Can Children Distinguish Between Thoughts and Behaviours?

Abstract. The extent to which cognitive behaviour therapy can be used with children is unclear. In meta analyses older children and teenagers seem to derive greater benefit than young children. This may be because the cognitive immaturity of young children means that they cannot manage the cognitive demands of cognitive behaviour therapy. This paper seeks to establish how well children aged 7–8 and aged 10–11 can complete a task requiring them to distinguish between thoughts and behaviours (based on Greenberger & Padesky, 1995). Half of the children were provided with a visual cue and half were not. The effects of age, the visual cue, and verbal IQ on performance were examined. Seventy-two children were randomized to the cue and no-cue condition and individually tested during school time. Both age groups performed well and there was a significant difference between older and younger children, with the older children performing better. Visual cues did not aid performance. Verbal IQ was significantly associated with performance in the younger but not the older children. The implications of these results for the delivery of cognitive behaviour therapy with children and future research are discussed. Keywords: Children, thoughts, behaviours, cognitive, development

The effect of cues on young children’s abilities to discriminate among thoughts, feelings and behaviours

Objective: To determine if cues help young children discriminate among thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Participants: Ninety-six children aged 4–7 years from three schools in Norwich, UK. Design: Within each age band (4, 5, 6, 7), children were randomised to the cue or the no cue condition on a stratified basis ensuring that equal numbers of boys and girls from each school were in each of the eight cells (cue condition×age). Cues were glove puppets and post boxes. The effect of IQ was controlled. Measures: A discrimination task, in which children were asked to identify a thought, a feeling and a behaviour from each of six brief stories, and a brief IQ assessment were administered to children individually. Results: There was a significant effect of age and cue condition on performance; older children and those who were presented with the cue performed better. There were no gender differences and no interaction between cue condition and age. Conclusion: Many young children discriminated among thoughts, feelings and behaviours suggesting that they may be able to engage in this aspect of cognitive behaviour therapy. Simple cues (puppets and posting boxes) improved children’s performance and these may be useful therapeutic tools with young children.

The Effect of Mental Health Problems on Children’s Ability to Discriminate Amongst Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviours

Many young children appear to have skills sufficient to engage in basic elements of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Previous research has, however, typically used children from non-clinical populations. It is important to assess children with mental health problems on cognitive skills relevant to CBT and to compare their performance to children who are not identified as having mental health difficulties. In this study 193 6 and 7 year old children were assessed using a thought–feeling–behaviour discrimination task [Quakley et al. Behav. Res. Therapy 42 (2004) 343] and a brief IQ test (the WASI). Children were assigned to groups (at risk, borderline, low risk) according to ratings of their mental health made by their teachers and parents on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [Goodman, J. Am. Acad. Child Adolescent Psych. 40 (2001) 1337]. After controlling for IQ, children ‘at risk’ of mental health problems performed significantly less well than children with a ‘low risk’ of mental health problems. Before receiving CBT, children’s meta-cognitive development should be assessed and additional help provided to those with meta-cognitive difficulties.

Leptin and the Immune Response An Active Player or an Innocent Bystander?

Leptin is involved in the control of energy storage by the body. Low serum leptin levels, as seen in starvation, are associated with impaired inflammatory T cell responses that can be reversed by exogenous leptin. Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and recurrent infections. Several defects in T cell function have also been described, and allergy, autoimmune disease, and lymphomas or other malignancies can be present. Previous studies in Brazilian CVID patients have shown that, in contrast with mononuclear cells from healthy controls, CVID cells cultured with phytohemagglutinin and added leptin increased the proliferative response and decreased activation-induced apoptosis. Interleukin (IL)-2 and especially IL-4 production also increased significantly, although the effects of exposure to leptin were not observed uniformly in CVID patients. The majority, however, responded in some degree, and some exhibited completely restored values of the four parameters. These remarkable results indicate leptin could be used to improve immune function in these patients. On the other hand, we found no specific correlation between serum leptin levels and the number of infectious events over a 24-month period, presence of autoimmunity, allergies, or cancer in these patients. The results suggest that the absolute value of serum leptin does not determine the clinical behavior of patients or responses to leptin in vitro. Of note is the divergence between serum leptin, response to leptin in vitro, and the presence of autoimmunity, indicating the need to identify the cellular and molecular players involved in the regulation of the immune response by leptin in CVID.

