Gesturing and naming: the use of functional knowledge in object identification

Studies using functional imaging show reliable activation of premotor cortex when observers view manipulable objects. This result has led to the view that knowledge of object function, particularly the actions associated with the typical use of objects, may play a causal role in object identification. To obtain relevant evidence regarding this causal role, we asked subjects to learn gesture-color associations and then attempt to identify objects presented in colors denoting functional gestures that were congruent or incongruent with the objects' use. A strong congruency effect was observed when subjects gestured the use of an object, but not when they named an object. We conclude that our procedure constitutes a sensitive measure of the recruitment and causal role of functional knowledge and that this recruitment is not present during object naming. Preliminary evidence, however, indicates that gestures evoked by the volumetric shape of an object do contribute to object naming.     

Not "just" a coincidence: frontal-striatal interactions in working memory and interval timing

The frontal cortex and basal ganglia play central roles in working memory and in the ability to time brief intervals. We outline recent theoretical and empirical work to suggest that working memory and interval timing rely not only on the same anatomic structures, but also on the same neural representation of a specific stimulus. Specifically, cortical neurons may fire in an oscillatory fashion to form representations of stimuli, and the striatum (a basal ganglia structure) may detect those patterns of cortical firing that occur co-incident to important events. Information about stimulus identity can be extracted from which cortical neurons are involved in the representation, and information about duration can be extracted from their relative phase. The principles derived from these biologically based models also fit well with a family of behaviourally based models that emphasise the importance of time in many working memory phenomena.     

A randomized controlled trial of an internet-based treatment for chronic headache

Chronic headache is a significant public health problem in Western nations. Although controlled trials demonstrate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of face-to-face behavioral therapy, most headache sufferers have limited access to these treatments. Delivery of behavioral interventions using Internet technology has the potential to reach a larger number of headache sufferers and reduce the burden of disease. This randomized controlled study evaluated an Internet-delivered behavioral regimen composed of progressive relaxation, limited biofeedback with autogenic training, and stress management versus a symptom monitoring waitlist control. Treatment led to a significantly greater decrease in headache activity than symptom monitoring alone. Thirty-nine percent of treated individuals showed clinically significant improvement on self-report measures of headache symptoms at post-treatment. At two-month follow-up, 47% of participants maintained improvement. Treatment had a significant impact on general headache symptoms and headache-related disability. There was a 35% within-group reduction of medication usage among the treated subjects. The Internet program was more time-efficient than traditional clinical treatment. Treatment and follow-up dropout rates, 38.1% and 64.8%, respectively, were typical of behavioral self-help studies. This approach to self-management of headache is promising; however, several methodological and ethical challenges need to be addressed.     

The effectiveness of a brief psychological intervention on court-referred and self-referred aggressive drivers

This study tested the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral psychological intervention (CBT) targeting aggressive driving behaviors within both a court-referred (N=20) and a self-referred community (N=8) sample as compared to a symptom monitoring (SM) only control condition. Treatment outcome was assessed through the use of daily driving diaries, standard psychological tests, and a global rating of change scale. The CBT treatment condition improved more than the SM condition as assessed through the daily driving diaries. Although the court-referred and self-referred samples showed equivalent improvement on the driving diaries, the self-referred group improved more on measures of general anger. Standardized measures of driving anger, state anxiety and measures of general anger indicated significant change in the expected direction. Aggressive drivers who met criteria for Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) showed a trend to improve less than non-IED aggressive drivers. Treatment gains were maintained at the 2-month follow-up point.     

A one year follow-up of relaxation response meditation as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome

Ten of thirteen original participants with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) participated in a one year follow-up study to determine whether the effects of Relaxation Response Meditation (RRM) on IBS symptom reduction were maintained over the long-term. From pre-treatment to one-year follow-up, significant reductions were noted for the symptoms of abdominal pain (p = 0.017), diarrhea (p = 0.045), flatulence (p = 0.030), and bloating (p = 0.018). When we examined changes from the original three month follow-up point to the one year follow-up, we noted significant additional reductions in pain (p = 0.03) and bloating (p = 0.04), which tended to be the most distressing symptoms of IBS. It appears that: (1) continued use of meditation is particularly effective in reducing the symptoms of pain and bloating; and (2) RRM is a beneficial treatment for IBS in the both short- and the long-term.     

Posttraumatic stress disorder in breast cancer patients following autologous bone marrow transplantation or conventional cancer treatments

We assessed 17 women who had undergone autologous bone marrow transplants (BMT) for their breast cancer and 20 other women who had been treated for breast cancer (but not with BMT) by structured clinical interviews examining each stage of the breast cancer experience (e.g. initial diagnosis, initial treatment, recurrence of cancer (if applicable) and BMT (if applicable)) and at follow-up points; 3, 6 and 12 months (if applicable) posttreatment. The two groups did not differ on incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD) or generalized anxiety disorder at any stage. We found a high rate of PTSD over the cancer experience, 35% for the combined sample, with cancer diagnosis being the most likely point for developing PTSD, 27% for the combined sample. None of the 17 women who had undergone BMT developed PTSD as a result of the treatment.     

Sexual orientation and handedness in men and women: a meta-analysis

Recent findings suggest that sexual orientation has an early neurodevelopmental basis. Handedness, a behavioral marker of early neurodevelopment, has been associated with sexual orientation in some studies but not in others. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 20 studies that compared the rates of non-right-handedness in 6,987 homosexual (6,182 men and 805 women) and 16,423 heterosexual (14,808 men and 1,615 women) participants. Homosexual participants had 39% greater odds of being non-right-handed. The corresponding values for homosexual men (20 contrasts) and women (9 contrasts) were 34% and 91%, respectively. The results support the notion that sexual orientation in some men and women has an early neurodevelopmental basis, but the factors responsible for the handedness-sexual orientation association require elucidation. The authors discuss 3 possibilities: cerebral laterality and prenatal exposure to sex hormones, maternal immunological reactions to the fetus, and developmental instability.