Specific Behavioral Changes Research Articles

Identification of behaviour change components in swallowing interventions for head and neck cancer patients: protocol for a systematic review.

BackgroundDysphagia (difficulty in swallowing) is a predictable consequence of head and neck cancer and its treatment. Loss of the ability to eat and drink normally has a devastating impact on quality of life for survivors of this type of cancer. Most rehabilitation programmes involve behavioural interventions that include swallowing exercises to help improve swallowing function. Such interventions are complex; consisting of multiple components that may influence outcomes. These interventions usually require patient adherence to recommended behaviour change advice. To date, reviews of this literature have explored whether variation in effectiveness can be attributed to the type of swallowing exercise, the use of devices to facilitate use of swallowing muscles, and the timing (before, during or after cancer treatment). This systematic review will use a behavioural science lens to examine the content of previous interventions in this field. It aims to identify (a) which behaviour change components are present, and (b) the frequency with which they occur in interventions deemed to be effective and non-effective.Methods/designClinical trials of behavioural interventions to improve swallowing outcomes in patients with head and neck cancers will be identified via a systematic and comprehensive search of relevant electronic health databases, trial registers, systematic review databases and Web of Science. To ascertain behaviour change intervention components, we will code the content for its theory basis, intervention functions and specific behaviour change techniques, using validated tools: the Theory Coding Scheme, Behaviour Change Wheel and Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy v1. Study quality will be assessed for descriptive purposes only. Given the specialisation and focus of this review, a small yield of studies with heterogeneous outcome measures is anticipated. Therefore, narrative synthesis is considered more appropriate than meta-analysis. We will also compare the frequency of behavioural components in effective versus non-effective interventions, where effectiveness is indicated by statistically significant changes in swallowing outcomes.DiscussionThis review will provide a synthesis of the behaviour change components in studies that currently represent best evidence for behavioural swallowing interventions for head and neck cancer patients. Results will provide some guidance on the choice of optimal behavioural strategies for the development of future interventions.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42015017048Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13643-015-0077-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Applying health communications to mental illness stigma change

Purpose – Advocates and researchers have made mental illness stigma elimination a public health priority. Research on stigma change strategies has highlighted programmatic delivery strengths; however, an area in need of further development is in messaging capable of attaining specific behavior change. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Change goals were incorporated into an existing model of stigma change to propose the TLC4 model (Targeted, Local, Credible, Continuous, Contact, Change Goals). This paper reviews health communications literature regarding tailored messaging, applying these principles to stigma change programs to enhance behavioral impact. Findings – Tailored messages comprises four elements: capturing and maintaining attention, actively thinking about information, having emotional appeal, and making material relevant to each person. Incorporation of these elements enhances the likelihood of an individual making a behavior change. Originality/value – This review can guide facilitators of stigma change programs to craft presentations with tailored messages in directive call-to-actions. Future directions for evaluation of message and behavioral change impact are discussed.

Coaching the brain: Neuro-science or neuro-nonsense?

This paper discusses some myths and misconceptions that have emerged in relation to neuroscience and coaching, and explores the notion that neuroscience provides a foundational evidence-base for coaching, and that neurocoaching is a unique or original coaching methodology. It is found that much of the insights into coaching purported to be delivered by neuroscience are long-established within the behavioural sciences. Furthermore, the empirical and conceptual links between neuroscientific findings and actual coaching practice are tenuous at best. Although at present there is no convincing empirical support for a neuroscientific foundation to coaching, there are important ways in which coaching and neuroscience can interact. There is good evidence that solution-focused cognitive-behavioural (SF-CB) coaching can reliably induce specific behavioural and cognitive changes. SF-CB coaching could thus be used as a methodology to experimentally induce specific changes including greater self-insight and better relations with others. Subsequent changes in brain structure or brain activity could then be observed. This has potential to be of great value to the neuroscience enterprise by providing more hard evidence for concepts such as neuroplasticity and brain-region function-specificity. It may well be that coaching can be of greater use to the field of neuroscience than the field of neuroscience can be to coaching. In this way we can address many neuromyths and misconceptions about brain-based coaching, and begin to author a more accurate and productive narrative about the relationship between coaching and neuroscience.

Behaviour change interventions to promote physical activity in rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review.

