http://www.mdpi.com/journal/behavsci Latest open access articles published in Behav. Sci. at http://www.mdpi.com/journal/behavsci http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/2/244 For many decades, Neuropsychological functioning has been a key point in the study of psychotic disorders. The main aim of these studies is to give a description of the neurocognitive “profile” of schizophrenia, with only little attention being paid to the common and discriminating features of different psychotic disorders. Recent studies support the hypothesis that patients affected by psychiatric disorders with psychotic symptoms have specific abnormalities of reality testing of ongoing perception, which become evident with source monitoring task. Ninety-eight patients and 50 controls were studied. Patients were divided by diagnosis and previous history of psychotic features and were administered Source Monitoring Task to test reality testing of ongoing perception. Frequencies of correct and false attributions were recorded. To obtain measures of observer sensitivity and response biases, a signal detection analysis was performed. Aims: Studying neuropsychological correlate of psychosis in euthymic mood disordered patients and patients with schizophrenia with or without delusions. Results: Patients with psychotic features use more lax criteria in evaluating self-generated, but not perceived stimuli compared to patients without psychotic features. Conclusions: Our findings support the hypothesis of selective biases in reality monitoring as neuropsychological correlates of psychosis. Behavioral Sciences 2013-05-03 3 2 Article 10.3390/bs3020244 244 252 2076-328X 2013-05-03 doi: 10.3390/bs3020244 Daniele Radaelli Francesco Benedetti Roberto Cavallaro Cristina Colombo Enrico Smeraldi http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/2/232 Reconstructing the past and anticipating the future, i.e., the ability of travelling in mental time, is thought to be at the heart of consciousness and, by the same token, at the center of human cognition. This extraordinary mental activity is possible thanks to the ability of being aware of ‘subjective time’. In the present study, we attempt to trace back the first recorded reflections on the relations between time and memory, to the end of the fourth century’s work, the Confessions, by the theologian and philosopher, St. Augustine. We concentrate on Book 11, where he extensively developed a series of articulated and detailed observations on memory and time. On the bases of selected paragraphs, we endeavor to highlight some concepts that may be considered as the product of the first or, at least, very early reflections related to our current notions of subjective time in mental time travel. We also draw a fundamental difference inherent to the frameworks within which the questions were raised. The contribution of St. Augustine on time and memory remains significant, notwithstanding the 16 centuries elapsed since it was made, likely because of the universality of its contents. Behavioral Sciences 2013-04-25 3 2 Review 10.3390/bs3020232 232 243 2076-328X 2013-04-25 doi: 10.3390/bs3020232 Liliann Manning Daniel Cassel Jean-Christophe Cassel http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/2/217 Attempts to define cognition preceded John Stuart Mill’s life and continue to this day. John Stuart Mill envisioned a science of mental phenomena informed by associationism, empirical introspection, and neurophysiology, and he advanced specific ideas that still influence modern conceptions of cognition. The present article briefly reviews Mill’s personal history and the times in which he lived, and it traces the evolution of ideas that have run through him to contemporary cognitive concepts. The article also highlights contemporary problems in defining cognition and supports specific criteria regarding what constitutes cognition. Behavioral Sciences 2013-04-22 3 2 Review 10.3390/bs3020217 217 231 2076-328X 2013-04-22 doi: 10.3390/bs3020217 Steven Bistricky http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/2/206 Abnormal hippocampal function likely contributes to relational learning deficits observed in schizophrenia. It is unknown whether these deficits can be attenuated with a training intervention. The purpose of this project was to determine if training could facilitate relational learning of the transverse patterning task in schizophrenia. Healthy and schizophrenia subjects completed a version of transverse patterning that incorporated training. The majority of subjects with schizophrenia successfully learned transverse patterning when provided with training. A subgroup (approximately 25%) of schizophrenia subjects showed no tendency to learn with training. These results were replicated in a second study with a separate cohort and different stimuli. This study illustrates that relational learning of the transverse patterning can be facilitated in schizophrenia with training. Behavioral Sciences 2013-04-12 3 2 Article 10.3390/bs3020206 206 216 2076-328X 2013-04-12 doi: 10.3390/bs3020206 Elena Spieker Jacqueline Griego Robert Astur Henry Holcomb Laura Rowland http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/2/192 According to some authors, episodic memory impairment may be a feature shared by all schizophrenic patients, whereas others argue in favor of the mnesic heterogeneity. Our aims were to determine whether patients can be grouped based on according to their mnesic performances. The California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), an episodic verbal learning test, was compared in 61 schizophrenic patients and 61 matched healthy subjects. The 32 indices were calculated