Cerebral lateralization for speech in deaf and normal children

The cerebral lateralization pattern for speech production in normal hearing and congenitally deaf children was studied using the dual-task paradigm. Performance under the verbal task conditions showed predicted left hemispheric dominance for speech production in the normal hearing children. No developmental trends in asymmetry were found, suggesting that speech lateralization is present in normal 3-year-old children. These data support the developmental invariance hypothesis of cerebral organization. Deaf children showed more symmetrical patterns of cerebral control for speech production. No developmental trends in functional brain organization were observed among prepubescent deaf children.     

Tracing response parameter preparation strategies using transition times

Latencies were measured using a modified four-choice reaction time (4-CRT) test procedure; the responses comprised forward and backward displacements of left- and right-hand levers. Two stimuli were presented, separated by an interval (ISI) of 25, 165, 415 or 815 msec. S1 designated which response should be readied; and on 62% of occasions, S2 indicated that the prepared response should be executed immediately (same trials). During transition trials, S2 specified which one of the alternative responses should be substituted. Same conditions produced significantly shorter reaction times. Transition latencies varied depending on the modification required: changing direction proved easier than changing either hand or hand and direction. This is compatible with a response coding strategy in which limb is designated before direction. Latencies and exchange function analyses that preparations were discontinued after response selection; even at the longest ISI, there was no convincing evidence of preparatory motor programming.     

Sex from Somewhere Liberally Different?

Philosophical Studies -     

QUALITIES MIDLIFE WOMEN DESIRE IN THEIR SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS AND THEIR CHANGING SEXUAL RESPONSE

The present study focused on the association between the particular sexual qualities midlife women desired in themselves and their husbands and the changes in sexual response they were experiencing. In a U.S. sample of 280 women participating in the ongoing Midlife Women's Health Survey, 40% reported a change in their sexual response, more often as decrements than increases, although desiring more nongenital touching was frequently noted. Respondents wanted more change in their own than in their partners' sexual qualities. In addition, the desire to change sexual qualities in oneself and in one's husband was significantly related to many changes in sexual responsivity. These findings are discussed in the context of a woman-defined sexuality at midlife.     

Relations of work identity,family identity,situational demands,and sex with employee work hours

This study examined relations of multiple indicators of work identity and family identity with the number of weekly hours worked by 193 married business professionals. We found that men generally worked long hours regardless of the situational demands to work long hours and the strength of their work and family identities. Women's work hours, on the other hand, were associated with their work and family identities when weak situational demands permitted discretion over their work hours. We suggest that these sex differences can be explained by the ways in which women and men construe their work and family identities.     

John m. Neale (1943-2011)

Presents an obituary for John M. Neale. Neale died in Hilton Head, South Carolina, on November 19, 2011, after a long illness. He was born on August 31, 1943, in Toronto, Canada. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto in 1965, where his interest in psychology had been sparked by an introductory course taught by George Mandler. After working at a residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed children, he decided to pursue graduate training in clinical psychology and enrolled at Vanderbilt University. Rue Cromwell served as John's mentor and stimulated his interest in the investigation of perception and cognition in schizophrenia. His doctorate was awarded in 1969, after completion of his internship at the Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute in San Francisco. John was hired in 1969 as an assistant professor in the new and exciting psychology department (founded in 1965) at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. That department remained his academic home for his entire career. Outside of his academic pursuits, John was an avid New York Giants fan, an extensive traveler, an excellent skier and tennis player, a music lover and jukebox collector, an outstanding cook, a terrific dancer, and a devoted dog owner. He continued to pursue these interests throughout his life, taking cooking classes, traveling to exotic locales with his wife Gail, and, when his health precluded more rigorous athletic pursuits, faithfully walking and playing with his dogs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).