine. It was also observed that other personality characteristics in the rats, such as anxiousness or fear, are unrelated to morphine addiction. This is the first time a relationship has been observed between addiction and a tendency to explore without other characteristics appearing that could also increase the likelihood of an addiction.

Experimental research into addictions often uses rodents, rats and mice. According to Roser Nadal, "the animal model used is extremely reliable, giving us thorough, methodical results that can to a certain extent be applied to humans without the need to experiment directly upon them".

This research, published in Behavioural Brain Research, may help to focus preventative strategies against addiction towards those most at risk, according to their personality. "The results could be particularly useful in prevention campaigns for children, who are going through the period with the highest risk," explains Doctor Nadal.

To determine a rat's level of addiction to morphine, the researchers used the place-conditioning technique. In these tests, a special cage is used that has two very different compartments, with a distinct colour, feel and smell. The animal is placed in a compartment after being injected with the drug and is left to experiment the effects of the drug and associates them with the specific characteristics of the the compartment of the cage. On a different day, the animal is injected only with a placebo (the liquid that was used to dissolve the drug, eg, water and salt) and is placed in the other compartment of the cage. When this has been done several times over the period of a few days, the rat is left free and we observe which of the two compartments it prefers. The more the animal likes morphine, the more time it will spend in the compartment that it associated with the effects of this drug, and this gives us an indication of the rat's addiction to the drug.

New study shows how self-prophecies may help

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 18:51:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) By now, most of us have probably forgotten about our New Year's resolutions. But there's still hope: New research from the March 2006 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research shows that when people predict that they will do a socially good deed (such as recycling), the chances of them actually doing the good deed increases.

"A clear benefit of the self-prophecy technique is its simplicity: a question followed by a simple "yes" or "no" elicits behavioral change," explain Eric R. Spangenberg and David E. Sprott (Washington State University). For some of us, their results may also provide insight as to why we seem to have more trouble than others sticking to resolutions.

According to Spangenberg and Sprott, the "self-prophecy effect" affects some people more than others. The researchers categorized people according to level of self-monitoring, or how much they notice their own behavior being affected by the situations they are in. Low self-monitors pay more attention to their own dispositional qualities (such as being a responsible person) than to the circumstances of situation, and have been consistently shown to respond to appeals to values. High self-monitors are more aware of the situational factors and are more influenced by appeals to status.

After grouping subjects as low or high self-monitors, the researchers examined the effects of self-prediction on the subjects' willingness to either commit to a health-and-fitness assessment or donate time to the American Cancer Society. Confirming the authors' predictions, the results from two experiments showed, "â¦stronger self-prophecy effects for low (compared to high) self-monitors."

The authors believe that the threat to one's own self-conception is crucial to the self-prophecy effect: "A self-prediction needs to confront the self-concept of the person making the prediction, as it does with low self-monitors," explain Spangenberg and Sprott.

Loneliness might be Explained by Genes

Fri, 11 Nov 2005 19:29:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Heredity helps determine why some adults are persistently lonely, research co-authored by psychologists at the University of Chicago shows.

Working with colleagues in The Netherlands, the scholars found about 50 percent of identical twins and 25 percent of fraternal twins shared similar characteristics of loneliness. Research on twins is a powerful method to study the impact of heredity because twins raised together share many of the same environmental influences as well as similar genes, thus making it easier to determine the role of genetics in development.

"An interesting implication of this research is that feelings of loneliness may reflect an innate emotional response to stimulus conditions over which an individual may have little or no control," the research team writes in the article, "Genetic and Environmental Contributors to Loneliness in Adults: The Netherlands Twin Register Study" published in the current issue of the journal Behavior Genetics. Psychologists had previously thought loneliness was primarily caused by shyness, poor social skills, or inability to form strong attachments with other people.

Scholars are becoming increasingly interested in the role loneliness plays in health. Other work by John Cacioppo, the Tiffany & Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology at the University of Chicago and a member of the research team, shows that loneliness is a risk factor for heart disease. Loneliness is also at the base of a number of emotional conditions, such as self-esteem, mood, anxiety, anger and sociability.

A caring environment can help lonely people overcome their feelings, but the research also shows that in some cases, the impact of heredity is stronger, said Cacioppo, who was joined in the study by Louise Hawkley, a Senior Research Scientist in Psychology at the University.

The lead author of the article was Dorret Boomsma, a Professor of Biolgoical Psychology at the Free University in Amsterdam. Boomsma is one of the world's most prominent researchers on twins and heredity. Other researchers with the project are Gonneke Willemsen of the Free University and Conor Dolan of the University of Amsterdam.

