Signs Of Habituation Research Articles

A Retrospective Real-World Observational Study Assessing the Evolution of Bisacodyl Prescriptions in Patients with Constipation During Long-Term Treatment.

Potential habituation could be a safety concern associated with the long-term use of bisacodyl in patients with constipation. In this study, we evaluated whether patients with constipation who require long-term treatment with bisacodyl will remain on a stable dose when treated for ≥ 28 days. In this retrospective, population-based, observational cohort study, electronic medical record data of adult patients with constipation between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2019, were collected from The Health Improvement Network French database. Total bisacodyl exposure during the long-term (≥ 28 days) and follow-up (12 months) periods was evaluated. The primary endpoint was the dose change status of bisacodyl during the follow-up period from the initial dose in the long-term cohort. Out of 5725 bisacodyl users in the database, 218 patients qualified to be part of the long-term cohort. A total of 166 (76.1%), 37 (17%), and 15 (6.9%) patients were initiated on bisacodyl at 5, 7.5, and 10mg, respectively. During the follow-up, most (94%) of the patients remained on the same dose as initially prescribed for the first year. In contrast, only seven (3.2%) patients had their dose increased (from the initial prescribed dose of 5mg), and the remaining six (2.8%) patients decreased their dose (four patients from the 7.5 mg group and two from the 10 mg group). Bisacodyl can be prescribed at a stable dose for > 28 days as most patients remained on their initial prescribed dose during the follow-up period. No signs of habituation were observed in this real-world study.

Understanding whole school physical activity transition from a practice theory perspective

PurposeIn this study, the authors offer a practice theory framing of school physical activity transition with conceptual and managerial contributions to whole school approaches (WSAs).Design/methodology/approachBased on a literature overview of the limitations of WSA, ecological and systems theorisation and a practice theory framing of physical activity, the authors introduce a model that identifies signs of practice transition and conceptualises the relationship between signs and practice reconfigurations. To exemplify insights from the model, the authors provide illustrations from three cases from the national Estonian “Schools in Motion” programme.FindingsThe signs of practitioner effort, resistance and habituation indicate how practice ecosystem transition is unfolding across a spectrum from practice differentiation to routinisation. Several signs of transition, like resistance, indicate that reconfigured practices are becoming established. Also, there are signs of habituation that seemingly undermine the value of the programme but should instead be celebrated as valuable evidence for the normalisation of new practices.Practical implicationsThe article provides a model for WSA programme managers to recognise signs of transition and plan appropriate managerial activities.Originality/valueThe practice theory framing of school physical activity transition advances from extant theorizations of WSAs that have failed to account for the dynamic ways that socio-cultural change in complex school settings can unfold. A model, based on a practice ontology and concepts from theories of practice, is proposed. This recognises signs of transition and can help with the dynamic and reflexive management of transition that retains the purpose of systemic whole school change.

Time-Dependent Effects of Acute Handling on the Brain Monoamine System of the Salmonid Coregonus maraena.

The immediate stress response involves the activation of the monoaminergic neurotransmitter systems including serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline in particular areas of the fish brain. We chose maraena whitefish as a stress-sensitive salmonid species to investigate the influence of acute and chronic handling on the neurochemistry of monoamines in the brain. Plasma cortisol was quantified to assess the activation of the stress axis. In addition, we analyzed the expression of 37 genes related to the monoamine system to identify genes that could be used as markers of neurophysiological stress effects. Brain neurochemistry responded to a single handling (1 min netting and chasing) with increased serotonergic activity 3 h post-challenge. This was accompanied by a modulated expression of monoaminergic receptor genes in the hindbrain and a significant increase of plasma cortisol. The initial response was compensated by an increased monoamine synthesis at 24 h post-challenge, combined with the modulated expression of serotonin-receptor genes and plasma cortisol concentrations returning to control levels. After 10 days of repeated handling (1 min per day), we detected a slightly increased noradrenaline synthesis and a down-regulated expression of dopamine-receptor genes without effect on plasma cortisol levels. In conclusion, the changes in serotonergic neurochemistry and selected gene-expression profiles, together with the initial plasma cortisol variation, indicate an acute response and a subsequent recovery phase with signs of habituation after 10 days of daily exposure to handling. Based on the basal expression patterns of particular genes and their significant regulation upon handling conditions, we suggest a group of genes as potential biomarkers that indicate handling stress on the brain monoamine systems.

