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Abstract While there has been a recent increase in focus on the role of early life socioeconomic status (SES) on preferences and decision-making, there is still debate surrounding the proper theoretical framework for understanding such effects. Some have argued that early life SES can fundamentally shift time preferences per se, such that those from low SES backgrounds favor current rewards over future rewards. Others have argued that, while early life SES has lasting effects on behavior, such effects are only observable in the presence of salient cues to mortality. Here, we propose an alternative framework that centers on environmental uncertainty. In this uncertainty management framework, early life deprivation promotes the development of strategies that minimize the downside costs of uncertainty across domains. We argue that this focus on managing uncertainty results in greater risk-aversion, present-orientation, and prosociality. Furthermore, these effects need not be dependent on salient cues to mortality. Across four large samples of participants (total N = 4714), we find that childhood deprivation uniquely predicts greater risk-aversion (both incentivized and hypothetical) and greater prosociality in economic games. Childhood deprivation also predicts greater present-orientation, but not above-and beyond current SES. We further find that mortality cues are not necessary to elicit these differences. Our results support an uncertainty management perspective on the effects of childhood SES on risk, time, and social preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A number of factors contribute to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and although they are not fully known, the occurrence of ADHD seems to be a consequence of an interaction between multiple genetic and environmental factors. However, apart from pesticides, the evidence is inadequate and inconsistent as it differs not only in the population and time period analysed, but also in the type of study, the control of the confounding variables and the statistical methods used. In the latter case, the studies also differ in the adjustment of spatial and temporal variability. Our objective here, is to provide evidence on an association between environmental factors and ADHD. Methods In our study, we used a population-based retrospective cohort in which we matched cases and controls (children free of the disease) by sex and year of birth (n = 5193, 78.9% boys). The cases were children born between 1998 and 2012 and diagnosed with ADHD (n = 116). To evaluate whether there was a geographical pattern in the incidence of ADHD, we first represented the smoothed standardized incidence rates on a map of the region being studied. We then estimated the probability of being a case by using a generalized liner mixed model with a binomial link. As explanatory variables of interest, we included the following environmental variables: distance to agricultural areas, distance to roads (stratified into three categories according to traffic density and intensity), distance to petrol stations, distance to industrial estates, and land use. We control for both observed (individual and family specific variables and deprivation index) and unobserved confounders (in particular, individual and familial heterogeneity). In addition, we adjusted for spatial extra variability. Results We found a north-south pattern containing two clusters (one in the centre of the study region and another in the south) in relation to the risk of developing ADHD. The results from the multivariate model suggest that these clusters could be related to some of the environmental variables. Specifically, living within 100 m from an agricultural area or a residential street and/or living fewer than 300 m from a motorway, dual carriageway or one of the industrial estates analysed was associated (statistically significant) with an increased risk of ADHD. Conclusion Our results indicate that some environmental factors could be associated with ADHD occurring, particularly those associated with exposure to pesticides, organochlorine compounds and air pollutants because of traffic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunger, caused by mild amount of food deprivation, is an everyday physiological state familiar to us all. Ongoing research has pinpointed the way hunger affects people's physiological functions as well as their attitudes and allocation of attention toward domain-specific, food-related objects. Yet, little is known about the way food deprivation affects basic perceptual abilities. Here, we utilized size-contrast visual illusions commonly associated with food to explore the way deprivation affects relative processing of food size. In two experiments (Nexp1 = 32 females, mean age: 24.31; Nexpt2 = 41 females, 40 males, mean age: 23.84), we examined the effect food deprivation has on participants' susceptibility to the Delboeuf illusion, which biases the perceived size of a neutral or of a food-related object when it is placed within the context of another object (e.g., a pizza is perceived as smaller when placed on a larger plate or tray). The results showed that food deprivation reduces the illusory bias for food-related but not for neutral stimuli. Such reduction in the illusory effect indicates reliance on analytic, rather than on relative processing style, for domain-specific stimuli when in the state of hunger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating the impact of early visual deprivation on evaluations related to social trust has received little attention to date. This is despite consistent evidence suggesting that early onset blindness may interfere with the normal development of social skills. In this study, we investigated whether early blindness affects judgments of trustworthiness regarding