The Social Psychology of Black–White Interracial Interactions: Implications for Culturally Competent Clinical Practice

Social psychological research suggests that because of concerns about being perceived in stereotypical ways, people may experience negative affect and diminished attention and cognitive capacity during interracial interactions. The authors discuss this research in relation to therapy and assessment and also offer practical suggestions for ensuring culturally competent professional practice. La investigación en el campo de la psicología social sugiere que, debido a la preocupación por ser percibida de forma estereotipada, la gente puede experimentar sentimientos negativos y un nivel reducido de atención y capacidad cognitiva durante interacciones interraciales. Los autores discuten esta investigación en relación a la terapia y evaluación, y también ofrecen sugerencias prácticas para asegurar una práctica profesional culturalmente competente.     

New insights into the regulation of synaptic plasticity from an unexpected place: Hippocampal area CA2

The search for molecules that restrict synaptic plasticity in the brain has focused primarily on sensory systems during early postnatal development, as critical periods for inducing plasticity in sensory regions are easily defined. The recent discovery that Schaffer collateral inputs to hippocampal area CA2 do not readily support canonical activity-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) serves as a reminder that the capacity for synaptic modification is also regulated anatomically across different brain regions. Hippocampal CA2 shares features with other similarly "LTP-resistant" brain areas in that many of the genes linked to synaptic function and the associated proteins known to restrict synaptic plasticity are expressed there. Add to this a rich complement of receptors and signaling molecules permissive for induction of atypical forms of synaptic potentiation, and area CA2 becomes an ideal model system for studying specific modulators of brain plasticity. Additionally, recent evidence suggests that hippocampal CA2 is instrumental for certain forms of learning, memory, and social behavior, but the links between CA2-enriched molecules and putative CA2-dependent behaviors are only just beginning to be made. In this review, we offer a detailed look at what is currently known about the synaptic plasticity in this important, yet largely overlooked component of the hippocampus and consider how the study of CA2 may provide clues to understanding the molecular signals critical to the modulation of synaptic function in different brain regions and across different stages of development.     

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Crossover Comparison of MK-0929 and Placebo in the Treatment of Adults With ADHD

Objective: Preclinical models, receptor localization, and genetic linkage data support the role of D4 receptors in the etiology of ADHD. This proof-of-concept study was designed to evaluate MK-0929, a selective D4 receptor antagonist as treatment for adult ADHD. Method: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study was conducted in adults with primary ADHD. The primary end point was changed from baseline in total score on the Adult ADHD Investigator Symptom Rating Scale following a 4-week treatment regimen. Additional measures included Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Brown Attention Deficit Disorder Scale and D4 genotype analysis. Results: No statistically significant treatment differences were found between MK-0929 and placebo in any of the primary or secondary assessments. Conclusion: Results from this study suggest that blockade of the D4 receptor alone is not efficacious in the treatment of adult ADHD.     

Evidence of a transition from perceptual to category induction in 3- to 9-year-old children

We examined whether inductive reasoning development is better characterized by accounts assuming an early category bias versus an early perceptual bias. We trained 264 children aged 3 to 9 years to categorize novel insects using a rule that directly pitted category membership against appearance. This was followed by an induction task with perceptual distractors at different levels of featural similarity. An additional 52 children were given the same training followed by an induction task with alternative stimuli. Categorization performance was consistently high; however, we found a gradual transition from a perceptual bias in our youngest children to a category bias around 6 or 7 years of age. In addition, children of all ages were equally distracted by higher levels of featural similarity. The transition is unlikely to be due to an increased ability to inhibit perceptual distractors. Instead, we argue that the transition is driven by a fundamental change in children's understanding of category membership.     

