Intellectual ability in young men separated temporarily from their parents in childhood

We examined the effects of early life stress (ELS) on intellectual ability in 2,725 20-year-old male participants, of whom 321 were separated temporarily (mean 1.7 years) from both their parents during World War II, at an average age of 4.3 years. Intellectual ability was tested when entering compulsory military service. The separated men had − 0.28 (95% CI − 0.39, − 0.16), − 0.13 (95% CI − 0.25, − 0.01), − 0.18 (95% CI − 0.29, − 0.06), and − 0.19 (95% CI − 0.30, − 0.07) SD units lower verbal, visuospatial, arithmetic, and composite score of intellectual ability, respectively, compared to non-separated. Participants who were separated for more than a year and between two and four years had the lowest ability scores. ELS showed most consistent associations with verbal ability, but were not limited to it. Children beyond infancy and before their school-age may be the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of the ELS.     

Adopted children's language difficulties and their relation to symptoms of reactive attachment disorder: FinAdo study

This study investigated the potential association between symptoms of reactive attachment disorder and language difficulties among internationally adopted children in Finland (the FinAdo study). The language difficulties were assessed using a standardised Five to Fifteen (FTF) parental questionnaire and the symptoms of reactive attachment disorder using a FinAdo questionnaire. The study sample consisted of 689 6–15 year old children (49.2% boys, response rate 48%). Twenty-nine percent of the children were reported to have language difficulties and 8% severe language difficulties (10% and 2%, respectively, in the general population). A child's symptoms of reactive attachment disorder were associated with language difficulties and severe language difficulties, OR 2.15, 95% CI [1.39, 3.31] and OR 4.33, 95% CI [1.57, 11.98], respectively, the associations being robust to adjustments for background factors.     

Sensori-motor synchronisation variability decreases as the number of metrical levels in the stimulus signal increases

Timing performance becomes less precise for longer intervals, which makes it difficult to achieve simultaneity in synchronisation with a rhythm. The metrical structure of music, characterised by hierarchical levels of binary or ternary subdivisions of time, may function to increase precision by providing additional timing information when the subdivisions are explicit. This hypothesis was tested by comparing synchronisation performance across different numbers of metrical levels conveyed by loudness of sounds, such that the slowest level was loudest and the fastest was softest. Fifteen participants moved their hand with one of 9 inter-beat intervals (IBIs) ranging from 524 to 3125 ms in 4 metrical level (ML) conditions ranging from 1 (one movement for each sound) to 4 (one movement for every 8th sound). The lowest relative variability (SD/IBI < 1.5%) was obtained for the 3 longest IBIs (1600–3125 ms) and MLs 3–4, significantly less than the smallest value (4–5% at 524–1024 ms) for any ML 1 condition in which all sounds are identical. Asynchronies were also more negative with higher ML. In conclusion, metrical subdivision provides information that facilitates temporal performance, which suggests an underlying neural multi-level mechanism capable of integrating information across levels.     

Introducing a novel method to assess cumulative steroid concentrations: increased hair cortisol concentrations over 6 months in medicated patients with depression

Depression has been linked to increased cortisol concentrations using point measures taken from urine, blood, or saliva samples. However, with regard to hypercortisolism-induced consequences, long-term cumulative cortisol burden is of relevance. Our objective was to use hair analysis as a new method to assess cortisol exposure over 6 months in depressed patients and healthy controls. We examined 23 depressed patients (8 men and 15 women, mean age: 41.6 years (?±?standard deviation (SD), 13.1 years); mean duration of current depressive episode 9 months (?±?SD, 13 months)) and 64 healthy controls, matched for age and gender. Cortisol concentrations in two 3-cm hair segments from near to the scalp were analyzed, representing cortisol secretion during the 6 months prior to sampling. Compared with healthy individuals, depressed patients had higher hair cortisol concentrations in the first (mean?±?SD: 26.7?±?20.8 vs. 18.7?±?11.5?pg/mg, p?相似文献   

