Conocimiento sobre VIH-sida en población general de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires y su vinculación con variables sociodemográficas / Knowledge about HIV-AIDS in the general population of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and its relationship with sociodemographic variables

Resumen La estigmatización ha signado la convivencia con el VIH. Esto repercute negativamente en la salud de las personas positivas e impacta en la población general puesto que, a través del miedo, se puede desalentar el testeo regular y la detección temprana de la infección. Uno de los principales componentes que sostienen la estigmatización es el bajo conocimiento sobre el VIH-sida. El objetivo del presente estudio es indagar el nivel de conocimiento sobre VIH-sida en población de jóvenes y adultos de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires y su relación con variables sociodemográficas. Se encuestó a 201 participantes de entre 18 y 60 años inclusive en un diseño muestral por cuotas, preservando la representatividad de la muestra en relación al sexo, edad, nivel de instrucción y nivel socioeconómico. Se advierte en los participantes un escaso nivel de conocimiento sobre la diferencia entre VIH y sida, la PrEP, la PEP y la intransmisibilidad del virus por vía sexual en personas con carga viral indetectable. Por el contrario, se observó mayor conocimiento sobre las vías de transmisión del virus. El género y la edad no se asociaron a diferentes niveles de conocimiento, mientras que los participantes con religión evangélica, un menor nivel de instrucción formal, o un menor nivel socioeconómico mostraron porcentajes inferiores de conocimiento en distintas variables relevadas. Estos resultados enfatizan la necesidad de ejecutar las prerrogativas de la Ley de Educación Sexual Integral en lo concerniente al acceso a información actualizada sobre sexualidad y prevención de infecciones de transmisión sexual.

Abstract Stigmatization has marked the HIV pandemic, and has impacted negatively on the health of people living with HIV and overall population since fear may discourage regular testing and early detection. One of the main components that sustain stigmatization is the scarce knowledge about HIV-AIDS. The aim of this research is to analyze the level of knowledge about HIV-AIDS among the young and adult population dwelling in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, and its correlate with sociodemographic variables. 201 participants aged 18 through 60 years old were surveyed in a quota sampling design. The sample representativeness was preserved in relation to sex, age, education, and socioeconomic level. The results revealed that participants have a scarce knowledge about the difference between HIV and AIDS, PrEP, PEP, and the virus non-transmissibility through sexual intercourse with people with undetectable viral load. On the contrary, it was observed greater knowledge about the transmission routes of the virus. Gender and age were not associated with different levels of knowledge, while participants' religion, formal education level, and socioeconomic level are associated with lower percentages of knowledge in the different variables surveyed. These results emphasize the need to fully implement the prerogatives of the Act N°26.150 Comprehensive Sex Education - Argentina, regarding access to updated information on sexuality and prevention of sexually transmitted infections.

Two profiles in the recovery of reward devaluation in rats: Latent class growth analysis.

Consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) occurs when animals exposed to an unexpected downshift from a high palatable reward (e.g., 32% sucrose solution) to a less preferred one (e.g., 4% sucrose solution) show an abrupt and transient suppression of the consummatory response, compared with control animals that always had access to the less preferred one. This phenomenon constitutes an animal model of stress produced by frustrative events. To obtain information about individual differences regarding cSNC, we used Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) to analyze a sample of 53 animals exposed to an incentive downshift. We found two profiles of animals, both showing the suppression of the consummatory response but diverging in the speed of the recovery. Our results are consistent with previous literature showing individual differences in cSNC and do not support the existence of a third profile.

Evaluación del efecto del alojamiento en dos modelos animales para el estudio de las respuestas de frustración / Evaluation of housing effects in two animal models for study frustration responses

En el Contraste Sucesivo Negativo consumatorio (CSNc) se evalúan las respuestas emocionales de frustración ante la devaluación de un refuerzo esperado. El contraste negativo se observa por una supresión abrupta y transitoria de la respuesta consumatoria del refuerzo devaluado. La Extinción consumatoria (Ec) consiste en exponer a los animales a la omisión de la recompensa esperada. Antecedentes: Las respuestas ante situaciones de contraste de incentivos podrían verse afectadas por la jaula hogar en la que son alojados los animales. Objetivo: Evaluar el efecto del tipo de alojamiento en el CSNc y Ec. Metodología: Se evaluaron ratas Wistar macho adultas en el CSNc y Ec, que diferían en su condición de alojamiento: jaulas de policarbonato o de acero inoxidable. Resultados: Se observó efecto de CSNc y Ec en ambas condiciones de alojamiento por igual. Conclusión: El CSNc y la Ec son fenómenos robustos, presentes en un amplio rango de condiciones experimentales.

