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Behavioral Features (behavioral + feature)
Selected AbstractsA preliminary examination of the intergenerational continuity of maternal psychopathic featuresAGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, Issue 1 2007Bryan R. Loney Abstract The study provided a preliminary test of the intergenerational continuity of maternal psychopathic features in a non-referred elementary aged sample of children. Consistent with dominant etiological models and recent behavioral genetics research, a direct association was expected between maternal and child affective features of psychopathy (i.e., callous,unemotional or CU traits). Potential mediators representative of alternative transmission mechanisms were assessed including parenting dysfunction, parental hostility/interpersonal insensitivity, and child impulsivity. Behavioral features of psychopathy were also assessed and were predicted to bear weaker and more indirect parent,child associations. A mixed sex sample of 83 children accompanied by a biological mother were administered a multi-informant rating-scale battery including separate parent (i.e., Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale) and child (i.e., Antisocial Process Screening Device) measures of psychopathy. Consistent with prediction, a significant association was documented between maternal and child CU traits (r=.22). Additionally, a slightly weaker association and statistical trend (r=.21) was observed in the relation between maternal and child interpersonal features of the psychopathy construct. Contrary to prediction, all documented associations were fully mediated by parental hostility and parenting dysfunction. Given the preliminary nature of study findings, implications for developmental modeling and future intergenerational continuity research are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 33:14,25, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss; Inc. [source] The neuroanatomy and neuroendocrinology of fragile X syndromeDEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH REVIEW, Issue 1 2004David Hessl Abstract Fragile X syndrome (FXS), caused by a single gene mutation on the X chromosome, offers a unique opportunity for investigation of gene,brain,behavior relationships. Recent advances in molecular genetics, human brain imaging, and behavioral studies have started to unravel the complex pathways leading to the cognitive, psychiatric, and physical features that are unique to this syndrome. In this article, we summarize studies focused on the neuroanatomy and neuroendocrinology of FXS. A review of structural imaging studies of individuals with the full mutation shows that several brain regions are enlarged, including the hippocampus, amygdala, caudate nucleus, and thalamus, even after controlling for overall brain volume. These regions mediate several cognitive and behavioral functions known to be aberrant in FXS such as memory and learning, information and sensory processing, and social and emotional behavior. Two regions, the cerebellar vermis, important for a variety of cognitive tasks and regulation of motor behavior, and the superior temporal gyrus, involved in processing complex auditory stimuli, are reported to be reduced in size relative to controls. Functional imaging, typically limited to females, has emphasized that individuals with FXS do not adequately recruit brain regions that are normally utilized by unaffected individuals to carry out various cognitive tasks, such as arithmetic processing or visual memory tasks. Finally, we review a number of neuroendocrine studies implicating hypothalamic dysfunction in FXS, including abnormal activation of the hypothalamic,pituitary,adrenal (HPA) axis. These studies may help to explain the abnormal stress responses, sleep abnormalities, and physical growth patterns commonly seen in affected individuals. In the future, innovative longitudinal studies to investigate development of neurobiologic and behavioral features over time, and ultimately empirical testing of pharmacological, behavioral, and even molecular genetic interventions using MRI are likely to yield significant positive changes in the lives of persons with FXS, as well as increase our understanding of the development of psychiatric and learning problems in the general population. MRDD Research Reviews 2004;10:17,24. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Social-cognition and the broad autism phenotype: identifying genetically meaningful phenotypesTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 1 2007Molly Losh Background:, Strong evidence from twin and family studies suggests that the genetic liability to autism may be expressed through personality and language characteristics qualitatively similar, but more subtly expressed than those defining the full syndrome. This study examined behavioral features of this ,broad autism phenotype' (BAP) in relation to performance on a measure of social-cognition in an attempt to tease out this complex clinical picture and identify markers of underlying neuropsychological systems of genetic significance to autism. We hypothesized that mild social-cognitive impairment would be associated with clinically defined social characteristics of the BAP (aloof personality style, lower quality social relationships, and impaired pragmatic language use). Method:, Forty-eight parents of individuals with autism (13 of whom were identified as ,aloof'), and 22 control parents, were administered the ,Eyes Test', a social-cognitive measure that taps the ability to read complex psychological states from viewing only the eye region of faces. Results:, Whereas social-cognitive ability was unimpaired among parents of autistic children in general, the subgroup of parents defined as ,aloof' displayed significant social-cognitive deficits on the ,Eyes Test'. Impaired social-cognitive ability was associated with low quality of friendships and problems with pragmatic language use, associations which mirror those documented in autism. Conclusions: Findings suggest that social-cognitive impairments co-segregate with conceptually related personality, social, and language features that constitute the BAP, and point towards performance on the Eyes Test as a genetically meaningful endophenotype. [source] Psychopathy in adolescent female offenders: an item response theory analysis of the psychopathy checklist: youth versionBEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 1 2006Crystal L. Schrum M.A. The present study examined the applicability of the PCL:YV items to a sample of detained adolescent girls. Item response theory (IRT) was used to analyze test and item functioning of the PCL:YV. Examination of IRT trace lines indicated that the items most discriminating of the underlying construct of psychopathy included "callousness and a lack of empathy", "conning and manipulation", and "a grandiose sense of self-worth". Results from the analyses also demonstrated that the items least discriminating in this sample, or least useful for identifying psychopathy, included "poor anger control", "shallow affect", or engaging in a "serious violation of conditional release". Consistent with previous research (Cooke & Michie, 1997; Hare, 2003), interpersonal and affective components of psychopathy provided more information than behavioral features. Moreover, although previous research has also found affective features to provide the most information in past studies, it was interpersonal features of psychopathy in this case, followed by affective features, that provided greater levels of information. Implications of these results are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Seed Dispersal of the Palm Syagrus romanzoffiana by Tapirs in the Semi-deciduous Atlantic Forest of ArgentinaBIOTROPICA, Issue 4 2009Mariano I. Giombini ABSTRACT Vertebrates play a fundamental role in the dispersal of Neotropical trees, generating different seed shadows according to their physical and behavioral features. Tapirs are capable of consuming great quantities of large fruits, and they defecate seeds far from parent trees. For instance, intact seeds of the palm Syagrus romanzoffiana have been found in tapir dung piles in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil, suggesting that tapirs effectively disperse this species. However, recruitment was not examined therein. We studied tapir endozoochory of large and medium seeds in the semi-deciduous Atlantic Forest of Argentina by examining dung piles found within Iguazu National Park. We recorded dung-pile positions to evaluate the spatial distribution. We also counted the number of juveniles in 2 × 2 m quadrats placed on old dung piles in latrines, beneath adults and in random sites to estimate recruitment levels. Syagrus romanzoffiana seeds were present in 98 percent of dung piles, averaging >200 seeds/dung pile, indicating that this species constitutes the main fruit component in the tapir's diet. Dung piles showed a clumped deposition pattern reflecting the use of latrines. Juvenile recruitment in latrines was 21 times higher than that of under-adult sites and 500 times greater than in random sites, and correlated with the frequency of use of the areas. We concluded that the lowland tapir is a major disperser of S. romanzoffiana. Given that this palm can be considered a keystone species, a disruption of this interaction might affect the entire community of frugivores in the long term. [source] | ||||||||||