Psychology

Two experiments explored the motivational impact of primary incentive female cues on the operant behavior of sexually naive and experienced male rats. In the first experiment, a straight-arm runway was used to assess the subjects' motivation to approach a goalbox containing either male or female "targets." Twelve sexually naive Long-Evans males ran for: (1) an empty goalbox; (2) a male conspecific; (3) an ovariectomized (OVX) female; (4) an OVX female given estradiol; (5) or an OVX female treated with estradiol and progesterone. A perforated Plexiglas partition in the goalbox prevented the subject males from physically interacting with the targets, although olfactory, visual, and auditory cues were accessible. We hypothesized that subjects would manifest shorter run times (reflecting greater motivation) when the goalbox contained a receptive/proceptive female as opposed to a nonreceptive female target. Subjects' run times were ordered depending on the nature of the target (from slowest to fastest): empty goalbox, male conspecific, OVX female, OVX ؉ estradiol female, and OVX ؉ estradiol ؉ progesterone female. As predicted, subjects ran significantly faster for a receptive/proceptive female than for a nonreceptive female, indicating that sexually naive males are inherently motivated by female precopulatory cues. In the second experiment, 30 sexually naive male subjects ran for a goalbox containing either a nonestrous (OVX) or an estrous (OVX ؉ estradiol ؉ progesterone) female. Following six trials, 10 males were allowed one intromission with a receptive female, 10 males experienced one ejaculation, and 10 remained sexually naive. Only those males having experienced an ejaculation subsequently decreased their run times for both nonestrous and estrous females, indicating that sexual reinforcement produced by ejaculation, but not intromission, further enhances the motivational impact of female incentive cues.

The role of dopaminergic transmission in the incentive ± motivational processes involved in the generation of male sexual behavior was examined. Three groups of sexually naõ Ève Long ± Evans male rats traversed a straight alley for one of three goalbox targets: an empty goalbox, a nonestrous female, or an estrous female. A Plexiglas partition within the goalbox allowed for the perception of visual, auditory, and olfactory cues, but prevented physical contact. Baseline run times revealed that subjects returned to the goalbox significantly faster for an estrous female than for a nonestrous female, replicating our earlier work on the inherent incentive value of primary female cues. When subjects were then pretreated with the dopamine receptor antagonist, haloperidol (0.0, 0.075, or 0.15 mg/ kg), they expressed decreased sexual motivation as reflected by increased run times for estrous female targets. Subjects' run times for the empty goalbox condition were unaffected by haloperidol, suggesting that the drug did not reliably impair motoric capacity. Results support the contention that central dopaminergic systems are involved in the regulation of the positive, unconditioned incentive value of estrous female cues. D (A. Ettenberg). www.elsevier.com/locate/pharmbiochembeh Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior 68 (2001) 411 ± 416 0091-3057/01/$ ± see front matter D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 9 1 -3 0 5 7 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 4 7 2 -X

The motivational impact of sexually conditioned incentives was examined in two experiments. In Experiment 1, male Long -Evans rats copulated to ejaculation in the presence of one of two scents (orange or almond extract) on five separate occasions. On alternating days, subjects spent an equal amount of time in social isolation with the opposing scent. Following the 10-day conditioning regimen, subjects ran more rapidly down an operant runway toward a goalbox containing the sex-paired scent (CS+) compared to trials on which the isolation-paired scent (CS À ) or no scent was provided. In Experiment 2, comparably conditioned male rats were first given a baseline runway trial with an unscented goalbox. The following day, subjects were pretreated with one of four doses of haloperidol (0.0, 0.075, 0.15, or 0.30 mg/kg ip) 45 min prior to being tested in the runway for their motivation to approach either the CS+ or CS À scents. Control subjects given vehicle injections performed comparably to subjects from Experiment 1, taking significantly less time to approach the CS+ than an unscented goalbox. This decrease in run latency was not observed in subjects within the 0.075 and 0.15 mg/kg haloperidol groups. Subjects in the 0.30 mg/kg haloperidol groups took significantly more time to approach both the CS+ and CS À compared to their baseline run times. These data reveal that an olfactory cue associated with sexual reward becomes a conditioned incentive capable of eliciting approach behavior, and that dopamine receptor antagonism (at moderate but not high doses) selectively attenuates this cue-induced motivation. D