Research has shown that people who have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) do not usually participate in enough physical activity to obtain the benefits of optimal physical activity levels, including quality of life, aerobic fitness and disease-related characteristics. Behaviour change theory underpins the promotion of physical activity. The aim of this systematic review was to explore behaviour change interventions which targeted physical activity behaviour in people who have RA, focusing on the theory underpinning the interventions and the behaviour change techniques utilised using specific behaviour change taxonomy. An electronic database search was conducted via EBSCOhost, PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Web of Science databases in August 2014, using Medical Subject Headings and keywords. A manual search of reference lists was also conducted. Randomised control trials which used behaviour change techniques and targeted physical activity behaviour in adults who have RA were included. Two reviewers independently screened studies for inclusion. Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Five studies with 784 participants were included in the review. Methodological quality of the studies was mixed. The studies consisted of behaviour change interventions or combined practical physical activity and behaviour change interventions and utilised a large variety of behaviour change techniques. Four studies reported increased physical activity behaviour. All studies used subjective methods of assessing physical activity with only one study utilising an objective measure. There has been varied success of behaviour change interventions in promoting physical activity behaviour in people who have RA. Further studies are required to develop and implement the optimal behaviour change intervention in this population.

How I diagnose and manage catheter-associated blood stream infections

Eachyearanestimatedquarterofamillioncentralvenouscatheters (CVCs) are inserted in the UK for monitoring, delivery of drugs or intravenous feeding and blood sampling in patients receiving critical care. CVCs are indispensable in current practice, but the reportedrateofcatheter-associatedbloodstreaminfection(CA-BSI)is high with an incidence varying between 0.46 and 26.5 infections per 1000 catheter days. CA-BSI is an important cause of adverse clinical outcome, with associated morbidity and mortality, and an additional increased economic cost to the National Health Service. Of any clinical speciality Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) have one of the highest rates of hospital acquired bloodstream infection (BSI), with an estimated 70% caused by CVCs. A number of risk factors which increase the rate of CA-BSI have been described. These include patient related (underlying disease, young age, site of insertion), or CVC related (duration of line, number of lumens, use for parenteral nutrition and blood transfusions) factors. Many of these infections are largely preventable, and numerous quality improvement initiatives and interventions have been introduced in an attempt to reduce the rates of CA-BSI. Preventing central line infections The MichiganeKeystone project targeted specific technical interventionsin103ICUsinUSA,combinedwithsupportforcultural, behavioural and systemic change. This strategy resulted in a major reduction in CA-BSI from 7.7 to 1.4 BSI per 1000 CVC days, with sustained improvement at 3-year follow-up. The Department of Health introduced the Saving Lives initiative with the introduction of high impact interventions in an attempt to reduce healthcare associated infections, and announced a national patient safety initiativebyintroducingasteppedinterventionalprogrammeover2 years (Matching Michigan). CVC insertion and ongoing maintenance care bundles have led to a reduction in CA-BSIs in intensive care units in UK, although at a lower and insignificant rate than in the USA. However this decrease has not been consistently demonstratedinPICUs.ThisisbecauseCVCsaremorelikelytobeinserted in the femoral veins in children for safety reasons, and they tend to be left in for longer periods due to difficulties in venous access. In additiontherearenochildspecificguidelinesduetothelackoftrials in children to provide the evidence for best practice. A study also reported that the rate of CA-BSI is significantly affected by external insertion of the CVC in other hospitals before PICU admission. The rationale for using insertion care bundles is to avoid contamination that would lead to subsequent colonisation of the

Behavioural changes are a major contributing factor in the reduction of sarcopenia in caloric-restricted ageing mice.

BackgroundIn rodent models, caloric restriction (CR) with maintenance of adequate micronutrient supply has been reported to increase lifespan and to reduce age-induced muscle loss (sarcopenia) during ageing. In the present study, we further investigated effects of CR on the onset and severity of sarcopenia in ageing male C57BL/6 J mice. The aim of this study was to investigate whether CR induces changes in behaviour of the animals that could contribute to the pronounced health-promoting effects of CR in rodents. In addition, we aimed to investigate in more detail the effects of CR on the onset and severity of sarcopenia.MethodsThe mice received either an ad libitum diet (control) or a diet matching 70 E% of the control diet (C). Daily activity, body composition (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry), grip strength, insulin sensitivity, and general agility and balance were determined at different ages. Mice were killed at 4, 12, 24, and 28 months. Skeletal muscles of the hind limb were dissected, and the muscle extensor digitorum longus muscle was used for force-frequency measurements. The musculus tibialis was used for real-time quantitative PCR analysis.ResultsFrom the age of 12 months, CR animals were nearly half the weight of the control animals, which was mainly related to a lower fat mass. In the control group, the hind limb muscles showed a decline in mass at 24 or 28 months of age, which was not present in the CR group. Moreover, insulin sensitivity (oral glucose tolerance test) was higher in this group and the in vivo and ex vivo grip strength did not differ between the two groups.In the hours before food was provided, CR animals were far more active than control animals, while total daily activity was not increased. Moreover, agility test indicated that CR animals were better climbers and showed more climbing behaviours.ConclusionsOur study confirms earlier findings that in CR animals less sarcopenia is present. The mice on the CR diet, however, showed specific behavioural changes characterized by higher bursts of activity within a short time frame before consumption of a 70 E% daily meal. We hypothesize that the positive effects of CR on muscle maintenance in rodents are not merely a direct consequence of a lower energy intake but also related to a more active behaviour in a specific time frame. The burst of activity just before immediate start of eating, might lead to a highly effective use of the restricted protein sources available.

