Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli

Putting feelings into words (affect labeling) has long been thought to help manage negative emotional experiences; however, the mechanisms by which affect labeling produces this benefit remain largely unknown. Recent neuroimaging studies suggest a possible neurocognitive pathway for this process, but methodological limitations of previous studies have prevented strong inferences from being drawn. A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of affect labeling was conducted to remedy these limitations. The results indicated that affect labeling, relative to other forms of encoding, diminished the response of the amygdala and other limbic regions to negative emotional images. Additionally, affect labeling produced increased activity in a single brain region, right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (RVLPFC). Finally, RVLPFC and amygdala activity during affect labeling were inversely correlated, a relationship that was mediated by activity in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). These results suggest that affect labeling may diminish emotional reactivity along a pathway from RVLPFC to MPFC to the amygdala.     

The effects of rational and experiential information processing of expert testimony in death penalty cases

Past research examining the effects of actuarial and clinical expert testimony on defendants' dangerousness in Texas death penalty sentencing has found that jurors are more influenced by less scientific pure clinical expert testimony and less influenced by more scientific actuarial expert testimony (Krauss & Lee, 2003; Krauss & Sales, 2001). By applying cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST) to juror decision-making, the present study was undertaken in an attempt to offer a theoretical rationale for these findings. Based on past CEST research, 163 mock jurors were either directed into a rational mode or experiential mode of processing. Consistent with CEST and inconsistent with previous research using the same stimulus materials, results demonstrate that jurors in a rational mode of processing more heavily weighted actuarial expert testimony in their dangerousness assessments, while those jurors in the experiential condition were more influenced by clinical expert testimony. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

The peculiar longevity of things not so bad

Abstract— Intense hedonic states trigger psychological processes that are designed to attenuate them, and thus intense states may abate more quickly than mild states. Because people are unaware of these psychological processes, they may mistakenly expect intense states to last longer than mild ones. In Study 1, participants predicted that the more they initially disliked a transgressor, the longer their dislike would last. In Study 2, participants predicted that their dislike for a transgressor who hurt them a lot would last longer than their dislike for a transgressor who hurt them a little, but precisely the opposite was the case. In Study 3, participants predicted that their dislike for a transgressor who hurt them a lot would last longer than their dislike for a transgressor who hurt someone else a lot, but precisely the opposite was the case. These errors of prediction are discussed as instances of a more general phenomenon known as the region-β paradox.     

Preventing clinical deterioration in the course of schizophrenia: the potential for neuroprotection

Schizophrenia, which has both genetic and environmental causes, is associated with persistent symptoms and severe functional disability. The illness lies dormant during the premorbid phase and begins to express itself during adolescence or early adulthood. Clinical progression and deterioration reaches a plateau in which the patient is said to be in the chronic phase of illness and at which point restoration of prior functioning is unlikely. The severe deficits associated with schizophrenia are often the result of progression of illness due to lack of appropriate treatment. However, recent advances in neuropsychiatry have led to very early identification of individuals at risk for psychosis, even during the prodromal stage when psychosis has not yet manifested clinically. While research has demonstrated that the efficacy of antipsychotics is limited when used during the chronic phase of illness, these medications can effectively control symptoms and prevent progression of illness when used during the early stages of illness. The evidence of neural degeneration in the pathophysiology of schizophrenic illness suggests that there may be treatment opportunities through neural protection. Neuroprotection, which refers to treatment that helps maintain central nervous system functionality in response to neurobiologic stress, may be responsible for prevention of disease progression and deterioration. In this monograph, Jeffrey L. Lieberman, MD, introduces the phases of schizophrenic illness in relation to the concepts of progression and deterioration. Next, Dolores Malaspina, MD, reviews the neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative components of schizophrenia. Finally, L. Fredrik Jarskog, MD, focuses on the neuroprotective aspects of therapeutic interventions in schizophrenia.     

A rule-based categorization deficit in Alzheimer's disease?

This study examined the categorization processes that Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients use during assessments of semantic memory. Rule-based categorization involves the careful, analytic processing of strict criteria to determine category membership, particularly for items from graded categories with ambiguous category membership; similarity-based categorization requires an overall comparison of a test stimulus with a prototype or remembered exemplar of the category and is relatively effective for the rapid categorization of items with unambiguous category membership. To assess these processes in AD, patients were asked to decide the category membership of test stimuli for categories with poorly defined or fuzzy boundaries (e.g., VEGETABLE) and for categories with well-defined boundaries (e.g., FEMALE) and then to judge the representativeness of the test stimulus for its chosen category. A subgroup of AD patients demonstrated a typical pattern of impaired semantic memory compared to healthy control subjects; that is, difficulty deciding the category membership of test items from fuzzy categories. Among these patients, we found no deficit in category membership decisions about items taken from well-defined categories. We also found that AD patients and healthy controls do not differ in their representativeness judgments of items within a correctly judged category. These findings are most consistent with the hypothesis that rule-based categorization difficulty limits semantic memory in AD.     