Male rats manifest an increase in sexual motivation following sexual experience. The current experiment was devised to investigate the role of dopamine in this process by assessing whether sexual behavior occurring in the presence of the dopamine receptor antagonist, haloperidol, would continue to alter the subjects' subsequent sexual motivation. Four groups of male Long ± Evans rats (total N = 34) traversed an operant runway once per day for one of two goalbox targets: a nonestrous or estrous female. Following establishment of baseline run times (10 trials), all males received one ejaculation with a receptive female in a separate testing environment. Subjects were pretreated with vehicle or one of three doses of haloperidol (0.05, 0.075, 0.10 mg/kg) 45 min prior to being paired with the receptive female. All subjects successfully achieved ejaculation under these conditions. Subjects were then re-tested within the runway for their motivation to approach the two types of female targets (10 trials). Vehicle-treated subjects expressed the expected increase in sexual motivation following sexual experience, while haloperidol treatment dose-dependently attenuated this effect. Subjects that received the highest haloperidol dose subsequently manifested increased run times and intra-runway``retreat'' behaviors, suggesting that female cues may have become associated with an aversive sexual experience. These results are consistent with the view that dopamine systems play a role in the rewarding or reinforcing consequences of male sexual behavior. D

The current study investigated whether women show an attentional bias toward courtship language during the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle. Thirty heterosexual women (17 naturally cycling, 13 using hormonal contraceptives) completed a dichotic listening task on both a high and low fertility day of their menstrual cycle. Participants were asked to verbally repeat (shadow) an emotionally neutral target passage played in one ear while either a neutral or courtship distracter was played in the other ear. Courtship distracters were flirtatious in content but not overtly sexual. Shadowing errors were coded as a measure of attentional bias toward the distracter. Saliva samples were taken to determine whether levels of estradiol, progesterone and/or testosterone correlated with task performance. As predicted, naturally cycling women made more shadowing errors when listening to a courtship distracter during the fertile phase of their cycle than during the nonfertile phase. This effect was moderated by relationship status, such that fertile, mated women showed an attentional bias for courtship language but fertile single women did not. However, because of small sample sizes in the analysis, this relationship should be viewed as preliminary. Hormonal analysis revealed that higher levels of salivary estradiol predicted greater attentional bias toward courtship language in naturally cycling women. These results suggest that women's attention is drawn to verbal courtship signals when they are fertile, and that this shift is linked to increased estradiol release during the periovulatory phase.

Endocannabinoids may normally inhibit the generation and expression of female estrous behaviors. Previous work in our laboratory demonstrated that acute administration of a CB 1 receptor antagonist (AM251) increased sexual incentive motivation in estrous female rats. The current experiment examined the effect of CP55,940, a synthetic cannabinoid agonist, on sexual motivation. Seventy-two ovariectomized female Long-Evans rats were tested for their socio-sexual motivation via a runway methodology. Baseline motivation to approach and maintain close proximity to an empty goalbox, a female conspecific, and a male conspecific was assessed over six trials. Subjects were then grouped into nine experimental conditions and re-tested for their socio-sexual motivation after one of three possible hormonal treatments and three drug doses. Hormone treatments were: oil (nonestrous), 10 μg estradiol benzoate (partially estrous), and 10 μg estradiol + 500 μg progesterone (fully estrous). Drug doses were: 0, 20, or 40 μg/kg CP55,940 (IP, 30 min prior to testing). As expected, hormonal priming with both estradiol and progesterone significantly increased sexual motivation in females that did not receive drug treatment. This occurred even though females were kept sexually-naïve throughout the experiment. CP55,940 dose-dependently attenuated sexual motivation for a male target in estrous females; the 40 μg/kg dose completely blocked sexual motivation. However, this same dose also significantly reduced social motivation for another female. Cannabinoid agonists reduce female sexual motivation, either directly by inhibiting estrus or indirectly by increasing social anxiety.

Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by neuronal remodeling and the maturation of adult emotionality, reproductive behavior and social behavior. We examined whether chronic cannabinoid exposure in adolescent rats alters female sexual motivation, estrous cyclicity, sucrose preference, and CB 1 R expression in adulthood. Female rats were administered with the synthetic cannabinoid agonist, CP-55,940 (0.4 mg/kg, intraperitoneal), daily during adolescent development . In a subset of subjects, sociosexual motivation was investigated in adulthood (PND 75-86) using a runway apparatus. Estrous cyclicity was tracked in adulthood via vaginal cytology and a single-mount test. A two-bottle sucrose preference test was also conducted to determine whether predicted changes in socio-sexual motivation might be linked to alterations in hedonic processing. CB 1 R expression was examined in two separate subsets of subjects, one sacrificed following drug treatment (PND 46) and one before behavioral testing (PND 74). Drug treatment significantly decreased adult preference for a male conspecific (sexual motivation), as assessed by both Run Time and Proximity Time, but did not affect estrous cyclicity or sucrose preference. CP-55,940 treatment also induced immediate, but transient, decreases in CB 1 R expression in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus and amygdala. Drug treatment did not affect CB 1 R expression in the nucleus accumbens (core or shell) or globus pallidus at either time point. We suggest that the endocannabinoid system may play a role in the maturation of neuroendocrine axes and adult female reproductive behavior, and that chronic exposure to cannabinoids during adolescence disrupts these neurodevelopmental processes.

