Odor enrichment increases interneurons responsiveness in spatially defined regions of the olfactory bulb correlated with perception

Odor enrichment enhances rats’ ability to discriminate between chemically similar odorants. We show here that this modulation of olfactory perception is accompanied by increases in the density of local inhibitory interneuron expressing Zif268 in response to olfactory stimuli. These changes depend on the overlap of the olfactory bulb activation patterns induced by the enrichment odorants with those induced by the testing odorants, in a manner similar to changes in perception. Moreover, we show that enrichment leads to an alteration of the pattern of Zif268 expression, dependent on the odors used for the enrichment indicating a restructuring of odor representation in the olfactory bulb.     

Mechanisms underlying heightened risk taking in adolescents as compared with adults

Self-report surveys and behavioral tasks indicate greater risk-taking behavior in adolescents as compared with adults. However, the underlying causes of these behavioral differences remain unclear. The present study examined the possibility that adolescents may be more susceptible to immediate positive and negative outcomes than adults. We compared the behavior of adolescents and adults on a modified version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (Lejuez et al., 2002). The task required that participants press a button to "inflate" a series of balloons on a computer screen. Balloons inflated until either the participant released the button ("saved" balloons) or the balloon "burst." Accumulated points increased as the duration of the buttonpress increased; however, simultaneously, the likelihood that the balloon would burst also increased. Adolescents inflated balloons to a larger size prior to saving them than adults did, suggesting relatively higher levels of risk taking, although the adolescents' behavior was not uniformly risk prone. Further, in comparison with adults, behavior in adolescents was more influenced by whether a balloon was saved or had burst on the preceding trial, suggesting that sensitivity to immediate consequences is one mechanism that underlies the observed difference in risk taking.     

Klinisch-psychologische Interventionen mit Mobilmedien

The internet gained popularity in the mid-nineties; its integration into psycho-social health care structures has been established in the meantime. The mobile communication boom followed in the early years of the second millennium. Within a very short time, the cellular phone has become a personal multi-purpose tool. Against this background it seems obvious to investigate to what extent mobile media, beside the internet, can meaningfully support clinical practice. This article gives an overview of the current research and development status of clinical-psychological intervention with the aid of computer-based mobile media (Mobile Therapy, abbr. M-Therapy). Contrary to a desktop with internet access, where its use is limited to certain areas, wireless mobile media have the ability to instantly collect clinically relevant data, complete training units or organize contacts to therapists. Pilot projects and first evaluation studies show that, for example, cellular phones, game consoles and handhelds are productive in psychological diagnostics, counseling, rehabilitation and therapeutic support. They are widely accepted and increase the effectiveness of therapy. We will discuss the media-specific opportunities and limitations of M-Therapy as well as its implications for clinical practice.     

Evaluation eines präventiven Beratungskonzeptes für Kinder körperlich kranker Eltern

Children of parents suffering from a serious disease (e.g. cancer, multiple sclerosis, Aids) are at increased risk for mental health problems. Empirically based interventions for these children are missing. At the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, a preventive short-term counselling service has been existing since July 2000. Results from a 6-month evaluation (n=50) are presented. The evaluation encompasses a retrospective interrogation in a multiperspective und multidimensional approach. Most families experienced the intervention as helpful and supportive in coping with the multiple stressors of the situation. Out of a previously defined list of 12 intervention goals, enhancing anticipatory grief in children, their active coping behaviour as well as parents’ sense of their own parenting competence were identified as the most important foci of the counselling interventions, as reported by parents, children and therapists.     

Infant-directed speech supports phonetic category learning in English and Japanese

Across the first year of life, infants show decreased sensitivity to phonetic differences not used in the native language [Werker, J. F., & Tees, R. C. (1984). Cross-language speech perception: evidence for perceptual reorganization during the first year of life. Infant Behaviour and Development, 7, 49-63]. In an artificial language learning manipulation, Maye, Werker, and Gerken [Maye, J., Werker, J. F., & Gerken, L. (2002). Infant sensitivity to distributional information can affect phonetic discrimination. Cognition, 82(3), B101-B111] found that infants change their speech sound categories as a function of the distributional properties of the input. For such a distributional learning mechanism to be functional, however, it is essential that the input speech contain distributional cues to support such perceptual learning. To test this, we recorded Japanese and English mothers teaching words to their infants. Acoustic analyses revealed language-specific differences in the distributions of the cues used by mothers (or cues present in the input) to distinguish the vowels. The robust availability of these cues in maternal speech adds support to the hypothesis that distributional learning is an important mechanism whereby infants establish native language phonetic categories.     

La compréhension d'un texte procédural: Un processus à profondeur variable

This study investigates the comprehension of a dosage according to the desired aim before reading. The results of the two experiments carried out indicate that only the cognitive activities underlying the performance of the instructions (versus comprehension/memorisation) require the transformation of the declarative representation into a procedural one. The inferences generated attest a result/procedure relation and a hierarchical organisation of the planification of actions brought into play. Moreover, information which is directly goal‐related receives more extensive treatment than other information.     

Outcome evaluation in brief mother-infant psychotherapies: Report on 75 cases

The effects of brief mother–infant psychotherapies (maximum of 10 sessions) were examined in cases of functional and behavioral disturbances in children less than 30 months old. Seventy-five mother-infant dyads were assessed prior to treatment, at 1 week, and 6 months after therapy ended. The outcome measures were changes in the infant's symptoms, the behavioral interactions between mother and infant, and maternal representations. The effect of two forms of intervention—Psychodynamic Therapy and Interaction Guidance Therapy—were compared. Results indicated a significant symptom reduction; dyadic interactions became more harmonious (mothers became less intrusive and infants more cooperative). Maternal self-esteem grew significantly and negative affects decreased. Improvements lasted as least several months, with some positive improvement detected at the 6-month follow-up. No major difference in outcome was found between the effects of the two forms of intervention. Within the limitations of research in a clinical context, this study suggests that brief mother–infant psychotherapies are a cost-effective method of early intervention.     

The speed and accuracy of material recognition in natural images

We studied the time course of material categorization in natural images relative to superordinate and basic-level object categorization, using a backward-masking paradigm. We manipulated several low-level features of the images—including luminance, contrast, and color—to assess their potential contributions. The results showed that the speed of material categorization was roughly comparable to the speed of basic-level object categorization, but slower than that of superordinate object categorization. The performance seemed to be crucially mediated by low-level factors, with color leading to a solid increase in performance for material categorization. At longer presentation durations, material categorization was less accurate than both types of object categorization. Taken together, our results show that material categorization can be as fast as basic-level object categorization, but is less accurate.