Natural choice in nonhuman primates.

In 5 experiments, 4 monkeys and 1 ape chose between 2 food sources, each held in 1 of the experimenter's hands while he stood in front of a cage. When choosing between 2 sources of the same food that differed in amount, preference for the larger amount decreased as the size of each good proportionately increased. A second finding was that subjects were indifferent between a 2-food mixture and a single food that was part of the mixture if the single food was the preferred food of the mixture, a result suggesting the less preferred food had no value. Experiment 6 replicated these effects in 4 additional monkeys. These effects may be incompatible with previous theorizing about animal choice and may reflect a cognitive difference between nonhuman primates and humans.

A controlled trial of real and simulated acupuncture in the management of chronic asthma.

In 25 patients with moderate to severe asthma, we compared the therapeutic effectiveness of classic Chinese acupuncture with that of "placebo" acupuncture administered in a randomly ordered, subject- and evaluator-blind, crossover fashion twice weekly for 4 weeks. Real and placebo acupuncture periods were each preceded and followed by 3- to 4-week periods during which no acupuncture was administered. Outcome variables consisted of the following: daily symptoms and medication use self-scored on patient diaries, spirometry and whole body plethysmography performed once weekly during the entire course of the study and repeated serially during 3 hours after real and placebo acupuncture treatment, patients' self-assessment of acute efficacy of acupuncture therapy, and physician's physical findings before and after acupuncture treatment. Two-way analysis of variance failed to reveal a significant effect of either form of acupuncture on symptoms, medication use, or lung function measurements. Similarly, no significant acute effect of acupuncture on lung function, self-ratings of efficacy, or physician's physical findings was found by covariance analysis or the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. When data during the entire course of the study were examined on an individual basis by analysis of variance with repeated measures, only two subjects demonstrated significantly favorable responses to real versus placebo acupuncture, but one subject demonstrated the reverse, suggesting that these responses were not specifically related to acupuncture therapy. Thus, our findings failed to demonstrate any short- or long-term benefit of acupuncture therapy in the management of moderate to severe asthma.

Comparison of real and simulated acupuncture and isoproterenol in methacholine-induced asthma.

In a double-blind (patient and evaluator), crossover study effects of real acupuncture, simulated acupuncture, nebulized isoproterenol, nebulized saline and no treatment in reversing methacholine-induced bronchospasm were compared in 12 asthmatics (ages 16 to 64). Saline and simulated acupuncture did not result in any significant improvement in specific airway conductance (SGaw), thoracic gas volume (Vtg) or forced expiratory flow rates compared with no treatment following methacholine-induced bronchospasm. Isoproterenol and real acupuncture were both followed by increases in SGaw and flow rates and decreases in Vtg which were significantly different from the changes observed following no treatment, saline or simulated acupuncture, although isoproterenol produced greater improvement than real acupuncture, although isoproterenol produced greater improvement than real acupuncture. These findings suggest that stimulation of specific acupuncture loci reduces methacholine-induced bronchospasm and hyperinflation to an extent greater than can be attributed to placebo phenomena.

Exaggerated avoidance of novel stimulation in rats partially recovered from central norepinephrine damage.

Rats in which central norepinephrine lesions are made with 6-OHDA and a recovery period allowed show a behavioral syndrome distinct from controls, from rats with more extensive norepinephrine damage (lesioned with 6-OHDA, allowed to recover, and relesioned), and from rats with general depletion of serotonin (chronic PCPA). These rats administered central 6-OHDA injections and then allowed a recovery period rear less in open field than all other groups and are characterized by an exaggerated avoidance of novel visual stimulation in light onset and light escape tests. It is proposed that this reflects the hyperresponsivity of partially repaired, supersensitive norepinephrine circuitry to novel or intense stimulation.

Three essential factors in effective acupunture therapy.

Three essential factors for achieving effective therapeutic results utilizing acupuncture are described: (1) Immune/inflammatory reactions are mobilized when any area of the skin is sufficiently stimulated. (2) Peripheral neural stimulation occurs when specific acupuncture loci are mechanically, electrically, chemically, or thermally activated. Precise stimulation of specific loci (i.e. peripheral neural receptors) may modulate central nervous system regulation of specific physiological functions in the body. (3) Psychological support is well known to be an important factor in all healing experiences, and that includes acupuncture therapy. The authors suggest that the most effective application of acupuncture involves sufficient stimulation of properly selected and precisely localized acupuncture loci combined with a dedicated concern for health that is clearly communicated to patients.

Learning deficits in rats with malnourished grandmothers.

Female rats (F0) were maintained on a protein-restricted or a normal diet 1 month prior to mating and throughout pregnancy. Their female offspring (F1) were maintained on a normal protein diet and mated with normal males. In previously reported studies, the 2nd generation offspring (F2) of the malnourished rats have been found at birth to have significantly lower cerebral DNA ( a measure of cell number), cerebral weight, and cerebral protein than normal controls. We now report that these F2 animals show marked learining deficits at maturity on 2 different successive reversal tasks, even though they themselves have never directly experienced malnutrition. Thus, certain behavioral as well as biochemical effects of malnutrition appear to the next generation of animals.

Learning in fish with transplanted brain tissue.

Material taken from fish embryos during gastrulation was implanted at prospective tectal sites in host embryos of the same age and species. When mature, the hosts were trained in a series of habit reversals. Two of six animals showed progressive improvement in reversal (a phenomenon not typically found in fish, but characteristic of higher animals), two showed unusually few errors, and two behaved normally. Differences in performance were correlated with differences brain structure.