Mother–infant interaction improves with a developmental intervention for mother–preterm infant dyads

While premature infants have a high need for positive interactions, both infants and their mothers are challenged by the infant‘s biological immaturity. This randomized clinical trial of 198 premature infants born at 29–34 weeks gestation and their mothers examined the impact of the H-HOPE (Hospital to Home: Optimizing the Infant's Environment) intervention on mother–premature infant interaction patterns at 6-weeks corrected age (CA). Mothers had at least 2 social environmental risk factors such as minority status or less than high school education. Mother–infant dyads were randomly assigned to the H-HOPE intervention group or an attention control group. H-HOPE is an integrated intervention that included (1) twice-daily infant stimulation using the ATVV (auditory, tactile, visual, and vestibular-rocking stimulation) and (2) four maternal participatory guidance sessions plus two telephone calls by a nurse-community advocate team. Mother–infant interaction was assessed at 6-weeks CA using the Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training–Feeding Scale (NCAST, 76 items) and the Dyadic Mutuality Code (DMC, 6-item contingency scale during a 5-min play session). NCAST and DMC scores for the Control and H-HOPE groups were compared using t-tests, chi-square tests and multivariable analysis. Compared with the Control group (n = 76), the H-HOPE group (n = 66) had higher overall NCAST scores and higher maternal Social-Emotional Growth Fostering Subscale scores. The H-HOPE group also had significantly higher scores for the overall infant subscale and the Infant Clarity of Cues Subscale (p < 0.05). H-HOPE dyads were also more likely to have high responsiveness during play as measured by the DMC (67.6% versus 58.1% of controls). After adjustment for significant maternal and infant characteristics, H-HOPE dyads had marginally higher scores during feeding on overall mother–infant interaction (β = 2.03, p = 0.06) and significantly higher scores on the infant subscale (β = 0.75, p = 0.05) when compared to controls. In the adjusted analysis, H-HOPE dyads had increased odds of high versus low mutual responsiveness during play (OR = 2.37, 95% CI = 0.97, 5.80). Intervening with both mother and infant is a promising approach to help premature infants achieve the social interaction patterns essential for optimal development.     

The Emotionality Activity Sociability Temperament Survey: Factor analysis and temporal stability in a longitudinal cohort

We investigated Buss and Plomin’s Emotionality Activity Sociability (EAS) Temperament Survey for Children, used to assess temperament. Temperament is believed to comprise stable traits that change little over time. We examined stability of EAS temperament in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, in which 7429 mothers completed the EAS when their children were 3, 5 and 6 years old. Factor analysis was conducted at each time point, and stability over time was assessed using correlation and mixed effects regression modelling, accounting for differences within and between individuals. A four-factor model provided the best fit, with 19–20 of the 20 items loading onto the dimensions predicted by Buss and Plomin. Test–retest correlations ranged from 0.52–0.64 (3–5 years), 0.59–0.74 (5–6 years) and 0.46–0.58 (3–6 years). Mixed effects regression modelling suggested good stability over time: differences between, rather than within, individuals accounted for between 69% and 82% of the variance. This study demonstrates the stability of temperament over time, a vital pre-requisite to investigating childhood temperament as a predictor of outcomes.     

Cortisol and dehydroepiandosterone sulfate plasma levels and their relationship to aging,cognitive function,and dementia

We have studied the relationship between dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), cortisol, and cognitive function in a population of demented patients (n=29), age-matched controls (n=46), and younger subjects (n=11). All were submitted to morning collection of blood for determination of plasma cortisol and DHEAS measured by 125I radioimmunoassay. DHEAS levels and cortisol/DHEAS ratios were significantly different among groups with higher DHEAS levels and lower cortisol/DHEAS ratios in younger people (Bonferroni p<.05). Cortisol levels were associated to the presence of dementia (Odds ratio=.93; 95% CI,.86-1.01). There was no difference between DHEAS levels of demented and age-matched controls; however, demented patients showed a trend for higher cortisol/DHEAS ratios than age-matched controls and the latter showed higher ratio values than younger subjects. DHEAS and cortisol plasma values were significantly correlated in all individuals (p<.01). In this study cortisol was independently associated to the presence of dementia.     