A physiological cost to behavioural tolerance

Few studies of animal escape behaviour simultaneously investigate behavioural and physiological responses. Differences between these response types, however, have consequences for the way in which habituation or tolerance is interpreted – behavioural habituation may incur physiological costs. We simultaneously measured heart rate (HR) and behavioural responses during standardised approaches to incubating Masked Lapwings Vanellus miles, an urban-frequenting ground-nesting bird. We describe the existence of a distinct Physiological-Initiation Distance (PID) that precedes Flight-Initiation Distance (FID) but does not necessarily precede Alert Distance (AD). Two distinct response types occurred: ‘startle’, where a behavioural or physiological response coincided with the appearance of a person (always the investigator; 75.9 % of 58 birds) and ‘non-startle’ responses, where a behavioural or physiological response occurred after the appearance of, and commencement of the approach by, the person (24.1 % or 14 birds). For birds which were not startled, the interval between the initial heart rate increase and heart rate peak increased with clutch age. For birds which were startled, longer durations of post-peak HR elevation were associated with shorter FIDs and older clutches. Thus, reduced FIDs (generally interpreted as a sign of habituation or tolerance) are associated with greater physiological costs through longer durations of elevated HR. Additionally, the existence of, often long and undetectable, PIDs suggests: 1) that behavioural measures of response underestimate responses in general, and 2) that the methodological assumption when collecting FIDs, that starting distances exceed response distances, may often be incorrect yet are visually undetectable. Further studies of a variety of taxa are warranted to determine the associations between behavioural and physiological responses, and should these associations prove reliable, they would ideally generate general predictions of PID from readily measurable behavioural metrics (FID or AD), thus enabling prescriptions to manage the consequences of human interactions with wildlife.

Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2- to 7-Year-Old Children: Evaluation of a Two-Interval, Observer-Based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-Based Responses.

Purpose It is challenging to collect reliable behavioral data from toddlers and preschoolers. Consequently, we have significant gaps in our understanding of how auditory development unfolds during this time period. One method that appears to be promising is an observer-based procedure that uses conditioned, play-based responses (Bonino & Leibold, 2017). In order to evaluate the quality of data obtained with this method, this study presented a suprathreshold signal to determine the number of trials 2- to 7-year-old children could complete, as well as the associated hit rate and observer confidence. Method Participants were 23 children (2-7 years old). Children were taught to perform a play-based motor response when they detected the 1000-Hz warble tone signal (at 30 dB SPL). An observer evaluated children's behavior using a 2-interval, 2-alternative testing paradigm. Testing was terminated after 100 trials or earlier, if signs of habituation were observed. Results Data were successfully collected from 22 of the 23 children. Of the 22 children, all but 1 child completed 100 trials. Overall hit rate was high (0.88-1.0; M = 0.94) and improved with listener age. Hit rate was stable across the test session. Strong agreement was seen between the correctness of the response and the observer's confidence in the judgment. Conclusion Results of this study confirm that the 2-interval, observer-based procedure described in this article is a powerful tool for measuring detection and discrimination abilities in young children. Future research will (a) evaluate coder reliability and (b) examine stability of performance across a test session when the signal intensity is manipulated. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8309273.

Patterns of movement of released female brown bears in the Cantabrian Mountains, northwestern Spain

Between 2008 and 2013, 3 female brown bears (Ursus arctos; 2 cubs-of-the-year and 1 2-yr-old) were rescued, rehabilitated in captivity, radiotagged, and released back to the Cantabrian Mountains, northwestern Spain. We characterized their daily and seasonal movements post-release to gain insights into their movement strategies and the viability of bears released in human-dominated environments. The bears exhibited marked diurnal activity and were active throughout winter. Two bears demonstrated behaviors similar to those reported for wild bears, whereas one cub-of-the-year was recaptured after 21 days because she developed signs of habituation to humans.