Consummatory Successive Negative Contrast (cSNC) evaluates the frustration responses triggered by a devaluation of an expected reward. This phenomenon is observed as an abrupt and transitory suppression of the consummatory response after a reinforcement devaluation. Consummation Extinction (cE) consists in the exposition of the animals to an omission of an expected reward. Background: Responses to situations that involve incentive contrast could be affected by caging conditions of the animals. Objective: Evaluating the housing effect on cSNC and cE. Methodology: Adult male Wistar rats were evaluated in cSNC and cE, which differed in their housing condition: polycarbonate or stainless steel cages. Results: cSNC and cE were similar in spite of the housing condition. Conclusion: cSNC and cE are robust phenomena present in a wide range of experimental conditions

Complex effects of reward upshift on consummatory behavior.

Exposing rats to an upshift from a small reward to a larger reward sometimes yields evidence of consummatory successive positive contrast (cSPC), an effect that could be a suitable animal model of positive emotion. However, cSPC is an unreliable effect. Ten experiments explored the effects of an upshift in sucrose or saccharin concentration on consummatory behavior under several conditions. There was occasional evidence of cSPC, but mostly a combination of increased consummatory behavior relative to preshift reward concentrations and a reduced behavioral level relative to unshifted controls. Such a pattern is consistent with processes causing opposite changes on behavior. Reward upshift may induce processes that suppress behavior, such as taste neophobia (induced by an intense sucrose taste) and generalization decrement (induced by novelty in reward conditions after the upshift). An experiment tested the role of such novelty-related effects by preexposing animals to either the upshift concentration (12% sucrose) or water during three days before the start of the experiment. Sucrose-preexposed animals drank significantly more than water-preexposed animals during the upshift, but just as much as unshifted controls (i.e., no evidence of cSPC). These results suggest that cSPC may be difficult to obtain reliably because reward upshift induces opposing processes. However, they also seriously question the ontological status of cSPC.

Exploration of a novel object in late adolescence predicts novelty-seeking behavior in adulthood: Associations among behavioral responses in four novelty-seeking tests.

UNLABELLED: The sensation/novelty seeking behavioral trait refers to the exploration/preference for a novel environment. Novelty seeking increases during late adolescence and it has been associated with several neurobehavioral disorders. In this experiment, we asked whether inbred Roman high- and low-avoidance (RHA-I, RLA-I) rats (1) differ in novelty seeking in late adolescence and (2) whether late adolescent novelty seeking predicts this trait in adulthood. Thirty six male RHA-I and 36 RLA-I rats were exposed to a novel object exploration (NOE) test during late adolescence (pnd: 52-59; DEPENDENT VARIABLES: contact latency, contact time, contact frequency). Head-dipping (hole-board, HB), time and visits to a novel-arm (Y-maze), and latency-in and emergence latency (emergence test) were registered in adulthood (pnd: 83-105). The results showed strain differences in all these tests (RHA-I>RLA-I). Factor analysis (RHA-I+RLA-I) revealed two clusters. The first one grouped HB and emergence test measures. The second one grouped NOE and Y-maze variables. Time exploring a novel object (NOE) was a significant predictor of novel arm time (RHA-I+RLA, RHA-I); contact latency was a significant predictor of novel arm frequency (RLA-I). Present results show consistent behavioral associations across four novelty-seeking tests and suggest that late adolescent novelty seeking predicts this genetically-influenced temperamental trait in adult Roman rats.

Postweaning isolation affects responses to incentive contrast in adulthood.

Adolescence is a time involving a series of changes in the use of appetitive reinforcers like food, as well as neuroendocrine changes like those taking place in the mesolimbic dopamine function. Social isolation from postnatal day 21 to 36 in rats leads to behavioral and neurophysiological alterations such as increased consumption of appetitive reinforcers. The work is focused on studying how exposure to chronic stress induced by social isolation during adolescence can have a long-lasting effect on responses to reinforcement shifts in adulthood. Two experiments were performed in rats in order to analyze the effect of adolescent isolation on the responses to unanticipated shifts in reinforcement during adulthood, in reinforcement devaluation (32-4% of sucrose solution), increase (4-32% of sucrose solution), and extinction (32-0% of sucrose solution) procedures. Adolescent isolation intensified the intake response resulting from a reinforcement increase (i.e., greater positive contrast), but had no effect on the response to reinforcement devaluation and omission. The implications of this procedure are discussed, along with the underlying behavioral and neurochemical mechanisms.