the actions of an agent, with trustworthiness representing the fundamental dimension in the social evaluation. Specifically, we compared performance between a group of early blind individuals with that of sighted controls in their evaluation of trustworthiness of an agent after hearing a pair of two positive or two negative social behaviors (impression formation). Participants then repeated the same evaluation following the presentation of a third (consistent or inconsistent) behavior regarding the same agent (impression updating). Overall, blind individuals tended to give similar evaluations compared to their sighted counterparts. However, they also valued positive behaviors significantly more than sighted controls when forming their impression of an agent’s trustworthiness. Moreover, when inconsistent information was provided, blind individuals were more prone to revise their initial evaluation compared to controls. These results suggest that early visual deprivation may have a dramatic effect on the evaluation of social factors such as trustworthiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results of basic research on motivation suggest that response rates vary as a function of independent variable manipulations such as the an amount of pre-feeding prior to experimental sessions or within-session consumption. Response rates vary from zero or low levels through high levels, depending on the manipulation. In applied research and practice, experimenters and clinicians attempt to manipulate response rates via “motivating operations”, which generally consist of deprivation and satiation operations. As a result, motivation is often described as “present” or “absent”, as opposed to existing on a continuum, as suggests by basic research. Responding is thus predicted to (and usually arranged to) occur at either low/zero levels or high levels. In this study, we (1) summarize relevant basic research demonstrating a continuum of motivation, (2) provide examples in the applied literature of deprivation and satiation operations designed to evoke or abate behavior, and (3) show results of a translational study demonstrating that motivation is more appropriately conceptualized within the context as a gradient rather than simply present or absent. Results of the current study are consistent with basic research in that they suggest that motivation is a more dynamic and nuanced conceptual system than the current applied literature and language suggests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the effects of sex and deprivation on participation in a population-based faecal immunochemical test (FIT) colorectal cancer screening programme. The study population included 9785 individuals invited to participate in two rounds of a population-based biennial FIT-based screening programme, in a relatively deprived area of Dublin, Ireland. Explanatory variables included in the analysis were sex, deprivation category of area of residence and age (at end of screening). The primary outcome variable modelled was participation status in both rounds combined (with "participation" defined as having taken part in either or both rounds of screening). Poisson regression with a log link and robust error variance was used to estimate relative risks (RR) for participation. As a sensitivity analysis, data were stratified by screening round. In both the univariable and multivariable models deprivation was strongly associated with participation. Increasing affluence was associated with higher participation; participation was 26% higher in people resident in the most affluent compared to the most deprived areas (multivariable RR=1.26: 95% CI 1.21-1.30). Participation was significantly lower in males (multivariable RR=0.96: 95%CI 0.95-0.97) and generally increased with increasing age (trend per age group, multivariable RR=1.02: 95%CI, 1.01-1.02). No significant interactions between the explanatory variables were found. The effects of deprivation and sex were similar by screening round. Deprivation and male gender are independently associated with lower uptake of population-based FIT colorectal cancer screening, even in a relatively deprived setting. Development of evidence-based interventions to increase uptake in these disadvantaged groups is urgently required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergenerational narratives are the stories that parents and grandparents share with their children about their own past experiences growing up. We argue from the foundational perspectives of Eriksonsian life-span theory, Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, and the sociocultural model of autobiographical memory that intergenerational narratives, although often overlooked by researchers of narrative identity development, play an important role in the family storytelling process that serves many functions for the elder generations who tell them and the younger generations who hear them. We focus on where these narratives fit within the larger body of literature on narrative identity at two developmental periods of interest: midlife and adolescence. We review evidence suggesting that intergenerational narratives influence the psychosocial development of individuals, serving as constructions of identity and a means of achieving a sense of generativity, in ways that may also contribute to family identity and individual well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to environmental inequality outcomes research on the spatial and demographic factors associated with cumulative air-toxic health risks at multiple geographic scales across the United States. It employs a rigorous spatial cluster analysis of census tract-level 2005 estimated lifetime cancer risk (LCR) of ambient air-toxic emissions from stationary (e.g., facility) and mobile (e.g., vehicular) sources to locate spatial clusters of air-toxic