Anterior Temporal Lobectomy,Hippocampal Sclerosis,and Memory: Recent Neuropsychological Findings

Anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) is an effective and increasingly utilized treatment for nonlesional, intractable mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. However, this surgery results in domain-specific neuropsychological morbidity for a subset of patients. Within the past decade, multidisciplinary studies have revealed that left ATL patients without significant sclerosis in the resected hippocampus are most at risk for a substantial postacute decline in the ability to encode new verbal information. These patients are also at risk for a significant decrement in confrontation naming and other retrieval-based language abilities. The memory deficit is not attributable to this disruption of language. A relationship between hippocampal sclerosis (HS) status and memory performance has not been identified consistently in right ATL patients, but investigation of new visuospatial measures continues. The influence of variables other than HS on neuropsychological outcome is also discussed.     

When I saw me standing there: first-person and third-person memories and future projections,and how they relate to the self

We studied visual perspective of three autobiographical memories and three projected future events (i.e. whether the events were experienced from a first-person or third-person perspective, or in between) in 117 undergraduate students. Perspective proved to be a reliable individual-differences variable. The majority of narratives trended toward the first-person perspective, with memories more likely to yield first-person perspective than future events. Perspective was predicted by detail (higher level of participant-reported visual detail was more likely to elicit first-person perspective), and temporal distance (events reported as being further away in time were more likely to elicit third-person perspective). Detail, in turn, was explained (among others) by the individual-differences variable of depression/social uncertainty (a factor-derived scale consisting of rumination scales, the inverse of the Sense Of Self Scale, the Social Phobia Scale, and, to a lesser extent, the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale). Generally, predictors for memories and future events overlapped. The results underscore the need for including individual-differences variables in research on the determinants of memory perspective.     

Frequency of Prayer and Functional Health in Presbyterian Pastors

The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship of frequency of prayer to eight subcategories of physical and mental health. As part of the ongoing Presbyterian Panel, 1,412 active Presbyterian pastors drawn from a national, random sample were surveyed by mail regarding their frequency of prayer and self-perceptions of health outcomes. The results indicated a high level of functioning overall for all eight categories of physical and mental health. Predictably, frequency of prayer was extremely skewed towards high frequency. Despite a lack of variation in both health and prayer, high frequency of prayer was significantly related to higher scores in three health outcomes: vitality, general health, and mental health. These relationships remained significant in the analysis even after controlling for the influence of demographic variables, such as gender and age. Various explanations of the results are explored.     

The Effects of Trait Driving Anger, Anonymity, and Aggressive Stimuli on Aggressive Driving Behavior

We examined the effects of trait driving anger, aggressive stimuli, and anonymity on aggressive driving behavior in a driving simulation task. High and low driving anger participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (a) anonymous vs. identifiable driver; and (b) exposure to aggressive stimuli versus nonaggressive stimuli. Participants drove more aggressively when they were anonymous (d = .28) and exposed to aggressive stimuli (d = .05). Males drove more aggressively than did females (d = .06). No main or interaction effects were found for trait driving anger. Results suggest that situational factors affecting other forms of aggression are also important in aggressive driving.     

Predicting the extent and stressfulness of problem rumors at home among Army wives of soldiers deployed overseas on a humanitarian mission.

Nearly 500 civilian wives of enlisted soldiers from Fort Drum, New York were surveyed about the extent to which they experienced, as problems, rumors about what was happening in Somalia and when their soldier would return from the Operation Restore Hope deployment to Somalia in 1993. Rumors, as problems, were cited less frequently than loneliness, fears about the soldier's safety, or ignorance of the situation in Somalia but more frequently than problems with communication, finances, or legal issues. The strongest initial predictor of such problems was having communication problems with the soldier. Other significant predictors included length of deployment, soldier's rank, and unit support systems. More frequent use of telephone or regular mail, however, did not appear to reduce such rumors. Stressfulness of rumors appeared to be reduced by good unit leadership, good family support groups, and better emotional adaptability to deployment by spouses, while increased by reliance on surface mail for communication with one's deployed spouse. Subsequent analyses indicated that having fears about the safety of one's soldier or concerns about not knowing what was going on in Somalia were also significantly correlated with rumors as problems. Our results may support hypotheses that rumors serve to fill gaps in official information and justify spouses' anxieties regarding the safety of their deployed soldier.     

The influence of stimulus properties on multisensory processing in the awake primate superior colliculus.

