bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relative Likelihood Analysis Versus Significance Tests
Authors: Crane John A.
Published: March 2007

In spite of the appearance of a large literature dealing with the limitations of conventional statistical significance testing, social researchers in many fields persist in making extensive use of it. It may be that the researchers see no alternative. Relative likelihood analysis, a comparatively unknown form of applied probability theory, is for most problems a superior alternative to significance testing since it makes possible simultaneous evaluation of the plausibility of families of hypotheses concerning one or more statistical parameters. This article provides a brief introduction to the main elements in relative likelihood analysis, with application to problems in evaluation research.
Recommendations To Congress and Their Rationale
Authors: Boruch Robert F. , Cordray David S. , Pion Georgine M. , Leviton Laura C.
Published: March 2007

This article concerns recommendations made in a report to Congress and the Department of Education on evaluation offederally supported education programs. The work covers local, state, and federal efforts to address questions about why and how well evaluations are done, and about how results are used. The recommendations are directed toward improving the quality of evaluations and enhancing their usefulness.
Struck Down in Their Prime
Authors: Johnson Eleanor Liebman
Published: March 2007

In 1980, five federal special education longitudinal qualitative impact evaluations were all prematurely terminated. Given the popularity of case studies as part of educational evaluations, the increasing acceptance of qualitative methodology, and the probable continuation of annual funding patterns that pose a threat to the completion of multiyear studies, future studies of this sort are likely to find themselves similarly at risk. What happened, why it happened, what salvage decisions were made and what could have been done may have implications for the design of RFPs and evaluation plans so that the salvageability and usability of future studies will be maximized.
An Evaluation of the Validity and Reliability of Survey Response Data On Household Electricity Conservation
Authors: Fuj Edwin T. , Hennessy Michael , Mak James
Published: March 2007

In this article, we evaluate the reliability and validity of responses to a survey question inquiring as to whether or not households reduced electricity consumption during the energy crisis by directly comparing survey responses with actual kwh electricity consump tion data before and after second energy crisis of 1979. A response bias arises to the extent that when respondents are confronted directly by an interviewer, they are inclined to provide the interviewer with a socially acceptable response, namely that they reduced their consumption of electricity. Our analysis using data from a large sample of Hawaii households revealed that a bias toward overreporting electricity conservation indeed existed. However, the larger source of error stemmed from response unreliability, as indicated by the weak correlation between reported conservation behavior and actual electricity conservation.
Computer-Assisted Approaches To Multiattribute Decision Making
Authors: Radcliff Benjamin
Published: March 2007

This article evaluates three general types of computer-assisted approaches to multicriteria decision problems in which the decision criteria are attributes as opposed to objectives. Several programs specifically designed for multiattribute problems are discussed, as well as spreadsheet and decision-tree software. The analysis centers on both the methodolog ical merits of the various approaches, as well as the concerns peculiar to the computer application.
Gradual Tempo Change and Aesthetic Responses of Music Majors
Authors: Geringer John M. , Madsen Clifford K.
Published: March 2007

This study was designed to investigate aesthetic responses of music major listeners to gradual tempo changes in orchestral music. Seventy-two graduate and undergraduate participants listened to a recording of the first movement of Haydn's Symphony #104 and indicated aesthetic responses during the presentation using a CRDI dial. One group listened to an unaltered version of the excerpt. A second group heard a version that slowly increased in tempo to a maximum of 20 percent above the original tempo, and a third group heard a version that gradually decreased in tempo to 20 percent below the original. Although the overall contour of responses was similar for all listening conditions, the tempo increase group indicated slightly higher levels of aesthetic response during the latter part of the movement than did the unaltered and tempo decrease groups. None of the listeners in the tempo change groups clearly identified the nature of the change.
A Study of Interaction and Learning in Instrumental Teaching
Authors: West Tore , Rostvall Anna-Lena
Published: March 2007

Eleven brass and guitar lessons in Sweden were videotaped, transcribed, and analyzed to investigate how teachers and students used speech, music, and body language; to what they focused their attention during the lessons; and how this affected student learning. A detailed description of each lesson was analyzed using cognitive concepts of experiencing and learning music, as well as concepts of educational genres of speech and music use. Five hours of video of 4 teachers and 21 students were minutely described and analyzed. The results of the study reflect how music during the lessons was broken down into separate note symbols as read from the score, rather than the expected musical phrases, rhythms and melodies. Surprisingly, expressive qualities of performing music were not addressed at all. The teacher controlled the interaction, while student attempts to take any initiative were ignored or questioned in a manner that was not anticipated.
On the Nature of Knowledge: What We Want and What we Get With Measurement in Music Education
Authors: Aróstegui José Luis
Published: March 2007

