Studying psychotherapy change in narrative terms: The innovative moments method

This paper aims to describe the Innovative Moments (IM) Coding System (IMCS), an idiographic and transtheoretical methodology that allows the identification of IMs—markers of changes in the client's initial maladaptive framework of meaning—throughout psychotherapy. The present study introduces the theoretical background underlying this methodology, along with the main empirical findings resulting from former studies that have applied this tool to clinical data. The IMCS application is also detailed: the coding phases, the training steps and inter‐rater agreement measures. In order to illustrate the application of IM coding, a case study is presented. Although a partial coding was used, the results are in line with previous research. Discussion is centred on the usefulness of the IMCS for the advance of process research in psychotherapy, and the potential use of this methodology in group format.     

Differences in the strength of distractor inhibition do not affect distractor–response bindings

Distractor inhibition and distractor–response binding were investigated in two experiments by analyzing distractor repetition benefits and their interaction with response repetition effects in a sequential-priming paradigm. Distractor repetition benefits were larger for distractors that were incompatible with the to-be-executed response (task-related distractors) than for distractors that were not assigned to a response (neutral distractors), indicating that the strength of distractor inhibition was a function of response interference for the distractors. In contrast, the distractor–response bindings were found to be of equal strength for both task-related and neutral distractors. Thus, differences in the strengths of distractor inhibition did not affect the integration of distractors with responses into event files. Instead, our results suggest that distractor–response binding and distractor inhibition are independent mechanisms that are recruited for the automatization of behavior and action control.     

Postural Control Complexity and Fatigue in Minimally Affected Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

This study investigated changes in postural control complexity in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) before and after a fatigue protocol. Thirteen minimally affected PwMS (1.53 ± 1.03- Expanded Disability Status Scale) and 12 non-MS controls. Postural test included quiet stance on a force platform under two visual conditions (saccades and fixation) before and after a fatigue protocol. Postural complexity was assessed through the multiscale entropy. A three-way ANOVA showed a main effect of fatigue in the medial-lateral direction (p <0.007), with fatigue protocol reducing postural complexity in both groups. No differences were found between groups or visual conditions. Minimally affected PwMS demonstrated similar postural complexity compared with non-MS controls under both visual tasks and showed similar decrements in postural complexity as a result of fatigue.     

Measuring Political Thinking: Development and Validation of a Scale for “Deliberation Within”

Compared to the concept of interpersonal deliberation, little is known about the underlying and preceding cognitive processes of citizens' deliberative discussions. The aim of this article is to develop a psychometric measurement for these processes, which—following an idea advanced by Goodin ( 2000, 2003 )—may be called “deliberation within.” The measurement is constructed based on theoretical definitions of the concept and further normative criteria of citizen deliberation. In three empirical studies using independent samples, the psychometric properties of the measurement are assessed, and evidence for its reliability as well as structural and criterion validity is offered. The resulting scale may serve as a useful instrument not only for deliberation research, but also for further communication research related to political processes.     

Affective matching moderates S-R binding

We investigated the moderating influence of affective matching on S-R binding processes in a sequential priming study in which positive and negative nouns had to be categorised as referring to a person or to an object. Irrelevant positive and negative distractor words (adjectives) were integrated with responses into S-R episodes if they had the same valence as the target (affective match condition). In this case, repeating the prime distractor in the probe led to a retrieval of the prime response, which facilitated performance for response repetition sequences but had no effect on performance when responses changed between prime and probe. However, if target and distractor had different valences (affective mismatch condition), no interaction of distractor relation and response relation occurred, indicating that distractors were less likely to be associated with responses into event files during the prime trial episode. Findings reveal that affective mismatches are detected automatically and modulate a binding of irrelevant information with responses.     

Influence of maternal reflective functioning on mothers’ and children's weight: A follow-up study

Based on cross-sectional research linking poor reflective functionining (RF) to eating disorders, the current follow-up study tested whether maternal RF would explain the variance of mothers’ and children's weight beyond the effects of maternal emotional dysregulation. During pregnancy (Time 1 [T1]), 51 women were administered the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and interviewed using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Seven months after delivery (Time 2 [T2]), mother–baby dyads who remained in the study (n = 44) were videotaped (Feeding Scale) during their feeding interaction. Last (Time 3 [T3]), the weight of the 34 children who were still in the study was collected at 3 years of age. Maternal AAI-RF at T1 did not correlate with the DERS at T1 nor with the quality of the feeding interacions at T2. However, it correlated, significantly, with maternal body mass index (BMI) at T1, r = −.298, P = .034, and marginally significantly with baby's BMI at T3, r = −.296, P = .089. Moreover, multiple regression models showed a trend indicating that maternal AAI-RF might explain the variance of mothers’ and children's weight beyond the effects of maternal emotional dysregulation. These findings suggest that working on maternal mentalization might contribute to helping prevent childhood obesity from pregnancy.     