using CVLT Scoring Software. This process allowed us to describe patients’ episodic processes in detail (encoding, storage, retrieval). We isolated one group with normative data, another showed impairment of both encoding and retrieval processes, and in the last one, only encoding process was impaired. As schizophrenia is heterogeneous with regard to episodic memory, impairments should not be considered as a common core to the various forms of the illness and it would be fruitful to systematically assess episodic processes in detail to take into account individual abilities and challenges. Behavioral Sciences 2013-04-02 3 2 Article 10.3390/bs3020192 192 205 2076-328X 2013-04-02 doi: 10.3390/bs3020192 Perrine Brazo Michaelle Ilongo Sonia Dollfus http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/1/170 Research suggests that performance on cognitive tasks resembling daily challenges (i.e., everyday problem-solving tasks) may be a better indicator of functional ability in old age compared to traditional measures of cognitive ability. Findings demonstrating this link, however, have yielded mixed results. The current study examined performance on the Everyday Problems Test (EPT) and self-reported ability to perform Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) in a sample of adults over age 50. The EPT measures cognitive performance on tasks with domains consistent with IADLs (telephone use, shopping, meal preparation, housekeeping, transportation, health and finances). Although overall EPT scores and self-reported IADLs were significantly related (rs = 0.20; p < 0.05), additional analyses revealed that domain-specific EPT performance related to IADL reports within the same domain for shopping, meal preparation, housekeeping, and financial management after accounting for other variables such as age, sex, and measures of cognitive ability including total EPT score. These findings suggest that domain-specific performance on cognitive everyday problem-solving tasks may add to the predictability of specific IADLs. Behavioral Sciences 2013-03-07 3 1 Article 10.3390/bs3010170 170 191 2076-328X 2013-03-07 doi: 10.3390/bs3010170 Kristopher Kimbler http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/1/154 Research on neonatal cognition has developed very recently in comparison with the long history of research on child behavior. The last sixty years of research have provided a great amount of evidence for infants’ numerous cognitive abilities. However, only little of this research concerns newborn infants. What do we know about neonatal cognition? Using a variety of paradigms, researchers became able to probe for what newborns know. Amongst these results, we can distinguish several levels of cognitive abilities. First, at the perceptual or sensory level, newborns are able to process information coming from the social world and the physical objects through all their senses. They are able to discriminate between object shapes and between faces; that is, they are able to detect invariants, remember and recognize them. Second, newborns are able to abstract information, to compare different inputs and to match them across different sensory modalities. We will argue that these two levels can be considered high-level cognitive abilities: they constitute the foundations of human cognition. Furthermore, while some perceptual competencies can stem from the fetal period, many of these perceptual and cognitive abilities cannot be a consequence of the environment surrounding the newborn before birth. Behavioral Sciences 2013-02-27 3 1 Article 10.3390/bs3010154 154 169 2076-328X 2013-02-27 doi: 10.3390/bs3010154 Arlette Streri Maria de Hevia Véronique Izard Aurélie Coubart http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/1/143 Use of the terms cognition and behavior and their variants can be traced back to the middle-ages. What is not widely known is how the terms were first used in the literature. This article identifies variations of terms for cognition and behavior and traces the first use of the terms using the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). A systematic search of the OED was conducted, identifying terms in the cognition and behavior families. Terms are defined and the year the term first appeared in the literature is identified. Terms are sorted and grouped chronologically by first appearance to determine their first use in the literature as noted in the OED. Results indicated more words are related to cognition than behavior. The first term related to cognition to appear was cogitation in circa 1225; while the first term related to behavior was port, which appeared circa 1330. Each family of terms experienced tremendous growth during the first appearance of terms. The cognition family saw 60% of its terms appear in the 17th and 19th centuries. The behavior family saw nearly 75% of its terms make their first appearance during the 15th through the 17th centuries. Behavioral Sciences 2013-02-07 3 1 Article 10.3390/bs3010143 143 153 2076-328X 2013-02-07 doi: 10.3390/bs3010143 Daniel Chaney http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/1/133 This research examines the employment of cognitive or mentalist words in the titles of articles from three comparative psychology journals (Journal of Comparative Psychology, International Journal of Comparative Psychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes; 8,572 titles, >100,000 words). The Dictionary of Affect in Language, coupled with a word search of titles, was employed to demonstrate cognitive creep. The use of cognitive terminology increased over time (1940–2010) and the increase was especially notable in comparison to the use