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Behavioral responses of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) exposed to deltamethrin and possible implications for disease control.

Behavioral responses of nine Aedes aegypti (L.) strains, six from recent field collections and three from the long-established laboratory colonies, were tested under laboratory-controlled conditions by using an excito-repellency test system. All nine strains showed significant behavioral escape responses when exposed to deltamethrin at the standard field dose (0.02 g/m2), regardless of background insecticide susceptibility status (susceptible or tolerant/resistant). Insecticide contact irritancy played a predominate role in overall female mosquito escape responses, whereas noncontact repellency was not observed at levels significantly different from paired noncontact control tests (P > 0.01). Among the six field populations, the Jakarta (Indonesia) Toba (north Sumatra), and Bangkok female mosquitoes showed rapid exit (>78%) during 30 min of direct contact with insecticide-treated surfaces, whereas the other three strains demonstrated only moderate escape responses (32-56%) from the chambers. Moderate escape responses during direct insecticidal contact also were observed in the three laboratory test populations (44- 60%). Higher percentage of mortality was observed from laboratory strains (8-33%) that failed to escape compared with nonescape females of field strains (2-16%), possibly a reflection of background deltamethrin susceptibility status. We conclude that contact irritancy is a major behavioral response of Ae. aegypti when exposed directly to deltamethrin and that rapid flight escape from areas exposed to space sprays or surfaces treated with residual pyrethroids could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of adult mosquito control and disease transmission reduction measures.

Aedes↗

Variables associated with weight loss and improvements in glycemic control in type II diabetic patients in behavioral weight control programs.

Because weight loss is difficult to achieve, it would be helpful to determine whether there are subgroups of obese type II diabetic patients who benefit most from participation in a behavioral weight loss program. We studied 178 obese patients with type II diabetes, who participated in a 12-20 week behavioral weight loss program and were followed for 1 year after the program to determine whether age, gender, percent overweight, medication, duration of diabetes or fasting glucose were related to weight loss and/or to the magnitude of improvement in glycemic control experienced with weight loss. Gender was the only variable related to weight loss; males lost more weight and had greater decreases in percent overweight than females. The variable most strongly related to improvement in glycemic control was pretreatment fasting glucose level; patients with higher initial glucose levels experienced the greatest improvements in control. There was no evidence to support the belief that patients on insulin have poorer weight losses or that patients with long-duration diabetes benefit less from weight reduction than those with recent-onset diabetes.

Behavior Therapy↗

Neurophysiological effects of vasotocin and corticosterone on medullary neurons: implications for hormonal control of amphibian courtship behavior.

Research on a wide variety of vertebrates, from fish to mammals, reveals that corticosteroid hormones and vasotocin-like neuropeptides can potently modulate reproductive behaviors. But, it is not clear how the behavioral effects of these chemical messengers relate to functional properties of behavior-controlling neurons. This problem was investigated in the roughskin newt, Taricha granulosa, an amphibian in which the administration of arginine vasotocin (AVT) facilitates and corticosterone (CORT) inhibits courtship clasping of females by males. In waking, immobilized male newts, neurophysiological effects of AVT and CORT were studied in neurons in the rostral medulla due to the probable role of these neurons in the control of clasping. Topical medullary application of a clasp-facilitating dose of AVT produced a rapid increase in neuronal responsiveness to pressure on the cloaca, a trigger stimulus for clasping responses. Neuronal responses to noncloacal somatic stimuli and to moving visual stimuli were also enhanced. Systemic CORT administration, which has previously been shown to depress newt medullary neuronal sensory responsiveness, reversed the action of AVT such that the peptide depressed sensory responsiveness when applied 30 min after CORT. When AVT application preceded CORT injection by 10-17 min, however, the usual suppressive CORT effect was reversed and this treatment resulted in a rapidly appearing potentiation of neuronal activity and enhanced somatic sensory responsiveness. If the interval between AVT and CORT was increased to 30 min, the steroid caused a rapid depression of firing and a diminished somatic sensory responsiveness in most neurons, similar to what occurs in newts treated with CORT alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Controllability perceptions and reactions to symptoms of schizophrenia: a within-family comparison of relatives with high and low expressed emotion.

