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PubMed1991

Agitation and other noncognitive abnormalities in Alzheimer's disease.

Agitation and other noncognitive abnormalities in patients with Alzheimer's disease are present in at least 50% of patients and are a serious problem for caregivers. Agitation can be divided into aggressive agitation, physically nonaggressive agitation, and verbal agitation. Persecutory delusions of suspiciousness and stealing are the most common psychotic symptoms. Auditory and visual hallucinations are also associated with delusions. Similar to delusions are misidentifications, which are false beliefs probably secondary to agnosia. They occur in one third of patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type in the form of the belief that strangers are living in the home and misidentification of the patient's home and reflection in the mirror. Passive personality changes are present early in the disease, whereas agitation and psychotic symptoms occur with disease progression and predict a more rapid rate of cognitive decline. Agitation and wandering are related to more severe cognitive impairment and psychosocial variables, and neurochemical variables that may be related to behavior disturbance require further study. There are few systematic studies of behavioral or environmental interventions for behavioral symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Current treatment emphasizes education of families, the formation of Alzheimer units in the nursing home, and adjunctive psychotropic agents to treat well-defined target symptoms.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1995

[Systems analysis of behavior in conditions of environmental uncertainty].

The paper deals with the organizational features of the functional behavior system under environmental uncertainty conditions (probability training processes, formation of a conditioned reflex at a low intensity of a signal stimulus), as well as with the probability pattern of reinforcement. It shows that the experimental findings are not always in full conformity with the classical behavior act model developed by P. K. Anokhin. The main difficulty is associated with the fact that the above model in its systems content considers a behavioral act merely alone whereas while teaching under great uncertainty conditions, correction of the programme of actions is possible only when many search reactions are simultaneously analyzed. While making a systems analysis of behavioral performance, it is proposed to use a concept of probability decision to alter the programme of action, as well as an idea of memory buffer (results of search reactions). The proposed approach allows one to describe various training conditions, and it operates as the Anokhin model in a specific case. The organizational features of the functional system of behavior under great uncertainty conditions should be taken into account while specifying the informational mechanism responsible for systems quantization of behavior. The above mechanism of the comprehensive evaluation of the positive and negative results of the performed pattern of behavioral acts can be used to explain the discreteness of an action in the programme alteration process when the same quantum of behavior is implemented.

Behavior↗
PubMed2005

Genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behaviors: evidence from behavioral-genetic research.

This article reviews behavioral-genetic research into human antisocial behavior. The focus is on studies of antisocial behavior that have been leading the way in investigating environmental and genetic influences on human behavior. The first generation of studies, which provided quantitative estimates attesting that genes and environments each influence about half of the population's variation in antisocial behaviors is interpreted. Then how behavioral-genetic methods are being applied to test developmental theory and to detect environmental causes of antisocial behavior is illustrated. Evidence for interactions between genes and the environment in the etiology of antisocial behavior is also examined. The article ends by envisioning future work on gene-environment interplay in the etiology of antisocial behavior.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed1972

Nutritional and environmental interactions in the behavioral development of the rat: long-term effects.

The behavioral effects of early malnutrition and early environmental isolation were observed in male rats. Dietary and environmental manipulations occurred during the first 7 weeks of life, after which followed a 10-week recovery period. On the basis of several different responses, it was found that the behavioral effects of early malnutrition were exaggerated by the environmental isolation. In most cases, the behavioral effects of early malnutrition were completely eliminated by supplying "additional stimulation" early in life. Two theoretical mechanisms are proposed to explain these findings.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2003

A meta-analysis of estimated genetic and environmental effects on smoking behavior in male and female adult twins.

BACKGROUND: Numerous twin studies on smoking behavior have shown that genetic and environmental factors play significant and approximately equal roles in the determination of smoking initiation (SI) and smoking persistence (SP). However, estimates of heritability (h2), shared (c2) and unique environmental effects (e2) from the literature display considerable variability for SI and SP, due most probably to differences in statistical analysis models, age, gender, sample size, origin of cohorts and measurement of smoking behavior. METHODS: A systematic literature search identified six studies for SI and 10 studies for SP. Data from these studies were obtained and re-analysed by meta-analytical techniques. RESULTS: For SI, our results indicate that the parameters h2, c2 and e2 are (mean +/- SEM): 0.37 +/- 0.04, 0.49 +/- 0.04 and 0.17 +/- 0.03 in male adults, and 0.55 +/- 0.04, 0.24 +/- 0.06 and 0.16 +/- 0.01 in female adults, respectively. These values were weighted by a combination of original estimates of variance from studies reporting variances plus estimated variances from studies where variances were not reported (called the combined variance method). Using the same approach for SP, we found that the parameters h2, c2 and e2 weighted by the combined variance method for the phenotype are (mean +/- SEM): 0.59 +/- 0.02, 0.08 +/- 0.04 and 0.37 +/- 0.03 in male adults, and 0.46 +/- 0.12, 0.28 +/- 0.08 and 0.24 +/- 0.07 in female adults, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that genetic factors play a more significant role for SI but a less significant role for SP in female adults compared to male adults. Significant gender difference was also detected in shared environmental factors for SI and SP. However, no significant gender difference was detected for e2 for either phenotype. These findings suggest that genetic and environmental factors may contribute differently to the determination of smoking initiation and persistence in male and female smokers.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Evidence for an interaction of opioid and noradrenergic locus coeruleus systems in the regulation of environmental stimulus-directed behavior.

