MDMA enhances "mind reading” of positive emotions and impairs "mind reading” of negative emotions

Rationale: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) increases sociability. The prosocial effects of MDMA may result from the release of the "social hormone” oxytocin and associated alterations in the processing of socioemotional stimuli. Materials and methods: We investigated the effects of MDMA (125mg) on the ability to infer the mental states of others from social cues of the eye region in the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. The study included 48 healthy volunteers (24 men, 24 women) and used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects design. A choice reaction time test was used to exclude impairments in psychomotor function. We also measured circulating oxytocin and cortisol levels and subjective drug effects. Results: MDMA differentially affected mind reading depending on the emotional valence of the stimuli. MDMA enhanced the accuracy of mental state decoding for positive stimuli (e.g., friendly), impaired mind reading for negative stimuli (e.g., hostile), and had no effect on mind reading for neutral stimuli (e.g., reflective). MDMA did not affect psychomotor performance, increased circulating oxytocin and cortisol levels, and produced subjective prosocial effects, including feelings of being more open, talkative, and closer to others. Conclusions: The shift in the ability to correctly read socioemotional information toward stimuli associated with positive emotional valence, together with the prosocial feelings elicited by MDMA, may enhance social approach behavior and sociability when MDMA is used recreationally and facilitate therapeutic relationships in MDMA-assisted psychotherapeutic setting

Enhanced Detection of Emotional Facial Expressions in Borderline Personality Disorder

Background: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is commonly proposed to be characterized by an enhanced sensitivity for emotional stimuli. In the present study, we investigated whether BPD patients show a superior detection of emotional facial expressions relative to healthy controls. The detection of emotional information in the environment represents an important facet of emotional sensitivity. Sampling and Methods: Twenty patients with BPD were compared with 25 healthy controls. The participants were presented a rapid, continuous stream of neutral and randomly inserted emotional facial expressions and were asked to report the presentation of an emotional facial stimulus after each trial. Availability of cognitive resources was manipulated via two different task demands. Results: The participants with BPD performed significantly better in the detection of positive and negative facial expressions compared to the healthy controls. False alarm rates did not differ significantly between the two groups. Conclusions: The BPD participants showed an enhanced detection of emotional expressions that might be related to the emotional disturbances they experience. In particular, we will discuss the role of this superior emotion detection (in combination with previously reported deficits in the labeling of emotional states) for the understanding of emotional instability in BPD

Gewaltstraftäter mit und ohne Antisoziale Persönlichkeitsstörung: Ein Vergleich

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Die diagnostische Wertigkeit von wiederholten Gesetzesübertretungen im Kontext der Antisozialen Persönlichkeitsstörung (ASPD) wird seit längerem kritisch diskutiert. Um festzustellen, ob sich Probanden mit einer ASPD auch abseits straffälligen Verhaltens von Straftätern unterscheiden, wurden inhaftierte Straftäter mit und ohne diese Diagnose untersucht. Material und Methoden: Sechsunddreißig inhaftierte Gewalttäter mit der Diagnose einer ASPD sowie 29 Gewaltstraftäter ohne ASPD der Justizvollzugsanstalt Straubing nahmen an der Studie teil. Die 28 strafrechtlich unauffälligen Kontrollprobanden wurden aus der deutschen Normalbevölkerung rekrutiert. Alle Probanden wurden hinsichtlich soziodemographischer, kriminologischer und klinischer Eigenschaften mit dem SKID-I und SKID-II, dem GAF, BIS-11, K-FAF und EPI untersucht. Ergebnisse: Gewaltstraftäter mit ASPD unterscheiden sich bezüglich folgender Parameter von Delinquenten ohne diese Diagnose: erhöhte Erregbarkeit, niedriges psychosoziales Funktionsniveau, gehäufte "Broken-home-Merkmale" und antisoziales Verhalten vor dem 11.Lebensjahr ("early starters"). Schlussfolgerung: Es konnten Merkmale identifiziert werden, die zwischen Gewaltstraftätern mit und ohne ASPD unterscheiden. In der Gesamtschau scheint allerdings weniger eine kategoriale als vielmehr eine dimensionale, d.h. am Ausprägungsgrad der Auffälligkeiten ausgerichtete Unterscheidung zwischen Gewaltstraftätern mit und ohne ASPD sinnvoll zu sei

Zuchtprogramme ohne Biotechnologie - Etablierung von Bockringen in der Ziegenzüchtung

Within organic livestock farming, the use of AI versus natural mating is under steady discussion. However, no special organic breeding programs without AI are set in place so far. The present study takes goat breeding in Germany as an example to show how an organic breeding program without biotechnology could be organised. As basis, breeding planning on different breeding plans is carried out: the breeding program in place, a breeding program with buck rotation within “buck circles” and a breeding program with AI are evaluated. It can be shown that within smaller populations (here: goat breeding in South Germany) a buck rotation scheme with progeny testing is superior in genetic gain than the actual and a breeding program based on AI. In a second step, in discussions with different stakeholders and farmers the hygiene plan of the buck circle was discovered as the critical point. A detailed hygiene plan has to be worked out and agreed upon by all participants. Still, the participating farmers have to trust all members of the group, because the compliance with the regulations is only limited controllable

Cardiovascular and cortisol reactions to acute psychological stress and cognitive ability in the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort Study

