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Measures of four dimensions of visual preference (preferences for symmetry, simplicity, uniformity, and expressiveness) and a standardized test of visual-arts achievement were administered to art-trained and non-art-trained children in kindergarten, Grade 3, Grade 7, and high school. The art and non-art groups were matched at the school level on family income, English-language and ethnic backgrounds, school attendance, and school neighborhoods. The results showed effects for age and instruction, but the effects for instruction did not increase after Grade 3. The relative independence of the visual-preference dimensions from visual arts learning suggests they may measure individual differences that take shape early in development and are related to visual arts performance.

Bupropion (BUP) may be less likely than other antidepressants to cause switches into mania and rapid cycling, suggesting utility in bipolar disorder. The combination of BUP with the mood-stabilizing anticonvulsants carbamazepine (CBZ) or valproate (VPA) is a strategy that might further lessen the risk of mania. CBZ induces, and to a lesser extent VPA inhibits the hepatic metabolism of various medications, but their effects on BUP have not been previously studied. Inpatients with mood disorders had pharmacokinetic profiles of BUP and metabolites assessed after single, oral, 150-mg doses of BUP while receiving placebo (N = 17) or during chronic blind CBZ (N = 12) or VPA (N = 5) monotherapy. CBZ but not VPA therapy decreased BUP peak concentrations (Cmax) by 87% (p < 0.0001) and 24-h area under the curve (AUC) by 90% (p < 0.0001), threohydrobupropion Cmax by 81% (p <0.0009) and AUC by 86% (p < 0.002), and erythropydrobupropion Cmax by 86% (p < 0.05) and AUC by 96% (p < 0.05). CBZ increased hydroxybupropion (H-BUP) Cmax by 71% (p < 0.007) and AUC by 50% (p < 0.09) and H-BUP AUC by 94% (p < 0.02). Thus, CBZ markedly decreased BUP and increased H-BUP concentrations, whereas VPA did not affect BUP but increased H-BUP concentrations. Further studies are required to determine how these differential effects of CBZ and VPA on BUP pharmacokinetics influence the tolerability and efficacy of combination therapies with these agents.

Objective: To measure the excretion of bupropion and its metabolites in breast milk. A secondary objective was to determine whether the drug accumulated in the nursing infant., Case Summary: Milk and plasma samples were collected from a woman taking bupropion 300 mg/d in divided doses who was breastfeeding her 14-month-old son. A single plasma sample was collected from the infant., Results: After a 100-mg dose, the peak bupropion breast milk concentration measured at two hours was 0.189 micrograms/mL. Milk-to-plasma ratios ranged from 2.51 to 8.58 over a six-hour interval. Two of three metabolites also were measured in milk. Bupropion and its metabolites were not detected in the single plasma sample obtained from the infant., Conclusions: Bupropion accumulates in human breast milk in concentrations much higher than in maternal plasma. Two metabolites are also excreted into the milk. Neither bupropion nor its metabolites were detected in the infant's plasma, indicating that accumulation did not occur in this infant.

Two hundred and forty-eight college students viewed a vignette from a therapy-analogue session. Before Ss viewed the vignette they all read a summary that described the vignette plus an additional description that stressed different aspects of the therapist. One-fifth of the Ss were told of the therapist's excellent reputation, one-fifth were told of the therapist's excellent training and credentials, one-fifth were told of the therapist's high fee, and one-fifth were told of the therapists' androgenous personality. The remaining one-fifth of the Ss, who served as controls, were told nothing further; they only received the standard description of the vignette. After the vignette, Ss completed measures designed to assess their perception of therapist credibility and attractiveness. The results indicate that the androgenous therapist was rated as most credible and attractive (whereas the high-fee-charging therapist was least credible and attractive.) Explanation for these results and implications are discussed.