Douleur en psychiatrie

Pain is a personal and subjective experience. The consequences are important for the individuals. In the case of psychiatric patients, pain is difficult to perceive and insensitivity is often suggested. Because the expression of pain is significantly altered, our understanding of pain in mental health becomes even more complex. Too often, painful complaint is interpreted as a clinical sign of the psychiatric symptom in these patients such as if a somatic painful condition was not possible. Many studies on pain, in particular in schizophrenia, are reporting atypical behavior that lead to interpret it as a kind of hypoalgesia. This conclusion derived from clinical observations in psychiatry of pain insensitivity in schizophrenic patients. To objectify the reported insensitivity number of experimental studies were developped. There is a big difference, in these studies in both the variability and interpretation of results. Current clinical research concluded that schizophrenic patients experience pain but do not have the pain awareness signal, which is an adaptive phenomenon to avoid injury due to persistent stimulation. The perception and communication of pain in psychiatric patients have important clinical implications and can be related to physical risk or even be life-threatening. Often, it is not allowed for the patient to speak about his pain, in his own language, about his suffering, his disease, if his speech does not fit in our organic and anatomical references. Pain is subjective and it is an individual experience. The consequences are important for the patient. In the case of psychiatric patients, pain is difficult to perceive and hypoalgesia has been always suggested. But the fundamental principles of pain assessement are constant regardless of patient. Pain does not represent just discomfort in a specific body part but a person with a unique phenotype, prior learning history and adaptive ressources. There is no objective method for assessing pain. The way to know about someone pain is by what they say or show by their behavior. Self-report provides the gold standard in assessments of pain and its characteristics. In psychiaric patient we recommand: (1) self-report measure of pain, ask the patient to quantify their pain by providing a single, general rating of pain. Use verbal rating scales: VRS. The Faces Pain Scale-Revised: FPS-R. The faces show how much something can hurt. Do not use words like “happy and sad”; (2) in the case of non-communicant patients, multidimensional pain scale is actually on validation stage like EDAAP. However pain exists in this population and specific language or behavioral changes should suggest pain. Mental illness produces particular attitudes and expressions of pain, in every case, the patient feels pain. Treating each patient's pain is an important part of quality care. Psychiatric patients have their own characteristics, the evaluation and the treatment of their pain are not that simple, their is no contraindication to prescribe usual therapies for them. Some specific iatrogenic interactions have to be known to make the best choice. Pharmacological Approaches: we used WHO ladder for the drugs: paracetamol, NSAIDs, tramadol, opiods, analgesic anticonvulsants. Non pharmacological Approaches: psychological approach emerges as the shared component of a therapeutic project, which is both multidimensional and pluridisciplinary. Cognitive-behavioral approaches are distinct due to the active role played by the therapist in relation to the patient, in the process of learning new behaviors. Physical treatment has to be proposed such as electrophysical and thermal agents, manual therapy, exercise. The relationship between psychiatric patient and pain is often overlooked and did not attract too much attention until recently. In addition, pain and mental health are complex phenomena that are interacting. Pain associates psychic and somatic dimensions. The interaction between pain and mental health is important to have a good comprehension, since the evolution of one or the other will influence the second. How can we help our patients when they suffer and with which words?

Making the case for change: What researchers need to consider when designing behavior change interventions aimed at improving medication dispensing.