of behavioral words, highlighting a progressively cognitivist approach to comparative research. Problems associated with the use of cognitive terminology in this domain include a lack of operationalization and a lack of portability. There were stylistic differences among journals including an increased use of words rated as pleasant and concrete across years for Journal of Comparative Psychology, and a greater use of emotionally unpleasant and concrete words in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes. Behavioral Sciences 2013-02-07 3 1 Article 10.3390/bs3010133 133 142 2076-328X 2013-02-07 doi: 10.3390/bs3010133 Cynthia Whissell Charles Abramson Kelsey Barber http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/1/120 The infancy literature situates the perceptual narrowing of speech sounds at around 10 months of age, but little is known about the mechanisms that influence individual differences in this developmental milestone. We hypothesized that such differences might in part be explained by characteristics of mother-child interaction. Infant sensitivity to syllables from their native tongue was compared longitudinally to sensitivity to non-native phonemes, at 6 months and again at 10 months. We replicated previous findings that at the group level, both 6- and 10- month-olds were able to discriminate contrasts in their native language, but only 6-month-olds succeeded in discriminating contrasts in the non-native language. However, when discrimination was assessed for separate groups on the basis of mother-child interaction—a ‘high contingency group’ and a ‘moderate contingency’ group—the vast majority of infants in both groups showed the expected developmental pattern by 10 months, but only infants in the ‘high contingency’ group showed early specialization for their native phonemes by failing to discriminate non-native contrasts at 6-months. The findings suggest that the quality of mother-child interaction is one of the exogenous factors influencing the timing of infant specialization for speech processing. Behavioral Sciences 2013-02-06 3 1 Article 10.3390/bs3010120 120 132 2076-328X 2013-02-06 doi: 10.3390/bs3010120 Mayada Elsabbagh Annette Hohenberger Ruth Campos Jo Van Herwegen Josette Serres Scania de Schonen Gisa Aschersleben Annette Karmiloff-Smith http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/1/99 Adverse rearing conditions are considered a major factor in the development of abnormal behavior. We investigated the overall levels, the prevalence and the diversity of abnormal behavior of 18 adult former laboratory chimpanzees, who spent about 20 years single caged, over a two-year period following re-socialization. According to the onset of deprivation, the individuals were classified as early deprived (EDs, mean: 1.2 years) or late deprived (LDs, mean: 3.6 years). The results are based on 187.5 hours of scan sampling distributed over three sample periods: subsequent to re-socialization and during the first and second year of group-living. While the overall levels and the diversity of abnormal behavior remained stable over time in this study population, the amplifying effects of age at onset of deprivation became apparent as the overall levels of abnormal behavior of EDs were far above those of LDs in the first and second year of group-living, but not immediately after re-socialization. The most prevalent abnormal behaviors, including eating disorders and self-directed behaviors, however, varied in their occurrence within subjects across the periods. Most important, the significance of social companionship became obvious as the most severe forms of abnormal behavior, such as dissociative and self-injurious behaviors declined. Behavioral Sciences 2013-01-31 3 1 Article 10.3390/bs3010099 99 119 2076-328X 2013-01-31 doi: 10.3390/bs3010099 Elfriede Kalcher-Sommersguter Cornelia Franz-Schaider Signe Preuschoft Karl Crailsheim http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/1/72 Background: Very little research thus far has examined the decision making that underlies inappropriate social behavior (ISB) post-TBI (traumatic brain injury). Objectives: To verify the usefulness of a new instrument, the Social Responding Task, for investigating whether, in social decision making, individuals with TBI, who present inappropriate social behavior (ISB), have difficulty anticipating their own feelings of embarrassment and others’ angry reactions following an ISB. Methods: Seven subjects with TBI presenting with inappropriate social behavior (TBI-ISB), 10 presenting with appropriate social behavior (TBI-ASB), and 15 healthy controls were given 12 hypothetical scenarios three times, each time ending with a different behavioral response. Subjects were asked to gauge the likelihood of their displaying the behavior in that situation (part A) and of it being followed by an angry reaction from the other or by feelings of embarrassment in themselves (part B). Results: TBI-ISB subjects scored higher than TBI-ASB and healthy controls on a scale of likelihood of displaying an ISB. Results regarding expectations of angry reactions from others and feelings of embarrassment after an ISB were similar among groups. Negative correlations between endorsement of an inappropriate behavior and anticipation of negative emotional consequences were significant for both TBI-ASB and control subjects, but not for TBI-ISB subjects. Conclusions: Results suggest that the TBI-ISB participants were likely to endorse an ISB despite being able to anticipate a negative emotional response in themselves or others, suggesting that there were other explanations for their poor behavior. A self-reported likely response to hypothetical