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Biomedical subjects

M Zuckerman

Publications and source records attributed to M Zuckerman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

P-impulsive sensation seeking and its behavioral, psychophysiological and biochemical correlates.

Impulsive unsocialized sensation seeking (ImpUSS) is a major factor discovered in factor analyses of scales used in psychobiological research. It is strongly convergent with Eysenck's P dimension and conscientiousness in the 'big five'. The components of the dimension and the P scale, have been validated as correlates of various kinds of disinhibited behaviors, criminality, sexuality, and substance use and abuse. ImpUSS is related to a failure in passive avoidance learning, probably as a function of impulsivity and attention to reward stimuli. Psychophysiological markers for the trait include strong orienting and weak defensive reflexes and an augmenting, rather than reducing, of cortical reaction to intense stimuli. At the neurochemical level the trait is related to low levels of monoamine oxidase (MAO) and the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin, and theoretically high levels of dopaminergic activity. The trait components have high heritabilities for a personality trait.

Humans

Sensation seeking and selective attention: focused and divided attention on a dichotic listening task.

Differences in selective attention as a function of sensation seeking, extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism were examined in 108 undergraduates using a dichotic listening task. Dependent measures included shadowing performance, reaction times to a secondary light task, target detection, and recall. The results suggested that high sensation seekers have better focused attention than low sensation seekers, and these effects were strongest on the 1st trials of the shadowing tasks. High sensation seekers did not attend differently than low sensation seekers to words related to their interests (sexual, violent, or drug related). Extraversion was associated with greater recall of these kinds of words, although there were no overall differences in selective attention as a function of Eysenck's dimensions. The role of arousal in personality and attention is discussed, particularly in regard to the response of sensation seekers to task novelty.

Adult

Cross-channel effects of vocal and physical attractiveness and their implications for interpersonal perception.

Judges' ratings of senders' vocal attractiveness from face-plus-voice (F+V) cues were influenced by senders' physical attractiveness, and ratings of senders' physical attractiveness from F+V cues were influenced by senders' vocal attractiveness. This occurred even when judges were warned not to pay attention to face when rating vocal attractiveness and not to pay attention to voice when rating physical attractiveness. Instructions to judge attractiveness without being told which channel to attend to resulted in ratings influenced by both vocal and physical attractiveness of senders. Because of cross-channel effects, F+V attractiveness ratings should be more highly related to F+V personality impressions than attractiveness ratings based on only face or only voice. The results supported this hypothesis. Implications of cross-channel effects for research on the attractiveness stereotype were discussed.

Esthetics

Fulminant hepatitis in children: report of 12 cases.

Twelve cases of childhood fulminant hepatitis seen over a 4-year period are described. Six had hepatitis A, five hepatitis B and one non-A non-B hepatitis. Encephalopathy, the cardinal feature of fulminant hepatitis, was usually evident within 2 weeks of onset of illness, and the median duration of illness in fatal cases was 19 days. Deep jaundice, prolongation of the prothrombin time and raised serum ammonia were invariable. Eight children died and the four survivors were critically ill before recovering. Acute viral hepatitis is generally a benign illness in childhood. Although infrequently recorded, fulminant hepatitis may, however, ensue and is associated with a high mortality.

Acute Disease

Influences of sensation seeking, gender, risk appraisal, and situational motivation on smoking.

The study evaluated the current relationship between the trait of sensation seeking and smoking as possibly mediated by gender, cognitive risk appraisal and situational-relevant motivation. Subject were 1071 male and female undergraduates of whom 279 indicated they were past or current smokers and completed a Smoking Questionnaire (SQ). All subjects took the Sensation Seeking Scale. Sensation seeking is significantly (p less than .001) related to the proportion smoking in both men and women, although more women at the university are now smoking. Sensation seekers inhaled more of the smoke than lows, perhaps an indication of stronger nicotine need. Smoking was seen as highly risky, but the degree of estimated risk was not related to sensation seeking. Women reported smoking more in emotional and social situations; men reported smoking more in situations requiring close attention to a task. Sensation seekers reported smoking more than lows in social situations. Research is needed on specific cognitive factors mediating smoking and how they are related to personality and gender.

Adult

Some dubious premises in research and theory on racial differences. Scientific, social, and ethical issues.

The scientific premises for looking for statistical differences between groups designated as races (on somewhat arbitrary grounds) are questionable. The explanation of such differences in strictly biological-evolutionary terms is even more dubious. Studies of temperament, basic personality traits, disorders (such as antisocial personality), and specific genetic markers show that there is much more variation within groups designated as races than between such groups. Investigators and theoreticians interpreting such differences on the basis of limited sampling within the three broad racial groups should be careful to avoid selectivity and misrepresentation of data that serve racist ideology, and should be cautious about presenting their theories to the public through inappropriate media forums.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

The psychophysiology of sensation seeking.

