The Neural Basis of Implicit Attitudes

ABSTRACT— Evidence that human preferences, beliefs, and behavior are influenced by sources that are outside the reach of conscious awareness, control, intention, and self-reflection is incontrovertible. Recent advances in neuroscience have enabled researchers to investigate the neural basis of these implicit attitudes, particularly attitudes involving social groups. From this research, a model with three identified neural components related to the automatic activation and regulation of implicit attitudes is beginning to emerge. The amygdala is implicated in the automatic evaluation of socially relevant stimuli, while the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices are involved in the detection and regulation, respectively, of implicit attitudes. Further support for this model comes from the inclusion of these regions in current models concerning the cognitive regulation of emotion and the detection of conflict. The identification of a putative neural substrate for implicit attitudes has had a direct impact on psychological research into their nature and operational characteristics. We discuss how this emerging neural model has influenced current research on implicit attitudes and describe the importance of such models for directing future research.     

Inference generation in young,young–old and old–old adults: evidence for semantic architecture stability

Participants (31 young, 27 young–old, and 28 old–old) read 12 narratives, pausing periodically to think aloud. The resulting protocols were analysed for 17 types of inferences and for non‐content (off‐target) information. Factor analysis yielded three inference factors: character, causal and physical. Age difference across these factors were not significant, suggesting that inferential processing architecture may be stable. Each narrative also included an unfamiliar word. Immediately following each narrative, four definition choices and a definition rating scale were presented. The definition scores of old–old adults were lower than young and young–old. In addition, definition scores were negatively related to non‐content comment counts. Taken together, these findings suggest that off‐target working‐memory intrusions may interfere with interpretation specificity in older adults even though semantic architecture remains stable. This study extends the aging and inference literature by addressing age‐related changes across categories of inferential processing and by including a sample of old–old adults. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of psychosocial and situational variables on substance abuse among homeless adults

Finding direct and indirect influences of salient psychosocial and situational variables on problem substance use among homeless people is important in designing evidence-based, effective, and relevant interventions for this special population. A stress-coping paradigm in conjunction with situational items specialized for homeless people was used to explore predictive relationships in a sample of homeless adults (N = 664) among (a) psychosocial variables of self-esteem, social support, positive and negative coping, and emotional distress, (b) situational variables of homelessness history and quality of recent housing, and (c) outcomes of alcohol use, injection drug use (IDU), and non-IDU. Lower self-esteem predicted greater emotional distress, lower positive coping, greater negative coping, and more alcohol use. Social support predicted less emotional distress and more positive coping. Chronic homelessness predicted more emotional distress, less positive coping, greater alcohol use, and IDU. Poor housing was associated with more alcohol use and IDU. Substance abuse interventions among the homeless should have a dual focus that includes attention to psychological issues and negative coping patterns while also addressing situational, environmental factors, including encouraging provision of permanent supportive housing.     

Psychiatric Disorders in Clinical Genetics I: Addressing Family Histories of Psychiatric Illness

This is the first article of a two-part professional development series addressing genetic counseling for personal and family histories of psychiatric disorders. It is based on an Educational Breakout Session presented by the Psychiatric Special Interest Group of the National Society of Genetic Counselors at the 2006 Annual Education Conference. This article examines issues that arise in addressing family histories of psychiatric illness, while the second article in the series considers the generation and provision of individualized recurrence risks for psychiatric disorders. In this article we discuss the importance of managing uncertainty for affected individuals and their close family members who have been referred to genetics for a number of different indications. We then use four simulated cases to make recommendations about the scope and timing of discussions related to the psychiatric family history.     

Preservation of long-term memory and synaptic plasticity despite short-term impairments in the Tc1 mouse model of Down syndrome

Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder arising from the presence of a third copy of the human chromosome 21 (Hsa21). Recently, O’Doherty and colleagues in an earlier study generated a new genetic mouse model of DS (Tc1) that carries an almost complete Hsa21. Since DS is the most common genetic cause of mental retardation, we have undertaken a detailed analysis of cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in Tc1 mice. Here we show that Tc1 mice have impaired spatial working memory (WM) but spared long-term spatial reference memory (RM) in the Morris watermaze. Similarly, Tc1 mice are selectively impaired in short-term memory (STM) but have intact long-term memory (LTM) in the novel object recognition task. The pattern of impaired STM and normal LTM is paralleled by a corresponding phenotype in long-term potentiation (LTP). Freely-moving Tc1 mice exhibit reduced LTP 1 h after induction but normal maintenance over days in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation. Biochemical analysis revealed a reduction in membrane surface expression of the AMPAR (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-propionic acid receptor) subunit GluR1 in the hippocampus of Tc1 mice, suggesting a potential mechanism for the impairment in early LTP. Our observations also provide further evidence that STM and LTM for hippocampus-dependent tasks are subserved by parallel processing streams.     