The Effects of Vigilance and Visual Distraction on the P50 Mid-Latency Auditory Evoked Potential

Sensory gating function has been investigated through measurement of the P50 evoked potential. However, the susceptibility of auditory P50 sensory gating to attentional modulation remains unclear. We sought to investigate the effects of vigilance (sustaining alertness across multiple recording blocks) and visual distraction (watching a muted movie versus a static fixation cross). We specifically chose a movie as the distracting stimulus because investigators sometimes show muted movies during P50 paradigms and the effects of this method were previously unknown. We recorded evoked potentials in a standard paired-click paradigm from groups watching a movie or static fixation cross; both groups completed four identical blocks of recording. Ratings of fatigue were recorded throughout the experiment. P50 and N100 amplitude showed signs of habituation, although N100’s amplitude reduction was more prominent than P50. P50 suppression did not change over the course of the recording session, despite increasing fatigue ratings. P50 suppression was significantly stronger for the participants who watched a movie during the recording. When comparing P50 gating results across studies, care should be taken to consider differing methodologies.

Strain differences in response to stress: Territorial urine markings, body weight, and temperature

We have developed a social‐stress (SS) mouse model using three different strains to better understand strain differences in response to stress. Retarded territorial urine marking (UM), obesity, and abnormal increments of body temperature are typical manifestations of stress in the rodent family. A comprehensive characterization of such stress responses across different mouse strains is still obscure and is addressed in the particular research scope presented here. In the present SS model, subject mice were individually housed in a small mesh box placed inside an aggressor's (AGG) cage for 6 hr/d x 10 d, food and liquid deprived, and exposed directly to the AGG 3x/d at random times. Controls (C) were simultaneously placed in a similar mesh boxes in the absence of AGG. Filter papers placed under the mesh boxes were collected at the end of the day and UMs were contoured via UV light exposure. SS mice of C57 showed significantly higher obesity and reduced UM vs. C that also gained weight; though a sign of habituation was apparent among C at the later part of 10 d. SS mice of BALB/c gained equivalent weight with C, but showed persistently reduced UM. In contrast, both C and SS of DBA lost weight over 10 d SS and showed increased UMs, suggesting a sign of hyper‐exploratory activity despite the stress. The current findings indicate that distinct strains of mice react differently to SS.

The Effect of Feeding Enrichment on the Moloch Gibbon (Hylobates Moloch)

This study explored the effect of 3 feeding devices (food-filled baskets, polyvinyl chloride tubes, frozen ice pops) on the behavior of 4 zoo-housed moloch gibbons. The project studied the gibbons for 5 days during a control condition (no feeding enrichment) and 5 days per condition of feeding enrichment, when 3 of the same type of feeding device were suspended within the animals' exhibit. The gibbons interacted with the feeders an average of 172.25 times. The animals showed no significant difference in the total number of times that they interacted with the 3 different feeding devices but were slower to approach the food-filled tubes than the baskets or ice pops. There was no sign of habituation to any of the feeding devices over their 5 days of presentation. Feeding enrichment significantly influenced certain components of the gibbons' behavior. The animals spent more of the observation time outside and showed more instances of foraging and fewer occurrences of moving during the enrichment conditions than the control. The study concluded that feeding devices may offer a viable form of environmental enrichment for captive moloch gibbons.