social scenarios can be a useful approach for studying the neurocognitive processes behind the poor choices of individuals with TBI-ISB, but the task needs further validation studies. A comprehensive discussion follows on the underlying mechanisms affecting social behaviors after a TBI. Behavioral Sciences 2013-01-24 3 1 Article 10.3390/bs3010072 72 98 2076-328X 2013-01-24 doi: 10.3390/bs3010072 Jean Gagnon Anne Henry François-Pierre Decoste Michel Ouellette Pierre McDuff Sacha Daelman http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/1/55 This article offers some personal reflections on the difficulty of teaching the behaviorist perspective in the psychology classroom. The problems focus on the inadequacy of introductory textbooks—which mischaracterize behaviorism, only present the most extreme behaviorist positions, make no mention of the neobehaviorist perspective, fail to discuss that there is no accepted criteria for determining what type of behavior is cognitive, and provide a definition of cognition that is, not only inconsistent across texts, but so broad as to overshadow the behaviorist contributions. Suggestions are provided for instructors on how to present to their students an accurate portrayal of behaviorism. Behavioral Sciences 2013-01-08 3 1 Article 10.3390/bs3010055 55 71 2076-328X 2013-01-08 doi: 10.3390/bs3010055 Charles Abramson http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/1/42 A prevailing concept of cognition in psychology is inspired by the computer metaphor. Its focus on mental states that are generated and altered by information input, processing, storage and transmission invites a disregard for the cultural dimension of cognition, based on three (implicit) assumptions: cognition is internal, processing can be distinguished from content, and processing is independent of cultural background. Arguing against each of these assumptions, we point out how culture may affect cognitive processes in various ways, drawing on instances from numerical cognition, ethnobiological reasoning, and theory of mind. Given the pervasive cultural modulation of cognition—on all of Marr’s levels of description—we conclude that cognition is indeed fundamentally cultural, and that consideration of its cultural dimension is essential for a comprehensive understanding. Behavioral Sciences 2013-01-04 3 1 Communication 10.3390/bs3010042 42 54 2076-328X 2013-01-04 doi: 10.3390/bs3010042 Andrea Bender Sieghard Beller http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/1/21 Over the last half century, neuropsychologists, cognitive psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists interested in human memory have accumulated evidence showing that there is not one general memory function but a variety of memory systems deserving distinct (but for an organism, complementary) functional entities. The first attempts to organize memory systems within a taxonomic construct are often traced back to the French philosopher Maine de Biran (1766–1824), who, in his book first published in 1803, distinguished mechanical memory, sensitive memory and representative memory, without, however, providing any experimental evidence in support of his view. It turns out, however, that what might be regarded as the first elaborated taxonomic proposal is 14 centuries older and is due to Augustine of Hippo (354–430), also named St Augustine, who, in Book 10 of his Confessions, by means of an introspective process that did not aim at organizing memory systems, nevertheless distinguished and commented on sensible memory, intellectual memory, memory of memories, memory of feelings and passion, and memory of forgetting. These memories were envisaged as different and complementary instances. In the current study, after a short biographical synopsis of St Augustine, we provide an outline of the philosopher’s contribution, both in terms of questions and answers, and focus on how this contribution almost perfectly fits with several viewpoints of modern psychology and neuroscience of memory about human memory functions, including the notion that episodic autobiographical memory stores events of our personal history in their what, where and when dimensions, and from there enables our mental time travel. It is not at all meant that St Augustine’s elaboration was the basis for the modern taxonomy, but just that the similarity is striking, and that the architecture of our current viewpoints about memory systems might have preexisted as an outstanding intuition in the philosopher’s mind. Behavioral Sciences 2012-12-27 3 1 Review 10.3390/bs3010021 21 41 2076-328X 2012-12-27 doi: 10.3390/bs3010021 Jean-Christophe Cassel Daniel Cassel Lilianne Manning http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/3/1/1 Many orphaned chimpanzees whose mothers are illegally killed for their meat (bushmeat) in Africa are sold as pets or kept caged at hotels and businesses to attract tourists. As a result of being separated from their mothers and other chimpanzees at an early age, and spending years in impoverished captive conditions, some of these individuals engage in abnormal behaviors, including stereotypically scratching at their flesh and repetitively rocking back and forth. This paper presents case studies of Poco and Safari, two chimpanzees who were rescued by sanctuaries after living alone on display for humans at businesses for the first 7 to 8 years of their lives. Decades after their rescue, they still engage in stereotypical behaviors as a result of the psychological and physical trauma they endured early on. This paper combines data from in depth interviews with caregivers and direct observations of abnormal behaviors to assess psychological