Focusing too much on individualistic achievement may generate stress and negative emotion: Social rank theory perspective.

Individualistic achievement personality has been found to increase personal resources and reduce negative emotions. Whether individualistic achievement is protective against stress or negative emotion or indeed stress generating remains uncertain. The present study examined three models proposed to explain the interrelationship between individualistic achievement, personal resources, daily stress, and negative emotion.

Different mechanisms of risperidone result in improved interpersonal trust, social engagement and cooperative behavior in patients with schizophrenia compared to trifluoperazine.

Aim: Atypical antipsychotic treatment (e.g. risperidone) has been found to improve social functioning more than standard antipsychotic treatment.

Using a partner's facial emotion to elucidate social dominance motivation induced by an SSRI.

Previous studies independently showed that acute treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) enhanced happy face recognition, and dominance behaviors which might reflect enhancement of reward sensitivity. The present study aimed to determine whether such a mechanism would be related to social resource acquisition induced by an SSRI. Forty healthy subjects were recruited for the experiment.

After the randomised injectable opiate treatment trial: post-trial investigation of slow-release oral morphine as an alternative opiate maintenance medication.

Introduction And Aims: To establish if slow-release oral morphine (SROM) is an acceptable maintenance medication in heroin users currently being prescribed injectable diamorphine, who are intolerant to supplementary methadone.

Design And Methods: Case note review of interviews and medication details before and after change in medication in 12 treatment-resistant chronic heroin users attending a supervised injecting clinic twice a day for prescribed injectable diamorphine plus supplementary oral methadone to ensure 24 h stability. SROM was substituted for oral methadone by cross-titration.

Facial emotion linked cooperation in patients with paranoid schizophrenia: a test on the Interpersonal Communication Model.

Background: Patients with schizophrenia consistently show deficits in facial affect perception and social behaviours. It is illusive to suggest that these deficits in facial affect perception cause poor social behaviours.

Aim: The present research aims to study how facial affects influence ingratiation, cooperation and punishment behaviours of the patients.

Contrasting effects of a hot and a cool system in anger regulation on cooperative behaviours.

Angry mood and aggression are strongly associated. However, it is not socially acceptable to express strong aggression. Non-cooperative behaviours might be another aspect of aggressive behaviour.

Psychometric analysis of the Chinese version of Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (C-SASS).

There are only a very limited number of scales available to measure social motivation in Chinese. Studying social motivation might help researchers to understand more of the relationship between social skills and depression. An English version of the Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (SASS) is a valid measure of social motivation.

Pharmacodynamics of diazepam co-administered with methadone or buprenorphine under high dose conditions in opioid dependent patients.

Background: Benzodiazepine abuse is common among methadone- and buprenorphine-maintained patients; however interactions between these drugs under high dose conditions have not been adequately examined under controlled conditions.

Objective: To investigate the effects of co-administering diazepam with methadone or buprenorphine under high dose conditions.

Design: Double-blind, randomly ordered, 2 x 2 cross-over design in which the effects of diazepam dose (0mg versus 40 mg) and opioid dose (100% versus 150% normal dose) were examined over four sessions in methadone- and buprenorphine-maintained patients.

An investigation into the sub-acute effects of ecstasy on aggressive interpretative bias and aggressive mood - are there gender differences?

The lowering of serotonin for a period following MDMA use could account for the increases in both self-rated and objective measures of aggression previously found in ecstasy users several days after taking the drug. There is some evidence of gender differences in the acute, sub-acute and long-term effects of MDMA use, and given that gender differences have been found in aggression, it is possible that men may experience more aggression mid-week than women. The aim of this study was to attempt to replicate findings showing increased bias towards aggressive material in ecstasy users several days after using the drug.

Antidepressant treatments and human aggression.

Aggressive behaviour is associated with negative mood and poor impulse control. Serotonin has been specifically associated with impulse regulation and deficiencies in serotonin have been linked to impulsive aggression. However, aggression occurs in a social context and noradrenaline has been implicated in social motivation.

Correlation between trait hostility and faster reading times for sentences describing angry reactions to ambiguous situations.

