Hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of negative and positive words: a divided field study

Research on the lateralisation of brain functions for emotion has yielded different results as a function of whether it is the experience, expression, or perceptual processing of emotion that is examined. Further, for the perception of emotion there appear to be differences between the processing of verbal and nonverbal stimuli. The present research examined the hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of verbal stimuli varying in emotional valence. Participants performed a lexical decision task for words varying in affective valence (but equated in terms of arousal) that were presented briefly to the right or left visual field. Participants were significantly faster at recognising positive words presented to the right visual field/left hemisphere. This pattern did not occur for negative words (and was reversed for high arousal negative words). These results suggest that the processing of verbal stimuli varying in emotional valence tends to parallel hemispheric asymmetry in the experience of emotion.     

The Revolution Betrayed: A Commentary on Muriel Dimen’s Inside the Revolution

The phrase “wild analysis” is evaluated with a view to understanding something about the conditions and constraints on psychoanalytic theory and practice. Muriel Dimen’s paper is also read as a prologue for new, less restrictive stories about the nature of psychoanalysis.     

Does d-Cycloserine Augmentation of CBT Improve Therapeutic Homework Compliance for Pediatric Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder?

Clinical studies in adults and children with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) have shown that d-cycloserine (DCS) can improve treatment response by enhancing fear extinction learning during exposure-based psychotherapy. Some have hypothesized that improved treatment response is a function of increased compliance and engagement in therapeutic homework tasks, a core component of behavioral treatment. The present study examined the relationship between DCS augmented cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and homework compliance in a double-blind, placebo controlled trial with 30 youth with OCD. All children received 10 CBT sessions, the last seven of which included exposure and response prevention paired with DCS or placebo dosed 1 h before the session started. Results suggested that DCS augmented CBT did not predict improved homework compliance over the course of treatment, relative to the placebo augmented CBT group. However, when groups were collapsed, homework compliance was directly associated with treatment outcome. These findings suggest that while DCS may not increase homework compliance over time, more generally, homework compliance is an integral part of pediatric OCD treatment outcome.     

Meaning-making and resilience: case studies of a multifaceted process

Explanations of meaning-making generally prioritise intrapersonal processes. Although making meaning is an intrapersonal process, it is also strongly influenced by person-context interactions and cultural positioning. Nevertheless, the meaning-making literature has paid scant attention to how such interactivity and positioning shape meaning-making. In this article, we highlight the compound character of resilience-promoting meaning-making. To this end, we recount the instrumental cases of Ntando's and Sipho's resilience. The accounts of these black South African students’ positive adjustment to adversity richly illustrate how their lived experiences of a social ecology stimulated multifaceted meaning-making processes. In particular, Ntando's and Sipho's interpersonal experiences and Africentric worldviews gave rise to and/or moderated positive re-appraisal, revisioned goals, purposeful direction, application of spiritual beliefs, identification of benefits, sense-making and reflective problem-solving. Although both their stories drive an understanding of meaning-making as a helix-like process with inter-, intrapersonal and cultural strands, the differences in their accounts of meaning-making stimulate the need for deeper exploration into the complexity of resilience-promoting meaning-making processes.     

National Guard Couples Communicating During Deployment: The Challenge of Effective Connection

Communication during a combat deployment has changed significantly in current times. Couples can now communicate with each other frequently and through multiple modes. Despite this greater availability of communication options, there remain unanswered questions related to how healthy deployment communication is best achieved between couples, particularly regarding navigating the uncertainty of deployment. In this qualitative study, we report on the experiences of 31 National Guard couples who endured a combat deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Couples were interviewed three months after the soldier returned from deployment. Through the lens of relational turbulence theory, we provide a conceptual framework related to effective and non-effective deployment communication, along with structural communication barriers in the military that may negatively affect the mental well-being of partners. Finally, we provide recommendations to guide couples through these difficult deployments.

     

The Impact of Right Temporal Lobe Epilepsy On Nonverbal Memory: Meta-regression of Stimulus- and Task-related Moderators

Neuropsychology Review - Nonverbal memory tests have great potential value for detecting the impact of lateralized pathology and predicting the risk of memory loss following right temporal lobe...     

Exploratory decisions of Trinidadian guppies when uncertain about predation risk

Animal Cognition - Animals can reduce their uncertainty of predation risk by gathering new information via exploration behaviour. However, a decision to explore may also be costly due to increased...     

The inviolateness of life and equal protection: a defense of the dead-donor rule

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics - There are increasing calls to reject the dead-donor rule and permit organ donation euthanasia in organ transplantation. I argue that the fundamental problem...     

Testing the Predictors of College Students’ Attitudes Toward Plagiarism

Journal of Academic Ethics - The purpose of this study was to investigate factors contributing to college students’ attitudes towards plagiarism. This study tested a hypothesized model that...