distress in captive-living chimpanzees. Our results highlight some lesser known harms of the bushmeat trade and the detrimental life-long consequences that keeping chimpanzees as “pets” can have on their mental health. Behavioral Sciences 2012-12-27 3 1 Article 10.3390/bs3010001 1 20 2076-328X 2012-12-27 doi: 10.3390/bs3010001 Stacy Lopresti-Goodman Marjanne Kameka Ashlynn Dube http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/4/207 While many studies have reported working memory (WM) impairments in autism spectrum disorders, others do not. Sample characteristics, WM domain, and task complexity likely contribute to these discrepancies. Although deficits in visuospatial WM have been more consistently documented, there is much controversy regarding verbal WM in autism. The goal of the current study was to explore visuospatial and verbal WM in a well-controlled sample of children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and typical development. Individuals ages 9–17 with HFA (n = 18) and typical development (n = 18), were carefully matched on gender, age, IQ, and language, and were administered a series of standardized visuospatial and verbal WM tasks. The HFA group displayed significant impairment across WM domains. No differences in performance were noted across WM tasks for either the HFA or typically developing groups. Over and above nonverbal cognition, WM abilities accounted for significant variance in language skills and symptom severity. The current study suggests broad WM limitations in HFA. We further suggest that deficits in verbal WM are observed in more complex tasks, as well as in simpler tasks, such as phonological WM. Increased task complexity and linguistic demands may influence WM abilities. Behavioral Sciences 2012-11-02 2 4 Article 10.3390/bs2040207 207 218 2076-328X 2012-11-02 doi: 10.3390/bs2040207 Jillian M. Schuh Inge-Marie Eigsti http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/3/195 The androgenic adrenal steroids dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and 4α-androstenedione (4-A) have significant biological activity, but it is unclear if the behavioral effects are unique or only reflections of the effects of testosterone (TS). Gonadally intact male Long-Evans rats were assigned to groups to receive supplements of DHEA, 4-A, TS, corticosteroid (CORT), all at 400 µg steroid/kg of body weight, or vehicle only for 5 weeks. All males were tested in a paradigm for sexual motivation that measures time and urinary marks near an inaccessible receptive female. It was found that DHEA and 4-A supplements failed to influence time near the estrous female in the same way TS supplements did, and, indeed, 5 weeks of 4-A administration reduced the time similar to the suppressive effects of CORT after 3 weeks. Further, animals treated with DHEA or 4-A left fewer urinary marks near an estrous female than TS and control groups. These results suggest that DHEA and 4-A are not merely precursors of sex hormones, and provide support for these steroids influencing the brain and behavior in a unique fashion that is dissimilar from the effects of TS on male sexual behavior. Behavioral Sciences 2012-08-31 2 3 Article 10.3390/bs2030195 195 206 2076-328X 2012-08-31 doi: 10.3390/bs2030195 George T. Taylor Joshua T. Dearborn Susan E. Maloney http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/3/186 Youth homelessness is a growing problem in the United States. The experience of homelessness appears to have numerous adverse consequences, including psychiatric and substance use disorders. This study compared the frequencies of psychiatric disorders, including substance use, between homeless youth (18–24 years-old) in San Francisco (N = 31) and Chicago (N = 56). Subjects were administered the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) to assess DSM-IV-TR diagnoses and substance use disorders. Eighty-seven percent of the San Francisco youth, and 81% of the Chicago youth met criteria for at least one M.I.N.I. psychiatric diagnosis. Nearly two-thirds of the youth in both samples met criteria for a mood disorder. Approximately one-third met criteria for an anxiety disorder. Thirty-two percent of the San Francisco sample and 18% of the Chicago met criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder. Approximately 84% of the San Francisco youth and 48% of the Chicago youth met criteria for a substance-related disorder, and more substances were used by San Francisco youth. In conclusion, the high rate of psychiatric disorders in homeless youth provides clear evidence that the mental health needs of this population are significant. Implications are discussed. Behavioral Sciences 2012-08-30 2 3 Article 10.3390/bs2030186 186 194 2076-328X 2012-08-30 doi: 10.3390/bs2030186 Ernika G. Quimby Jennifer P. Edidin Zoe Ganim Erika Gustafson Scott J. Hunter Niranjan S. Karnik http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/3/172 Geological substrates and air pollution affect the availability of calcium to mammals in many habitats, including the Adirondack Mountain Region (Adirondacks) of the United States. Mammalian insectivores, such as shrews, may be particularly restricted in environments with low calcium. We examined the consequences of calcium restriction on the least shrew (Cryptotis parva) in the laboratory. We maintained one group of shrews (5 F, 5 M) on a mealworm diet with a calcium concentration comparable to beetle larvae collected in the Adirondacks (1.1 ± 0.3 mg/g) and another group (5 F, 3 M) on a mealworm diet with a calcium concentration almost 20 times higher (19.5 ± 5.1 mg/g). Animals were given no access to mineral sources of calcium, such as snail shell or bone. We