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. RESULTS: Cortisol levels dropped significantly during the early quitting process (2 weeks post-quit) and returned to a level below baseline 1 month post-quit. The magnitude of the initial drop in cortisol was strongly related to post-quit distress and marginally predictive of abstinence. Neither baseline nor post-quit changes in percent cortisol suppression after dexamethasone were related to abstinence success or withdrawal distress. CONCLUSIONS: Withdrawal from cigarette smoking is marked by a reduction in cortisol levels that appears to be related to the degree of distress experienced during the early quitting period. Further work is needed to determine whether withdrawal-related cortisol changes or distress are predictive of abstinence success.

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. The apparatus consisted of a box attached to the monkey's home cage that contained a radio and a food dispenser, which could be controlled by the monkeys via contact detectors. Radio and food dispenser use were automatically recorded. Whole blood serotonin (WBS), plasma cortisol and abnormal behaviour were measured in 5 monkeys before, during and after a 20-week period in which the monkey's cages were equipped with the device. All monkeys used the device (3 of the 5 subjects earned an average of more than 200 food pellets per day). Mean plasma cortisol and whole blood serotonin did not differ across sampling times, suggesting that the apparatus had no effect on basal stress levels. There was an inverse relationship between apparatus use and cortisol levels in 76% of the samples, but only 3 of 17 coefficients were significant. There was a significant but small negative correlation between apparatus use and self-abusive behaviour. This enrichment device was readily used by adult rhesus monkeys and could be adapted for use in a wide variety of laboratory settings.

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. Of the other movement disorders, a positive relationship was noted only between akathisia and long-term APD exposure; the increased prevalence of akathisia persisted beyond four years after APD withdrawal.

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 = 13.7% to 63.6% across institutions), with antipsychotic drug use at 26.8% (range = 11.0% to 59.6%). Psychotropic drug use was positively associated with aggression, IQ, depression, and self-injurious behavior, ps less than .0001; it was inversely associated with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. When the influence of demographic and behavioral factors was controlled, significant institutional differences in drug use remained.

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. Although the five movement-disorder categories were not mutually exclusive, analysis supported the individuality of the categories as defined in this study. The prevalences of dyskinesia and Parkinsonism were considerably greater than those in the general population. On the other hand, the prevalence of dyskinesia was similar to that reported for psychiatric and institutionalized geriatric populations. Parkinsonism increased with age and male gender, while dyskinesia increased with age and female gender. APD-exposure was significantly correlated only with akathisia.

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. Weekly blood samples were assayed for histamine and cortisol levels. Following the conditioning trials, animals were subjected to extinction trials during which the CS+ odor was presented but not paired with the BSA. The animals handled prior to the conditioning procedures learned the association between the odor and the BSA as indicated by increased histamine levels when exposed to the conditioned odor alone. The non-handled group did not learn. Additionally, the cortisol levels were significantly higher for the handled group vs. the non-handled group when the CS+ was presented during extinction. The role of stress in both learning and immunomodulation is discussed.

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 1.6 mg/day of vitamin B6. The saturation of red cell aspartic transaminase was determined as a functional measurement of cellular B6 status. The mean saturation level did not differ significantly from a control group. There was a significant nonlinear correlation of intake and saturation level; 20% of the subjects fell below the level regarded as adequate. Although many of the subjects were receiving a variety of drugs, correlation of these data indicates that total intake of the vitamin accounted for most of the variability of the data. Protein and calorie intake were also examined.

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. This suggests that the immune response can be enhanced through activity of the central nervous system.

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. However, dopamine was significantly lateralized contralateral to the females turning preference if a strong turning bias was present. No relationship between dopamine asymmetry and turning preference was evident for males. Females were found to have norepinephrine significantly lateralized to the left caudate-putamen; in males greater striatal norepinephrine levels were equally distributed between left and right sides. This sexual dimorphism in norepinephrine lateralization was not related to turning preference.

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. At 4 mg/l, acetaldehyde completely inhibited aggressive responses, without affecting locomotor activity. It is likely, however, that acetaldehyde does not explain the entire inhibitory effect of rum on the aggressive responses of the cichlid.

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. Biopsies of an inferior turbinate were obtained preoperatively and two weeks after surgery. The specimens were examined for the level of acetylcholinesterase by histochemical assay and were also studied by examining sections histologically. In the majority of cases, the level of acetylcholinesterase fell with the appearance of congestion and rose when the turbinates returned to normal. These results suggest a connection between turbinate congestion and levels of tissue acetylcholinesterase in the presence of inflammation or allergy.

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 0.30 percent in the aquaria water). A third group served as a control. Three responses were recorded to allow analysis of topographic changes in behavior as well as changes in absolute levels. During the habituation phase, the normal group showed a sequence of long displays, followed by shorter ones as the frequency of attacks increased. The occurrence of threat which gradually gives way to attack is characteristic of the agonistic behavior of this species. In contrast to the controls, the 0.15 percent group was hyperaggressive, while the 0.30 percent group was hypoaggressive. Furthermore, the patterning of responses were abnormal. The 0.15 percent group gave abbreviated threats and more attacks (interpreted as a tendency to attack without warning); whereas, the 0.30 percent group gave many long threat displays, but few attacks. A stimulus specificity test provided strong evidence that the waning found during the initial phase was habituation.