Role of catecholaminergic inputs to the medial prefrontal cortex in local and subcortical expression of Fos after psychological stress

A wide variety of stressors elicit Fos expression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). No direct attempts, however, have been made to determine the role of the inputs that drive this response. We examined the effects of lesions of mPFC catecholamine terminals on local expression of Fos after exposure to air puff, a stimulus that in the rat acts as an acute psychological stressor. We also examined the effects of these lesions on Fos expression in a variety of subcortical neuronal populations implicated in the control of adrenocortical activation, one classic hallmark of the stress response. Lesions of the mPFC that were restricted to dopaminergic terminals significantly reduced numbers of Fos-immunoreactive (Fos-IR) cells seen in the mPFC after air puff, but had no significant effect on stress-induced Fos expression in the subcortical structures examined. Lesions of the mPFC that affected both dopaminergic and noradrenergic terminals also reduced numbers of Fos-IR cells observed in the mPFC after air puff. Additionally, these lesions resulted in a significant reduction in stress-induced Fos-IR in the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. These results demonstrate a role for catecholaminergic inputs to the mPFC, in the generation of both local and subcortical responses to psychological stress.

Stressor categorization : acute physical and psychological stressors elicit distinctive recruitment patterns in the amygdala and in medullary noradrenergic cell groups

It has been hypothesized that the brain categorizes stressors and utilizes neural response pathways that vary in accordance with the assigned category. If this is true, stressors should elicit patterns of neuronal activation within the brain that are category-specific. Data from previous immediate–early gene expression mapping studies have hinted that this is the case, but interstudy differences in methodology render conclusions tenuous. In the present study, immunolabelling for the expression of c-fos was used as a marker of neuronal activity elicited in the rat brain by haemorrhage, immune challenge, noise, restraint and forced swim. All stressors elicited c-fos expression in 25–30% of hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus corticotrophin-releasing-factor cells, suggesting that these stimuli were of comparable strength, at least with regard to their ability to activate the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. In the amygdala, haemorrhage and immune challenge both elicited c-fos expression in a large number of neurons in the central nucleus of the amygdala, whereas noise, restraint and forced swim primarily elicited recruitment of cells within the medial nucleus of the amygdala. In the medulla, all stressors recruited similar numbers of noradrenergic (A1 and A2) and adrenergic (C1 and C2) cells. However, haemorrhage and immune challenge elicited c-fos expression in subpopulations of A1 and A2 noradrenergic cells that were significantly more rostral than those recruited by noise, restraint or forced swim. The present data support the suggestion that the brain recognizes at least two major categories of stressor, which we have referred to as ‘physical’ and ‘psychological’. Moreover, the present data suggest that the neural activation footprint that is left in the brain by stressors can be used to determine the category to which they have been assigned by the brain.

Thalamic paraventricular nucleus lesions facilitate central amygdala neuronal responses to acute psychological stress

The thalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVT) is activated by stress and projects to forebrain structures directly implicated in processing stress-related information. Accordingly, it seems likely the PVT plays an important role in modulating stress responses. We examined effects of excitotoxic PVT lesions on forebrain Fos expression patterns normally elicited by an acute psychological stressor. PVT lesions significantly increased stress-induced Fos in a key stress-processing region, the central amygdala.

Indoor location prediction using multiple wireless received signal strengths

This paper presents a framework for indoor location prediction system using multiple wireless signals available freely in public or office spaces. We first propose an abstract architectural design for the system, outlining its key components and their functionalities. Different from existing works, such as robot indoor localization which requires as precise localization as possible, our work focuses on a higher grain: location prediction. Such a problem has a great implication in context-aware systems such as indoor navigation or smart self-managed mobile devices (e.g., battery management). Central to these systems is an effective method to perform location prediction under different constraints such as dealing with multiple wireless sources, effects of human body heats or mobility of the users. To this end, the second part of this pa- per presents a comparative and comprehensive study on different choices for modeling signals strengths and prediction methods under different condition settings. The results show that with simple, but effective modeling method, almost perfect prediction accuracy can be achieved in the static environment, and up to 85% in the presence of human movements. Finally, adopting the proposed framework we outline a fully developed system, named Marauder, that support user interface interaction and real-time voice-enabled location prediction.

Psychological needs of adolescents in the early phase of bipolar disorder : implications for early intervention

Aim: This paper will describe the rationale for, and importance of, psychological interventions for young people early in the course of bipolar disorder.
Methods: Emerging literature in this field will be discussed in addition to describing specific clinical challenges and opportunities with this population.
Results: In order to be more developmentally appropriate for young people with bipolar disorder, eight aspects of clinical work which may require modification were identified.
Conclusions: The evidence base for the effectiveness of psychological interventions for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder is growing. However, some aspects relating to working with adults with bipolar disorder require modification to be effective in working with young people early in the course of the disorder.

Demographic and psychological factors related to sexual desire among heterosexual women in a relationship

This study examined demographic, psychological, and relationship factors that are associated with the experience of sexual desire in women. The contribution of other aspects of sexual function on sexual desire was also investigated. The participants were 741 partnered heterosexual women (mean age¼45.7 years), who completed the Female Sexual Desire Questionnaire online, which evaluated their levels of sexual desire, as well as a range of individual and dyadic variables. For each of the six aspects of sexual desire assessed, the number and frequency of problems in other aspects of women’s sexual functioning were the most common predictors. The results demonstrated that sexual desire was lower among older, postmenopausal women and those who had been in their current relationship for a longer period of time. Women who reported that their partner experienced a sexual dysfunction also obtained lower sexual desire scores. These findings demonstrate the strong interrelationship between the different phases of the sexual response cycle for women. Further, they suggest that sexual dysfunction in one partner is likely to be associated with sexual dysfunction in the other partner. The clinical implications of these findings in terms of the treatment for sexual dysfunction among women (and their partners) are discussed.

Cardiovascular risk factors and psychological distress in Australian farming communities

Objective:  To examine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, psychological distress and associations between physical and mental health parameters within a cohort of the Australian farming community.

Design:  Cross-sectional descriptive study.

Setting:  Farming communities across Australia.

Participants:  Data of men (n = 957) and women (n = 835) farmers from 97 locations across Australia were stratified into categories based on National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines.

Main outcome measure(s):  Prevalence of and interrelationship between overweight, obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, diabetes risk and psychological distress.

Results:  There was a higher prevalence of overweight (42.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI), 34.2–50.8), obesity (21.8%, 95% CI, 18.3–25.3), abdominal adiposity (38.4% 95% CI, 24.5–52.5), hypertension (54.0%, 95% CI, 34.4–73.5) and diabetes risk (25.3%, 95% CI, 17.7–36.7) in the farming cohort compared with national data. There was also a positive significant association between the prevalence of psychological distress and obesity, abdominal adiposity, body fat percentage and metabolic syndrome in older (age ≥ 50 years) participants.

Conclusions:  This study group of farming men and women exhibited an increased prevalence of CVD risk factors and co-morbidities. The findings indicate a positive association between psychological distress and risk for developing CVD, particularly in the older farmers. If the younger cohort were to maintain elevated rates of psychological distress, then it is foreseeable that the next generation of farmers could experience poorer physical health than their predecessors.