Evidence Of Self Research Articles

Can you judge a book by its cover? Evidence of self–stranger agreement on personality at zero acquaintance

Abstract Two studies were conducted to examine the accuracy of personality assessment at zero acquaintance. In Study 1, participants were asked to rate head and shoulder colour photographs of strangers in terms of the extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism dimensions. The stranger ratings were correlated with the targets’ self-report ratings on these dimensions using the EPQ-R. Significant self–stranger agreement was found for psychoticism but not for extraversion or neuroticism. Study 2 used the same general design, but the amount of visual information in head and shoulder colour photographs was manipulated and presented to strangers. In condition 1 head and shoulder colour photographs with profiles were used, in condition 2 head and shoulder colour photographs with profiles removed were used, and in condition 3 the images were cropped so that only the internal features of the face were visible. In all three conditions significant self–stranger agreement was found for psychoticism but not for extraversion or neuroticism as measured by the EPP. These consistent cross-study findings were discussed and further research suggested.

The minimally conscious state in children

The minimally conscious state (MCS) is a condition of severely altered consciousness in which minimal but definite behavioral evidence of self- or environmental awareness is shown. Diagnostic criteria recently have been proposed for entry into and emergence from the MCS. We present clinical and neuroimaging data on 5 children diagnosed with MCS and discuss the limited information available concerning its epidemiology, etiology, pathology, and prognosis. Issues related to the evaluation and care of children suspected of having MCS are also reviewed as well as current ethical and legal controversies.

Kin recognition and the ‘armpit effect’: evidence of self–referent phenotype matching

In species with multiple paternity or maternity, animals may best assess their relatedness to unfamiliar conspecifics by comparing their own phenotype(s) with those of unidentified individuals. Yet whether animals can recognize kin through self-matching is controversial. Because golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) mate multiply and can produce multiply sired litters, they were tested for their ability to use self-matching for kin recognition. Hamsters that were reared only with non-kin since birth responded differentially to odours of unfamiliar relatives and non-relatives. Postnatal association with kin was not necessary for this discrimination. Prenatal learning was unlikely because of delayed production and perception of social odours. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that a vertebrate can use its own phenotype for kin-recognition purposes without prior experience with kin. By using itself as a referent, rather than its siblings or parents, a golden hamster may be better able to direct nepotism towards the most appropriate individuals. Kin discrimination via self-inspection may be especially important in nepotistic contexts (to identify most closely related conspecifics), whereas inclusion of the phenotypes of close kin as referents may be favoured in mate-choice contexts (to identify all related individuals).

Evidence for self and nonself peptide partial agonists that prolong clonal survival of mature T cells in vitro.

When examining the effects of peptide analogues without proliferation-inducing activity on three human CD4+ T cell clones with distinct TCRbeta recognizing a nonself mycobacterial bacillus Calmette-Guerin a (BCGa) peptide fragment (EEYLILSARDVLAVVSK)/HLA-DR14 complex, we found that 1) stimulation of T cells with a one-residue-substituted analogue or a minimally homologous self peptide fragment derived from human connexin 26 (IMILVVAAKEVWGDEQA) can prolong the in vitro survival of T cells, in a clone specific-manner; 2) this prolongation is associated with the up-regulation of Bcl-xL without proliferation; and 3) these peptide-clone combinations are capable of inducing lymphokine secretion. Thus, peptide partial agonism may play a role in the survival of not only thymocytes but also mature T cells, in the absence of wild-type ligands.

Delayed response tasks and prefrontal lesions in man—Evidence for self generated patterns of behaviour with poor environmental modulation

The functions of the frontal lobes in humans are still under debate, mainly because none of the neuropsychological tests used for their assessment is sufficiently specific for frontal dysfunction. In animals, the delayed reaction paradigm is considered to be a specific marker of the function of dorsolateral region of the prefrontal cortex. It seemed of interest, therefore, to attempt to apply this paradigm to patients with recent and limited cortical lesion of vascular origin. The performance of patients with dorsolateral prefrontal lesion ( n = 10) was compared to that of patients with post-central lesion ( n = 10) and control subjects ( n = 24), in four experiments: a Delayed Response task in which the correct answer was previously indicated by an explicit cue (externally guided task); Delayed Alternation and Non-Alternation tasks coupled with a Delayed Reversal task in which the patient had to discover the rule by himself in the absence of explicit cues (internally driven tasks). Patients with prefrontal lesion showed a specific deficit in the Delayed Response task, the emergence of a stereotyped behaviour in the Delayed Alternation task and an inability to deduce and to transfer rules (non-alternation and reversal), mainly because of difficulty in abandoning previous behaviours. Our study demonstrates that the prefrontal cortex plays a role in behavioural adaptation to challenging new situations by inhibiting not only ongoing elaborated programmes but also the emergence of previously established automatic programmes. The respective role of the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia in these two levels of behavioural organization is discussed.

