Louis A. Schmidt

Behavioral and neuroendocrine responses in shy children

Previous research has shown that infants who display a high frequency of motor activity and negative affect at 4 months of age are likely to be behaviorally inhibited toddlers. We examined social behaviors, maternal report of temperament, salivary cortisol, and baseline startle responses at age 4 in a sample of children, some of whom displayed a high frequency of motor activity and negative affect at 4 months of age. Infants who displayed this temperamental profile were reported by their mothers as more shy at age 4 compared with other children. We also found that 4-year-olds who displayed a high frequency of wary behavior during peer play exhibited relatively high morning salivary cortisol, were reported as contemporaneously shy by their mothers, and were behaviorally inhibited at 14 months of age. There were no significant relations found between baseline startle and morning salivary cortisol and measures of shyness at age 4. We speculate that high levels of cortisol in shy children may induce changes in the amygdala, exacerbating their fearfulness.

Frontal electrocortical and cardiovascular reactivity during happiness and anger.

The present study investigated electrocortical and cardiovascular reactivity during positive and negative emotion, and examined the relation of asymmetric frontal lobe activation to cardiovascular responses. Participants were 30 healthy, right-handed university students (mean age, 23.9; 60% female; 76% Caucasian). Electroencephalographic (EEG), blood pressure (BP), and heart rate (HR) responses were assessed while subjects engaged in laboratory tasks (personally-relevant recall tasks and film clips) designed to elicit happiness or anger. Happiness-inducing tasks evoked more prominent left than right frontal EEG activation, and greater left frontal EEG activation than anger-inducing tasks. However, anger-inducing tasks were, on average, associated with comparable left and right frontal EEG activation. Irrespective of emotional valence, cardiovascular activation was more pronounced during personally-relevant recall tasks than during the viewing of film clips. During anger recall, both greater left frontal EEG response (r=-0.46, P<0.02) and greater right frontal EEG response (r=-0.45, P<0.02) were correlated significantly with increased HR reactivity during the task. In addition, a right lateralized frontal EEG response during anger-inducing tasks was associated with greater concomitant systolic BP (P<0.03) and diastolic BP (P<0.008) reactivity. Exploratory analyses also indicated that men who displayed a left lateralized frontal EEG response during happiness-inducing tasks showed the greatest concomitant systolic BP and HR reactivity (Ps<0.03). These findings suggest that asymmetric frontal EEG responses to emotional arousal may elicit different patterns of cardiovascular reactivity in healthy adults.

The role of frontal activation in the regulation and dysregulation of social behavior during the preschool years

We examined whether the interaction of resting frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry and social behavior during peer play was related to the occurrence of maladaptive behavior in preschoolers. Two independent cohorts of children were observed interacting in same-age and -gender play quartets at 4 years of age. Each child was also seen individually for a psychophysiology session during which time measures of EEG activity were recorded. We found that highly sociable children who exhibited greater relative right frontal EEG asymmetry were more likely to exhibit externalizing problems than sociable children who exhibited greater relative left frontal EEG asymmetry. We also found that shy children who exhibited greater relative right frontal EEG asymmetry were more likely to exhibit internalizing problems than shy children who exhibited left frontal EEG asymmetry. These findings suggest that the pattern of frontal EEG asymmetry in combination with social behavioral style is a significant predictor of maladaptive behavior problems during the preschool period.

Patterns of cortical electrophysiology and autonomic activity in adults' shyness and sociability ☆

We examined differences in brain electrical activity (EEG), heart rate (EKG), heart rate variability, and behavior among 40 young women who were selected for high (HI) and low (LO) self-ratings of shyness and sociability. EEG and EKG were continuously recorded for 6 min from each subject, just prior to an expected novel social encounter. Each subject was also observed unobtrusively for 5 min during the social encounter. Analyses indicated that the pattern of frontal EEG asymmetry was related to sociability, but not to shyness. LOSOCIABLE subjects displayed greater relative right mid-frontal activation while HISOCIABLE subjects displayed greater relative left mid-frontal activation. A significant shy x sociable interaction was found for parietal asymmetry and for measures of heart rate and heart rate variability. LOSHY/HISOCIABLE subjects displayed greater relative right parietal activation while LOSHY/LOSOCIABLE subjects displayed greater relative left parietal activation. And HISHY/HISOCIABLE subjects displayed a significantly higher and more stable (less variable) heart rate than HISHY/LOSOCIABLE and LOSHY/HISOCIABLE subjects. Analyses also indicated that LOSOCIABLE subjects displayed significantly more signs of nonverbal social avoidance as compared with HISOCIABLE subjects. The present findings suggest that shyness and sociability may be subserved by different neurophysiological systems.

Individual differences in young adults' shyness and sociability: Personality and health correlates

Differences in personality and health-related ailments among 40 young women who were selected for high (HI) and low (LO) self-ratings of shyness and sociability were examined. Self- and independent-ratings of personality were also measured following a dyadic interaction with an unfamiliar woman. The analyses revealed a significant Shyness × Sociability interaction for measures of self-reported talkativeness and extraversion. HISHY/LOSOCIABLE subjects rated themselves significantly lower on amount of talking during the dyadic interaction and lower on extraversion compared with subjects in the other three groups. Extreme shyness was also a consistent predictor of both emotional and psychosomatic problems. HISHY subjects reported significantly more neuroticism, loneliness, depression, social anxiety, fearfulness, retrospective inhibition, and had lower self-esteem than their LOSHY counterparts. In addition, a significantly higher portion of HISHY subjects reported problems with allergies and gastrointestinal functioning compared with LOSHY subjects. These results provide further support for the independence of shyness and sociability, and replicate and extend earlier findings on the role of extreme shyness in emotional and psychosomatic problems.

Management of diabetes by obstetrician-gynecologists

Objective To examine the rates of diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus by ACOG Fellows in pregnant and nonpregnant patients. Methods We sent a questionnaire to 1250 ACOG Fellows. Thirty-nine percent responded. Responses were examined for potential differences between recently and less recently trained obstetrician-gynecologists. Results Ninety-six percent of obstetricians routinely screen for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Fifty-five percent of obstetrician-gynecologists screen for diabetes in nonpregnant patients if there is a history of diabetes in the patients family. Moreover, 33% care for women with type-1 diabetes mellitus, and 39% for women with type-2 diabetes mellitus who are not pregnant. Sixty-two percent believed that their patients with GDM are at increased risk for developing nongestational diabetes later in life, and 71% will recommend an evaluation of glucose tolerance in the future for these women. Finally, 99% are willing to prescribe oral contraceptives to women diagnosed previously with GDM. Conclusion Obstetrician-gynecologists are aware of the need to screen for GDM and the importance of postpartum follow-up in GDM patients to detect type-2 diabetes mellitus This practice is important because half of the 14 million people with type-2 diabetes mellitus are unaware they have this disorder, and many learn about it only after a serious complication has occurred.