Peripheral inflammation undermines the plasticity of the isolated spinal cord.

Peripheral capsaicin treatment induces molecular changes that sensitize the responses of nociceptive neurons in the spinal dorsal horn. The current studies demonstrate that capsaicin also undermines the adaptive plasticity of the spinal cord, rendering the system incapable of learning a simple instrumental task. In these studies, male rats are transected at the second thoracic vertebra and are tested 24 to 48 hours later. During testing, subjects receive shock to one hindleg when it is extended (controllable stimulation). Rats quickly learn to maintain the leg in a flexed position. Rats that have been injected with capsaicin (1% or 3%) in the hindpaw fail to learn, even when tested on the leg contralateral to the injection. This learning deficit lasts at least 24 hours. Interestingly, training with controllable electrical stimulation prior to capsaicin administration protects the spinal cord against the maladaptive effects. Rats pretrained with controllable stimulation do not display a learning deficit or tactile allodynia. Moreover, controllable stimulation, combined with naltrexone, reverses the capsaicin-induced deficit. These data suggest that peripheral inflammation, accompanying spinal cord injuries, might have an adverse effect on recovery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive–behavioral therapy to reduce weight concerns improves smoking cessation outcome in weight-concerned women.

Women smokers concerned about weight gain (N?=?219) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 adjunct treatments accompanying group smoking cessation counseling: (a) behavioral weight control to prevent weight gain (weight control); (b) cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) to directly reduce weight concern, in which dieting was discouraged; and (c) standard counseling alone (standard), in which weight gain was not explicitly addressed. Ten sessions were conducted over 7 weeks, and no medication was provided. Continuous abstinence was significantly higher at posttreatment and at 6 and 12 months of follow-up for CBT (56%, 28%, and 21%, respectively), but not for weight control (44%, 18%, and 13%, respectively), relative to standard (31%, 12%, and 9%, respectively). However, weight control, and to a lesser extent CBT, was associated with attenuation of negative mood after quitting. Prequit body mass index, but not change in weight or in weight concerns postquit, predicted cessation outcome at 1 year. In sum, CBT to reduce weight concerns, but not behavioral weight control counseling to prevent weight gain, improves smoking cessation outcome in weight-concerned women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Symbiotic Sustainability Model: Conceptualizing NGO–Corporate Alliance Communication

We introduce the Symbiotic Sustainability Model (SSM) as a macrolevel explanation of nongovernmental organization (NGO)–corporate alliances. The SSM presents NGO–corporate alliances as distinct interorganizational communication relationships, symbolized to stakeholders to influence the mobilization of capital. We contend that alliance partners communicatively co‐construct the alliance with stakeholders in order to mobilize economic, social, cultural, and political capital. By focusing on the communication of alliances' existence and character, new propositions emerge concerning the role of communication, capital mobilization resulting from NGO–corporate alliances, NGOs and corporations' choice(s) of alliance partner(s), the number of partners with whom organizations are likely to communicate, and potential risks and rewards. The model is illustrated using the Rainforest Alliance and Chiquita Better Banana program as an abbreviated case study.     

Accelerating the coping process.

On the basis of previous work, freshmen should evidence improved health after writing about their thoughts and feelings associated with entering college. One hundred thirty subjects were assigned to write either about coming to college or about superficial topics for 20 min on 3 days. One fourth of the subjects in each group wrote during the 1st, 5th, 9th, or 14th week of classes. Physician visits for illness in the months after writing were lower for the experimental than for the control subjects. Self-reports of homesickness and anxiety were higher in the experimental group 2–3 months after writing. By year's end, experimental subjects were either superior or similar to control subjects in grade average and in positive moods. No effects emerged as a function of when people wrote, suggesting that the coping process can be accelerated. Implications for comparing insight treatments with catharsis and for distinguishing between objective and self-report indicators of distress are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ovarian steroid manipulation of the antidipsogenic and thermogenic responses of rats to central administration of prostaglandin E?.

A study by the 1st and 4th authors (1983) showed that intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of prostaglandin E? (PGE?) increased arterial pressure, suppressed water intake, and elevated the core temperature of rats. Treatment of ovariectomized (OVX) rats with estradiol or progesterone resulted in an attenuation of the pressor response to PGE?. The present study examined the effects of daily subcutaneous injection of estradiol benzoate (1 μg), progesterone (5 mg), or oil vehicle on the antidipsogenic and thermogenic response to icv PGE? of OVX Long-Evans rats. The change of core temperature induced by the PGE treatment was significantly correlated with antidipsogenesis for OVX Ss receiving daily oil injections. Although neither the suppression of water intake nor the increase of core temperature in response to icv PGE? was significantly affected by ovarian steroid treatment, the linear relation between the thermogenic and antidisogenic actions of the icv PGE? was abolished by either estradiol or progesterone administration. Thus, although the pressor, antidipsogenic, and thermogenic effects of icv PGE? tend to occur together, they may be differentially affected by ovarian steroid administration, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying these varied effects of icv PGE? may be independent. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychodynamic formulation, consensual response method, and interpersonal problems.

We describe a new method for aggregating psychodynamic formulations of independent clinicians. 15 patients (10 female and 5 male, aged 23–41) were interviewed before they began brief dynamic psychotherapy. Different panels of 8 formulators (drawn from a pool of 72 psychodynamic clinicians with 10–38 years of clinical experience) observed each videotaped interview and wrote individual formulations. The text of each formulation was divided into thought-units, and thought-units that occurred 3 or more times were combined into a final consensual formulation. (One case was formulated twice to demonstrate the replicability of the method). Other clinical raters then read each consensual formulation and judged, for a list of interpersonal problems, whether each problem was apt to be distressing for that patient. The raters were very successful in predicting which problems were later discussed in treatment. Predictions were best for formulations with a high proportion of interpersonal content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Welcoming them home: Supporting service members and their families in navigating the tasks of reintegration.

To date, more than 1.3 million service members have served in the Global War on Terrorism. These men and women and their families face a range of stressful situations and must navigate many important tasks after a deployment. This article outlines four of the tasks of reintegration: redefining roles, expectations, and division of labor; managing strong emotions; abandoning emotional constriction and creating intimacy in relationships; and creating shared meaning. For each task, potential challenges are discussed and suggestions for how psychologists can support families are described. In addition, potential red flags and indicators that more intensive services may be warranted are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How many do you see? The use of nonspoken representations in first-grade mathematics lessons.

Not all relevant instructional information comes in the form of spoken words. In the present study, the authors examine multiple modalities of nonspoken forms of representation—specifically gestures, pictures, objects, and writing—used by 3 teachers in 3 yrs of 1st-grade math lessons. Teachers frequently used visually based modalities of representation and tended to produce combinations of representational forms rather than isolated representations. There were individual differences in their preference for representation types. Teachers used representations to accompany important spoken terms and to respond to student confusion. With nonspoken representations, teachers conveyed information critical to the explanation of mathematical concepts. Students must attend to the visual as well as vocal means of expressing information to gain access to all of the information presented in mathematics lessons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)