Effect of vicarious fear learning on children's heart rate responses and attentional bias for novel animals

Research with children has shown that vicarious learning can result in changes to 2 of Lang's (1968) 3 anxiety response systems: subjective report and behavioral avoidance. The current study extended this research by exploring the effect of vicarious learning on physiological responses (Lang's final response system) and attentional bias. The study used Askew and Field's (2007) vicarious learning procedure and demonstrated fear-related increases in children's cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responses. Cognitive and behavioral changes were retested 1 week and 1 month later, and remained elevated. In addition, a visual search task demonstrated that fear-related vicarious learning creates an attentional bias for novel animals, which is moderated by increases in fear beliefs during learning. The findings demonstrate that vicarious learning leads to lasting changes in all 3 of Lang's anxiety response systems and is sufficient to create attentional bias to threat in children

Preventing the development of observationally learnt fears in children by devaluing the model's negative response

Vicarious learning has become an established indirect pathway to fear acquisition. It is generally accepted that associative learning processes underlie vicarious learning; however, whether this association is a form of conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus (CS-US) learning or stimulus-response (CS-CR) learning remains unclear. Traditionally, these types of learning can be dissociated in a US revaluation procedure. The current study explored the effects of post-vicarious learning US revaluation on acquired fear responses. Ninety-four children (46 males and 48 females) aged 6 to 10 years first viewed either a fear vicarious learning video or a neutral vicarious learning video followed by random allocation to one of three US revaluation conditions: inflation; deflation; or control. Inflation group children were presented with still images of the adults in the video and told that the accompanying sound and image of a very fast heart rate monitor belonged to the adult. The deflation group were shown the same images but with the sound and image of a normal heart rate. The control group received no US revaluation. Results indicated that inflating how scared the models appeared to be did not result in significant increases in children's fear beliefs, avoidance preferences, avoidance behavior or heart rate for animals above increases caused by vicarious learning. In contrast, US devaluation resulted in significant decreases in fear beliefs and avoidance preferences. Thus, the findings provide evidence that CS-US associations underpin vicarious learning and suggest that US devaluation may be a successful method for preventing children from developing fear beliefs following a traumatic vicarious learning episode with a stimulus

Unidirectional hopping transport of interacting particles on a finite chain

Particle transport through an open, discrete 1-D channel against a mechanical or chemical bias is analyzed within a master equation approach. The channel, externally driven by time dependent site energies, allows multiple occupation due to the coupling to reservoirs. Performance criteria and optimization of active transport in a two-site channel are discussed as a function of reservoir chemical potentials, the load potential, interparticle interaction strength, driving mode and driving period. Our results, derived from exact rate equations, are used in addition to test a previously developed time-dependent density functional theory, suggesting a wider applicability of that method in investigations of many particle systems far from equilibrium.Comment: 33 pages, 8 figure

Overdiagnosis due to screening mammography for women aged 40 years and over

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review. The objective was to assess the effect of screening mammography for breast cancer on overdiagnosis in women aged 40 years and older at average risk of breast cancer

The multisensory attentional consequences of tool use : a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Background: Tool use in humans requires that multisensory information is integrated across different locations, from objects seen to be distant from the hand, but felt indirectly at the hand via the tool. We tested the hypothesis that using a simple tool to perceive vibrotactile stimuli results in the enhanced processing of visual stimuli presented at the distal, functional part of the tool. Such a finding would be consistent with a shift of spatial attention to the location where the tool is used. Methodology/Principal Findings: We tested this hypothesis by scanning healthy human participants’ brains using functional magnetic resonance imaging, while they used a simple tool to discriminate between target vibrations, accompanied by congruent or incongruent visual distractors, on the same or opposite side to the tool. The attentional hypothesis was supported: BOLD response in occipital cortex, particularly in the right hemisphere lingual gyrus, varied significantly as a function of tool position, increasing contralaterally, and decreasing ipsilaterally to the tool. Furthermore, these modulations occurred despite the fact that participants were repeatedly instructed to ignore the visual stimuli, to respond only to the vibrotactile stimuli, and to maintain visual fixation centrally. In addition, the magnitude of multisensory (visual-vibrotactile) interactions in participants’ behavioural responses significantly predicted the BOLD response in occipital cortical areas that were also modulated as a function of both visual stimulus position and tool position. Conclusions/Significance: These results show that using a simple tool to locate and to perceive vibrotactile stimuli is accompanied by a shift of spatial attention to the location where the functional part of the tool is used, resulting in enhanced processing of visual stimuli at that location, and decreased processing at other locations. This was most clearly observed in the right hemisphere lingual gyrus. Such modulations of visual processing may reflect the functional importance of visuospatial information during human tool use

Modulation of renal epithelial barrier function by mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs): Mechanism of cyclosporine A–induced increase in transepithelial resistance

