Individuals with pronounced schizotypal traits are particularly successful in tickling themselves

We assessed self-tickling sensations in a group of participants high in schizotypal traits (n = 27) and group of participants low in schizotypal traits (n = 27). The groups were formed by screening a pool of 397 students for extreme scores in the French version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. As observed in a previous study involving psychiatric people with auditory hallucinations and/or passivity experiences our results showed that self-applied tactile stimulations are felt to be more ticklish by healthy individuals high in schizotypal traits. In contrast, there were no significant intergroup differences in the mean tickle rating in the externally-produced tickling condition. Furthermore, more successful self-tickling was associated with more frequent self-reports of unusual perceptual experiences (such as supernatural experiences) and passivity experiences in particular (such as a feeling of being under the control of an outside force or power).     

Are delusional contents replayed during dreams?

The relationship between dream content and waking life experiences remains difficult to decipher. However, some neurobiological findings suggest that dreaming can, at least in part, be considered epiphenomenal to ongoing memory consolidation processes in sleep. Both abnormalities in sleep architecture and impairment in memory consolidation mechanisms are thought to be involved in the development of psychosis. The objective of this study was to assess the continuity between delusional contents and dreams in acutely psychotic patients. Ten patients with a single fixed and recurring delusional content were asked to report their dreams during an acute psychotic break. Sixteen judges with four different levels of acquaintance to the specific content of the patients’ delusions were asked to group the dreams, expecting that fragments of the delusional thought would guide the task. A mathematical index (f, t) was developed in order to compare correct groupings between the four groups of judges. Most judges grouped the dreams slightly above chance level and no relevant differences could be found between the four groups [F(3, 12) = 1.297; p = n.s.]. Scoring of dreams for specific delusional themes suggested a continuity in terms of dream and waking mentation for two contents (Grandiosity and Religion). These findings seem to suggest that at least some delusional contents recur within patients’ dreams. Future studies will need to determine whether such continuity reflects ongoing consolidation processes that are relevant to current theories of delusion formation and stabilization.     

Comparing neurocognitive impairment in schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder using the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry Scale

The purpose of this study was to compare the psychometric properties of the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP) when applied to patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (n = 126) or bipolar I disorder (n = 76), and also to compare the cognitive impairment in both samples of patients and a control group (n = 83) using the SCIP and a complete neuropsychological battery. The SCIP is a scale intended to quickly and easily assess cognitive impairment in patients with severe psychiatric disorders. The results showed firstly that, in terms of internal consistency, temporal stability, dimensional structure, and criterion-referenced validity, the SCIP provides reliable and valid scores at an equivalent level in both schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder samples. Secondly, it showed that differential cognitive impairment between the two patient groups occurs only in verbal memory, although the effect size of the difference is small. Finally, compared with the control group, cognitive impairment was present at all levels in both groups of patients using both the SCIP and the neuropsychological battery, which indicates that the SCIP is a good screening tool for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and bipolar and useful in clinical practice for healthcare professionals.     

When one’s sense of agency goes wrong: Absent modulation of time perception by voluntary actions and reduction of perceived length of intervals in passivity symptoms in schizophrenia

Passivity symptoms in schizophrenia are characterised by an absence of agency for actions, thoughts and other somatic experiences. Time perception and intentional binding have both been linked to agency and schizophrenia but have not been examined in passivity symptoms. Time perception and intentional binding were assessed in people with schizophrenia (n = 15 with, n = 24 without passivity symptoms) and 43 healthy controls using an interval estimation procedure (200, 400 and 600 ms intervals) with active, passive and observed movements. People with passivity symptoms did not display action-modulation of time perception, while those without passivity symptoms estimated intervals to be the same after active and observed movements. Additionally, both clinical samples reported intervals to be shorter with increasing interval length. We propose that impaired predictive processes may produce an overreliance on external cues and, together with shorter perceived intervals, lead to the subjective loss of agency.     