Multisensory integration is a process whereby information converges from different sensory modalities to produce a response that is different from that elicited by the individual modalities presented alone. A neural basis for multisensory integration has been identified within a variety of brain regions, but the most thoroughly examined model has been that of the superior colliculus (SC). Multisensory processing in the SC of anaesthetized animals has been shown to be dependent on the physical parameters of the individual stimuli presented (e.g., intensity, direction, velocity) as well as their spatial relationship. However, it is unknown whether these stimulus features are important, or evident, in the awake behaving animal. To address this question, we evaluated the influence of physical properties of sensory stimuli (visual intensity, direction, and velocity; auditory intensity and location) on sensory activity and multisensory integration of SC neurons in awake, behaving primates. Monkeys were trained to fixate a central visual fixation point while visual and/or auditory stimuli were presented in the periphery. Visual stimuli were always presented within the contralateral receptive field of the neuron whereas auditory stimuli were presented at either ipsi- or contralateral locations. Many of the SC neurons responsive to these sensory stimuli (n = 66/84; 76%) had stronger responses when the visual and auditory stimuli were combined at contralateral locations than when the auditory stimulus was located on the ipsilateral side. This trend was significant across the population of auditory-responsive neurons. In addition, some SC neurons (n = 31) were presented a battery of tests in which the quality of one stimulus of a pair was systematically manipulated. A small proportion of these neurons (n = 8/31; 26%) showed preferential responses to stimuli with specific physical properties, and these preferences were not significantly altered when multisensory stimulus combinations were presented. These data demonstrate that multisensory processing in the awake behaving primate is influenced by the spatial congruency of the stimuli as well as their individual physical properties.     

Individual Religiosity,Moral Community,and Drug User Treatment

Some scholars have suggested that individual religiosity inhibits deviant behavior. Others have suggested that behavior is more responsive to the influence of religiously‐oriented moral communities than to the religiosity of individuals. Still others have suggested that non‐religious moral communities, such as sports teams or self‐help recovery groups, are just as effective as religious moral communities. The current article examines the associations between addicts' reductions in drug and alcohol use and religiosity, increase in church attendance, and increase in addiction self‐help recovery group attendance, following participation in publicly funded treatment programs. Results indicate that increase in self‐help recovery group attendance and church attendance were independently associated with reduction in alcohol use. Only increase in church attendance was significantly associated with reduction in cocaine use. Self‐assessed religious conviction was not associated with changes in drug use.     

Consensus scoring, correct responses and reliability of the MSCEIT V2

The scoring protocol adopted by the MSCEIT V2 has been criticised since its development. The present study raises questions regarding the value of consensus scoring by analysing responses within the categorical subscales of Changes and Blends using the Optimal Scaling technique within the Categorical Principal Components Analysis (CATPCA) via Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), (n = 206). On a number of occasions, there was no clear agreement as to the “correct” response to items within these categorical subscales. Such an issue seems integral to the application of the MSCEIT V2 and one which deserves more attention. On a more positive note, improvements were made to the reliabilities of the subscales of Changes and Blends, using Optimal Scaling, but less so for Changes. Nevertheless, this raises the possibility of improving the reliabilities of other subscales in the MSCEIT V2 and in turn improving the power of subsequent statistical tests.     

A Model Theory of Modal Reasoning

This paper presents a new theory of modal reasoning, i.e. reasoning about what may or may not be the case, and what must or must not be the case. It postulates that individuals construct models of the premises in which they make explicit only what is true. A conclusion is possible if it holds in at least one model, whereas it is necessary if it holds in all the models. The theory makes three predictions, which are corroborated experimentally. First, conclusions correspond to the true, but not the false, components of possibilities. Second, there is a key interaction: it is easier to infer that a situation is possible as opposed to impossible, whereas it is easier to infer that a situation is not necessary as opposed to necessary. Third, individuals make systematic errors of omission and of commission. We contrast the theory with theories based on formal rules.     

A social identity model of riot diffusion: From injustice to empowerment in the 2011 London riots

Previous research has shown that riots spread across multiple locations, but has not explained underlying psychological processes. We examined rioting in three locations during the August 2011 disorders in England to test a social identity model of riot diffusion. We triangulated multiple sources to construct a narrative of events; and we analysed interviews with 68 participants to examine experiences. In line with the model, we found evidence for two pathways of influence: “cognitive” and “strategic”. For some participants, previous rioting was highly self-relevant, and shared identity was the basis of their subsequent involvement. For others, previous rioting was empowering because it demonstrated the vulnerability of a common enemy (the police). In each location, interaction dynamics mediated the link between initial perceptions and collective action. The utility of this social identity approach is that it is able to account for both the boundaries and the sequence of urban riot diffusion.