Short-term effects of a multi-disciplinary cardiac rehabilitation programme on psychological well-being, exercise capacity and weight in a sample of obese in-patients with coronary heart disease: a practice-level study

Given that many patients referred to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) are obese, diet therapy, exercise training, nutritional and psychological counselling for both obesity and psychological distress should be included as important components in all CR programmes. In this practice-level, observational study we evaluated the short-term within-group effects of a four-week multi-factorial inpatient CR programme specifically addressed to weight loss, fitness improvement and psychological health increase on 176 obese in-patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Outcome measures were exercise capacity measured with estimated metabolic equivalents (METs), body mass index (BMI) and psychological well-being (PGWBI). Results show statistically significant improvements in all the PGWBI sub-scales and total score, except in general health (p = 0.393). No moderation effects were found for BMI class, age, diabetes and ejection fraction (EF). METs significantly increased by 30.3% (p < 0.001) and BMI decreased by 1.37 points (p < 0.001). Significant correlations were found between BMI and weight reductions with PGWBI anxiety and total score improvements. This multi-disciplinary CR programme including diet therapy, exercise training and psychological counselling provides indication for short-term within-group effectiveness on functional exercise capacity, BMI and PGWBI in a sample of obese in-patients with CHD. However, controlled studies are needed to corroborate the results we found.     

Training attentional control in older adults

Recent research has demonstrated benefits for older adults from training attentional control using a variable priority strategy, but the construct validity of the training task and the degree to which benefits of training transfer to other contexts are unclear. The goal of this study was to characterize baseline performance on the training task in a sample of 105 healthy older adults and to test for transfer of training in a subset (n?=?21). Training gains after 5 days and extent of transfer was compared to another subset (n?=?20) that served as a control group. Baseline performance on the training task was characterized by a two-factor model of working memory and processing speed. Processing speed correlated with the training task. Training gains in speed and accuracy were reliable and robust (ps <.001, η(2)?=?.57 to .90). Transfer to an analogous task was observed (ps <.05, η(2)?=?.10 to .17). The beneficial effect of training did not translate to improved performance on related measures of processing speed. This study highlights the robust effect of training and transfer to a similar context using a variable priority training task. Although processing speed is an important aspect of the training task, training benefit is either related to an untested aspect of the training task or transfer of training is limited to the training context.     

Negative emotional processing induced by spoken scenarios modulates corticospinal excitability

Emotion is assumed to facilitate the preparation of behavioral responses to environmental stimuli. In the present study, we examined whether emotional processing induced by spoken scenarios of positive and negative content, related to the self or to other people, modulates corticospinal excitability. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in 20 volunteers indicated that processing of negative emotional content increased MEP amplitude, regardless of the perspective taken in the scenario. By contrast, positive emotional processing did not reliably alter MEP amplitude. These results provide the first TMS evidence that the auditory processing of emotionally negative information triggers action preparation.     

Tracking and capture of constant and varying velocity stimuli: a cross-species comparison of pigeons and humans

The mechanisms underlying tracking and capture of moving objects in non-human animals are poorly understood. This set of experiments sought to further explore aspects of anticipatory tracking in pigeons and to conduct comparisons with human participants. In Experiment 1a, pigeons were presented with two types of varying velocities (fast-slow-fast or slow-fast-slow) in separate phases. They were readily able to track and anticipate both of these motion types. To examine the effects of predictability on anticipatory tracking, Experiment 1b presented the pigeons with the same two varying velocities randomly intermixed within a session. This resulted in reduced capture success, later capture, and errors that no longer anticipated ahead of the motion, suggesting that the anticipatory mechanism had been disrupted. This implies that the mechanisms involved in pigeon tracking are different from the predictive extrapolation mechanism proposed in humans. Experiment 2 tested this by presenting adult humans with a tracking task that was similar to tasks previously received by the pigeons. The capture behavior of humans was similar to the pigeons, but the errors revealed different processes underlying their tracking behavior.     

Spiritual well-being and spiritual practices in elderly depressed psychiatric inpatients

This study's aims were to describe the spirituality of depressed elderly psychiatric inpatients and to examine associations among spirituality, depression, and quality of life (QOL). Forty-five persons participated. Most reported frequent, stable spiritual practices and experiencing spiritual comfort and guidance. Some reported spiritual distress and changes in spirituality. During hospitalization, participants demonstrated increased spiritual well-being (SWB) and peacefulness, and reduced hopelessness, worthlessness, and guilt. Positive associations were found between SWB and QOL and negative associations between SWB and depression.     

A model for removing the increased recall of recent events from the temporal distribution of autobiographical memory

The reminiscence bump is the tendency to recall relatively many personal events from the period in which the individual was between 10 and 30 years old. This effect has only been found in autobiographical memory studies that used participants who were older than 40 years of age. The increased recall of recent events possibly obscures the reminiscence bump in the results of younger participants. In this study, a model was proposed that removes the increase for recent events from the temporal distribution. The model basically estimates a retention function based on the 10 most recent years from the observed distributions and divides the observed distributions by predictions derived from the estimated retention function. The model was examined with three simulated data sets and one experimental data set. The results of the experiment offered two practical examples of how the model could be used to investigate the temporal distribution of autobiographical memories.     

Gender dimorphic effects of voluntary running in laboratory rats depends on maturational status

This study examined the effect of 24?hr per day wheel access on running, body weight, and food intake for 30- or 50-day-old male and female rats under ad lib feeding conditions. Food intake and body weight were also monitored in a control group housed without access to running wheels. A dimorphic effect was observed after wheel introduction in 50-day-old but not 30-day-old rats: A temporary decline in food intake and a lasting decrease in body weight occurred for active male rats in comparison to their sedentary controls, and wheel access facilitated food intake and preserved body weight gain in female rats in comparison to their sedentary counterparts. Hyperphagia in adult females is interpreted in terms of the evolutionary acquired advantage linked to their reproductive function.