Subjective fear, interference by threat, and fear associations independently predict fear-related behavior in children

Background and objectives

Several information-processing models highlight the independent roles of controlled and automatic processes in explaining fearful behavior. Therefore, we investigated whether direct measures of controlled processes and indirect measures of automatic processes predict unique variance components of children's spider fear-related behavior.

Method

Seventy-seven children between 8 and 13 years performed an Affective Priming Task (APT) measuring associative bias, a pictorial version of the Emotional Stroop Task (EST) measuring attentional bias, filled out the Spider Anxiety and Disgust Screening for Children (SADS-C) in order to assess self-perceived fear, and took part in a Behavioral Assessment Test (BAT) to measure avoidance of spiders.

Results

The SADS-C, EST, and APT did not correlate with each other. Spider fear-related behavior was best explained by SADS-C, APT, and EST together; they explained 51% of the variance in BAT behavior.

Limitations

No children with clinical levels of spider phobia were tested. The direct and the different indirect measures did no correlate with each other.

Conclusions

These results indicate that both direct and indirect measures are useful for predicting unique variance components of fear-related behavior in children. The lack of relations between direct and indirect measures may explain why some earlier studies did not find stronger color-naming interference or stronger fear associations in children with high levels of self-reported fear. It also suggests that children with high levels of spider-fearful behavior have different fear-related associations and display higher interference by spider stimuli than children with non-fearful behavior.     

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells prime IFN-gamma-secreting melanoma-specific CD8 lymphocytes and are found in primary melanoma lesions

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDC) are a small population of leukocytes specialized in the production of type I IFN. It has been shown that PDC have a potent T cell stimulatory capacity in allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction, However, their role in initiating primary immune responses remains elusive. We report that blood PDC efficiently prime naive CD8(+) lymphocytes specific for the melan-A(26-35) epitope to become IFN-gamma producing cells in vitro. In addition, we found that CD40L-stimulated PDC induce expression on primed melan-A-specific T cells of cutaneous lymphocyte antigen and L-selectin (CD62L), homing receptors that allow the migration of effector cells to the inflamed skin. Finally, we show that PDC can be found in the peri-tumoral area of most primary cutaneous melanomas in vivo and that type I IFN-containing supernatants derived from PDC increase melanoma cell surface expression of CD95 and MHC class I and class II molecules in vitro. Our results suggest a new immunomodulatory role for tissue infiltrating PDC, which may prime tumor-specific T cell responses and affect tumor growth via soluble factors.     

Level of operant training rather than cocaine intake predicts level of reinstatement

Rationale Extended cocaine self-administration has been shown to potentiate reinstatement. This increased vulnerability to relapse could be attributed not only to extended cocaine exposure but also to extended operant training. Objective This study was aimed at determining the influence of different operant training histories on cocaine-induced reinstatement when cocaine intake is kept constant. Materials and methods Cocaine intake and operant training were dissociated by using experimental procedures generating different histories of operant training but almost identical histories of cocaine intake. Rats were first trained to self-administer cocaine at a classical unit dose (250 μg/inf, FR1), then in independent groups, the level of operant response was changed for the next 20 sessions by changing either the unit dose available (83, 250, or 750 μg/inf, Experiment 1) or the fixed ratio required (FR-1, FR-3, or FR-10, Experiment 2). Then, all rats were tested for reinstatement with different priming doses of cocaine (0, 5, 10, and 15 mg/kg; i.p.) at an early and late stage of an extinction period. Results Level of responding during training predicts the level of reinstatement later on, independently of the amount of cocaine consumed. High FR requirement and low unit dose access led to higher level of reinstatement at early and late stage of the extinction period, respectively. Conclusions This study shows that the level of operant responding required to maintain optimal cocaine intake directly influences later levels of reinstatement. This finding suggests that environmental constrains that make drug-taking demanding and effortful may increase the vulnerability to relapse.     

顺阿曲库铵用于气管插管最佳预注与插管剂量的探讨

目的 观察不同预注方法与插管剂量的顺阿曲库铵用于全麻诱导气管捕管的起效时间和安全性.方法 将80例ASA分级Ⅰ～Ⅱ级择期全麻腹部手术患者用随机数字表法分为四组,每组20例,Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ组分别预注顺阿曲库铵0.010 mg/kg(20% ED95)、0.015 mg/kg(30% ED95)、0.010 mg/kg(20% ED95),Ⅳ组预注0.9%氯化钠.4 min后给予插管剂量顺阿曲库铵:Ⅰ组0.140 mg/kg、Ⅱ组0.135 mg/kg、Ⅲ组0.190 mg/kg、Ⅳ组0.200 mg/kg.肌松监测仪监测拇内收肌四个成串刺激(TOF)和TOF的第一个肌颤搐(T1),当T1=0时,进行气管插管,记录预注间隔T1、TOF值及起效时间,并评价插管条件.结果 Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ组起效时间分别为(151.30±10.90)、(138.90±8.37)、(145.45±17.12)、(148.75±18.70)s.Ⅱ组起效时间明显短于Ⅰ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ组(P＜0.01).在预注间隔内,四组T1和TOF均呈下降趋势,Ⅱ组出现TOF＜90%.结论 顺阿曲库铵预注剂量0.010 mg/kg后给予插管剂量0.140 mg/kg的起效时间与有或无预注下插管剂量0.200 mg/kg相似,且预注间隔内不影响TOF值,故为首选.预注不能加快4倍ED95顺阿曲库铵起效时间.30% ED95的预注剂量在4 min的预注间隔出现TOF＜90%,用于临床的安全性差.     