In a sample of 35 family members of patients with recent-onset schizophrenia, attributions of control and the content of critical comments were compared for 2 relatives of the same household who held discrepant expressed emotion (EE) attitudes (1 high and 1 low) toward their mentally ill family member. Attributions and the content of critical comments were also compared for low-EE relatives from low-EE homes versus low-EE relatives from high-EE homes. Our results indicate that high-EE relatives tend to attribute more control over behavior to patients than do low-EE relatives of the same patient. In addition, low-EE relatives from high-EE homes attribute more behavioral control to patients than do low-EE relatives from low-EE homes. These findings suggest that EE status is linked to attributions of control over behaviors, but additional patient factors or influences among family members may also affect EE attitudes.

Acute Disease↗

Timing ability and numerical competence in rats.

Counting and timing ability in Wistar rats was tested in 4 psychophysical choice experiments. After training naive rats with discrete sound sequences that confounded time and number, only time gained control of behavior; control by time was stronger and acquired more rapidly after training with separate time- and number-relevant signals. Two nonnumeric cues associated with periodic sequences, temporal ratio and sequence pattern, did not appear to provide the basis for numerical discrimination, as performance was unaffected by a sudden change from periodic signals to signals with unique temporal patterns. Even after highly accurate performance with number, time showed exclusive control of behavior for signals with conflicting time and number cues. This study provides an unequivocal demonstration that rats can count, but they do so according to H. Davis and J. Memmott's (1983) "last resort" hypothesis.

Animals↗

Discriminative stimulus effects of combinations of drug and visual stimuli in pigeons.

Six pigeons were studied to determine whether the brightness of a houselight interacted with the stimuli produced by methadone, and whether the nature of the interaction depended on the order of training of the two discriminations. Three pigeons were trained to peck the right key after methadone (2.0mg/kg) and the left key after saline, when the houselight was dim. The effects of a range of methadone doses (0.5, 1.0, 2.0mg/kg and saline) were tested. Three other pigeons were trained, in the absence of drug, to peck the right key when the houselight was dim and the left key when the houselight was bright. The effects of a range of houselight intensities were tested. Then, for both groups, right-key pecks were reinforced in the presence of methadone and the dim houselight, and left-key pecks were reinforced in the presence of saline and the bright houselight. Methadone doses were tested in the presence of both houselight brightnesses used in training. All pigeons pecked the methadone-appropriate key after high doses of methadone, regardless of houselight intensity. All pigeons trained to discriminate houselight brightness first, and one of the pigeons trained to discriminate methadone first, pecked according to the houselight condition when saline and lower doses were tested. In the other pigeon trained to discriminate methadone first, pecking was more related to drug dose. These data show that a drug stimulus can compete with external stimuli for behavioral control, that a drug stimulus can assume control over behavior originally controlled by external stimuli, and that discriminations based on external stimuli may be retained when saline or low doses of drug are administered.

Journal Article↗

Electrosensory maps form a substrate for the distributed and parallel control of behavioral responses in weakly electric fish.

Electroreceptors, distributed over the body surface of weakly electric fish, code the local amplitude and phase, or timing of zerocrossing, of the animal's electric signals. These signals are generated by rhythmic discharges of the electric organ and form a dipole-like field around the animal. This field is perturbed by interference with electric fields of other fish as well as by the appearance of objects electrically different from water. The spatial and temporal structure of such perturbations can be interpreted as the electric image of interfering fields and moving objects. This strategy of assessing the environment is called 'electrolocation', a form of 'seeing' with the body surface. Electric images are analyzed in somatotopically ordered strata of neurons within the central nervous system. Primary electrosensory afferents project to somatotopically ordered layers of higher-order neurons in the electrosensory lateral line lobe (ELL) of the hindbrain. Phase and amplitude information are processed in separate layers of the ELL. The phase of the signal in a given region of the body surface is coded by the timing of spikes of spherical cells marking the zerocrossings of the electric signal. This phase information is relayed to lamina 6 of the torus semicircularis of the midbrain. Rises and falls in local amplitude are coded by the activity of different pyramidal cell types, E- and I-units, which project to various laminae of the torus above and below lamina 6. The somatotopic organization of the torus allows for computations of spatial patterns in electrosensory information. Within lamina 6, differences in the phase of signals from different parts of the body surface are computed. Differential-phase information is then relayed to deeper laminae of the torus and remains in topographic register with amplitude information. This organization allows for joint evaluation of spatially related patterns of amplitude and phase modulations on the animal's body surface within local neuronal circuits of the torus. A topographic projection of the torus relays amplitude and differential-phase information to the optic tectum where a further joint evaluation of amplitude and phase serves to control behavioral responses. The control of a particular behavioral performance, the 'jamming avoidance response', is of a distributed nature in that the representations of individual sites on the body surface contribute cumulatively to shift the electric organ pacemaker frequency.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Action Potentials↗

Impulsivity resulting from frontostriatal dysfunction in drug abuse: implications for the control of behavior by reward-related stimuli.

