A dynamic developmental theory of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) predominantly hyperactive/impulsive and combined subtypes

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is currently defined as a cognitive/behavioral developmental disorder where all clinical criteria are behavioral. Inattentiveness, overactivity, and impulsiveness are presently regarded as the main clinical symptoms. The dynamic developmental behavioral theory is based on the hypothesis that altered dopaminergic function plays a pivotal role by failing to modulate nondopaminergic (primarily glutamate and GABA) signal transmission appropriately. A hypofunctioning mesolimbic dopamine branch produces altered reinforcement of behavior and deficient extinction of previously reinforced behavior. This gives rise to delay aversion, development of hyperactivity in novel situations, impulsiveness, deficient sustained attention, increased behavioral variability, and failure to "inhibit" responses ("disinhibition"). A hypofunctioning mesocortical dopamine branch will cause attention response deficiencies (deficient orienting responses, impaired saccadic eye movements, and poorer attention responses toward a target) and poor behavioral planning (poor executive functions). A hypofunctioning nigrostriatal dopamine branch will cause impaired modulation of motor functions and deficient nondeclarative habit learning and memory. These impairments will give rise to apparent developmental delay, clumsiness, neurological "soft signs," and a "failure to inhibit" responses when quick reactions are required. Hypofunctioning dopamine branches represent the main individual predispositions in the present theory. The theory predicts that behavior and symptoms in ADHD result from the interplay between individual predispositions and the surroundings. The exact ADHD symptoms at a particular time in life will vary and be influenced by factors having positive or negative effects on symptom development. Altered or deficient learning and motor functions will produce special needs for optimal parenting and societal styles. Medication will to some degree normalize the underlying dopamine dysfunction and reduce the special needs of these children. The theory describes how individual predispositions interact with these conditions to produce behavioral, emotional, and cognitive effects that can turn into relatively stable behavioral patterns.     

Willingness to seek help for psychosocial problems among Latino and white American college students

This study compared 50 Latino and 50 White American students' perceptions of the severity of 25 psychological problems, their willingness to seek help for these problems, and their preferences for caregivers. Each group received a modified version of the Personal Problems Inventory. Latino students rated depression, financial concerns, and discrimination as more severe problems; their preference for mental health workers consistently significantly exceeded those of White students, although both groups preferred seeking help from family and community resources. Findings suggest the possibility of a greater role for therapists serving Latino students than currently exists.     

Dimensional schizotypy,autism, and unusual word associations in artists and scientists

Studies from a range of perspectives provide evidence for a relationship between creativity and the tendency to mental illness. The present study further examined this issue by administering questionnaires measuring the minor features of psychosis and autism to 31 professional “artists” (visual artists and musicians) and 28 professional “scientists” (biological scientists and physical scientists/mathematicians). The Oxford–Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O–LIFE), the Hypomanic Personality Scale, and the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), were administered, in addition to a shortened form of the Kent–Rosanoff Word Association Scale. The results provided strong support for the connection of artistic creativity to positive schizotypy and hypomania and the tendency to make unusual word associations, and somewhat weaker support for the connection of scientific creativity to certain components of the autism spectrum.     

Patterns of brain-electrical activity during declarative memory performance in 10-month-old infants

This study of infant declarative memory concurrently examined brain-electrical activity and deferred imitation performance in 10-month-old infants. Continuous electroencephalogram (EEG) measures were collected throughout the activity-matched baseline, encoding (modeling) and retrieval (delayed test) phases of a within-subjects deferred imitation task. Infants were divided into two memory performance groups based on the exhibition of ordered-recall after a 24-h delay. Whereas no group differences were found in EEG collected during encoding, performance-group differences in EEG were present during retrieval. Infants who successfully displayed ordered-recall showed a pattern of increasing EEG from baseline to task at anterior temporal scalp locations, whereas infants showing no ordered-recall displayed no changes in EEG from baseline to task. These findings are discussed with respect to the biobehavioral developments underlying declarative memory abilities.     

Finding a Way Back Home: A Spirituality of Exile after Hurricane Katrina

Three years ago breath took the form of Hurricane Katrina and passed through our bodies and our lives, leaving us forever changed. We all breathed her, but for those of us living on the Gulf Coast our encounter with Katrina was more intimate, our breathing more conscious, our memory more charged, our lives forever changed. My story takes me from the winds of Hurricane Katrina blasting through the Gulf Coast, through the tube of a machine that helped keep my son’s lung expanded, through the Sinai dessert and the valley of the dry bones, through the in-between spaces of grounded groundlessness, to the forests and rivers of the Berskhire Mountains, where I have relocated and started my life over. My spiritual journey “home” is a dynamic story of Earth, wind, fire, water, flesh, and Spirit.     