LCR risk in the continental United States. It then tests intersectional environmental inequality hypotheses on the predictors of tract presence in air-toxic LCR clusters with tract-level principal component factor measures of economic deprivation by race and immigrant status. Logistic regression analyses show that net of controls, isolated Latino immigrant-economic deprivation is the strongest positive demographic predictor of tract presence in air-toxic LCR clusters, followed by black-economic deprivation and isolated Asian/Pacific Islander immigrant-economic deprivation. Findings suggest scholarly and practical implications for future research, advocacy, and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rats exposed to a downshift from a large reward (32% sucrose) to a small reward (4% sucrose) show less consummatory behavior than unshifted rats always exposed to the small reward—an effect called consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC). Four experiments studied the effects of shifts in deprivation level between preshift and postshift sessions on the size of the cSNC effect. This manipulation is designed to test the general proposition that the cSNC effect depends not only on external factors (e.g., reward disparity), but also on the internal state of the organism either at the time it first experiences the rewards (incentive learning), at the time of reward downshift (reward need), or as a function of the transition of states from pre- to postshift sessions (state dependency). Experiments 1–2 adjusted deprivation level during a 10-day interval between the last preshift and first postshift sessions. During this interval, food deprivation was either maintained or changed (increased or reduced) relative to preshift sessions. Experiments 3–4 maintained all animals at 81–85% of their ad lib weight during the entire experiment, but they were either fed before each session (nondeprivation condition) or fed after the session (deprivation condition). This procedure avoided the 10-day interval used in previous experiments. In three of the four experiments, the size of the cSNC effect increased when animals were deprived while exposed to the large reward (32% sucrose) during preshift sessions, independently of postshift deprivation conditions. The remaining experiment yielded inconclusive results. Of the three tested hypothesis, the incentive learning view received the strongest support. According to this view, the incentive value of the large reward is partly determined by the deprivation state of the organism at the time of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In western and westernized societies, large portions of the population live in what are considered to be “obesogenic” environments. Among other things, obesogenic environments are characterized by a high prevalence of external cues that are associated with highly palatable, energy-dense foods. One prominent hypothesis suggests that these external cues become such powerful conditioned elicitors of appetitive and eating behavior that they overwhelm the internal, physiological mechanisms that serve to maintain energy balance. The present research investigated a learning mechanism that may underlie this loss of internal relative to external control. In Experiment 1, rats were provided with both auditory cues (external stimuli) and varying levels of food deprivation (internal stimuli) that they could use to solve a simple discrimination task. Despite having access to clearly discriminable external cues, we found that the deprivation cues gained substantial discriminative control over conditioned responding. Experiment 2 found that, compared to standard chow, maintenance on a “western-style” diet high in saturated fat and sugar weakened discriminative control by food deprivation cues, but did not impair learning when external cues were also trained as relevant discriminative signals for sucrose. Thus, eating a western-style diet contributed to a loss of internal control over appetitive behavior relative to external cues. We discuss how this relative loss of control by food deprivation signals may result from interference with hippocampal-dependent learning and memory processes, forming the basis of a vicious-cycle of excessive intake, body weight gain, and progressive cognitive decline that may begin very early in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an established inverse relationship between unemployment and psychological wellbeing. However, little is known about the processes that underlie this relationship. Using latent deprivation, conservation of resources, and social capital to form a theoretical framework, this study explored the relationship between the latent benefits associated with employment, family support, and financial strain. In a sample of 174 unemployed individuals, latent benefits were shown to partially mediate the relationship between family support and psychological well-being. Additionally, this mediation was moderated by financial strain, with latent benefits being more related to psychological well-being in those with greater financial strain. These findings provide guidance in understanding how to better address the needs that contribute to psychological well-being in those who are unemployed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The aim of this study was to examine whether socioeconomic deprivation in children with epilepsy (CWE) increases risk for behavioral problems independent of seizure factors. Methods A cross-sectional study was done in which parents of children attending a specialist epilepsy clinic were invited to complete a child behavior checklist (CBCL) questionnaire about their child. Medical and sociodemographic data on CWE were obtained through their pediatric neurologists. Home postal code was used to obtain quintiles of Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2012 (SIMD2012) scores for individuals. Lower (1–3) quintiles correspond to higher socioeconomic deprivation. Regression analysis was used to investigate whether a lower quintile was an independent risk factor for scores > 63 (significant behavioral problem). Results Parents of 87 children (42 male, mean age of 10.5 years) were enrolled. Fifty-nine percent had total scores > 63. A higher proportion of children from quintiles 1–3 compared to those from quintiles 4–5 had externalizing (49% vs. 25%, p = 0.02) and total (54% vs. 30%, p = 0.02) scores > 63. Adjusted OR of quintiles 1–3 vs. 4–5 for scores > 63 = 14.8, 95% CI = 3.0, 68.0. Fewer children with scores > 63 and from quintiles 1–3 were known to the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) compared to those in quintiles 4–5 (p = 0.01). Interpretation Socioeconomic deprivation was an independent risk factor for behavioral problems in CWE. Children with epilepsy and behavioral problems who lived in socioeconomically deprived areas received less help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For children reared in institutions for orphaned or abandoned children, multiple aspects of the early environment deviate from species-typical experiences, which may lead to alterations in neurobehavioral development. Although the effects of early deprivation and early life stress have been studied extensively in animal models, less is known about implications for human brain development. This structural neuroimaging study examined the long-term neural correlates of early adverse rearing environments in a large sample of 12–14 year old children ( N = 110) who were internationally adopted from institutional care as young children (median age at adoption = 12 months) relative to a same age, comparison group reared with their biological families in the United States. History of institutional rearing was associated with broad changes in cortical volume even after controlling for variability in head size. Results suggested that prefrontal cortex was especially susceptible to early adversity, with significant reductions in volume (driven primarily by differences in surface area rather than cortical thickness) in post-institutionalized youth. Hippocampal volumes showed an association with duration of institutional care, with later-adopted children showing the smallest volumes relative to non-adopted controls. Larger amygdala volumes were not detected in this sample of post-institutionalized children. These data suggest that this temporally discrete period of early deprivation is associated with persisting alterations in brain morphology even years after exposure. Furthermore, these alterations are not completely ameliorated by subsequent environmental enrichment by early adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research introduces a framework for understanding motivational reactions to control deprivation. Two experiments demonstrated that loss of control can stimulate approach motivation. Loss of control led to greater approach motivation in terms of enhanced motivation to achieve goals (Experiment 1) and greater self-reported high approach affect (Experiments 1 & 2). Experiment 2 additionally revealed that the effect of control deprivation on approach motivation was eliminated when participants misattributed their arousal to an external source. Overall, the findings demonstrate that loss of control can stimulate approach motivation as part of an adaptive motivational system aimed at coping with perceived lack of control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have documented that more deprived populations tend to live in areas characterized by higher levels of environmental pollution. Yet, time trends and geographic patterns of this disproportionate distribution of environmental burden remain poorly assessed, especially in Europe. We investigated the spatial and temporal relationship between ambient air nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) concentrations and socioeconomic and demographic data in four French metropolitan areas (Lille in the North, Lyon in the center, Marseille in the South, and Paris) during two different time periods. The geographical unit used was the census block. The dependent variable was the NO 2 annual average concentration (μg/m 3 ) per census block, and the explanatory variables were a neighborhood deprivation index and socioeconomic and demographic data derived from the national census. Generalized additive models were used to account for spatial autocorrelation. We found that the strength and direction of the association between deprivation and NO 2 estimates varied between cities. In Paris, census blocks with the higher social categories are exposed to higher mean concentrations of NO 2 . However, in Lille and Marseille, the most deprived census blocks are the most exposed to NO 2 . In Lyon, the census blocks in the middle social categories were more likely to have higher concentrations than in the lower social categories. Despite a general reduction in NO 2 concentrations over the study period in the four metropolitan areas, we found contrasting results in the temporal trend of environmental inequalities. There is clear evidence of city-specific spatial and temporal environmental inequalities that relate to the historical socioeconomic make-up of the cities and its evolution. Hence, general statements about environmental and social inequalities can be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: We investigated factors explaining low breast cancer screening programme (BCSP) attendance taking into account a European transnational ecological Deprivation Index. Patients and methods: Data of 13,565 women aged 51–74years old invited to attend an organised mammography screening session between 2010 and 2011 in thirteen French departments were randomly