Quality of Life,Anxiety and Depression in Soft Tissue Sarcomas as Compared to More Common Tumours: An Observational Study

The aim of this study is to compare the quality of life and the levels of anxiety and depression in a relatively large group of subjects undergoing chemotherapy for soft tissue sarcoma and a control group of subjects undergoing chemotherapy for the most common types of cancer. 56 soft tissue sarcoma affected patients and 56 patients with common tumours, homogeneous in regards to stages of disease and sociodemographic characteristics, were enrolled in two oncological centres in Turin, Italy. Quality of life was assessed by Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General and anxiety and depression by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. All patients had ongoing chemotherapy. The comparison between the two groups shows no difference in either quality of life or in anxiety and depression. There are instead gender differences, since females in the group of common tumours show higher levels of anxiety in comparison to those affected by sarcomas, while males show, at a lower degree, the opposite trend. This study suggest that levels of Quality of Life, anxiety and depression are similar in rare and common tumours. The majority of patients are able to cope with the disease in an adaptive manner. However, for some patients the disease poses a threat to their physical and mental integrity; psychological support of these patients may reduce the development of significant morbidity and help patients to better manage the course of the disease and the effects of the treatment.     

Objects,numbers, fingers,space: clustering of ventral and dorsal functions in young children and adults

In the primate brain, sensory information is processed along two partially segregated cortical streams: the ventral stream, mainly coding for objects' shape and identity, and the dorsal stream, mainly coding for objects' quantitative information (including size, number, and spatial position). Neurophysiological measures indicate that such functional segregation is present early on in infancy, and that the two streams follow independent maturational trajectories during childhood. Here we collected, in a large sample of young children and adults, behavioural measures on an extensive set of functions typically associated with either the dorsal or the ventral stream. We then used a correlational approach to investigate the presence of inter‐individual variability resulting in clustering of functions. Results show that dorsal‐ and ventral‐related functions follow two uncorrelated developmental trajectories. Moreover, within each stream, some functions show age‐independent correlations: finger gnosis, non‐symbolic numerical abilities and spatial abilities within the dorsal stream, and object and face recognition abilities within the ventral stream. This pattern of clear within‐stream cross‐task correlation seems to be lost in adults, with two notable exceptions: performance in face and object recognition on one side, and in symbolic and non‐symbolic comparison on the other, remain correlated, pointing to distinct shape recognition and quantity comparison systems.     

“This Bird Can't Do It ‘Cause this Bird Doesn't Swim in Water”: Sibling Teaching During Naturalistic Home Observations in Early Childhood

Social-constructivist models of learning highlight that cognitive development is embedded within the context of social relationships characterized by closeness and intimacy (Vygotsky, 1978 Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar]). Therefore, in contrast to prior research employing semistructured paradigms, naturalistic sibling-directed teaching was examined during ongoing interactions at home. Thirty-nine middle-class, two-parent families (older sibling, M_age = 6;3; younger sibling, M_age = 4;4) were studied. Intentional sequences of sibling-directed teaching were coded for: a) frequency; b) type of knowledge taught (i.e., conceptual or procedural); c) initiation of teaching by the teacher or following a request by the learner; d) teaching strategies (e.g., direct instruction, demonstration); and e) learner responses (e.g., active involvement, rejection). Findings indicated that teachers were most likely to initiate teaching spontaneously rather than respond to direct requests by learners. Teachers were most likely to initiate teaching of procedural knowledge, while learners were most likely to request the teaching of conceptual knowledge. The type of teaching strategy employed depended on who initiated the teaching and the type of knowledge taught. The response of the learner was associated with who initiated the teaching and the teaching strategies employed. These findings reveal the nuances and sophistication of young children's attempts to teach one another naturally in their homes. Findings are discussed in light of recent empirical and theoretical work.     

Childhood anxiety associated with low BMI in women with Anorexia Nervosa

Objective

Extremely low body mass index (BMI) values are associated with increased risk for death and poor long-term prognosis in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN). The present study explores childhood personality characteristics that could be associated with the ability to attain an extremely low BMI.

Methods

Participants were 326 women from the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa (GAN) Study who completed the Structured Interview for Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimic Syndromes and whose mother completed the Child Behavioral Checklist and/or Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey.

Results

Children who were described as having greater fear or anxiety by their mothers attained lower BMIs during AN (p < 0.02). Path analysis in the GAN and a validation sample, Price Foundation Anorexia Nervosa Trios Study, confirmed the relation between early childhood anxiety, caloric restriction, qualitative food item restriction, excessive exercise, and low BMI. Path analysis also confirmed a relation between childhood anxiety and caloric restriction, which mediated the relation between childhood anxiety and low BMI in the GAN sample only.

Conclusion

Fearful or anxious behavior as a child was associated with the attainment of low BMI in AN and childhood anxiety was associated with caloric restriction. Measures of anxiety and factors associated with anxiety-proneness in childhood may index children at risk for restrictive behaviors and extremely low BMIs in AN.     

Loose and Tight: Creative Formation but Rigid Use of Nominal Compounds in Conspiracist Texts

Conspiracy theories (CTs) are spectacular narratives, widely spread, that pose societal threats. We test whether CTs might be linguistically creative products, which would facilitate their transmission and thereby account for their widespread popularity. We analyzed nominal compounds (e.g., mind control, carbon dioxide; N = 1,713,568) from a large corpus of conspiracist and mainstream texts matched by topic. In conspiracist texts, compounds showed greater originality, divergence, and sophistication, but they were used with lower frequency and were more often repeated in different contexts. This pattern suggests a creative aspect in the generation of compounds, coupled with rigidity in their use. We interpret these findings as an effect of loosely defined conceptual boundaries among conspiracist writers, in conjunction with social functions like status or group signaling. Our findings not only contribute to the discourse on creativity in CTs but also provide insights into the communicative advantage of CTs.     

Visuo-spatial and verbal working memory in the five-disc Tower of London task: An individual differences approach

This paper reports a study of the roles of visuo-spatial and verbal working memory capacities in solving a planning task—the five-disc Tower of London (TOL) task. An individual differences approach was taken. Sixty adult participants were tested on 20 TOL tasks of varying difficulty. Total moves over the 20 TOL tasks was taken as a measure of performance. Participants were also assessed on measures of fluid intelligence (Raven's matrices), verbal short-term storage (Digit span), verbal working memory span (Silly Sentence span), visuo-spatial short-term storage (Visual Pattern span and Corsi Block span), visuo-spatial working memory (Corsi Distance Estimation), visuo-spatial processing speed (Manikin test), and verbal speed (Rehearsal speed). Exploratory factor analysis using an oblique rotation method revealed three factors which were interpreted as (1) a visuo-spatial working memory factor, (2) an age-speed factor, and (3) a verbal working memory factor. The visuo-spatial and verbal factors were only moderately correlated. Performance on the TOL task loaded on the visuo-spatial factor but did not load on the other factors. It is concluded that the predominant goal-selection strategy adopted in solving the TOL relies on visuo-spatial working memory capacity and particularly involves the active “inner scribe” spatial rehearsal mechanism. These correlational analyses confirm and extend results previously obtained by use of dual task methods, (Phillips, Wynn, Gilhooly, Della Sala, & Logie, 1999).