Studies of bupropion in rats, dogs, and normal volunteers showed that bupropion was rapidly and completely absorbed, widely distributed in tissues, and metabolized extensively prior to its excretion. Metabolism in rats and dogs appeared to be predominantly by side chain oxidative cleavage, while reduction of the intact parent aminoketone to an aminoalcohol was an additional major pathway in man. Most of the metabolites were excreted in urine. Bupropion, but not its metabolites, was concentrated in many tissues, with a brain to plasma ratio of about 25:1. Plasma protein binding of bupropion (75%-80%) did not seem to limit its tissue distribution. Bupropion was found to be a weak to moderate inducer of drug metabolism.

In the absence of developing a relationship between price paid and cost expended, health care management has no basis for setting financial objectives much less subsequent evaluation. Departmental P&Ls bring the cost-price relationship into perspective.

Bupropion is absorbed rapidly after single-dose oral administration of tablets, capsules, or aqueous solution of the hydrochloride salt. Peak bupropion plasma concentrations are generally attained within 2 hours, followed by a biphasic decline. The half-life of the initial (alpha) phase is approximately 1.5 hours and that of the second (beta) phase is approximately 14.0 hours. An oral dose of bupropion is subjected to extensive first-pass metabolism. The ratio between plasma clearance and fraction absorbed (approximately 2 L/hr/kg) is consistent within the 50-250 mg single dose range.

Exposed male and female Ss (N = 96) to psychoanalytic, behavioral, client-centered, or gestalt therapy, in the form of a brief written description and a 5-minute videotaped simulation. Attraction to therapy and various dimensions of therapist credibility were measured. The psychoanalytic presentation generated the greatest attraction and the greatest perceived total credibility. The gestalt presentation was next highest on these variables, followed by the behavioral and client-centered presentation. No significant effects for sex of S or sex by therapy approach interaction were reported. Explanations for and implications of these findings are discussed.

This study tests the hypothesis that the reported relationship between life event stress and physical illness is primarily a function of criterion and other content contamination in the stress measure. In particular, conventional life event measures include events related to physical health, which overlap with the criterion; events related to neuroticism, which influences the criterion; and events that are vague or subjective and could be affected by individual differences in psychological distress, response sets, and retrospective bias. In this study 386 adult males and females completed standard measures of life events and physical illness. Illness was significantly related to event subscales containing, respectively, health-related events, neuroticism-related events, and subjective events, but not to an "uncontaminated" event subscale. These results support the hypothesis of contamination and suggest that alternative approaches to the conceptualization and measurement of stress may need to be developed.

1. Changes in certain kinetic properties (V(max.) and apparent K(m)) of hepatic microsomal mixed-function oxidases have been studied as a function of postnatal development and maturation in male rats. 2. Microsomal cytochrome P-450 content changed only slightly between 1 and 12 weeks of age. 3. Aniline hydroxylase activity (V(max.)) increased abruptly between 1 and 2 weeks of age to greater than adult activities and then returned to a plateau value between 4(1/2) and 12 weeks of age. Ethylmorphine demethylase activity remained low and relatively constant between 1 and 3 weeks of age and then increased markedly ( approximately 100%) between 3 and 4(1/2) weeks. 4. The apparent Michaelis constant (K(m)) for aniline hydroxylation increased almost linearly with time between 1 and 6 weeks of age and tended to reach a plateau value thereafter. The apparent K(m) for ethylmorphine demethylation increased between 1 and 3 weeks of age and then decreased abruptly to a constant value between 6 and 12 weeks. 5. The data indicate that developmental changes in the activity of these microsomal oxidases do not correlate temporally with each other or with changes in microsomal cytochrome P-450 content. 6. The most dramatic changes in enzyme activity were associated with early development (1-3 weeks) and weaning (3-4 weeks). 7. Changes in weight of seminal vesicle, a criterion of sexual maturation in male rats, were most prominent between 6 and 8 weeks of age and thus appeared to be separated in time from the prominent changes in enzyme activity.