A cAMP-binding ectoprotein in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

tides 10, 593-595

The Role of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Regulating Social Familiarity-Induced Anxiolysis

Overcoming specific fears and subsequent anxiety can be greatly enhanced by the presence of familiar social partners, but the neural circuitry that controls this phenomenon remains unclear. To overcome this, the social interaction (SI) habituation test was developed in this lab to systematically investigate the effects of social familiarity on anxiety-like behavior in rats. Here, we show that social familiarity selectively reduced anxiety-like behaviors induced by an ethological anxiogenic stimulus. The anxiolytic effect of social familiarity could be elicited over multiple training sessions and was specific to both the presence of the anxiogenic stimulus and the familiar social partner. In addition, socially familiar conspecifics served as a safety signal, as anxiety-like responses returned in the absence of the familiar partner. The expression of the social familiarity-induced anxiolysis (SFiA) appears dependent on the prefrontal cortex (PFC), an area associated with cortical regulation of fear and anxiety behaviors. Inhibition of the PFC, with bilateral injections of the GABAA agonist muscimol, selectively blocked the expression of SFiA while having no effect on SI with a novel partner. Finally, the effect of D-cycloserine, a cognitive enhancer that clinically enhances behavioral treatments for anxiety, was investigated with SFiA. D-cycloserine, when paired with familiarity training sessions, selectively enhanced the rate at which SFiA was acquired. Collectively, these outcomes suggest that the PFC has a pivotal role in SFiA, a complex behavior involving the integration of social cues of familiarity with contextual and emotional information to regulate anxiety-like behavior

Nurses' knowledge of pain

Aim. The aim of this study was to establish if postregistration education and clinical experience influence nurses' knowledge of pain. Background. Inadequacies in the pain management process may not be tied to myth and bias originating from general attitudes and beliefs, but reflect inadequate pain knowledge. Design. A pain knowledge survey of 20 true/false statements was used to measure the knowledge base of two groups of nurses. This was incorporated in a self-administered questionnaire that also addressed lifestyle factors of patients in pain, inferences of physical pain, general attitudes and beliefs about pain management. Method. One hundred questionnaires were distributed; 86 nurses returned the questionnaire giving a response rate of 86%. Following selection of the sample, 72 nurses participated in the study: 35 hospice/oncology nurses (specialist) and 37 district nurses (general). Data were analysed using SPSS. Results. The specialist nurses had a more comprehensive knowledge base than the general nurses; however, their knowledge scores did not appear to be related to their experience in terms of years within the nursing profession. Conclusion. Whilst educational programmes contribute to an increase in knowledge, it would appear that the working environment has an influence on the development and use of this knowledge. It is suggested that the clinical environment in which the specialist nurse works can induce feelings of reduced self-efficacy and low personal control. To ease tension, strategies are used that can result in nurses refusing to endorse their knowledge, which can increase patients' pain. Relevance to clinical practice. Clinical supervision will serve to increase the nurses' self-awareness; however, without power and autonomy to make decisions and affect change, feelings of helplessness, reduced self-efficacy and cognitive dissonance can increase. This may explain why, despite educational efforts to increase knowledge, a concomitant change in practice has not occurred

On the Perception of Emotional “Voices”: A Cross-Cultural Comparison among American, French and Italian Subjects

International audienc