Electrode Positioning for Reliable Telemetry ECG Recordings During Social Stress in Unrestrained Rats

We describe a surgical procedure for optimizing the location of telemetry ECG leads in rats. The new location was aimed at obtaining an accurate representation of ECG features throughout the cardiac cycle by limiting the voltage instability usually observed during intense somatomotor activity and improving the signal-to-noise ratio. The two electrodes (wire loops) were fixed on the dorsal surface of the xiphoid process and in the anterior mediastinum close to the right atrium. The implantation procedure was fast, little invasive, and allowed animals to completely recover from intervention. The performance of the “improved” location (IL, n = 10) with respect to two subcutaneous (SC) positionings (“conventional positioning,” CSP, n = 5; “updated location,” USL, n = 5) was evaluated by comparing ECGs obtained in baseline, stress and recovery conditions and during different behavioral activities (immobility and grooming). The resident-intruder test (emotional/physical challenge) was chosen as experimental stress paradigm. The noise level of ECGs obtained from IL rats was lower than in CSP and USL animals, in all recording conditions. Percentages of correctly recognized beats (CRBs) over the total number of beats (TBs) were significantly higher in IL rats than in CSP and USL animals, both in baseline conditions (99% vs. 11% and 40%) and situations involving high somatomotor activity (stress: 97%, 5% and 16%; recovery: 97%, 7%, and 15%) (p < 0.01). The performance of IL as compared to CSP and USL was also better when percentages during grooming and immobility were considered (grooming: 93% vs. 4% and 23%; immobility: 97%, 6%, and 33%; p < 0.01).     

小学教师主观幸福感与社会支持、应对方式的关系

目的探讨小学教师主观幸福感与社会支持、应对方式的关系。方法采用主观幸福感指数量表、领悟社会支持量表和简易应对方式问卷对152名小学教师进行问卷调查。结果社会支持各维度、积极应对方式与主观幸福感各维度之间的相关均有显著意义。结论社会支持、积极应对方式是影响小学教师主观幸福感的重要因素。     

Rewarding effects of the optical isomers of 3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine ('Ecstasy') and 3,4-methylenedioxy-ethylamphetamine ('Eve') measured by conditioned place preference in rats

3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine (MDMA) (‘Ecstasy’) and its analogue 3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine (MDE) (‘Eve’) are well known illicit street drugs mainly abused by young people. In spite of the actual research going on, the classification of their abuse potential remains unclear. Since secondary reinforcers are the main factors responsible for craving and relapse, the aim of our study was to assess the potency of MDMA and MDE in a second order reinforcement paradigm, i.e. conditioned place preference (CPP). For the general assessment of our study conditions, we compared MDMA with amphetamine. Unexpectedly, no significant CPP for MDMA was found in contrast to amphetamine. Detailed analysis of current literature led us to the working hypothesis that social environment is crucial for the development of CPP. In a subsequent experiment we tested the influence of housing conditions on CPP using MDMA and demonstrated that isolated animals show significant CPP compared to group-housed ones. In order to better understand the rewarding mechanisms of Ecstasy-derivatives, we tested both the racemic drugs and the pure isomers in the CPP paradigm. Both MDMA's optical isomers and racemic MDMA showed significant CPP without notable differences, while MDE and its isomers completely failed to show any significant CPP. In conclusion, the mechanism by which MDMA induces addiction is much more complicated than assumed so far and more pronounced in isolated animals. The fact that both optical isomers of MDMA led to CPP implies that at least two pathways by which MDMA induces craving behaviour exist.     

吸毒者的社会支持及与心身健康水平的相关分析

毒品滥用已成为严重社会问题 ,并已引起医学界、心理学界及社会各界的关注。吸毒者的吸毒行为除与他们自身心理特征有关外 ,还与许多因素有关。如失业、缺乏家庭温暖、精神空虚、孤独 ,对生活失去热情和信心等。研究认为 ,社会支持系统不良是导致多种心理卫生问题的重要原因之一 ,也是吸毒成瘾及复吸的主要原因[1,2 ] 。本研究运用社会支持量表和症状自评量表对一组吸毒者的社会支持状况及与心理健康的关系作初步研究 ,旨在为吸毒者实施心理治疗及作戒毒后回归社会的跟进服务提供参考。1　资料与方法1.1　调查对象1.1.1　吸毒组　选择长沙市…     

Effects of social factors on adrenal weight and related physiology of Macaca fascicularis

Increased adrenal cortical activity and hypertrophy of adrenal glands associated with defeat and social subordination have been reported frequently in small mammals; these adrenal changes have been linked to impairments in immune response, glucose metabolism and reproductive performance. Similar studies in primates have produced variable results. The current study was undertaken to illuminate the effects of social status on the adrenal gland and to examine concurrent effects of social variables on other physiological systems in Macaca fascicularis, in an initial exploration of the hypothesis that high and low social status have different physiological consequences. Sixty adult male M. fascicularis were housed in social groups of n = 5, under either stable or unstable social conditions. It was found that subordinate animals had heavier adrenal glands and somewhat higher plasma glucose concentrations than dominants. In contrast, dominants had higher blood pressure and worsened atherosclerosis, under some conditions, than subordinates. These data appear to offer preliminary support for Henry and Stephen's hypothesis of differential arousal of dominant and subordinate animals.     