Drug abuse and dependence define behavioral states involving increased allocation of behavior towards drug seeking and taking at the expense of more appropriate behavioral patterns. As such, addiction can be viewed as increased control of behavior by the desired drug (due to its unconditioned, rewarding properties). It is also clear that drug-associated (conditioned) stimuli acquire heightened abilities to control behaviors. These phenomena have been linked with dopamine function within the ventral striatum and amygdala and have been described specifically in terms of motivational and incentive learning processes. New data are emerging that suggest that regions of the frontal cortex involved in inhibitory response control are directly affected by long-term exposure to drugs of abuse. The result of chronic drug use may be frontal cortical cognitive dysfunction, resulting in an inability to inhibit inappropriate unconditioned or conditioned responses elicited by drugs, by related stimuli or by internal drive states. Drug-seeking behavior may thus be due to two related phenomena: (1) augmented incentive motivational qualities of the drug and associated stimuli (due to limbic/amygdalar dysfunction) and (2) impaired inhibitory control (due to frontal cortical dysfunction). In this review, we consider the neuro-anatomical and neurochemical substrates subserving inhibitory control and motivational processes in the rodent and primate brain and their putative impact on drug seeking. The evidence for cognitive impulsivity in drug abuse associated with dysfunction of the frontostriatal system will be discussed, and an integrative hypothesis for compulsive reward-seeking in drug abuse will be presented.

Animals↗

The support of autonomy and the control of behavior.

In this article we suggest that events and contexts relevant to the initiation and regulation of intentional behavior can function either to support autonomy (i.e., to promote choice) or to control behavior (i.e., to pressure one toward specific outcomes). Research herein reviewed indicates that this distinction is relevant to specific external events and to general interpersonal contexts as well as to specific internal events and to general personality orientations. That is, the distinction is relevant whether one's analysis focuses on social psychological variables or on personality variables. The research review details those contextual and person factors that tend to promote autonomy and those that tend to control. Furthermore, it shows that autonomy support has generally been associated with more intrinsic motivation, greater interest, less pressure and tension, more creativity, more cognitive flexibility, better conceptual learning, a more positive emotional tone, higher self-esteem, more trust, greater persistence of behavior change, and better physical and psychological health than has control. Also, these results have converged across different assessment procedures, different research methods, and different subject populations. On the basis of these results, we present an organismic perspective in which we argue that the regulation of intentional behavior varies along a continuum from autonomous (i.e., self-determined) to controlled. The relation of this organismic perspective to historical developments in empirical psychology is discussed, with a particular emphasis on its implications for the study of social psychology and personality.

Emotions↗

Obesity, disordered eating, and eating disorders in a longitudinal study of adolescents: how do dieters fare 5 years later?

OBJECTIVE: To determine if adolescents who report dieting and different weight-control behaviors are at increased or decreased risk for gains in body mass index, overweight status, binge eating, extreme weight-control behaviors, and eating disorders 5 years later. DESIGN: Population-based 5-year longitudinal study. PARTICIPANTS: Adolescents (N=2,516) from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds who completed Project EAT (Eating Among Teens) surveys in 1999 (Time 1) and 2004 (Time 2). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Weight status, binge eating, extreme weight control, and self-reported eating disorder. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Multiple linear and logistic regressions. RESULTS: Adolescents using unhealthful weight-control behaviors at Time 1 increased their body mass index by about 1 unit more than adolescents not using any weight-control behaviors and were at approximately three times greater risk for being overweight at Time 2 (odds ratio [OR]=2.7 for girls; OR=3.2 for boys). Adolescents using unhealthful weight-control behaviors were also at increased risk for binge eating with loss of control (OR=6.4 for girls; OR=5.9 for boys) and for extreme weight-control behaviors such as self-induced vomiting and use of diet pills, laxatives, and diuretics (OR=2.5 for girls; OR=4.8 for boys) 5 years later, compared with adolescents not using any weight-control behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Dieting and unhealthful weight-control behaviors predict outcomes related to obesity and eating disorders 5 years later. A shift away from dieting and drastic weight-control measures toward the long-term implementation of healthful eating and physical activity behaviors is needed to prevent obesity and eating disorders in adolescents.

Adolescent↗

Functional mapping of neurons that control locomotory behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans.