Efecto de contraste sucesivo negativo en la valoración emocional de imágenes / Successive negative contrast effect on the emotional evaluation of images

Se presentan dos experimentos para estudiar el efecto de la reducción del valor de incentivo sobre las respuestas de tiempo de observación y valoración de la emocionalidad de las imágenes, mediante una escala Likert. En ambos estudios un grupo de sujetos observó una serie de fotografías del Sistema Internacional de Imagen Afectiva (International Affective Picture System; IAPS) clasificadas como placenteras de alta activación (fase de precambio) y luego, placenteras de baja activación (fase de postcambio, Grupo Experimental, GE). Otro grupo observó en ambas fases solamente las imágenes placenteras de baja activación (Grupo Control, GC). No hubo efectos en el tiempo de observación de las imágenes pero sí en su valoración emocional. Durante la fase de post-cambio el GE evaluó las imágenes de baja activación como menos emocionales que el GC. El Experimento 2 replica el resultado cuando se interpone una tarea distractora entre cada ensayo de presentación de las imágenes. Estos resultados indican que la valoración afectiva de las imágenes está modulada por efectos de contraste negativo y que su mecanismo es de origen central (AU)

Two experiments were presented in which the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) was used to study the effect of the incentive value downshift upon the observation time and emotional valuation responses in humans. One group observed pleasant slides of high arousal (pre-shift phase) and then pleasant slides of low arousal (post-shift phase, Experimental Group, GE). The Control Group (GC) observed pleasant slides of low arousal in both phases. There was not an effect on the observation time measure, but a successive negative contrast (SNC) effect was found in the emotional valuation measure. During the post-shift phase, the GE evaluated the slides as less emotional than the GC. These results indicate that the affective evaluation of the images is modulated by negative contrast effect (AU)

Consummatory suppression due to incentive downshift is not a consequence of enhanced search behavior.

Rats shifted from 32% to 4% sucrose solution consume less from the 4% solution than rats that experience only the 4% solution. This consummatory suppression, a phenomenon known as consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC), is accompanied by an increase in other behaviors such as rearing, nose-down locomotion, ambulation, sampling new sources and grooming. Despite a large body of studies on the cSNC, it remains to be determined whether reduced consumption is part of the direct response to the reward downshift or a byproduct of the increase in alternative competing behaviors. The objective of the present study was to determine if consummatory suppression would occur when most competing behaviors are prevented from occurring. Rats were trained either with 32% or 4% sucrose solution for ten days in restrainers that limited almost all movement. On the next five days, all subjects received the 4% sucrose solution and a robust suppression in drinking in the downshifted animals was observed. These results suggest that consummatory suppression is a direct consequence of incentive downshift and not a byproduct of the increase in competing behaviors.

Effects of isolation in adulthood on frustration and anxiety.

In consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC), when rats receive 32% of sweetened water and are unexpectedly exposed to 4% of the same solution, they consume less than those who received 4% regularly. In consummatory extinction (cE), rats receiving a 32% or 4% sugar solution stop lapping when presented with an empty tube. In both cases, these situations trigger an aversive emotional reaction similar to fear and anxiety called frustration or negative contrast effect. Isolation conditions in adulthood increase anxiety responses. We describe an experiment in which isolated or grouped rats in adulthood are evaluated in an elevated plus maze (EPM), in cSNC and cE. Results show that rats in groups express less anxiety and activity in EPM and more persistence in cE than isolated rats. There are no differences between the two housing conditions in cSNC. We discuss these results on the basis of frustration theories.

Long-lasting effects of perinatal asphyxia on exploration, memory and incentive downshift.