There is a growing emphasis on behavior change in intervention development programmes aimed at improving public health and healthcare professionals' practice. A number of frameworks and methodological tools have been established to assist researchers in developing interventions seeking to change healthcare professionals' behaviors. The key features of behavior change intervention design involve specifying the target group (i.e. healthcare professional or patient cohort), the target behavior and identifying mediators (i.e. barriers and facilitators) of behavior change. Once the target behavior is clearly specified and understood, specific behavior change techniques can then be used as the basis of the intervention to target identified mediators of behavior change. This commentary outlines the challenges for pharmacy practice-based researchers in targeting dispensing as a behavior when developing behavior change interventions aimed at pharmacists and proposes a definition of dispensing to consider in future research.

Frequency, clinical correlates, and ratings of behavioral changes in primary brain tumor patients: a preliminary investigation.

Few studies have addressed the specific behavioral changes associated with primary brain tumor (PBT). This paper will report on the frequency and demographic/clinical correlates of such behaviors, and the reliability of rating such behaviors among people with PBT, family informants, and clinicians. The association of behavioral changes and patient functional status will also be discussed. A total of 57 patients with 37 family informants were recruited from two large Australian metropolitan hospitals. Each completed three neuro-behavioral self-report measures; the Emotional and Social Dysfunction Questionnaire, the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale, and the Overt Behavior Scale. Patients also completed a depression symptom measure. Functional status was defined by clinician-rated Karnofsky performance status. Patients were on average 52 years old, a median of 4 months (range 1-82) post-diagnosis, with high grade (39%), low grade (22%), or benign tumors (39%). Patients reported frequency rates of 7-40% across various behavioral domains including anger, inappropriate behavior, apathy, inertia, and executive impairment. The presence of epileptic seizures was associated with significantly higher levels of behavioral changes. Notably, behavior did not correlate with tumor grade or treatment modality. There was moderate agreement between patients and relatives on the presence or absence of behavioral changes, and substantial agreement between relative and clinician ratings. Depressed patients did not generally report more changes than non-depressed patients. Increases in the relative and clinician-rated behavior scores were significantly correlated with decreasing functional status in the patient. Behavioral changes were a common sequela of both benign and malignant PBT. Larger scale studies are required to confirm these results. The results suggest the importance of including behavior in brain cancer psychosocial assessments and the need to develop interventions to treat these patients and reduce the burden of care on families.

Childhood Overweight: Parental Perceptions and Readiness for Change

Although the national health crisis of childhood obesity is a well-documented problem, few if any clinical interventions have had success in curbing its growth. In fact, childhood obesity, along with its associated morbidities, continues to climb even in the face of increased awareness. Research shows that factors contributing to obesity are almost entirely modifiable on some level. Furthermore, specific behavior changes have been shown to result in positive outcomes, yet these changes have not been widely implemented by practitioners, families, or individuals. The transtheoretical model of health behavior change offers insight into assessing individuals and targeting interventions for behavior change. This article focuses on guiding school nurses to assess parents of school-age children at risk for obesity for readiness for health behavior change, then choosing parent-focused interventions based on their stage of readiness for change.

Successful behavioural strategies to increase physical activity and improve glucose control in adults with Type2 diabetes.

AimsTo explore which behaviour change techniques and other intervention features are associated with increased levels of physical activity and improved HbA1c in adults with Type 2 diabetes.MethodsModerator analyses were performed on a dataset of 21 behaviour change techniques and six intervention features identified in a systematic review of behavioural interventions (N = 1975 patients with Type 2 diabetes) to establish their associations with changes in physical activity and HbA1c.ResultsFour behaviour change techniques (prompt focus on past success, barrier identification/problem‐solving, use of follow‐up prompts and provide information on where and when to perform physical activity) had statistically significant associations with increased levels of physical activity. Prompt review of behavioural goals and provide information on where and when to perform physical activity behaviour had statistically significant associations with improved HbA1c. Pedometer use was associated with decreased levels of physical activity.ConclusionsThese data suggest that clinical care teams can optimise their consultations by incorporating specific behaviour change techniques that are associated with increased levels of physical activity and improved long‐term glycaemic control.

Zinc prevents sickness behavior induced by lipopolysaccharides after a stress challenge in rats.