measured running speed and performance in a complex maze over 10 weeks. Shrews on the high-calcium diet made fewer errors in the maze than shrews on the low-calcium diet (F1,14 = 12.8, p < 0.01). Females made fewer errors than males (F1,14 = 10.6, p < 0.01). Running speeds did not markedly vary between diet groups or sexes, though there was a trend toward faster running by shrews on the high calcium diet (p = 0.087). Shrews in calcium-poor habitats with low availability of mineral sources of calcium may have greater difficulty with cognitive tasks such as navigation and recovery of food hoards. Behavioral Sciences 2012-08-16 2 3 Article 10.3390/bs2030172 172 185 2076-328X 2012-08-16 doi: 10.3390/bs2030172 Jessica L. Czajka Timothy S. McCay Danielle E. Garneau http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/2/135 To maintain well-being, all organisms require the ability to re-establish homeostasis in the presence of adverse physiological or psychological experiences. The regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis during stress is important in preventing maladaptive responses that may increase susceptibility to affective disorders. Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is a central stress hormone in the HPA axis pathway and has been implicated in stress-induced psychiatric disorders, reproductive and cardiac function, as well as energy metabolism. In the context of psychiatric disorders, CRH dysfunction is associated with the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, anorexia nervosa, and anxiety disorders. Here, we review the synthesis, molecular signaling and regulation, as well as synaptic activity of CRH. We go on to summarize studies of altered CRH signaling in mutant animal models. This assembled data demonstrate an important role for CRH in neuroendocrine, autonomic, and behavioral correlates of adaptation and maladaptation. Next, we present findings regarding human genetic polymorphisms in CRH pathway genes that are associated with stress and psychiatric disorders. Finally, we discuss a role for regulators of CRH activity as potential sites for therapeutic intervention aimed at treating maladaptive behaviors associated with stress. Behavioral Sciences 2012-06-21 2 2 Review 10.3390/bs2020135 135 171 2076-328X 2012-06-21 doi: 10.3390/bs2020135 Gloria Laryea Melinda G. Arnett Louis J. Muglia http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/2/115 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent, disabling anxiety disorder. This prospective cohort study reports on a new exposure-based therapy known as Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART®) that incorporates the use of eye movements administered in a brief treatment period (1–5 one-hour sessions within three weeks). Eighty adults aged 21–60 years with symptoms of PTSD were recruited from the Tampa Bay area. The ART-based psychotherapy was designed to minimize anxiety and body sensations associated with recall of traumatic memories and to replace distressing images with favorable ones. Participants’ mean age was 40 years, 77% were female, and 29% were Hispanic. Participants underwent a median of three ART sessions, 66 of 80 (82.5%) completed treatment, and 54 of 66 (81.8%) provided 2-month follow-up data. Mean scores pre- and post-ART and at 2-month follow-up were: PTSD Checklist: 54.5 ± 12.2 vs. 31.2 ± 11.4 vs. 30.0 ± 12.4; Brief Symptom Inventory: 30.8 ± 14.6 vs. 10.1 ± 10.8 vs. 10.1 ± 12.1; Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale: 29.5 ± 10.9 vs. 11.8 ± 11.1 vs. 13.5 ± 12.1; Trauma Related Growth Inventory-Distress scale: 18.9 ± 4.1 vs. 7.4 ± 5.9 vs. 8.2 ± 5.9 (p < 0.0001 for all pre-ART vs. post-ART and 2-month comparisons). No serious adverse events were reported. ART appears to be a brief, safe, and effective treatment for symptoms of PTSD. Behavioral Sciences 2012-06-18 2 2 Article 10.3390/bs2020115 115 134 2076-328X 2012-06-18 doi: 10.3390/bs2020115 Kevin E. Kip Carrie A. Elk Kelly L. Sullivan Rajendra Kadel Cecile A. Lengacher Christopher J. Long Laney Rosenzweig Amy Shuman Diego F. Hernandez Jennifer D. Street Sue Ann Girling David M. Diamond http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/2/103 The FKBP5 gene, a glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-regulating co-chaperone of stress proteins, is of special interest because of its role in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis regulation. However, studies finding a genetic relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the FKBP5 gene have failed to distinguish between the development and persistence of PTSD, thereby limiting the prognostic usefulness of such a finding. The present study sought to longitudinally explore this question by examining the association between four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the FKBP5 gene (rs3800373, rs9470080, rs1360780, and rs9296158), the persistence of PTSD (severity and diagnostic status), and memory performance among twenty-two treatment-seekers diagnosed with acute PTSD. Results showed that the four SNPs significantly interacted with improvement in PTSD symptoms as well as PTSD diagnostic status. Individuals homozygous for the dominant allele and having experienced higher levels of peritraumatic responses subsequently showed more memory dysfunction. The results of this study suggest that SNPs in the FKBP5 gene are associated with symptom persistence and memory dysfunction in acute PTSD. Behavioral Sciences 2012-06-01 2 2 Article 10.3390/bs2020103 103 114 2076-328X 2012-06-01 doi: 10.3390/bs2020103 Annie-Claude David Geeta A. Thakur Vivian Akerib Jorge Armony Isabelle Rouleau Alain Brunet