This research aims to fill a research gap by examining video games to explore whether gender, age, or hours played per week would exert any influence on the information of those who may or may not play video games. Mood Management Theory and Uses and Gratification Theory were used as the theoretical foundation for this study. Four-hundred-three East Tennessee State University students who received the survey via email were asked to voluntarily participate in a survey about their motivations behind playing video games. Results from MANOVA showed that the motivations of male participants on video games were significantly higher than were female participants on video games. Moreover, those who claimed to play five or more hours of video games per week were significantly higher than those who claimed to play zero hours per week.

韓(1999)提出祈使句是指句中主要動詞是祈使情態(imperative mood)的句子，與其他句型相較下，在其他語言中祈使句具有特別的動詞構詞或句法表現；然而，中文祈使句並無任何構詞或句法機制以表現祈使情態，因此，中文祈使句的句法表現和直述句相似。本論文動機為觀察到中文祈使句與其他語言祈使句的相異處，進而研究中文如何區別中文祈使句與其他句型的差異。同時，前人對於中文祈使句的研究多從描述性觀點出發，缺理論辯證，以致分析上產生缺失；因此，本文試從衍生句法的觀點分析中文祈使句的句法結構。 本論文主要有三個研究目的: 首先，本論文研究中文祈使句的句法特徵。其次，本論文研究如何區別中文祈使句與其他句型的差異，並發現中文的附加問句可以用來區別祈使句與直述句。並且，本論文發現中文的否定祈使句“別”字句與義務性情態詞“要/不要”在句法表現上雖有相同處，但亦表現出多方面的句法相異處。再者，本論文從衍生句法的觀點研究中文祈使句的句法結構。因為中文缺乏句法標記與構詞變化，因此無法從句法層面看出中文祈使句的話語效力 (force)與情態(mood), 但藉由時制定位(tense anchoring)與祈使句的關係，本論文提出中文祈使句結構中具有祈使算子(imperative operator)。 / Han (1999) proposes imperatives are sentences whose main verbs are in the form of the imperative mood. Imperative sentences possess a distinct morphology within the verb or may be distinguished by their syntactic realization from other clause types. However, Chinese imperatives do not demonstrate verb-inflection nor do they impose morphological mechanisms to indicate mood; thus, it seems that imperatives in Chinese are similar to declaratives. This thesis observes the differences between imperatives in Chinese and in other languages, and these differences lead us to conduct a study on how Chinese distinguishes imperatives from other clause types. Moreover, this thesis finds that the previous analyses of Chinese imperatives lack theoretical grounds, as several problems and wrong prediction arise under those analyses. Thus, this study researches on the structure of Chinese imperatives from the perspective of generative grammar. The thesis has three main goals. First, this thesis investigates the syntactic characteristics of Chinese imperatives. Second, this thesis seeks to discern how Chinese distinguishes imperatives from other clause types. This study utilizes tag questions to distinguish imperatives and declaratives. Furthermore, this study finds that the imperatives bie1 and deontic Modalsobligation yao sentences are alike in some ways, but different in other ways. Third, from a generative perspective, this thesis proposes a syntactic structure of imperatives in Chinese. Although it seems difficult to find syntactic evidence of the imperative force and mood as well as a structure of imperatives because Chinese imperatives lack a morpho-syntatic strategy, this thesis proposes that Chinese possesses an imperative operator in imperatives, by examining the evidence from tense anchoring and imperatives.

The general aim of this thesis was to classify and describe long-term pain two years after a stroke and to describe the experiences of pain, and the consequences it has on the persons’ lives. The studies were conducted from a multidimensional perspective on pain, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Three types of long-term pain were classified and described among the 43 participants included, aged 33-82 years. These were central post-stroke pain, nociceptive, mainly shoulder pain, and tension-type headache. Pain onset, within one to six months in most of the cases was after discharge from the hospital. Continuous pain or pain almost every day was reported by nearly two-thirds. The pain was mostly described as troublesome, annoying and tiring in all pain groups. The rating of pain intensity revealed individual differences among the participants within the pain groups. In addition to long-term pain, the participants suffered several impairments and nearly half of them were dependent on others, and two-thirds on assistive devices. Several coping strategies were described, most often problem-focused. Their health-related quality of life was decreased, mostly related to their long-term pain and physical impairments. Their experiences of caring revealed the need of improvements in knowledge about longterm pain, attention and understanding among the professionals, and continuity in the contacts. / On the day of the public defence the status of article III was: Accepted for publication and the status of article IV was: In press.