This paper is a philosophical argument about the possibility – or lack thereof – of truly evaluating music learning. The starting point is that the nature of knowledge conditions all assessment. For this reason, the first section is dedicated to discussion of the two global types of knowledge, positivist and interpretive. In the second section, these two kinds of knowledge to the different concepts of classical music are related. This is followed by discussion on how these two types of knowledge affect music education. Finally, conclusions state that positivist and interpretive knowledge are complementary. Instruction and assessment must be done according to the different circumstances of the instructional process, whereby a student interacts with his or her realm, using both the positivist and the interpretive.
Children's aesthetic decision-making: An analysis of children's musical discourse as composers
Authors: Barrett Margaret
Published: March 2007

In this study I promote a view of children's aesthetic decision-making as a non-verbal process evidenced in the structural features children employ in their musical discourse as composers. I draw on the work of Polanyi and Wittgenstein to support the view that knowledge may be demonstrated as well as ‘stated’ verbally, and that the examination of children's musical discourse as composers provides us with direct access to their musical thinking and aesthetic decision-making. Through the analysis of the form and structure of one hundred and thirty-seven compositions collected from children aged between five and twelve years children's aesthetic decision-making is identified and described. Findings of the study suggest that children's aesthetic decisionmaking as demonstrated in their use of structure and form in their musical discourse as composers is not necessarily linked to age or prior experience.
Pre and Perinatal Growth and Development: Implications of Music Benefits for Premature Infants
Authors: Standley Jayne M.
Published: March 2007

This article summarizes the current scientific knowledge on foetal and newborn neurological development and related research on beneficial uses of music with the premature infant. As technology and science advance, the survival rate of earlier and earlier premature birth increases with long-term implications for these children having impaired neurological development, delayed growth, and need for special education. Research in the neonatal intensive care unit has focused on uses of music to reduce stress, to promote homeostasis and weight gain, to reinforce non-nutritive sucking, to enhance developmental maturation, and to shorten length of hospitalization. Further, it is theorized that music benefits documented for full term newborns may also apply to the premature infant, i.e., lullabies promote language development; familiar music is recognized, reinforcing, and comforting; and infants orient to and avidly attend to music more so than other auditory stimuli. This burgeoning area of research provides exciting possibilities for the practice of music therapy in the neonatal intensive care unit and for music education in early childhood.
Working in the Third World: Evangelist or Rip-Off Artist?
Authors: Missingham Andrew
Published: March 2007

According to the title of this paper, the Westerner has two possible roles: that of the evangelist, like a missionary spreading the good news of Western culture and taking the Third World to a more sophisticated level of creation. The other role casts the Westerner as the rip-off artist, taking the poor third world artist's ancestral lifework, beguiling these wide eyed innocents with the trinkets of music technology and pillaging and raping the virgin beauty of third world art in the process. Although in the course of this paper I will give instances which tend towards one or other of these extremes, the artistic relationship between the West and the third world cannot be viewed in this wonderfully simple polarisation. The world is far more complex than that.

This paper is a personal view of the influences that working outside my native environment has had on me. My primary aim is to arm readers with a few questions to ask themselves about the way they work, the assumptions that they take with them and perhaps lead them to explore alternative viewpoints.
Evaluations of Middle Class and Lower Class Speakers of Standard American and German-Accented English
Authors: Ryan Ellen Bouchard , Bulik Cynthia M.
Published: March 2007

Male speakers (aged 45-60) of either standard or German-accented American English were presented to middle class Anglo-American undergraduates as individuals belonging to either the lower or middle class. The respondents rated speakers on status, solidarity, and speech dimensions and also completed social distance and belief similarity items. The nonstandard speech style affected listener evaluations negatively on all measures while social class only affected status and speech intelligibility ratings. The lack of predicted interactions indicated that individuals speaking with a German accent were neither more strongly downgraded in the lower class condition nor upgraded in the middle class condition.
Argument From Aristotle To Analysis of Variance: a Modest Reinterpretation
Authors: Burgoon Michael
Published: March 2007

This paper examines three different ways in which language research can directly bear on the scholarship of people primarily interested in the processes of social influence. First, a discussion is offered on how the inclusion of language variables in established theories of social influence and argumentation can alter predictions about successful and unsuccessful attitude change and provide a richer logic of explanation for theoreticians. Moreover, it is suggested that such a language perspective can be useful in providing a new theoretical umbrella for many of the confusing and contradictory findings in the attitude change research literature. After making arguments about the interface between language and social influence processes, it is suggested that potential methodological contribu tions could accrue to attitude change researchers if they were to pay more attention to research on the quantification and measurement of specific langauge phenomena. Finally, it is suggested that there are several potential heuristic qualities of language research which could obtain if this body of knowledge were applied to some classic concerns about logic, argument and rationality as pre dictors of attitude change. An ordinary language approach to the study of argu mentation and information is called for in this final section of the paper.
The Study of Language in Institutional Contexts
Authors: O'Barr William M.
Published: March 2007

