Dynamic limbic networks and social diversity in vertebrates: From neural context to neuromodulatory patterning

Vertebrate animals exhibit a spectacular diversity of social behaviors, yet a variety of basic social behavior processes are essential to all species. These include social signaling; discrimination of conspecifics and sexual partners; appetitive and consummatory sexual behaviors; aggression and dominance behaviors; and parental behaviors (the latter with rare exceptions). These behaviors are of fundamental importance and are regulated by an evolutionarily conserved, core social behavior network (SBN) of the limbic forebrain and midbrain. The SBN encodes social information in a highly dynamic, distributed manner, such that behavior is most strongly linked to the pattern of neural activity across the SBN, not the activity of single loci. Thus, shifts in the relative weighting of activity across SBN nodes can conceivably produce almost limitless variation in behavior, including diversity across species (as weighting is modified through evolution), across behavioral contexts (as weights change temporally) and across behavioral phenotypes (as weighting is specified through heritable and developmental processes). Individual neural loci may also express diverse relationships to behavior, depending upon temporal variations in their functional connectivity to other brain regions (“neural context”). We here review the basic properties of the SBN and show how behavioral variation relates to functional connectivity of the network, and discuss ways in which neuroendocrine factors adjust network activity to produce behavioral diversity. In addition to the actions of steroid hormones on SBN state, we examine the temporally plastic and evolutionarily labile properties of the nonapeptides (the vasopressin- and oxytocin-like neuropeptides), and show how variations in nonapeptide signaling within the SBN serve to promote behavioral diversity across social contexts, seasons, phenotypes and species. Although this diversity is daunting in its complexity, the search for common “organizing principles” has become increasingly fruitful. We focus on multiple aspects of behavior, including sexual behavior, aggression and affiliation, and in each of these areas, we show how broadly relevant insights have been obtained through the examination of behavioral diversity in a wide range of vertebrate taxa.     

A schizophreniform behavioral psychosis mediated by dopamine.

The authors conducted a study in which schizophrenic-like behavioral disturbances were induced in members of a macaque social colony by the chronic administration of d-amphetamine. Animals given the drug showed hypervigilance, hyperactivity, fragmented and repetitive behaviors, and progressive social withdrawal as well as the development of solitary stereotypies. The syndrome was dissected pharmacologically with alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine, chlorpromazine, pimozide, and haloperidol. Based on the behavioral findings and the known mechanisms of action of these drugs, the authors conclude that the major elements of the psychotic-like behavior induced by d-amphetamine were mediated by dopamine systems.     

Psychotic-like experiences and interpersonal violence in the general population

BACKGROUND: Research on the association of psychopathology and violence has mainly focused on severe but rare mental disorders, especially psychotic disorders. However, evidence is growing that psychotic disorders are continuous with common psychotic-like experiences in the general population. This study aimed to examine the association of psychotic-like experiences with violence in a general population sample. METHODS: In 38,132 adult participants of the 2001 US National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, the association of psychotic-like experiences with violent behavior were examined. RESULTS: Psychotic-like experiences were reported by 5.1% (N = 2,584) of adults in the community. These experiences were associated with increased risk of attacking someone with the intent of hurting that person (Odds Ratio [OR] = 5.72), intimate partner violence (OR = 4.97), arrests for aggravated assault (OR = 5.12), and arrests for other assault (OR = 3.65). The risk of violence increased with the number of psychotic-like experiences. Unusual perceptual experiences and paranoid ideations were more consistently associated with violence. CONCLUSIONS: The link between psychopathology and interpersonal violence appears to expand beyond the limits of severe mental disorders and to include more common psychotic-like experiences in the general population.     

The "double life" of bulimia: patients' experiences in daily life interactions

This qualitative study, using interviews with 38 subjects, explored how and why they conceal bulimic symptoms and the understanding of concealing in terms of social interaction. A “double life” was described as a dichotomy between being active and outgoing versus performing shameful bulimic behaviors and constantly living with fear of stigmatization, and striving against exposure. Concealing was well planned to avoid such fear, and to preserve dignity. Bulimia may be understood as volitional exertion of interaction control, not just as a result of poor impulse regulation. Understanding the meaning of secrecy and “double life” may facilitate help seeking behavior and guide treatment.     