Using English and the West-African creole language Krio as the objects of investigation, this study proposes an analysis in which verbs and the paradigms pertaining to verbs are conceived of as being the only direct carriers of linguistic time encoding. The fundamental assumption is that nominals encode substance, be it concrete or abstract, and that verbals encode abstract substance with time.The theoretical backdrop is provided by Derek Bickerton's Roots of Language (1981) and "The Language Bioprogram Hypothesis" (1984) in which he proposes a set of conceptually fundamental distinctions. These distinctions: the state/process; the durative/punctual; the realis/irrealis; and the anterior/non-anterior; are discussed in relation to four dynamicity values of verbal nuclei: stative; processive; eventive; and telic. These are proposed by the present author, but draw on Bernard Comrie's aspectual analysis in Aspect (1976).Three different layers of analysis are put forward: (1) the nucleic, which consists of the verbal carrying the meaning core of a situation; (2) the verbal constituency, in which we find all TMA encoding, that is, the tense, mood and aspect of the situation; and (3) the (verbal) situation, which is conceived of as a superordinate, maximum unit of description.It is argued that the dynamicity value of the verbal nucleus to a large extent determines and limits the possible aspectual, modal and temporal interpretations of the situation. / digitalisering@umu

In this thesis we have studied genetic elements potentially contributing to the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, focusing on different sources of human genome variability, including SNPs and CNVs, which can affect not only coding genes but also RNA regulatory elements, such as miRNAs. First, we have interrogated different candidate genes for psychiatric disorders overlapping with known CNVs, finding 14 different genes variable in copy number in psychiatric disorders but not in control individuals. Then, narrowing the analysis on mood disorders, we explored GSK3β gene considering both SNPs and a partially overlapping CNV. The GSK3β promoter and intron 1 region was found significantly associated with an earlier onset of the major depressive disorder. Finally, we have found evidence possibly pointing to a precise post-transcriptional regulation of circadian rhythms by miRNAs in mood disorder patients. Concretely, a variant in the precursor form of miR-182 could play an important role in fine-tuning its target sites involved in the control of sleep/wake cycles. Overall, we have provided evidence of different types of genome variation on neuronal genes or miRNA regulatory regions that can potentially contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders. / En aquesta tesi hem estudiat elements genètics que podrien contribuir potencialment en la fisiopatologia dels trastorns psiquiàtrics, centrant-nos en diferents fonts de variabilitat genòmica humana, incloent els SNPs i els CNVs, els quals poden afectar no només a gens codificants sinó també a elements reguladors, com els miRNAs. Primer, vam interrogar diferents gens candidats per trastorns psiquiàtrics solapats amb CNVs coneguts, trobant que 14 gens eren variables en el número de còpia en pacients però no en individus controls. Després, restringint l'anàlisi a trastorns afectius, vam explorar el gen GSK3β considerant SNPs així com també un CNV que se solapa parcialment amb el gen. Vam trobar la regió del promotor i de l'intró 1 del gen GSK3β associada de manera significativa amb una inferior edat d'inici del trastorn de depressió major. Finalment, hem trobat evidències que possiblement indiquen una precisa regulació post-transcriptional dels ritmes circadians per miRNAs en pacients amb trastorns afectius. Concretament, una variant en la forma precursora del miR-182 podria jugar un paper important en la fina regulació dels seus gens diana implicats en el control dels cicles de son i vigília. En general, hem aportat evidències de què diferents tipus de variació genòmica en gens neuronals o regions reguladores com els miRNAs podrien contribuir potencialment en el desenvolupament de trastorns psiquiàtrics.