Studies relating language and institutions have emerged independently in several disciplines, including social psychology, social anthropology, sociology, linguistics, and others, as researchers have questioned conventional boundaries of concern. Language and law is examined as an indicative case for language-institu tion studies. The field shows vitality in research relating language to education, medicine, commerce, etc., but very little agreement upon priorities in topic, method, or theory. Rather, research tends to be informed by questions and approaches that reflect disciplinary concerns. It is suggested that researchers investigating language-institution relations do share many issues arising out of the hybrid origins and the non-conventionality of issues considered. The particular experiences of the author are discussed to show how his own interests in language in institutional contexts developed and to provide a specific opportunity to analyse the general issues facing researchers in language-instruction contexts. In conclu sion, it is argued that language-institution studies must go beyond merely noticing language in institutional contexts by attempting to speak to important and signifi cant questions about language, institutions, or both.
Is there any Sense in Social Inquiry Reports?
Authors: Raynor Peter
Published: March 2007

The author reviews established theory and practice of social inquiries within the treatment model. He then examines the "justice model" and suggests that social inquiry work has a place within it, and that a recognition of its real uses within such a model can lead to more purposeful and credible practice.
Discovering TA
Authors: Midgley David
Published: March 2007

Among the many explanatory perspectives developed in which to view human nature and behaviour, Transactional Analysis has, of recent years, been popular. Here, the author outlines some of the main con cepts of TA, and indicates some of their possible uses in work with clients.
Client or Helper?
Authors: Franklin Royce
Published: March 2007

'New careers' is now a familiar notion; the rewards and difficulties have been much discussed. Here, the difficulties of a 'client' becoming a 'volunteer' in a day-centre are outlined in relation to one man, but the author counsels continued commitment to the optimistic principle.
Library Buildings in the 1980s
Authors: Mangold Elisabeth
Published: March 2007

The fifth in a series of articles on library buildings completed in the 1980s, based largely on the library and architectural literature. Describes and evaluates new and remodelled library buildings in the United States of America.
CDS/ISIS Information
Authors: Hopkinson Alan
Published: March 2007

This is the third of a series which is to be a regular feature in which we hope to be able to exchange information about the CDS/ISIS software package. Readers who have any comments, queries, suggestions, hints or advice on the use of the package are invited to send them direct to
Libraries and information services in Vietnam
Authors: Macmillen Sandy
Published: March 2007

Literature-based review of libraries and information services in Vietnam. Briefly gives background information about Vietnam and summarizes colonial and pre-1975 library developments. Explains the approach to libraries and information in communist Vietnam. Discusses the following: the National Library, bibliographic control, public and other libraries, information networks. Concentrates on the current situation. Summarizes developments regarding training, international links, automation and conservation.
CDS/ISIS Information
Authors: Hopkinson Alan
Published: March 2007

This is the fifth of a regular series in which we exchange information about the CDS/ISIS software package running under MS-DOS on IBM Personal Computers and compatibles. Readers who have any comments, queries, suggestions, hints or advice on the use of the package are asked to send them direct to:
Managing newspaper collections in Nigeria
Authors: Okorafor E.E.
Published: March 2007

Nigerian newapaper collections are managed mostly in serials and a few readers' services departments, which are inadequately staffed. Newspapers are ineffectively indexed and cuttings are organized in only a few libraries. Very few are bound, microfilmed or deacidified. They are accommodated with books, journals, and so on and weeded after a few years for lack of space. The National Library of Nigeria is urged to evolve a Nigerian Newspapers Project for the indexing, preservation and conservation of Nigerian newspapers.
Information for agricultural research in Zambia
Authors: Lumande Edward
Published: March 2007

An overview of the broad national objectives for agriculture in Zambia is given. The national information infrastructure is mentioned, emphasizing organized agricultural research collections. The current organizational changes in the agricultural research branch of the Ministry of Agriculture, and their impact on the provision of information services, are discussed. The Mount Makulu Research Station Library and its services are described in detail and proposals for the improvement of the agricultural research information network are made.
Reference services in developing countries
Authors: Velho Lopes Roseane R.
Published: March 2007

Reference services in libraries in developing countries constitute a challenge for library managers and planners, if based on the following framework: (1) identification of information sources within the library to cater for an information need, (2) identification of external information sources to cater for an information need; (3) generation of inhouse information sources to cater for perceived information needs, and (4) pooling of inhouse and external reference resources. This present challenge is an undeniable need as libraries start pooling resources in the future.
Intergovernmental records in the United States: experiments in description and appraisal
Authors: Allen Marie B.
Published: March 2007

Summarizes the first report on the Inter governmental Records Project (IRP) of the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States, published in 1990. Briefly describes the project's history and purpose and comments on the utility of the USMARC-AMC format, the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules and the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN) for the sharing of information about inter governmental records. Lists and comments on nine recommendations of the report. Concludes that while new tools, particularly automated systems, are now available to archivists, the latter are not yet ready to use thesee tools effectively.
Corticotropin-releasing factor immunoreactivity in post-mortem brain from depressed suicides
Authors: Charlton Bruce G. , Cheetham Sharon C. , Horton Roger W. , Katona Cornelius L. E. , Crompton M. Rufus , Ferrier I. Nicol
Published: March 2007