Treatment of unobserved trichotillomania by attention-reflection and punishment of an apparent covariant

Frequent but primarily unobserved hairpulling, by a 3-yr-old girl was followed by a differential reinforcement procedure, attention-reflection, and punishment of thumbsucking, a possibly covarying behavior. Initially, attention-reflection reduced the hairpulling, but not to a clinically significant level. Dramatic decreases in hairpulling were achieved when thumbsucking was punished by application of a “bad tasting” substance. A brief reversal supports the contention that the two behaviors were correlated and suggests that behaviors may be controlled by targeting observable covariants.     

Reduction of a “nervous habit” in a profoundly retarded youth by increasing toy play

Mild self-injurious behavior in the form of finger picking and nail biting was initially viewed as a “nervous habit” requiring medical treatment, but observation indicated that this approach was unproductive. Relatively little investment of staff time and minor environmental alterations resulted in dramatic increases in reinforced independent toy play and concomitant decreases in target behaviors. However, the strategy resulted in no measurable effect on other topographies of stereotypy.     

Adolescent Self-control Predicts Midlife Hallucinatory Experiences: 40-Year Follow-up of a National Birth Cohort

Background: Associations between self-control in adolescence and adult mental health are unclear in the general population; to our knowledge, no study has investigated self-control in relation to psychotic-like symptoms. Aims: To investigate the relationship between adolescent self-control and the midlife mental health outcomes of anxiety and depression symptoms and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), controlling for the effect of adolescent conduct and emotional problems and for parental occupational social class and childhood cognition. Methods: A population-based sample, the MRC National Survey of Health and Development (the British 1946 birth cohort) was contacted 23 times between ages 6 weeks and 53 years. Teachers completed rating scales to assess emotional adjustment and behaviors, from which factors measuring self-control, behavioral, and emotional problems were extracted. At age 53 years, PLEs were self-reported by 2918 participants using 4 items from the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire; symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed using the scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Results: After adjustment for the above covariates, poor adolescent self-control was associated with the presence of PLEs in adulthood, specifically hallucinatory experiences at age 53 years, even after adjustment for GHQ-28 scores. Conclusions: Lower self-control in adolescence is a risk factor for hallucinatory experiences in adulthood.Key words: self-control, adolescent, psychotic-like experiences, longitudinal, conduct problems     

Parental attachment systems: neural circuits, genes, and experiential contributions to parental engagement

Parental caregiving includes a set of highly conserved set of behaviors and mental states that may reflect both an individual's genetic endowment and the early experience of being cared for as a child. We consider the mental and behavioral elements of early parental caregiving in humans and what is known of the neurobiological substrates of maternal behaviors in mammalian species including some limited human data. Also reviewed briefly is the evidence that specific genes encode proteins that are crucial for the development of the neural substrates that underlie specific features of maternal behavior. Finally, we review the literature on the “programming” role of epigenetic factors in shaping subsequent maternal behavior. Drawing also from recent neuroimaging data, we conclude that there are critical developmental windows during which the genetically determined microcircuitry of key limbic-hypothalamic-midbrain structures are susceptible to early environmental influences and that these influences powerfully shape an individuals responsivity to psychosocial stressors and their resiliency or vulnerability to various forms of human psychopathology later in life.     

The response of psychotic-like symptoms to fluoxetine monotherapy in non-psychotic major depressive disorder

Objective: To determine the prevalence of psychotic-like symptoms in non-psychotic major depressive disorder and to monitor the response of these symptoms to monotherapy with fluoxetine. Methods: We reviewed the charts of 384 subjects (54.7% women; mean age 39.9±10), all outpatients diagnosed with non-psychotic major depressive disorder by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID), aged 18–65 years, with an initial 17-item Hamilton Depression (HAM-D-17) score of 16 or greater. Subjects were treated openly with fluoxetine 20 mg/day for 8 weeks. Subjects were administered the SCID-II (Structured Clinical Diagnostic Interview for Personality Disorder) prior to entering acute treatment and at the completion of the acute phase of treatment. We monitored the course of psychotic-like symptoms following this course of therapy. Results: 187 subjects endorsed at least one psychotic-like symptom, including not trusting close acquaintances (item 51), picking up hidden meanings (item 52), believing that others were talking about them (item 57), magical thinking (item 60) or unusual perceptual experiences (item 62). None of these patients met criteria for delusional depression as defined by the SCID. Overall response rates were 36.4% for patients who endorsed psychotic-like symptoms, and 53.3% for those who did not endorse psychotic-like symptoms (chi-squared = 11.1, P=0.001). The decrease in psychotic-like symptoms during the course of fluoxetine monotherapy was significant (P<0.05) in both responders and non-responders to treatment. Conclusion: A significant percentage of patients with non-psychotic major depression endorse subtle psychotic-like symptoms, many of which abate during monotherapy with fluoxetine regardless of response of the depressive symptoms.     