The mechanism of the photochemical cycloaddition reaction of N-benzoylindole with cyclopentene

The mechanism of the photochemical cycloaddition reaction between N-benzoylindole, 1, and cyclopentene to give cyclobutane adducts 2 and 3 has been examined. The triplet excited state lifetime and quantum yield of intersystem crossing were determined for 1 as (2.8 ± 0.3) × 10−8 s and 0.39 ± 0.01, respectively, using the triplet counting procedure. In addition, the dependence of the quantum yield of cycloadduct formation upon the concentration of cyclopentene and upon the concentration of excited state quenchers has been determined. The results are used to propose a mechanistic model in which the triplet excited state of 1 reacts with cyclopentene to give a triplet 1,4-biradical intermediate. Following spin inversion the biradical intermediate reverts to the ground state starting materials or proceeds to the products 2 and 3; this partitioning, along with the quantum yield of intersystem crossing, gives rise to a limiting quantum yield of cycloaddition at infinite alkene concentration of 0.061. It is calculated that 84% of the biradical intermediates revert to the starting materials and 16% proceed to cycloadducts. The quantum yield data are also used to calculate two independent values of the rate constant for reaction of the triplet excited 1 with alkene; the values are (1.8 ± 0.1) × 107M−1 s−1 and (4.0 ± 0.8) × 106 M−1 s−1'. Some evidence for self quenching of the triplet excited state of 1 by ground state 1 was also observed. The quantum yield of intersystem crossing and the triplet excited state lifetime of 1 were found to vary with the solvent used; this is discussed in terms of the possible existence of a charge transfer triplet excited state. Keywords: indole, photocycloaddition, mechanism.

Self reported morbidity in London and Manchester: Intra-urban and inter-urban variations

Evidence of self reported morbidity from two household surveys, carried out in London and Manchester is discussed. These data permitted intra-urban and interurban comparisons of patterns of morbidity reporting. The morbidity reported in response to two different instruments is compared: for the items used in the British General Household Survey (GHS) Health Section, and for the Nottingham Health Profile. The results from the London survey are analysed in more detail to examine the nature of self reported morbidity in the inner and outer city. The influence of interviewer effects is analysed, showing that the GHS items were more liable to interviewer effect than the NHP. The type and number of illnesses reported in response in response to the GHS also appeared to vary between the inner and outer London samples: The NHP appeared to be less affected by interviewer effects and variation in interpretation.

Evidence for self- and neighbor-mediated postactivation inhibition of locus coeruleus neurons

Activation of locus coeruleus (LC) neurons is typically followed by inhibition of impulse activity lasting hundreds of ms. Previous studies have implicated two possible mechanisms for this postactivation inhibition: (1) collateral synaptic interactions among LC neurons; and (2) spike-induced, calcium-activated potassium conductance in the soma-dendritic membrane of LC cells. In the present study, antidromic or sensory stimuli were presented at near-threshold intensities for activation of LC neurons. A special computer program accumulated activity for trials yielding driven responses separately from that for trials of identical stimuli during the same train that failed to evoke activity. We found significant inhibition of LC impulse activity for antidromic or sensory stimuli that failed to excite the recorded cell as well as for stimuli that activated the recorded cell. The former result precludes an essential role of intrinsic inhibitory membrane currents (e.g. calcium-activated potassium conductance) in generating postactivation inhibition. Administration of the α antagonist piperoxane reduced the magnitude of inhibition on both driven and non-driven trials. Our findings indicate that inhibition on non-driven trials appears to be a synaptically, mediated phenomenon, perhaps reflecting norepinephrine released from neighboring LC neurons that are activated. Furthermore, our data support the presence of a spike-dependent mechanism that also contributes substantially to postactivation inhibition in these cells. Thus, the overall results indicate the presence of two intracoerulear mechanisms that mediate postactivation inhibition characteristic of noradrenergic LC neurons.