Corticotropin-releasing factor immunoreactivity (CRF-I) was measured in cortical brain tissue obtained at post-mortem from 12 suicide victims with clear evidence of depressive illness and 12 age-matched and sex-matched control subjects dying by natural causes. There were no significant differences in mean CRF-I concentrations in frontal, temporal, motor and parietal cortex between the total suicide group, or the eight drug-free suicides and their matched controls. These findings suggest that cortical CRF-I concentrations are unaltered in depressive illness and are discussed in relation to recent reports of elevated CRF-I con centrations in the cerebrospinal fluid of depressed patients.
Measures of anxiety and stress in the rat following chronic treatment with yohimbine
Authors: Johnston Amanda L. , Baldwin Helen A. , File Sandra E.
Published: March 2007

Yohimbine (2.5 and 5 mg/kg) was investigated in two animal tests of anxiety and on baseline corticosterone plasma concentrations, following both acute and chronic administration. Acute treatment with yohimbine produced the following effects: a reduction in the percentage of total arm entries made onto the open arms and in the percentage of time spent on the open arms of an elevated plus-maze (indicating anxiogenic properties), an increase in baseline plasma corticosterone concentrations, and a reduction in locomotor activity (recorded in the social interaction test). No significant effects were observed on anxiety levels as measured by the social interaction test. Following chronic treatment, we saw no evidence for sensitization to the effects of yohimbine.
Effect of clovoxamine fumarate on the electrocardiogram
Authors: Goldie Ann , Edwards J. Guy
Published: March 2007

The electrocardiographic effects of clovoxamine, an antidepressant that inhibits the neuronal uptake of both noradrenaline and 5-hydroxytryptamine, have been studied. High speed electrocardiograms were recorded on 28 patients with depressive illness before and after 4 weeks treatment with either clovoxamine or placebo. No patient had clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease. The ECG measurements were carried out blind to patient, treatment and treatment interval. No statistically significant changes in the sinus cycle length, PR, QRS and QTc intervals, or T-wave height were found after treatment with active drug or placebo, showing that clovoxamine has no clinically important effects on the ECG when given in therapeutic doses to patients free from serious physical disease.
The effects of corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) and handling stress on behavior in the elevated plus-maze test of anxiety
Authors: Adamec Robert E. , Sayin Umit , Brown Andrea
Published: March 2007

The effects on rodent anxiety of corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF), common experimental stressors and the CRF receptor blocker, α-helical CRF, were measured using the hole board and elevated plus-maze tests. Centrally administered (intracerebroventricular, i.c.v.) CRF increased anxiety in an anxioselective manner. α-Helical CRF (i.c.v) antagonized the effects of CRF, implicating central CRF receptors. Common experimental stressors, such as surgical implantation of cannulas and intraperitoneal injections of saline also selectively increased anxiety in the plus maze. Endogenous CRF binding to central CRF receptors probably mediates the anxiogenic effects of stressors, since α-helical CRF reversed the increased anxiety following surgery. Finally, repeated gentle handling seemed to blunt the anxiogenic effect of CRF. Handling also altered the effect of CRF on behavior, creating an apparently CRF-mediated suppression of rearing and exploration which was not present in rats not stressed with repeated handling. Together the data suggest a modifiable modulatory role of CRF in rodent anxiety. The findings also suggest that careful attention should be paid to stress history when examining the role of CRF in rodent behavior.
Resistance to stress: multiple neurochemical, behavioral and genetic factors
Authors: Anisman Hymie , Zacharko Robert M.
Published: March 2007

Stressful events induce a variety of neurochemical alterations which are believed to subserve behavioral disturbances. Although stressor-induced behavioral and neurochemical alterations have been reliably observed, appreciable interindividual differences exist in this respect. It is suggested that genetic analyses may be ideal in assessing the relationship between the neurochemical and behavioral sequelae of acute stressors, as well as the processes subserving adaptation to chronic stressors.
D-1 receptor involvement in reward-related learning
Authors: Beninger Richard J.
Published: March 2007