Bird orientation and the geomagnetic field: A review

The possibility that birds use the geomagnetic field to guide their orientation has been repeatedly suggested over the last century. Early attempts to experimentally verify this hypothesis were largely unsuccessful. Recently, however, this issue has been more thoroughly examined, from a variety of approaches, with positive results. Magnetic fields have been shown to have a biological effect on a variety of animals ranging from unicellular organisms to mammals. Many of these organisms, including birds, show changes in orientation behavior as a result of changes in the ambient magnetic field. Specific data supporting the existence of a “magnetic-compass” in birds include demonstrations that (a) changes in the intensity of the ambient magnetic field disrupt various kinds of orientation behavior and (b) that systematic changes in the direction of the ambient magnetic field are accompanied by systematic changes in the direction of orientation. The biggest obstacle in further study of the “magnetic-compass” is the almost complete ignorance of the biophysical mechanism(s) involved in the biological detection of the geomagnetic field. Some theoretical speculations about possible biomagnetic mechanisms are discussed and suggestions for the direction of future research on the “magnetic-compass” and its relation to other orientation behaviors are provided.     

Are Screening Instruments Valid for Psychotic-Like Experiences? A Validation Study of Screening Questions for Psychotic-Like Experiences Using In-Depth Clinical Interview

Individuals who report psychotic-like experiences are at increased risk of future clinical psychotic disorder. They constitute a unique “high-risk” group for studying the developmental trajectory to schizophrenia and related illnesses. Previous research has used screening instruments to identify this high-risk group, but the validity of these instruments has not yet been established. We administered a screening questionnaire with 7 items designed to assess psychotic-like experiences to 334 adolescents aged 11–13 years. Detailed clinical interviews were subsequently carried out with a sample of these adolescents. We calculated sensitivity and specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for each screening question for the specific symptom it enquired about and also in relation to any psychotic-like experience. The predictive power varied substantially between items, with the question on auditory hallucinations (“Have you ever heard voices or sounds that no one else can hear?”) providing the best predictive power. For interview-verified auditory hallucinations specifically, this question had a PPV of 71.4% and an NPV of 90.4%. When assessed for its predictive power for any psychotic-like experience (including, but not limited to, auditory hallucinations), it provided a PPV of 100% and an NPV of 88.4%. Two further questions—relating to visual hallucinations and paranoid thoughts—also demonstrated good predictive power for psychotic-like experiences. Our results suggest that it may be possible to screen the general adolescent population for psychotic-like experiences with a high degree of accuracy using a short self-report questionnaire.     

An effect of immediate reinforcement and delayed punishment, with possible implications for self-control

Behavior said to show self-control occurs virtually always as an alternative to behavior that produces conflicting consequences. One class of such consequences, immediate reinforcement and delayed punishment, is especially pervasive. Three experiments are described in which an effect of immediate reinforcement and delayed punishment is demonstrated. The results suggest that when immediate reinforcement and delayed punishment are imminent, the reinforcer alone controls the organism's behavior (in other words the organism behaves “impulsively”). The key to self-control, therefore, may be the acquisition of a large number of avoidance behaviors relevant to reinforcers that are correlated with delayed punishment. Human self-control may indeed involve such a process but undoubtedly involves others as well.     