Modulation of renal epithelial barrier function by mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs): Mechanism of cyclosporine A–induced increase in transepithelial resistance.BackgroundCyclosporine A (CsA) has been shown to increase transepithelial resistance in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, and the mechanism may involve altered phosphorylation of junctional proteins. In this study, we examine the effect of the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) 1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways on the basal transepithelial resistance (TER) and on the CsA-induced increase in TER across MDCK monolayers. Here we present evidence that CsA may be mediating some of its effects through activation of the ERK 1/2 MAPK pathway.MethodsMDCK cells were treated with CsA (4.2 μmol/L) and paracellular permeability was assessed by measuring TER. The role of the ERK 1/2 and the p38 MAPK pathways in modulating TER was investigated using the inhibitors PD98059 and U0126 for ERK 1/2 and SB203580 for p38. ERK 1/2 and p38 phosphorylation/activation was also examined by Western blot analysis.ResultsCsA (4.2 μmol/L) increased the TER of MDCK monolayers. The ERK 1/2 inhibitor PD98059 decreased basal TER and also ameliorated the CsA-induced increase in TER. Similar results were found with the U0126 inhibitor of ERK 1/2. The p38 inhibitor SB203580 had no effect on the basal TER of the monolayers, however, SB203580 significantly augmented the CsA-induced increase in TER. CsA was shown to significantly activate ERK 1/2 and this activation by CsA was prevented by PD98059. Inhibition of the p38 pathway by SB203580 also resulted in activation of ERK 1/2 and this activation of ERK 1/2 was further enhanced by CsA. No effect of CsA or the inhibitors PD98059 or SB203580 on p38 phosphorylation was detected.ConclusionThe results presented here suggest that activation of the ERK 1/2 MAPK cascade is important in the regulation of the paracellular permeability in MDCK cells. Activation of this pathway appears to be pivotal to the CsA-induced increase in TER

Reductions in children's vicariously learnt avoidance and heart rate responses using positive modeling

Recent research has indicated that vicarious learning can lead to increases in children's fear beliefs and avoidance preferences for stimuli and that these fear responses can subsequently be reversed using positive modeling (counterconditioning). The current study investigated children's vicariously acquired avoidance behavior, physiological responses (heart rate), and attentional bias for stimuli and whether these could also be reduced via counterconditioning. Ninety-six (49 boys, 47 girls) 7- to 11-year-olds received vicarious fear learning for novel stimuli and were then randomly assigned to a counterconditioning, extinction, or control group. Fear beliefs and avoidance preferences were measured pre- and post-learning, whereas avoidance behavior, heart rate, and attentional bias were all measured post-learning. Control group children showed increases in fear beliefs and avoidance preferences for animals seen in vicarious fear learning trials. In addition, significantly greater avoidance behavior, heart rate responding, and attentional bias were observed for these animals compared to a control animal. In contrast, vicariously acquired avoidance preferences of children in the counterconditioning group were significantly reduced post-positive modeling, and these children also did not show the heightened heart rate responding to fear-paired animals. Children in the extinction group demonstrated comparable responses to the control group; thus the extinction procedure showed no effect on any fear measures. The findings suggest that counterconditioning with positive modelling can be used as an effective early intervention to reduce the behavioral and physiological effects of vicarious fear learning in childhood

Counsellors in the National Health Service: A mixed‐method study of efficacy and satisfaction from the counsellor perspective

Background: It is difficult to know how many counsellors work in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). At a time when the British Government is pledging an expansion of the mental health workforce it is important to understand both the opportunities and barriers for counsellors to work in the NHS. Aim: To understand counsellors’ job roles, pay, perceptions of services, workplace stress, and reasons for leaving the NHS.Method: An online survey was advertised to members of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP); just under 2,000 counsellors responded. The sample was majority female, white and had completed training. Mixed methods were utilised to analyse the data which incorporated use of thematic analysis. Findings: The data suggest that, as a workforce, counsellors are prone to being ‘squeezed’ out of the NHS workforce, that they are comparatively ‘underpaid’, are ‘pressurised’ by high level of work demand and are consequently experiencing concerning levels of workplace stress, and that they perceive themselves to be, in multiple ways, ‘under-valued’. Despite this, members reported high adequacy of therapist qualifications and supervision quality within NHS services. Conclusions: Counsellors have expressed a desire to undertake more work in the NHS and are a potentially cost-effective mental health workforce in comparison with other types of professionals. However, this study has evidenced significant structural, cultural and pay and promotion-related barriers that are pushing counsellors out of the NHS. Of particular concern is what appears to be a broad under-valuing of counsellors as a professional group

Onion gene expression in response to ethylene and 1-MCP

Onion is regarded as a non-climacteric vegetable. In onions, however, ethylene can suppress sprouting while the ethylene binding inhibitor, 1-MCP (1- methylcyclopropene) can also suppress sprout growth yet, it is unknown how ethylene and 1-MCP elicit the same response. In this study, onions were treated with 10 μL L-1 ethylene or 1 μL L-1 1-MCP individually or in combination for 24 h at 20°C before or after curing (six weeks) at 20 or 28°C then stored at 1°C. Following curing, a subset of these same onions was stored separately under continuous air or ethylene (10 μL L- 1) at 1°C Onions treated with ethylene and 1-MCP in combination after curing for 24 h had reduced sprout growth as compared with the control 25 weeks after harvest. Sprout growth following storage beyond 25 weeks was only reduced through continuous ethylene treatment. This observation was supported by a higher proportion of down-regulated genes characterised as being involved in photosynthesis measured using a newly developed onion microarray. Physiological and biochemical data suggested that ethylene was being perceived in the presence of 1-MCP since sprout growth was reduced in onions treated with 1-MCP and ethylene applied in combination but not when applied individually. A cluster of probes representing transcripts up-regulated by 1-MCP alone but down-regulated by ethylene alone or in the presence of 1-MCP support this suggestion. Ethylene and 1-MCP both down52 regulated a probe tentatively annotated as an ethylene receptor as well as EIN3, suggesting that both treatments down-regulate the perception and signalling events of ethylene