Hippocampal formation lesions impair performance in an odor-odor association task independently of spatial context

The rodent hippocampal system is known to play an important role in memory. Evidence that this role is not limited to spatial memory has come from studies using a variety of non-spatial memory tasks. One example is the social transmission of food preference paradigm, a task in which rats learn an odor-odor association with no explicit spatial memory component. However, because training and testing in this task typically take place in the same environment, it is possible that memory for the spatial context in which odors are experienced during training is critical to subsequent retention performance. If this is the case, it might be expected that lesions of the hippocampal system would impair memory performance by disrupting the establishment of a representation of the training environment. We addressed this issue by training rats in one spatial context and then testing them either in the same or a different spatial context. Normal control rats performed equally well when tested in an environment that was the same or different from that used during training, and the retention impairment exhibited by rats with hippocampus plus subiculum lesions was equivalent in the two test environments. These results support the view that the hippocampal system is necessary for the flexible expression of nonspatial memories even when the spatial context in which the memory is acquired is not critical to retrieval.     

Syllables and morphemes: contrasting frequency effects in Spanish

Three types of sublexical units were studied in Spanish visual word recognition: the syllable, the basic orthographic syllabic structure (BOSS), and the root morpheme. In Experiment 1, using a lexical-decision task, a typical inhibitory effect of the first-syllable frequency was found (while keeping constant the BOSS frequency) as well as the word-frequency effect. Experiment 2 examined the role of both the BOSS frequency and the word frequency, also in a lexical-decision task. Syllable frequency was controlled. Both the BOSS frequency and the word frequency showed facilitatory effects. However, in Experiments 3A and 3B, a facilitatory effect of the root frequency (when controlling for BOSS frequency) and a null effect of BOSS frequency (when controlling for root frequency) were found, suggesting that the BOSS effect is in fact reflecting a morpheme effect. A review of the current models shows that it is difficult to integrate syllables and morphemes in a unique model.     

Space and time,not surface features,guide object persistence

Successful visual perception relies on the ability to keep track of distinct entities as the same persisting objects from one moment to the next. This is a computationally difficult process and its underlying nature remains unclear. Here we use the object file framework to explore whether surface feature information (e.g., color, shape) can be used to compute such object persistence. From six experiments we find that spatiotemporal information (location as a function of time) easily determines object files, but surface features do not. The results suggest an unexpectedly strong constraint on the visual system’s ability to compute online object persistence.     

Social identities and intergroup bias in immigrant and nonimmigrant children

Ethnic and American identity, as well as positivity and negativity toward multiple social groups, were assessed in 392 children attending 2nd or 4th grade in various New York City neighborhoods. Children from 5 ethnic groups were recruited, including White and Black Americans, as well as recent immigrants from China, the Dominican Republic, and the former Soviet Union. For ethnic minority children, greater positivity bias (evaluating one's ingroup more positively than outgroups) was predicted by immigrant status and ethnic identity, whereas negativity bias (evaluating outgroups more negatively than one's ingroup) was associated with increased age, immigrant status, and (among 4th graders only) ethnic identity. In addition, a more central American identity was associated with less intergroup bias among ethnic minority children.     

Multimodal intervention program to improve attention deficits

Is it possible to learn to attend? The purpose of this article is to provide information about the development, administration, and contrast of an intervention program to improve selective and sustained attention in students from 5 to 19 years of age, all attending school, and with difficulties to learn the academic materials corresponding to their age. Two groups participated in the study: one with difficulties in selective attention and the other with difficulties in sustained attention. The group with selective attention difficulties was made up of 102 students, of whom 59 made up the experimental group and 43 the control group. The group of students with difficulties in sustained attention was made up of 106 students, of whom 58 participated as the experimental group and 48 as the control group. The results indicate that this kind of intervention (which combines visual therapy, cortical activation, and training with activity banks) is effective to improve attentional deficits, both at the level of selective attention and of sustained attention.     

