Interference effects by spatial proximity and age-related declines in spatial memory by Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata): Deficits in the combined use of multiple spatial cues.

Spatial information processing was assessed in 3 young (4-10 years old) and 4 aged (24-25 years old) Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) on 3 delayed nonmatching-to-position (DNMP) tests with relatively short delays of 5 s. Each test had 3 conditions of different horizontal distances between sample and to-be-nonmatched positions. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the performance on the DNMP test in both age groups was impaired when 2 stimulus positions were located next to each other; however, it was fairly accurate when they were located farther apart, suggesting that interference is introduced by spatial proximity. Experiment 2 revealed age-related differences in the situation in which an additional spatial cue, depth information, was available by extending the stimulus array of the DNMP test to a 4 = 2 matrix. In this test, young monkeys performed accurately irrespective of position distance between stimuli, whereas the aged monkeys' performance remained the same as before. Experiment 3 confirmed that the recognition ability in aged monkeys was well preserved on DNMP tests with different objects. These patterns of results indicate that the ability to use information from multiple spatial cues is not accessible to the aged monkeys. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Latitudinal and insular variation of skull size in crab-eating macaques (primates, Cercopithecidae: Macaca fascicularis)

Macaca fascicularis is broadly distributed in Southeast Asia across 30 degrees of latitude and 35 degrees of longitude (Indochinese Peninsula, Isthmus of Kra, Malay Peninsula, Greater and Lesser Sunda Islands, Philippine Islands, and numerous small, neighboring islands). The range is divisible into 1) a core area comprised of mainland Southeast Asia, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java (large land masses interconnected during the last glacial maximum, 18,000 B.P.); 2) shallow-water fringing islands, which are smaller islands connected to the core area during the last glacial maximum; and 3) deep-water fringing islands, which are peripheral islands not connected to the core area during the last glacial maximum. Skull length was used to study effects of latitude and insularity on patterns of size variation. The data are from 802 adult M. fascicularis specimens from 140 core-area localities, 63 shallow-water islands, and 29 deep-water islands. Sex-specific polynomial regressions of skull length on latitude were used to describe skull length variation in the core area. These regressions served as standards for evaluating variation among samples from shallow-water and deep-water islands. The core area exhibits Bergmannian latitudinal size clines through most of the species range. Thus, skull length decreases from about 8 degrees S (Java) to the equator (Sumatra and Borneo), then increases as far north as about 13 degrees N (Isthmus of Kra). Farther north, to the northernmost Indochinese localities at about 17 degrees N, skull length in M. fascicularis decreases with increasing latitude, contrary to Bergmann's rule. Latitudinal size variation in shallow-water fringing islands generally parallels that in the core area. However, skull length tends to be smaller than in the core area at similar latitudes. Deep-water fringing islands are markedly more variable, with relatively small specimens in the Lesser Sunda Islands and relatively large specimens in the Nicobar Islands. These analyses illustrate how a primate species may vary in response to latitudinal temperature variation and to isolation.     

Ontogeny of foraging behavior in wild vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops): Social interactions and survival.

The ontogeny of feeding behavior was explored by making observations of 32 vervet monkey infants in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. In contrast to adults and juveniles, infants appear to treat all primary food products in their diet as equally valuable. These age-related differences may reflect differences in food preference. To assess social influences, feeding synchrony between mother and infant was explored. From birth to 2 mo, infants typically fed asynchronously with respect to their mother's feeding bouts. From 2–22 mo, however, most infants fed at the same time and on the same food items as their mothers. Among infants there was a significant positive association between the proportion of synchronous, same food bouts and the probability of survival. Variation among infants in access to resources and encounter rates with predators did not, however, have a significant effect on survival. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimal sampling and spatial distribution of Ixodes pacificus, Dermacentor occidentalis and Dermacentor variabilis ticks (Acari: Ixodidae)

