Neurosurgical treatment for addiction: lessons from an untold story in China and a path forward

Addiction is a major public-health crisis associated with significant disability and mortality. Although various pharmacological and behavioral treatments are currently available, the clinical efficacy of these treatments is limited. Given this situation, there is a growing interest in finding an effective neurosurgical treatment for addiction. First, we discuss the use of ablative surgery in treating addiction. We focus on the rise and fall of nucleus accumbens ablation for addiction in China. Subsequently, we review recent studies that have explored the efficacy and safety of deep-brain-stimulation treatment for addiction. We conclude that neurosurgical procedures, particularly deep-brain stimulation, have a potentially valuable role in the management of otherwise intractable addictive disorders. Larger well-controlled clinical trials, however, are needed to assess clinical efficacy and safety. We end by discussing several key issues involved in this clinical field and identifying some areas of progress.     

Age as a merit in admission decisions for higher education

Higher Education - This paper uses register data to study how a particular age reward feature affects admission into two highly competitive study programs: medicine and law. The Norwegian admission...     

State-dependent retention induced by postacquisition exposure to pentobarbital or shock stress in rats

Although state-dependent retention (SDR) has been the focus of considerable research in recent years, there has been little work demonstrating this phenomenon when the treatment is administeredafter learning. In the present study, the effectiveness of two different treatments, pentobarbital and shock-induced stress, in producing postacquisition SDR in rats was examined. In all experiments, water-deprived rats were exposed to a novel flavor, apple juice, on each of 2 days. Subjects that remember their initial exposure to this substance should show an increase in consumption on their second exposure (i.e., an attenuation of neophobia). It was found that subjects exposed to pentobarbital (Experiment 1) or shock-induced stress (Experiment 2) immediately after their initial exposure did not increase their intake on the subsequent exposure unless they were reexposed to pentobarbital (Experiment 1) or shock-induced stress (Experiment 2b) shortly prior to that exposure. These results clearly show that this “attenuation of neophobia” paradigm can be used to investigate postacquisition SDR.     

The relationship of school‐wide Positive Behavior Support to academic achievement in an urban middle school

An emerging literature on school‐wide Positive Behavior Support (PBS) in urban settings suggests the utility of PBS in addressing student social development while decreasing the need for disciplinary actions (i.e., office disciplinary referrals [ODRs]). This research represents a significant addition to, and expansion of, this literature by examining the relationship of school‐wide PBS‐induced reductions in out‐of‐class referrals to student academic achievement. School‐wide PBS was implemented in an urban, inner‐city middle school in the Midwest over a 3‐year period. Data on ODRs, suspensions, standardized test scores, and treatment fidelity were gathered and analyzed. Results demonstrated significant reductions in ODRs and suspensions and increases in standardized math and reading scores. Additionally, regression analyses suggested a significant relationship between student problem behavior and academic performance. Treatment adherence to PBS procedures was significantly correlated with reductions in problem behavior. These findings are discussed in terms of helping urban schools address challenging behavior. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 701–712, 2006.     

Mentoring retrained teachers: extending the web

Novice teachers need support if they are to survive the reality of school. A web of relationships involving members of the school community, mentors outside the school community and a university tutor has been shown to be an effective way of providing this assistance. This article describes an extended web of assistance offered to a group of 11 teachers retrained to teach science. As they made the transition to science teaching these teachers identified a need for guidance and support in learning about a new subject and a new school environment. In some cases the school community was able to provide this guidance and support but in other cases the retrained teachers were met with scepticism by their fellow teachers and needed assistance from other sources. The extended web of relationships they accessed included district consultants provided by the employer, mentors located outside of the school, fellow graduates and a university tutor. All retrained teachers were also assisted in their development as reflective teachers by the production of a portfolio. The addition of an online component to the portfolio, allowing the sharing of ideas between the retrained teacher and the university tutor coordinating the program is proposed as a valuable component of the mentoring network.     

The Multiple Subfunctions of Attention: Differential Developmental Gateways to Literacy and Numeracy

Attention is construed as multicomponential, but the roles of its distinct subfunctions in shaping the broader developing cognitive landscape are poorly understood. The current study assessed 3‐ to 6‐year‐olds (N = 83) to: (a) trace developmental trajectories of attentional processes and their structure in early childhood and (b) measure the impact of distinct attention subfunctions on concurrent and longitudinal abilities related to literacy and numeracy. Distinct trajectories across attention measures revealed the emergence of 2 attentional factors, encompassing “executive” and “sustained–selective” processes. Executive attention predicted concurrent abilities across domains at Time 1, whereas sustained–selective attention predicted basic numeracy 1 year later. These concurrent and longitudinal constraints cast a broader light on the unfolding relations between domain‐general and domain‐specific processes over early childhood.     

Students' Perceptions of Teaching in Context-based and Traditional Chemistry Classrooms: Comparing content,learning activities,and interpersonal perspectives

Context-based curriculum reforms in chemistry education are thought to bring greater diversity to the ways in which chemistry teachers organize their teaching. First and foremost, students are expected to perceive this diversity. However, empirical research on how students perceive their teacher's teaching in context-based chemistry classrooms, and whether this teaching differs from traditional chemistry lessons, is scarce. This study aims to develop our understanding of what teaching looks like, according to students, in context-based chemistry classrooms compared with traditional chemistry classrooms. As such, it might also provide a better understanding of whether teachers implement and attain the intentions of curriculum developers. To study teacher behaviour we used three theoretical perspectives deemed to be important for student learning: a content perspective, a learning activities perspective, and an interpersonal perspective. Data were collected from 480 students in 24 secondary chemistry classes in the Netherlands. Our findings suggest that, according to the students, the changes in teaching in context-based chemistry classrooms imply a lessening of the emphasis on fundamental chemistry and the use of a teacher-centred approach, compared with traditional chemistry classrooms. However, teachers in context-based chemistry classrooms seem not to display more ‘context-based’ teaching behaviour, such as emphasizing the relation between chemistry, technology, and society and using a student-centred approach. Furthermore, students in context-based chemistry classrooms perceive their teachers as having less interpersonal control and showing less affiliation than teachers in traditional chemistry classrooms. Our findings should be interpreted in the context of former and daily experiences of both teachers and students. As only chemistry is reformed in the schools in which context-based chemistry is implemented, it is challenging for both students and teachers to deal with these reforms.     

The literacy achievement of Norwegian minority students

The article presents the literacy achievement of Norwegian minority students, their reading habits, and their enjoyment of reading based on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000 study. Aspects of their family background and attitudes towards school are related to literacy achievement results. A comparison between Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany shows that the achievement gap between majority and minority students is larger in Denmark and Germany than in Norway and Sweden. A more detailed presentation of the Norwegian reading results shows that 35% of the Norwegian minority students perform at a level indicating that they are able to read in a technical sense, but they are unlikely to be able to use reading as an independent tool in acquiring knowledge and skills. The minority students' responses to questions about socio‐economic family background, reading habits, learning strategies and school motivation give a complex picture of their situation in Norwegian schools. The results indicate that there is some potential for equalising differences between minority students and majority students.     

Gender Differences in Computer-related Control Beliefs and Home Computer Use

This study explores gender differences in home computer use and control beliefs relative to being able to use computers. Perceived control of computer usage was measured in 152 Grade 8 Norwegian students. One group of students ( n = 58) had no computer training and did not use computers at school. In this group, males were found to have greater perceived control of the computer as well as greater confidence in own success, compared with females. Another group of students ( n = 94) had computer training in school. No gender differences were found in this group. The results are discussed in terms of sex stereotypes and the impact of computer training.