The role of search difficulty in intertrial feature priming

Previous research has shown that intertrial repetition of target and distractors task-relevant properties speeds visual search performance, an effect known as priming of pop-out (PoP). Recent accounts suggest that such priming results, at least in part, from a mechanism that speeds post-selectional, response-related processes, the marker of which is an interaction between repetition of the target and distractor features and repetition of the response from the previous trial. However, this response-based component of inter-trial priming has been elusive, and it remains unclear what its boundary conditions might be. In addition, what information is represented in the episodic memory traces that underlie the response-based component has not yet been characterized.Here, we show that the response-based component of feature priming reflects an episodic memory retrieval mechanism that is not mandatory or automatic but may be described as a heuristic that subjects sometimes use, in particular when the overall difficulty of the search task is high. In addition, we show that the conjunction of the target and distractor features forms the context that is reactivated during episodic retrieval. Finally, we show that target-distractor discriminability is an important modulator of the selection-based component. The findings are discussed within the framework of the dual-stage model of inter-trial priming (Lamy, Yashar, & Ruderman, 2010).     

Hemispheric asymmetries in font-specific and abstractive priming of written personal names: Evidence from event-related brain potentials

We assessed hemispheric differences in font-specific and abstractive repetition priming for famous persons' names. Participants performed speeded familiarity judgments for foveally presented famous and unfamiliar names. Famous target names were preceded by primes (150 ms) in the left or right visual field (LVF or RVF). Primes were either the same name as the target written in the same font (font-specific priming), the same name in a different font (abstractive priming), or a different name (unprimed condition). In reaction times, LH superiority was strong for abstractive priming across fonts, but was reduced to insignificance for font-specific priming. We observed 3 different ERP modulations of priming for target names: a small font-specific posterior N200 (160-220 ms), a left temporal N250r (220-300 ms), and an N400 modulation (300-500 ms). The left temporal N250r exhibited large and abstractive priming for RVF primes, but smaller and font-specific priming for LVF primes. N400 effects were observed in all priming conditions. With respect to previous findings that N200, N250r, and N400 reflect facilitation at the levels of font-specific encoding, lexical entries for names, and semantic processing, respectively, these findings suggest that the LH superiority for name processing is particularly pronounced for the access to abstractive lexical entries for written names, a process that may be mediated by the left fusiform cortex.     

Oscillatory MEG gamma band activity dissociates perceptual and conceptual aspects of visual object processing: a combined repetition/conceptual priming study

We used a combined repetition/conceptual priming task to investigate attenuations of induced gamma-band activity (iGBA) due to prior experience. We hypothesized that distinguishable iGBA suppression effects can be related to the processing of (a) perceptual aspects, and (b) conceptual aspects of cortical object representations. Participants were asked to perform a semantic classification task with pictures of real world objects and their semantically corresponding words, using a design that isolated distinct levels of the neural suppression effect. By means of volumetric source analysis we located stimulus domain-specific iGBA repetition suppression effects (60-90 Hz) in temporal, parietal, and occipital areas of the human cortex. In contrast, domain-unspecific iGBA repetition suppression, corresponding to conceptual priming, was restricted to left temporal brain regions. We propose that the selective involvement of left temporal areas points to the activation of conceptual representations, whereas more posterior temporal, parietal, and occipital areas probably reflect perceptual aspects of higher-order visual object processing.     

罗库溴铵和阿曲库铵的预注量对相互起效的影响

目的　研究罗库溴铵和阿曲库铵的预注量对相互起效和插管条件的影响。方法　 6 0例患者随机平均分成六组。麻醉诱导用地西泮、硫喷妥钠和芬太尼。Ⅰ组和Ⅳ组分别静注罗库溴铵0 6mg/kg和阿曲库铵 0 5mg/kg ,Ⅱ组和Ⅴ组预注罗库溴铵 0 0 6mg/kg ,Ⅲ组和Ⅵ组阿曲库铵0 0 5mg/kg。 3分钟后Ⅱ组和Ⅲ组静注罗库溴铵 0 5 4mg/kg ,Ⅴ组和Ⅵ组阿曲库铵 0 4 5mg/kg。观察插管量后的起效时间和气管插管条件。结果　Ⅲ组的起效时间为 (6 7 6± 14 2 )秒稍短于Ⅰ组的(73 1± 13 4 )秒和Ⅱ组的 (76 3± 15 3)秒 (P >0 0 5 )。Ⅴ组和Ⅵ组的起效时间为 (93 8± 2 2 4 )秒和(115 8± 14 9)秒 ,比Ⅳ组 (15 6 0± 37 2 )秒的短 (P <0 0 5和P <0 0 1) ,Ⅴ组的起效时间也显著短于Ⅵ组。气管插管条件Ⅴ组较Ⅳ组明显改善。结论　预注罗库溴铵不能使罗库溴铵的起效增快。预注罗库溴铵使阿曲库铵的起效明显增快 ,插管条件改善 ;预注罗库溴铵比预注阿曲库铵对阿曲库铵起效的增快作用更明显     

预激方案与标准化疗治疗老年急性髓系白血病的疗效探讨

目的：探讨分析预激方案与标准化疗治疗老年急性髓系白血病的疗效。方法方便选取2014年6月—2015年12月期间到该院院治疗的老年急性髓系白血病患者62例,随机分为预激方案组（32例）和标准化疗组（30例）,预激方案组给予CAG方案治疗,标准化疗组给予DA方案治疗,比较治疗后两组患者临床治疗有效率及不良反应。结果预激方案组治疗有效率为75.00%,标准化疗组为46.67%,标准化疗组患者不良反应发生率比预激方案组高,两组有效率及不良反应差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论预激方案治疗老年急性髓系白血病有效率高,且不良反应发生率低,较安全,值得临床推广应用。