http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/2/79 Stress is a powerful modulator of brain structure and function. While stress is beneficial for survival, inappropriate stress dramatically increases the risk of physical and mental health problems, particularly when experienced during early developmental periods. Here we focus on the neurobiology of the infant rat’s odor learning system that enables neonates to learn and approach the maternal odor and describe the unique role of the stress hormone corticosterone in modulating this odor approach learning across development. During the first nine postnatal days, this odor approach learning of infant rats is supported by a wide range of sensory stimuli and ensures attachment to the mother’s odor, even when interactions with her are occasionally associated with pain. With maturation and the emergence of a stress- or pain-induced corticosterone response, this odor approach learning terminates and a more adult-like amygdala-dependent fear/avoidance learning emerges. Strikingly, the odor approach and attenuated fear learning of older pups can be re-established by the presence of the mother, due to her ability to suppress her pups’ corticosterone release and amygdala activity. This suggests that developmental changes in stress responsiveness and the stimuli that produce a stress response might be critically involved in optimally adapting the pup’s attachment system to its respective ecological niche. Behavioral Sciences 2012-05-18 2 2 Review 10.3390/bs2020079 79 102 2076-328X 2012-05-18 doi: 10.3390/bs2020079 Reto Bisaz Regina M. Sullivan http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/2/57 Activation of the stress response evokes a cascade of physiological reactions that may be detrimental when repeated or chronic, and when triggered after exposure to psychological/emotional stressors. Investigation of the physiological mechanisms responsible for the health damaging effects requires animal paradigms that repeatedly evoke a response to psychological/emotional stressors. To this end, adult male Sprague Dawley rats were repeatedly exposed (2X per day for 20 days) to a context that they were conditioned to fear (conditioned fear test, CFT). Repeated exposure to CFT produced body weight loss, adrenal hypertrophy, thymic involution, and basal corticosterone elevation. In vivo biotelemetry measures revealed that CFT evokes sympathetic nervous system driven increases in heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and core body temperature. Extinction of behavioral (freezing) and physiological responses to CFT was prevented using minimal reinstatement footshock. MAP responses to the CFT did not diminish across 20 days of exposure. In contrast, HR and cardiac contractility responses declined by day 15, suggesting a shift toward vascular-dominated MAP (a pre-clinical marker of CV dysfunction). Flattened diurnal rhythms, common to stress-related mood/anxiety disorders, were found for most physiological measures. Thus, repeated CFT produces adaptations indicative of the health damaging effects of psychological/emotional stress. Behavioral Sciences 2012-05-18 2 2 Article 10.3390/bs2020057 57 78 2076-328X 2012-05-18 doi: 10.3390/bs2020057 Robert S. Thompson Paul V. Strong Monika Fleshner http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/2/50 Recent empirical evidence for complex cognition in elephants suggests that greater attention to comparative studies between non-human primates and other animals is warranted. We have previously shown that elephants possess the ability to judge the difference between two discrete quantities, and unlike other animals, their choice does not appear to be affected by distance or overall quantity. In this study, we investigated Asian elephants’ ability to perform summation, as exemplified by the ability to combine four quantities into two sums and subsequently compare them. We presented two discrete sums (3–7) to the elephants by baiting two buckets; they were loaded sequentially with two discrete quantities (1–5 pieces) of food per bucket. All three elephants selected the larger grand sum significantly more often than the smaller grand sum. Moreover, their performance was not affected by either distance to the bait or the overall quantity evaluated. Studies report that the performance of other animal species on similar tasks declines as distance to the bait decreases and as the overall quantities evaluated increase. These results suggest that the numerical cognition of Asian elephants may be different from that of other animals, but further study is required to elucidate the differences precisely. Behavioral Sciences 2012-03-27 2 2 Article 10.3390/bs2020050 50 56 2076-328X 2012-03-27 doi: 10.3390/bs2020050 Naoko Irie Toshikazu Hasegawa http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/1/38 Previous research has shown that both experimentally induced upper respiratory tract illnesses (URTIs) and naturally occurring URTIs influence mood and performance. The present study investigated possible cognitive mechanisms underlying the URTI-performance changes. Those who developed a cold (N = 47) had significantly faster, but less accurate, performance than those who remained healthy (N = 54). Illness had no effect on manipulations designed to influence encoding, response organisation (stimulus-response compatilibility) or response preparation. Similarly, there was no evidence that different components of working memory were impaired. Overall, the present research confirms that URTIs can have an effect on performance efficiency. Further research is required to identify the physiological and behavioral mechanisms underlying these effects. Behavioral