A comparison of the effects of apomorphine, amphetamine and dopamine (DA) receptor subtype-specific agonists in responding for conditioned reward, self-administration and place conditioning paradigms provides insights into the possible involvement of D-1 and D-2 receptors in reward-related learning. Amphetamine and the D-2 agonists bromocriptine and quinpirole enhanced responding for conditioned reward, were self-administered and produced place preferences. Apomorphine impaired responding for conditioned reward by enhancing responding on two levers, was self-administered and produced a place preference. The D-1 agonist SKF 38393 impaired responding for condition reward, did not support self-administration and produced a place preference. The failure of SKF 38393 to support self-administration may have been related to effects of this drug, for example, peripheral aversive effects or a slow onset of action, unrelated to its action at the D-1 receptor. It was suggested that a D-1 agonist might be expected to be self-administered from the point of view of the hypothesis that it is the action at D-1 receptors of DA released in association with reward that produces reward-related learning. This hypothesis was supported by the remaining data. Thus, apomorphine and SKF 38393 may have masked the DA signal associated with reward in the conditioned reward paradigm leading to a loss of control of responding by the conditioned rewarding stimulus. In self-administration, apomorphine would have its onset of action after the performance of the response which is followed immediately by a conditioned reward. The conditioned reward may effectively maintain control of behaviour by the lever and related stimuli while the drug may maintain the effectiveness of the conditioned reward. In place conditioning, there is no specific environmental stimulus that must come to control responding; therefore, apomorphine and SKF 38393 may have been seen to produce place preferences in spite of their relatively tonic action at D-1 receptors. Finally, the finding that the D-1 antagonists SCH 23390 or SCH 39166 blocked the effects of reward in these paradigms was taken as further evidence that the D-1 receptor may be critically involved in the learning produced by rewarding stimuli.
Merck, Sharp & Dohme Prize for Young Psychopharmacologists
Authors: Kerwin Robert
Published: March 2007

In the past two decades neurobiological research into schizophrenia has seen a shift of emphasis from the dopaminergic pharmacology of subcortical systems to areas of abnormality inferred from direct studies, i.e. frontal cortex and medial temporal lobe. Recent research has tried to integrate morphological abnormalities with neurochemical and pharmacological data. These integrated approaches have uncovered neurochemical systems other than dopamine which are of importance. This approach has led to greater understanding of neurochemical mechanisms associated with these abnormalities and may provide novel approaches for therapeutic intervention.
Nimodipine and flunarizine in alcohol withdrawal: an open study
Authors: Deckert J. , Müller T. , Becker T. , Lanczik M. , Fritze J.
Published: March 2007

An open pilot study of the calcium antagonists nimodipine (240 mg/die p.o.) and flunarizine (20 mg/die p.o.) as a treatment in alcohol withdrawal was conducted. Two of the eight patients who received nimodipine and one of the eight patients who received flunarizine developed a confusional state preceded, in one of the patients with nimodipine and in the patient with flunarizine, by a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. The patients receiving flunarizine seemed to recover faster from the alcohol withdrawal syndrome than the patients receiving nimodipine. Given the limited capability of both drugs to prevent severe withdrawal symptoms at the doses tested, double-blind studies with these drugs, possibly with higher doses and i.v. administration should follow an add-on design.
The effects and after effects of the α2-adrenoceptor antagonist idazoxan on mood, memory and attention in normal volunteers
Authors: Smith A.P. , Wilson S.J. , Glue P. , Nutt D.J.
Published: March 2007

Idazoxan, an α 2-adrenoceptor antagonist, is an effective antidepressant with a mode of action different from that of conventional antidepressants. As it is used as an antidepressant it is important to know whether there are any unwanted CNS side effects. Study of its effects will also provide information on the relationship between noradrenergic function and mood and performance. Twelve normal male volunteers who were given the drug (40 mg orally three times daily for 21 days) were compared with 12 matched controls. A computerized test battery was used to assess mood and various aspects of memory and attention. Many of the tests of memory and attention in the battery have been widely used over the last 20 years, and in addition two new selective attention tasks were included. The subjects were tested 3 days before starting the drug, on days 3 and 17 while on the drug, and after they had stopped taking the drug (4 days after and 24 days after). Control subjects followed a similar testing schedule. The results showed that the drug had no effect on mood, logical reasoning, retrieval from semantic memory or sustained attention. However, the drug did improve one aspect of selective attention (the place repetition effect), although this effect was only observed on the third day on the drug. Overall, the results suggest that idazoxan produces selective performance improvements, and that the measures of selective attention used here may be more sensitive indicators of drug effects than some of the traditional tasks currently in use.
Calcium mobilization in platelets from schizophrenic and healthy subjects. Regulation by lithium and neuroleptics
Authors: Essali M.A. , Das I. , de Belleroche J. , Hirsch S.R.
Published: March 2007

Intracellular free calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]1) were measured in platelets from healthy volunteers before and after adding thrombin, chlorpromazine, haloperidol and/or lithium, and in platelets from DSM-III-R diagnosed schizophrenic patients receiving neuroleptic medication. Thrombin increased [Ca2+] 1 in a dose- dependent fashion. Chlorpromazine and haloperidol also mobilized Ca2+ in a dose-dependent fashion, and augmented the response to low doses of thrombin without changing the maximal response to thrombin. The effects of all three drugs were not additive, suggesting that they affected the same intraplatelet calcium pool; most likely the dense tubular system. Lithium also increased [Ca2+ ] but without affecting the response to thrombin, chlorpromazine or haloperidol. The effects of the latter three drugs were additive to that of lithium, suggesting that lithium was acting on a different calcium pool. The response to thrombin was significantly lower in platelets from schizophrenic patients than in platelets from healthy volunteers. Further studies are required to explore potential causes for this observation. Such causes include schizophrenia per se and chronic neuroleptic treatment.
Altered states of consciousness: phenomenology and pharmacology
Authors: Healy David
Published: March 2007