Religious participation, interleukin-6, and mortality in older adults.

This study prospectively examined the relationship between religious attendance, interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, and mortality rates in a community-based sample of 557 older adults. Attending religious services more than once weekly was a significant predictor of lower subsequent 12-year mortality and elevated IL-6 levels (> 3.19 pg/mL), with a mortality ratio of.32 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.15,0.72; p <.01) and an odds ratio for elevated IL-6 of.34 (95% CI = 0.16, 0.73, p <.01), compared with never attending religious services. Structural equation modeling indicated religious attendance was significantly related to lower mortality rates and IL-6 levels, and IL-6 levels mediated the prospective relationship between religious attendance and mortality. Results were independent of covariates including age, sex, health behaviors, chronic illness, social support, and depression. Findings are consistent with a role for IL-6 in processes mediating the relationship between religious attendance and mortality.     

Correlation between maternal and infant cortisol varies by breastfeeding status

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine associations of mother and infant salivary cortisol, measured three times over the course of a day, and assess whether these varied by breastfeeding status.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 54 mothers and their infants aged 4–11 months. Mothers collected their own saliva and that of their infants upon awakening, 30 min after waking and at bedtime. Breastfeeding status was reported by mothers and cortisol level was measured in saliva in μg/dl using standard techniques. We used generalized linear models to evaluate relationships between maternal and infant cortisol levels, and assessed whether the relationship differed by breastfeeding status: formula only compared to partial and full breastfeeding, adjusting for infant sex, race, age, maternal education, and family income.ResultsThirty-four infants received formula only and 20 were either partially or fully breastfed. Breastfeeding was associated with higher household income, higher maternal education, and white race. Cortisol levels were higher among breastfed infants at all three time points. After adjustment, maternal cortisol levels were related with infant cortisol at bedtime only (regression estimate 0.06; 95% CI: 0.10, 1.1; p = 0.02). The adjusted association between bedtime maternal and infant cortisol was stronger among breastfeeding dyads than among formula-feeding dyads (regression estimate 1.0; 95% CI: 0.1, 2.0; p = 0.04 vs. 0.6; CI: −0.1, 1.3; p = 0.10). In addition, we assessed the influence of maternal education and household income in our adjusted model; income strengthened the observed association, whereas maternal education did not change the estimate.ConclusionsBreastfeeding mothers and infants had significant correlations for cortisol at bedtime, while formula-feeding dyads did not. These data suggest that several factors may contribute to cortisol synchrony observed in mother/infant dyads, including the transfer of cortisol in human milk, physical interaction such as skin-to-skin contact, and shared environment. In addition, our findings support household income as a possible contributor.     

Butch–femme identity and empathizing–systemizing cognitive traits in Chinese lesbians and bisexual women

Previous studies documented that butches showed a masculine profile and femmes showed a feminine profile in gender roles. This study examines the association between butch or femme lesbian identity and empathizing–systemizing (E–S) cognitive styles among 588 lesbian and bisexual women from multiple cities in China. Empathizing and systemizing were assessed using two different abbreviated 8-item scales drawn from longer original scales. There were significant differences in systemizing among butch–femme identity, with butches scoring higher than femmes, but no significant differences in empathizing. The discrepancy in empathizing–systemizing scores reflects individual differences in dispositional cognitive style. A higher proportion of femmes exhibited an E > S cognitive profile, while a higher proportion of butches exhibited an S > E cognitive profile. Sexual stereotyping based on masculinity/femininity, or biology, may be related to butch–femme difference in cognitive style. In studies on sexual orientation, researchers should pay more attention to butch–femme subgroup differences among lesbians.     