Sciences 2012-03-15 2 1 Article 10.3390/bs2010038 38 49 2076-328X 2012-03-15 doi: 10.3390/bs2010038 Andrew P. Smith http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/1/23 Stress enhances the behavioral effects of cocaine, perhaps via hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. Yet, compared to Fischer 344 (F344) rats, Lewis rats have hyporesponsive HPA axis function and more readily acquire cocaine self-administration. We hypothesized that stress would differentially affect cocaine behaviors in these strains. The effects of three stressors on the discriminative stimulus and response rate effects of cocaine were investigated. Rats of both strains were trained to discriminate cocaine (10 mg/kg) from saline using a two-lever, food-reinforced (FR10) procedure. Immediately prior to cumulative dose (1, 3, 10 mg/kg cocaine) test sessions, rats were restrained for 15-min, had 15-min of footshock in a distinct context, or were placed in the shock-paired context. Another set of F344 and Lewis rats were tested similarly except they received vehicle injections to test if stress substituted for cocaine. Most vehicle-tested rats failed to respond after stressor exposures. Among cocaine-tested rats, restraint stress enhanced cocaine’s discriminative stimulus effects in F344 rats. Shock and shock-context increased response rates in Lewis rats. Stress-induced increases in corticosterone levels showed strain differences but did not correlate with behavior. These data suggest that the behavioral effects of cocaine can be differentially affected by stress in a strain-selective manner. Behavioral Sciences 2012-03-01 2 1 Article 10.3390/bs2010023 23 37 2076-328X 2012-03-01 doi: 10.3390/bs2010023 Therese A. Kosten Mindy J. D. Miserendino http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/2/1/1 Serious criticisms of psychology’s research practices and data analysis methods date back to at least the mid-1900s after the Galtonian school of thought had thoroughly triumphed over the Wundtian school. In the wake of Bem’s (2011) recent, highly publicized study on psi phenomena in a prestigious journal, psychologists are again raising serious questions about their dominant research script. These concerns are echoed in the current paper, and Observation Oriented Modeling (OOM) is presented as an alternative approach toward data conceptualization and analysis for the social and life sciences. This approach is rooted in philosophical realism and an attitude toward data analysis centered around causality and common sense. Three example studies and accompanying data analyses are presented and discussed to demonstrate a number of OOM’s advantages over current researcher practices. Behavioral Sciences 2012-01-16 2 1 Article 10.3390/bs2010001 1 22 2076-328X 2012-01-16 doi: 10.3390/bs2010001 James W. Grice Paul T. Barrett Liz A. Schlimgen Charles I. Abramson http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/1/1/4 Glucocorticoids (GCs) such as dexamethasone (DEX) or betamethasone are repeatedly administered for up to a month to prematurely born infants as a treatment for chronic lung dysfunction. Results of clinical trials have shown that the use of GCs in these infants induces long-term deficits in neuromotor function and cognition. We have previously shown that a single exposure to clinically relevant doses of DEX or other GCs in the mouse during a period corresponding to the human perinatal period produces a dramatic increase in apoptotic cell death of neural progenitor cells in the developing cerebellum. To provide a model approximating more chronic clinical dosing regimens, we evaluated possible behavioral effects resulting from repeated exposures to DEX and subsequent GC-induced neuronal loss where neonatal mouse pups were injected with 3.0 mg/kg DEX or saline on postnatal days 7, 9, and 11 (DEX3 treatment). Adult, DEX3-treated mice exhibited long-term, possibly permanent, neuromotor deficits on a complex activity wheel task, which requires higher-order motor co-ordination skills. DEX3 mice exhibited impaired performance on this task relative to saline controls in each of two independent studies involving separate cohorts of mice. Histopathology studies utilizing stereological neuronal counts conducted in behaviorally-tested mice showed that the DEX3 treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the number of neurons in the internal granule layer (IGL) of the cerebellum, although the number of neurons in the Purkinje cell layer were unchanged. The results suggest that multiple neonatal DEX exposures can produce chronic deficits in fine motor co-ordination that are associated with cerebellar IGL neuronal loss. Behavioral Sciences 2011-12-30 1 1 Article 10.3390/behavsci1010004 4 30 2076-328X 2011-12-30 doi: 10.3390/behavsci1010004 Susan E. Maloney Kevin K. Noguchi David F. Wozniak Stephen C. Fowler Nuri B. Farber http://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/1/1/1 On behalf of the Editorial Board and the editorial management staff of MDPI, it is my great pleasure to introduce this new journal Behavioral Sciences. Behavioral Sciences seeks to publish original research and scholarship contributing to our understanding of human behavior. The journal will provide a forum for work that furthers knowledge and stimulates research in the behavioral sciences. We are committed to building a diverse and methodologically rigorous literature of interest and benefit to behavioral and social scientists, as well as to clinical practitioners, educationalists, and the general public. [...] Behavioral Sciences 2011-02-22 1 1 Editorial 10.3390/behavsci1010001 1 3 2076-328X 2011-02-22 doi: 10.3390/behavsci1010001 John Coverdale