Category: Student Database

Author: Woolf, N.J.; Butcher, L.L. Description: In an attempt to determine whether or not acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-containing neurons of the caudate-putamen proper were the source of striatal efferent fibers, we infused Evans Blue, a retrogradely transported fluorescent label, into the globus pallidus, entopeduncular nucleus, substantia nigra, or retrorubral area. Following microscopic analysis of the striatum for Evans Blue-labelled somata, the same brain sections were processed for AChE according to the pharmacohistochemical regimen and, after additional microscopic evaluation, were counterstained with cresyl violet. Histology for Nissl substance revealed that the areal density…

Author: Ehrlinger, J.; Johnson, K.; Banner, M.; Dunning, D.; Kruger, J. Description: People are typically overly optimistic when evaluating the quality of their performance on social and intellectual tasks. In particular, poor performers grossly overestimate their performances because their incompetence deprives them of the skills needed to recognize their deficits. Five studies demonstrated that poor performers lack insight into their shortcomings even in real world settings and when given incentives to be accurate. An additional meta-analysis showed that it was lack of insight into their own errors (and not mistaken…

Author: Schlösser, T.; Dunning, D.; Johnson, K.L.; Kruger, J. Description: Previous work on the Dunning-Kruger effect has shown that poor performers often show little insight into the shortcomings in their performance, presumably because they suffer a double curse. Deficits in their knowledge prevent them from both producing correct responses and recognizing that the responses they produce are inferior to those produced by others. Krajc and Ortmann (2008) offered a different account, suggesting instead that poor performers make performance estimates with no more error than top performers. Floor effects, coupled with…

Author: Bond, W.J.; Slingsby, P. Description: Seed dispersal by ants has long been known in northern temperate regions of theworld. It was first reported in six plant families in the Cape Province, South Africa, by Marloth some 70 years ago, since when it has been largely overlooked. We have surveyed the occurrence of ant dispersal in the Cape flora by a combination of field observations, experiment and literature surveys, concentrating especially on fynbos vegetation. In this paper, we report a summary of our findings and a list of ant-dispersed taxa…

Author: Fadda, F.; Cocco, S.; Stancampiano, R. Description: To assess the activity of septohippocampal cholinergic neurons during the learning of a radial-arm maze task we measured changes in extracellular acetylcholine levels in the hippocampus by means of the vertical microdialysis technique. During the 12 days spent learning the spatial task the extracellular concentration of acetylcholine in the hippocampus was monitored while rats performed the test. One week before radial-arm maze training a guide cannula was implanted unilaterally in the hippocampus. On each day of testing a removable microdialysis probe was…

Author: Grzanka, P.R.; Mann, E.S. Description: This article investigates a mass-mediated campaign against a perceived increase in suicides among gay (or presumed-to-be-gay) youth in the USA since September 2010. “It Gets Better” (IGB) became a rallying cry for “anti-bullying” activists, politicians, celebrities and ordinary people who created YouTube videos addressed to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth who might be considering suicide. A critical discourse analysis of a sample of IGB videos reveals a neoliberal frame that places the burden of a “better” life onto the emotional lives of…

Author: Remafedi, G.; Farrow, J.A.; Deisher, R.W. Description: Studies of human sexuality have noted high rates of suicidality among homosexual youth, but the problem has not been systematically examined. This work was undertaken to identify risk factors for suicide attempts among bisexual and homosexual male youth. Subjects were 137 gay and bisexual males, 14 through 21 years of age, from the upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest. Forty-one subjects (41/137) reported a suicide attempt; and almost half of them described multiple attempts. Twenty-one percent of all attempts resulted in medical or…

Author: Cheon, B.K.; Chiao, J.Y. Description: Culture shapes how individuals perceive and respond to others with mental illness. Prior studies have suggested that Asians and Asian Americans typically endorse greater stigma of mental illness compared to Westerners (White Europeans and Americans). However, whether these differences in stigma arise from cultural variations in automatic affective reactions or deliberative concerns of the appropriateness of one’s reactions to mental illness remains unknown. Here we compared implicit and explicit attitudes toward mental illness among Asian and Caucasian Americans. Asian Americans showed stronger negative implicit…

Author: Benarroch, E.E. Description: The striatum is a nodal structure of the basal ganglia circuits and is one of the brain areas with the highest concentration of markers of cholinergic transmission. Giant aspiny cholinergic interneurons constitute only 1%–3% of the neurons of the striatum but exert a powerful influence on its output, which is mediated by the medium spiny neurons (MSNs). Acetylcholine (ACh), acting via different receptor subtypes, affects the activity of the MSNs both directly and via modulation of glutamate release from corticostriate terminals and of dopamine release from…

Author: Nisell, M.; Nomikos, G.G.; Svensson, T.H. Description: Stimulation of the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system is considered of major importance for the rewarding and dependence producing properties of nicotine (NIC). To identify the site of this stimulatory action, simultaneous microdialysis was performed in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the ipsilateral nucleus accumbens (NAC) of awake rats. Extracellular concentrations of DA and its metabolites were measured in the NAC. NIC (0.5 mg/kg, s.c.) increased DA and its metabolites by approximately 50%. Concomitant infusion of the nicotinic receptor antagonist mecamylamine (MEC,…