Behavioral characterization of ayahuasca treatment on Wistar rats in the open field test

Abstract Ayahuasca (AYA) is a psychedelic beverage with therapeutic potential for many mood and anxiety disorders. Although there are some preclinical studies, no published reports have tested the behavioral effects of AYA gavage in animal models. This investigation aimed to characterize the behavior of Wistar rats after acute ingestion of AYA for 40 min in the open field test (OFT). The sample consisted of three experimental groups treated with different dosages of AYA (125, 250, or 500 mg kg-1) and a control group. Each group consisted of 10 participants. After gavage, the number of crossings of the OFT grid lines, latency to enter the central area of the device, grooming frequency, and time spent in the central perimeter of the device were immediately evaluated. Analyses were based on one-way ANOVA and a linear-regression mixture model for longitudinal data. AYA intake did not interfere with habituation. The 500 mg kg-1 group showed a decrease in the time spent in the center of the device and in the number of crossings compared to the control group in the last 10 min. These results suggest that gavage with AYA did not interfere with the results, and the behavioral effects were perceived only between 30 and 40 min after gavage. Taken together, the results indicate that three aspects should be considered in OFT studies of AYA acute effects: the moment when the observation starts, the observation period, and the AYA dosage.

Understanding Multimodal User Gesture and Speech Behavior for Object Manipulation in Augmented Reality Using Elicitation.

The primary objective of this research is to understand how users manipulate virtual objects in augmented reality using multimodal interaction (gesture and speech) and unimodal interaction (gesture). Through this understanding, natural-feeling interactions can be designed for this technology. These findings are derived from an elicitation study employing Wizard of Oz design aimed at developing user-defined multimodal interaction sets for building tasks in 3D environments using optical see-through augmented reality headsets. The modalities tested are gesture and speech combined, gesture only, and speech only. The study was conducted with 24 participants. The canonical referents for translation, rotation, and scale were used along with some abstract referents (create, destroy, and select). A consensus set of gestures for interactions is provided. Findings include the types of gestures performed, the timing between co-occurring gestures and speech (130 milliseconds), perceived workload by modality (using NASA TLX), and design guidelines arising from this study. Multimodal interaction, in particular gesture and speech interactions for augmented reality headsets, are essential as this technology becomes the future of interactive computing. It is possible that in the near future, augmented reality glasses will become pervasive.

A Systematic Methodology to Evaluate Prediction Models for Driving Style Classification.

Identifying driving styles using classification models with in-vehicle data can provide automated feedback to drivers on their driving behavior, particularly if they are driving safely. Although several classification models have been developed for this purpose, there is no consensus on which classifier performs better at identifying driving styles. Therefore, more research is needed to evaluate classification models by comparing performance metrics. In this paper, a data-driven machine-learning methodology for classifying driving styles is introduced. This methodology is grounded in well-established machine-learning (ML) methods and literature related to driving-styles research. The methodology is illustrated through a study involving data collected from 50 drivers from two different cities in a naturalistic setting. Five features were extracted from the raw data. Fifteen experts were involved in the data labeling to derive the ground truth of the dataset. The dataset fed five different models (Support Vector Machines (SVM), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), fuzzy logic, k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN), and Random Forests (RF)). These models were evaluated in terms of a set of performance metrics and statistical tests. The experimental results from performance metrics showed that SVM outperformed the other four models, achieving an average accuracy of 0.96, F1-Score of 0.9595, Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.9730, and Kappa of 0.9375. In addition, Wilcoxon tests indicated that ANN predicts differently to the other four models. These promising results demonstrate that the proposed methodology may support researchers in making informed decisions about which ML model performs better for driving-styles classification.

An atlas of personality, emotion and behaviour.

A novel two-dimensional matrix taxonomy, or atlas, of personality, emotion and behaviour is presented. The two dimensions of the atlas, affiliation and dominance, are demonstrated to have theoretical foundations in neurobiology and social psychology. Both dimensions are divided into five ordinal categories, creating a square matrix of 25 cells. A new catalogue of 20,669 English words descriptive of personality, emotion, behaviour, and power is also presented. The catalogue is more comprehensive than previous catalogues, and is novel in its inclusion of intrapersonal, group, and societal behaviours. All words in the catalogue were scored according to the atlas, facilitating visualisation in two dimensions. This enabled a contiguous and novel comparison of existing psychological taxonomies, as well as broader societal concepts such as leadership, ethics, and crime. Using the atlas, a novel psychological test is developed with improved sensitivity and specificity.

