Exploring the Role of Executive Functioning Capacity in Patient Activation and Health Outcomes Among Medicaid Members With Multiple Comorbidities.

Patient activation, the perceived capacity to manage one's health, is positively associated with better health outcomes and lower costs. Underlying characteristics influencing patient activation are not completely understood leading to gaps in intervention strategies designed to improve patient activation. We suggest that variability in executive functioning influences patient activation and ultimately has an impact on health outcomes.

Development of a novel observer reported outcome tool as the primary efficacy outcome measure for a rare disease randomized controlled trial.

We developed an Observer-Reported Outcome (ObsRO) survey instrument to be applied in a multicenter, placebo-controlled, crossover randomized controlled trial of dichloroacetate in children with pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency. The instrument quantifies a subject's at-home level of functionality, as reported by a parent/caregiver, who were instrumental in providing the clinical descriptors and domains that formed the instrument's content. Feasibility testing of the ObsRO tool showed it to be easy to use and comprehensive in capturing the major clinical functional limitations of affected children and requires less than 5min for a parent/caregiver to complete daily.

The Opportunity for Post-Copulatory Sexual Selection in the Ectoparasitic Pea Crab, Dissodactylus primitivus (Brachyura: Pinnotheridae).

Pea crabs, Dissodactylus primitivus, inhabit multiple echinoid (heart urchin) hosts. Male and female crabs move among hosts in search for mates, and both sexes mate multiple times, creating opportunities for post-copulatory sexual selection. For such selection to occur, only a fraction of the males who succeed in mating can also succeed in siring progeny.

Sex differences in alcohol-related neurobehavioral consequences.

In this chapter, we review existing research regarding sex differences in alcohol's effects on neurobehavioral functions/processes. Drawn largely from laboratory studies, literature regarding acute alcohol administration and chronic alcohol misuse is explored focusing on commonly employed neuropsychologic domains (e.g.

Acute effects of moderate alcohol on psychomotor, set shifting, and working memory function in older and younger social drinkers.

Unlabelled: ABSTRACT.

Objective: Despite substantial attention being paid to the health benefits of moderate alcohol intake as a lifestyle, the acute effects of alcohol on psychomotor and working memory function in older adults are poorly understood.

Method: The effects of low to moderate doses of alcohol on neurobehavioral function were investigated in 39 older (55-70 years; 15 men) and 51 younger (25-35 years; 31 men) social drinkers.

Neurophysiological correlates of moderate alcohol consumption in older and younger social drinkers.

Background: Nearly 40% of adults aged 65 and older in the United States consume alcohol. Research in older adults has largely examined potential health effects of a moderate drinking lifestyle. Examination of acute effects in this population is generally lacking.

Differential effects of moderate alcohol consumption on performance among older and younger adults.

Background: Studies exploring differential effects of acute alcohol consumption on younger and older adults are lacking within the field of alcohol research, especially those using moderate doses. Previous studies addressing this question have tended to use complex behavioral tasks too broad to isolate specific neurocognitive processes affected by both alcohol and aging. Compromises in cognitive efficiency (i.

Contrasting behavioral effects of acute nicotine and chronic smoking in detoxified alcoholics.

Background: Current literature suggests that acute nicotine administration provides a compensatory mechanism by which alcoholics might alleviate attentional deficits. In contrast, chronic smoking is increasingly recognized as negatively affecting neurobehavioral integrity. These opposing effects have not been simultaneously examined.

Nicotine effects on immediate and delayed verbal memory after substance use detoxification.

Decrements in verbal memory are commonly reported by detoxified treatment-seeking individuals. Although acute nicotine has been shown to improve attentional performance, its effects on verbal memory in substance abusers have not been addressed. Treatment-seeking alcohol-dependent (ALCs, n = 29; 14 male), illicit-stimulant-dependent (predominantly cocaine; STIMs, n = 25; 15 male), and alcohol- and illicit-stimulant-dependent (ALC/STIMs, n = 50; 35 male) participants with comorbid nicotine dependence were studied.

Measurement of ethanol in gaseous breath using a miniature gas chromatograph.

We designed and built a novel, miniature gas chromatograph (mGC) to use exhaled breath to estimate blood ethanol concentrations that may offer GC quality sensitivity and specificity, but with portability, reduced size, and decreased cost. We hypothesized that the mGC would accurately estimate the serum ethanol concentration using exhaled breath. Human subjects (n = 8) were dosed with ethanol employing the Widmark criteria, targeting a blood concentration of 0.

Acute alcohol administration and placebo effectiveness in older moderate drinkers: influences on cognitive performance.

Objective: Placebo effectiveness and subsequent influence on cognitive performance were investigated in older moderate drinkers (ages 50-69; N = 30; 15 men) following acute alcohol administration.

Method: Double-blind, placebo-controlled alcohol administration techniques were designed to produce peak breath alcohol concentration levels consistent with an episode of social drinking (approximately 40 mg/100 ml). Cognitive performance, measured via a covert attentional processing task, was assessed.

Effects of acute alcohol consumption in older and younger adults: perceived impairment versus psychomotor performance.

Objective: Perceived impairment and psychomotor performance following acute alcohol administration in older (ages 50-74, n=42; 22 male) and younger (ages 25-35, n=26; 12 male) adults were investigated in this study.

Method: Double-blind, placebo-controlled alcohol administration techniques were designed to produce peak levels of breath alcohol concentration consistent with an episode of social drinking (40 mg/100 ml). Behavioral measures (Trail Making Test, Forms A and B), as well as measures of self-reported perceived intoxication and impairment, were administered on the ascending and descending limbs at common time points after beverage ingestion.

The role of selected factors in the development and consequences of alcohol dependence.

Gender, family history, comorbid psychiatric and substance use disorders, and age all influence a person's risk for alcoholism. In addition, these factors interact with alcoholism to influence neurocognitive functioning following detoxification. This article examines these factors and considers how they interact with each other.

Transdermal nicotine administration and the electroencephalographic activity of substance abusers in treatment.

Objectives: It is widely recognized that individuals with alcohol or illicit substance abuse disorders often smoke cigarettes. However, few studies have examined the direct effects of nicotine among substance abuse subgroups. The current study examined patterns of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in alcohol-dependent (AD), stimulant-dependent (StimD), alcohol- and stimulant-dependent (ASD) participants, as well as community controls (CC).

Dose-dependent cocaine place conditioning and D1 dopamine antagonist effects in male Japanese quail.

The dopamine D1 receptor subtype has been implicated in drug reward processes in mammals. Two experiments investigated whether dose-dependent differences in cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP) would be obtained in an avian species and whether these cocaine effects were mediated by the dopamine D1 antagonist R(+/-)-SCH23390. In Experiment 1, male birds were given intraperitoneal injections of 1, 3, 10, or 30 mg/kg of cocaine hydrochloride, paired with a chamber that contained distinct visual cues.