Maximal oxygen uptake: "classical" versus "contemporary" viewpoints: a rebuttal

Bassett and Howley contend that the 1996 J. B. Wolffe lecture is erroneous because: 1) A. V. Hill did establish the existence of the "plateau phenomenon," 2) the maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) is limited by the development of anaerobiosis in the active muscle, and 3) endurance performance is also determined by skeletal muscle anaerobiosis because the VO2max is the best predictor of athletic ability. As a result, 4) cardiovascular and not skeletal muscle factors determine endurance performance. They further contend that Hill's "scientific hunches were correct," requiring "only relatively minor refinements" in the past 70 yr. But the evidence presented in this rebuttal shows that Hill neither sought nor believed in either the "plateau phenomenon" or the concept of the individual maximum oxygen consumption. These twin concepts were created by Taylor et al. (97) in 1955 and erroneously attributed to Hill. Rather Hill believed that there was a universal human VO2max of 4 L x min(-1). His error resulted from his incorrect belief that the real VO2 unmeasurable because it includes a large "anaerobic component," rose exponentially at running speeds greater than 13.2 km x h(-1). But Hill and his colleagues were indeed the first to realize the danger that a plateau in cardiac output (CO) and hence in VO2 would pose for the heart itself. For unlike skeletal muscle, the pumping capacity of the heart is both dependent on, but also the determinant of, its own blood supply. Thus, if the CO reaches a peak causing the "plateau phenomenon," the immediate cause of that peak will have been a plateau in myocardial oxygen delivery, causing a developing myocardial ischemia. The ischemia must worsen as exercise continues beyond the supposed VO2 "plateau." To accommodate this dilemma, Hill and his colleagues proposed a governor "either in the heart muscle or in the nervous system" necessary to prevent myocardial ischemia developing during maximal exercise. This governor would cause maximal exercise to terminate before the development of a plateau in either coronary flow, CO, or VO2, or the onset of skeletal muscle anaerobiosis. Accordingly, a new physiological model is proposed in which skeletal muscle recruitment is regulated by a central "governor" specifically to prevent the development of a progressive myocardial ischemia that would precede the development of skeletal muscle anaerobiosis during maximum exercise. As a result cardiovascular function "limits" maximum exercise capacity, probably as a result of a limiting myocardial oxygen delivery. The model is compatible with all the published findings of cardiovascular function during exercise in hypobaric hypoxia, in which there is a greater likelihood that myocardial hypoxia will develop.     

"Understanding Psychiatrists": Comment.

Comments on the article by Richard Jenkins (see record 1955-03339-001), which discusses the relations between and the responsibilities of psychologists and psychiatrists in the light of two premises: (1) the medical responsibility of the psychiatrist, and (2) the inseparability of somatic and psychic illness. Because of a depth of concern for the welfare of his patient, the psychiatrist may at times feel that a more complete understanding of him would be facilitated by calling upon other individuals, such as psychologists, for their opinions. In such a case, the psychiatrist would retain final responsibility. Regarding the therapeutic competence of psychologists, it is our firm belief that this would best be determined by a board composed of psychologists of recognized standing, since they would be best qualified to judge the adequacy of psychological training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Misbehavior": a case history

Comments on the article by J. T. Todd and E. K. Morris (see record 1993-11918-001) on mythology and folklore in behavior analysis. Discussion focuses on how, in the past, many of the proponents of behavior analysis failed to recognize the significance of species behavioral differences. Research is detailed that shows how the position has gradually changed over the years. The vast majority of behavior analysts now accept the idea for instinctive behavior, although by perhaps another name. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Television and aggression: A counterargument": Rebuttal.

