Momentum Entanglement for Atom Interferometry.

Compared to light interferometers, the flux in cold-atom interferometers is low and the associated shot noise is large. Sensitivities beyond these limitations require the preparation of entangled atoms in different momentum modes. Here, we demonstrate a source of entangled atoms that is compatible with state-of-the-art interferometers. Entanglement is transferred from the spin degree of freedom of a Bose-Einstein condensate to well-separated momentum modes, witnessed by a squeezing parameter of -3.1(8) dB. Entanglement-enhanced atom interferometers promise unprecedented sensitivities for quantum gradiometers or gravitational wave detectors.

Atom-Chip Fountain Gravimeter.

We demonstrate a quantum gravimeter by combining the advantages of an atom chip for the generation, delta-kick collimation, and coherent manipulation of freely falling Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) with an innovative launch mechanism based on Bloch oscillations and double Bragg diffraction. Our high-contrast BEC interferometer realizes tens of milliseconds of free fall in a volume as little as a one centimeter cube and paves the way for measurements with sub-µGal accuracies in miniaturized, robust devices.

Double Bragg Interferometry.

We employ light-induced double Bragg diffraction of delta-kick collimated Bose-Einstein condensates to create three symmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometers. They rely on (i) first-order, (ii) two successive first-order, and (iii) second-order processes which demonstrate the scalability of the corresponding momentum transfer. With respect to devices based on conventional Bragg scattering, these symmetric interferometers double the scale factor and feature a better suppression of noise and systematic uncertainties intrinsic to the diffraction process. Moreover, we utilize these interferometers as tiltmeters for monitoring their inclination with respect to gravity.

Composite-light-pulse technique for high-precision atom interferometry.

We realize beam splitters and mirrors for atom waves by employing a sequence of light pulses rather than individual ones. In this way we can tailor atom interferometers with improved sensitivity and accuracy. We demonstrate our method of composite pulses by creating a symmetric matter-wave interferometer which combines the advantages of conventional Bragg- and Raman-type concepts. This feature leads to an interferometer with a high immunity to technical noise allowing us to devise a large-area Sagnac gyroscope yielding a phase shift of 6.5 rad due to the Earth's rotation. With this device we achieve a rotation rate precision of 120 nrad s(-1) Hz(-1/2) and determine the Earth's rotation rate with a relative uncertainty of 1.2%.

Non-psychiatric health problems among psychiatric inpatients with intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Physical distress resulting from medical problems has been found to cause increased behaviour problems in patients with intellectual disabilities (ID). Despite this fact, little has been documented on the medical problems of individuals with ID admitted for inpatient psychiatric care. We conducted an exploratory investigation based on a retrospective chart review of the medical problems and medications for 198 people with ID who had been admitted to a specialised inpatient psychiatric unit. Most patients were referred for admission because of aggressive, disruptive and self-injurious behaviours. The average length of stay was 17.6 days. METHODS: We tallied the total number of medical problems and medications listed in the patients' discharge summaries. Because longer stays are disruptive, costly and associated with greater overall impairment, we examined the relationship between length of stay and frequency of discharge medical diagnoses. We also assessed whether or not the number of psychoactive medications correlated with the number of medical diagnoses. The effects of other demographic and diagnostic variables on rates of medical diagnoses and medications were also evaluated, including gender, age group (16-25, 26-45, 46-60, >60), level of ID (mild, moderate or severe ID) and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder or Down syndrome (DS). RESULTS: Inpatients with a higher number of medical diagnoses had longer lengths of stay (Spearman r = +0.32, P < 0.0001). There was a significant correlation between number of psychoactive medications and number of medical problems (Spearman r = +0.32, P < 0.0001). The most frequent medical comorbidity was constipation, reported in 60% of the inpatients (n = 118), while gastro-esophageal reflux disease was identified in 38% (n = 75). Older inpatients had an increased number of medical problems, as might be expected, but a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder, gender and level of ID had no detectible effect on rates of either medical diagnoses or medications. There were only 13 inpatients with DS; in this modest sample, it was found that they had higher rates of osteoarthritis, cardiac problems, hearing loss, hypothyroidism and sleep apnoea than peers without DS, as is consistent with previous findings on overrepresented conditions in this trisomy. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, individuals with ID admitted for inpatient psychiatric care exhibited high rates of medical problems, and these were associated with duration of inpatient stay. Based on these findings, further investigation of the effects of medical problems on behaviour among individuals with ID admitted for inpatient psychiatric care is warranted.

