Gaze behaviour in hereditary prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia is the inability to recognize someone by the face alone in the absence of sensory or intellectual impairment. In contrast to the acquired form of prosopagnosia we studied the congenital form. Since we could recently show that this form is inherited as a simple monogenic trait we called it hereditary form. To determine whether not only face recognition and neuronal processing but also the perceptual acquisition of facial information is specific to prosopagnosia, we studied the gaze behaviour of four hereditary prosopagnosics in comparison to matched control subjects. This rarely studied form of prosopagnosia ensures that deficits are limited to face recognition. Whereas the control participants focused their gaze on the central facial features, the hereditary prosopagnosics showed a significantly different gaze behaviour. They had a more dispersed gaze and also fixated external facial features. Thus, the face recognition impairment of the hereditary prosopagnosics is reflected in their gaze behaviour.     

The value of forgetting suicidal thoughts and behavior

This is a prospective longitudinal study examining recollections of suicidal content and correlates of accurate and inaccurate recollection. A primarily at-risk group of young adults (N = 78) who were initially assessed for suicidal ideation and behavior in adolescence, were asked to recall whether they had reported sui- cidal ideation or behavior about six years earlier. In recalling the previous inter- view, the majority of the participants provided consistent reports. However, with regard to those who had previously reported suicidal ideation or behavior, 38% failed to recall prior adolescent suicidal reports. Those who provided accurate reports of prior suicidal content were more symptomatic and were functioning more poorly than those who failed to recall past suicidal content. The implications for clinical assessment practices, research, and theory development are discussed.     

The neural network model of organizational identification

This paper proposes the Neural Network Model of Organizational Identification; the model depicts organizational identification as an associative link within an organization member’s social knowledge structure of self as it relates to a focal organization. Within this knowledge structure, organization identification connects self to organization via an attribute sub-network that includes self-concept and organization identity and via a valance sub-network that includes organization based self-esteem and attitudinal commitment. This model draws on the principles of balance-congruity, imbalance dissonance, and differentiation [Greenwald, A. G., Banaji, M. R., Rudman, L. A., Farnham, S. D., Nosek, B. A., & Mellott, D. S. (2002). A unified theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-concept. Psychological Review, 109, 3–25.] to predict relationships between these organizational constructs. The Neural Network Model of Organizational Identification is parsimonious yet it effectively integrates and synthesizes the burgeoning literature on organizational identification. By operating at a neural network level of analysis, the model departs substantially from existing organization models by (1) specifying unique construct definitions; (2) offering an alternative perspective of the affective/cognitive dimensions and interrelationships; (3) introducing the concept of implicit cognition to the literature on organizational identification, which makes apparent problems with current measures; and (4) explaining phenomena not explained in existing models. This perspective adds precision and reveals that organizational identification is interconnected within a reciprocal network of mutual causality.     

血-前列腺屏障的假说及其对前列腺炎研究的意义

在慢性前列腺炎的研究工作中,血-前列腺屏障的研究是个被忽视的领域。在Pubmed等医学类数据库中找不到一篇关于血-前列腺屏障的研究综述。甚至找不到一个关于它的令人满意的定义。我们的研究目的,就是尝试从不同研究领域的文献中寻找有关“血-前列腺屏障”的理论和实验的依据,提出一个建立在非相关文献间的隐含联系中的假说。我们相信,血-前列腺屏障是客观存在的,而且在前列腺炎的发病机制中扮演着关键性的角色。     

恶性肿瘤皮肤表现

恶性肿瘤皮肤表现可分为肿瘤直接效应与间接效应.直接效应是指恶性肿瘤或其转移灶生长影响周围器官或组织正常功能;间接效应是指恶性肿瘤或其转移灶经复杂生物学效应影响远处器官或组织正常功能,也称为副肿瘤性皮肤病.恶性肿瘤皮肤表现发病率根据原发肿瘤而不同,可能是患者潜在肿瘤首发临床表现,并且与肿瘤复发转移相关.     

Cold pressor stress reduces left cradling preference in nulliparous human females

The left cradling preference refers to the finding that women hold their infants more frequently on the left side of their own bodies. Several observational studies showed reduced left cradling during stressful circumstances, such as mother-infant separation, or domestic violence. However, until now no experimental study was conducted to investigate the immediate impact of stress on cradling behaviour. Half of the 64 female subjects participating were randomly assigned to a stressful bilateral cold pressor test. The remaining subjects performed a non-stressful control procedure. Before and after this intervention, cradling behaviour was assessed using a baby-like doll. Subjects showed a left cradling preference prior to the intervention. The cold pressor test increased blood pressure and heart rate significantly. A repeated ANOVA revealed an interaction of intervention (cold pressor vs. control) X assessment period (pre- vs. post-intervention), indicating that cold pressor stress reduces left cradling behaviour in female volunteers. Our data indicate that stress influences cradling preference. This may be of relevance for caregiver-infant interactions.     

Psychosocial factors associated with reports of physical dating violence among U.S. adolescent females

The present study, based upon the national 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey of U.S. high school students, provides the most current and representative data on dating violence among adolescent females (N = 7,179). The dependent variable was physical dating violence. The independent variables included four dimensions: violence, suicide, substance use, and sexual risk behavior. Unadjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), were examined followed by multivariate logistic regression analyses, which included all significant independent variables from the bivariate analyses. Adjusted OR and 95% CI were computed to assess the significance of the relationships. In terms of prevalence, 10.3% of female adolescents reported experiencing physical dating violence. Black girls (OR = 1.47) and girls who reported sad/hopeless feelings (OR = 1.42) considered suicide (OR = 1.55), engaged in physical fighting (OR = 2.17), had recent sexual partners (OR = 2.10), or had unprotected sexual intercourse (OR = 1.70) were more likely to report physical dating violence. These findings suggest dating violence against adolescent females is widespread and associated with a host of other risk factors that deserve further attention through longitudinal research and intervention efforts.     

Menstruation and suicide: an exploratory study

Previous research has reported mixed findings on the effect of the menstrual cycle on suicidal behavior. The contribution of menstruation to completed suicide is also controversial, though the studies are very limited and have not been carefully designed. To explore the relationship, 217 autopsies on completed suicides were performed, matched to a control group at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. The results show that 54.46% of people who died by suicide were menstruating (results excluded pregnancies), compared to 6.75% of the control group. Menstruation in those who completed suicide, compared to a control group, appeared to have an association with suicide. More research is warranted.     

Requencies and relations of body piercing and sexual experience in college students

This research examined the relation between having a body piercing and having engaged in premarital sexual intercourse. Data were gathered from a convenience sample of 450 college students. 72% were women; 85% were ages 18 to 22 years (M=20.9, SD=4.5), 80% were Euro-American. Women with piercings reported substantively and significantly greater frequency of sexual activity than college students without piercings. There were no significant differences in sexual experience between men with piercings and those without. These findings differ from previous research comparing the sexual activity of college students with and without tattoos.