One approach to understanding behavior is to define the cellular components of neuronal circuits that control behavior. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, neuronal circuits have been delineated based on patterns of synaptic connectivity derived from ultrastructural analysis. Individual cellular components of these anatomically defined circuits have previously been characterized on the sensory and motor neuron levels. In contrast, interneuron function has only been addressed to a limited extent. We describe here several classes of interneurons (AIY, AIZ, and RIB) that modulate locomotory behavior in C. elegans. Using mutant analysis as well as microsurgical mapping techniques, we found that the AIY neuron class serves to tonically modulate reversal frequency of animals in various sensory environments via the repression of the activity of a bistable switch composed of defined command interneurons. Furthermore, we show that the presentation of defined sensory modalities induces specific alterations in reversal behavior and that the AIY interneuron class mediates this alteration in locomotory behavior. We also found that the AIZ and RIB interneuron classes process odorsensory information in parallel to the AIY interneuron class. AIY, AIZ, and RIB are the first interneurons directly implicated in chemosensory signaling. Our neuronal mapping studies provide the framework for further genetic and functional dissections of neuronal circuits in C. elegans.

Animals↗

Determinants of exercise intention and behavior in survivors of breast and prostate cancer: an application of the theory of planned behavior.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the theory of planned behavior as a framework for understanding exercise intention and behavior in survivors of breast and prostate cancer. Participants were 83 survivors of breast and 46 survivors of prostate cancer who were diagnosed within the previous 4 years and had completed treatment. Each participant completed a mailed self-administered questionnaire that assessed exercise during the previous week, demographic and medical variables, and the theory of planned behavior. For survivors of breast cancer, regression analyses indicated that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control explained 45% of the variance in exercise intention with attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control each uniquely contributing to intention. Furthermore, exercise intention explained 30% of the variance in exercise behavior; however, perceived behavioral control added no unique variance. For survivors of prostate cancer, attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control explained 36% of the variance in exercise intention, but only perceived behavioral control made a significant unique contribution. Furthermore, intention explained 36% of the variance in exercise behavior; however, perceived behavioral control added no unique variance. Results suggest that nurses may use the theory of planned behavior as a model for understanding the determinants of exercise intentions and behavior in survivors of breast and prostate cancer.

Attitude to Health↗

Exercise among blue-collar workers: application of the theory of planned behavior.

The purpose of this study was to identify cognitive predictors of blue-collar workers' (N = 468) intention to exercise and their self-reported exercise behavior. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) provided the framework for the study. A cross-sectional sample of skilled and unskilled workers from the physical facilities department of a large, Midwestern state university completed a questionnaire containing measures of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, intention, and self-reported leisure exercise behavior. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that workers' attitude toward exercise and perceived behavioral control explained 61.7% of the variance of intention, whereas intention and perceived behavioral control explained 51.3% of the variance of exercise behavior. Subjective norm was not a significant predictor of intention to exercise. The findings support the use of the TPB in identifying cognitive factors that explain exercise behavior and suggest that interventions to promote exercise behavior in blue-collar workers should address their attitude toward exercise and their perceptions of behavioral control.

Adult↗

Maternal polydrug use including cocaine and postnatal infant sleep architecture: preliminary observations and implications for respiratory control and behavior.

Twelve-hour overnight pneumocardiograms were assessed for sleep architecture and sleep efficiency in two groups of healthy term newborn infants: a group exposed prenatally to cocaine alone or in combination with other drugs and a non-exposed group. Sleep was differentiated from wakefulness by an increase in heart rate, an increase in or variation in the duration and amplitude of the respiration and increased artifacts on the heart rate channel. Quiet and active sleep were determined by the regularity or irregularity of heart rate and respiration. In a sub-set of infants, the number of arousals during active sleep was calculated. Overall significance was confirmed by ANOVA followed by paired comparisons using the Student's-test. When compared to non-exposed infants within the first week of life, infants exposed prenatally to cocaine alone or in combination with other drugs demonstrated more wakefulness and less sleep (P < 0.05), more frequent arousals during active sleep (P < 0.01), and the tendency of a higher proportion of active sleep compared to quiet sleep. These findings may have implications to both behavioral and respiratory control findings associated with prenatal cocaine exposure.

Black People↗

How can repeat drunk drivers be influenced to change? Analysis of the association between drunk driving and DUI recidivists' attitudes and beliefs.