The roles of opioid and noradrenergic (NE) dorsal bundle systems in an animal's response to particular environmental stimuli were examined in a multicompartment exploration chamber. The opiate antagonist naloxone (NAL) produced a stereo-specific increase in environmental stimulus interaction, while the opiate agonist morphine induced a NAL-reversible reduction in stimulus contact. Thus, a specific opioid role in environmental stimulus-directed behavior is indicated. Several reports suggest inhibitory actions of opioids on NE locus coeruleus (LC) activity. Consistent with these reports, we observed that 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions of the NE dorsal bundles of the LC produced a morphine-like reduction in stimulus contact. Naloxone, which increased stimulus interaction in sham-lesioned rats, had no effect in dorsal bundle lesioned animals. These findings indicate an interaction between opioid and LC systems in the regulation of environmental stimulus-directed behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Revisiting Kurt Lewin: how to gain insight into environmental correlates of obesogenic behaviors.

Overweight and obesity are important determinants of population health. Prevention of weight gain is dependent on the successful balancing of eating and physical activity behaviors. Planned promotion of healthful behavior requires insights into important and changeable determinants and correlates of behavior change. The modest effects of health education have induced a shift in focus from personal to environmental correlates of eating and physical activity behaviors. Six systematic reviews were conducted in 2005 of observational studies of environmental correlates and environmental interventions for weight-related eating behaviors and physical activity for children, adolescents, and adults. The reviews of 297 observational studies showed that few investigations of environmental associations have been replicated, and that most studies used weak research designs and nonvalidated self-report measures, were restricted to micro-environmental factors, and failed to apply multilevel analyses. There is, therefore, very little evidence for an association between environmental factors and weight-related behaviors. However, the reviews of 112 intervention studies indicated much stronger evidence for positive effects of micro-physical and sociocultural environmental changes on eating and physical activity behaviors. Inspired by quotes from Kurt Lewin, we argue that before large-scale environmental change interventions are launched, better-designed and -conducted research on the true importance of environmental factors, including macrolevel factors, for obesogenic behavioral change is needed. Such research should (1) develop better measures of environmental exposure, (2) attempt to integrate personal and environmental correlates of obesogenic behaviors, (3) take a solution-oriented, rather then a problem-oriented approach, and (4) identify access points for inducing behavior change instead of finding explanations for existing behavioral patterns.

Health Behavior↗
PubMed2004

Genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior and alcohol dependence from adolescence to early adulthood.

Genetic and environmental influences on symptoms of adult antisocial behavior (AAB) and alcohol dependence at ages 17, 20, and 24 were examined cross-sectionally and longitudinally in 188 monozygotic and 101 dizygotic male twin pairs. A moderate genetic influence on both AAB and alcohol dependence was found at each age, with a substantial proportion of this influence common to the two disorders, suggesting they share susceptibility genes. Biometrical models showed that continuity effects accounted for most of the stable variance in symptoms of both AAB and alcohol dependence, indicating that genetic and environmental effects associated with each of these disorders were similar at each age. Significant cross-lag effects (effects of alcohol dependence contributing to variance in AAB and vice versa) were observed at ages 20 and 24 for both disorders. The largest and theoretically most interesting of these effects indicated that one sixth of the genetic influence on AAB at age 20 was due to genetic effects associated with alcohol dependence at age 17. Thus, alcohol dependence symptoms at age 17 in particular had an effect on antisocial behavior symptoms at age 20, suggesting that alcohol involvement in adolescence may ensnare otherwise desisting youth in persistent antisocial behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Behavioral momentum. Implications and development from reinforcement theories.

Historical and contemporary theories of reinforcement, as well as the clinical application of reinforcement principles to behavior modification and therapy, are critically analyzed and discussed. A new behavioral approach to studying the allocation of behavior under changed environmental constraints, termed behavioral momentum, is also presented. Whereas traditional behavioral analysis has emphasized the role of response rate as an index of response probability and response strength, more recent studies have addressed the persistence of behavior under altered environmental conditions and reinforcement contingencies. In terms of behavior modification and therapy, issues such as generalizability and relapse prevention have major implications for the type and length of behavioral intervention strategies employed. The behavioral momentum model analyzes operant behavior not only in terms of its response rate but also in relation to its persistence under changed environmental constraints. The authors discuss the applicability of this recent addition to reinforcement theories in context of its implications for behavior modification and therapy.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1980

Environmental influences on self-stimulatory behavior.

Effects of passive environmental conditions (quiet, radio, and television) and manipulable objects (no toys, toys, toys plus staff interaction) on stereotypic behavior were evaluated. Four institutionalized, mentally retarded residents with high rates of stereotypic behavior were observed in a multipurpose room of their cottage. Results showed statistically significant lower levels of stereotypic behavior under the quiet and music conditions as compared to the television condition. There were no significant differences between the three manipulable-object conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Genetic and environmental influences on human behavioral differences.

Human behavioral genetic research aimed at characterizing the existence and nature of genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in cognitive ability, personality and interests, and psychopathology is reviewed. Twin and adoption studies indicate that most behavioral characteristics are heritable. Nonetheless, efforts to identify the genes influencing behavior have produced a limited number of confirmed linkages or associations. Behavioral genetic research also documents the importance of environmental factors, but contrary to the expectations of many behavioral scientists, the relevant environmental factors appear to be those that are not shared by reared together relatives. The observation of genotype-environment correlational processes and the hypothesized existence of genotype-environment interaction effects serve to distinguish behavioral traits from the medical and physiological phenotypes studied by human geneticists. Behavioral genetic research supports the heritability, not the genetic determination, of behavior.

Behavior↗