Cortisol and response to dexamethasone as predictors of withdrawal distress and abstinence success in smokers.

Background: Glucocorticoids have been linked to self-administration of a wide range of drugs in animals and are increased endogenously by chronic nicotine intake. Corticosteroids have also been shown to regulate nicotine receptor sensitivity and to be involved in behavioral sensitization to nicotine.

Methods: Cortisol levels and cortisol suppression in response to dexamethasone were measured in a sample of smokers participating in a smoking cessation treatment trial.

Clinical effects of naltrexone on autistic behavior.

Eight young adults who were diagnosed with autism were given the opiate antagonist naltrexone to control self-injurious behavior and maladaptive idiosyncratic mannerisms. The drug and placebo were administered in a double-blind crossover design over 17 weeks. Although one subject appeared to have partial decreases in maladaptive behaviors associated with naltrexone use, the drugs, as administered in this study, did not reduce the self-injurious and other maladaptive behaviors of the subjects.

Responses of female rhesus macaques to an environmental enrichment apparatus.

Environmental enrichment devices are a potential way to enhance psychological well-being in laboratory animals. The effects of such devices need to be systematically evaluated before they are recommended for widespread use. The purpose of this research was to monitor the behavioural and physiological responses of adult female rhesus macaques to a simple enrichment device.

Lifetime antipsychotic-drug exposure, dyskinesia and related movement disorders in the developmentally disabled.

The relationship between dyskinesia and related movement disorders was examined as a function of cumulative exposure to antipsychotic drugs (APD). Lifetime drug-exposure histories were obtained for 162 developmentally disabled (DD) persons; drug-exposed groups were compared to nondrug-exposed groups. There were no statistically significant relationships between dyskinesia and the amount of lifetime APD exposure, nor between dyskinesia and the number of long-term APDs, mean exposure, peak exposure, recency of exposure, duration of exposure, changes in medication levels, number of drug interruptions, age, gender, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or IQ.

Prevalence and prediction of psychotropic drug use in California developmental centers.

The extent of psychotropic drug use was evaluated in California's institutionalized developmentally disabled population (N = 6,450). Mean psychotropic drug use was 35.4% for the entire population (range = 13.

Prevalence of dyskinesia and related movement disorders in a developmentally disabled population.

The prevalences and inter-relationships of five types of movement disorders were evaluated in a large, developmentally disabled (DD) population (n = 1227); prevalence was evaluated with regard to severity, age, gender and antipsychotic-drug (APD) exposure. Dyskinesia was found in 48% of the sample, dystonia in 29%, akathisia in 13%, Parkinsonism in 3% and paroxysms in 4%. Many persons had more than one symptom so that 72% had one or more of the five target symptoms.

Prior stress and behaviorally conditioned histamine release.

Male guinea pigs were either handled ('stressed') or not disturbed ('non-stressed') for four weeks prior to conditioning with a classical discrimination conditioning design. Animals were sensitized to bovine serum albumin (BSA) and four weeks later presented with either an odor (the CS+) paired with BSA or a second odor (the CS-) paired with saline. These pairs were presented in a random order for ten trials.

Vitamin B6 status measures of an institutionalized mentally retarded population.

Intake and functional measurements of vitamin B6 were assessed for 40 institutionalized mentally retarded persons. Dietary intake was determined by observations during a 3-day period. Diets contained a mean of 1.

Thyroid and vitamin-mineral supplement fail to improve IQ of mentally retarded adults.

Institutionalized profoundly mentally retarded adults (N = 37) were studied to determine whether thyroid medication is an essential component of a recently introduced nutritional supplementation treatment. Biochemical assessments confirmed that compliance with the treatments was adequate; however, no significant IQ improvements were observed.

Learned histamine release.

Most of the effort directed at understanding the problems of allergy has focused on the interacting components of the immune system. The possibility that histamine may be released as a learned response has now been tested. In a classical conditioning procedure in which an immunologic challenge was paired with the presentation of an odor, guinea pigs showed a plasma histamine increase when presented with the odor alone.

Vitamin-mineral supplement fails to improve IQ of mentally retarded young adults.

Twenty mentally retarded persons participated in a study to determine the effect of large doses of vitamin-mineral supplements on IQ, educability, electrophysiological responsiveness, and pyridoxine metabolism. Using a double-blind matched group experimental design, we administered supplements and placebos for 6 months. Pre- and postmeasurements showed no significant effects on any of the measured variables.

Sex differences and asymmetries of catecholamines: relation to turning preferences.

Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were tested for turning preferences in a multiple alley maze. The left and right caudate-putamen were dissected and assayed for norepinephrine and dopamine. Dopamine was not found to be lateralized contralateral to turning preference for females as a group.

Effects of alcohol, congeners, and acetaldehyde on aggressive behavior of the convict cichlid.

Ethanol and three beverage alcohols were examined for their effects on the aggressive responses of the convict cichlid. At an ethanol concentration that gave negligible effects on the basal level of these responses, rum was observed to depress aggression. As its concentration of acetaldehyde was significantly higher than that of the other beverage alcohols, we assessed the effects of acetaldehyde on the aggressive responses, as well as the locomotor activity of the fish.

Acetylcholinesterase levels in nasal turbinate congestion.

In a previous communication, one of the authors discussed prolonged congestion of the turbinates following nasal surgery. The clinical factors responsible were allergy or the traumatic effects of nasal packing on the turbinates. A study of turbinate function was done to find the factor responsible for this congestion.

Alcohol, habituation and the patterning of aggressive responses in a cichlid fish.

Territorial cichlids were presented for 30 min with a conspecific male intruder (contained in a clear glass tube). Eight hr prior, 2 groups were administered alcohol (0.15 or 0.