Resumo Introdução: o comportamento, como uma função biológica do organismo, pode ser tomado como objeto de estudo da neuropsicologia, já que parte do propósito dessa ciência é identificar, caracterizar e compreender as variáveis que o afetam, como a exposição crônica a agentes tóxicos. Objetivo: sustentar a ideia de que o comportamento humano pode ser utilizado como medida de identificação e avaliação da exposição ambiental e ocupacional de toxicantes. Métodos: este ensaio se apoia em revisão assistemática de literatura da área de toxicologia comportamental. Resultados: buscou-se caracterizar a abordagem comportamental como uma alternativa de mensuração em estudos epidemiológicos e apresentar algumas medidas e técnicas de avaliação neurocomportamentais. Discute-se a importância da padronização das baterias neurocomportamentais e suas limitações, além de exemplificar o seu uso potencial na triagem toxicológica com solventes (hexano). Conclusão: argumentou-se em favor da importância da toxicologia comportamental como área de interesse da saúde ocupacional, assim como da utilização de avaliações comportamentais na detecção precoce e prevenção de agravos à saúde dos trabalhadores, de modo a oferecer subsídios para o desenvolvimento de processos de produção mais seguros.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an adaptive, computer-based staff training software program called Train-to-Code (TTC) to teach the administration of a social skills intervention. The software program actively trained participants to identify whether video models illustrated each step of the procedure effectively or ineffectively. Multiple exemplars of each step of the social skills task analysis were represented. Most-to-least prompting as well as feedback and error correction were embedded into the software program and prompts were faded through seven levels as the participant reached criterion accuracy. A multiple-probe across participants design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of this program by comparing pre- and post-training in vivo probes conducted with a confederate learner. All participant scores increased from pre-training to post-training, indicating that Train-to-Code was effective at teaching administration of the social skills intervention. These results have implications for training staff in applied community settings. Due to Train-to-Code's ability to be internet-based and to measure actual viewing performance, it has the potential for "distance training" deliveries.

ABSTRACT We evaluated the impact of a customized training program developed using an observation and behavioral coding software system (i.e., Train-to-Code) to teach implementation of Phase 3A of the Picture Exchange Communication System to four undergraduate students. The training program coached participants on all relevant steps of the procedure. To accomplish this, participants viewed multiple video exemplars of correct and incorrect implementation of each step in the sequence of behaviors, and coded these behaviors in accordance with a taxonomy developed by the experimenters. The training program provided prompts and feedback in real time based on participants’ current level of performance and required mastery of seven levels of training, each with fewer prompts and feedback, until an expert level of unprompted coding performance was demonstrated. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program on levels of procedural integrity during performance test probes conducted with a confederate learner before and after the completion of the training program. Results showed improved performance relative to baseline following training, and maintenance of performance at 2–4 weeks follow-up. A conceptual analysis of these findings will be discussed, along with implications for staff training in applied settings.

It is useful to both contingencies and behavior. A reinforcement schedule arranged in the laboratory is a working model of a real-world contingency in the sense that a model of an airplane is a model. It simplifies a natural contingency, but it really will fly. Thus, a reinforcement schedule is both a model of a contingency and it also IS a contingency, albeit a synthetic one. The authors argue for the use of working models of organisms, computer programs that take in models of stimuli as input and produce models of responses as output, all on a real-time basis. Com­puter simulations of working models called in situ simulations, are more complex than molecular simulations su eh as Shimp's Associative Learner in that spatio-tem­poral patterning, not just tempral patterning, is modeled. Working models of or­ganisms, it is elaimed, will allow for testing of behavioral theories of many types without the difficulties attendant upon theorizing that concerned Skinner (1950). Advantages to using working models inelude: (1) Analysis of behavioral theories at levels of observation more microscopic than those readily obtainable elsewhere. (2) Easy integration with neural network models. (3) The possibility of statistical test­ing in conjunction with the experimental analysis of behavior.

This article introduces a taxonomy based on a procedural operations analysis (Verplanck, 1996) of various method descriptions found in the behavior observation research literature. How these alternative procedures impact the recording and subsequent analysis of behavioral events on the basis of the type of time and behavior recordings made is also discussed. The taxonomy was generated as a foundation for the continuing development of an expert training system called Train-to-Code (TTC; J. M. Ray & Ray, (Behavior Research Methods 40:673-693, 2008)). Presently in its second version, TTC V2.0 is software designed for errorless training (Terrace, (Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 6:1-27, 1963)) of student accuracy and fluency in the direct observation and coding of behavioral or verbal events depicted via digital video. Two of 16 alternative procedures classified by the taxonomy are presently modeled in TTC's structural interface and functional services. These two models are presented as illustrations of how the taxonomy guides software user interface and algorithm development. The remaining 14 procedures are described in sufficient operational detail to allow similar model-oriented translation.

