State-Space Analysis of Working Memory in Schizophrenia: An FBIRN Study

The neural correlates of working memory (WM) in schizophrenia (SZ) have been extensively studied using the multisite fMRI data acquired by the Functional Biomedical Informatics Research Network (fBIRN) consortium. Although univariate and multivariate analysis methods have been variously employed to localize brain responses under differing task conditions, important hypotheses regarding the representation of mental processes in the spatio-temporal patterns of neural recruitment and the differential organization of these mental processes in patients versus controls have not been addressed in this context. This paper uses a multivariate state-space model (SSM) to analyze the differential representation and organization of mental processes of controls and patients performing the Sternberg Item Recognition Paradigm (SIRP) WM task. The SSM is able to not only predict the mental state of the subject from the data, but also yield estimates of the spatial distribution and temporal ordering of neural activity, along with estimates of the hemodynamic response. The dynamical Bayesian modeling approach used in this study was able to find significant differences between the predictability and organization of the working memory processes of SZ patients versus healthy subjects. Prediction of some stimulus types from imaging data in the SZ group was significantly lower than controls, reflecting a greater level of disorganization/heterogeneity of their mental processes. Moreover, the changes in accuracy of predicting the mental state of the subject with respect to parametric modulations, such as memory load and task duration, may have important implications on the neurocognitive models for WM processes in both SZ and healthy adults. Additionally, the SSM was used to compare the spatio-temporal patterns of mental activity across subjects, in a holistic fashion and to derive a low-dimensional representation space for the SIRP task, in which subjects were found to cluster according to their diagnosis.     

An Introduction to Normalization and Calibration Methods in Functional MRI

In functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal is often interpreted as a measure of neural activity. However, because the BOLD signal reflects the complex interplay of neural, vascular, and metabolic processes, such an interpretation is not always valid. There is growing evidence that changes in the baseline neurovascular state can result in significant modulations of the BOLD signal that are independent of changes in neural activity. This paper introduces some of the normalization and calibration methods that have been proposed for making the BOLD signal a more accurate reflection of underlying brain activity for human fMRI studies.     

Religion and Military Policy Attitudes in America

The present study assesses the relationship between religious faith, worship discourse, and military policy attitudes among White Americans. Our work suggests that religious congregations are important spaces for Whites to potentially engage in dissenting political talk. We find that the degree to which congregations inform military policy attitudes, laity must be involved in political discussions. However, this study also suggests that religious faith plays a role in the degree to which political discussions had within worship spaces associates with anti-war attitudes. White Evangelical Protestants tend to be less opposed to aggressive military policy than others. These differences become particularly pronounced among Evangelical and Mainline Protestants as members of these religious faiths become involved in and/or exposed to social-political discussions within worship spaces.     

Partial word knowledge in the absence of recall

Attributes of words can be known even when the words are not currently retrievable. Although repeatedly demonstrated for semantic and contextual dimensions, the evidence is ambiguous for structural characteristics. The present research demonstrates significant above-chance first-letter knowledge across four ordinal levels of retrieval confidence for nonretrieved words—tip of the tongue (TOT), high familiar, low familiar, unfamiliar. Contrary to prior research, there was minimal evidence for syllable number knowledge, even at highest confidence levels. Initial letter recognition in the absence of retrieval resembles the recognition without identification in episodic memory (Cleary, Current Directions in Psychological Science 17: 353–357, 2008), and such implicit familiarity may contribute more generally to confidence assessments of word knowledge in both semantic and episodic memory domains. Furthermore, this outcome suggests that word feature priming in the form of partial phonological activation may occur to some extent for all words during a retrieval attempt, and even for ones that are judged to be unknown.     

Sad Kids,Sad Media? Applying Mood Management Theory to Depressed Adolescents' Use of Media

Mood management studies typically have found that adults will select media that enhance positive moods and reduce negative moods. In this study, adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder and control adolescents without psychiatric disorders were called on customized cell phones up to 4 times a day and asked about their current mood state and media use for five extended weekends across an 8-week period. Mood effects on subsequent media use, mood during media consumption, and media effects on subsequent mood were examined. Results indicated that adolescents who consumed fun media tended to do so in a way that sustained, rather than enhanced their prior positive mood levels during and after consumption-if they turned to media. Adolescents in more negative moods did not often use media to improve their moods. When they did, boys were more likely than girls to use media that ultimately reduced negative mood levels. Findings are discussed in light of the literature on mood management, adolescence, and depression.     