This article summarizes studies relating the trait of sensation seeking to electrodermal and heart-rate responses and cortical evoked potential arousal. Stimulus factors of novelty, intensity, and stimulus significance are important. High sensation seekers tend to give stronger physiological orienting responses than lows to novel stimuli of moderate intensity, particularly when such stimuli are of specific interest. Lows tend to show defensive responses as defined by heart-rate acceleration. The cortical reaction of the highs tends to be augmented by intense visual or auditory stimuli, while that of the lows tends to be reduced or unresponsive to variations in stimulus intensity. Differences between psychophysiological responses of high and low sensation seekers are interpreted as reflective of different evolved biological strategies for processing novel or intense stimulation.

Arousal

Affects, demographic variables, and health.

The revised Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL-R) was given to a national probability sample that consisted of 1,543 adults who also were interviewed, which provided demographic data and self-ratings of health, medication use, and social activities. Standardization procedures have reduced markedly the acquiescence factor and the correlations among the dysphoric affect scales in the MAACL-R. The demographic variables of sex, race, age, education, occupation, income, marital status, religion, geographical area of residence, and size of town or city were related to some of the scales. Positive affect was related directly to self-ratings of health; dysphoric affect was related negatively to these ratings. Frequencies of volunteer activities and social activities in general correlated negatively with depression and positively with positive affect scales.

Adult

Sensation-seeking congruence in couples as a determinant of marital adjustment: a partial replication and extension.

The present study is a replication of an earlier one. There were 30 dysfunctional couples and 30 control couples matched with the clinic couples on age and education. Both partners independently took the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) and the Locke Marital Adjustment Questionnaire (MAQ). Control couples were significantly higher on the MAQ (better marital adjustment). Correlations between partners in the control couples were higher than those between partners in the dysfunctional couples on the SSS Total and Boredom Susceptibility scales, which replicated previous findings. Female partners of males who scored high on the SSS were more likely to initiate the contact for treatment than partners of low male sensation seekers. Female partners of low male sensation seekers and the low males themselves tended to report that sex between them was only tolerable or "disgusting," whereas female partners of high sensation seekers and their mates tended to report sex as pleasurable and apparently sought therapy for other reasons. Congruence on sensation seeking is an important factor in marital adjustment.

Adaptation, Psychological

Aortic dissection following coronary artery bypass surgery: diagnosis by CT.

We describe an unusual case of aortic dissection causing spinal cord infarction. The dissection arose from an intimal tear at the suture line of a coronary artery bypass graft. CT was used to diagnose the dissection and to demonstrate its extension to the aortoiliac bifurcation and innominate artery and its rupture into the left pleural cavity. The most common causes of intimal tears following cardiac bypass surgery are aortic cross-clamping, aortic cannulation, and injury during suturing of the graft to the aorta. An underlying disease of the aorta such as atherosclerosis, cystic medial necrosis, or aortitis is commonly present. CT is an accurate and safe means of detecting aortic dissections following cardiac surgery, and is also useful in assessing the extent of the dissection and identifying its rupture into the pleural or pericardial cavity.

Aortic Dissection

Nocturnal penile tumescence and penile responses in the waking state in diabetic and nondiabetic sexual dysfunctionals.

This study compared diabetics with sexual dysfunction, nondiabetics with sexual dysfunction, and a group of controls on nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) during three nights in a sleep laboratory, and penile response to erotic stimulation in the waking state on one of the nights. Both diabetic and nondiabetic dysfunctionals showed less erectile response to erotic films and tape than controls but did not differ from each other. In contrast, the diabetic dysfunctionals showed significantly weaker NPT response than both the nondiabetic dysfunctionals and the controls, and 58% of them (contrasted with 23% of nondiabetic dysfunctionals and 0% of controls) would be classified as organic using minimal NPT (less than 11.5 mm maximal increase in penile circumference during any nocturnal erection) as the sole criterion. There was a significant relationship between NPT and waking erections in response to erotic stimuli, especially in the diabetic dysfunctionals and the controls.

Adult

Sensation seeking, mania, and monoamines.

Mania is a clinical state that could be described as sensation seeking behavior out of control. This article describes the biochemical correlates of the sensation seeking trait in normals including: gonadal hormones, monoamine oxidase, CSF norepinephrine, plasma dopamine-beta-hydroxylase and serotonin. The findings on monoamines and their neuroregulators in manic and depressed states of bipolar affective disorders are also discussed. Some hypotheses are suggested that link the personality disposition with the variations in the clinical state, and make some high sensation seekers 'at risk' for the affective disorder.

Age Factors