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Nous avons étudié les relations anatomiques entre les systèmes de neurotransmission à substance P (SP) et à sérotonine (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) dans le noyau du raphé dorsal (NRD) du rongeur, afin de mieux comprendre les interactions entre ces systèmes durant la régulation de l’humeur. Le NRD reçoit une innervation SP provenant de l’habenula, et le blocage pharmacologique des récepteurs neurokinine-1 (rNK1) de la SP aurait des effets antidépresseurs. Chez le rongeur, le traitement par les antagonistes des rNK1 s’accompagne d’une désensibilisation des autorécepteurs 5-HT1A de la 5-HT et d’une hausse de l’activité des neurones 5-HT dans le NRD, suggérant des interactions locales entre ces deux systèmes. Dans un premier temps, nous avons démontré par doubles marquages immunocytochimiques en microscopies optique, confocale et électronique, la présence du rNK1 dans une sous-population de neurones 5-HT du NRD caudal. Lors de l’analyse en microscopie électronique, nous avons pu constater que les rNK1 étaient principalement cytoplasmiques dans les neurones 5-HT et membranaires sur les neurones non 5-HT du noyau. Grâce à d’autres doubles marquages, nous avons aussi pu identifier les neurones non-5-HT porteurs de rNK1 comme étant GABAergiques. Nous avons ensuite combiné l’immunomarquage de la SP avec celui du rNK1, dans le but d’examiner les relations entre les terminaisons (varicosités *) axonales SP et les neurones 5-HT (pourvus de rNK1 cytoplasmiques du NRD caudal. En simple marquage de la SP, nous avons pu estimer à 41% la fréquence avec laquelle les terminaisons SP font synapse. Dans le matériel doublement marqué pour la SP et son récepteur, les terminaisons SP ont été fréquemment retrouvées en contact direct ou à proximité des dendrites munies de rNK1 cytoplasmiques, mais toujours éloignées des dendrites à rNK1 membranaires. Pour tester l’hypothèse d’une internalisation soutenue des rNK1 par la SP dans les neurones 5-HT, nous avons ensuite examiné la localisation subcellulaire du récepteur chez le rat traité avec un antagoniste du rNK1, le RP67580. La densité du marquage des rNK1 a été mesurée dans le cytoplasme et sur la membrane des deux types de dendrites (5-HT: rNK1 cytoplasmiques; non 5-HT: rNK1 membranaires). Une heure après une injection unique de l’antagoniste, la distribution du rNK1 est apparue inchangée dans les deux types de neurones (5-HT et non 5-HT). Par contre, après un traitement quotidien de 7 ou 21 jours avec l’antagoniste, nous avons mesuré une augmentation significative des densités cytoplasmique et membranaire du rNK1 dans les neurones 5-HT, sans aucun changement dans les neurones non 5-HT. Ces traitements ont aussi augmenté l’expression du gène rNK1 dans le NRD. Enfin, nous avons mesuré une hausse de la densité membranaire du rNK1 dans les neurones 5-HT, sans hausse de densité cytoplasmique, par suite d’une lésion bilatérale de l’habenula. Ces résultats confortent l’hypothèse d’une activation et d’une internalisation soutenues des rNK1 par la SP dans les neurones 5-HT du NRD caudal. Ils suggèrent aussi que le trafic des rNK1 dans les neurones 5-HT du NRD représente un mécanisme cellulaire en contrôle de l’activation du système 5-HT par les afférences SP en provenance de l’habenula. / We have studied in detail the relationships between substance P (SP) and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) neurotransmission systems in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) of rodents, in order to further our understanding of their interaction during mood regulation. The DRN receives a SP innervation arising from the habenula and, in human, it is known that blockade of the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1r) of SP by antagonists may have antidepressant effects. In rodents, treatment with NK1r antagonists is known to increase the firing of DRN 5-HT neurons and to induce a desensitization of their 5-HT1A autoreceptors, suggesting local interactions between the SP and 5-HT systems. In a first step, we were able to demonstrate by means of light, confocal, and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry, including double immunolabelings of NK1r and of the biosynthetic enzyme of 5-HT, tryptophane hydroxylase, the presence of NK1r in a subpopulation of 5-HT neurons in the caudal DRN of rat and mouse. After the dual immunolabelings for electron microscopy, we also found that NK1r was mostly cytoplasmic in 5-HT neurons while predominating on the plasma membrane of TPH negative (non 5-HT) neurons. Subsequently, in additionnal double labeling experiments, we were able to identify most if not all non 5-HT dendrites bearing membranous NK1r as GABAergic. In a second step, we combined the immunolabeling of SP with that of NK1r, in order to examine the relationships between SP axon terminals (varicosities *) and the two categories of DRN neurons (5-HT: cytoplasmic NK1r; non 5-HT: membranous NK1r). After single SP labeling, we could estimate the frequency with which SP terminals made synapse at 41%, at least. In the material doubly labeled for SP and NK1r, the SP terminals were often found in close contact or in the immediate proximity of dendrites endowed with cytoplasmic receptor, but never near non 5-HT dendrites bearing membrane bound receptors. To test the hypothesis of a sustained internalization of NK1r in 5-HT neurons, we then tested the effects of RP67580, a selective NK1r antagonist, on the subcellular localization of the receptor. One hour after administration of a single dose, the NK1r distribution was unchanged in both types of dendrites (5-HT and non 5-HT). However, after administration for 7 (subchronic) or 21 (chronic) days, the cytoplasmic and the membrane densities of NK1r were significantly increased in 5-HT dendrites, without any change in non 5-HT dendrites. These treatments also increased NK1r gene expression in the caudal DRN. Lastly, a significant increase in the membrane density of NK1r was measured in the 5-HT neurons, without any increase of the cytoplamic density, following bilateral electrolytic lesioning of the habenula. These results strenghtened the hypothesis of a sustained activation and internalization of NK1r by SP in 5-HT neurons of the caudal DRN. They also suggested that trafficking of NK1r in these cells might represent a cellular mechanism in control of the activation of the 5-HT system by SP afferents from the habebula.