LDA Ensembles for Interactive Exploration and Categorization of Behaviors.

We define behavior as a set of actions performed by some actor during a period of time. We consider the problem of analyzing a large collection of behaviors by multiple actors, more specifically, identifying typical behaviors and spotting anomalous behaviors. We propose an approach leveraging topic modeling techniques - LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) Ensembles - to represent categories of typical behaviors by topics that are obtained through topic modeling a behavior collection. When such methods are applied to text in natural languages, the quality of the extracted topics are usually judged based on the semantic relatedness of the terms pertinent to the topics. This criterion, however, is not necessarily applicable to topics extracted from non-textual data, such as action sets, since relationships between actions may not be obvious. We have developed a suite of visual and interactive techniques supporting the construction of an appropriate combination of topics based on other criteria, such as distinctiveness and coverage of the behavior set. Two case studies on analyzing operation behaviors in the security management system and visiting behaviors in an amusement park, and the expert evaluation of the first case study demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

Six clarifications for behaviour systems.

The precursors of contemporary behaviour systems theory were hotly debated, and yet a similar critical fervour has not followed the second generation of behaviour systems research. I raise six items of potential or extant misunderstanding concerning behaviour systems perspectives, and attempt to set straight some of the assumptions and what motivated them, with attention to historical and theoretical context. The six challenges in focus are: 1) variety of conceptualisation of consummation; 2) potential misapprehensions about the role of general search; 3) ambiguity of predictions concerning response form; 4) ambiguity concerning what aspects are modelled as hierarchical; 5) assumptions of directedness; and 6) the relevance of spontaneous activity. For each of these six issues, some clarification is offered.

Driving behavior recognition using EEG data from a simulated car-following experiment.

Driving behavior recognition is the foundation of driver assistance systems, with potential applications in automated driving systems. Most prevailing studies have used subjective questionnaire data and objective driving data to classify driving behaviors, while few studies have used physiological signals such as electroencephalography (EEG) to gather data. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes a two-layer learning method for driving behavior recognition using EEG data. A simulated car-following driving experiment was designed and conducted to simultaneously collect data on the driving behaviors and EEG data of drivers. The proposed learning method consists of two layers. In Layer I, two-dimensional driving behavior features representing driving style and stability were selected and extracted from raw driving behavior data using K-means and support vector machine recursive feature elimination. Five groups of driving behaviors were classified based on these two-dimensional driving behavior features. In Layer II, the classification results from Layer I were utilized as inputs to generate a k-Nearest-Neighbor classifier identifying driving behavior groups using EEG data. Using independent component analysis, a fast Fourier transformation, and linear discriminant analysis sequentially, the raw EEG signals were processed to extract two core EEG features. Classifier performance was enhanced using the adaptive synthetic sampling approach. A leave-one-subject-out cross validation was conducted. The results showed that the average classification accuracy for all tested traffic states was 69.5% and the highest accuracy reached 83.5%, suggesting a significant correlation between EEG patterns and car-following behavior.

mlCAF: Multi-Level Cross-Domain Semantic Context Fusioning for Behavior Identification.

The emerging research on automatic identification of user's contexts from the cross-domain environment in ubiquitous and pervasive computing systems has proved to be successful. Monitoring the diversified user's contexts and behaviors can help in controlling lifestyle associated to chronic diseases using context-aware applications. However, availability of cross-domain heterogeneous contexts provides a challenging opportunity for their fusion to obtain abstract information for further analysis. This work demonstrates extension of our previous work from a single domain (i.e., physical activity) to multiple domains (physical activity, nutrition and clinical) for context-awareness. We propose multi-level Context-aware Framework (mlCAF), which fuses the multi-level cross-domain contexts in order to arbitrate richer behavioral contexts. This work explicitly focuses on key challenges linked to multi-level context modeling, reasoning and fusioning based on the mlCAF open-source ontology. More specifically, it addresses the interpretation of contexts from three different domains, their fusioning conforming to richer contextual information. This paper contributes in terms of ontology evolution with additional domains, context definitions, rules and inclusion of semantic queries. For the framework evaluation, multi-level cross-domain contexts collected from 20 users were used to ascertain abstract contexts, which served as basis for behavior modeling and lifestyle identification. The experimental results indicate a context recognition average accuracy of around 92.65% for the collected cross-domain contexts.

IRT Analysis of the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale: Identifying the Best Items for Use with Geriatric Patients in Primary Care.