OBJECTIVE: Public policy interventions designed to deter or prevent drunk driving depend, in part, on modifying beliefs concerning the riskiness, social acceptability and immorality of driving under the influence of alcohol. The current study examines the association of these beliefs with the incidence of alcohol-impaired driving. METHOD: Interviews were conducted with 273 people with multiple driving under the influence (DUI) offenses. Data included self-reported frequency of driving after drinking in the past year, as well as measures of moral and prescriptive beliefs concerning alcohol-impaired driving (internal behavioral controls), perceived risks of criminal punishment and accidents associated with alcohol-impaired driving (external behavioral controls) and perceived peer group attitudes toward alcohol-impaired driving (social controls). RESULTS: Logit regression modeling showed significant, unique protective associations with behavioral control items in each category. CONCLUSIONS: Behavioral controls may protect against alcohol-impaired driving behavior even in a high-risk sample of repeat DUI offenders. Policy interventions designed to curtail drunk driving might seek to enhance these sorts of behavioral controls among DUI offenders.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗

Neuroleptic interference with the cocaine cue: internal stimulus control of behavior and psychosis.

The ability of cocaine to exert internal stimulus control of behavior was investigated by training rats to discriminate 10 mg/kg cocaine from saline in a discrete-trial, two-lever, food-reward procedure. Acquisition of response control by cocaine (1) succeeded in all animals tested, (2) proceeded rapidly, and (3) was associated with a high Commission Error: Omission Error ratio. These findings support the hypothesis that cocaine, a prototype of drugs inducing a psychotic condition in humans, can act as a powerful internal stimulus in rats. The cocaine cue was also responsive to the action of the dopamine-receptor-blocking agents spiperone (ED50: 0.06 mg/kg), haloperidol (0.24 mg/kg), and pimozide (1.90 mg/kg). d, l-Amphetamine (1.25 mg/kg) induced stimulus generalization with cocaine, and this generalization was blocked by dosages of the same neuroleptics comparable to those of cocaine antagonism. The results are discussed in terms of internal stimulus control of behavior and its relevance to the psychophysiology of schizophrenia.

Amphetamine↗

Modeling tanning salon behavioral tendencies using appearance motivation, self-monitoring and the theory of planned behavior.

The constructs of appearance motivation and self-monitoring were added to the Theory of Planned Behavior in the prediction of tanning salon use in young people. The variables of the Theory of Planned Behavior proved effective at predicting tanning salon behavioral intentions and tendencies. Intentions and perceived behavioral control predicted tanning salon behavioral tendencies, while attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control predicted tanning salon behavioral intentions. Appearance motivation did not show any direct or interaction effects in the prediction of tanning salon behavioral intentions. It did, however, prove superior to health orientation in the prediction of tanning salon attitudes. Self-monitoring interacted with subjective norms in the prediction of tanning salon intentions, with high self-monitors showing stronger subjective norm-intention relationships than low self-monitors. These results imply that appearance-related interventions could prove efficacious in reducing young people's tanning salon behavioral tendencies. Furthermore, it may be important to consider individual's self-monitoring status when targeting skin cancer prevention information to young people.

Adolescent↗

Long-term follow-up of weight status of subjects in a behavioral weight control program.

Few studies have examined the long-term effectiveness of behavioral weight control programs. Interpretation of the results from these studies has been limited due to small sample size, use of only one sex, and the number of evaluation parameters. A 2-year follow-up study was designed to assess the effectiveness of a behavioral weight control program on 123 obese male and 386 obese female subjects. Body weights were measured by dietitians at baseline and after an 8-week treatment program. Two-year follow-up weights were self-reported from a mailed questionnaire. The subjects' mean weight at baseline was 185.6 +/- 43.4 lb (no. = 509). Their mean percent over ideal body weight at baseline was 29.7%. Following an 8-week treatment period, mean weight was 176.4 +/- 41.3 lb (no. = 509), yielding a mean weight loss of 9.2 +/- 6.4 lb. Weight change after the 8-week treatment period ranged from a loss of 37 lb to a gain of 5 lb. The 2-year follow-up study showed that mean weight of the 498 subjects was 179.8 +/- 42.9 lb, yielding a mean weight loss of 5.8 +/- 15.5 lb. Weight change ranged from a loss of 71 lb to a gain of 47 lb. After 2 years, 325 subjects (65.3%) were still below their baseline weights, 182 subjects (36.6% of the entire study group) had maintained or enhanced the weight loss achieved during treatment, and 80 subjects (16.1%) weighed at least 10% less than their baseline weight.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