Recent evidence supports a role for genetics in autism, but other findings are difficult to reconcile with a purely genetic cause. Pathological changes in the cerebellum in autism are thought to correspond to an event before 30-32 weeks gestation. Our purpose was to determine whether there is an increased incidence of stressors in autism before…

Data from the General Social Survey (GSS) collected in the years 1990-1996 are examined for the relationship between fertility and intelligence as measured by vocabulary. The results show that the relation between fertility and intelligence has been consistently negative for successive birth cohorts from to 1900 to 1979, indicating the presence of…

Phosphorylation of the transcription factor CREB on Ser133 is implicated in the establishment of long-term memory for hippocampus-dependent tasks, including spatial learning and contextual fear conditioning. We reported previously that training on a hippocampus-dependent social transmission of food preference (STFP) task increases CREB…

Hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) can be dissociated in early-LTP lasting 4-5 h and late-LTP with a duration of more than 8 h, the latter of which requires protein synthesis and heterosynaptic activity during its induction. Previous studies in vivo have shown that early-LTP in the dentate gyrus can protein synthesis-dependently be…

Does the language one speaks influence the way he thinks? Does it help define his world view? Anyone who has tried to master a foreign tongue has at least considered the possibility. Little linguistic peculiarities, though amusing, don't change the objective world people are describing. So how can they alter the way they think? Scientists and…

There is no doubt that health promotion and health education (HP/HE) in the UK are in a crisis, in view of the limited amount of financial resources available, the reduction in services and the lack of available new specialist jobs. The Government seems to have made a political decision about the reduction (if not abolition) of HP/HE services,…

Restriction enzymes are basic tools in recombinant DNA technology. To shape the molecular biology experiments, the students must know how to work with these molecular scissors. Here, we describe an integrated set of experiments, introduced in the "Advances in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology" postgraduate course, which covers the important…

The diagnostic criteria for Angelman syndrome includes sleep disturbance as an associated characteristic. There are, however, few researchers who have examined sleep problems in this population. Our goal in this study was to better characterize the sleep patterns and problems in individuals with Angelman syndrome. Parents of 339 individuals…

This paper brings some data to bear on the criticisms, claims, and arguments that Skinner (a) denied or dismissed biological participation in behavior, (b) addressed it only late in his career or more often later than earlier, or (c) addressed it only because of the overwhelming evidence for it or the criticisms that he had overlooked it. For…

Although members of the general public have often heard of the terms "genetic engineering" and, more recently, genomics, they typically have little to no knowledge about these topics, and in some cases are confused about basic concepts in these areas. There is currently a need for teaching models to explain concepts behind genomics.…

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder which has widespread developmental consequences including motor, cognitive and language delay. Previous research on PWS children has focused primarily on phonological development and dysfluency. In the present study, the lexical development of a boy with PWS was investigated in a series of 18 play…

This study tested if persistent externalizing behaviour and symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in childhood are associated with personality and behavioural aspects of the psychopathic personality constellation in adolescence. The target sample consisted of all 1,480 twin pairs born in Sweden between 1985 and 1986.…

Parental care plays an important role in the emotional and cognitive development of the offspring. Children who have been exposed to abuse or neglect are more likely to develop numerous psychopathologies, while good parent-infant bonding is associated with improved resiliency to stress. Similar observations have also been reported in non-human…

Background: Growing evidence indicates a link between unintentional injury and both disruptive and emotional psychopathology. We present further evidence of these associations and address the underlying mechanisms. We also examine the genetic contribution to unintentional injury. Methods: The Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral…

This study sought to determine the prevalence of bruxism in a Mexican community of children with Down syndrome, and to evaluate bruxism's relationship with age, sex, intellectual disability level, and type of chromosomal abnormality of trisomy 21. Using a cross-sectional design, 57 boys and girls (3 to 14 years old) were examined. Three approaches…