Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: An Overview

When fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) was initially described, diagnosis was based upon physical parameters including facial anomalies and growth retardation, with evidence of developmental delay or mental deficiency. Forty years of research has shown that FAS lies towards the extreme end of what are now termed fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The most profound effects of prenatal alcohol exposure are on the developing brain and the cognitive and behavioral effects that ensue. Alcohol exposure affects brain development via numerous pathways at all stages from neurogenesis to myelination. For example, the same processes that give rise to the facial characteristics of FAS also cause abnormal brain development. Behaviors as diverse as executive functioning to motor control are affected. This special issue of Neuropsychology Review addresses these changes in brain and behavior highlighting the relationship between the two. A diagnostic goal is to recognize FAS as a disorder of brain rather than one of physical characteristics.     

Contextual interference and augmented feedback: is there an additive effect for motor learning?

Learning to perform a skilled behavior is affected by the context of the practice session and the frequency of augmented feedback. We studied the combined effect of these variables in the acquisition of a ballistic, bi-directional lever movement pattern involving four different target locations as measured by performance in practice, retention, and transfer tests. Augmented feedback was presented in either an every-trial or a faded schedule during random and blocked practice. Consistent with the contextual interference effect, the blocked practice group produced lower errors in acquisition, but the random practice group outperformed the blocked practice group in both retention and transfer. In contrast, faded feedback did not have a beneficial effect on learning and degraded learning when provided during blocked practice. While the results were consistent with previous findings of random and blocked practice, they were not consistent with previous findings of reduced feedback frequencies.     

Associations between sociocultural pressures to be thin, body distress, and eating disorder symptomatology among Chilean adolescent girls

This study explored the relationships between perceived sociocultural pressure to fulfill the thin beauty ideal, body distress, and the presence of eating disorder symptoms. Participants were 437 Chilean adolescent girls from Arica, northern Chile, aged 13-18. Results showed significant associations between perceived pressure from social agents to be thin and the presence of disrupted eating attitudes and behavior. The perceived influence of advertising, verbal messages and social situations related to eating and dieting emerged as the strongest predictors of eating disorders symptoms. Influence of advertising was also the strongest predictor of body image distress. Age differences emerged in perceived sociocultural pressure to be thin, with older participants reporting higher sociocultural pressure to fulfill the slender beauty ideal. This paper provides information about body distress and associated disturbances, a phenomenon which has seldom been studied in non-Western countries, but which has important health implications.     

The contribution of short-term memory for serial order to early reading acquisition: evidence from a longitudinal study

Early reading acquisition skills have been linked to verbal short-term memory (STM) capacity. However, the nature of this relationship remains controversial because verbal STM, like reading acquisition, depends on the complexity of underlying phonological processing skills. This longitudinal study addressed the relation between STM and reading decoding acquisition by distinguishing between STM for item information and STM for order information based on recent studies showing that STM for item information, but not STM for order information, recruits underlying phonological representations. If there is a specific link between STM and reading decoding acquisition, STM for order information should be an independent predictor of reading decoding acquisition. Tasks maximizing STM for serial order or item information, measures of phonological abilities, and reading tests were administered to children followed from kindergarten through first grade. We observed that order STM capacity, but not item STM capacity, predicted independent variance in reading decoding abilities 1 year later. These results highlight the specific role of STM for order in reading decoding acquisition and argue for a causal role of order STM capacity in reading acquisition. Mechanisms relating STM for order information and reading acquisition are discussed.     

