11/01/1999
{D}-Cycloserine (DCS), a partial agonist of the glycine recognition site of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, has beneficial effects on learning and memory. In order to investigate its potential to influence learning and memory of both the response and the stimulus attributes of training, 20 male rats were trained in 1-trial inhibitory avoidance task following an acute intraperitoneal/ly (ip) injection of DCs or an equal volume of saline. Memory for stimulus attributes was measured through testing involving a context shift paradigm, in which Ss are tested in either the environment of training or a different one. Good memory for the contextual attributes of training is indicated by poor performance in the alternate context. Retention was assessed either 1, 7, or 14 days after training. At 1 day, Saline Ss were affected by a change in context, while DCS Ss were not. In Ss tested 1 week following training, Saline Ss were no longer affected by a change in context, in that they performed the avoidance response in both contexts. Finally, Saline Ss demonstrated the context shift rebound at 14 days, while DCS Ss per formed equivalently in both contexts. Taken together, these data suggest that DCS may enhance retention of fear and slow the forgetting of stimulus attributes.
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05/09/2022
Objective The effectiveness of remotely delivered group interventions and treatments for individuals with more complex psychiatric presentations is understudied. Nevertheless, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic shifted such treatments from in-person to remote service delivery without the establishment of comparable effectiveness between in-person and remote delivery. The current study presents the results of a private practice's transition from in-person treatment delivery to a videoconference-delivered Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)-based intensive outpatient program (IOP) for individuals with comorbid mental health and substance use disorder diagnoses in response to the pandemic. Methods Change in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress following completion of the IOP was compared between the in-person and videoconference groups. Results Large reductions in symptoms were found following completion of the IOP for both the in-person and videoconference groups. Furthermore, no significant differences in symptom reduction were found between the groups. Conclusion Although large-scale replication is needed, these results suggest that IOPs and other intensive group therapies delivered via videoconference may be as effective as in-person therapies, even among individuals with more complex psychiatric presentations. Providers who have transitioned group therapies to videoconference formats or are considering creating remote groups can be more confident that they are not sacrificing treatment efficacy.
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01/01/2010
Recent adaptationist accounts of human mental and physical health have reinvigorated the debate over the evolution of human intelligence. In the tradition of strong inference the current study was developed to determine whether either Miller's (1998, 2000a) Fitness Indicator Theory or Rushton's (1985, 2000) Differential-K Theory better accounts for general intelligence (“g”) in an undergraduate university population (N = 192). Owing to the lengthy administration time of the test materials, a newly developed 18-item short form of the Ravens Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM-18; Sefcek, Miller, and Figueredo 2007) was used. A significant, positive relationship between K and F (r = .31, p < .001) emerged. Contrary to predictions, no significant relationships were found between “g” and either K or F (r = -.09, p ≥ .05 and r = .11, p ≥ .05, respectively). Though generally contrary to both hypotheses, these results may be explained in relation to antagonistic pleiotropy and a potential failure to derive correct predictions for within-species comparisons directly from the results of between-species comparisons.
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01/2023
The current meta-analysis quantifies the average effect of worked examples on mathematics performance from elementary grades to postsecondary settings and to assess what moderates this effect. Though thousands of worked examples studies have been conducted to date, a corresponding meta-analysis has yet to be published. Exclusionary coding was conducted on 8033 abstracts from published and grey literature to yield a sample of high quality experimental and quasi-experimental work. This search yielded 43 articles reporting on 55 studies and 181 effect sizes. Using robust variance estimation (RVE) to account for clustered effect sizes, the average effect size of worked examples on mathematics performance outcomes was medium with g = 0.48 and p = 0.01. Moderators assessed included example type (correct vs. incorrect examples alone or in combination with correct examples), pairing with self-explanation prompts, and timing of administration (i.e., practice vs. skill acquisition). The inclusion of self-explanation prompts significantly moderated the effect of examples yielding a negative effect in comparison to worked examples conditions that did not include self-explanation prompts. Worked examples studies that used correct examples alone yielded larger effect sizes than those that used incorrect examples alone or correct examples in combination with incorrect examples. The worked examples effect yields a medium effect on mathematics outcomes whether used for practice or initial skill acquisition. Correct examples are particularly beneficial for learning overall, and pairing examples with self-explanation prompts may not be a fruitful design modification. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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10/01/2006
The authors conducted a meta-analysis to examine the relations of benefit finding to psychological and physical health as well as to a specific set of demographic, stressor, personality, and coping correlates. Results from 87 cross-sectional studies reported in 77 articles showed that benefit finding was related to less depression and more positive well-being but also more intrusive and avoidant thoughts about the stressor. Benefit finding was unrelated to anxiety, global distress, quality of life, and subjective reports of physical health. Moderator analyses showed that relations of benefit finding to outcomes were affected by the amount of time that had passed since stressor onset, the benefit finding measured used, and the racial composition of the sample
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03/01/1996
A procedure in which female Long-Evans rats were swum to a criterion of fatigue was utilized to assess the contextual determinants of adaptation to exercise. In Experiment 1, it was observed that rats given four exercise exposures demonstrated significant adaptation to the treatment, as indicated by reliably longer swimming times over the course of exercise exposure. Furthermore, the change in swimming times reflected in these subjects was not due to maturation or growth over the course of the experiment, as their body weights before and after the experiment did not reliably differ. Experiment 2 addressed whether adaptation to swimming exercise was susceptible to a context shift effect, as is tolerance to drugs and adaptation to other homeostatic disturbances (e.g., hypothermia). Using a within-subject design, Experiment 2 demonstrated that a shift in contextual stimuli (a procedure that reliably disrupts drug tolerance and hypothermia adaptation) failed to disrupt established adjustment to exercise. The results of these experiments suggest that adaptation to exercise may be mediated by different mechanisms than adaptation to other disturbances (e.g., drugs, hypothermia), since an alteration in contextual stimuli did not appear to be detrimental to established exercise adaptation with this paradigm.