Validation of a novel social investigation task that may dissociate social motivation from exploratory activity

The present series of studies provide validation of a new paradigm that uniquely combines the assessment of the propensity to engage in social investigation with measures of (nonsocial) exploratory activity in rats. Assessment of this social investigation paradigm indicated that (a) rats showed a robust preference for social investigation over nonsocial exploratory activity, (b) female rats showed a greater preference for social investigation than male rats, (c) no signs of habituation in these responses were observed when rats were tested once daily for 4 consecutive days, (d) the preference for social investigation was stable and robust in both the dark and light periods of the daily light cycle for 5 consecutive days, and (e) testing under bright light conditions suppressed social investigation. In addition, acute administration of opiate drugs, low dose morphine (1.0 mg/kg) and naltrexone (1.0 mg/kg) produced a more robust attenuation of social investigation than nonsocial exploratory activity. Amphetamine increased both forms of investigation and haloperidol had the opposite effect, but the overall preference for social investigation over exploratory activity remained largely intact after both amphetamine and haloperidol injection. Together, these findings validate the use of this behavioral task to assess changes in social-motivation and general exploratory activity. Importantly, the task is bi-directionally sensitive to subject characteristics (i.e., sex), drug manipulations which modulate social motivation, and environmental manipulations.

Variability in the control of head movements in seated humans: a link with whiplash injuries?

The aim of this study was to determine how context and on-line sensory information are combined to control posture in seated subjects submitted to high-jerk, passive linear accelerations. Subjects were seated with eyes closed on a servo-controlled linear sled. They were asked to relax and received brief accelerations either sideways or in the fore-aft direction. The stimuli had an abrupt onset, comparable to the jerk experienced during a minor car collision. Rotation and translation of the head and body were measured using an Optotrak system. In some of the subjects, surface electromyographic (EMG) responses of selected neck and/or back muscles were recorded simultaneously. For each subject, responses were highly stereotyped from the first trial, and showed little sign of habituation or sensitisation. Comparable results were obtained with sideways and fore-aft accelerations. During each impulse, the head lagged behind the trunk for several tens of milliseconds. The subjects' head movement responses were distributed as a continuum in between two extreme categories. The 'stiff' subjects showed little rotation or translation of the head relative to the trunk for the whole duration of the impulse. In contrast, the 'floppy' subjects showed a large roll or pitch of the head relative to the trunk in the direction opposite to the sled movement. This response appeared as an exaggerated 'inertial' response to the impulse. Surface EMG recordings showed that most of the stiff subjects were not contracting their superficial neck or back muscles. We think they relied on bilateral contractions of their deep, axial musculature to keep the head-neck ensemble in line with the trunk during the movement. About half of the floppy subjects displayed reflex activation of the neck muscles on the side opposite to the direction of acceleration, which occurred before or during the head movement and tended to exaggerate it. The other floppy subjects seemed to rely on only the passive biomechanical properties of their head-neck ensemble to compensate for the perturbation. In our study, proprioception was the sole source of sensory information as long as the head did not move. We therefore presume that the EMG responses and head movements we observed were mainly triggered by the activation of stretch receptors in the hips, trunk and/or neck. The visualisation of an imaginary reference in space during sideways impulses significantly reduced the head roll exhibited by floppy subjects. This suggests that the adoption by the central nervous system of an extrinsic, 'allocentric' frame of reference instead of an intrinsic, 'egocentric' one may be instrumental for the selection of the stiff strategy. The response of floppy subjects appeared to be maladaptive and likely to increase the risk of whiplash injury during motor vehicle accidents. Evolution of postural control may not have taken into account the implications of passive, high-acceleration perturbations affecting seated subjects.

Behavioral and physiological consequences of repeated daily intracerebroventricular injection of corticotropin-releasing factor in the rat.

The present study was conducted to investigate the long-term consequences of repeated daily bolus injections of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) intracerebroventricularly (ICV) on ongoing locomotor activity and physiology in the home cage of individually housed rats. For this purpose ovine CRF (1 microgram/3 microliters) was injected once daily during the early resting phase into the lateral ventricle for a period of 10 days. Changes in daily rhythms in heart rate, body temperature and motor activity were recorded telemetrically before and during the treatment period. Daily central CRF injection delayed the body weight gain, increased adrenal weight, and decreased the weight of the thymus at the end of the experiment. The acute behavioral and physiological responses to CRF did not habituate with repetition of treatment. CRF treatment also failed to affect the long-term regulation of baseline heart rate, body temperature and motor activity during the light phase, as measured during the hour preceding the daily CRF injection. Mean heart rate during the dark phase was, however, significantly decreased in CRF-treated rats during the whole experimental 10-day period, without any sign of habituation. The failure of episodic CRF to affect long-term regulation of baseline body temperature during the light as well as the dark phase was noteworthy because an increased daytime body temperature lasting for several days is a characteristic marker of various behavioral stressors. Since a previous study showed that the temperature response during chronic CRF infusion was similar to the long-term effects of behavioral stress it is hypothesized that chronic but not episodic increases in central CRF levels are related to the induction and persistence of part of the stress-related behavioral and physiological disorders.