A self-report measure of subtle avoidance and safety behaviors relevant to social anxiety: Development and psychometric properties

According to cognitive theories, safety-seeking behaviors are crucial in both the maintenance and management of social anxiety. In order to facilitate assessment of these behaviors the Subtle Avoidance Frequency Examination (SAFE) was developed. Three factors emerged from the SAFE, which appeared to reflect active “safety” behaviors, subtle restriction of behavior, and behaviors aimed at avoiding or concealing physical symptoms. The SAFE demonstrated strong internal consistency, good construct validity and the ability to discriminate between clinical and non-clinical participants. In addition, the SAFE was responsive to the effects of treatment. Given its excellent psychometric properties, the SAFE may be useful to further investigate the role of safety strategies in social anxiety and to assess treatment outcomes.     

Self-burning versus self-cutting: patterns and implications of self-mutilation; a preliminary study of differences between self-cutting and self-burning in a Japanese juvenile detention center

The purpose of the present paper was to examine the differences in clinical features between self-cutters and self-burners, to clarify clinical implications of self-mutilating behaviors other than self-cutting. Subjects were 201 delinquent adolescents consecutively entering a Japanese juvenile detention center from February 2003 to March 2003. The subjects were assessed using a self-reporting questionnaire to evaluate self-mutilation, traumatic events, and problematic behaviors. Beck Depression Inventory-2 (BDI-2) and Adolescent Dissociative Experience Scale (A-DES) were also tested. Subjects were classified into four groups according to self-mutilating behaviors: non-self-cutting or -burning (NSCB), self-cutting (SC), self-burning (SB), and self-cutting and self-burning (SCB). The questionnaire answers and scores of the BDI-2 and A-DES were compared between the four groups. Of 201 subjects, 33 (16.4%) had cut their wrists or forearms at least once, and 72 of 201 (35.8%) had burned themselves at least once. The SC and SCB group had traumatic events, problematic behavior, and various types of self-mutilating behavior more frequently than the other two groups. The SCB group reported additional types of self-mutilating behavior more than the SC group. The SCB group also experienced multiple body customizations compared to the SC group, and exhibited higher scores on the BDI-2 and A-DES than the other three groups. The self-burning without self-cutting may have limited clinical implications. However, the self-burning with self-cutting may suggest depression and dissociation, as well as possible indication of self-mutilating behavior.     

Psychotic-like ideations among a group of young normal subjects in Iran

BACKGROUND: Recent studies show that self-reported psychotic-like experiences in general population samples are quite common and on a continuum with psychotic symptoms in clinical samples. However, most evidence comes from western settings and there is a dearth of research in developing countries. Examination of these experiences across different cultures adds to their validity. AIMS: : To assess psychotic-like ideations and its association with poor mental health in a group of young normal individuals in Iran. METHODS: A total of 150 medical students with no history of a psychiatric disorder completed the Peters et al. Delusions Inventory (PDI-40) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Psychotic-like ideations were rated on the basis of their presence, as well as their levels of distress, preoccupation and conviction (PDI sub-scores). RESULTS: On average, 9.4 psychotic-like ideations were reported by the subjects (range 0-28). More frequent psychotic-like ideations and higher distress and preoccupation associated with these ideations were correlated with poor mental health as assessed by the GHQ. CONCLUSION: Frequency of psychotic-like ideation and its dimensions, as well as its association with poor mental health, were comparable to the studies on healthy subjects conducted in Europe.     

Eating attitudes in young teenage girls: Parental management of “fussy” eating

A large number of young children are “fussy” about their eating, refusing particular foods. Several behavioral programs have been advanced for making those foods more desirable. However, these programs ignore the function that this fussiness can serve for the child. Children may refuse food as a way of asserting some control over their environment—for example, by changing their parents behavior. It is also not clear to what extent parental efforts to change children's eating patterns may lead to later difficulties associated with eating. This retrospective study examined the possibility that parents' use of behavioral approaches to food refusal might be related to the child's general food fussiness. Associations between recalled parental behaviors, child fussiness, and the child's eating behavior were examined in considering possible causation. In a sample of 92 teenage girls, it was found that positive and negative reinforcement were ineffective, while early reported use of modeling was related to the children's being mted as more fussy in later childhood. Food fissiness showed some association with eating patterns measured by the Bulimic Inueat@tory Test, supporting the clinical utility of investigating “ffirsJiness.” This outcome suggests that food fusiness should be treated not in isolation but in the context of family relations, and that parents should be aduised accordingly. Such treatment of fissiness may play an important role in the development of adult eatingpsychopathology.     