Rapid alteration in circulating free thyroxine modulates pituitary type II 5' deiodinase and basal thyrotropin secretion in the rat.

TSH secretion is decreased by both T4 and T3. This negative feedback control of TSH secretion has been correlated with an increase in pituitary nuclear T3 content, and it is not clear whether T4 exerts its effect directly on the thyrotroph or after its deiodination to T3. However, levels of the pituitary enzyme catalyzing T4 to T3 conversion, 5'D-II, are decreased in the presence of an increased amount of T4. Thus, it is unclear why the thyrotroph would have a mechanism for modulating the production of T3, if T3 is, in fact, the sole bioactive signal providing negative feedback inhibition. To examine this apparent paradox, we administered EMD 21388, a compound which inhibits the binding of T4 to transthyretin resulting in a rapid increase in circulating free T4 levels, to rats pretreated with radiolabeled T4 and T3. We observed increases in pituitary and liver T4 content of greater than 150%, without increases in the respective tissue T3 contents. The EMD 21388-treated rats also exhibited a 25% decrease in pituitary 5'D-II activity (103.8 +/- 15.8 fmol 125I released.mg protein-1.h-1, vs. control, 137.4 +/- 15.9, mean +/- SE), as did rats treated with sodium salicylate, another compound that inhibits T4-TTR binding (100.8 +/- 7.1). TSH levels significantly decreased 2 h after the administration of EMD 21388. These data demonstrate that despite a T4-mediated decrease in pituitary 5'D-II activity, an increase in T4 independently decreases TSH secretion.

Effects of prolactin and growth hormone on tissue and serum carnitine in the rat.

Previous experimental observations have suggested to us that PRL and GH may be involved in regulating the metabolism of carnitine, a factor that plays a critically important role in fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis. In the present study we administered bovine PRL (bPRL) or bovine GH (bGH) at a physiologic rate to hypophysectomized female rats for 2-3 days, and observed that bPRL caused a small (16%) increase (P less than 0.01), and bGH a 36% increase (P less than 0.01), in hepatic carnitine, bPRL decreased serum carnitine by 24% (P less than 0.05), and bPRL and bGH each increased the liver/serum carnitine ratio by 58% (P less than 0.01), suggesting that these hormones enhance the active uptake of carnitine from plasma. bPRL and bGH, alone or in combination, did not affect the carnitine content of cardiac or skeletal muscle, but in combination they increased the heart/serum and muscle/serum carnitine ratios by 45-76% (P less than 0.01), thus allowing maintenance of normal cardiac and skeletal muscle carnitine despite a decreased plasma level. In hypophysectomized male rats, bPRL did not affect liver or epididymal carnitine. We hypothesize that PRL and GH may play a role in the regulation of the carnitine concentration of female liver by enhancing hepatic uptake of carnitine from plasma, and through this mechanism may affect hepatic fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis. The effect of lactogenic and somatogenic hormones on hepatic carnitine and ketogenesis could be of particular physiological importance in late pregnancy and during lactation.

Androstenedione and estrone dynamics in hypothyroid women.