OBJECTIVE: The Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe) (Grace & Malloy, 2001) assesses behavioral dysfunction associated with frontal-subcortical damage; it is often used to measure these indicators of executive dysfunction in older adults with possible dementia. Although prior research supports the FrSBe's clinical utility and factorial validity, little attempt has been made to examine which items are most useful for geriatric cases. The goal of the present study is to identify these items. METHOD: Data from 304 older patients referred for neuropsychological assessment were used to examine the FrSBe's three subscales: Apathy (A; 14 items), Executive Dysfunction (E; 17 items), and Disinhibition (D; 15 items). Item properties were investigated using the Graded Response Model, a two-parameter polytomous item response theory model. RESULTS: Difficulty parameters, discrimination parameters, and information curves identified 18 items that effectively discriminate (a ≥ 1.70) between levels of behavioral dysfunction and measure a range of dysfunction (bA: -1.23 - 2.22; bD: -.29 - 2.14; bE: -1.81 - 1.77). CONCLUSIONS: Most FrSBe items were effective at discriminating various levels of behavioral dysfunction, though weaker items were identified. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggest the FrSBe is a useful clinical tool when working with a geriatric population, though some items provide more information than others.

Toward a taxonomy of the unintentional discharge of firearms in law enforcement.

An unintentional discharge (UD) is an activation of the trigger mechanism that results in an unplanned discharge that is outside of the firearm's prescribed use. UDs can result in injury or death, yet have been understudied in scientific literature. Pre-existing (1974-2015) UD reports (N = 137) from seven law enforcement agencies in the United States of America were analyzed by context, officer behavior, type of firearm, and injuries. Over 50% of UDs occurred in contexts with low threat potential while engaged in routine firearm tasks. The remaining UDs occurred in contexts with elevated to high threat potential during muscle co-activation, unfamiliar firearm tasks, contact with inanimate objects, and a medical condition. An antecedent-behavior-consequence (A-B-C) taxonomy as well as a standardized reporting form, based on the current findings and the existing literature, are offered as tools for identifying the conditions under which UDs may be likely to occur.

The emergence of psychiatric semiology during the Age of Revolution: evolving concepts of 'normal' and 'pathological'.

This article addresses some important questions in psychiatric semiology. The concept of a sign is crucial in psychiatry. How do signs emerge, and what gives them validity and legitimacy? What are the boundaries of 'normal' and 'pathological' behaviour and mental experiences? To address these issues, we analyse the characteristics and rules that govern semiological signs and clinical elements. We examine 'normality' from the perspective of Georges Canguilehm and compare the differences of 'normal' in physiology and psychiatry. We then examine the history and the philosophical, linguistic and medical-psychiatric origins of semiology during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (the Age of Revolution). The field of rhetoric and oratory has emphasized the importance of passions, emotions and language as applied to signs of madness. Another perspective on semiology, provided by Michel Foucault, lays stress on the concept of 'instinct' and the axis of voluntary-involuntary behaviour. Finally, we analyse how statistics and eugenics have played an important role in our current conceptualization of the norm and therefore the scientific discourse behind the established clinical signs.

Traffic Behavior Recognition Using the Pachinko Allocation Model.

CCTV-based behavior recognition systems have gained considerable attention in recent years in the transportation surveillance domain for identifying unusual patterns, such as traffic jams, accidents, dangerous driving and other abnormal behaviors. In this paper, a novel approach for traffic behavior modeling is presented for video-based road surveillance. The proposed system combines the pachinko allocation model (PAM) and support vector machine (SVM) for a hierarchical representation and identification of traffic behavior. A background subtraction technique using Gaussian mixture models (GMMs) and an object tracking mechanism based on Kalman filters are utilized to firstly construct the object trajectories. Then, the sparse features comprising the locations and directions of the moving objects are modeled by PAMinto traffic topics, namely activities and behaviors. As a key innovation, PAM captures not only the correlation among the activities, but also among the behaviors based on the arbitrary directed acyclic graph (DAG). The SVM classifier is then utilized on top to train and recognize the traffic activity and behavior. The proposed model shows more flexibility and greater expressive power than the commonly-used latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) approach, leading to a higher recognition accuracy in the behavior classification.

Information recovery in behavioral networks.

