Change blindness blindness: beliefs about the roles of intention and scene complexity in change detection

Observers have difficulty detecting visual changes. However, they are unaware of this inability, suggesting that people do not have an accurate understanding of visual processes. We explored whether this error is related to participants' beliefs about the roles of intention and scene complexity in detecting changes. In Experiment 1 participants had a higher failure rate for detecting changes in an incidental change detection task than an intentional change detection task. This effect of intention was greatest for complex scenes. However, participants predicted equal levels of change detection for both types of changes across scene complexity. In Experiment 2, emphasizing the differences between intentional and incidental tasks allowed participants to make predictions that were less inaccurate. In Experiment 3, using more sensitive measures and accounting for individual differences did not further improve predictions. These findings suggest that adults do not fully understand the role of intention and scene complexity in change detection.     

Memory enhancement of classical fear conditioning by post-training injections of corticosterone in rats

There is extensive evidence that post-training administration of the adrenocortical hormone corticosterone facilitates memory consolidation processes in a variety of contextual and spatial-dependent learning situations. The present experiments examine whether corticosterone can modulate memory of auditory-cue classical fear conditioning, a learning task that is not contingent on contextual or spatial representations. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received three pairings of a single-frequency auditory stimulus and footshock, followed immediately by a post-training subcutaneous injection of either corticosterone (1.0 or 3.0mg/kg) or vehicle. Retention was tested 24h later in a novel test chamber and suppression of ongoing motor behavior served as the measure of conditioned fear. Corticosterone dose-dependently facilitated suppression of motor activity during the 10-s presentation of the auditory cue. As corticosterone administration did not alter responding after unpaired presentations of tone and shock, tone alone, shock alone or absence of tone/shock, the findings indicated that corticosterone selectively facilitated memory of the tone-shock association. Furthermore, injections of corticosterone given 3h after training did not alter motor activity during retention testing, demonstrating that corticosterone enhanced time-dependent memory consolidation processes. These findings provide evidence that corticosterone modulates the consolidation of memory for auditory-cue classical fear conditioning and are consistent with a wealth of data indicating that glucocorticoids can modulate a wide variety of emotionally influenced memories.     

Adherence across behavioral domains in treatment promoting smoking cessation plus weight control.

The authors tested whether adherence to simultaneous health behavior changes was unitary or domain specific among 76 women who modified smoking, eating, and physical activity to accomplish smoking cessation plus weight control. Random-effects regression analyses showed that adherence to both smoking and diet plans declined linearly and covaried positively; their association tended to grow stronger over time. In contrast, physical activity plan adherence did not change over time and was unrelated to other domains. At the end of treatment, 65%, 30.5%, and 25% adhered well or excellently to smoking, diet, and activity treatments, respectively. Findings support both unitary and domain-specific aspects of adherence and suggest that among smokers, smoking and eating behaviors may have similarities unshared by physical activity.     

Post-exercise pulse pressure is a better predictor of executive function than pre-exercise pulse pressure in cognitively normal older adults

Exercise “stress tests” are widely used to assess cardiovascular function and to detect abnormalities. In line with the view of exercise as a stressor, the present study examined the relationship between cognitive function and cardiovascular activity before and after light physical exercise in a sample of 84 non-demented community-dwelling older adults. Based on known relationships between hypertension, executive function and cerebral white matter changes, we hypothesized that greater post-exercise reactivity, as indexed by higher pulse pressure, would be more related to worse performance on frontal-executive tasks than pre-exercise physiologic measures. All participants were administered a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and underwent a Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT), with blood pressure (BP) measures obtained immediately before and after the walk. Pulse pressure (PP) was derived from BP as an indicator of vascular auto-regulation and composite scores were computed for each cognitive domain assessed. As predicted, worse executive function scores exhibited a stronger relationship with post-exercise PP than pre-exercise PP. Results suggest that PP following system stress in the form of walking may be more reflective of the state of vascular integrity and associated executive dysfunction in older adults than baseline physiologic measures.     