A common method for sampling tick populations is flagging, which is a method of dragging a white cloth over a plant substrate for a fixed distance along a transect. Flagging over rough physical surfaces or using long subtransect lengths could lead to the underestimation of tick densities. Using estimates of the drop-off rates of adult Ixodes pacificus in flag sampling, optimal sampling schemes (the length and number of subtransects) were examined using the relationships between the tick drop-off rates (c), the tick density and distribution patterns and the roughness of the sampled plant substrate. It was found that the optimal number of subtransects and Lmax, the longest subtransect length which did not significantly underestimate the tick density from c, were affected by the tick density, substrate roughness and tick distribution pattern. This study also showed that the density and distribution of I. pacificus and Dermacentor occidentalis varied greatly over time in the populations sampled, while the Dermacentor variabilis densities were low and showed no significant changes over time. Both I. pacificus and D. occidentalis had clumped distributions along trails and these clumps were aggregated. However, the clump sizes (or individual clump areas) changed significantly over time because of density fluctuation or the movement of ticks. Finally, a positive association between the number of I. pacificus and D. occidentalis adults was observed from 2 m subtransect flag collections in March 1995; no relationship was found in 1994.     

Molecular phylogeny of the New World monkeys (Platyrrhini, primates) based on two unlinked nuclear genes: IRBP intron 1 and epsilon-globin sequences

Nuclear sequences of the 1.8 kilobase (kb) long intron 1 of the interstitial retinol-binding protein gene (IRBP), previously determined for 11 of the 16 extant genera of New World monkeys (superfamily Ceboidea, infraorder Platyrrhini), have now been determined for the remaining 5 genera. The maximum parsimony trees found, first with IRBP sequences alone and then with tandemly combined IRBP and epsilon-globin gene sequences from the same species, supported a provisional cladistic classification with the following clusters. Subtribes Callitrichina (Callithrix, Cebuella), Callimiconina (Callimico), Leontopithecina (Leontopithecus) and Saguina (Saguinus) constitute subfamily Callitrichinae, and subfamilies Callitrichinae, Aotinae (Aotus), and Cebinae (Cebus, Saimiri) constitute family Cebidae. Subtribes Chiropotina (Chiropotes, Cacajao) and Pitheciina (Pithecia) constitute tribe Pitheciini; and tribes Pitheciini and Callicebini (Callicebus) constitute subfamily Pitheciinae. Subtribes Brachytelina (Brachyteles, Lagothrix) and Atelina (Ateles) constitute tribe Atelini, and tribes Atelini and Alouattini (Alouatta) constitute subfamily Atelinae. The parsimony results were equivocal as to whether Pitheciinae should be grouped with Atelinae in family Atelidae or have its own family Pitheciidae. The cladistic groupings of extant ceboids were also examined by different stochastic evolutionary models that employed the same stochastic process of nucleotide substitutions but alternative putative phylogenetic trees on which the nucleotide substitutions occurred. Each model, i.e., each different tree, predicted a different multinomial distribution of nucleotide character patterns for the contemporary sequences. The predicted distributions that were closest to the actual observed distributions identified the best fitting trees. The cladistic relationships depicted in these best fitting trees agreed in almost all cases with those depicted in the maximum parsimony trees.     

Platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity: Personality, substance use, and the stress-response-dampening effect of alcohol.

The platelet MAO activity of 557 male Ss (aged 21–26 yrs) was assessed with substance use and abuse, family history of alcoholism, and personality traits. Low platelet MAO activity was associated with (1) undercontrolled behavioral style as evidenced by high scores on measures of antisociality, (2) increased use of cigarettes, and (3) increased rates of illicit drug use and adverse consequences of drug use. Low MAO activity was not related to either alcohol use or abuse. In an experimental study, 17 Ss with MAO activity in the lowest decile and 38 Ss with MAO activity in the highest 2 deciles were administered either a .625 g/kg dose of alcohol or a placebo and exposed to an anxiety-provoking stressor. Low-MAO-activity Ss appeared to show stronger stress response dampening on heart rate than high-MAO-activity Ss. No other differences in response to alcohol were found, and MAO activity was not related to general reactivity to the stressor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Policies to influence the spatial distribution of physicians: a conceptual review of selected programs and empirical evidence

To increase the usefulness of existing physician location literature for policy evaluation, literature is grouped into intraurban and urban-rural studies. A conceptual overview of physician location literature is presented. Consensus results, if any, are discussed. A list of hypotheses suggested by the literature is then utilized in a discussion of economic social, prior exposure, and professional development incentives embodied in selected public and private sector programs. Programs are evaluated by type of incentive mechanism and geographic target area to determine if present program structures are based on a solid empirical foundation. This assessment indicates that, in general, use of prevalent location incentive mechanisms is not justified by a consensus of empirical evidence.     

