Somatic Markers and Response Reversal: Is There Orbitofrontal Cortex Dysfunction in Boys with Psychopathic Tendencies?

This study investigated the performance of boys with psychopathic tendencies and comparison boys, aged 9 to 17 years, on two tasks believed to be sensitive to amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex functioning. Fifty-one boys were divided into two groups according to the Psychopathy Screening Device (PSD, P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, in press) and presented with two tasks. The tasks were the gambling task (A. Bechara, A. R. Damasio, H. Damasio, & S. W. Anderson, 1994) and the Intradimensional/Extradimensional (ID/ED) shift task (R. Dias, T. W. Robbins, & A. C. Roberts, 1996). The boys with psychopathic tendencies showed impaired performance on the gambling task. However, there were no group differences on the ID/ED task either for response reversal or extradimensional set shifting. The implications of these results for models of psychopathy are discussed.     

The importance of differentiation in young children’s acquisition of expertise

In a short-term longitudinal study, stories told about novel creatures conveyed information varying in its capability for differentiating. Depending on the context, a bodily feature could be functionally undifferentiated (FUF), meaning that its subtypes (e.g., eyes of two forms) shared a generic function (“seeing”), or functionally differentiated (FDF), meaning that each subtype’s function was unique to it (e.g., only a “hooded eye” could “see in a sandstorm”). 5- to 6-year-olds who heard 8 stories, but not those who heard only 4, cited FDFs more than FUFs in a pair-justification test of judged similarity; and their delayed recall of specific story events was greater when FDFs rather than FUFs were involved. In the absence of direct instruction, young children show sensitivity to the degree of differentiation afforded by feature-function relations.     

Embedding a functional analysis of compliance in small group instruction

Research on adaptations to standard functional analyses for use in classroom settings has increased in recent years. However, few studies have focused on procedural variations specific to assessing noncompliance in the context of academic instruction. In the current study, we trained a special education teacher to embed a functional analysis of compliance in small group instruction. The goal of the functional analysis was to identify an effective reinforcement contingency for compliance for a second grade student with an intellectual disability. Results suggested a combined escape + tangible contingency increased compliance to instructional prompts relative to other conditions. The functional analysis of compliance represents a variation on previous functional analyses of noncompliance with potential to increase ecological and social validity of assessment procedures for classroom settings.     

Sex and post-menopause hormone therapy effects on hippocampal volume and verbal memory

Many studies suggest sex differences in memory and hippocampal size, and that hormone therapy (HT) may positively affect these measures in women; however, the parameters of HT use that most likely confer benefits are debated. We evaluated the impact of sex and postmenopausal HT use on verbal learning and memory and hippocampal size in 94 cognitively intact women and 49 men. Using analysis of covariance that controlled for age and education, women had better total word learning and delayed verbal memory performance than men. HT analyses showed that non-HT users performed similarly to men, while HT users performed better than men in Delayed Memory regardless of whether use was current or in the past. Women had larger hippocampal volumes than men regardless of whether they were HT users. Using univariate linear models, we assessed group differences in the predictive value of hippocampal volumes for verbal learning and memory. Hippocampal size significantly predicted memory performance for men and non-HT users, but not for HT users. This lack of relationship between hippocampal size and verbal learning and memory performance in HT users suggests HT use may impact memory through extra-hippocampal neural systems.     

The development of executive function in early childhood is inversely related to change in body mass index: Evidence for an energetic tradeoff?

A well‐established literature demonstrates executive function (EF) deficits in obese children and adults relative to healthy weight comparisons. EF deficits in obesity are associated with overeating and impulsive consumption of high calorie foods leading to excess weight gain and to problems with metabolic regulation and low‐grade inflammation that detrimentally affect the structure and function of prefrontal cortex. Here, we test a complementary explanation for the relation between EF and body mass index (BMI) grounded in the energy demand of the developing brain. Recent work shows that the brain accounts for a lifetime peak of 66% of resting metabolic rate in childhood and that developmental changes in brain energetics and normative changes in body weight gain are closely inversely related. This finding suggests a trade‐off in early childhood between energy used to support brain development versus energy used to support physical growth and fat deposition. To test this theorized energetic trade‐off, we analyzed data from a large longitudinal sample (N = 1,292) and found that change in EF from age 3 to 5 years, as a proxy for brain development in energetically costly prefrontal cortex, is inversely related to change in BMI from age 2 to 5 years. Greater linear decline in BMI predicted greater linear increase in EF. We interpret this finding as tentative support for a brain–body energetic trade‐off in early childhood with implications for lifetime obesity risk.     

Adding motivational interviewing to exposure and ritual prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: an open pilot trial

Exposure and ritual prevention (EX/RP) is an efficacious treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but high dropout rates and variable treatment adherence limit its effectiveness. Motivational interviewing (MI) has shown promise as an adjunct to symptom-focused treatments for improving treatment adherence and outcomes. The authors developed a manual integrating MI with EX/RP, consisting of three information-gathering/motivational enhancement sessions and 15 EX/RP sessions with an optional MI module to be used as needed. Six patients with moderate to severe OCD symptoms (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale [Y-BOCS] score> or =16) underwent treatment. Five showed a decrease in their baseline Y-BOCS scores and an increase in their quality of life, with three achieving an excellent response (i.e. Y-BOCS< or =12 at Session 18). The authors briefly describe the motivational strategies used in the six cases and suggest that integrating MI with standard EX/RP is a promising method to increase and sustain patient engagement with EX/RP. Challenges in combining these treatments and maintaining the integrity of each as well as limitations of the study are discussed.     

Cumulating Evidence about the Social Animal: Meta‐Analysis in Social‐Personality Psychology

Like most scientific fields, social‐personality psychology has experienced an explosion of research related to such central topics as aggression, attraction, gender, group processes, motivation, personality, and persuasion, to name a few. The proliferation of research can be a monster unless it is tamed with the scientific review strategy of meta‐analysis, literally analyses of past analyses that produce a quantitative and empirical history of research on a particular phenomenon. The purpose of this article is to outline the basic process and statistics of meta‐analysis, as they pertain to social‐personality psychology. Meta‐analysis involves: (i) defining the problem under review; (ii) gathering qualified reports and putting their findings and methods into a database, (iii) analyzing that database, and (iv) interpreting the results and reporting them. Use of meta‐analytic strategies has paralleled the knowledge explosion in social‐personality psychology, but must be used and consumed with careful discernment if the cumulated evidence about the social animal, Homo sapiens, is to have maximal value.     

Brief motivational intervention with homeless adolescents: evaluating effects on substance use and service utilization.

A brief motivational intervention with 117 homeless adolescents was evaluated using a randomized design and 3-month follow-up. The intervention was designed to raise youths' concerns about their substance use, support harm reduction, and encourage greater service utilization at a collaborating agency. The study was designed to strengthen initial promising results of an earlier study (P. L. Peterson, J. S. Baer, E. A. Wells, J. A. Ginzler, & S. B. Garrett, 2006). Several modifications in the clinical protocol were included to enhance engagement with the intervention. Analyses revealed no significant benefits for intervention participants when homeless youths' substance use rates were compared with those of control participants. Service utilization during the intervention period increased for those receiving the intervention but returned to baseline levels at follow-up. Participants reported overall reductions in substance use over time. Differences between sampling methods for the current and previous study are discussed, as are the limitations of brief interventions with this population. Future research needs to elucidate mechanisms of change and service engagement for highly vulnerable youth.