Biobehavioral Reviews最新文献

Physiological, behavioral, and biochemical evidence demonstrating the excitatory and depressant effects of ethanol in man and experimental animals is reviewed. An excitatory action is noted on exposure of an organism to low doses of ethanol. Thus stimulatory effects of ethanol on motor activity, various behaviors, EEG activation, and gastric acid secretion are well documented. A stimulatory effect of ethanol is also noted as a delayed response (after 7–18 hr) with large doses of ethanol. Examples here include seizure susceptibility, some neurotransmitter mechanisms (norepinephrine, acetylcholine), and sensitivity to pain. It is likely that differences in dosage and of the time of observation after ethanol treatment have contributed to some extent to the variability of results reported in the literature. Some implications and possible mechanisms for the biphasic actions of ethanol are discussed.

Based on pharmacological studies it has been suggested that the monoamines, and in particular serotonin and dopamine may inhibit female sexual behavior. Manipulations of other catecholamines and alterations in cholinergic systems may either facilitate or inhibit female sexual responses. A number of discrepancies exist in the literature and the present review hypothesizes that differential degrees of estrogen priming may explain some of the observed inter- and intraspecific differences. Additional possible mechanisms which may be related to drug induced facilitations of female sexual behavior are reviewed. It has been clearly demonstrated that adrenal secretions are not essential for drug induced increases in female sexual receptivity. It is possible that changes in hypothalamic luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone may underlie drug related changes in sexual receptivity. In addition data relevant to the possibility that drugs which facilitate lordosis may share a common mechanism of action with progesterone are examined. At present there is little direct support for either of the latter hypotheses. Drugs may also exert behavioral effects by changes in sensory or autonomic systems but pharmacological effects on these systems have not been adequately explored.

The current physiological theories of thirst are briefly reviewed, and a number of experiments in which drinking behavior does not conform to such models are described. These include parenteral self-administration and taste adulteration experiments. Regulatory drinking may be identified in these preparations, but is substantially different from that defined by simple physiological models. Similarly aberrant regulatory drinking is seen after a variety of hypothalamic lesions, and the interpretation of such experiments is discussed. Finally, the relevance of some laboratory paradigms to the normal (ethologically determined) controls of drinking is questioned, and it is suggested such factors should be incorporated into future models.

A method was developed for the unobtrusive measurement of the frequency, duration, and intensity of nonfunctional jaw contractions in humans. Employing this method, several experiments explored the environmental causes of jaw clenching. Jaw contractions were differentially increased by the delivery of noise, the cessation of cigarette smoking, or the termination or reduction of both response-dependent and response-independent money and points convertible into money. In another experiment progressive increases and decreases in amounts of response-independent money decreased and increased jaw clenching. The recent history of reinforcement magnitude was more influential than the absolute level of contemporary reinforcement. The temporal distribution of jaw clenching relative to either reinforcement-maintained or reinforcement-independent concurrent responding closely paralleled relationships which have been previously reported between overt attack behavior in animal species and comparable experimental operations. Occasional instances of overt aggressive behavior corresponded to increased frequencies of jaw clenching. In humans, jaw contractions appear to be a sensitive and valid measure of the propensity to attack.

Groups of rats covering a range of ages were deprived of food, water, or both food and water. The percentage weight loss in all groups was found to be well approximated by a simple power function of deprivation time, with the exponent being relatively independent of the age of the animals or the kind of deprivation. However, younger animals lost weight at a faster rate than older ones and were more affected by food deprivation than by water deprivation. Several aspects of the data suggest that young animals are subject to an obligatory growth factor that produces a disproportionately greater debilitation when they are food deprived.