Sensory memory consolidation observed: Increased specificity of detail over days

Memories are usually multidimensional, including contents such as sensory details, motivational state and emotional overtones. Memory contents generally change over time, most often reported as a loss in the specificity of detail. To study the temporal changes in the sensory contents of associative memory without motivational and emotional contents, we induced memory for acoustic frequency by pairing a tone with stimulation of the cholinergic nucleus basalis. Adult male rats were first tested for behavioral responses (disruption of ongoing respiration) to tones (1–15 kHz), yielding pre-training behavioral frequency generalization gradients (BFGG). They next received three days of training consisting of a conditioned stimulus (CS) tone (8.00 kHz, 70 dB, 2 s) either Paired (n = 5) or Unpaired (n = 5) with weak electrical stimulation (～48 μA) of the nucleus basalis (100 Hz, 0.2 s, co-terminating with CS offset). Testing for behavioral memory was performed by obtaining post-training BFGGs at two intervals, 24 and 96 h after training. At 24 h post-training, the Paired group exhibited associative behavioral memory manifested by significantly larger responses to tone than the Unpaired group. However, they exhibited no specificity in memory for the frequency of the tonal CS, as indexed by a flat BFGG. In contrast, after 96 h post-training the Paired group did exhibit specificity of memory as revealed by tuned BFGGs with a peak at the CS-band of frequencies. This increased detail of memory developed due to a loss of response to lower and higher frequency side-bands, without any change in the absolute magnitude of response to CS-band frequencies. These findings indicate that the sensory contents of associative memory can be revealed to become more specific, through temporal consolidation in the absence of non-sensory factors such as motivation and emotion.     

Anhedonia in prolonged schizophrenia spectrum patients with relatively lower vs. higher levels of depression disorders: Associations with deficits in social cognition and metacognition

This study has sought to explore whether there are at least two subtypes of anhedonia in schizophrenia: one closely linked with depression and another that occurs in the absence of depression which is related to a general paucity of internal experience. Participants were 163 adults with schizophrenia who completed assessments of depression, anhedonia, executive functioning, positive and negative symptoms, social cognition and metacognition. A cluster analysis based on participants’ depression and anhedonia symptom scores produced three groups: High Depression/High Anhedonia (n = 52), Low Depression/Low Anhedonia (n = 52), and Low Depression/High Anhedonia (n = 59). An ANCOVA and post hoc comparisons controlling for positive and negative symptoms found that the Low Depression/High Anhedonia group had poorer metacognition and social cognition than other groups. These findings point to the possibility of a subtype of anhedonia in schizophrenia, one occurring in the relative lesser levels of depression, and tied to deficits in the ability to think about oneself and others.     

Adolescents with and without a facial difference: The role of friendships and social acceptance in perceptions of appearance and emotional resilience

This study investigated the role of friendships and social acceptance in self-perceptions of appearance and depressive symptoms, comparing adolescents with and without a facial difference. Adolescents with a visible cleft (n = 196) were compared with adolescents with a non-visible cleft (n = 93), and with a comparison group (n = 1832). Boys with a visible difference reported significantly more positive perceptions of friendships and less depressive symptoms than the comparison group. These results were interpreted in the context of indicators of emotional resilience. The objective measure of facial difference did not explain levels of depressive symptoms, while subjective measures did. Subjective ratings of appearance mediated the association between social acceptance and depressive symptoms in all samples. Gender did not contribute in explaining the paths between friendships, appearance, and depressive symptoms. The associations between perceptions of social acceptance, appearance, and emotional distress, support the possible utility of strengthening social experiences in preventing and treating appearance-concerns.     

Electrocortical Evidence of Enhanced Performance Monitoring in Social Anxiety

Self-focused attention is thought to be a key feature of social anxiety disorder. Yet few studies have used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine whether socially anxious individuals display greater monitoring of their performance and attention to their errors. Similarly, only a few studies have used ERPs to examine how social anxiety is related to processing of performance feedback. Individuals with high (n = 26) and low (n = 28) levels of social anxiety completed a trial-and-error learning task. Self-focus was manipulated using false heart-rate feedback during a random subset of trials. Performance feedback was given using emotional and neutral faces in a positive context (correct = happy face; incorrect = neutral face) and negative context (correct = neutral face; incorrect = disgust face) in order to investigate biased interpretation and attention to feedback. Socially anxious subjects displayed enhanced amplitude of the ERN and CRN, suggesting greater response monitoring, and enhanced Pe amplitude, suggesting greater processing of errors relative to the low social anxiety group. No group differences were observed with respect to feedback processing. Before learning stimulus–response mappings in the negative context, the FRN was larger for self-focus compared to standard trials and marginally larger for socially anxious subjects compared to controls. These findings support cognitive models and suggest avenues for future research.     