Perinatal asphyxia remains as one of the most important causes of death and disability in children, without an effective treatment. Moreover, little is known about the long-lasting behavioral consequences of asphyxia at birth. Therefore, the main aim of the present study was to investigate the motor, emotional and cognitive functions of adult asphyctic rats. Experimental subjects consisted of rats born vaginally (CTL), by cesarean section (C+), or by cesarean section following 19 min of asphyxia (PA). At three months of age, animals were examined in a behavioral test battery including elevated plus maze, open field, Morris water maze, and an incentive downshift procedure. Results indicated that groups did not differ in anxiety-related behaviors, although a large variability was observed in the asphyctic group and therefore, the results are not completely conclusive. In addition, PA and C+ rats showed a deficit in exploration of new environments, but to a much lesser extent in the latter group. Spatial reference and working memory impairments were also found in PA rats. Finally, when animals were downshifted from a 32% to a 4% sucrose solution, an attenuated suppression of consummatory behavior was observed in PA rats. These results confirmed and extended those reported previously about the behavioral alterations associated with acute asphyxia around birth.

Correlación entre miedo incondicionado y la primera reacción a la disminución y extinción de un reforzador apetitivo / Correlation between Unconditional Fear and the First Reaction to the Decline and Extinction of an Appetitive Reinforcer

Cuando las ratas tienen acceso a una solución azucarada al 32% y luego la concentración disminuye al 4%, los animales consumen o permanecen en contacto con el bebedero menos tiempo que los animales que siempre consumieron la solución al 4%. A este fenómeno de Contraste Sucesivo Negativo consumatorio (CSNc) se le considera un modelo animal de frustración. Existe evidencia de que en una prueba de luz-oscuridad, las ratas prefieren permanecer en el compartimiento oscuro, lo que sugiere una respuesta de miedo incondicionado hacia lugares claros. Se presentan dos experimentos en los que se evaluó la preferencia de ratas en una prueba de luz-oscuridad y a un CSNc (Experimento 1) y a una Extinción Consumatoria (Ec, acceso a un bebedero vacío, Experimento 2) para evaluar la correlación entre la primera reacción a la devaluación u omisión de reforzadores con las respuestas de miedo incondicionado a los lugares oscuros. Las ratas que permanecieron más tiempo en el lugar oscuro permanecieron menos tiempo en contacto con el bebedero durante el primer ensayo de devaluación del reforzador (Experimento 1) y durante el primer minuto del primer ensayo de Ec (Experimento 2). Esos resultados se discuten en relación con las teorías de Amsel (1958), Gray (1987) y Flaherty (1996).

When rats have access to a 32% sucrose solution and the concentration is decreased to 4%, the animals drink less than those that were always exposed to the 4% solution. This phenomenon is called consummatory Successive Negative Contrast (cSNC) and is considered an animal model of frustration. Existing evidence shows that in a light-dark test, rats prefer to stay in the dark compartment, which suggests an unconditioned fear response to illuminated places. Two experiments were conducted in which the preference of rats in a light-dark test was assessed during a cSNC (Experiment 1) and during a Consummatory Extinction (Ec, access to an empty water tube, Experiment 2) in order to assess the correlation between the first reaction to the devaluation or to the omission of reinforcers with unconditioned fear responses to dark places. Results showed that the rats that spent more time in the dark place spent less time in contact with the water tube during the first reinforcer-devaluation trial (Experiment 1) and during the first minute of the first Ec trial (Experiment 2). The relation of these results and Amsel (1958), Gray (1987), and Flaherty's theories is discussed.

Efectos del aislamiento en la adultez sobre el dolor y la frustración / Effects of isolation on adulthood on pain and frustration

Los animales que viven aislados en la adultez presentan indicadores conductuales de estrés crónico, ansiedad e hipoalgesia. Si bien existe una amplia gama de tratamientos que evidencian las relaciones entre la frustración, el dolor y la ansiedad, pocos trabajos estudiaron el efecto que podría tener el aislamiento en la adultez sobre las respuestas de los animales ante la devaluación de incentivos. Se evaluaron ratas aisladas (Aislados) y agrupadas (Agrupados) a partir de los 60 días de edad en la sensibilidad al dolor con la prueba de la placa térmica (PT) y en el efecto de reforzamiento parcial sobre el contraste sucesivo negativo consumatorio (ERP-CSNc). En el ERP-CSNc dos grupos de animales (Aislados y Agrupados) recibieron una fase de precambio con ensayos bajo un Programa de reforzamiento continuo (RC, consumo de 32% de solución azucarada) y otros dos grupos (Aislados y Agrupados) en uno de reforzamiento parcial (RP, 50% reforzados con 32% de solución azucarada y 50% no reforzados). En la fase de postcambio los cuatro grupos recibieron soluciones de sacarosa al 4%. Se midió el tiempo que el animal permanecía en contacto con el bebedero (TB). Las ratas aisladas mostraron hipoalgesia en la PT. En el ERP-CSNc, tanto las ratas aisladas como las agrupadas entrenadas en RP mostraron el mismo grado de mayor persistencia de TB durante la fase de postcambio, respecto de los entrenados bajo RC. Estos resultados se discuten en función de trabajos previos y de los posibles mecanismos implicados (AU)

