Endogenous temporal orienting of attention in detection and discrimination tasks

Endogenous temporal-orienting effects were studied using a cuing paradigm in which the cue indicated the time interval during which the target was most likely to appear. Temporal-orienting effects were defined by lower reaction times (RTs) when there was a match between the temporal expectancy for a target (early or late) and the time interval during which the target actually appeared than when they mismatched. Temporal-orienting effects were found for both early and late expectancies with a detection task in Experiment 1. However, catch trials were decisive in whether temporal-orienting effects were observed in the early-expectancy condition. No temporal-orienting effects were found in the discrimination task. In Experiments 2A and 2B, temporal-orienting effects were observed in the discrimination task; however, they were larger when temporal expectancy was manipulated between blocks, rather than within blocks.     

Changing environmental context does not reliably affect memory

Most current theories of human memory propose that context, defined here as the time and place at which an event was experienced, forms an integral feature of the mnemonic representation of events. One way of investigating context is by manipulating the environmental context (which typically means the room in which the experiment takes place). The predominant result of this manipulation reported in the literature has been consistent with theory: Memory performance is better when the learning and testing environments are the same than when they differ. This article reports eight experiments that in aggregate challenge the reliability of this same-context advantage. Experiment 1 reported a failure to obtain a same-context advantage. Experiments 2–7 investigated various features of the design that might have reduced the effect. None of these experiments produced a reliable same-context advantage. Experiment 8 repeated the methodology of a published report of a same-context advantage with more than double the number of subjects, but failed to replicate the effect. An analysis of features of the experiments led to two suggestions for future investigations of the effects of changes in environmental context on memory.     

Cognitive behavioral weight-loss program for individuals with psychotic mental diseases

Overweight derived from the intake of new antipsychotic medication in order to treat schizophrenia is a growing problem. The main purpose of this study is to launch a cognitive behavioural program in outpatients. It is focused on the weight control of patients with chronic mental diseases, especially those diagnosed as psychotic, and who are under treatment in a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Centre. In this study, the results of an experimental group and a control group were compared. The experimental group was made up of 7 individuals, 3 males and 4 females, and the control group comprised 4 males and 4 females. The program had a duration of twelve sessions administered over a period of three months. Three months after concluding the program, both groups were followed up. The data obtained indicate the efficiency of the cognitive-behavioural treatment in the patients. The achievements of this project were, on the one hand, to significantly reduce the patients' weight and, on the other, to modify their nutritional and physical exercise habits.     

Temperamental and personality variables in child and adolescent depressive symptomatology

In this study, we analyzed the relationship between temperament and personality factors and depression in children and adolescents. Temperament was assessed with the Dimensions of Temperament Survey Revised (DOTS-R), personality with the Big Five Questionnaire-Children (BFQ-C), and depressive symptomatology with the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). The sample was made up of 535 participants (274 boys and 261 girls), aged 8 to 15 years. Results show that temperament and personality are significantly related to depressive symptomatology in children and adolescents. Those with difficult temperaments showed more depressive symptomatology, as did those with high levels of emotional instability or low levels of extraversion, openness, agreeableness or conscientiousness. Multiple regression analyses revealed greater relevance of personality variables than of temperament variables.     

Comparison of impulsiveness, venturesomeness and empathy (I7) structure in English and Spanish samples: Analysis of different structural equation models

The present study analyzed the factorial structure of the I₇ Impulsiveness questionnaire (Impulsiveness, Venturesomeness and Empathy) with a Spanish sample of 742 males and 1.075 females, through exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis. In relation to the original English data, a three-factor structure showed global congruency coefficients of 0.92 and 0.94 for men and women. Venturesomeness had a modest congruency for males (0.83). A cross-validation analytical strategy showed that the 24-item I₇ was invariant only for the female sample. A subsequent exploratory factor analysis with 24 items showed a sound factor structure. The 24-item version showed the best and most robust structure and similar internal consistency coefficients in regard to the 54-item version. No important differences were founded between I₇ long and short versions with impulsiveness scales of ZKPQ, BIS-10 and SPSRQ.     

Effects of Training Volume on Hormones and Mood in Basketball Players

Mood and basal hormone levels were measured before and after a 4-month training period in 20 professional basketball players on 2 different teams. Training volume was daily quantified by intensities, showing that Team 1 trained nearly twofold the volume of Team 2. Apart from the lack of differences between teams in anthropometric and physical variables, results showed mood improvements in the total sample without differences between teams. However, cortisol levels decreased in Team 1 and increased in Team 2, while the free testosterone–cortisol ratio, free testosterone, prolactin, and luteinizing hormone did not show significant changes. Changes in cortisol were positively related to depression and negatively related to training volume. Results suggest that differences exist in sensitivity and/or timing of both psychological and hormonal responses to 2 given volumes of training.     

Cholinergic septo-hippocampal innervation is required for trace eyeblink classical conditioning

We studied the effects of a selective lesion in rats, with 192-IgG-saporin, of the cholinergic neurons located in the medial septum/diagonal band (MSDB) complex on the acquisition of classical and instrumental conditioning paradigms. The MSDB lesion induced a marked deficit in the acquisition, but not in the retrieval, of eyeblink classical conditioning using a trace paradigm. Such a deficit was task-selective, as lesioned rats were able to acquire a fixed-interval operant conditioning as controls, and was not due to nonspecific motor alterations, because spontaneous locomotion and blink reflexes were not disturbed by the MSDB lesion. The deficit in the acquisition of a trace eyeblink classical conditioning was reverted by the systemic administration of carbachol, a nonselective cholinergic muscarinic agonist, but not by lobeline, a nicotinic agonist. These results suggest a key role of muscarinic denervation on the acquisition of new motor abilities using trace classical conditioning procedures. It might also be suggested that muscarinic agents would be useful for the amelioration of some associative learning deficits observed at early stages in patients with Alzheimer's disease.