Establishing new breeds of (sex) offenders: science or political control?

Abstract

The British Government has recently announced their intention to criminalise the possession of “serious” sexually violent adult material and visits to web-sites depicting such scenes (despite their consensual and fantasy nature). Whilst clearly the prevention, banning and sanctioning of non-consenting sexual activities is essential, one wonders about the degree to which this proposed legislation is based on scientific findings, how far it will go, and whether this may become an oppressive approach to managing people's sexual fantasies that will do more harm than good.     

The concept of anger: universal or culture specific?

I will suggest that the English word 'anger' and its counterparts in diverse languages of the world are based on concepts of anger that have a great deal of complexity. This conceptual complexity derives from several sources: (1) the metaphors and metonymies that apply to the concepts in various languages; (2) the prototypes of anger that people share in these cultures, and (3) the many different senses that the word anger and its counterparts have in different languages. We can ask: Are there any universal aspects of the concept(s) of anger? On the basis of linguistic evidence from English, Chinese, Japanese, Hungarian, Zulu and Wolof, I will suggest that there are, but I will also claim that some of the aspects are culture specific. This raises the further important question of why there is both universality and culture specificity in the conceptualization of this emotion. At stake is the issue of which of the following two contradictory claims is valid: (1) that anger is conceptualized in the same way universally, or (2) that anger is a social construction and thus varies considerably from culture to culture. I will propose a compromise view, which can be called 'body-based social constructionism', that enables us to see anger and its counterparts as both universal and culture specific.     

Prevalence of anger attacks in depressive and anxiety disorders: Implications for their construct?

Aims: The present study explores anger attacks in depressive and anxiety disorders for their prevalence and some of the clinical and psychosocial correlates. Methods: The sample comprised of patients with ICD‐10‐diagnosed depressive and anxiety disorders (n = 328). All the subjects were given a demographic and clinical profile sheet, the Irritability Depression Anxiety Scale, World Health Organization Quality of Life – BREF Version and the Anger Attack Questionnaire. Using the Anger Attack Questionnaire they were divided into two groups – with anger attacks (n = 170) and without anger attacks (n = 158) – in order to study the differential profile of the two groups. Results: Anger attacks were associated with more anxiety and irritability, and poorer quality of life. Frequency of anger attacks had a positive correlation with depression, irritability and aggression, and a negative correlation with education, income, and quality of life. Panic attacks, somatic anxiety and psychological domain of quality of life predicted the categorization of subjects into those with and without anger attacks. Conclusion: Anger attacks are common among depressive and anxiety disorder cases and have a negative impact on quality of life. Status of anger attacks as either linked to anxiety and/or depression, or as an independent syndrome needs further study.     

Trait anger, cynical hostility and inflammation in Latinas: variations by anger type?

Anger and hostility are psychological factors that appear to play a salient role in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk; however, their association with risk within the Latino population remains relatively unexplored. The current study examined associations between overall trait anger, anger subdimensions (i.e., anger temperament and anger reaction) and cynical hostility with sICAM-1, a marker of cellular adhesion and systemic inflammation related to CVD risk, in a sample of 294 middleaged Mexican-American women. Results showed no association between trait anger or anger temperament and sICAM-1. Anger reaction was marginally associated with sICAM-1 (β = 4.77, p = .06). Cynical hostility was significantly associated with sICAM-1 (β = 5.89, p = .04) even after controlling for demographic, biological and behavioral covariates. The current study provides evidence that specific aspects of anger and hostility relate to physiological pathways that potentially influence CVD risk. Findings are discussed in light of contextual cultural factors.     

Gross motor ability in Rett syndrome – the power of expectation,motivation and planning

A main task for the physiotherapist at the Swedish Rett Center is to document and report successful treatment. This report shows the possibility to regain function, get variation and avoid contractures for several years. A thorough neurologic, orthopaedic and physiotherapeutic assessment and analysis is essential. We stress the importance of keeping the feet in good position, using surgery and well fitting orthoses when needed, making standing possible and for some persons, walking. For the effect of treatment the following factors were of vital importance: the expectations of the persons treating the girl/woman – what they believed she could do, the motivation of the girl/woman herself, a joint plan for intervention including everyone involved, and well educated personnel, well informed about Rett syndrome – its problems and possibilities.     

The vowel lengthening exaggeration effect in speakers with apraxia of speech: Compensation,artifact, or primary deficit?

Abstract

Vowel duration functions contrastively in English to signal the voicing feature of syllable-final stop consonants. This study examines three hypotheses posited to explain why speakers with apraxia of speech and a concomitant aphasia exhibit an exaggerated vowel lengthening effect relative to speakers with dysarthria, aphasia without apraxia and controls. The investigation addresses the hypotheses that the vowel lengthening exaggeration effect is attributable to: (1) a compensatory strategy, (2) an artifact of slow speaking rate, (3) the concomitant language impairment, or (4) a primary deficit reflecting the underlying nature of the apraxia disorder. The results do not support the first three of these hypotheses. It is hypothesized that the temporal measures most likely to reveal abnormalities which are uniquely characteristic of speakers with apraxia of speech are those which are relational in nature, either with respect to inter-articulator timing or contrastive durations.     