Promoting an equitable and supportive school climate in high schools: The role of school organizational health and staff burnout

In response to persistent racial disparities in academic and behavioral outcomes between Black and White students, equitable school climate has drawn attention as a potential target for school reform. This study examined differences in Black and White students' experiences of school climate and explored whether indicators of school organizational health and staff burnout moderated differences in students' school experiences by race. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling with a sample of 18,397 Black students (n = 6228) and White students (n = 12,169) and 2391 school staff in 53 schools, we found a consistent pattern of racial inequalities, such that Black students reported less positive experiences than White students across three indicators of school climate (caring γ = − 0.08, p < .001; equity γ = − 0.05, p = .007; and engagement γ = − 0.05, p < .001). In addition, we found significant, positive associations between aggregated staff-report of school organizational health and student-reported school climate (e.g., staff affiliation and student-perceived equity, γ = 0.07, p < .001). Surprisingly, a number of school organizational health indicators were more strongly associated with positive perceptions of school climate among White students than Black students, translating into greater racial disparities in perceived school climate at schools with greater organizational health (e.g., supportive leadership by race on student-perceived engagement, γ = − 0.03, p = .042). We also found negative associations between staff-reported burnout and students' experience of equity, such that the racial gap was smaller in schools with high ratings of burnout (γ = 0.04, p = .002). These findings have implications for educators and education researchers interested in promoting school social contexts that equitably support student engagement and success.     

Perceptions of traffic risk in an industrialised and a developing country

This study aimed to investigate differences in traffic risk perception among a Norwegian and Ghanaian public. This was carried out while controlling for relevant background variables such as gender, age, and levels of educational achievement. In order to obtain the core aim of the study, a self-completion questionnaire was devised and distributed to a representative sample of the Norwegian population (n = 247) and to a stratified sample in Accra and Cape-Coast in Ghana (n = 299). The results showed that the Ghanaian sample perceived higher traffic risk than the Norwegian sample. Gender, age, and levels of educational achievement exerted minimal influences on risk perception. The results were discussed in context of industrialisation, cultural differences, and health beliefs.     

Reward feedback processing in children and adolescents: Medial frontal theta oscillations

We examined event-related electroencephalography (EEG) oscillations, including event-related spectral perturbations (ERSP) and intertrial coherence (ITC), to compare feedback processing during a chance-based reward vs. non-reward task in groups of 10–12-year-old (n = 42), 13–14-year-old (n = 34) and 15–17-year-olds (n = 32). Because few, if any studies have applied these analytic methods to examine feedback processing in children or adolescents, we used a fine-grained approach that explored one half hertz by 16 ms increments during feedback (no win vs. win events) in the theta (4–8 Hz) frequency band. Complex wavelet frequency decomposition revealed that no win feedback was associated with enhanced theta power and phase coherence. We observed condition and age-based differences for both ERSP and ITC, with stronger effects for ITC. The transition from childhood to early adolescence (13–14 yrs.) was a point of increased differentiation of ITC favoring no win vs. wins feedback and also compared to children or older adolescents, a point of heightened ITC for no win feedback (quadratic effect).     