Objective: Recently, in analyses of data from a large community sample, negative cross-sectional and prospective associations between cardiac stress reactivity and obesity were observed. The present study re-examined the association between cardiovascular reactivity and adiposity in the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort, with the additional aim of examining the association between cortisol reactivity and adiposity. Methods: Blood pressure, heart rate, and salivary cortisol were measured at rest and in response to standard laboratory stress tasks in 725 adults. Height, weight, waist and hip circumference, and skin fold thickness were measured. Four to seven years later 460 participants reported current height and weight. Obesity was defined as a BMI > 30kg/m2. Results: Cross-sectional analyses revealed negative associations between all measures of adiposity and heart rate reactivity; those with a greater BMI (ß = -0.39 bpm), waist-hip ratio (ß = -0.15 bpm), and triceps and subscapular skin fold thicknesses (ß = -1.0 bpm and -1.8 bpm), or categorized as obese (-3.9 bpm) displayed smaller cardiac reactions to acute stress (all p <.001). With the exception of waist-hip ratio, the same negative associations emerged for cortisol reactivity (all p ≤ .01). In prospective analyses, low cardiac reactivity was associated with an increased likelihood of becoming or remaining obese in the subsequent 4-7 years (OR 1.03, p = .01). All associations withstood adjustment for a range of possible confounders. Conclusions: The present analyses provide additional support for the hypothesis that it is low not high cardiac and cortisol stress reactivity that is related to adiposity

Cement grouting during installation of ground anchors in non-cohesive soils

Pressure grouting during installation of grouted ground anchors is known to increase anchor capacity in non-cohesive soils, but little information is available on correlations between applied grouting pressures, duration of grouting, ground conditions and increase of anchor pull-out capacity. The presented PhD study is concerned with processes taking place during installation of grouted ground anchors in non-cohesive soils, where filtration of the cement grout is assumed. It was aimed to determine the influence of pressure grouting on the stresses on the anchor body and the properties of the adjacent soil. The knowledge of those is considered prerequisite in order to determine the anchors pull-out capacity. In the first part of the PhD thesis, a series of laboratory experiments is presented, which was carried out to understand the filtration process of cement grouts and to determine the properties of the filter cake material. Using a filtration press the rate of filter cake build-up was investigated, taking into account the influence of grouting pressure and initial water/cement ratio of the grout. The test results were used to evaluate different analytical approaches to simulate the filtration process: a two-phase filtration model and classical consolidation theory. Both models were found appropriate, and calculation parameters were determined. In addition to the filtration tests, the mechanical properties of the fresh, uncured, filter-cake material were investigated. Applying soil mechanical investigation methods, strength and stiffness properties could be determined. In the second part of the PhD thesis in-situ tests during anchor installation in sands are presented. On three test sites the grout pressure was measured inside the borehole during and after anchor installation. Measurements confirmed a grout filtration inside the borehole and indicated the increase of radial stresses on the anchor body. Additional flat-dilatometer soundings (DMT) and cone penetration tests (CPT) showed the influence of the grouting process on the radial stresses in the adjacent soil. In the third part of the thesis a numerical model is proposed to simulate the filtration process of cement grout in a fully coupled flow-displacement finite element analysis. Based on the two-phase filtration model a filter criterion was implemented, which defines the phase change from liquid to solid grout based on the discharge of water. The phase change was realised by changing the material properties of the grout elements. With the presented model the grouting during anchor installation was simulated and the influence of different parameters could be determined. The transfer of grouting pressures from the liquid grout to the soil through seepage forces in the filtercake is simulated and the residual stresses after grouting determined. The findings can now be used as starting point to simulate the load transfer mechanisms of grouted ground anchors in numerical analysis, taking into account installation effects

Raman spectroscopy of antimalarials and drug-target complexes

Despite extensive research, malaria remains a major infectious disease, aggravated by the rapid development of drug resistance. The precise mechanisms of many antimalarial agents remain unclear, impeding therapeutic progress. Deep ultraviolet resonance Raman (DUV-RR) spectroscopy has emerged as a powerful tool for investigating molecular interactions due to its high specificity and sensitivity, enabling detailed spectral analysis of subtle changes. This thesis integrates spectroscopic and analytical techniques to examine antimalarial compounds and their interactions. Here, the selectivity of DUV-RR spectroscopy was assessed using arylisoquinolines (AIQs), a promising novel drug class. The excitation wavelength determined the resonant enhancement of specific structural regions, allowing differentiation within the compound class, supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Additionally, ferroquine (FQ), a high-potential antimalarial, was detected at physiologically relevant micromolar concentrations. The method’s sensitivity enabled detection below intraerythrocytic levels. FQ’s distinct transport mechanism was analyzed in biomimetic solutions, revealing spectral variations confirmed by DFT studies. Furthermore, the interaction of artesunate (AS) with synthetic malaria pigment β-hematin was investigated in the visible resonance range using two-dimensional correlation analysis (2D-Corr). Subtle spectral changes were systematically interpreted to elucidate molecular binding mechanisms at their target structure. The integration of (DUV-)RR spectroscopy, advanced data analysis, and supporting DFT calculations proved highly effective in identifying and characterizing intracellular transport mechanisms as well as molecular interactions of antimalarial agents with their target structures