Curt Richter made seminal contributions to our understanding of a number of issues regarding the relationships between physiology and behavior. He was the first to conceptualize behavior as an aspect of regulatory physiology. These ideas developed from his work on behavioral responses to a variety of physiological perturbations. The classic example is Richter's demonstration of the development ...

The paper by Ben Cohen and Eli Remolona provides an excellent summary of the origins of the crisis. I agree with their emphasis on three key factors. There was: (a) fi nancial innovation – with exceptional opacity of new instruments; (b) low interest rates globally, which prompted a search for yield; and (c) an environment of ‘ravenous’ risk appetites driven by problematic incentives in various...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of a health visitor led intervention for failure to thrive in children under 2 years old. DESIGN Controlled trial, randomised by primary care practice. SETTING Newcastle upon Tyne health district. INTERVENTION Structured health visitor management, with dietetic, paediatric, and social work input as required. SUBJECTS 229 children (120 in intervent...

Continuing research has increased our understanding of regulatory factors involving appetite, food intake, and energy metabolism. There appears to be a complex interaction among insulin, leptin, and ghrelin. A new study explored these interactions and indicates that leptin may regulate ghrelin levels and affect body weight changes.

Obesity its only possible origin is off the plate. It is a question of imbalance between food intake and energy expenditure. Since food intake is regulated by appetite, Dr Morrison’s paper is pertinent. The treatment of obesity is largely a problem for dietetic practice, and it is fitting that Miss Rose should conclude this Symposium with an account of her unrivalled experience in this field. O...

A new study shows that female fruitflies eat more after mating, and that a multi-functional peptide provided in the seminal fluid of their mates induces this behavior. These findings contribute significantly to our understanding of mating behaviors and resource allocation, and may provide insights useful for controlling the reproduction of insect pests.

Much of our dietary behaviour is learned. In particular, one suggestion is that 'flavour-nutrient learning' (F-NL) influences both choice and intake of food. F-NL occurs when an association forms between the orosensory properties of a food and its postingestive effects. Unfortunately, this process has been difficult to evaluate because F-NL is rarely observed in controlled studies of adult huma...

a number of studies have examined the role of aerobic exercise and evidence suggests this may be an effective therapy for premenstrual syndrome (pms). the aim of this study was to assess the pms symptoms between swimmer and non-swimmer female students. two hundred eighty subjects were studied. one hundred forty subjects were swimmers, while 140 were normal sedentary controls. duration of swimmi...

Introduction In this paper, I defend the importance of narrative to moral philosophy, in particular to moral realism. Moral realism, for the purposes of this essay, is the claim that there are moral truths independent of human beliefs, attitudes, desires and feelings.i Contemporary philosophers typically focus on discursive arguments and exclude narrative. But narrative is considerably more pow...