selected. Information on the women's participation in BCSP, their individual characteristics and the characteristics of their area of residence were recorded and analysed in a multilevel model. Results: Between 2010 and 2012, 7121 (52.5%) women of the studied population had their mammography examination after they received the invitation. Women living in the most deprived neighbourhood were less likely than those living in the most affluent neighbourhood to participate in BCSP (OR 95%CI=0.84[0.78–0.92]) as were those living in rural areas compared with those living in urban areas (OR 95%CI=0.87[0.80–0.95]). Being self-employed (p <0.0001) or living more than 15min away from an accredited screening centre (p =0.02) was also a barrier to participation in BCSP. Conclusion: Despite the classless delivery of BCSP, inequalities in uptake remain. To take advantage of prevention and to avoid exacerbating disparities in cancer mortality, BCSP should be adapted to women's personal and contextual characteristics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Social deprivation is a severe stressor affecting a number of behavioral and physiological functions of gregarious species. It is assumed that, dependent upon the level of familiarity, social support given by a conspecific may attenuate the adverse consequences of stress. We investigated the effects of a 4h maternal and littermate deprivation on behavioral reactions, stress hormone responses and brain corticosteroid receptor expression in 7-, 21- and 35-day-old domestic piglets (Sus scrofa) that were left alone or in the presence either of a familiar or unfamiliar age-matched piglet. Compared to control animals, all of the socially deprived piglets showed significant stress responses, such as impaired habituation in repeated open-field/novel-object tests, enhanced ACTH and cortisol release, and altered corticosteroid receptor expression in the hypothalamus. In addition, our results demonstrated that younger piglets had more difficulty coping with stress. The presence of an age-matched conspecific had a direct calming effect on the deprived piglet during the deprivation procedure, which was revealed by diminished stress-induced HPA activity and altered reactions in the behavioral test situations (e.g., activity, escape, and vocalization). Furthermore, because the presence of a familiar piglet causes a more pronounced buffering effect, we have shown for the first time that the degree of familiarity between the piglets may influence the effectiveness of social support. Our study emphasizes the benefits of social partners on positive welfare and the ability for pigs to cope with stress; therefore, our results should be taken into account during handling practices such as weaning and mixing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Early life stress has been associated with several psychiatric disorders, including drug addiction. Actually, maternal deprivation (MD) alters the endocannabinoid system, which participates in motivation and reward for drugs, including cocaine. At youth, the rate of cocaine abuse is alarmingly increasing. Herein, we have investigated the consequences of MD and/or adolescent cocaine exposure in brain CB1Rs and CB2Rs in immune tissues. Control and maternally deprived (24h on postnatal day, pnd, 9) male and female Wistar rats were administered cocaine (8mg/kg/day) or saline during adolescence (pnd 28–42). At adulthood, [3H]-CP-55,940 autoradiographic binding was employed for the analysis of CB1R density and CP-55,940-stimulated [35S]-GTPgammaS binding for CB1R functionality; CB2R expression was analyzed by Western blotting. Sex differences in CB1R expression and functionality were found, and MD induced important and enduring sex-dependent changes. In addition, the plastic changes induced by adolescent cocaine administration in brain CB1Rs were differentially influenced by early life events. MD increased spleen CB2R expression while adolescent cocaine administration attenuated this effect; cocaine exposure also diminished CB2R expression in bone marrow. Present findings provide evidence for changes in brain CB1R expression and functionality and immune CB2R expression as a consequence of early life stress and adolescent cocaine exposure, and indicate functional interactions between both treatments, which in many regions differ between males and females. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Food intake can be increased by learning to anticipate the omission of subsequent meals. We present here a new theory that such anticipatory eating depends on an associative process of instrumental reinforcement by the nutritional repletion that occurs when access to food is restored. Our evidence over the last decade from a smooth-brained omnivore has been that food after deprivation rewards intake even when those reinforced ingestive responses occur long before the physiological signals from renewed assimilation. Effects of food consumed after self-deprivation might therefore reward extra eating in human beings, through brain mechanisms that could operate outside awareness. That would have implications for efforts to reduce body weight. This food reward mechanism could be contributing to the failure of the dietary component of interventions on obesity within controlled trials of the management or prevention of disorders such as hypertension, atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study examined how deprivation of chocolate affects state-level chocolate cravings, mood, and chocolate consumption in high and low trait-level chocolate-cravers. After identifying high and low chocolate cravers (N =58), half of the participants were instructed not to eat any chocolate for 2weeks. This created four experimental groups: deprived high-cravers (n =14), deprived low-cravers (n =14), non-deprived high-cravers (n =15), and non-deprived