Marathon runners' reaction to potassium iontophoretic experimental pain: pain tolerance, pain threshold, coping and self-efficacy.

There is equivocal evidence regarding pain responding in endurance athletes. When performing, their pain experience appears reduced but it is uncertain whether this persists when not competing or training. This study aimed to clarify how marathon runners perceive pain, and the influence of self-efficacy and coping strategy use on their pain threshold and tolerance when they are not affected by immediate exercise. Pain threshold and pain tolerance were assessed in 26 marathon runners and 26 age- and sex-matched non-runners using potassium iontophoresis as the experimental pain stimulus. Use of associative and dissociative coping strategies, and catastrophizing were assessed using the Cognitive Coping Strategies Inventory, and pain specific and general self-efficacy were measured. Elevated pain threshold, pain tolerance and self-efficacy in marathon runners were revealed. Pain specific self-efficacy accounted for 40% of the tolerance difference between the marathon and non-marathon groups. Coping and catastrophizing did not differ between the two groups but higher associative coping when accompanied by lower dissociative coping was related to higher pain tolerance. These results indicate that marathon runners have a reduced experience of pain compared with non-runners. This ability appears to be augmented by a high level of pain specific self-efficacy but is unaffected by the influence of general cognitive coping strategies, although higher associative coping and lower dissociative coping together were related to reduced pain tolerance independent of running involvement.

Paradox, reprimand and extinction in adults with mental handicap.

To assess the efficacy of paradoxical directives, levels of challenging behaviour during 2 weeks of paradox, reprimand and extinction were compared with baseline levels in four adults with mental handicaps attending a day centre. Paradox was the most effective procedure for reducing the frequency and severity of challenging behaviour by an average of over 70% by the end of 2 weeks and up to 90% in certain subjects; extinction was least effective. Paradox was most effective with more defiant subjects, when staff rated treatment success as low, when improvement using extinction and reprimand was poorest, and in reducing aggressive behaviour. The present authors suggest the overjustification effect offers an explanation for the effects of paradox.

Eating disorders, perceived control, assertiveness and hostility.

There are anecdotal claims that eating disorder patients perceive themselves as highly controlled by the family and by society, but that they do not show assertive behaviour towards controllers. Anorexic and bulimic females were compared with female psychiatric patients, dieters and non-dieting controls on measures of eating disorder symptomatology, locus of control, assertiveness, inwardly directed hostility, family control and family encouragement of independence. Eating disorder patients reported significantly more external control, more inwardly directed hostility, less self-assertion and less family encouragement of independence than dieters and non-dieting controls, but they did not differ from psychiatric controls. Most of the characteristics seen in eating disorder subjects were also reported by psychiatric controls.

Relaxation reduces disruption in mentally handicapped adults.

To assess the effects of modified relaxation training on subsequent disruptive behaviour, two groups of six non-institutionalized mentally handicapped adults were compared. At the end of 3 weeks training, those given relaxation training showed 71% more relaxation after relaxation sessions and 74% less disruptive behaviour later in the day, whereas controls who were only told stories showed no decrease; aggression and verbal disruption showed the most consistent effects. This suggests that modified relaxation is rapidly effective in inducing relaxation and in reducing disruption.

Surveillance evaluation for the elderly.

Using a medical, social, and functional assessment form, we found several measures which were reliably associated with a criterion of impending mortality; activities of daily living were most highly correlated, medical assessment and services needed were correlated less strongly, but visual impairment and the cumulative total of all measures were the best predictors (r = .42).

Cage design reduces emotionality in mice.

To see if a more natural cage design would alter the reactivity of laboratory mice, 192 mice were reared in cages with (1) no dividers, (2) five vertical dividers, (3) nine vertical dividers, or (4) nine vertical dividers and one horizontal platform. The mice preferred the most complex cages, and on almost all measures they were less emotional when reared in the more complex cages. Results suggest that a more natural housing environment would lead to healthier animals.

High motivation toward food increases food-sharing in cotton-top tamarins.

In order to explore whether or not adult motivation influences transfer of food to infants in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus oedipus), 2 experiments were carried out with 3 large captive family groups. Examination of (a) natural changes in food motivation during feeding, and (b) elevated motivation toward food by giving highly preferred items, showed that the adult monkeys shared food more when their own level of motivation was high. This suggests that food-transfer is not merely a consequence of adult satiation, but that matching sharing with high adult motivation is a mechanism which ensures that infants receive ample food, the best items, and also rare items of high quality.

Positive short-term effects of activity on behaviour in chronic schizophrenic patients.

Forty schizophrenic patients were rated both by nurses (using the NOSIE) and by themselves on days soon after they had completed a period of activity. When compared with less active days, significant improvement was seen in most behaviours measured following activity, suggesting that activity is beneficial in the treatment of a population whose level of activity is restricted. Greatest improvement was found in less severely disturbed patients, more overweight individuals, females and those with lower levels of normal activity.

Social preferences in stump-tailed macaques (Macaca arctoides): effects of companionship, kinship, and rearing.

Social preferences in the directionality of social behavioral patterns in a heterogeneous group of 26 stump-tailed macaques (Macaca arctoides) were examined to see if kin recognition occurred. Four behavioral measures were analyzed: proximity, contact, grooming, and play. Three independent variables were examined: early companionship, condition of early rearing, and kinship. The latter was divided into partrilineal, matrilineal, and shared kinship. Partial correlational analysis showed that social preferences correlated most strongly with companionship, followed by kinship and rearing conditions. Within kinship, patrilineal and matrilineal effects differed markedly, suggesting that natural selection has operated differentially in a species in which normal child-rearing is done by matrilineal kin.