Reactions to and Desire for Prognostic Testing in Choroidal Melanoma Patients

To determine if choroidal melanoma patients want cytogenetic prognostic information. Ninety-nine choroidal melanoma patients completed a questionnaire regarding their opinions about receiving prognostic information. The perceived usefulness of prognostic information was evaluated in patients who had undergone cytogenetic testing. Depressive symptoms, quality of life, and interest in supportive counseling during test receipt were assessed. Ninety-seven percent of respondents reported that they would have wanted prognostic information at the time of their treatment and 98% of respondents reported that supportive counseling should be offered when prognostic information is given. Patients who had received a more favorable prognostic result were more likely to endorse the usefulness of cytogenetic testing than were patients who had received a less favorable prognostic result. Psychological status did not vary significantly as a function of cytogenetic test result. Prognostic information was important to patients with choroidal melanoma, even in the absence of prophylactic measures which might improve prognosis.     

The relationship between objective and perceived fit with academic major, adaptability, and major-related outcomes

This study examined the effects of fit with college major on major commitment, GPA, college satisfaction, and changing one’s major. We further examined how individual adaptability may moderate the importance of fit on these outcomes. College students (N = 198; 160 women and 38 men; mean age = 19.14 years) completed an interest inventory used to assess objective fit with major, and also indicated their perceived fit with major. Results revealed little correlation between perceived fit and objective fit, with differential relationships to these outcomes. Perceived fit showed stronger positive correlations with affective major commitment and academic self-efficacy than did objective fit. Regarding the moderating role of adaptability, individuals higher in adaptability reported higher institutional satisfaction when there was lower perceived fit. Adaptability also had a main effect on major-related outcomes above and beyond the effects of fit. Practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

Cognitive advantage in sport: the nature of perceptual structures

To extend and clarify the nature of the perceptual processes used by sport experts to perceive schematic sport information, two experiments used schematic football diagrams that varied in structure (structured vs. unstructured) and complexity (complex vs. easy). The primary objective was to examine and characterize the nature of the perceptual structures (chunks) that are initially encoded, stored, and subsequently retrieved. In Experiment 1, compared with nonexperts, experts recalled larger perceptual structures following the initial stimulus presentation of structured stimuli only, replicating the recall findings of previous research in other skill domains. Experiment 2 used a long-term memory recognition task and a sorting task. Experts had superior recall and recognition of structured stimuli only, along with more discriminating sorting criteria of perceptual structures within long-term memory. This suggests that experts possess a highly refined semantic network or organized, structured schematic information. This research extends and clarifies the similarities between the perceptual processes of experts in sport (i.e., football) and experts in skill domains that require obvious cognitive involvement (i.e., chess). The results are discussed with reference to the perceptual and conceptual chunking hypotheses. It is proposed that sport experts' knowledge of a conceptual category enables them to retrieve elements using a "generate-and-test process."     

An Evidence-Based,Community-Engaged Approach to Develop an Interactive Deliberation Tool for Pediatric Neuromuscular Trials

Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy (DBMD) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are rare neuromuscular disorders that present challenges to therapeutic and clinical trial decision making. We developed an interactive, evidence-based online tool designed to encourage thoughtful deliberation of the pros and cons of trial participation and to inform meaningful discussions with healthcare providers. Prior research demonstrates the importance of tool availability at the time each family is considering trial participation, which may be prior to the informed consent process. The tool is intended to be easily modified to other pediatric disease communities. Tool development was informed by prior qualitative research, literature reviews, and stakeholder input. Specific items were derived based on an online exploratory questionnaire of parents whose children participated in a trial for DBMD or SMA to understand motivations for participation. Parent participants in the exploratory survey reported strong impact of altruistic and individual benefit motivations and placed much greater emphasis on anticipated trial benefits than on harms when making participation decisions. We used this data to develop the evidence-based deliberation tool using a community-engaged approach. We initially targeted the tool for DBMD while using SMA survey data to evaluate ease of transition to that population. We conducted two iterative sets of activities to inform development and refinement of the tool: (1) community engagement of key stakeholders and (2) user experience testing. These activities suggest that the tool may increase deliberation and the weighing of benefits and harms. Ongoing evaluation will determine the acceptability and efficacy of this online intervention.