In recent years a conjunction of factors have brought questions surrounding the phenomenology and pharmacology of altered states of consciousness back onto the scientific agenda. These factors primarily involve the re-classification of psychiatric disorders that took place in 1980 with the publication of DSM III, which contained a number of syndromes that could be characterized in terms of altered states of consciousness, and also the recognition of the phenomenon of awareness under anaesthesia. These issues are outlined against a historical background, in which there had been at the end of the last century a primary psychopathological focus on the question of consciousness that was, however, increasingly neglected during the course of this century until its recent return to prominence.
Antidepressant therapy in the physically ill: a therapeutic opportunity for the selective 5-HT re-uptake inhibitors?
Authors: Lane Roger
Published: March 2007

Depression is common in physically ill populations, although it is frequently unrecognized and untreated. Diagnosis and antidepressant treatment are discussed. The side-effect profiles of the selective 5-HT re-uptake inhibitors suggest they may offer new therapeutic opportunities in physically ill patients. Sertraline may be of particular benefit in some patients due to its distinct pharmacological profile and the potential for fewer drug interactions. Further evaluation is necessary to determine the risk-benefit ratio for drugs of this class.
Amphetamine-evoked dopamine release from guinea-pig striatum is potentiated by environmental stress, a need for habituation with microdialysis equipment
Authors: Fosbraey P.
Published: March 2007

The microdialysis technique has been successfully applied to a study of amphetamine-evoked dopamine release in the striatum of conscious, freely-moving guinea-pigs. Basal levels of dopamine in guinea-pig striatal dialysates were comparable with published data from studies in rats. There were marked differences in the relative proportions of the two main dopamine metabolites in the guinea-pig compared to those reported previously in the rat, suggesting differences in the fate of dopamine between the species. Amphetamine caused an increase in dopamine and a decrease in dopamine metabolites in striatal dialysates. The increase in dopamine levels correlated with the increased incidence of head tics. Both the changes in dopamine levels and the incidence of head tics were less in animals which previously had been habituated with the experimental apparatus. Dopamine metabolite changes were unaffected by habituation, suggesting that the metabolites derive, at least in part, from sources other than released dopamine. These observations suggest that stress produced by a novel environment potentiate the response, both neurochemical and behavioural, to amphetamine. Care should be taken in the design of experiments to minimize stress factors.
Alcohol consumption and lifestyle in medical students
Authors: File Sandra E. , Mabbutt Peter S. , Shaffer Joe
Published: March 2007

1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th year medical students completed a questionnaire with 35 questions relating to diet, general health, exercise, smoking and drinking. Based on reported 'typical weekly intake' one-third of male non-Asian students in years 1-3, and 59% in year 5 were drinking above safe limits. 12-26% of non-Asian female students were drinking above safe limits. In all years most Asian students were drinking within safe limits. Non-Asians smoked more than Asians and males smoked more than females. A group of non-Asian male students with alcohol intake for the previous week > 35 units was compared with a group of safe drinkers (<25 > 0 units/week). Significantly more of the former group drank > 10 units per occasion, had been hurt as a result of someone's drinking, had caused physical harm and drank at lunch. Although 65% were aware their level of drinking was dangerous, only 7.5% wanted advice on safe drinking and only 5% wanted to drink less. The dangerous level drinkers ate less fruit and smoked more cigarettes than those drinking safely, but there were no other significant differences and there was no evidence for impaired academic performance.
Differences between three rat strains in sensitivity to prepulse inhibition of an acoustic startle response: influence of apomorphine and phencyclidine pretreatment
Authors: Varty Geoffrey B. , Higgins Guy A.
Published: March 2007

In the present study we have examined the effect of varying three prepulse parameters (prepulse intensity, prepulse duration, prepulse-pulse interval) on the level of prepulse inhibition (PPI) in Lister hooded, Wistar and Sprague-Dawley rats. The results indicate that each strain showed subtle differences in sensitivity to the prepulse. For instance, Sprague-Dawley and Lister hooded rats showed PPI to prepulses of lower saliency compared to Wistar rats. Optimal prepulse parameters were selected for each strain to examine the effects of apomorphine and phencyclidine on PPI. Further inter-strain differences were noted; apomorphine (0.1-1 mg/kg) increased startle amplitude in Lister hooded and Sprague-Dawley, but not Wistar rats. PPI was attenuated in each strain by apomorphine pretreatment. In a final series of experiments, phencyclidine disrupted PPI in each strain, although with greater potency in the Lister hooded rats. A marked behavioural syndrome was seen at phencyclidine doses that disrupted PPI. It is concluded that rat strain and prepulse parameters are important variables in studying drug effects on PPI.
Is there a distinct subtype of major depression in the elderly?
Authors: Baldwin R.C.
Published: March 2007