A new approach is offered wherein behavior emitted by neural networks without antecedent stimuli is either shaped to produce a patterned behavioral output (Simulation 1) or is strengthened by delayed reinforcement through the mediation of response afterdischarges (Simulation 2). These networks demonstrate how Stein's InVitro Reinforcement (lVR) of neuronal bursts might account for various reinforcement effects at a behavioral level. The explorations presented iIIustrate two benefits to behavior analysis provided by biobehaviorally-based computational models of learning: accomodation of new biological information and recasting of behavioral concepts in ways compatible with this new information.

Assessment of the harm caused by exposure to pesticides requires that a measure of exposure be available.While such information is available without difficulty in controlled laboratory studies, estimating the exposure of humans who have been exposed in the real world is difficult.The difficulty is increased if exposures have taken place over an extended time period and the documentation of specifics is unavailable.Three methods of exposure assessment have previously been used: comparison of exposed and nonexposed groups, estimation of exposures through self-report of the individuals, and estimation of exposure through assessment of biomarkers or environmental levels.Each approach imposes limitations.We propose an additional approach -estimation of the degree of exposure for individuals through direct observation of their behavior and their use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during periods of exposure.We also obtain opinions from experts regarding the risk associated with the various behaviors and PPE use and combine these with the observations to create a personal risk index for each individual.By including information on chemicals in use during this period, we can characterize recent (observed) exposure for that individual.By these steps, the degree of risk may be determined for recent (observed) exposure.An estimate of long-term risk resulting from workrelated exposures can be obtained for individuals by summing across their work histories.

Adolescents (10 to 18 years old) from a rural area in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were tested using the Behavioral Assessment and Research System (BARS) to evaluate their performance. Participants were drawn from two areas - a school serving farm children (rural N=38) and a school serving children from a city within this area (urban N=28). These children were drawn from an ongoing study being carried out by Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz where rural and urban participants were matched for age, sex, and level in school. For this ongoing study, the participants had been interviewed to determine their occupational history, especially their activities that might involve exposure to pesticides. Interview responses were used to assign an exposure index to each participant. While a few BARS performance measures suggested behavioral impairments for the rural versus the urban participants, a stronger and more consistent association between BARS measures (especially impairment of tapping, digit span, and selective attention) and level of exposure to pesticides was noted when the exposure index was entered into a multiple linear regression analysis. Exposure appeared to be especially strong for the youngest participants (10-11 years old). The relationship between these behaviors and the exposure index was stronger than the relationship between behaviors and either age or sex. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A neural network simulation of Eckerman, Hienz, Stern, & Kowlowitz' (1980) experiment showed a good match to the effective shaping of the location of a pigeon's keypeck. The neural network model was biologically based on In-Vitro Reinforcement (IVR) principles of learning. The behavioral function of the model was a Win-Stay strategy. Results indicated that control by consequences can account for a substantial proportion of the shaping reported in the original experiment. The simulation and its analysis are good examples of new techniques for neural network simulation, including semi-situational simulations and direct analysis. ********** Shaping is one of the most widely used techniques in applied behavior analysis. Despite this, very little experimental analysis of shaping has been reported from the laboratory. The present study continues the authors' efforts to use neural network simulations as a tool for the analysis of shaping. Specifically, we will show how a network based on the principles of In-Vitro Reinforcement (IVR--Stein, 1997; Stein, Xue, & Belluzzi, 1993; 1994; Stein & Belluzzi, 1989) accounts for experimental results of pigeons' key pecks shaped using a Long Key apparatus (Eckerman, Hienz, Stem, & Kowlowitz, 1980). Across psychology, the use of computer simulations is becoming more and more common. Most of these simulations are not behavioral. And most of the methods and techniques developed to analyze these simulations are not appropriate to a behavioral analysis. Even in the case of behavioral simulations, it is not always the case that the phenomena simulated are of especial interest to the clinician. The present study uses a novel technique called direct analysis (Kemp & Eckerman, 2001), which allows the prediction of behavior from almost any experimental analysis. By selecting an experimental analysis of shaping, we hope that the present report illustrates how simulating a neural network on a computer can lead to analyses of behavior of value to the clinician. Direct analysis means subscribing to the desiderata proposed by Church (1997). One way of speaking about direct analysis is to say it involves attempting to simulate an experiment, rather than an experimental effect. This means that the computer software that performs the simulation is composed of at least three separate programs (called modules), one modeling the experimental procedure and apparatus, another modeling the organism's sensorimotor systems, and the third modeling the behavior. The outputs of one module are input into the next, in a cycle. Kemp & Eckerman (2001) refer to this sort of simulation as situational. The third component module is the neural network model. The remainder of the software constitutes what Kemp & Eckerman call the In Situ testbed, used to evaluate the performance of the model with respect to the performance of the original organisms in the same experimental procedure. Because the output of the behavioral module impacts the sensorimotor module, the level of detail at which the behavior is modeled must be very fine grained--both temporally and spatially. Not only each session, but each trial and each response, and often unmeasured responses (such as crossover responses and observing responses, etc.) as well, must be simulated individually. This is what we mean by simulating an experiment, rather than just an experimental effect. Direct analysis is distinct from other types of quantitative analysis of behavior. Typical computer simulations merely calculate the functional relations. The inputs to traditional simulations are parameters describing the contingencies and the outputs are parameters characterizing the behavior. As such, they are abstractions away from the moment-to-moment details of an organism interacting with its environment (Skinner, 1976). In contrast, the output from a situational simulation system is a record of behavior with the same structure as the data recorded from the original experiment. …

