Differential sensitivity of recent vs. remote memory traces to extinction in a water-maze task in rats

Extinction has mostly been studied in conditioning paradigms, more sparsely in spatial tasks, and never as a function of the age of a spatial memory. Using rats, we compared the time-course of extinction of a recent (5 days) vs. remote (25 days) spatial memory in a water maze, over three probe trials. When the trials were set 24h apart, performance in the remote memory group was significantly worse on the first probe trial and significantly better on the third probe trial, as compared to the recent memory group, thereby showing differences between cognitive operations underlying recent vs. remote memory extinction. In contrast, when trials were given consecutively, both groups showed a similar profile of extinction. Furthermore, in a room with overly-salient cues providing a strong remote memory trace, no difference between groups was observed when the spaced extinction paradigm was used. These results might be related to a balance between reconsolidation and extinction processes occurring after a first retrieval experience, of which the outcome may depend on the extinction protocol, and on the age and strength of a memory.     

The Role of Rumination in Predicting Seasonality

The impact of the changing seasons on mood and behavior (i.e., seasonality) has long been of interest to researchers. Recently, researchers have begun to look beyond biological explanations to investigate psychological variables that may play a role in the development of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and subsyndromal (S-SAD) levels of seasonality. Rumination, in particular, has received initial support as a process that predicts more severe levels of winter depression. In the first study, we assessed the effects of rumination, current weather conditions, current level of depression, and attitudes toward weather conditions as predictors of seasonality. In addition to weather conditions, weather attitudes, and current depression, rumination emerged as a significant predictor of seasonality in females but not for males. In the second study, we followed individuals categorized as being high (S-SAD) and low in seasonality over time and assessed for depression at Time 1 and Time 2. Rumination, in addition to current weather conditions and weather attitudes, emerged as a significant predictor of depression for females in the S-SAD group. The results of these studies provide support for the role of rumination in seasonal depression, particularly for females. This type of research may contribute to attempts to better explain gender differences in seasonal depression.     

Making the most of information‐gathering interviews with children

Because child abuse victims are often the only available sources of information about their experiences, extensive efforts have been made to understand how to maximize their informativeness. There is now broad international consensus regarding optimal interview practices, and broad awareness that children's informativeness increases when interviewers conduct developmentally appropriate interviews with children. In this paper, we (1) summarize current understanding of how children remember, retrieve, and communicate information and (2) discuss ways in which children's memory and reporting can be fostered using techniques designed to help children recount past experiences such as the Cognitive Interview, the Narrative Elaboration Technique, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development‐Protocol. Communicative success clearly depends on how well children understand their role and how effectively interviewers take advantage of children's competencies and abilities to help them maximize their informativeness. Unfortunately, agreement regarding ways in which interviews should be conducted has not been paralleled by changes in the way interviews are actually conducted in the field and more attention thus needs to be paid to training and implementation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

I. Genotype-environment interaction in the schizophrenia spectrum: genetic liability and global family ratings in the Finnish Adoption Study

In the Finnish Adoption Study, a national sample of adoptees with high versus low genetic liability for schizophrenia spectrum disorders was indexed by DSM-III-R diagnoses of their biological, adopting-away mothers. The rearing-family environments of the adoptees were independently evaluated from global ratings of directly observed adoptive family relationships. The interaction of high genetic liability and dysfunction of the rearing families predicted highly significantly to schizophrenia spectrum disorder of the adoptees at 21-year follow-up. Either low genetic liability or healthy rearing protected against a spectrum outcomes for the adoptees. Initial adoptive parent diagnosis, as a proxy for rearing family dysfunction, predicted to adoptee outcome only as a trend.     

II. Genotype-environment interaction in the schizophrenia spectrum: qualitative observations

Previous reports from the Finnish Adoptive Family Study of Schizophrenia have documented significant interplay between genetics (G) and family rearing (E), leading to adoptee outcomes of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Quantitative evidence for this interplay is significantly enhanced when both high genetic liability and severe environmental dysfunction are present. However, when either genetic liability is low or the rearing environment is healthy, the adoptees appear to be resiliently protected against a pathologic outcome. Nevertheless, exceptions to this pattern do occur. Six qualitative vignettes, together with quantitative measures and categorical diagnoses from the same families, illustrate how multiple methods partially confirm one another and also suggest where further exploration of gene-environment interaction is needed.     

Use of a self-regulated strategy intervention to improve word problem-solving skills of students with mild disabilities

We investigated the effects of self-regulated strategy instruction on the ability of four elementary-school students with mild handicaps (2 with learning disabilities [LD] and 2 with mild mental retardation [MMR]) to perform 4 types of addition and subtraction word problems. We used a multiple baseline design and a self-instructional strategy to address story problem solving. Results indicated that the strategy was effective in increasing the number of correctly solved word problems. Gains were maintained across a 6 and 8 week follow-up check. The study supports previous research indicating that cognitive strategies are effective for students with LD and suggests that cognitive strategies are appropriate for students with MMR.     

Differences and similarities in event recall and suggestibility between children and adults in Germany and the United States

Children (5-6 year olds, 7-8 year olds, 9-10 year olds) and adults from Germany and the United States were shown a brief video of a theft. One week later, participants were asked to give a free narrative of an observed event (free recall), followed either by sets of misleading or unbiased questions, and finally they were given a three-choice recognition question for each queried item. German participants of all ages had higher levels of correct free recall than did American participants. American adults and 9-10 year olds gave more correct responses to the open-ended unbiased questions than did their German counterparts. Germans of all ages made more correct responses to the misleading questions, whereas national differences, favoring the Germans, for incorrect response to misleading questions were restricted to the 5-6 year olds. National differences were interpreted as reflecting possible differences in strategic abilities, exposure to formal instruction, and the degree to which children experience self-directed, autonomous learning opportunities.     

Visual representation of eye gaze is coded by a nonopponent multichannel system

To date, there is no functional account of the visual perception of gaze in humans. Previous work has demonstrated that left gaze and right gaze are represented by separate mechanisms. However, these data are consistent with either a multichannel system comprising separate channels for distinct gaze directions (e.g., left, direct, and right) or an opponent-coding system in which all gaze directions are coded by just 2 pools of cells, one coding left gaze and the other right, with direct gaze represented as a neutral point reflecting equal activation of both left and right pools. In 2 experiments, the authors used adaptation procedures to investigate which of these models provides the optimal account. Both experiments supported multichannel coding. Previous research has shown that facial identity is coded by an opponent-coding system; hence, these results also demonstrate that gaze is coded by a different representational system to facial identity.