Face engagement during infancy predicts later face recognition ability in younger siblings of children with autism

Face recognition difficulties are frequently documented in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It has been hypothesized that these difficulties result from a reduced interest in faces early in life, leading to decreased cortical specialization and atypical development of the neural circuitry for face processing. However, a recent study by our lab demonstrated that infants at increased familial risk for ASD, irrespective of their diagnostic status at 3 years, exhibit a clear orienting response to faces. The present study was conducted as a follow‐up on the same cohort to investigate how measures of early engagement with faces relate to face‐processing abilities later in life. We also investigated whether face recognition difficulties are specifically related to an ASD diagnosis, or whether they are present at a higher rate in all those at familial risk. At 3 years we found a reduced ability to recognize unfamiliar faces in the high‐risk group that was not specific to those children who received an ASD diagnosis, consistent with face recognition difficulties being an endophenotype of the disorder. Furthermore, we found that longer looking at faces at 7 months was associated with poorer performance on the face recognition task at 3 years in the high‐risk group. These findings suggest that longer looking at faces in infants at risk for ASD might reflect early face‐processing difficulties and predicts difficulties with recognizing faces later in life.     

Trainee psychotherapy effectiveness at a psychodynamic training clinic: a practice-based study

The degree to which clinical experience is a significant factor in predicting positive psychotherapeutic outcomes is an open question. Empirical studies comparing experienced and beginning practitioners on differences in client outcomes have yielded mixed results. While multiple sources have indicated that trainees are generally effective therapists, few of these studies have examined the effectiveness of graduate-level therapists in a psychodynamic training program. In this study, conducted in the United States, we use a practice-based research approach to examine the outcomes of clients working with trainees at a community mental health clinic in the northeast United States. The theoretical orientation identified by the clinic and training program is psychodynamic with an interpersonal and/or relational emphasis. Results indicated that clients working with trainees at this clinic demonstrated improvement across several indicators of symptoms and psychosocial functioning over the time they received treatment. Implications for training and service reimbursement are discussed.     

Models of white matter injury: comparison of infectious, hypoxic-ischemic, and excitotoxic insults

White matter damage (WMD) in preterm neonates is strongly associated with adverse outcome. The etiology of white matter injury is not known but clinical data suggest that ischemia-reperfusion and/or infection-inflammation are important factors. Furthermore, antenatal infection seems to be an important risk factor for brain injury in term infants. In order to explore the pathophysiological mechanisms of WMD and to better understand how infectious agents may affect the vulnerability of the immature brain to injury, numerous novel animal models have been developed over the past decade. WMD can be induced by antenatal or postnatal administration of microbes (E. coli or Gardnerella vaginalis), virus (border disease virus) or bacterial products (lipopolysaccharide, LPS). Alternatively, various hypoperfusion paradigms or administration of excitatory amino acid receptor agonists (excitotoxicity models) can be used. Irrespective of which insult is utilized, the maturational age of the CNS and choice of species seem critical. Generally, lesions with similarity to human WMD, with respect to distribution and morphological characteristics, are easier to induce in gyrencephalic species (rabbits, dogs, cats and sheep) than in rodents. Recently, however, models have been developed in rats (PND 1-7), using either bilateral carotid occlusion or combined hypoxia-ischemia, that produce predominantly white matter lesions. LPS is the infectious agent most often used to produce WMD in immature dogs, cats, or fetal sheep. The mechanism whereby LPS induces brain injury is not completely understood but involves activation of toll-like receptor 4 on immune cells with initiation of a generalized inflammatory response resulting in systemic hypoglycemia, perturbation of coagulation, cerebral hypoperfusion, and activation of inflammatory cells in the CNS. LPS and umbilical cord occlusion both produce WMD with quite similar distribution in 65% gestational sheep. The morphological appearance is different, however, with a more pronounced infiltration of inflammatory cells into the brain and focal microglia/macrophage ("inflammatory WMD") in response to LPS compared to hypoperfusion evoking a more diffuse microglial response usually devoid of cellular infiltrates ("ischemic WMD"). Furthermore, low doses of LPS that by themselves have no adverse effects in 7-day-old rats (maturation corresponding to the near term human fetus), dramatically increase brain injury to a subsequent hypoxic-ischemic challenge, implicating that bacterial products can sensitize the immature CNS. Contrary to this finding, other bacterial agents like lipoteichoic acid were recently shown to induce tolerance of the immature brain suggesting that the innate immune system may respond differently to various ligands, which needs to be further explored.