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05/01/2010
Clinical evidence often points to stress as a cause or an antecedent to the development of drinking problems. Yet, animal models of alcohol drinking have yielded inconsistent evidence for a direct contribution of stress, and many studies have shown that stress suppresses alcohol consumption. The aim of the present study was to examine alcohol reward in animals exposed to repeated, mild social stress, and to determine whether alcohol drinking changes as a function of the temporal parameters of alcohol access relative to the stressor. Male Long-Evans rats, trained to self-administer a 6% (wt/vol) alcohol solution using a sucrose-fading procedure, were exposed to five brief (5 min) episodes of contact with an aggressive male. Full contact with the resident was limited to a single episode of defeat, whereas the following four encounters occurred with the subjects behind a protective wire mesh cage. Alcohol self-administration was measured 1 week prior to stress (baseline), on each day of stress exposure, and 1 week following stress. Separate groups of animals were randomly assigned to self-administer alcohol immediately prior, immediately following, or 2 h following defeat stress. Stress preferentially increased alcohol drinking on stress-exposure days, and further elevated the amount consumed 1 week following stress. Temporal parameters of alcohol access relative to the stressor were found to be important. Average alcohol consumption was greatest for animals drinking 2 h postdefeat, whereas animals drinking immediately prior to or following the stressor did not show a significant increase in alcohol consumption. Results suggest that mild social defeat stress is sufficient to elicit increases in alcohol consumption in nonpreferring strains of rodents, provided alcohol access occurs at an optimal time interval after the social defeat experience.
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10/01/2008
Hamilton's [Hamilton, W.D., 1964. The genetical evolution of social behavior, I, II. J. Theor. Biol. 7, 1–52] kin-selection theory predicts that altruism will be greater with greater genetic overlap (degree of kinship) between giver and receiver. Kin may be identified in terms of social distance—the closer you feel to someone else, (a) the greater your genetic overlap with them should be, and (b) the more altruistic you should be toward them. The present experiment determined the amount of their own (hypothetical) monetary reward undergraduates were willing to forgo in order to give $75 to other people at various social distances. We found that (a) genetic relationship and (b) altruism varied inversely with social distance; the closer you feel to someone else, the closer their relation to you is likely to be, and the more altruistic you are likely to be toward them. However, even at the same social distance, participants were willing to forgo significantly more money for the benefit of relatives than for the benefit of non-relatives. These results are consistent with kin-selection theory and imply that altruism is determined by factors in addition to social distance.
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07/22/2023
Background: Black women and their infants face heightened health risks during pregnancy, labor, and delivery that, for many, cost them their lives. Such health risks during this critical period are linked to increased rates of anxiety among Black pregnant and postpartum women. Black women also endure racism when seeking support from mental health and healthcare providers, which further contributes to pregnancy and postpartum-related anxiety. Evidence on sister circles has demonstrated that this indigenous form of healing may provide Black pregnant and postpartum women with the support and skills needed to cope with stressors associated with mental and physical health concerns and racism.
Objective: Our study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the Birthing Beautiful Babies Sisters Offering Support, a sister circle cognitive behavioral therapy-based stress and anxiety intervention for Black pregnant and postpartum women.
Design: Our study employed a mixed-methods framework.
Methods: Descriptive analyses, paired samples t-test, and open and selective coding were conducted. We utilized the following measures: Penn State Worry Questionnaire–Abbreviated, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Scale, focus booklet, and focus group discussion.
Results: Participants reported experiencing moderate levels of worry and distress and low levels of pregnancy-related anxiety prior to the start of the Birthing Beautiful Babies Sisters Offering Support intervention. Eighty women participated in Birthing Beautiful Babies Sisters Offering Support. Eleven focus groups were conducted to assess their experience. Participants reported a perceived increase in their knowledge about panic attacks and stress and ability to manage stressors effectively. They found that all completed activities contributed to their development and application of skills. They reported they enjoyed Birthing Beautiful Babies Sisters Offering Support because of the supportive environment, openness, and emphasis on sisterhood. Participants provided helpful feedback about the structure and flow of the intervention.
Conclusion: Limitations of the present study and future directions are discussed.
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11/25/2021
Objective Stressful experiences can dramatically affect eating. The relatively sudden, global emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic served as a massive stressor to virtually all people, regardless of infection status. This study hypothesized that actual and perceived stressors from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the categories of recurring disruptions, environmental threat, and social isolation would be positively associated with increased self-reported eating in the United States. Methods Over 1100 English-fluent adults (52.8% women) living in the United States were recruited for a cross-sectional online survey about eating, COVID-19 consequences, and stress experiences. Linear regressions examined associations between perceived stress on five eating measures, and individual differences in personal/work situations, perceptions, and adverse experiences during the pandemic. Results Anxiety, worry, and stress over, rather than direct consequences of, COVID-19 were most consistently associated with self-reported increased eating. Largely, these fell into the stressor categories of environmental threat and social isolation, not recurring disruptions. Body mass index and current self-reported eating pathology symptoms were also consistently associated with these outcomes. Conclusions These correlational findings suggest specific stressors have pronounced influences on eating behavior of US adults. Remotely deliverable stress mitigation strategies should be explored to attenuate increased eating.
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