Sickness behavior is considered part of the specific beneficial adaptive behavioral and neuroimmune changes that occur in individuals in response to infectious/inflammatory processes. However, in dangerous and stressful situations, sickness behavior should be momentarily abrogated to prioritize survival behaviors, such as fight or flight. Taking this assumption into account, we experimentally induced sickness behavior in rats using lipopolysaccharides (LPS), an endotoxin that mimics infection by gram-negative bacteria, and then exposed these rats to a restraint stress challenge. Zinc has been shown to play a regulatory role in the immune and nervous systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the effects of zinc treatment on the sickness response of stress-challenged rats. We evaluated 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations, open-field behavior, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), corticosterone, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plasma levels. LPS administration induced sickness behavior in rats compared to controls, i.e., decreases in the distance traveled, average velocity, rearing frequency, self-grooming, and number of vocalizations, as well as an increase in the plasma levels of TNF-α, compared with controls after a stressor challenge. LPS also decreased BDNF expression but did not influence anxiety parameters. Zinc treatment was able to prevent sickness behavior in LPS-exposed rats after the stress challenge, restoring exploratory/motor behaviors, communication, and TNF-α levels similar to those of the control group. Thus, zinc treatment appears to be beneficial for sick animals when they are facing risky/stressful situations.

Clinical abnormalities in working donkeys and their associations with behaviour

IntroductionsWorking donkeys are at risk of developing multiple, acute and chronic health problems. The ability to recognise and assess pain in donkeys associated with these health problems is important for...

ADIOL protects against 3-NP-induced neurotoxicity in rats: Possible impact of its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic actions.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a wide spectrum of cognitive, behavioral and motor abnormalities. The mitochondrial toxin 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) effectively induces specific behavioral changes and selective striatal lesions similar to that observed in HD. Some neurosteroids, synthesized in neurons and glial cells, previously showed neuroprotective abilities. 5-Androstene-3β-17β-diol (ADIOL) is a major metabolite of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) with previously reported anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and neuroprotective activities. The neuroprotective potential of ADIOL in HD was not previously investigated. Therefore, the present study investigated the neuroprotective effects of ADIOL against 3-NP-induced behavioral changes, oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis. Intraperitoneal administration of 3-NP (20mg/kg) for 4 consecutive days in rats caused significant loss in body weight, reduced prepulse inhibition (PPI) of acoustic startle response, locomotor hypoactivity with altered cortical/striatal histological structure, increased cortical/striatal oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis. Administration of ADIOL (25mg/kg, s.c.) for two days before 3-NP significantly attenuated the reduction in body weights and PPI, increased locomotor activity and restored cortical/striatal histological structure nearly to normal. Moreover, it displayed anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic activities as evidenced by the elevation of cortical and striatal reduced glutathione levels, reductions of cortical and striatal malondialdehyde, striatal tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-6 levels. Only a small number of iNOS and caspase-3 positive cells were detected in sections from rats pretreated with ADIOL. This study suggests a potential neuroprotective role of ADIOL against 3-NP-induced Huntington's disease-like manifestations. Such neuroprotection can be attributed to its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic activities.

Toxoplasma gondii-induced neuronal alterations.

The zoonotic pathogen Toxoplasma gondii infects over 30% of the human population. The intracellular parasite can persist lifelong in the CNS within neurons modifying their function and structure, thus leading to specific behavioural changes of the host. In recent years, several in vitro studies and murine models have focused on the elucidation of these modifications. Furthermore, investigations of the human population have correlated Toxoplasma seropositivity with changes in neurological functions; however, the complex underlying mechanisms of the subtle behavioural alteration are still not fully understood. The parasites are able to induce direct modifications in the infected cells, for example by altering dopamine metabolism, by functionally silencing neurons as well as by hindering apoptosis. Moreover, indirect effects of the peripheral immune system and alterations of the immune status of the CNS, observed during chronic infection, might also contribute to changes in neuronal connectivity and synaptic plasticity. In this review, we will provide an overview and highlight recent advances, which describe changes in the neuronal function and morphology upon T. gondii infection.

Encouraging Insurers to Regulate: The Role (If Any) for Tort Law

Insurance companies are financially responsible for a substantial portion of the losses associated with risky activities in the economy. The more insurers can lower the risks posed by their insureds, the more competitively they can price their policies, and the more customers they can attract. Thus, competition forces insurers to be private regulators of risk. To that end, insurers deploy a range of techniques to encourage their insureds to reduce the risks of their insured activities, from charging experience-rated premiums to giving special premium discounts to insureds who make specific behavioral changes designed to reduce risk. Somewhat paradoxically, however, tort law discourages insurers from engaging in the direct regulation of their insureds’ behavior. Under longstanding tort principles, if an insurer “undertakes” to provide serious risk-reduction services to an insured, the insurer can be found to have a duty of reasonable care and, should that duty be breached, held liable for any harms caused to third parties. This application of tort principles to insurance companies could be contributing to the moral hazard problem often associated with insurance — the tendency of insurance to cause risk to increase rather than decrease. This Article explores this problem and analyzes a number of ways to encourage insurers to regulate — from insurer-specific Good Samaritan statutes (which we might call a “carrot”) to the expansion of tort principles to create an affirmative duty on the part of insurers to regulate (which would definitely be a “stick”). What combination of carrots and sticks produces the optimal insurer incentives to regulate their insureds’ behavior? That is the question the Article addresses.