Evidence for and against the notion of a specific subtype of depressive illness in the elderly is reviewed. There is little to support a distinction based on clinical features, neurobiological markers, treatment response or prognosis, but subtle organic cerebral change may predispose to late-onset depression in a significant minority of cases.
A new human (psycho)pharmacology tool: the multiple organs coincidences counter (MOCC)
Authors: Malizia A. , Forse G. , Haida A. , Gunn R. , Melichar J. , Poole K. , Bateman D. , Fahy D. , Schnorr L. , Brown D. , Rhodes C. , Nutt D.J. , Jones T.
Published: March 2007

We describe a novel instrument which is capable of measuring the uptake of radioligand in human organs in vivo with the administration of very small doses of positron-emitting radioligands. This technique readily detects the displacement or reduced uptake of radioligand when a competitive agonist or antagonist is administered. This system provides no tomographic information, but the small radioactive doses involved mean that investigations can be repeated at regular intervals and that female volunteers can also participate. We administered [11 C]flumazenil, [11C]diprenorphine, [11C] meta -hydroxyephedrine (MHED) and [11C]RTI 55 to healthy male volunteers and performed control, pre-loading and displacement experiments. These demonstrate the feasibility of using this technique to investigate benzodiazepine and opiate receptor occupancy, as well as occupancy at dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin (5-HT) re-uptake sites. This method is likely to be useful in pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic experiments, in drug development and discovery and in the development of novel imaging radioligands.
Similar effects of buspirone and chlordiazepoxide on a fixed interval schedule with long-term, low-dose administration
Authors: Zhu Xiao-ou , McNaughton Neil
Published: March 2007

Buspirone is a novel anxiolytic which does not share the muscle relaxant, anticonvulsant and sedative properties of classical anxiolytics such as the benzodiazepines. Its effects on behavioural tests of anxiolytic action generally match those of classical anxiolytics provided a low dose is used. However, in a previous experiment, buspirone appeared to affect fixed interval responding in a way which differed qualitatively as well as quantitatively from the classical anxiolytic chlordiazepoxide. It takes as much as 2 weeks for the clinical effects of anxiolytics to develop, during which time the side effects of benzodiazepines undergo tolerance. We, therefore, decided to compare long-term pre-administration (60 days, three injections/day) of buspirone and chlordiazepoxide on learning of a fixed interval 60-s schedule. The doses were based on previous acute dose-response tests of hippocampal theta rhythm in freely moving animals. Buspirone (0.1 mg/ kg i.p.) and chlordiazepoxide (0.4 mg/kg i.p.) produced similar increases in responding, especially in the middle of acquisition of the fixed interval schedule. Consistent with our acute electrophysiological tests, the effects of 0.4 mg/kg chlordiazepoxide were somewhat larger than those of 0.1 mg/kg buspirone. These results suggest that the acute effects of buspirone, but probably not chlordiazepoxide, on fixed interval responding are contaminated by side effects which do not seriously affect the results with long-term administration. The effects of both novel and classical anxiolytics on control of hippocampal theta rhythm appear to predict the magnitude of their common anxiolytic effects and to be unrelated to their different side effects.
Behavioural and neurochemical effects of early social deprivation in the rat
Authors: Robbins T.W. , Jones G.H. , Wilkinson L.S.
Published: March 2007

The behavioural and neurochemical sequelae of rearing in early social isolation are reviewed. Rats isolated from their peers at ~ 20 days of age are hyperactive, exhibit ambivalent responses to novelty, altered response to stressors, and cognitive impairments when tested as adults. They also overrespond to stimuli predictive of reinforcement, as shown by their elevated levels of conditioned activity when the presentation of food reliably follows daily activity tests in photocell cages. The dose-effect curve for D-amphetamine is shifted to the left in this situation, confirming the enhanced locomotor and stereotyped behaviours seen following systemic treatment with a variety of other psychomotor stimulant drugs. In vivo measurement of amine activity in isolates using microdialysis shows elevations in dopamine concentration in both the nucleus accumbens (ventral striatum) and the caudate-putamen. There are also changes in central 5-HT metabolism. These results are considered in the light of recent studies in isolates using the latent inhibition or pre-pulse inhibition procedures, two putative models of the attentional dysfunction in schizophrenia. Finally, the implications of these findings are considered and future problems requiring resolution are raised.
Sedative antidepressants impair visual detection mechanisms in humans
Authors: Weinstein Aviv , Wilson Sue , Bailey Jayne , Nutt David
Published: March 2007