Raised corticosterone in the rat after exposure to the elevated plus-maze

Rats given one or two 5-min trials in the elevated plus-maze had plasma corticosterone concentrations significantly higher than the home cage control group and there was no sign of habituation in the group given two trials. In rats given two plus-maze trials the corticosterone responses were significantly higher in the group given 10-min rather than 5-min trials. A previous experience of cat odour (1 week earlier) has no effect on the plasma corticosterone response, but did have an anxiogenic effect that could be detected by a decrease in the percentage of time spent on the open arms of the plus-maze. The results are discussed with reference to the nature of anxiety generated by trials 1 and 2 and by the trial duration in the plus-maze, and with respect to dissociation between behavioural and endocrinological measures.

The behavioural, endocrine and leucocyte response of ewes to repeated removal of lambs before the age of natural weaning

Changes in the blood leucocyte population in response to psychological stressors could increase susceptibility to disease and be useful in the assessment of animal welfare. This paper examines the effect of repeated lamb removal on the blood leucocyte population of ewes and quantifies the behavioural and endocrine responses to the stressor. Twelve ewes which had given birth to twins, were placed in separate pens with their lambs. After 13 days, the lambs (14–19 days old) from one group of six ewes (treatment group) were removed from the pens and placed in a pen 11 m from the nearest ewe. After 3 h the lambs were moved back to their dam. The lambs then remained with their dam for 3 h before being removed for a second period of 3 h. This procedure was repeated for 23 days. A control group of six ewes remained with their lambs continuously for the 24-day experimental period. The removal of lambs produced behavioural changes in the ewes. These included: orientation towards the lamb, vocalization, raised head, erect ears, and decreased lying and sleeping behaviours. Although these changes were present over the 24-day experimental period, there were signs of habituation after 3 days of the treatment. The endocrine responses to lamb removal were less marked. Some ewes showed a plasma cortisol and β-endorphin response on Day 1 of lamb removal, but the mean responses were not statistically different from the control group. There was no obvious plasma prolactin response to the treatment. On Day 10 of lamb removal, the blood concentration of neutrophils in the treatment ewes had increased and the proportion of CD2 lymphocytes and T19 lymphocytes had decreased compared with that of control ewes. There were no significant differences between the treatment and control ewes in either the delayed type hypersensitivity skin responses to Dinitroflurobenzene or the humoral antibody responses to ovalbumin. These results indicate that ewes can show behavioural responses to a stressor, such as repeated lamb removal. However, this stressor had no significant effect on the endocrine and immune measurements studied.

Chronic sennoside treatment does not cause habituation and secondary hyperaldosteronism in rats.

Rats were treated with sennosides (6 x 10, 6 x 40 or 2 x 30 mg/kg weekly) or with danthron (6 x 500 mg/kg weekly) for 6 months. The laxative effect as measured by faecal wet weight during the first 10 h after treatment increased 3- to 4-fold by the higher sennoside doses (daily or intermittently) and 1- to 3-fold by danthron. The low sennoside dose had no measurable effect except on the 1st day (2 fold) compared with the control group. Mean faecal water content increased from 53% (controls) to 66-79% in rats treated with high sennoside doses and to 57 (1st day) -69% in danthron-treated rats. Serum aldosterone levels and mucosal Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activities in the small intestine and colon did not change with treatment. There were no signs of habituation or secondary hyperaldosteronism due to sennosides or danthron in spite of chronic diarrhoea over 6 months.