Developing Box-Pushing Behaviours Using Evolutionary Robotics

The context of this report and the IRIDIA laboratory are described in the preface. Evolutionary Robotics and the box-pushing task are presented in the introduction.The building of a test system supporting Evolutionary Robotics experiments is then detailed. This system is made of a robot simulator and a Genetic Algorithm. It is used to explore the possibility of evolving box-pushing behaviours. The bootstrapping problem is explained, and a novel approach for dealing with it is proposed, with results presented.Finally, ideas for extending this approach are presented in the conclusion.

Involvement of median raphe nucleus 5-HT1A receptors in the regulation of generalized anxiety-related defensive behaviours in rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Caries and its association with infant feeding and oral health-related behaviours in 3-4-year-old Brazilian children

Objectives: To investigate the relationships between socio-demographic factors, infant feeding habits, oral hygiene and the prevalence and patterns of caries in Brazilian 3-4-year-olds. Methods: Systematic random sampling was used to select children enrolled in municipal nurseries in Araraquara, Brazil, in 1998. Clinical examinations were carried out by one examiner using dmft and dmfs indices and WHO criteria. Questionnaires for information related to the socio-demographic background, oral hygiene and dietary history of the children were completed by their mothers. Results: Caries was seen in 46% of the children; 17% of them had the more extensive pattern involving molars and incisors. Social class, mother's education, and age at which breast-feeding terminated showed statistically significant associations with caries. Feeding bottles with added sugars were still being given to 80% of the children. When the significant variables were taken into account only age at which breast-feeding terminated showed a significant relationship to the pattern of disease. Children who were never breast-fed or were breast-fed beyond the age of 24 months had a higher prevalence of the more extensive pattern of caries. Conclusions: The association between the length of time a mother breast-feeds and extensive caries should be a consideration in any local infant feeding policies or health promotion strategies. The duration for appropriate breast- or bottle-feeding should be emphasised.

Studies on thermal-oxidative degradation behaviours of raw natural rubber: PRI and thermogravimetry analysis

Thermal-oxidative degradation behaviours of raw natural rubber (NR) have been investigated by using thermogravimetry analysis in inert and oxidative atmospheres and the plasticity retention index (PRI). The activation energy E a, was calculated using Horowitz-Metzger and Coats-Redfern methods and compared with PRI. The E a values obtained by each method were in good agreement with each other. The June samples are the least stable rubbers among the studied ones, whereas February samples exhibited the highest values of activation energy, therefore in agreement with the PRI behaviour, which indicates that the thermo-oxidative stability of the June samples are the poorest during the thermo-oxidative degradation reaction. Natural rubber is a product of biological origin, and thus these variations in the values of thermal behaviour and PRI might be related to the genetic differences and alterations of climatic conditions that act directly on the synthesis of non-rubber constituents, which are generally reflected in latex and rubber properties. © 2013 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

Reporting social behaviours of mixed-species troops formed by Callithrix jacchus and Callithrix penicillata (Primate, Callitrichidae)

In New World primates, mixed-species troops have been reported. Here, we analysed the performance of affiliative and agonistic behaviours of Callithrix jacchus and Callithrix penicillata living in mixed groups. For this purpose, we recorded the interaction of the individuals from two groups located in Bauru city, in the state of Sao Paulo (Brazil). Our data show that in both groups, affiliative behaviours appeared more frequently than agonistic ones. We concluded that there is cohesion inside the mixed-species troops observed. We suggest that a deeper knowledge about the social behaviour of mixed-species troop species certainly may be useful in projects linked with the management of the impact caused by them.

