Evaluation of an early intervention program using eligibility criteria

Early Intervention programs are state and federally funded programs that are available in virtually every state that provide support to children birth to three who have developmental delays. Eligibility into the program varies by state and determining eligibility for a child is a complex task that has tremendous implications on both the program and its children. A program evaluation was conducted on a branch of an early intervention program located in New Jersey to determine whether service providers were correctly identifying children who were eligible for services. Results indicated that four of out the 112 children in the program were incorrectly identified. However, the program was effective in ameliorating developmental delays through a comparison of developmental levels at the initial and annual evaluations. These results indicate that service providers are effectively providing early intervention services, but are lacking in diagnostic and identifcation skills

Philosophies of human nature held by psychologists: Behavioral vs. psychoanalytic vs. eclectic theoretical orientations

Little is known about the philosophies of human nature held by psychologists with different theoretical orientations. If any assumption about this topic is made at all, it is that beliefs about people probably conform to the ideology underpinning the particular orientation to which the psychologist ascribes. The purpose of this research was to determine whether psychologists of three theoretical orientations--psychoanalytic, behavioral, and eclectic--differed with regard to their philosophies of human nature and, if so, what form these differences might take. A related research question was whether these psychologists adhered to the basic tenets underlying their self-stated theoretical orientations. A total of 93 doctoral level psychologists from the Philadelphia area participated, with 23 belonging to the behavioral orientation, 30 to the psychodynamic orientation, and 31 to the eclectic orientation. The remainder were of other orientations. Two instruments were administered to the participants. The first instrument was the Philosophies of Human Nature Scales, a six scale tool designed to evaluate beliefs about people. The second, the Kurlansik Theoretical Assumptions Scale, was constructed by this researcher to determine level of adherence to the tenets of the psychoanalytic versus behavioral orientations. A demographic questionnaire was also developed and administered. Canonical correlation, ANOVA, and post hoc testing were used to evaluate the results. The results of this study demonstrated no significant differences among the three orientation groups with regard to philosophy of human nature. However, significant differences among the orientation groups on the Kurlansik Theoretical Assumptions Scale indicated that these groups hold to the tenets underlying the orientations. Philosophy of human nature was found to differ by religious groups and level of experience

Photoperiod-induced neurotransmitter plasticity declines with aging: An epigenetic regulation?

Neuroplasticity has classically been understood to arise through changes in synaptic strength or synaptic connectivity. A newly discovered form of neuroplasticity, neurotransmitter switching, involves changes in neurotransmitter identity. Chronic exposure to different photoperiods alters the number of dopamine (tyrosine hydroxylase, TH+) and somatostatin (SST+) neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PaVN) of the hypothalamus of adult rats and results in discrete behavioral changes. Here, we investigate whether photoperiod-induced neurotransmitter switching persists during aging and whether epigenetic mechanisms of histone acetylation and DNA methylation may contribute to this neurotransmitter plasticity. We show that this plasticity in rats is robust at 1 and at 3 months but reduced in TH+ neurons at 12 months and completely abolished in both TH+ and SST+ neurons by 18 months. De novo expression of DNMT3a catalyzing DNA methylation and anti-AcetylH3 assessing histone 3 acetylation were observed following short-day photoperiod exposure in both TH+ and SST+ neurons at 1 and 3 months while an overall increase in DNMT3a in SST+ neurons paralleled neuroplasticity reduction at 12 and 18 months. Histone acetylation increased in TH+ neurons and decreased in SST+ neurons following short-day exposure at 3 months while the total number of anti-AcetylH3+ PaVN neurons remained constant. Reciprocal histone acetylation in TH+ and SST+ neurons indicates the importance of studying epigenetic regulation at the circuit level for identified cell phenotypes. The findings may be useful for developing approaches for noninvasive treatment of disorders characterized by neurotransmitter dysfunction