Psychometric intelligence and visual evoked potentials: a replication

Previously we have reported significant correlations between EEG visual evoked potential (EP) parameters and scores on the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) test. This study is an attempt to replicate those findings in a new sample of 27 S s. The results provide further evidence that EP amplitude is related to intelligence-test performance. There is also confirmation that stimulus luminance levels influence the magnitude of EP amplitude/intelligence correlations. In addition, the results indicate that age may be a confounding variable.     

Electrical potentials of the cerebral cortex and psychometric intelligence

Contradictory findings concerning relationships between intelligence-test scores and different EEG evoked-potential (EP) measures have been reported. The positive findings suggest that intelligence is correlated with the number and amplitude of components in the EP waveform. Since there is evidence that both of these parameters are influenced by stimulus intensity, we examined the extent to which an EP/intelligence relationship may depend on stimulus intensity. In a sample of 22 Ss a relationship between EP amplitude and intelligence was found and the magnitude of this correlation was related systematically to stimulus intensity. The maximum correlation (r = 0.69) with scores on the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices was obtained at an intermediate level of intensity. These findings may account for some of the inconsistencies in the literature. Moreover, they suggest an explanation for higher general intelligence in terms of greater central activation of neural processes in response to normal levels of stimulation.     

Will Improving My Marriage Improve My Sleep?

An essential component to overall health and well-being is sleep. Likewise, being happily married is associated with better physical, mental, and emotional health. In the present study, we examined links between marital satisfaction (MS) and aspects of sleep quality (SQ) among married individuals (N = 88) aged 39 to 64 years. Data were collected at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Regression analyses showed that MS at baseline was positively associated with overall SQ and sleep disturbance frequency at baseline and was negatively associated with minutes to fall asleep at follow-up. Results suggested that participants with greater MS at baseline reported better overall SQ at baseline and falling asleep faster at follow-up. However, results varied when controlling for other relevant covariates (e.g., age, depression, pain). Additionally, a negative change in MS between baseline and follow-up was a positive predictor of sleep disturbance frequency at follow-up, suggesting that participants whose MS decreased over time were more likely to report more frequent sleep disturbances 6 months later. Findings indicate that MS is linked with various aspects of SQ in married, middle-aged adults. Clinical implications, limitations of the current study, and areas for future research are discussed.     

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.     

Sensuality and Altering Anthropology in Artificial Intelligence and Transhumanism

Responding to the 2015 J.K. Russell Fellow Noreen Herzfeld, this paper develops three themes: love, anthropology, and sin. The first section extends Herzfeld's treatment of the incarnation to her discussion of love. Appealing to Reinhold Niebuhr's theological anthropology, the second section examines how AI and transhumanism could affect human nature. The final section provides a complementary approach to Herzfeld's discussion of sin as pride by applying Niebuhr's understanding of sin as sensuality to AI and transhumanism.     

The influence of alcohol and weapon presence on eyewitness memory and confidence

In this quasi-experimental field study, bar drinkers (0.00–0.23% blood alcohol content) viewed a photographic sequence in which a male took a laptop from a helpdesk assistant, either on loan or at gunpoint. Following a brief retention period, participants answered 20 multiple-choice questions about the male, his actions, and details of the scene, then attempted to identify him from a simultaneous target-present or target-absent line-up. Alcohol was associated with a reduction in correct identifications and an increase in false identifications. Surprisingly, the presence of a weapon in the scene enhanced identification accuracy, though wider scene memory was not influenced by alcohol or the weapon. Findings offer some support for the view that alcohol restricts face encoding, perhaps through the narrowing of attention to salient external features (e.g., hair). We also suggest that curiosity about mock-crime perpetrators may produce weapon focus reversals, although the factors that might elicit such curiosity remain unclear.     

The factorial similarity of the WISC-R performance Scale in deaf and hearing samples

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC-R) Performance Scale metrics and subtest factor loadings, derived separately from deaf (N = 1228) and hearing (N = 2200) samples, are practically identical. Small mean differences are probably attributable to the higher incidence of brain damage among deaf children. In addition to demonstrating the absence of construct bias in WISC-R Performance IQ (PIQ) measurement for deaf children, the results contradict theories which propose linguistic bias as the cause of the white-black difference in Performance IQ. Spearman's hypothesis that white-black mental test differences are primarily a difference in g received significant support. The results indicate that cognition, as measured by PIQ, is virtually independent of language acquisition.