Replies to comments by D. Howitt (1972) on E. H. Pfuhl's (1970) research on the relationship between mass media with crime themes (e.g., comic books, TV) and delinquency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Septum and Behavior: A Review": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article "Septum and Behavior: A Review," by P. A. Fried (Psychological Bulletin) Vol. 78(4) Oct 1972, 292-310. Line 19 of the second column of page 292 should read as follows: . . . separate paper (Fried, 1972). One . . . . (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1973-02623-001.) A review of research and discussion related to the behavioral effects of septal dysfunction supports the conclusion that a unitary conceptualization of the role of the septum is inappropriate and simplistic. Discrete lesion and stimulating techniques indicate that the septum cannot be considered equipotential in either its contribution to various types of behavior or in its anatomical relationships with other subcortical structures. Evidence indicates that various nuclei in the septum are important in at least 4 dissociable behavior patterns: (a) damage to the medial septal nucleus impairs the ability to alter a response on the basis of proprioceptive cues, (b) damage to the lateral and posterior regions of the septum increases the magnitude of negative responses to unpalatable solutions, (c) damage to regions of the septum that are anatomically connected to the hypothalamus increases the intake of water, and (d) damage to a variety of septal nuclei results in overresponding to positively-motivating stimuli. This latter finding is interpreted as implicating the septum in a specific type of response-suppressing mechanism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Share the Wealth": Correction.

Reports an error in the original article by J. L. Bernard (American Psychologist, 1964, 19, 816); (see record 2005-11643-007). The author learned that his interpretation of the Federal Tax Laws was grossly in error. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Logic and psychology": Erratum.

Reports an error in the article by Michael Polanyi (American Psychologist, 1968, 23[1], 27-43). The last sentence of the quotation from Whewell on page 28 should read as follows: "Before this, the facts are seen as detached, separate, lawless; afterwards, they are seen as connected, simple, regular; as parts of one general fact, and thereby possessing innumerable new relations before unseen." (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1990-55831-001). Surveys the nonstrict rules of inference, i.e., informal logic, on which science rests, and describes 3 nonstrict criteria: (1) all knowledge of reality is indeterminate, (2) knowledge of coherence is undefinable, and (3) many of the data on which knowledge rests are unspecifiable. This is termed tacit knowing or tacit inference. The latter is an integration which brings subsidiary elements to bear on the focus of our attention. Consciousness includes a tacit awareness of its subsidiaries. Tacit integration includes observation, discovery, and acquisition of skills. These are all irreducible to explicit processes of deduction. The knowledge of external objects, the body, and living beings are discussed in terms of tacit knowledge. It is felt that philosophy has been misguided by failing to recognize the process of tacit knowing. The process of visual perception and the pursuit of science are compared. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Criteria for hiring psychologists": Reply.

Comments on the data analysis procedures used by H. H. Blumberg (1971) to extend L. S. Fidell's (see record 1971-07201-001) analysis of data on hiring practices in psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Psychology": Noun or adjective?

Suggests that preoccupation with the formal establishment of psychology has given way to the challenges of integrating the behavioral aspects of organisms with other properties (anatomic, biochemical, and electrophysiological) in order to understand adjustment to the environment. Phenylketonuria can also be considered an environmentally based biochemical phenomenon, since the environment can aggravate a molecular abnormality that would otherwise be dormant. The effect of overpopulation and crowding on behavioral patterns is another example of the importance of viewing behavioral characteristics in relation to the environment. Implications for the education and training of psychologists are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"On freedom and determinism": Reply.

Responds to I. Chein's (1965) comments on L. Immergluck's (1964) article on freedom and determinism in contemporary psychology. While Chein seems to agree with a ubiquitous deterministic position, his commentary is diffused with a notion of freedomism that belies his avowed commitment to determinism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Free Will and Cruelty": Comment.

As one who has been cited in the continuing controversy over "free will" (Budd, 1960; Hartmann, 1961), Nettler clarifies what her paper, "Cruelty, Dignity, and Determinism" (1959) did, and did not, say. The concepts of free will and determinism are briefly discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Anticipating informed consent: An empirical approach": Comment.

Suggests that the study of informed consent by E. Berscheid et al (see record 1974-11173-001) violates 2 principles of the Ethical Standards for Research with Human Subjects. The debriefing by mail and the failure of the researchers to make sure that the Ss learned anything as a result of their participation in the study are criticized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"On freedom and determinism": Rejoinder.