Characterization and sociocultural predictors of neuropsychological test performance in HIV+ Hispanic individuals

Hispanic individuals in the U.S. have been disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, yet little is known regarding the neuropsychological sequelae of HIV within the Hispanic population. This study characterized neuropsychological (NP) test performance of HIV+ English-speaking Hispanic participants (n = 51) and investigated the combined roles of sociocultural factors (e.g., ethnicity, socioeconomic status [SES] proxy, and reading level) on NP test performance among our HIV+ Hispanic and non-Hispanic White participants (n = 49). Results revealed that the pattern of NP impairment in HIV+ Hispanic participants is consistent with the frontal-striatal pattern observed in HIV-associated CNS sequelae, and the overall prevalence of global NP impairment was high compared to previous reports with more ethnically homogeneous, non-Hispanic White cohorts. Multivariate prediction models that considered both sociocultural factors and CD4 count revealed that reading level was the only unique predictor of global NP functioning, learning, and attention/working memory. In contrast, ethnicity was the only unique predictor of abstraction/executive functioning. This study provides support for the use of neuropsychological evaluation in detecting HIV-associated NP impairment among HIV+ Hispanic participants and adds to the growing literature regarding the importance of considering sociocultural factors in the interpretation of NP test performance.     

Children's use of geometry for reorientation

Research on navigation has shown that humans and laboratory animals recover their sense of orientation primarily by detecting geometric properties of large-scale surface layouts (e.g. room shape), but the reasons for the primacy of layout geometry have not been clarified. In four experiments, we tested whether 4-year-old children reorient by the geometry of extended wall-like surfaces because such surfaces are large and perceived as stable, because they serve as barriers to vision or to locomotion, or because they form a single, connected geometric figure. Disoriented children successfully reoriented by the shape of an arena formed by surfaces that were short enough to see and step over. In contrast, children failed to reorient by the shape of an arena defined by large and stable columns or by connected lines on the floor. We conclude that preschool children's reorientation is not guided by the functional relevance of the immediate environmental properties, but rather by a specific sensitivity to the geometric properties of the extended three-dimensional surface layout.     

The relation of methamphetamine use and violence: A critical review

Methamphetamine (MA), a psychostimulant drug, was first produced in Germany and Japan in the late 1800s. MA use and trafficking have been a problem since the 1970s in the United States (U.S.) [National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). (2006). National Drug Threat Assessment 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2006 from http://www.usdoj.gov.ndic/pubs11/18862/MA.htm] and have increased in recent years [Office of Applied Studies (OAS). (September 16, 2005). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health report: Methamphetamine use, abuse, and dependence: 2002, 2003, and 2004. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration]. MA is associated with violent behavior yet the nature of this relation remains poorly understood, largely due to methodological shortcomings. The present paper critically examines the empirical literature on MA use and its relation to violence. Methodological issues and challenges are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.     

The effects of choice on intrinsic motivation and related outcomes: a meta-analysis of research findings

A meta-analysis of 41 studies examined the effect of choice on intrinsic motivation and related outcomes in a variety of settings with both child and adult samples. Results indicated that providing choice enhanced intrinsic motivation, effort, task performance, and perceived competence, among other outcomes. Moderator tests revealed the effect of choice on intrinsic motivation was stronger (a) for instructionally irrelevant choices compared to choices made between activities, versions of a task, rewards, and instructionally relevant options, (b) when 2 to 4 successive choices were given, (c) when rewards were not given after the choice manipulation, (d) when participants given choice were compared to the most controlling forms of control groups, (e) for children compared to adults, (f) for designs that yoked choice and control conditions compared to matched designs in which choice was reduced or designs in which nonyoked, nonmatched controls were used, and (g) when the experiment was conducted in a laboratory embedded in a natural setting. Implications for future research and applications to real-world settings are discussed.