La victimisation au sein du groupe de pairs est un facteur de risque associé à l’augmentation des symptômes dépressifs au début de l’adolescence. En contrepartie, le fait d’entretenir des relations d’amitié constitue un facteur protecteur important susceptible de modérer les conséquences négatives associées à la victimisation par les pairs. Toutefois, les bénéfices associés aux relations d’amitié peuvent varier en fonction de certaines caractéristiques de celles-ci. Cette étude a pour but d’évaluer dans quelle mesure les caractéristiques des relations d’amitié (c.-à-d., le caractère intime et soutenant de la relation et la propension des amis à co-ruminer) modèrent l’association entre la victimisation par les pairs et l’augmentation des symptômes dépressifs sur une période d’un an. L'échantillon est composé de 536 élèves du secondaire auprès de qui la victimisation et les caractéristiques des relations d’amitié ont été évaluées au premier temps de mesure de façon auto-rapportée. Les symptômes dépressifs des élèves ont également été mesurés lors de deux années consécutives. Les résultats démontrent que le niveau de victimisation des élèves, la qualité des relations d’amitié et la tendance des amis à co-ruminer sont respectivement associés de façon concomitante à l’expression des symptômes dépressifs. En contrepartie, seule la co-rumination entre amis permet de rendre compte de l’augmentation des symptômes dépressifs sur une période d’un an. L’association entre la victimisation par les pairs et le développement des symptômes dépressifs n’est toutefois pas modérée par les caractéristiques des relations d’amitié. / Victimization is an important risk factor for depression in early adolescence. On the other hand, having friends is an important protective factor susceptible of moderating the negative effects associated with victimization. However, the benefits associated with friendships may vary according to some of their characteristics. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether friendship characteristics (i.e. intimacy and support as well as co-rumination) moderate the association between victimization experiences and depressed feelings a year later. The sample is composed of 536 high school students whose victimization level, friendship quality and tendency to co-ruminate were self-reported at the first time point. Depressive mood were self-reported at the end of two consecutive years. Results show that victimization, friendship quality and co-rumination are respectively associated with concurrent depressive mood. However, only co-rumination predicted depressive mood a year later after controlling for initial adjustment. The link between peer victimization and depressive mood was not moderated by friendship characteristics.

For more than half a decade, lithium has been successfully used to treat bipolar disorder. Worldwide, it is considered the first-line mood stabilizer. Apart from its proven antimanic and prophylactic effects, considerable evidence also suggests an antisuicidal effect in affective disorders. Lithium is also effectively used to augment antidepressant drugs in the treatment of refractory major depressive episodes and prevent relapses in recurrent unipolar depression. In contrast to many psychiatric drugs, lithium has outlasted various pharmacotherapeutic ‘fashions’, and remains an indispensable element in contemporary psychopharmacology. Nevertheless, data from pharmacogenetic studies of lithium are comparatively sparse, and these studies are generally characterized by small sample sizes and varying definitions of response. Here, we present an international effort to elucidate the genetic underpinnings of lithium response in bipolar disorder. Following an initiative by the International Group for the Study of Lithium-Treated Patients (www.IGSLI.org) and the Unit on the Genetic Basis of Mood and Anxiety Disorders at the National Institute of Mental Health,lithium researchers from around the world have formed the Consortium on Lithium Genetics (www.ConLiGen.org) to establish the largest sample to date for genome-wide studies of lithium response in bipolar disorder, currently comprising more than 1,200 patients characterized for response to lithium treatment. A stringent phenotype definition of response is one of the hallmarks of this collaboration. ConLiGen invites all lithium researchers to join its efforts. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.