low-cravers (n =15). Following 2-week deprivation, state-level food cravings, mood, and chocolate intake were measured in a laboratory setting and compared across groups. Analyses revealed that anxiety increased over time for high-cravers (both deprived and non-deprived); state-level chocolate- and food-craving increased over time for both deprived groups and non-deprived high-cravers; non-deprived high-cravers ate the most chocolate; and, high-cravers were more joyful and guilty than low-cravers after eating chocolate in the laboratory. Theoretically, these results suggest that chocolate consumption may be better explained by trait-level of chocolate craving than by deprivation and highlighted significant differences in mood, state-level cravings, and chocolate intake between cravers and non-cravers following deprivation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Adrenal corticosterone secretion of newborn mice rapidly desensitizes to repeated maternal absence. The present study investigated the effects of novelty exposure, maternal care and genotype on this phenomenon. Maternal separation (MS) took place on postnatal days (pnd) 3–5. In Wistar rats, the degree of novelty in the MS-environment was varied by exposing pups to: (i) “home separation”: pups remained in the home cage; (ii) “novel separation”: pups were placed individually in a novel cage. Maternal care was recorded on pnd 1 to 4. To investigate the effect of genotype, we also examined Long Evans in the “home separation” condition. Basal and stress-induced ACTH and corticosterone levels were measured. Adrenal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and melanocortin receptor-2 (MCR-2) proteins served as markers for adrenal function. We show, in both rat strains, that the rise in plasma corticosterone induced by a single 8h-MS on pnd 5 was abolished, when this separation procedure had also been performed on pnd 3 and 4. Habituation to maternal absence occurred irrespective of housing conditions. However, pups in the “home separation” condition received less maternal care upon reunion than those placed in the “novel separation”. These “home separation” pups appeared more responsive to a subsequent acute novelty-stressor, and their adrenal TH and MCR-2 were higher. Long Evans rats appeared more stress responsive than the Wistars, in the home separation condition. In conclusion, separation environment, maternal care and genotype do not affect adrenal desensitization to repeated 8h-MS itself, but may modulate the adrenal stress-responsiveness of separated pups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We examined how starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, adjust preferences to retrospective sunk costs in either time or work. Ideal decision-makers disregard sunk costs, but under some circumstances animals, like humans, prefer normally costlier rewards when they do not have to pay the costs. We argue that a possible explanation is state-dependent valuation learning (SDVL). The argument is that subjective value (hedonic state or fitness) is a decelerated function of energetic state, and energetic costs displace the subject’s state towards conditions where the function is steeper and the subjective value of rewards is enhanced. We compared SDVL with within-trial contrast (WTC). WTC says that experiencing a food reward brings subjects to a baseline, constant, hedonic state, so that being in a more negative prereward mood causes a bigger positive displacement. SDVL focuses on energetic costs, while WTC focuses on any emotional dimension. We carried out three experiments that differed in the salience and dimension of the cost (time or work) and found overvaluation of costlier outcomes when the retrospective cost involved work (locomotory activity) but not when it involved only delays. When work was used as a cost, the effects of cost on preference showed strong stochastic transitivity. Our findings are consistent with studies in which energetic state was altered by deprivation rather than cost, and may help to explain why studies of WTC have had unreliable outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Reinforcing value and habituation are two processes that have been used to study eating behaviors, but no research has examined their relationship, how they relate to energy intake, and whether they respond in a similar manner to food deprivation. Twenty-two female subjects were randomized to food deprived or non-deprived conditions, and assessed for food reinforcement, habituation to food and ad libitum eating. Results showed food reinforcement and habituation are correlated (r =0.62, p =0.002) and both independently predict energy intake. Hierarchical regression showed that the rate of habituation accounted for 30 percent of the variance in eating (p =0.008), and adding food reinforcement increased the amount of variance accounted for up to 57.5 percent (p <0.05). This suggests that both processes may influence energy intake in a meal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Play has long been identified as a potential welfare indicator because it often disappears when animals are under fitness challenge and because it is thought to be accompanied by a pleasurable emotional experience. But animal play is a vexing behavioural phenomenon, characteristically flexible and variable within and between species, with its proximate mechanisms and ultimate functions still not fully understood. Its relationship to animal welfare is therefore complex and merits a focused theoretical investigation. We review evidence on four aspects of the play–welfare relationship: first, that play indicates the absence of fitness threats; second, that play acts as a reward and flags up the presence of opioid-mediated pleasurable emotional experiences; third, that play brings immediate psychological benefits and long-term