In the context of agent based modeling and network theory, we focus on the problem of recovering behavior-related choice information from origin-destination type data, a topic also known under the name of network tomography. As a basis for predicting agents' choices we emphasize the connection between adaptive intelligent behavior, causal entropy maximization, and self-organized behavior in an open dynamic system. We cast this problem in the form of binary and weighted networks and suggest information theoretic entropy-driven methods to recover estimates of the unknown behavioral flow parameters. Our objective is to recover the unknown behavioral values across the ensemble analytically, without explicitly sampling the configuration space. In order to do so, we consider the Cressie-Read family of entropic functionals, enlarging the set of estimators commonly employed to make optimal use of the available information. More specifically, we explicitly work out two cases of particular interest: Shannon functional and the likelihood functional. We then employ them for the analysis of both univariate and bivariate data sets, comparing their accuracy in reproducing the observed trends.

Authentic leadership, group cohesion and group identification in security and emergency teams / Liderazgo auténtico, cohesión e identifi cación grupal en equipos de seguridad y emergencia

BACKGROUND: Authentic leadership (AL) is a kind of leadership that inspires and promotes positive psychological capacities, underlining the moral and ethical component of behavior. The proposed investigation studies the relations among AL, cohesion, and group identification in security and emergency teams. METHOD: A cross-sectional research design was conducted in which participated 221 members from 26 fire departments and operative teams from the local police of three Spanish provinces. The following questionnaires were administered: Authentic Leadership (ALQ), Group Cohesion (GEQ), and Mael and Ashford's Group Identification Questionnaire. RESULTS: A direct and positive relation was found between AL, cohesion, and group identification. An indirect relation was also found between AL and group cohesion through group identification, indicating the existence of partial mediation. CONCLUSIONS: The utility of the proposed model based on AL is considered; this model can be employed by those in charge of the fire departments and operative groups in organizations to improve workteams' cohesion. Both AL and group identification help to explain group cohesion in organizations committed to security and emergencies

ANTECEDENTES: el liderazgo auténtico (LA) es un tipo de liderazgo que inspira y promueve capacidades psicológicas positivas, destacando el componente moral y ético de las conductas. La investigación planteada estudia las relaciones entre LA, cohesión e identificación grupal en equipos de seguridad y emergencia. MÉTODO: se desarrolla un diseño de investigación transversal en el que participan 221 componentes de 26 brigadas de bomberos y equipos operativos de policía local de tres provincias españolas. Se administraron los cuestionarios ALQ de liderazgo auténtico, GEQ de cohesión grupal y el cuestionario de Mael y Ashford que mide identificación grupal. RESULTADOS: se encontró una relación directa positiva entre el LA, la cohesión y la identificación grupal. Asimismo, se encontró también una relación indirecta entre el LA y la cohesión grupal a través de la identificación grupal apuntando los datos a la existencia de una mediación parcial. CONCLUSIONES: se considera de utilidad el modelo propuesto basado en el LA, pudiendo ser empleado por los responsables de las brigadas y grupos operativos en organizaciones para mejorar la cohesión de los equipos de trabajo. Tanto el LA como la identificación grupal ayudan a explicar la cohesión grupal en organizaciones con cometidos relacionados con la seguridad y las emergencias

Chang ti: identificação do fator constitucional através de uma análise morfológica segundo a terapêutica tradicional chinesa, com os moradores do bairro Canto da Lagoa- Florianópolis / Chang ti: identification of the constitutional factor through a morphological analysis according to the traditional Chinese therapy, with residents of the neighborhood Canto da Lagoa, Florianópolis

Este estudo teve como intuito validar sob a ótica da Terapêutica Tradicional Chinesa os padrões constitucionais obtidos por análise morfológica do rosto, corpo e mãos dos moradores do bairro do Canto da Lagoa ­ Florianópolis ­SC. A amostragem foi o total de 20 participantes, destes, foram coletadas 5 fotos (rosto, corpo, perfil do corpo, dorso da mão e palma da mão) e um questionário comportamental de cada um, os dados foram analisados e classificados segundo a teoria dos cinco elementos e depois compatibilizados. Procurou-se neste estudo, a verificação da validade da teoria constitucional chinesa dos cinco elementos enquanto ferramenta e sistema avaliativo puramente observacional, sendo aplicada fora de seu contexto de criação. Aspectos constitucionais são uma prerrogativa para o bom entendimento da situação atual do indivíduo em um processo terapêutico, bem como um direcionamento para um tratamento correto de acordo com o funcionamento do seu organismo. Na análise fotográfica, feita por um professor convidado, das 20 análises fotográficas 17 foram conclusivas e 3 inconclusivas, houve bastante divergência na predominância de constituições e elementos entre as análises de questionário e análises fotográficas e no cruzamento de dados, 3 análises foram compatíveis, 8 parcialmente compatíveis e 9 incompatíveis.(AU)