The Kids-Palatable Eating Motives Scale: Relation to BMI and binge eating traits

IntroductionDespite high rates of obesity in adolescents, little is known about their individual motives for eating caloric foods for reasons unrelated to hunger. The goal of this study was to provide a preliminary validation of the “Kids Palatable Eating Motives Scale” (K-PEMS), a self-report survey designed to identify individual motives for eating tasty foods in adolescents. The study also sought to determine if any specific motive(s) can account for variance in BMI and binge-eating disorder (BED) traits which can exacerbate obesity. MethodsBMIz and responses to the K-PEMS and the Children's Binge Eating Disorder Scale (C-BEDS) were obtained from inner-city low-income African American adolescents. Linear and logistic regressions were used to identify K-PEMS motives that were associated with greater BMIz and binge-eating traits. ResultsThe K-PEMS identified eating tasty foods for Social, Conformity, Reward Enhancement, and Coping motives. Higher frequency of eating tasty foods for Social and Conformity motives and lower frequency of eating these foods for Reward Enhancement accounted for 39% of the variance in BMIz among the overweight and obese adolescents. In contrast, eating for Coping motives was related to a 3-fold increase in the amended provisional criteria for BED in children which occurred in 7% of this young minority sample. DiscussionThe K-PEMS can be used to identify adolescents' primary motives for eating tasty foods. These motives may provide early identification of obesity and binge-eating risk but more importantly, can be tailor-targeted to affect specific behavioral and/or cognitive changes to prevent these conditions in adulthood.

The Adolescent Brain and the Emergence and Peak of Psychopathology

Adolescence is a period of heightened emotionality and increased risk for mental illness, affecting as many as one in five persons. This article reviews recent human imaging and animal studies that demarcate adolescent specific changes in brain and behavior that may help to explain this period of increased risk for psychopathology. We highlight adolescence as a sensitive period when: 1) the environment has particularly strong influences on brain and behavior and 2) normative changes in brain development can lead to an imbalance between rapidly changing limbic circuitry and relatively slower developing prefrontal circuitry. This imbalance can be exacerbated by both genetic and environmental influences leading to less capacity to regulate emotions and higher risk for psychopathology. We discuss these findings in the context of understanding who may be at greatest risk for psychopathology and when and how to best treat symptoms of emotional dysregulation.

Masterpiece of epigenetic engineering - how Toxoplasma gondii reprogrammes host brains to change fear to sexual attraction.

The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is known to induce specific behavioural changes in its intermediate hosts, including humans, that are believed to increase the chance of its successful transmission to the definitive host, the cat. The most conspicuous change is the so-called fatal attraction phenomenon, the switch from the mice's and rats' natural fear of the smell of cats toward an attraction to this smell. The mechanism of this manipulation activity is unknown; however, many indices suggest that changes in the concentrations of dopamine and testosterone are involved. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Hari Dass & Vyas (2014) present results of a study showing that, by hypomethylation of certain regulatory elements of key gene, Toxoplasma is able to reprogramme the brain's genetic machinery in such a way that cat odour activates and changes the wiring of the medial amygdala circuits responsible for sexual behaviour. This study delivers the first clear evidence of a parasite's ability to use sophisticated epigenetic engineering techniques for the manipulation of the phenotype of its infected host.

Der Einfluss erhöhter Fressstände auf das Fressverhalten von Milchkühen

The performance level of high yielding cows can only be guaranteed by high quality forage and high feed intake. An about 15–20 cm elevated and 160 cm long feed stall with rubber flooring doesn’t only offer undisturbed meals but also a yielding and dry standing surface. In a pilot stable with 130 dairy cows (German Simmental) the feeding alley was subsequently equipped with elevated feed stalls. The results show that animals frequented the feeding barn less often while the duration of single meals prolonged. The specific behavioural changes differed depending on milk yield and number of lactation.