Pattern Classification of Working Memory Networks Reveals Differential Effects of Methylphenidate, Atomoxetine, and Placebo in Healthy Volunteers

Stimulant and non-stimulant drugs can reduce symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The stimulant drug methylphenidate (MPH) and the non-stimulant drug atomoxetine (ATX) are both widely used for ADHD treatment, but their differential effects on human brain function remain unclear. We combined event-related fMRI with multivariate pattern recognition to characterize the effects of MPH and ATX in healthy volunteers performing a rewarded working memory (WM) task. The effects of MPH and ATX on WM were strongly dependent on their behavioral context. During non-rewarded trials, only MPH could be discriminated from placebo (PLC), with MPH producing a similar activation pattern to reward. During rewarded trials both drugs produced the opposite effect to reward, that is, attenuating WM networks and enhancing task-related deactivations (TRDs) in regions consistent with the default mode network (DMN). The drugs could be directly discriminated during the delay component of rewarded trials: MPH produced greater activity in WM networks and ATX produced greater activity in the DMN. Our data provide evidence that: (1) MPH and ATX have prominent effects during rewarded WM in task-activated and -deactivated networks; (2) during the delay component of rewarded trials, MPH and ATX have opposing effects on activated and deactivated networks: MPH enhances TRDs more than ATX, whereas ATX attenuates WM networks more than MPH; and (3) MPH mimics reward during encoding. Thus, interactions between drug effects and motivational state are crucial in defining the effects of MPH and ATX

Address terms in turn beginnings: Managing disalignment and disaffiliation in telephone counseling

This paper examines use of address terms by counsellors on a telephone counselling service for children and young people. Drawing on conversation analytic findings and methods, we show how personal names are used in the management of structural and interpersonal aspects of counselling interaction. Focusing on address terms in turn-beginnings - where a name is used as, or as part of, a preface - the analysis shows that address terms are used in turns that are not fitted with prior talk in terms of either the activity or affective stance of the client. We discuss two environments in which this practice is observed: in beginning turns that initiate a new action sequence, and in turns that challenge the client’s position. Our focus is on the use of client names in the context of producing disaligning or disaffiliative actions. In disaligned actions, counsellors produced sequentially disjunctive turns that regularly involved a return to a counselling agenda. In disaffiliative actions counsellors presented a stance that did not fit with the affective stance of the client in the prior turn, for instance, in disagreeing with or complimenting the client. The paper discusses how such turns invoke a counselling agenda and how name use is used in the management of rapport and trust in counselling interaction

Comparison of the effects of sibutramine and other monoamine reuptake inhibitors on food intake in the rat

1. The effects of the potent 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, SNRI), sibutramine, on the cumulative food intake of freely-feeding male Sprague-Dawley rats during an 8 h dark period were investigated and compared to those of the selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI), fluoxetine; the selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, nisoxetine; the 5-HT and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, venlafaxine and duloxetine; and the 5-HT releaser and 5-HT reuptake inhibitor, (+)-fenfluramine. 2. Sibutramine (3 and 10 mg kg(−1), p.o.) and (+)-fenfluramine (1 and 3 mg kg(−1), p.o.) produced a significant, dose-dependent decrease in food intake over the 8 h dark period. These responses became apparent within the first 2 h following drug administration. 3. Fluoxetine (3, 10 and 30 mg kg(−1), p.o.), and nisoxetine (3, 10 and 30 mg kg(−1), p.o.) had no significant effect on food intake during the 8 h dark period. However, a combination of fluoxetine and nisoxetine (30 mg kg(−1), p.o., of each) significantly decreased food intake 2 and 8 h after drug administration. 4. Venlafaxine (100 and 300 mg kg(−1), p.o.) and duloxetine (30 mg kg(−1), p.o.) also significantly decreased food intake in the 2 and 8 h following drug administration. 5. The results of this study demonstrate that inhibition of 5-HT and noradrenaline reuptake by sibutramine, venlafaxine, duloxetine, or by a combination of fluoxetine and nisoxetine, markedly reduces food intake in freely-feeding rats and suggest that this may be a novel approach for the treatment of obesity

Higher education engagement in leadership development: using autobiographical narrative to understand potential impact

The paper explores the lived experience of leadership learning and development in a single case study of an entrepreneur participating in a major leadership development programme for owner-managers of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Based on autobiographical research, it provides a rich contextual account of the nature and underlying influences of leadership learning throughout the life-course, and as a consequence of participation in the programme. Whilst the paper should interest scholars, policy makers, and those concerned with programme development, it may also resonate with entrepreneurs and help them make sense of their experience of leadership development

Leading and Managing Contemporary UK Universities: Do Excellence and Meritocracy still Prevail over Diversity?

The paper uses a gendered and feminist perspective to explore some dimensions of the debate about excellence and diversity in relation to the leadership and management of UK universities. The paper considers the extent to which notions about excellence and diversity are in tension in UK higher education and how understandings, underpinning values and the practical consequences of excellence and diversity connect or are at odds with the equally pervasive idea of a university as a meritocracy. The paper draws on two recent research projects, one which examined the experiences and management of equal opportunities policies for university staff in six UK universities and the other which has analysed public service leadership, leadership development and change agency in schools, health services and universities in England

Effects of acute treatment with paroxetine, citalopram and venlafaxine in vivo on noradrenaline and serotonin outflow: a microdialysis study in Swiss mice

1. This study investigated whether a single administration of a range of doses (1, 4 and 8 mg kg(−1), i.p.) of paroxetine, citalopram or venlafaxine may simultaneously increase extracellular levels of 5-HT ([5-HT]ext) and noradrenaline ([NA]ext) by using in vivo microdialysis in the frontal cortex (FCx) of awake, freely moving Swiss mice. 2. In vivo, paroxetine induced similar increases in cortical [5-HT]ext at the three doses tested, and induced a statistically significant increase in cortical [NA]ext at 4 and 8 mg kg(−1). Citalopram increased neither [5-HT]ext nor [NA]ext at the lowest dose, but increased both neurotransmitter levels at 4 and 8 mg kg(−1). At these doses, citalopram induced greater increases in cortical [5-HT]ext than in [NA]ext. Venlafaxine increased [5-HT]ext and [NA]ext to about 400 and 140% of the respective basal values at 8 mg kg(−1). 3. Citalopram and paroxetine have the highest potency to increase cortical [5-HT]ext and [NA]ext, respectively. In addition, the rank of order of efficacy of these antidepressant drugs to increase [5-HT]ext in vivo in the FCx of mice was as follows: venlafaxine>citalopram>paroxetine, while the efficacy to increase cortical [NA]ext in mice of paroxetine and citalopram is similar, and greater than that of venlafaxine. 4. In conclusion, extracellular levels of cortical [NA]ext increase with the highest doses of the very selective SSRI citalopram, as well as with the very potent SSRI paroxetine. Surprisingly, the SNRI venlafaxine increased cortical [5-HT]ext to a greater extent rather than [NA]ext in the range of doses studied in mice