Motor deficits associated with mild, chronic hyponatremia: a factor analytic study

ABSTRACT Chronic hyponatremia (CHN) has traditionally been considered asymptomatic. If symptoms are observed, they are often mistakenly attributed to the underlying disorder. However, in recent studies neuropsychological deficits have been associated with CHN. The authors sought to determine the association between CHN and motor deficits. They used previously collected data, and 41 subjects with hyponatremia were included. An exploratory factor analysis with principal component analysis (PCA) was performed (eigenvalues >1.0). Factor scores were generated for each subject based on the resultant PCA factor structure. Finally, partial correlations were computed to measure the degree of association between baseline serum sodium concentration [Na+] and individual neuropsychological factor scores with the effect of age removed. All significance tests were performed using 2-tailed comparisons with alpha level of p ≤ .05. A 3-factor model emerged accounting for 70.17% of the total variance, including 1 factor that loaded primarily with motor speed and reaction time. A significant correlation was observed between this motor factor and serum [Na+] (r = -.477, p = .002). These findings add to previous observations suggesting that CHN is associated with subtle yet harmful motor deficits.     

Manipulations of start and food locations affect navigation on a foraging task

Rats were able to search multiple food cups in a foraging task and successfully return to a fixed, but not a variable, start location. Reducing the number of food cups to be searched resulted in an improvement in performance in the variable start condition. Performance was better when only one or two food cups had to be visited but was still impaired if the food was not found in the first cup searched. Variable start locations impaired performance when only one food cup had to be searched, if that cup was moved over the table. These findings suggest that there is an interaction between memory processes and the navigational processes that allows an animal to return to its start location after a foraging trip. It appears that a fixed location for the food or the start point of a foraging trip is a necessary precondition for accurate performance.     

Category rating is based on prototypes and not instances: evidence from feedback-dependent context effects

Context effects in category rating on a 7-point scale are shown to reverse direction depending on feedback. Context (skewed stimulus frequencies) was manipulated between and feedback within subjects in two experiments. The diverging predictions of prototype- and exemplar-based scaling theories were tested using two representative models: ANCHOR and INST. To gain coverage on one side of the continuum, a prototype-based category must lose on the opposite side. ANCHOR can exhibit both assimilative and compensatory context effects depending on feedback. INST always exhibits assimilative effects. The human data show a significant context-by-feedback interaction. The main context effect is assimilative in one data set and compensatory in the other. This pattern is consistent with ANCHOR but rules out INST, which fails to account for the compensatory effect and the interaction. This suggests that human category rating is based on unitary representations.     

Different groups, different threats: a multi-threat approach to the experience of stereotype threats

Two studies demonstrated that different negatively stereotyped groups are at risk for distinct forms of stereotype threats. The Multi-Threat Framework articulates six distinct stereotype threats and the unique constellations of variables (e.g., group identification, stereotype endorsement) that elicit each stereotype threat. Previous research suggests that different negatively stereotyped groups systematically vary across these stereotype threat elicitors; a pilot study confirms these differences. Across two studies, groups that tend to elicit low stereotype endorsement (religion, race/ethnicity, congenital blindness) were less likely to report experiencing self-as-source stereotype threats (stereotype threats requiring stereotype endorsement) and groups that tend to elicit low group identification (mental illness, obesity, blindness later in life) were less likely to report experiencing group-as-target stereotype threats (stereotype threats requiring group identification). This research suggests that traditional models may overlook the experiences of stereotype threats within some groups and that interventions tailored to address differences between stereotype threats will be most effective.     

Body Posture and the Feeling of Social Closeness: An Exploratory Study in a Naturalistic Setting

Previous research has shown that body postures and body movements influence people’s attitudes, preferences and feelings. In the present study, we explored the influence of body posture on the feeling of closeness towards others and how this effect may interact with contextual variables. Study 1 was conducted in a naturalistic setting in which 127 participants observed a series of live dance sequences either standing up or remaining seated. After each sequence, participants reported the feelings elicited by the dance performance on a questionnaire. Visibility of performers’ facial expressions and background tempo were used as contextual variables. Results showed that participants who watched the performance standing up felt significantly closer to the dancers than participants who remained seated. Study 2 was carried out in a laboratory setting to explore the relationship between body posture, tempo and heart rate. Results showed a significant increase in heart rate when standing compared to when sitting and no effect of tempo. The present research demonstrates a link between body posture and social connection providing evidence that standing up strengthens the feeling of closeness to others, and showing that posture not only has an impact on self-related feelings (e.g. fear, anger, sadness) as previous research has shown, but also has an impact on feelings towards others at the base of all human social relations. The present research also suggests that heart rate may be a mediator of the effect of posture on the feeling of closeness.