A tenet of behavioral education is that interactive training produces superior retention compared with reading. However, this has not often been directly tested and never with practical occupational information in working adults. Adults from diverse occupational backgrounds learned the principles of proper respiratory protection presented (a) in a book, (b) on a computer monitor, (c) through interactive computerized training consisting of textual information and illustrative pictures followed by quizzes and feedback, or (d) passively viewing the information and quizzes in Condition c on a computer monitor. Interactive training produced significantly more correct test answers at immediate posttraining, 1 week, and 2 months. This study demonstrated the superiority of interactive training for teaching occupational safety and health information in working adults.

A computer-aided training program was developed in SuperCard and piloted with professional painters. Taking a modern programmed-instruction/behavioral-education approach, cTRAIN is structured as a series of information sets . Each information set consists of a series of information screens (three to five recommended) followed by quiz screens (one to three recommended) structured as fourresponse multiple choice questions. Correct quiz responses produce positive feedback and continuation in the series, whereas incorrect responses result in “error“ feedback and return the student to the beginning of the information set to repeat the same information screens and the same quiz question. This report demonstrates a specific implementation, respiratory protection requirements, using the flexible cTRAIN system for developing training modules. Fifteen adults completed the respiratory protection program, demonstrating substantial and significant ( p < .0001 by paired t test) gains from baseline pretest (19.4 out of 30 questions) to the immediate posttest (28.1). Performance remained elevated (26.4) on a retest taken 1 week later.

A Revista Brasileira de Terapia Comportamental e Cognitiva é publicação semestral da Associação Brasileira de Psicoterapia e Medicina Comportamental (ABPMC). A Revista tem como objetivo publicar artigos de abordagem comportamental e cognitiva.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry convened a workshop in Atlanta, GA, that evaluated approaches and methods to ascertain whether there are neurobehavioral sequelae to children and adults exposed to hazardous substances in the environment. This article, developed from that workshop, addresses the feasibility of employing extant neurobehavioral tests to screen pediatric populations. A matrix lists basic functions to be assessed during eight developmental periods ranging from birth to high school. The best of these neurobehavioral tests for pediatric populations and the types of assessment tools that are still needed are discussed. We make 10 specific recommendations to establish a hazardous substances neurobehavioral screen for pediatric populations, including appointing a review panel, developing a structured questionnaire, convening a conference on design and analysis, addressing minority and socially disadvantaged populations, coordinating adult and child assessment methods, information sharing among Federal agencies, baseline data, methodology research, research associated with hazardous worksites, and establishment of a pediatric databank.

Goals for undergraduate training in psychology are reviewed, and a survey is reported to suggest ways in which computers are being used to meet these goals. Currently computers primarily aid data collection and analysis. Computer-based literature searching and word processing are becoming more common. The true challenge of laboratory training, however, is inquiry training: helping students generate and frame research questions and interpret their results. Are we using the time we have gained through computer data collection and analysis to meet these goals? Are there ways in which the computer can directly help us meet these goals? The new generation of flexible experiment-generator software may provide direct help of this sort, as may effective simulations of theory.

Goals for undergraduate training in psychology are reviewed, and a survey is reported to suggest ways in which computers are being used to meet these goals. Currently computers primarily aid data collection and analysis. Computer-based literature searching and word processing are becoming more common. The true challenge of laboratory training, however, is inquiry training: helping students generate and frame research questions and interpret their results. Are we using the time we have gained through computer data collection and analysis to meet these goals? Are there ways in which the computer can directly help us meet these goals? The new generation of flexible experiment-generator software may provide direct help of this sort, as may effective simulations of theory.

The onset and sequential changes of psychosexual arousal for male and female were compared. During an erotic film presentation, genital hemodynamic and groin skin temperature measures of sexual arousal recorded moderate to large increases for both sexes. A sequential analysis revealed strikingly similar male-female response patterns for both the genital and groin measures of arousal. Thus, the commonly held view that males typically show a greater sexual responsivity to visual erotic stimuli than do females was not supported.