Animals isolated in adulthood present behavioral indicators of chronic stress, anxiety and hypoalgesia. While there is a wide range of treatments that demonstrate the relationship between frustration, pain and anxiety, there are few studies of the effect of isolation in adulthood on the devaluation of incentives. Isolated (ISO) and grouped (Group) rats from 60 days of age were evaluated on the hot plate test (HP) and the effect of partial reinforcement on consummatory successive negative contrast (ERP-cSNC). In the ERPcSNC, two groups of animals (ISO- Group) were given a preshift phase under a continuous reinforcement schedule (CR, 32% consumption of sugar solution) and two other groups (ISO- Group), under a partial reinforcement schedule (PR, 50% reinforced and unreinforced 32%); in postshift phase all groups received a 4% solution. Goal tracking time was measured. ISO rats showed hypoalgesia in HP. In the ERP-CSNC, both ISO and Group rats trained in PR showed greater persistence of goal tracking time during the postshift phase. These results are discussed considering previous research and the possible mechanisms involved (AU)

Controversias epistemológicas y metodológicas entre el paradigma cualitativo y cuantitativo en psicología / Epistemological and methodological controversies between the qualitative and quantitative paradigm in psychology

La distinción entre metodología cuantitativa y cualitativa define dos campos de investigación que profesan postulados paradigmáticos encontrados. El conocimiento científico se caracteriza por ser racional y objetivo, fáctico y verificable, caracterización que sintoniza, en buena medida, con los atributos del método cuantitativo. Por el contrario, el estudio cualitativo busca comprender los fenómenos dentro de su ambiente usual, utilizando como datos descripciones de situaciones, eventos, personas, interacciones, documentos, etc. Este enfoque se utiliza para descubrir y refinar preguntas de investigación, pero solo a veces se ponen a prueba las hipótesis. En este trabajo se analizan las principales características de las metodologías cuantitativa y cualitativa, y se discute la importancia de asegurar el control y la rigurosidad científica al analizar los fenómenos complejos del comportamiento.

The distinction between qualitative and quantitative methodologies defines two fields of research that are ruled by opposing paradigms. Scientific knowledge is characterized as rational and objective, factual and verifiable, coinciding largely with the attributes of the quantitative method. By contrast, qualitative studies seek to understand phenomena in their natural environment, obtaining data from the descriptions of situations, events, people, interactions, documents, etc. The qualitative approach is used to discover and refine research questions, but hypothesis are rarely tested. The paper analyzes the main characteristics of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and discusses the importance of ensuring the control and scientific rigor when examining the complex phenomena of behavior.

Psicofísica comparada: Efectos de la pérdida de incentivos en ratas normales e inyectadas con etanol / Comparative Psychophysic: Loss of incentive effects in normal rats injected with ethanol

Un problema de la Psicofísica particularmente relevante para el estudio de procesos de condicionamiento es el de la relación entre las propiedades de refuerzo y físicas de los es tímulos. Papini y Pellegrini (2006) observaron que el nivel de respuestas de consumo en ratas expuestas a una disminución sor presiva en la con centración de soluciones azucaradas resulta similar, si la razón de cambio de las soluciones (concentración post-cambio / pre-cambio) es la misma. Por ejemplo, una disminución de 32 a 4% y una de 16 a 2% produjeron niveles de consumo similares. Estos resultados son acordes a la Ley de Weber y podrían implicar el desarrollo de procesos emocionales; algo que se ha establecido mediante el estudio de drogas ansiolíticas. En situaciones experimentales análogas en las que se estudió el efecto de contraste negativo de incentivo (con una disminución de 32 a 4%) se demostró que la administración de etanol en el segundo ensayo post-cambio produce una recuperación más rápida de las respuestas deprimidas debido a una disminución del refuerzo (Becker & Flaherty, 1982), en comparación con controles que recibieron salina. En el presente trabajo se informa un experimento que involucró ocho grupos de ratas y que buscó replicar ambos fenómenos así como estudiar sus posibles interacciones. Se hallaron resultados compatibles con los datos previos, pero no se pudo concluir si el etanol afecta de manera determinante los niveles de respuesta proporcionales observados durante disminuciones de incentivo. Los resultados se discuten en términos de su implicancia para el estudio de la Psicofísica Comparada.