Impaired retention is responsible for temporal order memory deficits in mild cognitive impairment

Temporal order memory, or remembering the order of events, is critical for everyday functioning and is difficult for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). It is currently unclear whether these patients have difficulty acquiring and/or retaining such information and whether deficits in these patients are in excess of “normal” age-related declines. Therefore, the current study examined age and disease-related changes in temporal order memory as well as whether memory load played a role in such changes. Young controls (n = 25), older controls (n = 34), and MCI patients (n = 32) completed an experimental task that required the reconstruction of sequences that were 3, 4, or 5 items in length both immediately after presentation (i.e., immediate recall) and again after a 10-min delay (i.e., delayed recall). During the immediate recall phase, there was an effect of age largely due to reduced performance at the two longest span lengths. Older controls and MCI patients only differed during the five span (controls > MCI). During the delayed recall, however, there were significant effects of both age and MCI regardless of span length. In MCI patients, immediate recall was significantly correlated with measures of executive functioning, whereas delayed recall performance was only related to other memory tests. These findings suggest that MCI patients experience initial temporal order memory deficits at the point when information begins to exceed working memory capacity and become dependent on medial temporal lobe functioning. Longer-term deficits are due to an inability to retain information, consistent with the characteristic medial temporal lobe dysfunction in MCI.     

The lowering of bilirubin levels in patients with neonatal jaundice using massage therapy: A randomized,double-blind clinical trial

ObjectiveDue to the effects of massage on various laboratory parameters (including those related to jaundice) in infants and the expansion of existing studies to achieve effective and safe therapy in the treatment of neonatal jaundice, this study aimed to investigate the effect of massage on bilirubin levels in cases of neonatal jaundice.MethodsIn this study, 134 patients were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (massage combined with phototherapy, n = 67) or a control group (phototherapy only, n = 67). In both groups, serum total bilirubin level and frequency of daily bowel movements were measured and compared during each of the first four days of treatment.ResultsBaseline levels of bilirubin were similar between the two groups (P > 0.05). During the measurements obtained post-intervention, significant differences surfaces between the two groups in bilirubin levels and frequency of daily bowel movements (P < 0.05 for both). No significant relationship was observed during days 1 and 2 of massage therapy between daily frequency of bowel movements and serum bilirubin level (P > 0.05); this relationship became significant during the third and fourth days (P < 0.05).ConclusionMassage therapy combined with phototherapy is an effective method for reducing serum total bilirubin in infants with neonatal jaundice.     

Le fonctionnement cognitif d’enfants atypiques à travers leur QI

The aim of this study is to find out whether atypical children – high potential children (IQ > 130, n = 10) versus intellectually delayed children (IQ < 75, n = 10) – present not only quantitative but also qualitative differences in regard to their IQ. Children are sampled according to school performance and paired with a control group (age, gender and socioprofessional context), therefore a total sample of 40 children. After analyzing individual and average profiles in the WISC-IV and two other cognitive tasks – a computerized version of Kohs’ Block Task (Samuel) and a cognitive version of Wechsler's Similarities – we suggest that the bases of intelligence are not the same depending on the IQ-level. Gifted children are not more heterogeneous as the control group, but their crystallised intelligence seems particularly well-developed due to a snowball effect of Gc. Moreover, they show better real-time learning abilities in Samuel. Profiles of intellectually delayed children are more homogeneous and imply a general deficiency, particularly in processing resources and the capacity for abstraction.     

Walking impairs cognitive performance among people with multiple sclerosis but not controls

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) complain of problems completing two tasks simultaneously; sometimes called ‘dual-tasking’ (DT). Previous research in DT among people with MS has focused on how adding a cognitive task interferes with gait and few have measured how adding a motor task could interfere with cognition. We aimed to determine the extent to which walking affects a concurrent working memory task in people with MS compared to healthy controls. We recruited MS participants (n = 13) and controls (n = 10) matched by age (±3 years), education (±3 years) and gender. Participants first completed the cognitive task (subtracting 7’s from the previous number) and then again while walking on an instrumented walkway. Although there were no baseline differences in cognition or walking between MS participants and controls, MS participants demonstrated a 52% decrease in number of correct answers during DT (p < 0.001). Mental Tracking Rate (% correct answers/min) correlated strongly with MS-related disability measured using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS; r(11) = −0.68, p < 0.01). We propose that compromised mental tracking during walking could be related to limited neural resource capacity and could be a potentially useful outcome measure to detect ecologically valid dual tasking impairments.     