The role of the estrogen receptor α in the medial preoptic area in sexual incentive motivation, proceptivity and receptivity, anxiety, and wheel running in female rats

Ovariectomized females were given an infusion in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) of a viral vector carrying either a shRNA directed against the estrogen receptor α (ERα) or luciferase. The females were subjected to a test for sexual incentive motivation immediately followed by a test for receptivity and proceptive behaviors. Two weeks later they were tested in the light/dark choice procedure, and after another 2 weeks they were subjected to a test in a brightly lit open field. Finally, the females were given free access to a running wheel for 88h. The females were treated with estradiol benzoate (EB), 18 or 1.5μg/kg, in randomized order 52h before each test except the running wheel. In that experiment, they were given EB 48h after introduction into the wheel cage. They were given progesterone, 1mg/rat, about 4h before all tests, except the running wheel. The shRNA reduced the number of ERα with 83%. Females with few ERα in the MPOA showed increased lordosis quotient after the 1.5μg/kg dose of EB. There was no effect on proceptive behaviors or on rejections. When given the 18μg/kg EB dose, there was no difference between females with few preoptic ERα and controls. In the test for sexual incentive motivation, females with few preoptic ERα approached the castrated male incentive more than controls, regardless of EB dose. They also moved a shorter distance. In the light/dark choice test as well as in the open field, females with few ERα in the MPOA showed signs of reduced fear/anxiety, since they spent more time in the light part of the dark/light box and in the center of the open field. Finally, the data from the running wheel showed that females with few preoptic ERα failed to show enhanced activity after treatment with EB. These data show that the preoptic ERα inhibits lordosis in females with an intermediate level of receptivity while it fails to do so in fully receptive females. The ERα in the MPOA seems to be necessary for selective approach to a sexual incentive. Finally, activation of this receptor appears to have anxiogenic effects in the procedures employed here. A hypothesis for how all these actions of the preoptic ERα contributes to efficient reproductive behavior is outlined.     

Suicide,homicide and crime in Ireland: What are the relationships?

Abstract

The relationship between suicide and homicide has long been of interest. It has often been written that the two are inversely related though more recent reports, especially from North America, suggest that the two vary in parallel. In 1970, Kendell hypothesised that suicide and homicide should be inversely related. This study tested this prediction in an Irish context by examining the suicide and homicide rates of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland for the yean 1950-1990. The results suggest that, in general, suicide and homicide are positively related and that the inverse relationship hypothesis is limited to periods when a society is in a war-like situation. There is a positive relationship between suicide and indictable crime in both countries, more so in the Republic of Ireland. In light of these findings a new hypothesis is proposed that, in general society, suicide, homicide and indictable crime are positively related and reflect the level of disorder in society.     

The pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis: is it really a primary inflammatory process?

The pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) remains unknown. Although inflammation, demyelination and axonal injury are all involved, the primary pathogenic process is not clear. In this paper we challenge the hypothesis that MS is a primary inflammatory condition, and suggest that axonal damage may occur independently.     

The role of the hippocampus in long-term memory: is it memory store or comparator?

Several attempts have been made to reconcile a number of rival theories on the role of the hippocampus in long-term memory. Those attempts fail to explain the basic effects of the theories from the same point of view. We are reviewing the four major theories, and shall demonstrate, with the use of mathematical models of attention and memory, that only one theory is capable of reconciling all of them by explaining the basic effects of each theory in a unified fashion, without altogether sacrificing their individual contributions. The key issue here is whether or not a memory trace is ever stored in the hippocampus itself, and there is no reconciliation unless the answer to that question is that there is not. As a result of the reconciliation that we are proposing, there is a simple solution to several outstanding problems concerning the neurobiology of memory such as: consolidation and reconsolidation, persistency of long term memory, novelty detection, habituation, long-term potentiation, and the multifrequency oscillatory self-organization of the brain.     

Screening for depression in primary care: Will one or two items suffice?

Abstract. Small differences in implementation of screening and the associated burden on clinicians and patients could have substantial effects on the sustainability of screening in routine primary care. Therefore, we investigated the psychometric properties of single items and two–item combinations of the WHO-5 Well Being Index (WHO-5) and compared the obtained characteristics to those of the original version as well as to another proposed two–item screener (developed from PRIME–MD and BPHQ, respectively).Screening and diagnostic interview data from 431 primary care patients were analysed. Main outcome measures were sensitivity, specificity and AUC values. All test characteristics were assessed using the diagnoses derived from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) as the criterion standard.Single–item screening questions proved rather inadequate. However, only marginal differences in performance were found between two questions and the longer screening instrument with respect to major depression, dysthymia and any depressive disorder. There were no statistically significant differences between these AUC values and most other test characteristics assessed.The results suggest that screening could be reduced to two questions with a potential advantage in terms of ease of administration and scoring and decreased staff and patient burden and perhaps a reduced stigma associated with a positive screening score.