Ian R. Coyle

Behavioral teratogenesis: a critical evaluation.

A critical review of some relevant literature concerning the effects of prenatal administration of drugs and several other substances on postnatal behavior. Significant variables and problems in the adequate design of experiments to assess these effects are discussed. Although the evidence concerning prenatal drug effects on behavior is equivocal, sufficient data exist to indicate that this will continue to be a viable and important area of research in the future. Present results demonstrate the complexity of drug interactions with other variables.

Changes in developing behavior following prenatal administration of imipramine

Female rats were given oral doses of Imipramine (5mg/kg) from 14-21 days prior to mating to conception or Day 19 or gestation and the physical maturation and behavioral development of their offspring was compared with that of controls. There were significant differences between the weights of the Imipramine and control animals at 21 days and the appearance of some reflexes was delayed. Behavior in an open field was observed when the rats were 9, 13, 17 and 21 days of age and it was found that exploratory responses were less frequent in the drug exposed offspring. In contrast there were no obvious physical anomalies and the adult behavior of the Imipramine animals on a spontaneous alternation task and a swimming maze did not differ from that of controls.

CAUDATE NUCLEUS LESIONS IMPAIR THE ABILITY OF RATS TO LEARN A SIMPLE STRAIGHT-ALLEY TASK

Learning to run down a straight alley for a food reward was investigated in rats with lesions of the telencephalon. Over 84 trials the running latencies of rats with lesions of the caudate nucleus were significantly greater than those of subjects with lesions of the frontal cortex or sham-lesioned rats. The running latencies of the cortical- and the sham-lesioned groups were not significantly different. It was suggested that the performance of the caudotomized rats reflected a learning deficit.

Behavioral, biochemical and histological effects of prenatal administration of progesterone in the rat

Pregnant Wistar rats were injected with progesterone (1.5 mg/kg) between Days 8 and 21 of gestation and the behavioral, biochemical and histological effects of this treatment were observed in the offspring. The progesterone offspring weighed less than the control animals during this weaning and were retarded on one measure of exploratory activity in the open field. None of the other 29 tests used showed any significant difference apart from a 9% increase in the amount of brain DNA in the progesterone animals. It was concluded that these differences were fortuitous and that progesterone has no consistent or significant effects on brain development in rodents following prenatal administration.

The effects of alcohol induced malnutrition in pregnancy on offspring brain and behavioral development

Alcohol is known to have various deleterious effects in all animals including man. The present study was designed to establish whether the effects of moderate EtOH intake during pregnancy on offspring are due to toxic effects of the substance or to nutritional changes; whether effects are long lasting or limited in duration; and whether effects are due to the prenatal action of the substance or effects persisting into the postnatal period. The findings show that the effects obtained in our study are due to malnutrition engendered in the prenatal period and are of limited duration. Since much evidence suggests that early deficits are difficult to compensate for, it is possible that the tests used with mature animals in this study may have been insensitive to residual deficits. Alternatively, rats may truly have compensated for early retardation. This does not necessarily imply that the same compensatory processes would apply in humans, where greater complexity of environmental demands is imposed from an early age.

Dominance behavior in the rat following lesions of the caudate nuclei

Rats with bilateral lesions of the anterior caudate nucleus or the dorsolateral frontal cortex were tested against sham-operated rats in a straight-alley dominance situation. In 91% of encounters the caudate lesion rats forced the sham-operated animals to retreat. The frontal lesion rats won only 56% of their encounters, a proportion no different to that expected by chance. The performance of the caudate-damaged rats could not be explained satisfactorily in terms of increased motivation, changes in activity, motor impairments, or perseverative tendencies. It seemed more likely that the apparent increase in dominance was associated with changes in the level of aggression.

The Cogency of Risk Assessments

Preventive detention schemes rely on assessments of risk carried out by forensic practitioners. Corrective services departments and other organs of the state inevitably present the approaches they adopt and the tools they employ in this endeavour as being “best practice” and “evidence based”. Typically these assessments are conducted according to a bureaucratic template and are based on a selected suite of tests that are heavily biased towards actuarial assessment. The validity of this approach is gravely suspect as is the failure of many forensic professionals to properly identify the diagnostic accuracy/inaccuracy of the tests and methods they rely upon in conducting risk assessments. This article iterates the methodological and evidentiary problems with risk assessment of sexual offenders. It is concluded that common extant approaches lack scientific objectivity and fail to provide the courts with cogent evidence. As a result of these errors in investigatory processes miscarriages of justice are inevitable.

Psychology from the bench

In this article, the authors review the implications of the recent Northern Territory case of NJB v The Queen, and argue that it reveals the true depth of a paradox that has opened up with regard to the guidance afforded to a criminal trial jury. It is argued that there is an incongruity between the reluctance to adduce expert opinion evidence on the credibility of child witnesses and having judges inaccurately comment on the subject. This problem extends to judicial directions routinely employed in other areas of the criminal law where witnesses’ credibility is at issue. It is independent of whether or not these directions are framed as obligatory directions or as opinions that the jury is free to accept or reject. It requires a suspension of disbelief to accept long cherished legal maxims as to the efficacy of judicial directions in such circumstances.

EQUIPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT OF FITNESS FACILITIES: THE PERSPECTIVE OF FITNESS INDUSTRY EMPLOYEES

Background Fitness facilities provide an avenue for people to engage in physical activity, however it is important that these facilities do all in their power to reduce the likelihood of injuries occurring. The attitudes and practices of those employed in the fitness industry with respect to risk management are important for implementation of injury prevention measures, as are risk management procedures currently in place. Objective To identify views of the fitness industry employees about injury risks and hazards associated with equipment and training environments within fitness facilities and their risk management and hazard identification practices in relation to them. Design A 6-week nationwide online survey. Setting Australia-wide fitness industry. Participants 1 178 adults across Australia who own, manage or work in the fitness industry. Main outcome measurements Responses to 6-point Likert scale questions. Results 79.1% of survey respondents held the safety of the fitness premises in high importance, and 80.2% stated that the location and condition of their facility (access, lighting, floor surfaces etc.) was very/extremely safe. The layout of equipment in the facility was very/extremely good in 61.9% of cases, and fitness equipment maintenance was reported to have been conducted frequently by 68.5% of the respondents. Fitness employees frequently observed hazardous conditions of the exercise areas with respect to objects lying around (43.8% of cases), equipment misuse (41.9% of cases), and facility users lifting weights that were considered too heavy (47.8% of cases). Conclusion The findings suggest that facility users should be provided with further education regarding their physical activity programs and behaviours that could reduce injury risk, and that guidelines for using the facility should be made more obvious. The findings also indicate that fitness industry employees should be given risk management training, and that in facilities where hazards were observed and hazardous practices are engaged in, that risk analysis and management protocols need to be implemented.

An inconvenient truth: legal implications of errors in breath alcohol analysis arising from statistical uncertainty

The general practice in courts throughout Australia is to accept without question the accuracy of what are popularly referred to as ‘breathalysers’, or breath analysis instruments as they are legally described. The possibility that they might be providing false readings is only considered if that possibility is raised as a matter of evidence by a motorist who has been breathalysed, and who now faces the prospect of legal sanctions as a result of what it is alleged was revealed by the breath analysis instrument. In this article, it is argued that the methodological and statistical bases for such an assumption are unsound, particularly when the blood alcohol level inferred from breath analysis is close to an important, legislatively proscribed, threshold such as 0.05% or 0.15%. It is an inconvenient truth that breath analysis overestimates blood alcohol levels for some individuals at these thresholds, with profound legal consequences.