Black–White mean differences in job satisfaction: A meta-analysis

Studies examining Black–White mean differences in job satisfaction have provided little clarity regarding whether there are meaningful differences between the two racial/ethnic groups on this job attitude. The present study sought to reconcile prior inconsistent findings via a meta-analytic synthesis of this literature (N = 753,791; K = 63 independent samples from 55 studies) and examined whether moderators explained the observed variability in effects. Using Hedges and Vevea's (1998) random-effects meta-analytic approach, we found that, on average, White workers were slightly more satisfied with their jobs than Black workers (g_corrected = .09; 95% credibility interval = −.21 to .39) and this effect was larger in more nationally representative samples (g_corrected = .24). The substantial true variability around this effect suggests the presence of moderators and the need for caution in interpreting the overall effect as it likely does not generalize across all work settings. Data collection year, geographic location within the U.S., job sector, and measure type were not found to moderate Black–White mean differences in job satisfaction. However, job complexity and sample demographic composition did significantly moderate this relationship. Our results show that the magnitude and direction of Black–White mean differences in job satisfaction are influenced by the context.     

Understanding children's emotional processes and behavioral strategies in the context of marital conflict

Marital conflict is a distressing context in which children must regulate their emotion and behavior; however, the associations between the multidimensionality of conflict and children’s regulatory processes need to be examined. The current study examined differences in children’s (N = 207, mean age = 8.02 years) emotions (mad, sad, scared, and happy) and behavioral strategies to regulate conflict exposure during resolved, unresolved, escalating, and child-rearing marital conflict vignettes. Children’s cortisol levels were assessed in relation to child-rearing and resolved conflict vignettes. Anger and sadness were associated with escalating and child-rearing conflicts, fearfulness was related to escalating and unresolved conflicts, and happiness was associated with resolution. Anger was associated with children’s strategies to stop conflict, whereas sadness was associated with monitoring and avoidant strategies. Cortisol recovery moderated the link between fearfulness and behavioral regulation. These results highlight the importance of children’s emotions and regulatory processes in understanding the impact of marital conflict.     

Assessing crossmodal matching of abstract auditory and visual stimuli in posterior superior temporal sulcus with MEG

Associating crossmodal auditory and visual stimuli is an important component of perception, with the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) hypothesized to support this. However, recent evidence has argued that the pSTS serves to associate two stimuli irrespective of modality. To examine the contribution of pSTS to crossmodal recognition, participants (N = 13) learned 12 abstract, non-linguistic pairs of stimuli over 3 weeks. These paired associates comprised four types: auditory–visual (AV), auditory–auditory (AA), visual–auditory (VA), and visual–visual (VV). At week four, participants were scanned using magnetoencephalography (MEG) while performing a correct/incorrect judgment on pairs of items. Using an implementation of synthetic aperture magnetometry that computes real statistics across trials (SAMspm), we directly contrasted crossmodal (AV and VA) with unimodal (AA and VV) pairs from stimulus-onset to 2 s in theta (4–8 Hz), alpha (9–15 Hz), beta (16–30 Hz), and gamma (31–50 Hz) frequencies. We found pSTS showed greater desynchronization in the beta frequency for crossmodal compared with unimodal trials, suggesting greater activity during the crossmodal pairs, which was not influenced by congruency of the paired stimuli. Using a sliding window SAM analysis, we found the timing of this difference began in a window from 250 to 750 ms after stimulus-onset. Further, when we directly contrasted all sub-types of paired associates from stimulus-onset to 2 s, we found that pSTS seemed to respond to dynamic, auditory stimuli, rather than crossmodal stimuli per se. These findings support an early role for pSTS in the processing of dynamic, auditory stimuli, and do not support claims that pSTS is responsible for associating two stimuli irrespective of their modality.     