Sedentary behaviours and its association with bone mass in adolescents: the HELENA cross-sectional study

Background: We aimed to examine whether time spent on different sedentary behaviours is associated with bone mineral content (BMC) in adolescents, after controlling for relevant confounders such as lean mass and objectively measured physical activity (PA), and if so, whether extra-curricular participation in osteogenic sports could have a role in this association. Methods: Participants were 359 Spanish adolescents (12.5-17.5 yr, 178 boys,) from the HELENA-CSS (2006-07). Relationships of sedentary behaviours with bone variables were analysed by linear regression. The prevalence of low BMC (at least 1SD below the mean) and time spent on sedentary behaviours according to extracurricular sport participation was analysed by Chi-square tests. Results: In boys, the use of internet for non-study was negatively associated with whole body BMC after adjustment for lean mass and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). In girls, the time spent studying was negatively associated with femoral neck BMC. Additional adjustment for lean mass slightly reduced the negative association between time spent studying and femoral neck BMC. The additional adjustment for MVPA did not change the results at this site. The percentage of girls having low femoral neck BMC was significantly smaller in those participating in osteogenic sports (>= 3 h/week) than in the rest, independently of the cut-off selected for the time spent studying. Conclusions: The use of internet for non-study (in boys) and the time spent studying (in girls) are negatively associated with whole body and femoral neck BMC, respectively. In addition, at least 3 h/week of extra-curricular osteogenic sports may help to counteract the negative association of time spent studying on bone health in girls.

Untersuchungen zur Charakterisierung der Bystander-Effekte bei einer in vivo Therapie mit Suizidgenen

Untersuchungen zur Charakterisierung der Bystander-Effekte bei einer in vivo Therapie mit Suizidgenen Bei Tumoren eines syngenen Prostatakarzinoms der Ratte (Dunning R3327 AT-1), die zuvor ex vivo mit einem Fusionsgen aus Cytosin Deaminase und Tymidinkinase (AT-1/CDglyTK) transfiziert wurden, konnte durch Kombinationsbehandlung mit Ganciclovir (GCV) und 5-Fluorocytosin (5-FC) komplette Remission und Langzeitüberleben erzielt werden. Dagegen ergaben sich bei Applikation nur einer Pro-Drug lediglich lokale Tumorkontrollraten von 83% (GCV) und 57% (5-FC). Noch geringere therapeutische Effekte einer Kombinationstherapie mit GCV und 5-FC wurden beobachtet, wenn in Anlehnung an die klinische Situation der Anteil suizidgen-tragender Zellen in den Tumoren auf < 20% abgesenkt wurde. Molekularbiologische Analysen dieser Mischtumore zeigen eine Verminderung membranständiger Connexinproteine, welche für den interzellulären Transport phosphorylierter GCV-Metabolite über Gap-junctions erforderlich sind. Pharmakodynamische Untersuchungen mittels 19F-NMR belegen eine effiziente Metabolisierung von 5-FC zu 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) und den anschließenden Einbau der F-Nukleotide in die DNA. Dennoch sind die intrazellulären und sezernierten 5-FU Konzentrationen für eine Inaktivierung benachbarter Zellen im Sinne eines „lokalen-Bystander-Effektes“ nicht ausreichend. Bei gleichzeitiger Therapie von AT-1 und AT-1/CDglyTK Tumoren, kommt es nicht zur Regression des AT-1 Tumors und damit nicht zu einem „Distalen-Bystander-Effekt“. Dagegen führt die Induktion eines immunologischen Gedächtnisses zu deutlich verminderten Angehraten bei später injizierten AT-1 Tumoren. Die Suizidgen-Therapie ist ein erfolgversprechender Ansatz zur Behandlung maligner Erkrankungen, bei dem die lokalen und distalen Bystander-Effekte individueller Tumoren den therapeutischen Erfolg maßgeblich mitbestimmen.

Extracting FSA descriptions of robot behaviours from the dynamics of automatically designed controller networks

Automatic design has become a common approach to evolve complex networks, such as artificial neural networks (ANNs) and random boolean networks (RBNs), and many evolutionary setups have been discussed to increase the efficiency of this process. However networks evolved in this way have few limitations that should not be overlooked. One of these limitations is the black-box problem that refers to the impossibility to analyze internal behaviour of complex networks in an efficient and meaningful way. The aim of this study is to develop a methodology that make it possible to extract finite-state automata (FSAs) descriptions of robot behaviours from the dynamics of automatically designed complex controller networks. These FSAs unlike complex networks from which they're extracted are both readable and editable thus making the resulting designs much more valuable.