Psychosocial factors regulating natural-killer cell activity in recurrent spontaneous abortions

PROBLEM: The preconceptional natural-killer cell (NK) activity predicts subsequent miscarriage among women with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). Psycho-neuro-immuno-endocrine network has recently been proposed as a mechanism for abortions. We therefore examined which psychosocial factors influenced the NK activity among women with RSA. METHOD OF STUDY: We measured the preconceptional NK activity of 61 women with a history two consecutive unexplained first-trimester miscarriages and no live births. We also administered semi-structured interviews and a battery of self-report questionnaires to assess their social support, personality, self-esteem and psychiatric symptoms. RESULTS: The preconceptional NK activity was negatively correlated with the women's neuroticism personality trait (r= -0.32, P = 0.01) and current depressive symptoms (r = -0.26, P= 0.05), and positively correlated with their self-esteem (r = 0.34, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In addition to several substances such as transforming-growth-factor beta and granulocyte-macrophase colony-stimulating factor, we found that low neuroticism, low depression scale score and high self-esteem contributed to high NK activity among women with RSA.     

Psychopathology and Public Policy

An effective definition of psychopathology would be helpful in distinguishing between normal and abnormal behavior and would provide guidance for important public policy decisions. Overinclusive definitions, such as the capacity/disability formulation, do not provide meaningful direction for defining need or assessing eligibility for insurance or other entitlements. Coping failures due to lack of skill, inadequate preparation, or other factors should be distinguished from those due to dysfunction or disturbance of psychological mechanisms. The capacity/disability formulation encourages confusion between different performance decrements and gives no guidance for appropriate boundaries for psychotherapy.     

Exclusion mapping of 12 X-linked disease loci and 10 DNA probes from the long arm of the X-chromosome

Specific chromosome rearrangements associated with disease entities are invaluable resources for physical mapping. A deletion on the X chromosome of a male leads to the nullisomy for X-linked genes, resulting in the onset of genetic diseases and/or the absence of the DNA probe detectable sequences. This permits the localization of these loci within the deleted area. On the other hand, the region for some other X-linked loci can be excluded from the deleted area according to the absence of the characteristic symptoms of the disease and/or the presence of the hybridization signals. An interstitial deletion on the long arm of the X chromosome of a male has been characterized by high resolution banding. The karyotype of the proband is 46,Y,del(X)(pter----q21.1::q21.33----qter). The regions for 12 X-linked disease loci as well as 10 DNA probes are excluded from the deleted area, and localized either proximally or distally to the deletion. The results also reveal a controversy in the present linkage data concerning the assignment of these loci.     

Stress and dental caries in the rat

The stress of crowding and exposure to inescapable electric shock increased both the incidence and the severity of dental caries in rats housed in a conventional animal facility. Male Osborne-Mendel rats were inoculated intraorally with cariogenic bacteria, fed a high-sucrose diet, and housed in either a conventional or a sheltered facility. Rats in both housing conditions were subdivided into control and stress groups. At the end of the 56-day trial period, stressed rats from conventional housing had a significant increase in both incidence and severity of dental caries in comparison to their controls. In contrast, stressed rats from sheltered housing had a trend toward increased cariogenesis which reached significance in only one of five scores. These rats also failed to gain weight comparable to their controls, making it possible that stress-induced reduction in appetite partially offset stress-induced exacerbation in cariogenesis.This investigation was supported in part by the following Grants from the United States Public Health Service: CA 20093, HL 22727, and HL 07374.     

Long-term social isolation in the rat induces opposite changes in binding to alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenoceptors in the brain and vas deferens

Rats isolated at the time of calcification of the incisors show, after 14-18 months of social deprivation, an increased number of alpha 1-adrenoceptors labeled with [3H]WB 4101, both in the striatum and in the vas deferens, as well as a decreased number of alpha 2-adrenoceptors labeled with [3H]-clonidine in the vas deferens. Social isolation does not, however, modify the density of [3H]clonidine binding sites in the cerebral cortex. The functional state of alpha-adrenoreceptors in the vas deferens from isolated rats appears to correlate with the binding studies since the isolated tissue is hypersensitive to the contractile effect of exogenous noradrenaline and subsensitive to the inhibitory effect of clonidine on the electrically stimulated preparation.     