Establishment of social rank among grouped male mice: relative effects on circulating FSH, LH, and corticosterone

Previously-isolated, adult, CF-1 male mice were grouped four per cage, killed after periods of time ranging from one hour to 14 days, and their plasma assayed for corticosterone, FSH and LH. Dominant and subordinate ranks were easily separable after 24 hr for comparison with each other and with isolated controls that were also killed throughout the 14-day experimental period. The one hour responses to grouping, during which all males were fighting intensely to establish rank, included a 5–6 fold increase in plasma corticosterone and concurrent depressions in circulating gonadotropins, 19% for FSH and a dramatic 94% for LH. Plasma corticosterone returned to baselevels between Days 1 and 3 in the case of dominant males and between Days 3 and 6 for subordinates. Adaptation was also observed for FSH in the plasma of dominants but later than that occurring for corticosterone. Plasma FSH in subordinates and circulating LH among both relative ranks were still depressed at the end of the 14-day period. A reciprocal relationship between adrenocortical activity and gonadotropin secretion was thus observed only during the early phases of dominance-subordination establishment; thereafter, secretory patterns for these three hormones functioned independently. Seminal vesicles were little affected by grouping but mean preputial weight increased markedly and progressively among dominant males and decreased with time in subordinates.     

Selective cytotoxic lesions of the retrohippocampal region produce a mild deficit in social recognition memory

Although a number of studies have implicated the hippocampal formation in social recognition memory in the rat, a recent study in this laboratory has demonstrated that selective cytotoxic lesions, confined to the hippocampus proper (encompassing the four CA subfields and the dentate gyrus), are without effect on this behaviour. This finding suggests that the hippocampus proper does not subserve social recognition memory in the rat, but does not preclude the possibility that other areas of the hippocampal formation, such as the entorhinal cortex or subiculum, could support this form of learning. The present study addressed this issue by examining the effects of selective cytotoxic retrohippocampal (RHR) lesions (including both the entorhinal cortex and subiculum) on social recognition memory in the rat. RHR lesions produced a mild social recognition memory impairment, although lesioned animals still displayed a reduction in investigation time between the first and second exposure to the juvenile. This result is consistent with other studies which have implicated the retrohippocampal or parahippocampal area in olfactory recognition memory processes. It also suggests, however, that other areas, out with the retrohippocampal region, are also likely to play an important role in social recognition memory.     

关于孔子心理学思想的认识

本文根据心理学的基本观点，讨论了孔子的心理学思想，着重讨论了孔子学习心理学思想，普通心理学的思想，社会心理学的思想，建议我们应继承和发扬我国优秀的文化遗产和传统，挖掘其积极价值，促进我国心理学的发展。     

Involving the patient: a prospective study on use, appreciation and effectiveness of an information system in head and neck cancer care

OBJECTIVE: To determine use, appreciation and effectiveness of an electronic health information support system in head and neck (H&N) cancer care. DESIGN: A prospective evaluation study. The evaluated system has four different functions: (1) communication amongst health care providers and between health care providers and patients, (2) information for health care providers and patients, (3) contact with fellow sufferers and (4) monitoring of discharged patients by means of electronic questionnaires. Evaluation of the system was done both objectively using automatically created log files and stored messages, and subjectively by using paper questionnaires from patients and general practitioners (GPs). SETTING: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery of a tertiary health care centre in the Netherlands. The system was put at patients' disposal for a period of 6 weeks following discharge from the hospital after surgery for H&N cancer, and was additional to standard care. PARTICIPANTS: Head and neck cancer patients, hospital physicians, members of a hospital-based support team, GPs, district nurses and speech therapists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Actual use of the system by patients and health care providers. Patients' appreciation for each of the system's four different functions. GPs' appreciation for the system. Capability to detect potential patient problems with the system. RESULTS: The system was used by 36 H&N cancer patients, 10 hospital physicians, 2 members of the support team, 8 GPs, 2 district nurses and 2 speech therapists. The total number of patient-sessions was 982: an average of 27.3 sessions per patient during the 6 weeks study period. In total, 456 monitoring questionnaires were completed. The support team in hospital responded with 231 actions. In 16 cases, an extra appointment was made for a patient with the hospital physician. Out of these cases, immediate action was considered necessary eight times. Patients appreciated the system highly, rating it with an average score of 8.0 on a 10-point scale. All patients used the monitoring function, and rated 'monitoring' with a mean score of 8.0 on a 10-point scale. Least used and appreciated was the 'contact with fellow sufferers' function. Only 8 out of possible 36 GPs used the system, rating it with an average of 5.6 on a 10-point scale. CONCLUSIONS: The electronic health information support system was used intensively and highly appreciated by H&N cancer patients. The system enabled the early detection of occurring health problems that required direct intervention. ICT can play an additional role in the management of patients, also in a relatively elderly and computer illiterate patient population.     

The influence of social environmental condition on the production of stress-induced 22 kHz calls in adult male Wistar rats

Adult rats emit 22 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in response to aversive stimuli, and these sounds are suggested to have communicative information among conspecifics. It is conceivable that social environment during development of rats has relevance to the emission of 22 kHz USVs. To examine the effects of social environment after weaning on production of stress-induced USVs, we compared the amount of emission of USVs among three groups of rats reared under different conditions after weaning. One group of rats was housed individually, and the other two groups were housed in pairs, in which social hierarchy of the pair was determined by social dominance-subordination relationships. The USVs were induced by acute mild somatic stimuli on the back and neck. Individually reared rats emitted much fewer USVs than pair-reared rats. In addition, socially subordinate rats emitted more USVs compared with socially dominant ones. These results suggest that not only social interaction but also the status in social hierarchy may play an important role in the process of the development of USVs induced by somatic stimuli.