To examine the effects of hypothyroidism on androstenedione (A) and estrone (E1) metabolism, we infused eight women with [3H]androstenedione and [14C]estrone when they were hypothyroid and again when they were euthyroid after levo-T4 administration. MCRs and conversion ratios were measured using concentrations of radioactivity in the blood pools of A and E1. Peripheral aromatization was measured from the concentrations of radioactivity in the E1 glucuronide pool in the urine. After the women were euthyroid, the MCR of A had increased in seven of eight, the MCR of E1 increased in all eight, and peripheral aromatization had decreased in seven of eight. These findings indicate that hypothyroidism results in a decrease in the MCRs of A and E1 and, in most subjects, an increase in peripheral aromatization of A to E1.

Genetic predisposition and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder in an animal model.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to extremely stressful events can lead to Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Due to the complexity of PTSD, animal models have been designed and advanced to address the role of psychosocial stressors in the etiology; however, the apparent role of genetics in susceptibility to PTSD-like behaviors in animals remains unexplored. METHODS: An animal model of congenital learned helpless (cLH) behavior has been used to study the effects of genetic disposition as a risk factor for the development of PTSD-like behaviors. Animals were monitored for changes in pain tolerance, spatial memory and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal functioning after re-exposure to intermittent stress in the presence and absence of situational cues. RESULTS: Exposure to stress resulted in an increase in pain tolerance in the cLH animals. In the spatial memory test 80% of the cLH animals manifested a decrease in performance after exposure to stress. These animals also had a blunted poststress corticosterone response. CONCLUSIONS: The genetic learned helpless animal model exhibited physiologic symptoms of analgesia, cognitive deficits and hyporesponsivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis similar to those observed in human subjects with PTSD. It is proposed that the cLH model may be a valuable tool for exploring the role of genetic predisposition in the etiology of PTSD.

Unconscious fantasies, structural theory, and compromise formation.

Although the existence of unconscious fantasies is an empirical assumption, in the clinical situation unconscious fantasies are treated as if they have a concrete existence. Unconscious fantasies form intermediate links in causal chains of which clinical observations constitute one end, and the components of unconscious conflicts, the other. Like all clinical material, fantasies may be affected by actual experiences; they may also be revised, layered, and can function to alter and disguise other fantasies as well as provide gratification. From a technical standpoint, it is most important to analyze their constituents and to adduce their primary purposes in the clinical situation of the moment. The nature of the evidence that identifies the presence of particular unconscious fantasies is discussed. Although a single analytic session is presented by way of illustration, I am convinced that the analyst's entire understanding of the patient inevitably channels his or her interpretive focus on the associational material of each analytic hour.

An inquiry into the fate of the transference in psychoanalysis.

Despite universal agreement about the importance of transference, there is no single, comprehensive, generally accepted explanation for the place transference occupies in clinical psychoanalytic theory. In this presentation, I trace the origins of some major trends prominent in theoretical controversy to their antecedents. Some seminal contributions which introduced important issues into the evolving theory of transference are highlighted; this is followed by a brief outline of the ideas of a representative sample of current theorists. This comparison of the appearance of fundamental evolutionary modifications of transference theory with present-day differences in theoretical emphasis leads to the identification of four persistent themes: (1) the nature of the influence of the patient's relationship with the analyst in the analytic experience, (2) how to account for the analyst's subjectivity and its role in the analytic process, (3) what weight to assign to the interpersonal dimension of the transference, and (4) differences among theoretical perspectives as reflected in the precise content of transference interpretations. Difficulties in the path of comparative evaluation of differences in theoretical accounts of the transference and its handling are noted. A few reasons for my adherence to the theory I prefer are mentioned solely for the purpose of underlining areas of controversy that require serious attention and further clarification.

Unconscious fantasy and theories of cure.

It has long been known that patients' wishes for cure by analysis give expression to unconscious wishes for instinctual gratification which originate in childhood mental life. Patients sometimes develop theories about how they believe analysis attains its ends; these are likely to affect the way they behave in the analytic situation, and analysis of them may therefore constitute an important contribution to progress in the analysis. Two illustrative cases are presented; in both, the unconscious determinants of the patients' theories turn out to be infantile sexual fantasies connected with their uncon scious wishes for instinctual satisfaction. It is further suggested that analogous unconscious fantasies also influence the theories of analysts and other therapists about how analysis works. In some instances these factors, while not affecting theory formation explicitly, may, without being recognized as doing so, contribute to decisions regarding the modification of analytic technique. Awareness of that possibility may aid analysts in assessing the indications for such proposed modifications.