安徽省有焦虑症状大学生的社会人口特征及社会心理分析

目的:了解安徽省大学生焦虑症状流行状况及其社会人口和社会心理影响因素。方法:对所有省属高校按专业分层,以校为整群抽样(每专业1校),抽取该校在校生的15%。采用无记名问卷调查,共获得有效问卷4178份。调查工具包括焦虑自评问卷(SAS)和青少年负性生活事件量表(ASLEC)。结果:6.94%的大学生存在焦虑,其中男生7.22%,女生为6.35%。理工学生焦虑检出率最高(10.08%),西医学生最低(3.59%)。卡方检验显示焦虑症状与社会人口特征中的出生地、年级、学习成绩、专业及父亲学历有关;与社会心理因素中的生活事件与生活经历,家庭环境中的大部分特征都有统计意义的相关性。多元逐步回归模型进一步发现焦虑症状受社会人口特征中理工类专业(OR=1.77,95%CI:1.30～2.41)和成绩差(OR=1.45,95%CI:1.09～1.93)的显著影响,同时也受社会心理因素中的负性生活事件(OR=4.76,95%CI:3.36～6.77)、消极社会经历(OR=3.35,95%CI:2.43～4.62)以及家庭环境特征中的亲密度(OR=0.65,95%CI:0.49～0.85)和情感表达(OR=0.71,95%CI:0.54～0.94)的显著影响。结论:大学生焦虑症状受社会人口特征及社会心理各方面的综合影响,大学生焦虑症状的预防需家庭、学校和社会的共同参与和促进。     

不同社交地位小学生的自我意识与社交焦虑的特点及关系

目的:考察不同社交地位小学生自我意识水平和社交焦虑的特点及关系。方法:采用社会测量法、问卷法对272名3~5年级的小学生的社交地位、自我意识和社交焦虑进行评定。结果:(1)3~5年级小学生的自我意识水平有显著的性别、社交地位差异。女生的自我意识水平(58.0±10.7)显著高于男生(53.4±11.3)(t=-3.49,P<0.01),受欢迎组的自我意识水平(59.2±11.1)显著高于被拒绝组(51.2±12.3)和被忽视组(54.2±11.0)(P<0.05)。(2)受欢迎组儿童的社交焦虑水平(6.4±3.2)高于被拒绝组儿童的社交焦虑水平(4.8±3.5,P<0.05)。(3)综合模型中,社会喜好是通过社交自我知觉的中介作用与社交焦虑产生联系,不存在直接效应。结论:小学生的社交地位与其自我意识水平和社交焦虑水平存在一定关联性;社交自我知觉在社交地位和社交焦虑之间起到中介作用。     

Neonatal social isolation alters both maternal and pup behaviors in rats

The development of emotional behavior is dependent on the early experiences of the infant and the quality of maternal care. In these experiments, the effects of social isolation during the preweaning period on both pup behavior and maternal responsivity were examined. In the first study, the number of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) emitted after brief maternal separation was measured in neonatal rats with differing histories of social isolation. The social isolation procedure consisted of 5 days of daily separation from the dam and littermates for either 3 or 6 hr. At both ages tested, socially isolated pups vocalized significantly less than control pups. In the second study, the effects of prior isolation either daily for 5 previous days (Chronic Isolation) or for 4 hr prior to testing (Acute Isolation) were examined in a T-maze choice test. Pup vocalizations in the presence of the dam and dams' maternal behavior were assessed. When the dam was confined to the start box or during the maternal free access period, both Chronic and Acute Isolates vocalized less than pups that had never left the home nest. Dams spent more time with and licked and groomed more frequently and for a longer time both Chronic and Acute Isolates compared to pups that had always been with dams in the home nest. These results suggest that early isolation experience can alter subsequent responses to separation stress in neonatal rats and that maternal behavior is sensitive to the prior experiences of offspring.     

医科大学生焦虑情绪的心理社会因素探讨

目的探讨医科大学生焦虑情绪状态及其相关的心理社会因素。方法分层整群抽取某医科学校508名本科生进行焦虑情绪的流行特征及其相关因素的调查分析。结果医科大学生焦虑情绪检出率为9．03%，不同年级学生在SAS焦虑得分差异具有显著性，焦虑情绪与医科大学生的人格特征，特质应对方式、领悟社会支持、生活事件、父母文化程度、学生对专业满意程度和就业前景评价有高度相关性。结论应联合学校、家庭、社会，加强医科大学生心理健康教育；依据目标人群特点．采取有针对性的健康教育措施；着重塑造健康的性格，倡导应用积极的应对方式．提高适应环境能力，改善心理素质，以防止或降低其焦虑情绪的发生。     

Rewarding properties of social interactions in adolescent and adult male and female rats: impact of social versus isolate housing of subjects and partners

Social interactions have been shown to be rewarding for adolescent and adult rats; however, there has been little emphasis on comparing the strength of the rewarding value of social stimuli across ontogeny. Since age differences in social interactions may vary with sex or housing circumstances, the present study assessed social conditioned place preference (CPP) in adolescent and adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats housed either socially or in isolation and conditioned with either group-housed or isolate-housed partners. Isolated animals of both sexes and ages demonstrated social CPP, with the strongest preference emerging in adolescent males. Social CPP was not evident in group-housed adults whereas group-housed adolescents developed a preference for the compartment previously paired with similarly housed partners; however, when socially housed adolescents were conditioned with isolated partners, social CPP did not emerge. Age differences in social CPP may reflect age-related neural alterations in brain systems implicated in regulation of social behavior.