The safety of sedative antidepressants is a topical issue in the treatment of depression, with driving impairment being of particular concern. We have recently completed a study with normal male volunteers comparing the actions of dothiepin (a traditional, sedating antidepressant) with those of fluvoxamine (one of the selective serotonin re-uptake-inhibiting SSRI class of newer antidepressants) on psychomotor functions relevant to driving. We set out to investigate whether these drugs impair visual selective attention (focused and divided) by employing the 'odd-ball' task. Subjects were required to respond to letters of the alphabet (T for target and other letters for non-targets) that were presented at the centre and/or periphery of the computer screen. The task has been shown to be useful in detecting differences between drugs in their effects on selective attention. Preliminary results show that dothiepin delayed responses to single targets compared with fluvoxamine and placebo. There was also preliminary evidence that it mainly affected response times to peripheral targets. Furthermore, there was preliminary evidence that both drugs delayed responses to central targets compared with placebo on the divided attention trials. Finally, response accuracy in detecting peripheral targets was greater under placebo compared with fluvoxamine and dothiepin. The impairment produced by dothiepin is presumably a consequence of the central blockade of cholinergic muscarinic or histaminergic H1 receptors. It could contribute to the reported association between the tricyclic class of antidepressants and road traffic accidents, and would be worth further investigation in depressed patients taking both classes of drug.
Alterations of bromocriptine-induced penile erection by chronic lithium in rats
Authors: Sharifzadeh M. , Dehpour A.R. , Samini M. , Hassan-Mazandarani H. , Samadian T. , Asghari Gh. R.
Published: March 2007

In the present study, the effects of chronic lithium pre-treatment (30 days) on penile erection (PE) induced by bromocriptine were investigated in rats. Intraperitoneal administration of the dopamine receptor agonist, bromocriptine (4-32 mg/kg) induced PE in a biphasic manner. The maximum response was obtained with 8 mg/kg of bromocriptine and the effect was decreased with increasing doses of the drug from 8 to 32 mg/kg. When animals were pre-treated with different doses of the D-1 dopamine receptor antagonist, SCH 23390, or the D-2 dopamine receptor antagonist, sulpiride, the PE response was decreased. The response induced by bromocriptine (4-32mg/kg) was reduced in animals pre-treated with chronic lithium. SCH 23390 did not produce a larger inhibitory effect on the bromocriptine response in animals pre-treated with chronic lithium, but the inhibitory effect of sulpiride was increased in this condition. It is concluded that chronic lithium treatment may alter the D-1/D-2 receptor activity and inhibit bromocriptine-induced PE.
A study of the pharmacodynamic interaction between befloxatone and ethanol on performance and mood in healthy volunteers
Authors: Ramaekers J.G. , Muntjewerff N.D. , Uiterwijk M.M.C. , van Veggel L.M.A. , Patat A. , Durrieu G. , O'Hanlon J.F.
Published: March 2007

The effects of befloxatone (20 mg o.d. for 10 days) alone and in combination with ethanol on psychomotor performance, memory and mood were assessed in a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study. On treatment days 6, 8 and 10, subjects received 0.5 and 0.8 g/kg ethanol and ethanol placebo in randomly assigned, balanced orders, 2 h post-drug. Critical fusion frequency, choice reaction time, postural instability, critical tracking and mood were measured 1h before ethanol and 1, 3 and 5 h afterwards. Divided attention, sustained attention and memory (immediate and delayed recall) were also measured in single tests, 2.5-5 h post-ethanol.

Ethanol's effects were generally significant when blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) after both doses were the highest; i.e. 0.48-0.67 and 0.96-1.10 mg/ml. Those effects were virtually gone after the subjects' mean BACs fell below 0.40 mg/ml. Befloxatone alone had no significant impairing effect in any test. Neither did it significantly interact with ethanol to cause any greater impairment than the latter alone. It was concluded that befloxatone does not potentiate the sedating and impairing effects of ethanol.
Perspectives on the role of serotonergic mechanisms in the pharmacology of schizophrenia
Authors: Busatto G.F. , Kerwin R.W.
Published: March 2007

In recent years, a number of research findings has renewed interest in the possible role of serotonin (5-HT) in the pharmacology of schizophrenia. Atypical antipsychotics that potently block 5-HT receptors have been shown to be at least as effective as classical antipsychotics as well as producing fewer extrapyramidal side-effects. In addition, molecular biological studies have suggested that allelic variations of 5-HT receptor genes may affect both susceptibility to schizophrenia and clinical response to atypical antipsychotics. Building on these findings, this article proposes that 5-HT receptors are critical sites of antipsychotic action, and examines the implications of this to the treatment and pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Possible pharmacological mechanisms underlying the clinical efficacy of 5-HT blocking antipsychotics are discussed, and the potential of functional neuroimaging techniques to further elucidate these mechanisms is emphasized.