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We examined the influence of empathic concern, perspective-taking, personal distress, and guilt on perceptions of volunteer experiences and intentions to continue volunteering among buddy volunteers serving HIV positive clients. Volunteers who exhibited empathic concern and perspective-taking perceived their volunteer experiences to be more challenging and important, and these perceptions predicted intentions to continue volunteering. The effect of empathic concern on intentions was mediated by perceptions that volunteer experiences were challenging and important. Volunteers who felt greater guilt had closer relationships with their client buddies, and closer relationships predicted stronger intentions to continue volunteering. Volunteers who experienced greater personal distress perceived their volunteer experiences to be more disappointing. Neither guilt nor personal distress influenced intentions to continue volunteering.

Nicotine has many acute subjective, physiological, and behavioral effects in humans, some of which may explain why nicotine produces dependence. Individual differences in the magnitude of these effects (i.e., nicotine sensitivity) are of interest to many researchers, such as those examining vulnerability to dependence and processes related to chronic tolerance. However, such characterization of individual differences depends on the consistency of the observed responses, and the consistency of acute effects of nicotine in humans has not been studied systematically. We examined the consistency of the acute effects of the same dose of nicotine administered by nasal spray across multiple drug administration trials, within as well as between sessions. Subjective (i.e., self-reported effects), cardiovascular, and performance measures were assessed following each of four dosing trials of nicotine (20 microg/kg) on three sessions and of placebo on one session. For those measures in which the main effect of nicotine vs. placebo was significant, intraclass correlations were calculated for different sets of trials across different numbers of sessions. Our objective was to determine whether the consistency of responses declined when those responses were based on smaller numbers of trials or sessions, in an effort to guide future research in this area. Results indicated that the consistency of nicotine effects is generally high, even across trials within just one session. Additional research is needed to determine the generalizability of these findings to other methods of nicotine administration, including smoking, and to clarify the extent to which this consistency reflects characteristic consistency of the pharmacological actions of nicotine per se vs. consistency of nonspecific responses to the drug administration procedure.

Objectives To determine safety and efficacy of the 5HT 1A serotonin partial agonist buspirone on core autism and associated features in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Study design Children 2-6 years of age with ASD (N = 166) were randomized to receive placebo or 2.5 or 5.0 mg of buspirone twice daily. The primary objective was to evaluate the effects of 24 weeks of buspirone on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) Composite Total Score. Secondary objectives included evaluating the effects of buspirone on social competence, repetitive behaviors, language, sensory dysfunction, and anxiety and to assess side effects. Positron emission tomography measures of tryptophan metabolism and blood serotonin concentrations were assessed as predictors of buspirone efficacy. Results There was no difference in the ADOS Composite Total Score between baseline and 24 weeks among the 3 treatment groups ( P = .400); however, the ADOS Restricted and Repetitive Behavior score showed a time-by-treatment effect ( P = .006); the 2.5-mg buspirone group showed significant improvement ( P = .003), whereas placebo and 5.0-mg buspirone groups showed no change. Children in the 2.5-mg buspirone group were more likely to improve if they had fewer foci of increased brain tryptophan metabolism on positron emission tomography ( P = .018) or if they showed normal levels of blood serotonin ( P = .044). Adverse events did not differ significantly among treatment groups. Conclusions Treatment with 2.5 mg of buspirone in young children with ASD might be a useful adjunct therapy to target restrictive and repetitive behaviors in conjunction with behavioral interventions. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00873509.

Caffeine may acutely alter the discriminative stimulus and subjective effects of nicotine, perhaps explaining the association of coffee intake with smoking status. In this study, smokers were initially trained to discriminate 20 microg/kg nicotine by nasal spray from placebo (0). Then, generalization of nicotine discrimination was tested, using both 2- and 3-choice ("novel" option) procedures, across a range of doses (0-20 microg/kg) following pretreatment with 0, 2.5, and 5.0 mg/kg caffeine p.o. Nicotine reinforcement was assessed after the end of generalization testing using a choice procedure. Caffeine pretreatment did not alter nicotine discrimination and self-administration. Caffeine and nicotine influenced some subjective and cardiovascular responses, but there were no interaction effects except for diastolic blood pressure. These results do not support the notion that caffeine acutely alters nicotine's discriminative stimulus, subjective, or reinforcing effects.

Alcohol intake may acutely alter the discriminative stimulus and subjective effects of nicotine, perhaps explaining why alcohol increases tobacco smoking. In this study, cigarette smokers were initially trained to discriminate 20 microg/kg nicotine by nasal spray from placebo. Three sessions then followed, in which the generalization of nicotine discrimination was tested across a range of doses (0--20 microg/kg) following pre-treatment with 0, 0.4, and 0.8 g/kg alcohol p.o. Intermittent 'topping' doses of alcohol maintained a steady breath alcohol level (BAL) throughout testing. Generalization testing involved both two- and three-choice ('novel' option) procedures. A visual discrimination task was also conducted to determine the specificity of effects of alcohol. Subjective and cardiovascular measures were obtained concurrent with discrimination responding. The relative reinforcing effects of nicotine were assessed after the end of generalization testing using a choice procedure. Alcohol pre-treatment had no significant effects on nicotine discrimination or self-administration behavior. Alcohol and nicotine each influenced selected subjective responses and heart rate, but virtually no interactions between the drugs were observed. Within the limitations of this study, these results do not support the notion that alcohol acutely alters nicotine's discriminative stimulus, subjective, or relative reinforcing effects at these low nicotine doses. Acute effects of alcohol on smoking behavior may be due to alterations in other effects of nicotine intake or in non-nicotine effects of tobacco smoking.