Exploring the integration of thin-ideal internalization and self-objectification in the prevention of eating disorders

Analyses of thin-ideal internalization and self-objectification were conducted within the context of a cognitive dissonance based eating disorder prevention program implemented in an undergraduate sorority. Participants completed self-report assessments at baseline (n = 177), post-intervention (n = 169), 5-month (n = 159), and 1-year follow-up (n = 105). Cross-sectional path analysis indicated that thin-ideal internalization and self-objectification predict each other and both predict body dissatisfaction, which in turn, predicts eating disorder symptoms. A longitudinal examination conducted using hierarchical linear modeling indicated that participants showed significant reductions in thin-ideal internalization, self-objectification, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorder symptoms after participating in the prevention program. Reductions of symptoms were maintained 1-year post-intervention, with the exception of self-objectification, which was significantly reduced up to 5-months post-intervention. Collectively, results suggest that targeting both thin-ideal internalization and self-objectification simultaneously within eating disorder prevention programs could increase the reduction of eating disorder symptoms.     

Acute effects of alcohol on memory: Impact of emotional context and serial position

Although the amnestic effects of alcohol in humans are well known, its effects on emotional memory are unclear. In this study, using a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled design, we examine narrative emotional episodic memory in healthy human female volunteers (n = 32) who received either a single dose of alcohol (0.6 g/kg), or a placebo and then viewed neutral story elements presented in either a neutral or emotional context. Memory was tested for gist and detail of the neutral elements 3 days later in a surprise recognition test. Since alcohol modulates GABAergic neurotransmission and may exert its effects on emotion through the limbic system, we predicted that acute alcohol treatment would reduce the expected emotional memory-advantage for gist, leaving detail memory relatively unaffected. Furthermore, given previous findings showing that ‘primacy’ memory is enhanced by physiological arousal, we predicted that reduced arousal produced by alcohol would have the opposite effect and impair primacy memory relative to the middle or ‘recency’ sections of the narrative. Emotional arousal was expected to oppose this effect, so impaired primacy memory following alcohol was only expected in the neutral version of the narrative. Although there was a main effect of story phase (though not of story version), contrary to expectations, alcohol impaired primacy memory for emotionally encoded neutral material. The results suggest that under certain circumstances emotional context or physiological arousal make memories labile and susceptible to disruption through pharmacological manipulation during encoding.     

Propranolol reduces emotional distraction in working memory: A partial mediating role of propranolol-induced cortisol increases?

Noradrenalin modulates prefrontal function, such as working memory (WM), and is associated with enhanced distractibility, and enhanced memory for emotional events and stimuli. The beta-blocker propranolol has been shown to reduce memory for emotional stimuli. Herein we describe investigations aimed at assessing whether the administration of propranolol would reduce the interference by emotional distractions during WM performance. In a between-subjects design, 48 young, healthy men received 80 mg propranolol (n = 25) or placebo (n = 23), before performing an “emotional Sternberg task” with neutral and negatively arousing distracters. Compared to placebo, propranolol impaired WM at low load, however, it also reduced the interference by emotional distracters at high load. Furthermore, an explorative moderated-mediation analysis indicated that the observed propranolol effects on emotional distraction were partially mediated by cortisol. In future non-clinical and clinical memory studies using propranolol administration, cortisol elevations should be monitored to further investigate the potential mediating role of cortisol.     

Experiential avoidance in body dysmorphic disorder

Experiential avoidance (i.e., the attempt to avoid certain internal experiences including bodily sensations, thoughts, emotions, memories, and urges) has been studied in various psychological disorders. However, research examining experiential avoidance in individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is limited and inconsistent. The present study compared experiential avoidance in individuals with primary BDD (n = 23) to healthy controls (n = 22). Standardized measures were used to assess baseline clinical characteristics as well as experiential avoidance. Compared to healthy controls, individuals with BDD presented with significantly greater experiential avoidance (p < .001, d = −2.51). In BDD, experiential avoidance was positively correlated with depressive symptoms (p < .01) and avoidant coping strategies (p < .01). Clinician sensitivity to experiential avoidance may serve to improve the course of treatment for BDD.