This study was aimed to validate the perspective of Traditional Chinese Therapeutic constitutional standards obtained by morphological analysis of the face, body and hands of some residents of the neighborhood Canto da Lagoa - Florianópolis - SC. The sample was a total of 20 participants, those were collected 5 photos (face, body, body profile, the dorsum of the hand and palm) and a behavioral questionnaire for each, and the data wasanalyzed and classified according to the theory of the five elements and then matched. It was attempted in this study to check the validity of the Chinese constitutional theory of the five elements as a tool purely observational and evaluative system being applied outside of the context of their creation. Constitutional isues are the prerogative to the good understanding of the current individual´s situation in a therapeutic process, as well as directives for a correct treatment according to the functioning of one´s body. In photographic analysis made by a guest professor, 17 of 20 photographic analyzes were conclusive and 3 inconclusive, there was enough difference in the prevalence of constitutions and elements between the analysis of questionnaire and photographic analysis at the intersection of data, 3 analysis were consistant, 8 partially compatible and 9 incompatible.(AU)

The influence of previous sport experiences in transfer of behaviour patterns among team sports / La influencia de experiencias deportivas anteriores en la transferencia de patrones de comportamiento entre deportes de equipo

The present study aimed to examine how players' positional data can be used to assess the transfer of behaviour patterns among team sports (basketball, football and rugby) in early specialized and diversified sport careers. Thirty-four college students were divided into early specialization and early diversification groups, according to information provided by a questionnaire designed to obtain detailed information about their sports career. In-game derived variables were calculated based on players’ positioning data, collected by GPS and processed with non-linear techniques (approximate entropy). For each positional variable (distance to both team and opponent team centroid and distance to target and opponent target) a top-10 ranking was computed based on approximate entropy values in basketball, football and rugby game performance. The results suggested that students belonging to the early diversification group are over-represented (top-10) in all positional variables regardless of sport. This trend, especially in football and rugby, confirms that it is possible that transfer of behavior patterns occurs more significantly in early diversified approach

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo examinar cómo se pueden utilizar los datos posicionales de los jugadores para evaluar la transferencia de patrones de comportamiento entre los deportes de equipo (baloncesto, fútbol y rugby) en las carreras deportivas de especialización ó diversificación temprana. Treinta y cuatro estudiantes universitarios fueron divididos en grupos de especialización temprana ó de diversificación temprana, de acuerdo a la información proporcionada por un cuestionario diseñado para obtener información detallada acerca de su carrera deportiva. Las variables de la situación de juego, fueron calculadas en función de los datos de posicionamiento de los jugadores, obtenidos por GPS y procesados con técnicas no lineales (entropía aproximada). Para cada variable posicional (distancia de la propia equipo a su centro, y la distancia al centro del equipo contrario y la meta oponente) se calculó un ranking top-10 con en base a los valores de entropía aproximadas en el juego del baloncesto, fútbol y rugby. Los resultados sugieren que los estudiantes pertenecientes al grupo de la diversificación temprana son más representado (top-10) en todas las variables posicionales, independientemente del deporte. Esta tendencia, sobre todo en el fútbol y el rugby, confirma que es posible que la transferencia de patrones de comportamiento se produce más significativamente cuando la iniciación deportiva es direccionada a una diversificación temprana

Difficult behaviors in the emergency department: a cohort study of housed, homeless and alcohol dependent individuals.

BACKGROUND: This study contrasted annual rates of difficult behaviours in emergency departments among cohorts of individuals who were homeless and low-income housed and examined predictors of these events. METHODS: Interviews in 1999 with men who were chronically homeless with drinking problems (CHDP) (n = 50), men from the general homeless population (GH) (n = 61), and men residing in low-income housing (LIH) (n = 58) were linked to catchment area emergency department records (n = 2817) from 1994 to 1999. Interview and hospital data were linked to measures of difficult behaviours. RESULTS: Among the CHDP group, annual rates of visits with difficult behaviours were 5.46; this was 13.4 (95% CI 10.3-16.5) and 14.3 (95% CI 11.2-17.3) times higher than the GH and LIH groups. Difficult behaviour incidents included physical violence, verbal abuse, uncooperativeness, drug seeking, difficult histories and security involvement. Difficult behaviours made up 57.54% (95% CI 55.43-59.65%), 24% (95% CI 19-29%), and 20% (95% CI 16-24%) of CHDP, GH and LIH visits. Among GH and LIH groups, 87% to 95% were never involved in verbal abuse or violence. Intoxication increased all difficult behaviours while decreasing drug seeking and leaving without being seen. Verbal abuse and violence were less likely among those housed, with odds ratios of 0.24 (0.08, 0.72) and 0.32 (0.15, 0.69), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Violence and difficult behaviours are much higher among chronically homeless men with drinking problems than general homeless and low-income housed populations. They are concentrated among subgroups of individuals. Intoxication is the strongest predictor of difficult behaviour incidents.