Influence of the mesocortical dopaminergic system on activity, food hoarding, social-agonistic behavior, and spatial delayed alternation in male rats.

In order to assess the behavioral role of the dopaminergic mesocortical input to the prefrontal cortex, bilateral lesions were made in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). The possibility of a functional recovery by the administration of a dopamine agonist was examined. General activity, food hoarding, social–agonistic behavior, and spatial delayed alternation performance were recorded in rats with VTA lesions and in sham-operated animals. In the open field animals with VTA lesions were more active but showed less anxiety. Food hoarding was impaired. In dyadic interactions with sham-operated opponents, VTA rats were socially more active, whereas sham operates performed more keeping down and aggressive grooming. This behavioral deficit was partially recovered when apomorphine was administered prior to testing. VTA animals were impaired in the performance of a spatial delayed alternation task with an intertrial interval of 15 sec, whereas no impairment was found with a 0-sec intertrial interval. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention allocation modulates the processing of hierarchical visual patterns: A comparative analysis of capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) and humans.

Humans show a global advantage when processing hierarchical visual patterns, and they detect the global level of stimulus structure more accurately and faster than the local level in several stimulus contexts. By contrast, capuchins (Cebus apella) and other monkey species show a strong local advantage. A key factor which, if manipulated, could cause an inversion of this effect in monkeys is still to be found. In this study, we examined whether it was possible to induce attention allocation to global and local levels of perceptual analysis in capuchin monkeys and if by doing so, their local dominance could be reversed. We manipulated attentional bias using a matching-to-sample (MTS) task where the proportion of trials requiring global and local processing varied between conditions. The monkeys were compared with humans tested with the same paradigm. Monkeys showed a local advantage in the local bias condition but a global advantage in the global bias condition. The role of attention in processing was confined to the local trials in a first phase of testing but extended to both local and global trials in the course of task practice. Humans exhibited an overall global dominance and an effect of attentional bias on the speed of processing of the global and local level of the stimuli. These results indicate a role for attention in the processing of hierarchical stimuli in monkeys and are discussed in relation to the extent to which they can explain the differences between capuchin monkeys and humans observed in this and other studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer of self-control in black (Eulemur macaco) and brown (Eulemur fulvus) lemurs: Choice of a less preferred food item under a reverse-reward contingency.

When presented a choice between two food-type arrays of equivalent size under a reverse-reward contingency, black (Eulemur macaco) and brown (Eulemur fulvus) lemurs transposed their self-control abilities, acquired in a previous experiment, to significantly select the less-desired food item in order to gain access to the more desired one. However, when presented with the choice between two different food-type arrays in which the amount of the less desired food array was larger than the more desired one, large individual differences were revealed: Some subjects established a consistent rule favoring quality or quantity, whereas others exhibited various point of trade-off. These results show that lemurs seem to manage the task considering not only food quantity but also food quality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning and generalization of tool use by tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) in tasks involving three factors: Reward, tool, and hindrance.