The study was based on data from 8,387 twins in The Netherlands, who have been surveyed regularly since 1991. Smaller, earlier studies done with children suggested that the tendency toward loneliness could be inherited. The Dutch-U.S. study is the first to be done on adults and shows that heredity persists in playing a role in loneliness as people age.

As part of the study, the twins were asked to rate to what extent certain descriptions applied to them, such as "Others don't like me," "I lose friends very quickly," "I feel lonely," and "Nobody loves me."

People noted a wide variety of responses to the descriptions, with 35 percent of the men and 50 percent of the women reporting moderate to extreme feelings of loneliness.

The researchers write that loneliness may have developed early in human evolution as a response by hunter-gathers facing conditions of undernourishment who may have decided not to share their food with their families. By surviving a famine, those early ancestors would be able to propagate during periods of plenty, the researchers theorized. In developing loneliness as an adaptation to survival, these early humans also developed dispositions toward anxiety, hostility, negativity and social avoidance, they said.

The research was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and the U.S. National Institute of Aging.

"The genetics of social behavior is an intriguing and expanding area of research," says Jeffrey W. Elias, cognitive aging specialist at the National Institute on Aging (NIA). "This study suggests there may be a genetic component to loneliness, such that people with a predisposition to loneliness may process social interaction and information differently. This is important to know as we investigate the effects of behavior and emotion on health and longevity."

Mixed results from abstinence-only intervention

Sun, 04 Sep 2005 08:28:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Abstinence-only education can influence teen sexual behavior and beliefs, according to a Case Western Reserve School of Medicine study published in the American Journal of Health Behavior.

The study examined the effectiveness of For Keeps, an abstinence-until-marriage sex education program that has been presented to more than 25,000 students at public and private schools in the Greater Cleveland area.

The goal of the curriculum, developed by Operation Keepsake is to increase abstinence beliefs and intention, increase efficacy in situational resistance, reduce early sexual experimentation and encourage renewed abstinence among teens already sexually active. The study involved 2,069 middle school students questioned about their sexual knowledge and practices before and five months after receiving the For Keeps curriculum. Students were enrolled in classrooms that were assigned to be intervention or controls (receiving the curriculum after the evaluation was completed.

Researchers led by Elaine A. Borawski, Ph.D., in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, found that after going through the program, teens reported significant increases in their HIV/STD knowledge, their personal beliefs about the importance of abstinence and their intentions to remain abstinent in the near future.

But the program did not affect students' confidence to avoid risky sexual situations, and sexually inexperienced and female students actually reported a decrease in their intent to use condoms in the future. However, no changes in condom use intentions were observed among sexually active or male students. The study also found that the program did not significantly reduce the likelihood that teens would engage in sexual intercourse or to use a condom consistently

A surprising finding revealed that while sexually active students exposed to the intervention were not more likely to abstain from sex, they did report fewer casual sex encounters and fewer sexual partners than their peers who did not receive the program.

"This community-based evaluation reveals that abstinence-only intervention can influence knowledge, beliefs and intentions, and among sexually experienced students, may reduce the prevalence of casual sex," Borawski said, adding that the intent of teens to reduce their condom use merits further study to determine long-term implications.

Psychological and behavioural reactions to the bombings in London on 7 July 2005

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 19:00:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Almost two weeks after the London terrorist attacks, the majority of Londoners reported that they were coping well with their emotional responses, finds a study published online by the BMJ.

Emotional reactions to terrorist incidents vary. High levels of stress were reported after the attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001, and after the 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City.

To assess the psychological effects of the attacks in London on 7 July 2005, researchers surveyed a representative sample of 1,010 Londoners. The interviews asked about current levels of stress and travel intentions, and took place from Monday 18 to Wednesday 20 July, before a second failed attack on Londons transport network on Thursday 21 July.

Thirty one percent of participants reported substantial stress, and 32% reported that they would now reduce the amount they used the tube, trains, buses, or go into central London.

Among other things, having difficulty contacting others by mobile phone, and believing you or a close friend or relative might have been injured or killed, were associated with higher levels of stress.

Muslims reported significantly more stress than people of other faiths, whereas being white and having previous experience of terrorism (e.g. experience of IRA terrorism in London) was associated with reduced stress.

Only 12 participants (1%) felt that they needed professional help to deal with their emotions, whereas 71% had spoken to friends or relatives about the attacks. This suggests that most people are able to turn to lay support networks after traumatic events, say the authors.

Despite some study limitations, these results are reassuring, write the authors. Although the psychological needs of those intimately caught up in the attacks will require further assessment, we found no evidence of a widespread desire for professional counselling.