Evaluación de la toma de perspectiva en la esquizofrenia a través de la Teoría de los Marcos Relacionales: el papel de la introducción de ayudas contextuales / No disponible

El presente estudio pretende evaluar la toma de perspectiva en personas con esquizofrenia a través de una tarea de respuesta relacional deíctica y un test de atribución de estados mentales. Participaron doce personas con diagnóstico de esquizofrenia y doce personas sin diagnóstico clínico. Los resultados revelaron la presencia de diferencias estadísticamente significativas en la ejecución de estas tareas. Los efectos de grupo permanecieron significativos tras examinar los posibles efectos del CI. La actuación en la tarea de respuesta relacional deíctica no permitió predecir de manera consistente la ejecución en la tarea de atribución de estados mentales en ambos grupos. Se discuten estos resultados, y se proponen líneas de estudio que supongan un avance hacia la conceptuación de la atribución de estados mentales en términos de la Teoría de los Marcos Relacionales (RFT)

The present study aims to assess perspective taking in people with schizophrenia through a deictic relational response task and a test of mental state attribution. The sample was composed by twelve people diagnosed with schizophrenia and twelve people without clinical diagnosis. The results revealed the presence of statistically significant differences in the execution of these tasks. The effects of group remained significant after considering the possible effects of CI. The acting in the deictic relational response task did not allow consistently predict the performance in the task of mental state attribution in both groups. We discuss these results, and suggests lines of study that advance towards the conceptualization of mental state attribution in terms of Relational Frame Theory (RFT)

Patrones de personalidad patológica y estrategias de afrontamiento en estudiantes de psicología / Relation between personality patterns and coping given among psychology students

Resumen Estudio no experimental de tipo correlacional cuyo objetivo fue analizar la relación entre patrones de personalidad patológica y estrategias de afrontamiento en 117 estudiantes de psicología con edades comprendidas entre los 18 y 33 años; a partir del Inventario Clínico Multiaxial de Millon y la Escala de Estrategias de Coping. El análisis de resultados a partir del coeficiente de correlación de Spearman y el paquete estadístico SPSS, versión 19.0, indicó mayor presencia respecto a la estrategia de afrontamiento solución de problemas y el patrón de personalidad patológico narcisista; en cuanto a la correlación entre estas dos variables es significativamente baja.

Abstract Nonexperimental correlational study aimed to analyze the relationship between pathological personality patterns and coping strategies in 117 psychology students aged between 18 and 33 years from the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory and the Coping Strategies Scale. Analysis of results from the Spearman correlation coefficient and SPSS, version 19.0, indicated greater presence regarding coping strategy troubleshooting and narcissist personality patterns, in terms of the correlation between these two variables is significantly low.

Individual differences in the physiological effects of forest therapy based on Type A and Type B behavior patterns.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the physiological relaxation effects of natural environments have been widely exploited, and although individual differences in the effects of forest therapy are known, assessment methods have not been clearly established. This study used a classification based on Type A and Type B behavior patterns to explain individual differences in physiological responses to forest environments. METHODS: We performed physiological experiments in 44 forest and urban (controls) areas. In total, 485 male university students (age, 21.8 ± 1.6 years) participated in the study. The subjects were asked to visit forest or urban environments randomly and observe each landscape for 15 min. The subjects' pulse rates and blood pressures were tested to evaluate their physiological responses. The Kwansei Gakuin daily life questionnaire was used to identify Type A and Type B behavior patterns in subjects. RESULTS: The pulse rate was significantly lower in the Type B group after exposure to forest areas than after exposure to urban areas, whereas no significant difference was observed in the Type A group. In addition, the pulse rate was significantly lower in the low scoring subjects in the Type B group, which was consistent with changes in their diastolic blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that individual differences in pulse rate and blood pressure in response to forest environments can be explained by Type A and Type B behavior patterns.