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L'observation des processus de groupe: difficultés méthodologiques et perspectives.

Discusses problems involved in collecting data based on observation of small groups. The example of a study of manifestations of cooperation in groups of preschoolers (aged 21–57 mo) is used for illustration. Statistical treatment of observation data and global analysis of data are considered. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescents in stepfamilies: Developmental family interventions.

Discusses issues and interventions for working with adolescents who live in stepfamilies. A developmental perspective, using psychoeducation and brief strategic intervention approaches, is proposed for working with stepfamilies. Six major issues for adolescents in stepfamilies are discussed: developmental issues, sexuality issues, parent–child relationships, parenting in stepfamilies, nonresidential parent–child issues, and changes in visitation and custody. Case illustrations and suggested interventions are presented for each of these areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Playing with pets and longevity among older people.

Models of the relations between contact with pets and better health are examined in an archival prospective study using data derived from the longitudinal study initiated by Terman in 1921 (current N?=?343 men, 300 women) . In survival analyses of documented longevity, playing with pets in 1977 (M age?=?67 years) was not associated with mortality risk through 1991 for the total sample nor for those who were unmarried or those who were less satisfied with their human relationships. Playing with pets was not associated with health-prone attributes or healthy behaviors such as personality, social ties, education, and smoking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensitization of the startle reflex by footshock: Blockade by lesions of the central nucleus of the amygdala or its efferent pathway to the brainstem.

Bilateral electrolytic lesions of the central, but not the lateral, nucleus of the amgydala blocked shock sensitization of startle (the increase in startle produced by presentation of ten 0.6-mA footshocks in rapid succession). Lesions of the central nucleus also decreased reactivity to shock (jumping and flinching) during shock presentation. However, this decrease in reactivity cannot account for the blockade of shock sensitization, because when a higher shock intensity (1.0 mA) was used, producing equivalent reactivity to that of controls at 0.6 mA, central nucleus lesions still blocked shock sensitization. Moreover, lesions of the caudal part of the ventral amygdalofugal pathway, which carries central nucleus efferents to the startle reflex pathway, also blocked shock sensitization. It is hypothesized that shock activates the central nucleus of the amygdala, which increases startle through modulation of the startle pathway. Activation of the amygdala by shock may be the unconditioned response relevant for fear conditioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A behavioral probe of the growth of intake potential during the inter-meal interval in the rat.

The rat's willingness to ingest glucose after an initial intraoral intake test was probed by beginning a 2nd intraoral intake test at variable durations (1–220 min). In Exp 1, after an initial meal of 12.5% glucose solution averaging 26.9?±?1.7 ml, the size of the 2nd (probe) meal of the same stimulus increased linearly from 4.0?±?0.9 ml after a 1-min delay to 15.4?±?2.7 ml after a 120-min delay. In Exp 2, intraoral intake of a more concentrated (37.5%) glucose solution rose more slowly as a function of delay from 2.4?±?2.7 ml to 4.9?±?0.6 ml. For each glucose concentration, the linear recovery function and a slope that depends on stimulus concentration are consistent with a role for gastric emptying during the delay in intake recovery. In Exp 3, rats ingested 12.5% or 37.5% glucose to satiety in an initial test and received, after a variable delay, either the same or the other concentration as the probe stimulus. The same volumes were ingested at each delay whether the glucose concentration of the probe stimulus was the same or was switched from that presented in the initial test. This result shows that the taste and caloric properties of the probe stimulus played no role in determining how much of it would be ingested… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Association of age and body weight with periodontal disease in North American dogs

Thirteen hundred and fifty dogs were examined under anesthesia at veterinary hospitals in the USA and Canada. Periodontal health was recorded in detail. Teeth were frequently absent (particularly lower third molar, upper and lower first premolars, and incisor teeth). Calculus was most extensive on the upper fourth premolar and molar teeth. Missing teeth, mobility of remaining teeth, extent of calculus and gingival inflammation, and furcation exposure and attachment loss all were more common in small dogs compared with larger dogs, and in order dogs compared with younger dogs.