The American alligator and concern for visitors at brazos bend state park

Information needed for the planning and development of facilities for visitors' use at Brazos Bend State Park included the activities of the American alligators (Alligator mississipiensis) in the park. Estimates of the number of alligators in the park were based on day-and night-time counts. These estimates were significantly different from one another, and day counts were highly correlated with night counts. Alligator observability indices demonstrated how observable the alligators were in different lakes. The number of large alligators in the park is too big for a park intended for high-intensity human use. Culling of upper size-class alligators might result in negative ecological chains of reaction. Removal, from time to time, of alligators that demonstrate aggressive nature or signs of habituation is suggested as an alternative strategy.

Time course of nystagmus reactions after rotational stimulation (modified Veits long rotation method). I. Comparison of the nystagmus reactions of probands with normal equilibrium with those of patients with vestibular disorders

In the present study, all the nystagmus reactions following the rotatory test are represented graphically after being split up into successive time intervals of 5 seconds each. The range of reactions is illustrated by comparing healthy subjects with patients with acute lesions of the vestibular system. It has been shown that during the rotatory test no signs of habituation were to be seen. The use of the parameter "fast phase velocity" (FPV) of the nystagmus to analyze the nystagmus reactions did not prove meaningful. In particular the findings in patients with acute vestibular lesions show that the nystagmus reactions following rotatory stimuli of appropriate intensity increase only to a limited extent. When interpreting the results, the influence of spontaneous nystagmus which usually underlies acute vestibular disease, is discussed in detail.

Anatomical localization revealed by MEG recordings of the human somatosensory system

A 14-channel cryogenic magnetometer system (BTi) was used to record the magnetic fields over the left hemisphere of 3 human subjects in order to locate the sources of responses to tactile stimulation of the index, the thumb and the little finger of the right hand. The locations of the active dipole sources determined using the spherical model were then projected onto the magnetic resonance image (MRI) of the individual subjects providing an anatomical localization. The MRI slices were also used to construct a 3-dimensional image to enhance visualization of the area of the calculated sources. The locations of the dipole sources from the 3 fingers were distinct from one another in all subjects. An analysis of variance (‘ANOVA’) showed the most significant ( P < 0.05) difference in source location between the little finger and the thumb with the former being superior to the sources of the other 2 fingers in all of the subjects. In all cases, the sources were found to be located on the postcentral gyrus. The strength of the equivalent dipole sources and the amplitudes of the responses to stimulation for all 3 fingers showed a consistent trend among all of the 3 subjects, with the thumb having the largest response. In general, no signs of habituation were found.

Pain and vascular reflexes in man elicited by prolonged noxious mechano-stimulation

Interdigital webs of the hands of human volunteers were pinched for periods of 2 min duration to induce tonic pain perceptions. During stimulation, the subjects gave estimates of their pain level at 10-sec intervals on a visual analogue scale, and the stimulus induced changes of the skin blood flow in the stimulated hand was assessed by photo-plethysmography. Sustained pinching induced a tonic reflex vasoconstriction in the stimulated hand with rather slow adaptation rate and no signs of habituation between trials. Step increases of the pinching force in the course of a stimulus were reflected by a decrease in plethysmogram amplitude as well as by increased pain ratings, although the subjects were usually unaware of these steps. Lowering the stimulus strength induced opposite, albeit much smaller effects in both pain ratings and vascular reactions. It is concluded that the vasomotor responses described in this paper are mediated by nociceptor input and reflect the processing of this input mainly at a spinal level.

Repeated acoustic stimulation of acute schizophrenic patients and the habituation of EEG power changes

Habituation in psychiatric patients to repeated stimuli has typically been described in connection with the measurement of the skin conductance orienting response. Here EEG power spectra of acute schizophrenic patients and normals to 4 trials of an acoustic stimulation were examined for evidence of habituation. In response to stimulation the α EEG reactivity was less distinct in schizophrenics than in normals. This is in agreement with the theory of hypovariability or hyperstability of the EEG in schizophrenics. Signs of habituation in acute schizophrenics were clearer in fast β frequencies of the parietal leads.