Identification in the neuroses.

Identification is a term with a complex history in the evolution of psychoanalytic thought. It is used in explanations of symptom formation and the development of psychic structure. The authors report the results of a study of identifications as they appear in clinical material from the analyses of neurotic patients. Those identifications which come to the attention of analyst and analysand in the course of analysis are seen to be expressions of underlying fantasies of becoming, or becoming like another person. What is most significant and useful to determine is the unconscious motive or motives for these identificatory fantasies. As these fantasies are compromise formations, the analytic method can detect motives from all their component elements, that is to say various instinctual gratifications, defenses against anxiety, depressive affect or both, and superego contributions, whose motives may be said to be punishment, expiation or undoing. Clinical material is presented which demonstrates typical forms of identification, and the interweaving of these motives is shown. Certain long-standing ideas about distinguishing identifications of different types from one another are questioned, and the common underlying structure of all identifications is stressed instead.

Countertransference and psychoanalytic technique.

This paper examines the evolution of the concept of counter-transference, with particular emphasis on its relationship to psychoanalytic technique. Freud's original idea that countertransference means unconscious interference with an analyst's ability to understand patients has been broadened during the past forty years: current usage often includes all of the emotional reactions of the analyst at work. Some factors that have contributed to this shift are the introduction of the structural hypothesis, the impact of Kleinian and interpersonal schools on the theory of technique, the effect of analysts' experience in working with more severely ill patients, and the diffuse consequences of certain recent cultural and intellectual trends. The benefits as well as some potential disadvantages in this shift toward a more inclusive conceptualization are discussed.

Psychic conflict and the concept of defense.

Anna Freud's classic work, The Ego and the mechanisms of Defence, is reassessed from the perspective of our current understanding of its place in the history of psychoanalytic theory. The subsequent development of the concept of defense is then traced, with emphasis on its relationship to psychic conflict. The role of both defense and conflict in normal and pathological behavior is stressed.

Some observations on reality testing as a clinical concept.

This paper asserts that reality testing is a complex ego activity which cannot be characterized globally as either intact or defective. In normals, neurotics, and "borderlines" it is actually a highly variable function. Some problems of nomenclature are addressed. Among many analysts there is an implicit tendency to concretize the means by which reality testing is performed. This may lead to certain conceptual problems and clinical inaccuracies. The relationship of reality testing to unconscious conflicts from all phases of development is emphasized and illustrated. Issues in the technical handling in analysis of manifestations of disturbed reality testing are discussed.

The psychoanalytic process: motives and obstacles in the search for clarification.

One motive for regarding psychoanalysis as a "process," and for attempting to define its exact nature, is to enable analysts to clarify their criteria for distinguishing authentic psychoanalysis from other therapies that resemble it or are derived from it. In the present climate of theoretical pluralism, any list of defining qualities that could win wide acceptance would of necessity be cast in terms of such general quality as to limit its utility as a precise template. Another motive for holding on to the "process" concept arises from the unpredictable nature of analytic progress in even the most satisfactory cases.

Countertransference, empathy, and the analytic ideal: the impact of life stresses on analytic capability.

Analysts' emotional attitudes toward countertransference issues are influenced by unduly perfectionistic ideals that are partly derived from the early period of psychoanalytic theory. Analysts' unconscious receptivity, whether of the beneficially empathic kind or the disadvantageous countertransference variety, is a reflection of a dynamic internal state. This fundamental relationship between empathy and countertransference is illustrated with examples. Important events that occur in the life of the analyst, by virtue of their impact on his own central compromise formations, cannot but affect his analytic functioning. Minor disturbances in analytic capability are commonplace and do not significantly handicap effective work.