Common mechanisms of executive attention underlie executive function and effortful control in children

Executive Function (EF) and Effortful Control (EC) have traditionally been viewed as distinct constructs related to cognition and temperament during development. More recently, EF and EC have been implicated in top‐down self‐regulation ‐ the goal‐directed control of cognition, emotion, and behavior. We propose that executive attention, a limited‐capacity attentional resource subserving goal‐directed cognition and behavior, is the common cognitive mechanism underlying the self‐regulatory capacities captured by EF and EC. We addressed three related questions: (a) Do behavioral ratings of EF and EC represent the same self‐regulation construct? (b) Is this self‐regulation construct explained by a common executive attention factor as measured by performance on cognitive tasks? and (c) Does the executive attention factor explain additional variance in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) problems to behavioral ratings of self‐regulation? Measures of performance on complex span, general intelligence, and response inhibition tasks were obtained from 136 preadolescent children (M = 11 years, 10 months, SD = 8 months), along with self‐ and parent‐reported EC, and parent‐reported EF, and ADHD problems. Results from structural equation modeling demonstrated that behavioral ratings of EF and EC measured the same self‐regulation construct. Cognitive tasks measured a common executive attention factor that significantly explained 30% of the variance in behavioral ratings of self‐regulation. Executive attention failed to significantly explain additional variance in ADHD problems beyond that explained by behavioral ratings of self‐regulation. These findings raise questions about the utility of task‐based cognitive measures in research and clinical assessment of self‐regulation and psychopathology in developmental samples.     

The primate working memory networks

Working memory has long been associated with the prefrontal cortex, since damage to this brain area can critically impair the ability to maintain and update mnemonic information. Anatomical and physiological evidence suggests, however, that the prefrontal cortex is part of a broader network of interconnected brain areas involved in working memory. These include the parietal and temporal association areas of the cerebral cortex, cingulate and limbic areas, and subcortical structures such as the mediodorsal thalamus and the basal ganglia. Neurophysiological studies in primates confirm the involvement of areas beyond the frontal lobe and illustrate that working memory involves parallel, distributed neuronal networks. In this article, we review the current understanding of the anatomical organization of networks mediating working memory and the neural correlates of memory manifested in each of their nodes. The neural mechanisms of memory maintenance and the integrative role of the prefrontal cortex are also discussed.     

Construction by Interpersonal Context and Relationship to Psychological Outcomes

The repertory grid was used to elicit personal constructs with 10 elements, including three interpersonal self roles, in 33 participants (age M = 20.79, SD = 2.70). Each participant also rated a selection of supplied personality trait constructs and completed several psychological outcome measures. The distance between the self roles was associated with higher levels of anxiety for both personal and the supplied trait constructs, and was also related to greater cognitive complexity for personal constructs. The lack of statistical association between anxiety and cognitive complexity, however, suggested the distance relationships to each outcome are due to some other factor. Based on previous research findings, the overall pattern of results suggests that the grid distances between each interpersonal self is a due to the individual's behavioral flexibility or situational changeability. The findings demonstrate the importance of distinguishing between personal and supplied trait constructs.     

Objective Evaluation of Performance Stress in Musicians With Focal Hand Dystonia: A Case Series

Five musicians suffering from focal dystonia participated in a pilot study that examined the feasibility of an experimental protocol designed to assess musicians' motor performance under stress. Electrocardiography, free cortisol levels, and subjective assessments were used to monitor alterations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. As measures of motor outcome, temporal variability of finger movements and muscular cocontraction of the wrist flexor and extensor were assessed. Findings suggest that the specific experimental design could be successfully applied. Several methodological issues such as carryover effects, the use of free cortisol, the inclusion of a double baseline, and the classification of dystonic patients into stress responders and nonresponders are analyzed and discussed.     

The Church in the Postcommunist World

Abstract

The collapse of the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe is evidence only of the triumph of Western‐style consumerism. The Church's influence on society, both in East and West, is very limited. This situation is the result of historical factors which may be traced back to the early Middle Ages. Historical materialism is the offspring of the medieval Western version of Christianity which, under rationalistic and moralistic pressure, transformed God into a dead authoritarian concept. A brief analysis of the terms ratio and logos is offered in illustration of the different mindsets of the Eastern and Western Churches. The metaphysical revolution which brought in the modern world was a rebellion against the Western understanding of God. Historically, Orthodoxy has lacked the confidence to advance its own view but it can contribute an understanding of the Church based on the notions of personhood and relation that offers the most fruitful way forward.     

Comparative study of hostility in depressive patients with and without a suicide attempt history

Hostility in association with depression seems to be connected to suicidal behavior. This study aimed to evaluate hostility and its dimensions in relation to depression in patients who suffered from diagnosed depression with and without a suicide attempt history. The study included 168 participants; 58 patients with depression and suicide attempt history, 55 patients with depression without a suicide attempt history and 55 healthy controls. Hostility was assessed with the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire, while depression with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Patients with depression and a suicide attempt history compared with the patients without attempt history presented statistically significantly higher total hostility (28.71 ± 6.43 vs 24.20 ± 7.66), extroverted hostility (17.16 ± 4.37 vs 14.15 ± 4.63), acting out hostility (6.03 ± 2.09 vs 4.73 ± 1.93), and self criticism (6.95 ± 2.12 vs 5.89 ± 2.32). No statistically significant differences were found between the two clinical groups in depression according to the BDI. Moreover depressive patients with suicide attempt history scored higher in all the hostility dimensions than the controls. Therefore, it could be suggested that hostility and especially its extrapunitive dimensions are associated with suicidal behavior, since no differences in depression were recorded between the two clinical groups.     

Personality,creativity and latent inhibition

The current study set out to investigate the relationship between creativity, multi‐dimensional schizotypy and personality more generally. This was achieved by analysing scores on a range of personality scales and measures of creativity, where it was found that the creativity measures were more closely related to asocial‐schizotypy than positive‐schizotypy. The study also sought to test Eysenck's prediction ( 1993 , 1995 ) that, given the putative relationship between creativity and psychosis‐proneness, high psychosis‐prone scoring individuals and high creativity scoring individuals would demonstrate the same cognitive style of ‘overinclusiveness’ on latent inhibition. However, the results failed to demonstrate any evidence of a shared ‘widening of the associative horizon’ between high creativity and high psychosis‐prone scorers. The findings are discussed in relation to multi‐dimensional schizotypy. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The spontaneousness of skill and the impulsivity of habit

Synthese - The objective of this paper is to articulate a distinction between habit and bodily skill as different ways of acting without deliberation. I start by elaborating on a distinction...