The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale: Factor Structure and Association with Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Adolescent Inpatients

Research suggests that difficulties in emotion regulation are an important correlate of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adults. Research examining this link in adolescents is limited by the lack of comprehensive instruments to assess difficulties in emotion regulation. Against this background, the aims of the current study were to (a) confirm the six-factor structure of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 23(4), 253?C263, 2004) in a sample of adolescent inpatients (N?=?218); (b) explore the relation between different aspects of emotion dysregulation and lifetime NSSI while controlling for psychopathology and sex; and (c) assess the clinical utility of the DERS in detecting lifetime NSSI status. Fit indices obtained through Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that the six-factor structure of the DERS fit the data adequately and that most items loaded strongly on their respective latent factor. All six latent factors were significantly correlated with each other, with the exception of lack of emotional awareness and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavioral when distressed. Regression analyses revealed that only the limited access to emotion regulation strategies subscale accounted for a significant portion of the variance in NSSI when controlling for other aspects of emotion dysregulation, sex, and psychopathology. Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis indicated that the DERS limited access to emotion regulation strategies subscale score has moderate diagnostic accuracy in detecting the presence of NSSI. The optimal cut-off score was 21.5 when detecting NSSI among inpatient adolescents. Results provide further support for the relation between emotion regulation difficulties and NSSI. The DERS appears to be a useful measure of detecting NSSI in clinical samples of adolescents.     

Optimism and Prostate Cancer-Specific Expectations Predict Better Quality of Life after Robotic Prostatectomy

We examined the relations among generalized positive expectations (optimism), prostate-cancer specific expectations, and prostate cancer-related quality of life in a prospective sample of 83 men who underwent robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) for prostate cancer. Optimism was significantly associated with higher prostate cancer-specific expectations, β = .36, p < .001. In addition, optimism and prostate cancer-specific expectations were independent prospective predictors of better scores on the following prostate cancer-related quality of life scales: Sexual Intimacy and Sexual Confidence; Masculine Self-Esteem (specific expectations only), Health Worry, Cancer Control, and Informed Decision Making (βs > .21, ps < .05). When considered simultaneously, both optimism and specific expectations contributed uniquely to better Health Worry and Cancer Control scores, optimism was a unique predictor of better Sexual Intimacy and Sexual Confidence scores, and specific expectations uniquely predicted higher scores on Informed Decision Making. Although optimism and prostate-cancer specific expectations are related, they contribute uniquely to several prostate cancer-related quality of life outcomes following RALP and may be important targets for quality of life research with this population.     

How Do Artificial Neural Networks Classify Musical Triads? A Case Study in Eluding Bonini's Paradox

How might artificial neural networks (ANNs) inform cognitive science? Often cognitive scientists use ANNs but do not examine their internal structures. In this paper, we use ANNs to explore how cognition might represent musical properties. We train ANNs to classify musical chords, and we interpret network structure to determine what representations ANNs discover and use. We find connection weights between input units and hidden units can be described using Fourier phase spaces, a representation studied in musical set theory. We find the total signal coming through these weighted connection weights is a measure of the similarity between two Fourier structures: the structure of the hidden unit's weights and the structure of the stimulus. This is surprising because neither of these Fourier structures is computed by the hidden unit. We then show how output units use such similarity measures to classify chords. However, we also find different types of units—units that use different activation functions—use this similarity measure very differently. This result, combined with other findings, indicates that while our networks are related to the Fourier analysis of musical sets, they do not perform Fourier analyses of the kind usually described in musical set theory. Our results show Fourier representations of music are not limited to musical set theory. Our results also suggest how cognitive psychologists might explore Fourier representations in musical cognition. Critically, such theoretical and empirical implications require researchers to understand how network structure converts stimuli into responses.     

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND WOMEN'S MENTAL HEALTH IN CHILE

Domestic violence against women is a pervasive, global health problem. This study investigates the correlates and psychological outcomes of domestic abuse among women in a semi-industrial country. The participants included 215 mothers residing in working-class communities located on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. We utilized structural equation modeling to test the hypothesis that poverty and other structural inequalities would be related to incidents of domestic abuse in Chile, as they are in the United States. Our results suggest that lower socioeconomic status, even within poor communities, and stressful life events have a direct relationship to domestic conflict. Domestic abuse was, in turn, associated with women's mental health such that greater domestic conflict was related to higher reports of depressive affect and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. The importance of identifying similarities and differences in the occurrence of domestic violence in developing countries as compared to industrialized countries is discussed.