Integrated cross-network connectivity of amygdala,insula, and subgenual cingulate associated with facial emotion perception in healthy controls and remitted major depressive disorder

Emotion perception deficits could be due to disrupted connectivity of key nodes in the salience and emotion network (SEN), including the amygdala, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC), and insula. We examined SEN resting-state (rs-)fMRI connectivity in rMDD in relation to Facial Emotion Perception Test (FEPT) performance. Fifty-two medication-free people ages 18 to 23 years participated. Twenty-seven had major depressive disorder (MDD) in remission (rMDD, 10 males), as MDD is associated with emotion perception deficits and alterations in rsfMRI. Twenty-five healthy controls (10 males) also participated. Participants completed the FEPT during fMRI, in addition to an 8-minute eyes-open resting-state scan. Seed regions of interest were defined in the amygdala, anterior insula and sgACC. Multiple regression analyses co-varied diagnostic group, sex and movement parameters. Emotion perception accuracy was positively associated with connectivity between amygdala seeds and regions primarily in the SEN and cognitive control network (CCN), and also the default mode network (DMN). Accuracy was also positively associated with connectivity between the sgACC seeds and other SEN regions, and the DMN, particularly for the right sgACC. Connectivity negatively associated with emotion perception was mostly with regions outside of these three networks, other than the left insula and part of the DMN. This study is the first to our knowledge to demonstrate relationships between facial emotion processing and resting-state connectivity with SEN nodes and between SEN nodes and regions located within other neural networks.     

Effects of Social Norms Information and Self-Affirmation on Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption Intentions and Behaviors

The separate and combined efficacy of a social norms and a self-affirmation intervention to motivate decreased sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption was examined in 2 experiments. College students were randomly assigned to receive information about SSB consumption risks, norms, both, or neither. In addition, participants performed either a self-affirmation or control task. Self-affirmation only weakly affected SSB consumption intentions and behaviors. However, participants in Experiment 2 who received risks information, norms information, or both reported greater SSB reduction intentions than did those who received no information. Two weeks later, those who received both types of information reported more frequent behavior change preparations, and it appears this effect may have been partially mediated by the changes in intentions to reduce SSB consumption.     

How Stereotypes Stifle Performance Potential

In academic and organizational domains, performance measures are often used to assess achievement or aptitude. When certain groups of people systematically underperform on such measures, a common interpretation is that the groups differ in inherent ability. However, social psychological research over the past 15 years has documented a phenomenon called stereotype threat whereby subtle situational reminders of negative stereotypes can stifle the performance of those who are targeted by them. In this article, we review research aimed at understanding the sequence of cognitive and affective processes that underlie these situationally‐induced performance impairments. We review evidence that being the target of negative stereotypes cues self‐uncertainty and a physiological stress response, engages more explicit monitoring of one’s performance, and efforts to regulate unwanted negative thoughts and feelings. Alone or in concert, these extra‐task processes hijack cognitive resources needed for successful performance. Armed with the knowledge of these mediating mechanisms, we then review evidence from both field and laboratory based research demonstrating that gender and racial gaps in achievement can be alleviated if not eliminated through creative and often subtle interventions that diffuse the pernicious effects that stereotypes can have.     

College students' Facebook stalking of ex-partners

There are abundant anecdotes and warnings of inappropriate behaviors on social networking sites, particularly about Facebook. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether individuals obsessively monitor or harass their ex-partners on Facebook (related to general "Facebook stalking") and, if so, whether those individuals would also engage in cyber obsessional pursuit (COP) and obsessive relational pursuit (ORI), which are categories of cyberstalking and stalking. A total of 411 valid participants answered questions about the ways they communicated with their ex-romantic partners using Facebook, resulting in three factors: Covert Provocation, Public Harassment, and Venting. Each category of Facebook harassment was related to perpetration of COP and ORI. Additionally, participants who engaged in COP were almost six times more likely to also perpetrate ORI. If participants admitted to engaging in some types of stalking behaviors, they did so online, offline, and on Facebook. Implications for social networking site usage and stalking laws are discussed. There is a kernel of truth to the popular term "Facebook stalking."     

State of Multicultural Neuropsychological Assessment in Children: Current Research Issues

Scientific attention to cultural considerations in child neuropsychological assessment has not developed parallel to the focus these issues have received in adult and elderly neuropsychological assessment. There are limited data on the presence, magnitude, etiology, and implications of culture-related differences in cognitive test performance among children. This preliminary report reviews the available empirical literature on the current state of multicultural neuropsychological assessment in children. The review identified articles by searching PubMed and PsycINFO databases, and the tables of contents of Developmental Neuropsychology and Child Neuropsychology from 2003-2008. Of the 1,834 abstracts reviewed, ten papers met inclusion criteria for the review. Five studies were completed in America; four of these compared performance between ethnic groups while the fifth examined neighborhood level poverty indicators exclusively within African-American children. Of the five international studies, all established local normative data and/or were exploratory investigations of neuropsychological functions in specific cultural groups, including Taiwanese infants, South African youth, and bilingual British children. Taken together, the results yield important clinical and research data that begin to inform many of the complex and fascinating mechanisms by which ethnic identity and culture impact cognitive development and the neuropsychological assessment of children. A critique of the existing literature and directions for future research are provided.     

Characterization and sociocultural predictors of neuropsychological test performance in HIV+ Hispanic individuals

Hispanic individuals in the U.S. have been disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, yet little is known regarding the neuropsychological sequelae of HIV within the Hispanic population. This study characterized neuropsychological (NP) test performance of HIV+ English-speaking Hispanic participants (n = 51) and investigated the combined roles of sociocultural factors (e.g., ethnicity, socioeconomic status [SES] proxy, and reading level) on NP test performance among our HIV+ Hispanic and non-Hispanic White participants (n = 49). Results revealed that the pattern of NP impairment in HIV+ Hispanic participants is consistent with the frontal-striatal pattern observed in HIV-associated CNS sequelae, and the overall prevalence of global NP impairment was high compared to previous reports with more ethnically homogeneous, non-Hispanic White cohorts. Multivariate prediction models that considered both sociocultural factors and CD4 count revealed that reading level was the only unique predictor of global NP functioning, learning, and attention/working memory. In contrast, ethnicity was the only unique predictor of abstraction/executive functioning. This study provides support for the use of neuropsychological evaluation in detecting HIV-associated NP impairment among HIV+ Hispanic participants and adds to the growing literature regarding the importance of considering sociocultural factors in the interpretation of NP test performance.     

Smoking in College Women: The Role of Thinness Pressures, Media Exposure, and Critical Consciousness

There are strong social pressures for U.S. females, particularly those of European heritage, to achieve and maintain an extremely low body weight. These pressures are reflected in a variety of media sources, including advertising. We argue that valuing thinness, exposure to thinness-depicting media, and lacking skepticism about tobacco advertisements have adverse effects on young women's decisions about smoking, particularly smoking for weight control. We tested these hypotheses in a study of 188 female undergraduates, both never-smokers and daily smokers. Believing that smoking controls weight, exposure to thinness-depicting media, and low levels of skepticism about tobacco advertising were associated with being a smoker. Among smokers, believing that smoking controls weight, internalizing thinness pressures, and low levels of feminist consciousness were associated with smoking for weight control. Results are discussed with the aim of encouraging public health anti-smoking campaigns targeted at women, and smoking cessation programs that are responsive to the needs of weight-concerned female smokers.