Gamelike features might not improve data

Many psychological experiments require participants to complete lots of trials in a monotonous task, which often induces boredom. An increasingly popular approach to alleviate such boredom is to incorporate gamelike features into standard experimental tasks. Games are assumed to be interesting and, hence, motivating, and better motivated participants might produce better data (with fewer lapses in attention and greater accuracy). Despite its apparent prevalence, the assumption that gamelike features improve data is almost completely untested. We test this assumption by presenting a choice task and a change detection task in both gamelike and standard forms. Response latency, accuracy, and overall task performance were unchanged by gamelike features in both experiments. We present a novel cognitive model for the choice task, based on particle filtering, to decorrelate the dependent variables and measure performance in a more psychologically meaningful manner. The model-based analyses are consistent with the hypothesis that gamelike features did not alter cognition. A postexperimental questionnaire indicated that the gamelike version provided a more positive and enjoyable experience for participants than the standard task, even though this subjective experience did not translate into data effects. Although our results hold only for the two experiments examined, the gamelike features we incorporated into both tasks were typical of—and at least as salient and interesting as those usually used by—experimental psychologists. Our results suggest that modifying an experiment to include gamelike features, while leaving the basic task unchanged, may not improve the quality of the data collected, but it may provide participants with a better experimental experience.     

A comparison of self-complexity in the United States and South Korea

Self-complexity, a measure of self-concept structure consisting of number of self-aspects and relatedness of self-aspects, was compared in the United States and South Korea. University students in each country completed measures of self-complexity and self-construal. In two studies, participants from South Korea had more self-aspects and overall self-complexity (as measured by H) than participants from the United States. Self-construal was not responsible for these differences. In addition, a comparison of previous self-complexity research carried out in different countries supports the conclusion that people from East Asian countries have more self-aspects than people from the United States. The results are discussed in terms of broader cultural differences in psychological phenomena.     

Experiencing Racial Humor with Outgroups: A Psychophysiological Examination of Co-Viewing Effects

Research on co-viewing (or group viewing) is scarce. Yet, co-viewing has important implications for the viewers’ entertainment experience and the way viewers respond to and evaluate entertainment—especially those with controversial messages. The present study investigated responses to racial humor content among racial in-group and out-group viewing contexts. Specifically, the study examined the extent to which Blacks and Whites would experience discomfort when viewing racial slurs in comedies with in-group compared to out-group members. Employing real-time psychophysiological data and multilevel time series models, the study found a significant increase in emotional arousal (indicated by SCRs) and distraction (indicated by RSA) among Blacks in the context of out-group viewing compared to in-group viewing, but not for Whites. Implications of findings are discussed.     

Housing Experiences of Recent Immigrants to Canada’s Small Cities: the Case of North Bay,Ontario

Adequate, suitable and affordable housing is one of the basic needs that must be successfully attained in the process of immigrant integration into a community. This case study consisting of semi-structured interviews and focus groups with new immigrants and landlords centres particularly on the housing experiences of immigrants in North Bay, a small city in Northeast Ontario. North Bay, like many small urban centres in Canada, has undertaken an immigration strategy in order to counter demographic challenges and boost economic development. The housing experiences were examined in terms of suitability given household size and composition, affordability relative to the immigrants’ financial resources as well as ownership and dwelling type. The connection between the immigrant’s housing experiences, their interactions with neighbours and landlords and their perceptions of the city as a welcoming community were also explored. Generally, the immigrants who participated in the study were satisfied with their current housing situation. Several participants were surprised to find a limited and older housing stock in North Bay and rental prices that were not significantly different from the larger cities they had left. Their housing experiences tended to either have a positive impact on their perceptions of the city or not at all. Policy implications and recommendations are also discussed.