A psychophysical problem that might be of particular interest in current research on conditioning phenomena, and that exceeds the area of sensation and perception, concerns the reinforcing properties of stimuli and their relationships to the physical measures of the stimuli. Stimuli acting as reinforcers are operationally defined as those which have the property of changing the probability of response output of an organism if they are presented in an ordered fashion in relation to other stimuli or responses. From a biopsychological point of view the scale in which this property is measured is referred to as the stimulus incentive value. Papini and Pellegrini (2006) observed that the level of consummatory responses in rats exposed to surprising reductions in sucrose concentrations is similar if the shift ratio of the solutions (preshift / postshift concentration) is the same. For example, a 32 to 4% downshift and a 16 to 2% downshift produced similar levels of consummatory responding. Pellegrini and Papini (2007) and Pellegrini, Lopez Seal, and Papini (2008) extended this observations to measures of anticipatory behaviours of rats in studies implementing runway, autoshaping, solid food and within subjects design. These results are in agreement with the Weber´s Law. The incentive downshift situations as observed in spaced-trials conditions are interesting in psychological terms because they might imply the development of emotional processes (Amsel, 1992; Flaherty, 1996; Papini, 2002, 2003). Therefore, the aforementioned proportionality in incentive downshift situations might also imply proportional emotional responses. The evidence favoring an emotional interpretation of behavioral regulation during incentive downshifts arise mostly from studies which used drugs with anxiolitic-like effects (for example, clordiazepoxide and ethanol). For example, in similar experimental conditions it has been shown that the administration of ethanol before the second postshift trial reduces the level of response depression due to incentive downshifts (Becker & Flaherty, 1982). Here we present one experiment with eight groups of rats designed to replicate both of these findings and to study their potential interactions. Groups differed in the concentration of preshift sucrose solutions (either 32 or 16%) and postshift solution (16, 8, 4 or 2%), which implied two different downshift ratios (.125 and .25); and in the drug condition [vehicle (S), or an ip. injection of .75g/kg ethanol (E) administered 10 min. before the second postshift trial]. In short, the eight groups were labeled as follows: 32-8S, 32-8E, 32-4S, 32-4E, 16-4S, 16-4E, 16-2S, and 16-2E. Results are in agreement with previous data, indicating, first, a strong significant effect of downshift ratio F(1, 34) = 19,15, p < .0001; and second, a small but significant effect of ethanol administration on the recovery from incentive downshift F(1, 34) = 5,09, p < .031. However, these results are not conclusive regarding the possibility that ethanol administration can modify the proportionality observed in consummatory responding in incentive downshift situations. Also important is the observation that the 32-4 and 16-4 conditions differed respecting its postshift consummatory performance (32-4 < 16-4); the difference was significant [F(1, 18) = 6,71; p < .018] and is interpreted as a special case of the successive negative incentive contrast effect. In his classic writings on Adaptation Level Theory, Helson (1964, pp. 448-449), argued that "The evidence shows that reinforcing agents behave like psychophysical stimuli being scalable on continua having neutral or indifferent regions and in being subject to both series and anchor effects". Present results are in agreement with this statement and their implications for studies on Comparative Psychophysics are discussed. It is suggested that further research with alternative anxiolitic drugs and experimental designs might be of interest.

Ethanol facilitates consummatory extinction.

Rats given access to an empty sipper tube after having obtained 32% sucrose in the same situation undergo extinction of consummatory behavior (cE). Ethanol (0.75 and 1g/kg, i.p.) accelerated cE when administered before the second extinction session. The effect was not attributable to increased activity or state-dependent reduction in consummatory behavior. These data are discussed in the context of research on the effects of ethanol on behavioral assays involving incentive downshifts.