Tyrosine ameliorates heat induced delay in event related potential P300 and contingent negative variation

The efficacy of tyrosine, a catecholamine precursor, as a countermeasure in the reduction of cognitive decline during heat exposure (HE) using event-related potential P300, and contingent negative variation (CNV) was evaluated. Ten healthy males, age 20–30 years participated in the study. Volunteers received placebo or tyrosine (6.5 g) 90 min prior to HE (1.5 h in 45 °C + 30% RH). P300 latency was significantly increased (p < 0.01) during exposure with placebo, which was reduced significantly (p < 0.01) after tyrosine supplementation. There was an increase in CNV M100 latency (p < 0.05) and reaction time (p < 0.01) and decrease in M100 amplitude (p < 0.01) during HE with placebo, which returns to near normal level with the tyrosine administration. A significantly higher plasma norepinephrine (p < 0.05), dopamine and epinephrine levels were detected in tyrosine supplemented group post heat exposure. HE increases the brain catecholamine activity thereby reduces the plasma norepinephrine and dopamine level leading to a reduction in cognitive performances. Tyrosine supplementation increases the catecholamine level and reduces the impairment of cognitive performance during HE.     

Heart rate variability and drawing impairment in hypoxemic COPD

We studied 54 patients with hypoxemic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Mini Mental State Examination and the Mental Deterioration Battery were used for neuropsychological assessment. Heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed based on 24-h Holter ECG recording. Mann–Whitney test was used to compare HRV parameters of patients performing normally or abnormally on individual neuropsychological tasks. Spearman’s rho was used to investigate the correlations between HRV parameters and neuropsychological scores, indexes of health status or COPD severity. Patients with defective performance at copying drawings with landmarks (CDL) test (N = 23) had lower very low frequency (VLF) power with respect to patients with normal performance (N = 31) (24 h: median 213; interquartile range 120–282 vs. 309; 188–431 ms², p = 0.043; daytime: 202; 111–292 vs. 342; 194–397 ms², p = 0.039). The CDL score correlated with the VLF power (24 h: ρ = 0.27, p = 0.049; daytime: ρ = 0.30, p = 0.028), and the normalized low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) ratio (24 h: ρ = 0.27, p = 0.05; daytime: ρ = 0.33, p = 0.015). Sympathetic modulation decreased for increasing severity of COPD. In conclusion, drawing impairment correlates with depressed sympathetic modulation in patients with COPD, and both might be indexes of COPD severity.     

Intentional Binding is independent of the validity of the action effect's identity

When an action produces an effect, both events are perceived to be shifted in time toward each other. This shift is called Intentional Binding (IB) effect. First evidence shows that this shift does not depend on the statistical predictability of the produced effect's identity (Desantis, Hughes, & Waszak, 2012). We confirm this result by comparing the perceived duration of action–effect intervals before valid and invalid action effects using the method of constant stimuli. The perceived duration of action–effect intervals did not differ for valid and invalid effects. This result was true for different durations of the action–effect interval (Experiments 1–4: 250 ms, Experiments 1 & 2: 400 ms), different effect modalities (Experiments 1 & 3: visual, Experiments 2–4: auditive), and two types of validity variations (Experiments 1 & 2: 80% valid, Experiments 3 & 4: 100% valid vs. random). We validated our results by using a clock paradigm and a numerical duration estimation task (Experiment 4). We conclude that the IB effect is not the result of internal prediction due to action–effect bindings, but might rely on higher-order processes.     

Miserliness is heritable

Despite numerous folk sayings about miserly people, the genetic and environmental architecture of the character trait of miserliness has been very rarely studied to date. We administered six items of the miserliness scale to 1110 pairs of South Korean twins aged 12- to 25-years (M = 18.0, SD = 3.3). Model-fitting analyses indicated that 28% (95% CI: 21–34%) and 72% (95% CI: 66–79%) of individual difference in miserliness were attributable to genetic and unique environmental influences, respectively. Common family environmental effects were negligible, consistent with a large body of behavioral genetic literature on personality. Sex differences in the magnitude of genetic and environmental factors in miserliness were not significant.     