Role of vision in social development in monkeys.

8 stump-tailed macaques were reared individually and either given all of their daily social experience in darkness (dark group) or given half their social experience in the dark and half in the light (controls). The dark group showed almost no aggressive behavior and less play than controls. Later, when all were tested in the light, the dark group were still less aggressive. Controls were less aggressive in the dark than in the light. There was no difference between the two groups in the form of the dominance hierarchy or the strength of preferences for social partners. This suggests that vision is especially important in the maintenance of assertive behaviors and in the instigation and the direction of aggressive behaviors, but relatively less important in other areas of social development.

Dietary and metabolic effects on rhesus social behaviour: neonatal thyroxine reductions.

Assessment was made of the behavioural development of 3 monkeys whose levels of thyroxine were reduced by being given 131I and another 3 monkeys given a thyroxine depressant (TCAP) during the first weeks of life and maintained with low thyroxine levels for 3 months. When subsequently tested at normal thyroxine levels, these experimental subjects showed less positive social behaviour when compared with controls. When confronted with unfamiliar monkeys, the two experimental groups were less fearful than controls and also showed a lack of differential responsiveness in varying social situations, suggesting a low level of emotion. A foetal athyreotic group is also described.

Transmission of B virus infection between monkeys especially in relation to breeding colonies.

Studies of B virus (Herpesvirus simiae) antibody in several species of macaque lead to the following generalizations. Newborn monkeys are not infected with B virus, even when born of seropositive mothers. Young monkeys remain uninfected until they become adults. The majority of adults develop B virus antibody unless their physical contact with seropositive adults is restricted. These observations are consistent with sexual transmission of B virus and classification of the disease in monkeys as venereal. However, infection at oral and dermal sites also occurs and may play a part in monkey-to-monkey transmission. Epizootics of B virus occurred during early attempts to start B virus-free breeding colonies. They appeared to originate from reactivated latent B virus in adult monkeys which had only low titres of antibody. The stress produced when groups of adult strangers were assembled to form breeding colonies was the most effective known inducer of latent B virus. Total exclusion of animals with any trace of antibody has enabled the establishment of new breeding colonies which are free from B virus.

Analysis of learning in retarded monkeys.

Sixteen rhesus monkeys were either subjected to diets high in phenylalanine or parachlorophenyalanine either pre- or postpartum; there were 16 controls. Subjects were tested after removal from the PKU diet on a series of learning tasks. No support was found for suggestions that PKU monkeys a do worse if task difficulty is increased or b have an attentional or short-term memory storage deficit. Equivocal support was found suggesting that c PKU monkeys may have stronger initial biases and d do not attend to the relevant dimension. The most support was found for the hypothesis that e PKU subjects are more emotional which would account for a disruption in performance following negative reinforcement, and difficulty in changing an initial or a learned response pattern. The literature on learning in human PKU and induced PKU in animals is reviewed.

Long-term learning deficits of mentally retarded monkeys.

During the first year of life, 12 rhesus monkeys were either subjected to diets high in phenylalanine or para-chlorophenylalanine either pre- or postpartum, leading to a condition similar to phenylketonuria (PKU); 12 other rhesus monkeys were controls. After removal from the PKU diets and return to normal diets for a period of 2 years, subjects were tested for learning ability on an extensive series of tasks. No support was found for suggestions that PKU monkeys (a) do worse if task difficulty is increased, (b) are less affected by negative reinforcement, (c) have an attentional or short-term memory storage deficit, and (d) do not attend to the relevant dimension. Support was found for the hypothesis that PKU subjects are more emotional, accounting for (a) disruption in performance following negative reinforcement and (b) difficulty in changing an initial or a learned response pattern.

Dietary effects on rhesus social behavior: altered amino acid diets.

Twenty-one monkeys continuously fed one of five diets high in tyrosine, histidine, alanine, glycine, or tryptophan between the ages of 1 and 12 months were compared with 20 controls. Social behavior either (a) while on the diet and tested in familiar groups of four or (b) while on a normal diet and paired with unfamiliar monkeys showed no effects of the high amino acid diets, confirming a previous analysis of learning ability.

Dietary and metabolic effects on rhesus social behavior: phenylalanine-related dietary alterations.

Infant rhesus monkeys were (a) fed a diet high in phenylalanine or (b) fed a diet high in p-chlorophenylalanine for the 1st 12 months of life, (c) selected from mothers fed a diet high in phenylalanine during pregnancy, (d) fed a diet low in phenylalanine, (e) maintained as controls, or (f) maintained as pair-fed controls. Tested during the 1st year of life with familiar peers, during the 2nd year with unfamiliar stimulus animals and with a movie film, the 3 groups of phenylketonuric monkeys showed less play and other positive social behavior and more withdrawal and more aggressive behavior than did the 2 control groups. The results support learning data suggesting that phenylketonuric monkeys are more emotionally reactive.

Dietary and metabolic effects on rhesus social behavior: protein and protein-calorie malnutrition.

Forty-seven monkeys were fed 1 of 8 diets between the ages of 1 and 7 months containing full-, half-, or quarter-strength protein or protein and calories using either casein or soy protein. While on the diet, malnourished infants were inactive both socially and nonsocially. When returned to a normal diet, previously malnourished subjects were more agonistic towards familiar peers but more friendly and less agonistic when later paired with unfamiliar monkeys. The data suggest that short periods of early severe malnutrition may protect the individual against adverse social conditions (e.g., isolation) and delay the development of normal social skills.