El malestar por inestabilidad laboral y su relación con tensión y recursos personales / Uneasiness due to job instability and its relationship with psychological strain and personnal resources

La inestabilidad laboral se ha tornado uno de los estresores psicosociales más relevantes en las últimas décadas y su percepción podría generar malestar y sufrimiento, desembocando en un estado de estrés con la consecuente elevación de tensión en uno o varios de sus canales de expresión, provocando así efectos deletéreos en la salud psico-física de los trabajadores. Nos preguntamos qué aspectos personales y laborales de los trabajadores estarían vinculados a un mayor malestar debido a la inestabilidad laboral y si éste es predictor de la tensión psicológica que manifiesta el trabajador. El IMPIL, en su versión reducida, junto con otras técnicas, fue administrado a una muestra de 90 empleados en relación de dependencia. Concluimos que la inestabilidad laboral impacta negativamente en el trabajador a través de uno de los canales de expresión: el malestar, sobre todo si existe un desajuste entre el nivel de instrucción y la tarea que realiza. A su vez, corroboramos que la inestabilidad laboral y el malestar que la misma genera producen altos niveles de tensión psicológica en el trabajador.

Estresores ocupacionales, soporte social y consumo de alcohol en jóvenes / Work stressors, social support and alcohol consumption in youngs

El objetivo principal del estudio fue indagar las posibles relaciones entre los estresores ocupacionales, el soporte social percibido y el consumo de alcohol en jóvenes. El diseño utilizado fue descriptivo-correlacional y transeccional. Muestra: 188 sujetos, jóvenes adultos de entre 18 y 30 años, asalariados y estudiantes de diversas instituciones educativas de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Instrumentos: Cuestionario de datos socio-demográficos y socio-laboral (construido para la presente investigación), Inventario de Estrés Ocupacional (OSI, de Osipow y Spokane, 1987; adaptación: Schufer, 1998). Medidas de consumo y abuso de alcohol: se indagó la máxima ingesta en una misma oportunidad y la frecuencia de conductas de embriaguez en los últimos treinta días. Resultados: Se hallaron diferencias en algunas de las medidas de estresores ocupacionales en función del no consumo, el consumo moderado, y el consumo excesivo de alcohol. También se encontró una asociación directa entre el soporte social y la intensidad de ingesta alcohólica.

Condicionamiento de lugar en ratas y etanol / Place conditioning in rats and ethanol

Uno de los procedimientos usados con animales no humanos para conocer el valor hedónicode las drogas es el condicionamiento de lugar (CL) en el cual se evalúa la preferencia oaversión hacia un contexto asociado previamente con una droga, inferido por el tiempode permanencia en ese lugar, en comparación con otro asociado a un vehículo (salina). Eneste trabajo informaremos sobre distintos aparatos, procedimientos, medidas dependientesutilizadas en el CL y los resultados principales hallados con el uso de etanol. Finalmentese presenta un experimento de CL con ratas en el cual se utilizó un diseño intra-intersujeto.Consistió en tres fases: (1) pre-test, preferencia de las ratas hacia dos contextos: lugarnegro (LN) y lugar blanco (LB); (2) condicionamiento, cada animal del grupo experimentalrecibió ensayos alternados de etanol (dosis 0.5 g/kg) asociados al contexto no preferidoy solución salina al preferido; los del grupo control, recibieron salina asociado a amboscontextos; (3) post-test igual al pre-test. En ambas pruebas se midió el tiempo de permanenciade las ratas en cada contexto. Los animales tratados con etanol revirtieron lapreferencia de lugar, mientras los del grupo salina no la modificaron. De este estudio seinfiere que bajo la dosis utilizada, el etanol tiene un valor hedónico positivo(AU)

One of the most common procedures used toassess the hedonic value of a drug is the conditioned place (CP) which explores thepreference or the aversion towards a previously drug paired context. In this paper wereport on the different apparatus, procedures and dependant measures used on CP and themain results found using ethanol. Finally we present a CP between-within subjects experimenton rats. The experiment consisted in three phases: (1) Pre-Test, we measured the animal’spreference towards both contexts black place (BP) and white place (WP); (2) Conditioning,each animal received ethanol (dose: 0.5g/kg, i.p.) paired with the non preferred contextand saline paired with the preferred context on alternate trials. A control group receivedvehicle in both contexts; (3) Post-Test same as pre-test. In both tests the time spent in eachcontext was measured. The ethanol treated group reversed its place preference, whereasthe saline group kept its initial preference. From this study we inferred that under thisdose, ethanol has a positive hedonic value(AU)