Behavioral economic analysis of cue‐elicited craving for alcohol

Aims Craving as a motivational determinant of drug use remains controversial because of ambiguous empirical findings. A behavioral economic approach may clarify the nature of craving, theorizing that subjective craving functionally reflects an acute increase in a drug's value. The current study tested this hypothesis via a multidimensional assessment of alcohol demand over the course of an alcohol cue reactivity procedure. Design One‐way within‐subjects design. Setting Human laboratory environment. Participants Heavy drinkers (n = 92) underwent exposures to neutral (water) cues followed by personalized alcohol cues. Assessments Participants were assessed for craving, alcohol demand, affect, and salivation following each exposure. Findings Alcohol versus neutral cues significantly increased craving and multiple behavioral economic measures of the relative value of alcohol, including alcohol consumption under conditions of zero cost (intensity), maximum expenditure on alcohol (O_max), persistence in drinking to higher prices (breakpoint) and proportionate price insensitivity (normalized P_max). Craving was significantly correlated with demand measures at levels ranging from 0.21–0.43. Conclusions These findings support the potential utility of a behavioral economic approach to understanding the role of environmental stimuli in alcohol‐related decision making. Specifically, they suggest that the behavioral economic indices of demand may provide complementary motivational information that is related to though not entirely redundant with measures of subjective craving.     

Guideliner® catheter—Friend or foe?

Performing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in arteries with complex anatomy remains a clinical problem. In particular tortuosity within a coronary vessel is frequently encountered and can hamper delivery of balloons or stents to coronary stenoses. This has led to the development of a number of adjuvant devices to assist stent delivery in difficult cases. The safety profile of these novel devices remains to be clearly ascertained. The Guideliner® “child” support catheter is one such device and comprises of a 20‐cm silicon‐coated guide extension that assists delivery of stents in tortuous arteries when conventional techniques have failed. Initial reports suggest it is efficacious and no previous complications relating to the device have been published. We report the first complication involving the Guideliner® catheter which was encountered during primary PCI. We hypothesize regarding the mechanism of the complication and discuss the ways it may be avoided in the future. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

‘Abazali abazamayo’ (parents who keep on trying): mothers' responses to the Ububele Mother-Baby Home Visiting Programme

Early parent–infant home visiting interventions have been found to be effective in both developed and developing countries. However, there is a need to build an evidence base for these interventions in the South African context, to inform local early childhood development policy. The Ububele Mother-Baby Home Visiting Programme in Alexandra, Johannesburg, combines a psychoanalytic approach to thinking about parent–infant relationships and local infant care knowledge. Trained, local women offer a 14-visit intervention, which aims to support mothers, increase knowledge about the relational needs of infants, and increase maternal reflective function capacities. A mixed-methods approach was used to evaluate preliminary findings regarding mothers' responses to the programme and found significant increases in the mothers’ levels of perceived support, in levels of knowledge regarding the relational needs of infants and in maternal reflective function capacities. The supportive relationship between home visitors and mothers was highlighted as key to programme success.     

Mediators of the Disparities in Depression Between Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Individuals: A Systematic Review

Archives of Sexual Behavior - Evidence suggests that sexual minorities (e.g., those identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual) experience increased rates of depression compared to heterosexual...     

Alien abduction experiences: Some clues from neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry

Introduction. Many thousands of people around the world firmly believe that they have been abducted by alien beings and taken on board spaceships where they have been subjected to painful medical examination. Method. Given that such accounts are almost certainly untrue, four areas of neuroscience are considered with respect to possible clues that may lead towards a fuller understanding of the alien abduction experience. Results. First, it is argued that sleep paralysis may be implicated in many such claims. Second, research into false memories is considered. It is argued that abductees may be more prone to false memories than the general population. Third, evidence is considered relating to the mental health of abductees. It is concluded that there is currently no convincing evidence for higher rates of serious psychopathology amongst abductees compared to the general population. However, abductees do seem to show higher levels on some potentially relevant measures (e.g., tendency to dissociate). Finally, claims that alien abduction experiences may be linked to abnormal activity in the temporal lobes is considered. Conclusion. Although the neurosciences provide many clues to the nature of this bizarre experience, further research is required before a full understanding will be attained.     

Dr. Sam

Estimates of the number and the cytologic eel! types transferred from the lungs to the oropharynx of rats are derived within a factor of 2 by the combined use of an esophageal sputum-collection procedure and mucolytic digestion technique which utilizes N-acety-L-cysteine (NAC). The hourly clearance of pulmonary phagocytes to the oropharynx was estimated to range between 1.24 × 10⁶; Geometric Standard Deviation (GSD) 1.3 and 2.47 × 10⁶; GSD 1.3.