The hypothesis that trait anger is associated with an increased tendency to interpret ambiguous situations as anger-provoking was investigated in a reading time study. A total of 48 healthy volunteers read a series of short narrative passages and were asked to adopt the perspective of the main character, identified at the start of each passage. Reading times for key sentences, which described the main characters' angry or nonangry reactions to ambiguous anger-provoking situations, were recorded.

Sex differences in cortisol response to reboxetine.

This study examined the cortisol response to reboxetine in a sample of healthy men and women. Forty healthy volunteers were randomly allocated to one of two treatment groups: placebo or 4 mg reboxetine under double-blind conditions. Saliva cortisol was measured pre, 1 and 1.

Relationship between baseline cortisol, social functioning and depression: a mediation analysis.

Both elevated cortisol secretion and low social support have been commonly found in depressed patients, but their respective roles in depression remain unclear. In fact, it may not be a lack of social support but a failure to obtain it that is important. The present study used mediation analysis to study the interrelationships among cortisol, social functioning and depression.

The impact of depression on social skills.

Social skills deficits are common among depressed patients, but little attention has been paid to this aspect of depression. In this review, the potential roles of different depressive factors contributing to poor social skills are examined. Specifically, the first part of the analysis is focused on how different depressive factors influence the three components of social behavior: perceptual, cognitive, and performance.

Angry cognitive bias, trait aggression and impulsivity in substance users.

Rationale: According to cognitive theory, people who are aggressive expect angry responses to ambiguous situations. Increased aggression has been reported a few days or weeks following use of MDMA (ecstasy). This may relate to low 5-HT release, and so a 5-HT challenge may increase cognitive bias towards anger differentially in MDMA users and non-users.

Reboxetine promotes social bonding in healthy volunteers.

Reboxetine is a novel antidepressant with a selective action on noradrenaline. In addition to its efficacy in depression, it has been found to improve social adaptation. The objective of this study was to assess the specific social behavioural effects of reboxetine which might be associated with social adaptation.

Consequences of displaying abnormal social behaviour: avoidance and reduction of social reinforcement.

Background: Abnormal social behaviour, which is a common feature of psychiatric disorders, is associated with rejection. A passive lack of participation or involvement has been studied as characteristic of depression but active forms of nonparticipation have received little experimental attention. This study examined the interpersonal consequences of four distinct types of social behaviour by using the role enactment method.

Treatment of generalised anxiety disorder with a short course of psychological therapy, combined with buspirone or placebo.

Background: Very few studies have examined the combination of drug and psychological treatment in generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Theoretically, buspirone should be a useful drug to combine with a learning-based therapy.

Methods: Sixty patients with GAD were randomly assigned to treatment with buspirone or placebo, combined with anxiety management training or non-directive therapy for a period of 8 weeks.

Buspirone decreases physiological reactivity to unconditioned and conditioned aversive stimuli.

Rationale: Serotonergic pathways are thought to be important in mediating the effects of aversive events.

Objective: To investigate the effects of buspirone, a 5-HT(1A) partial agonist, on habituation and extinction in an aversive classical conditioning model.

Methods: Forty healthy male volunteers were randomly assigned to a single dose of buspirone (10 mg) or placebo.

Serotonergic intervention affects both social dominance and affiliative behaviour.

Rationale: Deficiencies in serotonin function have been associated with irritability and aggression but enhancing serotonin has also been shown to promote social status and affiliative behaviour in non-human primates and more recently in humans.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), on social behaviour with a flatmate and a stranger.

Methods: Ten pairs of healthy volunteers took part in a randomized double-blind crossover study of 2 weeks treatment with citalopram (20 mg/day) and placebo with a 2-week washout period.

Difference in serotonergic and noradrenergic regulation of human social behaviours.

Rationale: Treatment with antidepressants has been shown to affect social functioning, but drugs with actions on different neurotransmitters may have a different profile of effects.

Objective: To study the effects of acute manipulation of two neurotransmitters, serotonin and noradrenaline, on social behaviour in healthy volunteers.

Methods: Sixty volunteers were randomly assigned to a single dose of a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, reboxetine (4 mg), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, citalopram (10 mg), or placebo.