Responds to a reply by L. Immergluck (see record 1990-55792-001) to I. Chein's (1965) comments on Immergluck's (1964) article on freedomism and determinism in contemporary psychology. Immergluck's distortion of Chein's position on determinism is corrected. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Obedience and deception research": Reply.

In response to G. E. Stollak (1967), it is argued that forcing psychologists to deal honestly with human Ss in obedience and deception research would require psychologists to use their initiative and acumen to develop experiments that provide insight about the functioning of undeceived Ss. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"More on 'Monkey Tricks'": Reply.

Suggests that J. Harvey (see record 2005-11080-006) fundamentally did not grasp S. Kaplan's (see record 2005-11049-006) major thesis. The heart of Kaplan's viewpoint is that "The social definition is not added on to a biological constant which remains unchanged, but the social definition dominates and transforms biological reflexes." Kaplan's approach also does not delineate any dichotomy between biology and culture. Rather, it seems to the reviewer, it points up the fact that the very biologicalness of men is qualitatively transformed into new, different entities because of variegated acculturations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Psychologists and Civil Liberties": Comment.

Comments on the article by G. Murphy (Amer. Psychologist, 8, 745-747) on psychologists and civil liberties. The author notes that it was pleasing to find again someone aroused by the present dangers confronting academic freedom and personal liberty. He also notes, though, that Murphy's suggestion that investigation be more thorough seems to lead to conformity in its worst sense. The author suggests that baring one's private life (no matter how exemplary that life may be) under the coercion of McCarthyism is no victory for civil liberty, and agrees with Murphy's idea of "sticking to simple civil liberties; nothing more, nothing less." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Sniffin'' sticks": screening of olfactory performance

OBJECTIVE: To study the loss of antimicrobial susceptibility in repeat (same patient, same bacterial species, and same site) aerobic gram-negative bacilli (AGNB) isolated from individual patients during their stay in the intensive-care unit (ICU). SETTING: A 792-bed, tertiary-care community hospital with a total of 107 adult, pediatric, and neonatal ICU beds. METHOD: An observational prospective study performed November 1992 through mid-July 1993. RESULTS: Of 594 consecutive AGNB from 287 ICU patients, 117 isolates (20%) from 55 patients (19%) were repeat isolates, with the majority obtained from respiratory secretions (83%). Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter species accounted for 61% of the isolates. Forty-two (36%) of the repeat isolates from 24 patients (44%) had > or = 4-fold increase in minimum inhibitory concentration to at least one antibiotic and no longer were considered fully susceptible based on National Committee on Clinical Laboratory Standards criteria. Loss of antimicrobial susceptibility often developed within several (median 8) days and was associated only infrequently with simultaneous transition from colonization to infection in the individual patient. Use of certain beta-lactam antibiotics was associated with increasing resistance to several other antibiotics in the same class. Concurrent use of beta-lactams and aminoglycosides did not prevent loss of antimicrobial susceptibility to the former in repeat isolates. CONCLUSION: We conclude that loss of antimicrobial susceptibility in repeat AGNB isolated from ICU patients is common, usually is not associated with transition from colonization to infection, and often is associated with prior use of antibiotics. Minimizing antibiotic use in ICU patients should help reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance in repeat AGNB isolates.     

"Ethics and psychedelic drugs": Reply.

C. T. Tart's (1968) consideration of ethics and psychedelic drugs invites debate on how to respond to a student wishing to take LSD-25. A statement of the illegal and dangerous aspects of drug might be seen as permissive. An emotionally involved response could be rewarding, or forthright advice against unsupervised drug use might be most suitable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Shrink" or "expander": An issue in forming a therapeutic alliance.

Discusses the use of the term shrink to designate a therapist and suggests that such usage may indicate attitudes or expectations regarding how a therapist is perceived. It is suggested that misunderstandings need to be confronted and corrected early on if patients are to form the trust and openness necessary for an effective therapeutic alliance. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Summary of Journal Operations": Erratum.

Reports an error in the "Summary of Journal Operations" (American Psychologist, 1970, 25, 103); (see record 2005-10282-014). The rejection rate shown for the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology is incorrect. The correct figure is 67%. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)