There is substantial evidence in rodent models that chronic exposure to cannabinoids during adolescence can
alter the development of neurobiological systems that are implicated in regulating brain activity and seizure.
The current study exploredwhether adolescent cannabinoid treatment affects subsequent, adult seizure susceptibility.
Sixty male Wistar Kyoto rats were treated with either the synthetic cannabinoid, CP 55,940 (0.4 mg/kg,
one treatment per day), or vehicle between 35 and 45 days old. Subjects were then allowed to mature to
adulthood. At 68–69 days of age, subjects were tested for seizure susceptibility using the pro-convulsant, pentylenetetrazol
(PTZ). Subjects received an acute injection of either 35mg/kg or 50 mg/kg PTZ immediately prior to a
30-min behavioral seizure test. PTZ doses were chosen to produce low-to-moderate levels of seizure activity in
control subjects. There were no significant differences between treated and control subjects in: latency to first
seizure, mean seizure severity, percentage who displayed any seizure activity, percentage who displayed clonic
seizure, or percentage who displayed tonic–clonic seizure. However, CP 55,940-treated subjects had a higher
mortality rate compared to controls at both PTZ doses, suggesting that adolescent cannabinoid exposuremay increase
the lethality of severe seizures experienced in adulthood.

This paper studies the effects of adaptation and mitigation on the impacts of sea level rise. Without adaptation, the impact of sea level rise would be substantial, almost wiping out entire countries by 2100, although the globally aggregate effect is much smaller. Adaptation would reduce potential impacts by a factor 10-100. Adaptation would come at a minor cost compared to the damage avoided. As adaptation depends on socioeconomic status, the rank order of most vulnerable countries is different than the rank order of most exposed countries. Because the momentum of sea level rise is so large, mitigation can reduce impacts only to a limited extent. Stabilising carbon dioxide concentrations at 550 ppm would cut impacts in 2100 by about 10%. However, the costs of emission reduction lower the avoided impacts by up to 25% (average 10%). This is partly due to the reduced availability of resources for adaptation, and partly due to the increased sensitivity to wetland loss by adaptation. estimate the difference between a business-as-usual and an emission reduction scenario. However, Nicholls and Lowe (2004) disregard the effect of deep emission cuts on economic growth, implicitly assuming that emission abatement is cost-less.

NEBRASKA LAW REVIEW E. "No decree shall be entered.. unless the court finds that every reasonable effort to effect reconciliation has been made." 1. Waiting Periods 2. Reconciliation Attempts F. "It is the intent of the legislature that a spouse who has been handicapped socially or economically by his or her contribution to a marriage shall be compensated for such contribution at the termination of the marriage .... VII. CONCLUSION Purpose (1) It is the intent of the legislature to emphasize the present and future needs of the parties to actions affecting marriage and of their children, if any; to move away from assigning blame for a marriage failure; and to promote the settlement of financial and custodial issues in a way which will meet the real needs of all concerned persons as nearly as possible.

m e parolees in this study viewed the police mther negatively, were reluctant to label contacts with the police as hamssment, and experienced a great deal o f pluralistic ignorance about the extent o f police hamssment of ex-offenders. m e y also had a very negative opinion of the courts and lawyers, but a positive opinion of the parole system, parole agents, and parole rules. It was also found that on attitudes toward the police and the courts, blacks were more negative than whites, while there were np racial differences in attitudes towzrd lawyers or the various aspects of the parole system.

Investigated the effects of subjects' self-concept and the attractiveness of the other on subjects' estimates of how much the other liked them. The use of a signal detection paradigm allowed the measurement of both the criteria and discriminability of subjects' decisions. Eighty mule and 80 female subjects participated in a computer match where they received either somewhat positive or somewhat negative feedback from their match. Besides sex and type of feedback, the factorial design included dating self-concept (high vs. low) and other-attractiveness (high vs. low). Results indicate that high dating self-concept subjects had a lower criterion than low dating self-concept subjects for saying that another liked them (p < .Ol), and that the former group was superior to the latter at discriminating between the two types of feedback (p < .03). Also, males were more willing to say that the attractive match liked them than that the unattractive match liked them, while among females the direction of these differences reversed (p < .03). f i e results were explained in terms of differential attention to pay-off matrices andprior odds.