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Biomedical subjects

T V Petros

Publications and source records attributed to T V Petros.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Failure of posttrial administration of vasopressin analogue (DDAVP) to influence memory in healthy, young, male volunteers.

The effects of intranasal treatment with DDAVP on healthy, male volunteers was assessed. Subjects were asked to learn prose passages and then were given either 60 micrograms of DDAVP or saline in a double-blind procedure. Subjects were then asked to recall the passages after a 24-h delay. Treatment had no effect on recall of passages. This suggests that treatment with vasopressin affects acquisition rather than consolidation of newly learned information.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1994

Effects of smoking on memory for prose passages.

The present study examined the effects of smoking on memory for prose passages. Habitual male smokers were matched on verbal ability, impulsivity level, and habitual smoking level and were instructed to smoke either a 0.1 mg (control), a 0.7 mg, or a 1.5 mg nicotine cigarette in a controlled fashion. Immediate recall after reading expository passages was obtained. The results indicated that the subjects who smoked the 0.7 mg nicotine cigarette recalled a greater proportion of the idea units than the control group, with no difference between the 1.5 mg group and the control. In addition, blood pressure and heart rate significantly increased in all groups immediately after smoking, with heart rate increases greater in the 0.7 mg and 1.5 mg groups than the control. Interpretive hypotheses for the results include arousal theory, with optimal arousal levels being obtained in the 0.7 mg nicotine group for the prose recall task, and nicotine specific effects, including nicotine's influence on the cholinergic system.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Speed of processing within semantic memory following severe closed head injury.

This study investigated the effects of severe closed head injury (CHI) on the speed of information processing within semantic categories. The question of whether subjects were able to benefit from priming was also investigated. Survivors of severe CHI who were less than 1 year postinjury and survivors who were greater than 1 year postinjury were compared with neurologically normal matched controls utilizing a category judgement task. The results demonstrated slower processing within semantic memory for both groups of CHI patients compared to normal controls. Furthermore, individuals with CHI were able to benefit from priming to the same relative degree as control subjects. Overall, the results suggested semantic organization remains intact after severe CHI, but accessing semantic information is slowed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Posttrial treatment with ethanol enhances recall of prose narratives.

A small number of studies have examined the effects of postlearning alcohol intoxication on memory for various materials. In contrast to most research examining the effects of alcohol on human memory, these studies demonstrated a facilitation of memory for information learned prior to intoxication. The present study was designed to examine the effects of alcohol on memory for two different kinds of materials. Standard word lists and narrative prose passages were employed to obtain a more detailed picture of the effects of posttrial intoxication with alcohol on memory. Intoxication with alcohol did not affect subject's ability to recall simple word lists. However, recall of prose passages was facilitated to a statistically significant degree. Results are discussed within the context of a current theory of retrograde facilitation of memory via various drugs/substances.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Gender differences in retrieval from long-term memory following acute intoxication with ethanol.

The present study investigated the effects of ethanol on retrieval from long-term memory by using a set of cognitive decision tasks. Male and female subjects were administered either 0.0 or 1.0 milliliter of ethanol per kilogram of body weight, and then asked to make physical, lexical, and semantic decisions about pairs of words. In general, intoxicated subjects responded significantly slower than sober subjects on all decision types. In addition, female subjects demonstrated greater performance deficits than males when intoxicated. The results suggested that the reduction in speed was not due to a simple slowing of motor responses. Rather the ethanol induced memory deficits may result from the slowing of cognitive operations that impair the efficiency of working memory. Several reasons were proposed for the observed difference in reaction to intoxication between male and female subjects, including neuroendocrine processes and cognitive differences.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Effects of text genre and verbal ability on adult age differences in sensitivity to text structure.

The present study examined the effects of verbal ability and text genre on adult age differences in sensitivity to the semantic structure of prose. Young and older adults of low or high verbal ability heard narrative and expository passages at different presentation rates. The results demonstrated that older adults recalled less than younger adults and that age differences in recall were larger for low-verbal adults and expository texts. However, subjects from all groups favored the main ideas in their recalls for both types of passages. The results indicated that adult age similarities in the ability to focus on the main ideas when processing prose was not compromised by the verbal ability of the subjects or the organization of the passages used. However, the results also demonstrate how the characteristics of the learner and the characteristics of the text modulate the size of the age differences observed.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The effects of caffeine, impulsivity, and sex on memory for word lists.

The present study examined the effects of caffeine on memory for supraspan word lists. Twelve groups of male and female college students classified as high or low impulsive received either 0, 2, or 4 mg/kg of caffeine. Female subjects were tested only during the menstrual phase of their cycle and were not taking oral contraceptives. Subjects listened to 12 word lists presented at one of four rates. Caffeine facilitated recall in females after practice with the task, but impaired recall in males only at the medium dose. The observed effects of caffeine were not influenced by subject's verbal ability, typical amount of caffeine consumption, or level of impulsivity. The results suggest that the effects of caffeine on females may vary according to the level of estrogen in the subject's system.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Vasopressin analogue (DDAVP) facilitates recall of narrative prose.