Effect of incentives on retention in an outpatient treatment for cocaine addicts

The high drop-out rate in treatment programs is one of the most important problems in the area of drug addictions. This study evaluated the effect of the use of incentives on retention in an outpatient program for cocaine addicts. The effect of individual variables on program drop-out was also analysed. Participants were 66 subjects who were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: standard treatment, treatment with incentives I, and treatment with incentives II. The patients of these two groups received incentives contingent on cocaine abstinence with two different magnitudes. Retention rate at six months was 35% in the standard treatment, 78.6% in the treatment with incentives I, and 53.3% in the treatment with incentives II. The global prognostic capacity of the individual variables (sociodemographic, history and consumption pattern, psychopathological variables, and EuropASI scores) was 85.7%, with the psychopathological variables being more closely related to retention. These results suggest that the use of incentives may be an effective strategy to improve retention in outpatient treatments for cocaine addiction.     

Effects of the dialectical behavioral therapy-mindfulness module on attention in patients with borderline personality disorder

It is known that patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) show attention deficits and impulsivity. The main aim of this study was to explore the effects of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy-Mindfulness training (DBT-M), used as an adjunct to general psychiatric management (GPM), on attention variables in patients diagnosed with BPD. A second objective was to assess the relation of mindfulness formal practice on clinical variables. A sample of 60 patients with BPD was recruited. Forty of them were allocated to GPM + DBT-M treatment and the other 20 received GPM alone. At the termination of the mindfulness training, DBT-M + GPM group showed a significant improvement on commissions, hit reaction time, detectability scores from the CPT-II neuropsychological test, and also on the composite scores of inattention and impulsivity. Further, the more minutes of mindfulness practice were correlated to greater improvement in general psychiatric symptoms and affective symptomatology, but not in CPT-II measures. This is probably the first study so far assessing the effects of this single DBT module in patients with BPD. The results suggest a positive effect of such intervention on attention and impulsivity variables.     

Mother and Child Depressive Symptoms in Youth with Spina Bifida: Additive, Moderator, and Mediator Models

The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which parenting behaviors influence the relation between maternal and child depressive symptoms in youth with spina bifida and a comparison sample. Previous research has found that maternal depression not only negatively impacts the mother–child relationship, but also places the child at risk for developing depressive symptoms. However, certain parenting behaviors might buffer the association between maternal and youth depression. The influence of maternal depressive symptoms and parenting behavior (i.e., acceptance, behavioral control, psychological control) on youth depressive symptoms were examined in the context of three models: (1) an additive/cumulative risk model, (2) a moderator model, and (3) a mediator model. Data were examined longitudinally at five time points when youth were 8–9 through 16–17 years of age. Results supported an additive/cumulative risk model, but did not support the moderator or mediator models. Low maternal acceptance, high behavioral control, and high psychological control were risk factors for child depressive symptoms at several time points, with maternal depressive symptoms exerting an additional risk at later time points. A group difference between the spina bifida and comparison youth was not supported. Findings indicate that in general, maternal parenting behavior is salient throughout childhood and early adolescence, but maternal depressive symptoms do not exert an influence until mid-adolescence. Family interventions should aim to promote maternal mental health and maternal parenting behaviors to reduce the risk of the development of depressive symptoms in adolescence.     

Medical Genetics and Genetic Counseling in Chile

In the South American Republic of Chile genetic counseling is not currently recognized as an independent clinical discipline, and in general is provided by physicians with training in clinical genetics. At present only one genetic counselor and 28 clinical geneticists practice in this country of over 16 million inhabitants. Pediatric dysmorphology constitutes the primary area of practice in clinical genetics. Although the country has a universal health care system and an adequate level of health care, genetic conditions are not considered a health care priority and there is a lack of clinical and laboratory resources designated for clinical genetics services. Multiple educational, cultural and financial barriers exist to the growth and development of genetic counseling services in Chile. However, during the last 10 years increased awareness of the importance of identifying individuals at risk for inherited cancer syndromes led to growing interest in the practice of cancer genetics.     

Correspondence

Dorothy Judd: Give Sorrow Words: working with a dying child. Published by Free Association Books, 1989. £12.95.

Clifford Yorke, Stanley Wiseberg, Thomas Freeman: Development and Psychopathology — Studies in Psychoanalytic Psychiatry. Published by Yale University Press. £22.50.

Otto Weininger: Children's Phantasies. The Shaping of Relationships. Published by Karnac Books, 1989. £14.95.

Lynn Barnett: Enriching Day Care, 1989. Anna Freud Nursery, 1988. Buddle Lane, 1987. Available from Concorde Video Films Council Ltd., 201 Felixstowe Road, Ipswich, IP3 9BJ. Price £10 to hire, £30 + p.p. &; V.A.T. to buy.