fitness and health benefits, and thus improves current and future welfare; and finally, that play is socially contagious and therefore capable of spreading good welfare in groups. On this basis, we argue that play does indeed hold promise as a welfare indicator and also as a tool to improve it; but we also point to difficulties in its study and interpretation, and identify some unresolved questions. As a welfare indicator, play may signal both the absence of bad welfare and the presence of good welfare, thus covering a wide range of the welfare spectrum. However, play can also increase in stressful situations, in response to reduced parental care, or as a rebound after a period of deprivation and therefore does not consistently reflect favourable environmental conditions. A better fundamental understanding is needed of the varied ultimate functions and proximate mechanisms of play, and the species-specific play patterns of captive animals, in order to be able to explain exactly what an animal’s play behaviour tells us about its welfare state, and whether and how play might be applied as a tool to improve welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The study examined the role of caffeine consumption in caffeine reinforcement. Previous findings have shown that caffeine reinforced flavor preference in moderate caffeine consumers who are caffeine deprived. However, most of these studies have employed rating procedures only, and have not shown the effectiveness of caffeine to reinforce behaviors other than through subjective ratings. Twenty-five participants (15 low caffeine consumers, and 10 moderate caffeine consumers) were each given three exposures to a caffeinated drink, and three exposures to a non-caffeinated drink. Each drink was associated with a particular color. At each session, they were asked to rate the pleasantness of the drink, and choose from distinctively colored sweets. The results showed an increase in the rating of pleasantness for the caffeinated drink in moderate caffeine consumers, but a decrease in rated pleasantness for low caffeine consumers. The opposite effect was seen for the non-caffeinated drink. There was an increase in consumption of the number of sweets with the same color as that of the caffeine-paired drink in the moderate caffeine consumers. These findings suggest that caffeine may serve as a negative reinforcer, and that the alleviation of withdrawal symptoms may be associated with the flavor and appearance of the caffeinated drink. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this study, restrained and unrestrained eaters’ immediate evaluations of high calorie content and low calorie content were measured, both when being deprived of food and when satiated. As an indirect measure, the Extrinsic Affective Simon Task (EAST) [De Houwer, J. (2003). The Extrinsic Affective Simon Task. Experimental Psychology, 50, 77–85.] was used. Explicit attitudes towards high calorie content and low calorie content were also assessed. Food deprivation was found to boost the value of food for all subjects on an impulsive level of information processing. More importantly, it was also found that restrained eaters exhibit a dissociative pattern of positive implicit and negative explicit attitudes towards high calorie content, but not towards low calorie content. Furthermore, restrained eaters evaluated high calorie content more negative than unrestrained eaters on an explicit level, but more positive on an implicit level. Results from this study are twofold. First, they suggest that conflicting evaluative reactions from two systems of information processing may play a central role in the restrained eater''s dilemma. Second, individual differences between restrained and unrestrained eaters’ attitudes towards high calorie content should further be investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Examines the retrieval of sweet objects by Norway rats in relation to surface properties and deprivation and its relation to food hoarding. Factors responsible for hoarding as opposed to retrieval before consumption; Preference and character of retrieval for sweet over nonsweet objects using hard objects; Preference for sweet over nonsweet objects under deprivation.

Studies the proximate role of food in controlling aggression among avian broodmates. Relationship between aggression and food deprivation; Methods of limiting food ingestion; Individual responses to food intake; Role of operant conditioning in the ontogeny of food sensitivity.

Studies the influence of personal deprivation and group membership salience on justice evaluations. Distinction between personal and social identities; Effects of payment manipulation on the membership salience in the collectively deprived group; Factors constraining the expression of negative justice evaluations by gratified group-primed subjects.

Abstract: Perceived deprivation describes a feeling of not eating what or as much as one would like, despite being in energy balance. This construct was previously found to correlate with the Restraint Scale in obese binge eaters and current dieters [Timmerman, G. M., & Gregg, E. K. (2003). Dieting, perceived deprivation, and preoccupation with food. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 25(4), 405–418]. The current study examined perceived deprivation and restraint in 66 normal weight college females with no history of eating disorders. Perceived deprivation was significantly correlated with restraint generally and with dietary concern in particular; this relationship was due to perceived limits on what, rather than how much, food was eaten. This relationship may have important implications for understanding the motivation underlying restrained eaters’ aberrant eating behaviors and the nature of their susceptibility to weight gain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]