Visuospatial and mathematical dysfunction in major depressive disorder and/or panic disorder: A study of parietal functioning

The parietal cortex is critical for several different cognitive functions, including visuospatial processing and mathematical abilities. There is strong evidence indicating parietal dysfunction in depression. However, it is less clear whether anxiety is associated with parietal dysfunction and whether comorbid depression and anxiety are associated with greater impairment. The present study compared participants with major depression (MDD), panic disorder (PD), comorbid MDD/PD and controls on neuropsychological measures of visuospatial processing, Judgement of Line Orientation (JLO), and mathematical abilities, Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) Arithmetic. Only comorbid MDD/PD was associated with decreased performance on JLO, whereas all psychopathological groups exhibited comparably decreased performance on WRAT Arithmetic. Furthermore, the results were not accounted for by other comorbid disorders, medication use or psychopathology severity. The present study suggests comorbid depression and anxious arousal are associated with impairment in visuospatial processing and provides novel evidence indicating mathematical deficits across depression and/or anxiety. Implications for understanding parietal dysfunction in internalising psychopathology are discussed.     

Intolerance of uncertainty and insula activation during uncertain reward

Individuals with high intolerance of uncertainty (IU) have been shown to exhibit abnormal threat responding, which may be mediated by hyperactive anterior insula (aINS) response to uncertainty. Research has indicated that individuals with high IU also exhibit abnormal positive valence responding, suggesting that IU may impact responding to uncertainty regardless of the valence of the potential outcome. To date, no study has investigated the neural processes associated with IU and response to uncertain positive stimuli, such as rewards. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the association between individual differences in IU and neural activation during uncertain reward using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Thirty-seven adults completed a self-report measure of IU and a reward task during fMRI. Consistent with the threat literature, greater IU was associated with increased aINS activation during uncertain reward. This association was more robust for the prospective IU subscale, a dimension characterized by worry about future events. Together with prior studies, these findings provide evidence that IU is related to abnormal threat and reward responding, and that these deficits may be similarly linked to hyperactive aINS response to uncertainty.     

Ralph Burhoe and Teilhard De Chardin: an Affinity in Mysticism?

Religious experience is conditioned and influenced by our understanding of reality, and scientific knowledge contributes to that understanding. Spirituality will be related to knowledge of nature in that experience of God will be mediated in and through a relation to the universe and out of the fulfillment of the creation. Thus a mystical knowledge of God is experienced in and out of a developing evolution of nature, society, and culture. Ralph Burhoe and Teilhard de Chardin share a vision of mystical unity with God as arising out of an integration involving the systems of nature and society.     

A computer-based system providing pictorial instructions and prompts to promote task performance in persons with severe developmental disabilities

This study was aimed at assessing a new computer-based system to promote task performance in three adults with severe developmental disabilities. The new system, which was small and battery powered, could provide auditory and vibratory prompts in addition to pictorial instructions concerning the task steps. To control for the effects of the computer-based system, the subjects were also exposed to a card system. The results showed that the subjects had a significantly higher level of correct performance on the tasks presented with the computer-based system than on the tasks presented with the card system. Two of the subjects, moreover, seemed to prefer the computer-based system to the card system. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flexible representations in visual working memory and interactions with long‐term learning: Commentary on the special issue

This special issue of the British Journal of Psychology brings together cutting edge research on a range of topics in visual working memory (VWM). In this commentary, we attempt to summarize common themes in current VWM research exemplified in this issue. The articles include several reviews of important topics as well as empirical papers covering three main themes. The first concerns the nature of mental representations of memoranda in the commonly used delayed estimation task, where both fine‐grained and broad categorical details appear to be represented, and their susceptibility to interference. The second concerns interactions between VWM representations, both those that produce individuation of representations and those that create an overarching ensemble structure. Finally, the third main topic concerns the use of VWM during visual search and in the learning of repeated configurations in search displays. The work presented here, and other work in the field, points to a rich interplay between representations in VWM but also between VWM and information in long‐term memory. Opportunities for further investigation are highlighted throughout.