The effects of treatment with 1-desamino-D-arginine vasopressin (DDAVP) on memory in healthy adult human subjects were investigated. Each subject (males only) received 60 micrograms of DDAVP intranasally and then heard six narrative passages of prose presented at differing rates of presentation. Proportion of recall was measured at high, medium, and low levels of importance of idea units within the passage. The results indicated that treatment with DDAVP facilitated recall for both high and medium importance idea units. There was no interaction between treatment and either rate of presentation or level of verbal ability. These findings provide further evidence for the modest facilitation provided by acute administration of DDAVP on human memory.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Dose-dependent effects of hydrocortisone on memory in human males.

Eighty male undergraduates were administered either glucose or 5, 10, 20, or 40 mg of hydrocortisone in a double-blind procedure. After 60 min they were asked to listen to eight 12 word lists and then asked to recall the words. In addition to the expected effects of rate of presentation, serial position, and practice there was a significant interaction between dose of hydrocortisone and practice. Early recall was facilitated by all doses used whereas later recall was facilitated by treatment with 40 mg and impaired by treatment with 5 mg. These findings are discussed in the context of the effects of pituitary adrenocortical hormones and memory function.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

The effects of alcohol on prose memory.

The present study examined the effects of acute alcoholic intoxication on prose memory. Intoxicated and sober subjects listened to six narrative passages at different presentation rates. Immediately after listening to a tape-recorded version of each story, subjects orally recalled it. The results demonstrated that sober subjects recalled more than intoxicated subjects, but subjects from both groups favored the main ideas in their recalls. However, at the fastest presentation rate, intoxicated subjects showed some diminished sensitivity to the semantic structure of prose. It was suggested that alcohol induced deficits in prose memory may result from a general slowing in the rate with which text is encoded into working memory.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Developmental and reading ability differences in accessing information from semantic memory.

A categorical judgment task was utilized to investigate the relationships between word recognition skills and reading achievement at several grade levels. In the first experiment skilled and unskilled readers from Grades 2, 4, and 6 made cognitive decisions about pairs of words using either graphemic, lexical, or semantic information. In Experiment 2 skilled, average, and unskilled readers from Grades 1, 3, and 5 made semantic decisions about word or picture pairs. The speed and accuracy of word encoding, lexical access, and semantic memory access processes varied as a function of reading ability. These results suggest that inefficient word recognition skills can contribute to reading deficiencies as can deficiencies in semantic memory organization.

Achievement↗
PubMed1983

Adult age differences in accessing and retrieving information from long-term memory.

The present study employed a series of cognitive decision tasks to investigate adult age differences in accessing and retrieving information from long-term memory. Young and old adults, from low and high education populations, were required to make feature, lexical, and categorical judgments about word pairs. Older adults were slower than younger adults at feature extraction, lexical access, and accessing category information. The age deficit was proportionally greater when retrieval of category information was required. The results suggest that one contribution to the diminished processing capacity in elderly adults may be their slower semantic access speed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Preschoolers' awareness of television advertising.

The ability of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children to correctly identify videotaped TV segments as programs and commercials was examined. While this ability improved with age, responding was above chance for each age group. The children used both auditory and visual cues in making correct identifications. The results indicate that, when a task requiring minimal verbal responding is used, preschoolers demonstrate an awareness of commercials as distinct from programs. The social policy implications of the results are discussed.

Advertising↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of DDAVP on gender-specific verbal and visuospatial tasks in healthy young adults.

Although several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of the vasopressin analog DDAVP in enhancing human cognition, few previous studies have explored possible interactions of treatment with DDAVP and gender in healthy young adults. The present study was undertaken to explore the effects of treatment with DDAVP on gender-specific tasks. Male and female volunteers were treated with either DDAVP or saline and asked to recall lists of words and to perform the Paper Folding and Stroop Color Word Tests. Although treatment with DDAVP produced few effects in these tasks, the effects that were noted involved impairment of performance.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The recall of prose as a function of importance following closed head injury.

Closed head injury (CHI) results in significant memory dysfunction. Although the disabling aspects of memory impairment after CHI have been recognized, little attention has been focused on the theoretical nature of these memory problems. A means of examining semantic sensitivity to the importance of the ideas presented in the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised Logical Memory subtest was developed. Subjects with CHI were sensitive to the semantic structure of the stories, but lost more important information at a faster rate than controls. Differences in recall, dependent on the passage, suggested that the two stories in the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised are not equivalent.

Adult↗