Effects of priming personal values on empathic behaviour of NHS staff

Introduction: Individual values have been widely researched within psychology, but their application to empathy has been largely neglected. The Schwartz model of values (Schwartz, 2012) has been demonstrated as a robust construct for the measuring of value priorities and the priming of values (Maio, 2001). Aims: The current research aimed to investigate the relationships between values and empathy; burnout was also assessed as a covariate within this relationship. This study also investigated whether individuals primed with empathy related values (self-transcendence) showed more empathy than participants who were primed for values opposed to empathy (self enhancement). Methods: A between-subjects experimental design was employed, with 87 participants (self-transcendence values prime group, n=29; self enhancement values prime group, n=29; and control group, n=29). Descriptive statistics and inferential analyses were used to test the hypotheses. All participants completed a measure of values (PVQ-RR), a measure of burnout (MBI) and a test of empathy (MET-core-2). Results: Significant associations were found between all the variables. Self-transcendence values were positively correlated with emotional empathy and negatively correlated with burnout. Burnout was negatively correlated to emotional empathy and was shown to have a mediating effect on the relationship between values and empathy. Priming values was shown to have one significant effect; participants who reported lower levels of burnout and were primed for self-transcendence values displayed more emotional empathy compared with participants with high levels of burnout who were primed for self enhancement values. Conclusions: This study provides empirical support for considering how empathy is related to and can be affected by the priming of values. It also highlights the influence of burnout within this relationship. The results are discussed with reference to the existing literature and clinical implications are outlined. The strengths and limitations of the research and ideas for future research are presented

F17RS SGR No. 3 (Charlottesville)

A RESOLUTION Standing in Solidarity with Charlottesville, Virginia, and the University of Virginia following the Events of August 11-12, 201

F17RS SGR No. 2 (Best Wishes Scalise)

A RESOLUTION Conveying Best Wishes to Rep. Steve Scalise on His Recover

The health informatics cohort enhancement project (HICE): using routinely collected primary care data to identify people with a lifetime diagnosis of psychotic disorder

Background: We have previously demonstrated that routinely collected primary care data can be used to identify potential participants for trials in depression [1]. Here we demonstrate how patients with psychotic disorders can be identified from primary care records for potential inclusion in a cohort study. We discuss the strengths and limitations of this approach; assess its potential value and report challenges encountered. Methods: We designed an algorithm with which we searched for patients with a lifetime diagnosis of psychotic disorders within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) database of routinely collected health data. The algorithm was validated against the "gold standard" of a well established operational criteria checklist for psychotic and affective illness (OPCRIT). Case notes of 100 patients from a community mental health team (CMHT) in Swansea were studied of whom 80 had matched GP records. Results: The algorithm had favourable test characteristics, with a very good ability to detect patients with psychotic disorders (sensitivity > 0.7) and an excellent ability not to falsely identify patients with psychotic disorders (specificity > 0.9). Conclusions: With certain limitations our algorithm can be used to search the general practice data and reliably identify patients with psychotic disorders. This may be useful in identifying candidates for potential inclusion in cohort studies

What Causes Stuttering?

The mystery of a sometimes debilitating speech disorder is examined by cognitive neuroscientist

Interaction of a dengue virus NS1-derived peptide with the inhibitory receptor KIR3DL1 on natural killer cells

Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) interact with human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I ligands and play a key role in the regulation and activation of NK cells. The functional importance of KIR–HLA interactions has been demonstrated for a number of chronic viral infections, but to date only a few studies have been performed in the context of acute self-limited viral infections. During our investigation of CD81 T cell responses to a conserved HLA-B57-restricted epitope derived from dengue virus (DENV) non-structural protein-1 (NS1), we observed substantial binding of the tetrameric complex to non-T/non-B lymphocytes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from a long-standing clinical cohort in Thailand. We confirmed binding of the NS1 tetramer to CD56dim NK cells, which are known to express KIRs. Using depletion studies and KIRtransfected cell lines, we demonstrated further that the NS1 tetramer bound the inhibitory receptor KIR3DL1. Phenotypical analysis of PBMC from HLA-B571 subjects with acute DENV infection revealed marked activation of NS1 tetramer-binding natural killer (NK) cells around the time of defervescence in subjects with severe dengue disease. Collectively, our findings indicate that subsets of NK cells are activated relatively late in the course of acute DENV illness and reveal a possible role for specific KIR– HLA interactions in the modulation of disease outcomes

Influence of Damming on Anuran Species Richness in Riparian Areas: A Test of the Serial Discontinuity Concept

Almost all large rivers worldwide are fragmented by dams, and their impacts have been modeled using the serial discontinuity concept (SDC), a series of predictions regarding responses of key biotic and abiotic variables. We evaluated the effects of damming on anuran communities along a 245‐km river corridor by conducting repeated, time‐constrained anuran calling surveys at 42 locations along the Broad and Pacolet Rivers in South Carolina, USA. Using a hierarchical Bayesian analysis, we test the biodiversity prediction of the SDC (modified for floodplain rivers) by evaluating anuran occupancy and species diversity relative to dams and degree of urbanized land use. The mean response of the anuran community indicated that occupancy and species richness were maximized when sites were farther downstream from dams. Sites at the farthest distances downstream of dams (47.5 km) had an estimated ~3 more species than those just below dams. Similarly, species‐specific occupancy estimates showed a trend of higher occupancy downstream from dams. Therefore, using empirical estimation within the context of a 245‐km river riparian landscape, our study supports SDC predictions for a meandering river. We demonstrate that with increasing distance downstream from dams, riparian anuran communities have higher species richness. Reduced species richness immediately downstream of dams is likely driven by alterations in flow regime that reduce or eliminate flows which sustain riparian wetlands that serve as anuran breeding habitat. Therefore, to maintain anuran biodiversity, we suggest that flow regulation should be managed to ensure water releases inundate riparian wetlands during amphibian breeding seasons and aseasonal releases, which can displace adults, larvae, and eggs, are avoided. These outcomes could be achieved by emulating pre‐dam seasonal discharge data, mirroring discharge of an undammed tributary within the focal watershed, or by basing real‐time flow releases on current environmental conditions

Stress-Induced Reinstatement of Drug Seeking: 20 Years of Progress

In human addicts, drug relapse and craving are often provoked by stress. Since 1995, this clinical scenario has been studied using a rat model of stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. Here, we first discuss the generality of stress-induced reinstatement to different drugs of abuse, different stressors, and different behavioral procedures. We also discuss neuropharmacological mechanisms, and brain areas and circuits controlling stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. We conclude by discussing results from translational human laboratory studies and clinical trials that were inspired by results from rat studies on stress-induced reinstatement. Our main conclusions are (1) The phenomenon of stress-induced reinstatement, first shown with an intermittent footshock stressor in rats trained to self-administer heroin, generalizes to other abused drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine, and alcohol, and is also observed in the conditioned place preference model in rats and mice. This phenomenon, however, is stressor specific and not all stressors induce reinstatement of drug seeking. (2) Neuropharmacological studies indicate the involvement of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), noradrenaline, dopamine, glutamate, kappa/dynorphin, and several other peptide and neurotransmitter systems in stress-induced reinstatement. Neuropharmacology and circuitry studies indicate the involvement of CRF and noradrenaline transmission in bed nucleus of stria terminalis and central amygdala, and dopamine, CRF, kappa/dynorphin, and glutamate transmission in other components of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system (ventral tegmental area, medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens). (3) Translational human laboratory studies and a recent clinical trial study show the efficacy of alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists in decreasing stress-induced drug craving and stress-induced initial heroin lapse