Response covariation on self-stimulatory behaviors during sensory extinction procedures

The effects of sensory extinction procedures on nontargeted self-stimulatory behaviors of two autistic boys were assessed. In Experiment 1, the frequencies of two topographically similar behaviors of one child and two topographically dissimilar behaviors of the other child were examined within a reversal design. Application of sensory extinction for target behaviors resulted in a decrease in the topographically similar behavior, but no change in the dissimilar behavior. In Experiment 2, sensory extinction procedures were applied to three behaviors of one child using a multiple-baseline design. Two of these behaviors were topographically similar and all were maintained by the same sensory modality. Suppression occurred only for the topographically similar behavior. Results are discussed in terms of their treatment implications.The authors wish to thank Carol Ann Kardash and Sean McDevit for their assistance in this project.     

Effects of the tottering mutation in the mouse: Multiple neurologic changes

The homozygote mutant mouse tottering (chromosomal designation tg) is distinguished from the heterozygote by an ataxic gait and the occurrence of spontaneous stereotypic seizures. We determined the effects of this mutation on other neurally controlled behaviors. Three behaviors were studied: swimming ability, balance on the rotorod, and activity in the open field. Swimming ability was greatly reduced (P < 0.001) in ( ) mice compared with wild type (+/+) mice when rated on a scale designed to measure “swimming success,” whereas scores for “vigor” were normal. Heterozygotes (tg/+) had normal swimming “vigor” but showed a bimodal distribution on the “success” scale. Open field activity of ( ) mice was significantly less (P < 0.002) compared with heterozygote littermates. Homogyzous tottering mice were unable to maintain balance on a rotating wooden rod (rotorod test), whereas heterozygotes readily learned this task. Brain weights of 8-week-old mice were examined and found to be equal except for the cerebellum, which weighed less in ( ) mice. No significant differences in the degree of impairment between sexes or the age of testing were found. These results suggest a widespread involvement of the tg gene mutation in normal mouse behavior; however, other interpretations have not been ruled out.     

Brief report: Cross-informant ratings of self- and other-regulation at career transitions in adolescence

Individual initiative is required to successfully master career transitions in adolescence, and also parents play an important role in this process. Past research largely omitted co-agency in transition-related activities between adolescents and their parents, which could be described in terms of self- and other-regulation. The present pilot study examined adolescents’ and mothers’ career-specific regulatory behaviors as perceived from both agents’ perspectives. 38 German adolescents rated importance and engagement in one transition-related personal goal and reported on intensity of career exploration activities. Furthermore, they reported on their perceptions of mothers’ career-related behaviors and confidence in their offspring’s transition management. All measures were also assessed from the mothers’ point of view. Results revealed associations within and across family members’ ratings that showed similarities as well as differences in perceptions of how behaviors associate. Partial correlation analyses showed that specific maternal behavior not contingent upon her general warmth associated with child behavior.     

Associations between psychotic-like symptoms and inattention/hyperactivity symptoms

Objective

Our aim was to study the association between psychotic-like symptoms and inattention/hyperactivity symptoms in a general adolescent population.

Subjects and methods

The sample is based on a population-based prospective mother?Cchild birth cohort, the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. In the 15?C16-year follow-up survey, the adolescents completed the Youth Self-Report questionnaire as well as the PROD-Screen questionnaire that addressed prodromal symptoms of psychosis. Meanwhile, their parents assessed inattention and hyperactive symptoms of their offspring by completing the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behaviors questionnaire (N?=?5,318). The cross-sectional associations between psychotic-like symptoms and inattention/hyperactivity symptoms were studied with logistic regression models.

Results

The association between negative psychotic-like symptoms and inattention symptoms, especially the dreamy type of inattention symptoms (e.g., difficulties in organizing tasks, losing things, being forgetful), was statistically significant for both genders. Psychotic-like symptoms, however, were not associated with hyperactivity symptoms.

Conclusions

The present findings demonstrate that an association between psychotic-like symptoms and attentional dysfunction, which has been found in clinical samples, is also present in a general adolescent population.