Identifying Unmet Mental Health Needs in Children of Formerly Homeless Mothers Living in a Supportive Housing Community Sector of Care

This study reports psychosocial characteristics of a sample of 111 children (K to 2nd grade) and their mothers who were living in urban supportive housings. The aim of this study was to document the various types and degree of risk endemic to this population. First, we describe the psychosocial characteristics of this homeless sample. Second, we compared this homeless sample with a grade-matched, high-risk, school-based sample of children (n = 146) who were identified as showing early symptoms of disruptive behaviors. Third, we compared the parents in both samples on mental health, parenting practices, and service utilization. Results showed that children living in supportive housing were in the at-risk range and had comparable levels of externalizing problems, internalizing problems, school problems and emotional strengths with the school-based risk sample receiving prevention services at a family support community agency. Mothers in supportive housing reported significantly higher psychological distress, less optimal parenting practices and greater service utilization. These findings are among the first to provide empircal support for the need to deliver prevention interventions in community sectors of care.     

What Do Genetic Counselors Learn on the Job? A Qualitative Assessment of Professional Development Outcomes

Professional development is an important goal for professionals in human service fields such as counseling, teaching, and nursing. However, there are relatively few published papers on this topic specific to genetic counselors, and no studies systematically examine the outcomes of their professional development. This study was designed to investigate genetic counselors’ perceptions of their post-degree learning and to compare themes in their learning to those of psychotherapist professional development models. Two hundred ninety-three genetic counselors completed the demographics portion of an anonymous online survey, and of these, 185 also responded to at least one of two open-ended items: What is the most important thing you have learned about yourself in your practice as a genetic counselor? and What advice would you give to genetic counseling students just starting their career? An interpretative content-analysis method was used to extract three major themes: Intrapersonal lessons, Interpersonal lessons, and Professional lessons. Training and practice implications and research recommendations are provided.     

Concerns of South Korean Patients and Family Members Affected with Genetic Conditions: A Content Analysis of Internet Website Messages

The genetic counseling profession is expanding globally, and many countries, such as South Korea, are in the early stages of developing programs to prepare healthcare professionals specifically trained as genetic counselors. However, little research has investigated the concerns of South Korean patients and family members that have genetic conditions. The present study assessed their concerns by accessing and analyzing messages posted to websites devoted to genetic conditions. Eighteen websites were accessed—1 website concerns general genetic conditions, and 17 concern specific conditions. A sample of 700 messages was translated into English and analyzed using grounded theory analysis. Three major themes and 30 categories were extracted. The themes are: 1) Medical Concerns (e.g., clinical symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis, recurrence risk, prevention, inheritance); 2) Psychosocial Concerns (e.g., emotions, social stigma, social support); and 3) Management Concerns (e.g., therapy and alternative treatments, education, financial support, nutrition, medical facilities, folk remedies). The findings provide insight into the types of information and genetic counseling services that might benefit South Korean individuals and family members.     

Integrating interpersonal neurobiology with group psychotherapy

An understanding of the principles of neuroscience that illuminate how interpersonal relationships shape the brain, especially as articulated by interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB) (Siegel, 1999), may help group therapists 1) increase their holding capacity, 2) offer patients a framework that can decrease shame and increase regulation, and 3) identify methods of group interaction that can foster neuroplasticity, support neural integration, and lead to greater well-being and more fulfilling relationships. This paper introduces several aspects of neuroscience and discusses how therapist awareness and sharing of this knowledge with group participants at the right empathic moment can be both a psychoeducational support and a promoter of neural integration. While numerous neuroscience topics may be of help, here we will suggest three: early brain development, including the nature of implicit, explicit, and autobiographical memory; group as a source of regulation (with a brief mention of mirror neurons); and four domains of neural integration that are particularly useful in the setting of group therapy.