Do amnesics exhibit cognitive dissonance reduction? The role of explicit memory and attention in attitude change

In two studies, we investigated the roles of explicit memory and attentional resources in the process of behavior-induced attitude change. Although most theories of attitude change (cognitive dissonance and self-perception theories) assume an important role for both mechanisms, we propose that behavior-induced attitude change can be a relatively automatic process that does not require explicit memory for, or consciously controlled processing of, the discrepancy between attitude and behavior. Using a free-choice paradigm, we found that both amnesics and normal participants under cognitive load showed as much attitude change as did control participants.     

Associations between prenatal substance exposure,prenatal violence victimization,unintended pregnancy,and trauma exposure in childhood in a clinical setting

Given the importance of early prevention and intervention strategies for children exposed to trauma, detection of early risk factors for exposure to traumatic events in childhood is critical. The present study examined associations between three known prenatal risk factors that characterize environmental instability in utero—prenatal substance exposure, prenatal violence victimization, and unintended pregnancy—and child exposure to interparental violence and other adverse experiences in a sample of 198 mother–child dyads (M child age = 44.48 months) referred to a hospital clinic for treatment following exposure to trauma. Prenatal substance and violence exposure were associated with child trauma exposure, and prenatal violence victimization was also associated with maternal severity ratings of traumatic exposures. Unintended pregnancy was not associated with child trauma exposure or severity. These findings expand our understanding of prenatal risk factors for trauma exposure in childhood and, specifically, highlight prenatal substance exposure and violence victimization as risk factors for subsequent exposure to trauma in early childhood. Results suggest that prenatal prevention and intervention programs should target reducing maternal substance use and in-utero exposure to violence.     

Cognitive resource limitations during sentence comprehension in Parkinson's disease

We report a single-case study of peripherally acquired dyslexia that meets the clinical criteria of "alexia without agraphia." The patient, AA, has a large infarct involving the left posterior cerebral artery. The most striking feature is a severe impairment in recognizing single visually presented letters that precludes explicit or implicit access to reading, even in a letter-by-letter fashion. AA can, however, differentiate letters from similar nonsense characters and digits, and he is also able to identify alphanumeric signs when the visual channel is bypassed (through somesthesic or kinesthesic presentation). Spelling tasks are also well performed. Since there is a breakdown in mapping a visually presented letter to its abstract graphemic representation, we propose the term "visuographemic alexia" for this kind of reading disorder. The pattern of deficits is interpreted following theoretical models previously developed in cognitive neuropsychology. An alexia for arabic numerals with preserved comprehension lends additional support for the crucial processing of different notational systems (e.g., phonographic vs logographic). More general perceptive disorders do not seem to account for these patterns; they are material-specific. Finally, we attempt to specify functional correlations with the implied neural networks.     

“Not Tied Up Neatly with a Bow”: Professionals’ Challenging Cases in Informed Consent for Genomic Sequencing

As the use of genomic technology has expanded in research and clinical settings, issues surrounding informed consent for genome and exome sequencing have surfaced. Despite the importance of informed consent, little is known about the specific challenges that professionals encounter when consenting patients or research participants for genomic sequencing. We interviewed 29 genetic counselors and research coordinators with considerable experience obtaining informed consent for genomic sequencing to understand their experiences and perspectives. As part of this interview, 24 interviewees discussed an informed consent case they found particularly memorable or challenging. We analyzed these case examples to determine the primary issue or challenge represented by each case. Challenges fell into two domains: participant understanding, and facilitating decisions about testing or research participation. Challenges related to participant understanding included varying levels of general and genomic literacy, difficulty managing participant expectations, and contextual factors that impeded participant understanding. Challenges related to facilitating decision-making included complicated family dynamics such as disagreement or coercion, situations in which it was unclear whether sequencing research would be a good use of participant time or resources, and situations in which the professional experienced disagreement or discomfort with participant decisions. The issues highlighted in these case examples are instructive in preparing genetics professionals to obtain informed consent for genomic sequencing.