Hundred sixty-seven Germans completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and the California Adult Q-Sort. A factor analysis revealed 3 factors: emotional stability, social orientation and impulsivity. DNA from buccal cells was genotyped for the DRD4 variable-number tandemrepeat exon III polymorphism

with respect to presence versus absence of the DRD4 7-repeat allele. Adverse life events were assessed by means of the Adverse Life Events Scale. Men carrying the DRD4 7-repeat allele were PI3K inhibitor more impulsive than those without. Male 7-repeat carriers were more emotionally instable than others, but only when they experienced a large amount of negative AZD1208 life events. No genotype-personality relationships were found for women. The results indicate gender-specific influences of the DRD4gene on human behavior

and invite researchers to further investigate gene-environment correlations on personality traits. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel”
“Background. The move from lying to standing is typically associated with a variety of physiological and neurohumoral changes, most especially a slight increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP). Decreased efficacy of the various mechanisms that control orthostatic blood pressure (BP) regulation may result in lightheadedness, dizziness, syncope, and cerebral hypoperfusion. The lack of effective orthostatic BP regulation is a symptom for various problems, including fatigue, depression, anxiety, and reduced attention.

Methods. This study examined men and women P-type ATPase (N = 74) who

were aged 30-75 years and asymptomatic for clinical orthostatic hypotension.

Results. Relatively poor BP regulation in response to orthostasis was associated with decreased verbal memory, decreased concentration, and higher hopelessness scores.

Conclusions. Individuals who exhibited less effective SBP regulation even to a subsyndromal degree in response to an orthostatic challenge may be at increased risk for cognitive and affective problems. The relationship between orthostatic BP regulation is best described as curvilinear.”
“Background/Aims: In this study, we examined changes in the concentrations of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin (oxy- and deoxy-Hb, respectively) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during the digit span task by using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Methods: The digit span task consists of the digit span forward and backward tasks. The tasks were performed by 22 healthy undergraduate students who participated in this study. Differences in the mean concentrations of oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb between the baseline and task intervals were evaluated. Results: In digit span backward, oxy-Hb was significantly higher during the task interval than during the baseline.