We tested 4 captive tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) for their understanding of physical causality in variations of a 2-choice tool use task, 1 alternative of which allowed the monkeys easier access to food. Our monkeys, who had been adept at this task involving 2 items, that is, tool and food, quickly learned 3-term problems involving food, tool, and 1 type of hindrance (an obstacle or a trap, which could prevent success). All of the monkeys generalized their performance to new problems with the other type of hindrance and those with another familiar tool. These results suggest flexibility of their abilities to process complex physical information comprising 3 items in the environment, that is food–tool–hindrance spatial relationships. Such flexibility also implies that capuchin monkeys may possess rudimentary understanding of causal relationships involved in tool use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measles, mumps, and rubella--vaccine use and strategies for elimination of measles, rubella, and congenital rubella syndrome and control of mumps: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)

These revised recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on measles, mumps, and rubella prevention supersede recommendations published in 1989 and 1990. This statement summarizes the goals and current strategies for measles, rubella, and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) elimination and for mumps reduction in the United States. Changes from previous recommendations include: Emphasis on the use of combined MMR vaccine for most indications; A change in the recommended age for routine vaccination to 12-15 months for the first dose of MMR, and to 4-6 years for the second dose of MMR; A recommendation that all states take immediate steps to implement a two dose MMR requirement for school entry and any additional measures needed to ensure that all school-aged children are vaccinated with two doses of MMR by 2001; A clarification of the role of serologic screening to determine immunity; A change in the criteria for determining acceptable evidence of rubella immunity; A recommendation that all persons who work in health-care facilities have acceptable evidence of measles and rubella immunity; Changes in the recommended interval between administration of immune globulin and measles vaccination; and Updated information on adverse events and contraindications, particularly for persons with severe HIV infection, persons with a history of egg allergy or gelatin allergy, persons with a history of thrombocytopenia, and persons receiving steroid therapy.     

Social-cognitive determinants of physical activity: The influence of social support, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-regulation among participants in a church-based health promotion study.

A social-cognitive model of physical activity was tested, using structural equation analysis of data from 999 adults (21% African American; 66% female; 38% inactive) recruited from 14 southwestern Virginia churches participating in the baseline phase of a health promotion study. Within the model, age, race, social support, self-efficacy, and self-regulation contributed to participants' physical activity levels, but outcome expectations did not. Of the social-cognitive variables, self-regulation exerted the strongest effect on physical activity. Independent of self-regulation, self-efficacy had little effect. Social support influenced physical activity as a direct precursor to self-efficacy and self-regulation. The model provided a good fit to the data and explained 46% of the variance in physical activity among the diverse group of adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Landmark-based spatial memory in birds (Parus atricapillus and Columba livia): The use of edges and distances to represent spatial positions.

Birds' use of landmarks to identify spatial locations was examined. Black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus) and pigeons (Columba livia) searched for hidden food on a 120-cm–2 tray. In each task the target was near an edge with a nearby landmark. On occasional unrewarded tests the landmark was either left in its usual position, shifted parallel to the edge, shifted perpendicular to the edge, or shifted diagonally. On diagonal landmark shifts the birds shifted their searching more in the parallel direction than in the perpendicular, which violates the predictions of the vector sum model (K. Cheng, 1989). In some cases the birds maintained their searching at a constant perpendicular distance under all landmark shifts. This suggests that perpendicular distance to an edge forms an element in determining where to search on the basis of landmarks. Chickadees and pigeons performed similarly, which suggests similarity in the way they encode locations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The weight of the reproductive organs, hypophysis and thyroid of male cynomolgus monkeys. (Macaca fascicularis) (author's transl)

The present short paper deals with the weight of the male reproductive organs of wild-imported cynomolgus monkeys, including the testes, epididymides, ductus deferens, vesicula seminalis prostata, bulbo urethralis and penis. In addition, the size of the testes and the weight of the thyroid and hypophysis are also presented.     

Eating in the pigeon (Columba livia): Movement patterns, stereotypy, and stimulus control.

Used high-speed cinematography to analyze the eating behavior of 32 pigeons and to clarify the nature of its control by stimulus and motivational variables. Eating-response sequences may be functionally subdivided into a series of individual movement patterns whose duration and sequential organization exhibit a range of stereotypy comparable with that of movement patterns with an obvious communication function. Food deprivation did not affect the topography or spatiotemporal organization of the eating-response sequence but increased the rate at which such sequences are emitted. Stimuli coming from food elicit and orient many components of the eating response and serve as coordinating links in the causal chain that integrates individual movement patterns into an adaptive behavior for the efficient ingestion of food. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)