Perception of tones by infants learning a non-tone language

This article examines the perception of tones by non-tone-language-learning (non-tone-learning) infants between 5 and 18 months in a study that reveals infants’ initial sensitivity to tonal contrasts, deterioration yet plasticity of tonal sensitivity at the end of the first year, and a perceptual rebound in the second year. Dutch infants in five age groups were tested on their ability to discriminate a tonal contrast of Mandarin Chinese as well as a contracted tonal contrast. Infants are able to discriminate tonal contrasts at 5–6 months, and their tonal sensitivity deteriorates at around 9 months. However, the sensitivity rebound sat 17–18 months. Non-tone-learning infants’ tonal perception is elastic, as is shown by the influence of acoustic salience and distributional learning: (1) a salient contrast may remain discriminable throughout infancy whereas a less salient one does not; (2) a bimodal distribution in tonal exposure increases non-tone-learning infants’ discrimination ability during the trough in sensitivity to tonal contrasts at 11–12 months. These novel findings reveal non-tone-learning infants’ U-shaped pattern in tone perception, and display their perceptual flexibility.     

Association between individual differences in non-symbolic number acuity and math performance: A meta-analysis

Many recent studies have examined the association between number acuity, which is the ability to rapidly and non-symbolically estimate the quantity of items appearing in a scene, and symbolic math performance. However, various contradictory results have been reported. To comprehensively evaluate the association between number acuity and symbolic math performance, we conduct a meta-analysis to synthesize the results observed in previous studies. First, a meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies (36 samples, N = 4705) revealed a significant positive correlation between these skills (r = 0.20, 95% CI = [0.14, 0.26]); the association remained after considering other potential moderators (e.g., whether general cognitive abilities were controlled). Moreover, a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies revealed 1) that number acuity may prospectively predict later math performance (r = 0.24, 95% CI = [0.11, 0.37]; 6 samples) and 2) that number acuity is retrospectively correlated to early math performance as well (r = 0.17, 95% CI = [0.07, 0.26]; 5 samples). In summary, these pieces of evidence demonstrate a moderate but statistically significant association between number acuity and math performance. Based on the estimated effect sizes, power analyses were conducted, which suggested that many previous studies were underpowered due to small sample sizes. This may account for the disparity between findings in the literature, at least in part. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of our meta-analytic findings are presented, and future research questions are discussed.     

The consistency and structure of aspect-based career preferences

Career aspects (e.g., work environment, using verbal ability, length of training, teamwork) are an elaboration and extension of vocational interests. Aspect-based preferences can serve individuals and their career counselors only if they are reliable and stable. Study 1 estimated the two-week test–retest reliability of 213 college freshmen's preferences in 31 career aspects and the two-year stability of these preferences for 132 of these freshmen. The two-week reliability and the two-year stability of both the within-aspect preferred levels (e.g., “only indoors” most preferred, but “mostly indoors” is also acceptable) and the aspect importance were tested for each of the aspects. The interquartile ranges of the two-week reliability of the aspect importance and of the preferred within-aspect levels were .54–.62 and .63–.74 for the 31 aspects; the interquartile ranges of the two-year stabilities were .38–.48 and .48–.59, respectively. These interquartile ranges reflect the variance in consistency among the aspects. Study 2 explored the structure of the aspects based on the pattern of associations among them. In addition, it examined the consistency of the aspect structures by comparing them in four samples (total N = 40,313). The structure was found consistent across time (Spearman r_s = .88, .76 and .68, two weeks, two years, and 20 years later, respectively), within culture (r_s = .75 and .76, for women and men, respectively), and across cultures (USA and Israel; r_s = .64). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.