The end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine): comment on Erard

We review Erard's (this issue) article. We laud him for the measured tone and carefully reasoned position that is taken. Although his main point that The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the new American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics Code (2002) need not be seen as disasters for the practice of assessment, we pose several problems with his analysis. In particular, we argue that although his point that test security is not airtight at present is well taken, nonetheless, it is important to set the bar as high as possible to limit breaches in security. Although Erard is correct that more complex instruments may withstand attempts to manipulate the results, many smaller or more focused instruments may be irrevocably damaged. Furthermore, the release of raw test data can have a deleterious effect in the clinical arena, especially in instances in which it could be subject to misinterpretation and misuse. Finally, we criticize the APA for subjugating the interests of the profession to political expediency.     

Artificial time constraints on the Iowa Gambling Task: the effects on behavioural performance and subjective experience

In the last decade, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) has become a widely employed neuropsychological research instrument for the investigation of executive function. The task has been employed in a wide range of formats, from 'manual' procedures to more recently introduced computerised versions. Computer-based formats often require that responses on the task should be artificially delayed by a number of seconds between trials to collect skin-conductance data. Participants, however, may become frustrated when they want to select from a particular deck in the time-limited versions--so that an unintended emotional experience of frustration might well disrupt a task presumed to be reliant on emotion-based learning. We investigated the effect of the various types of Iowa Gambling Task format on performance, using three types of task: the classic manual administration, with no time limitations; a computerised administration with a 6-s enforced delay; and a control computerised version which had no time constraints. We also evaluated the subjective experience of participants on each task. There were no significant differences in performance, between formats, in behavioural terms. Subjective experience measures on the task also showed consistent effects across all three formats-with substantial, and rapidly developing, awareness of which decks were 'good' and 'bad.'     

Perception of objects in natural scenes: is it really attention free?

Studies have suggested attention-free semantic processing of natural scenes in which concurrent tasks leave category detection unimpaired (e.g., F. Li, R. VanRullen, C. Koch, & P. Perona, 2002). Could this ability reflect detection of disjunctive feature sets rather than high-level binding? Participants detected an animal target in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) sequence and then reported its identity and location. They frequently failed to identify or to localize targets that they had correctly detected, suggesting that detection was based only on partial processing. Detection of targets was considerably worse in sequences that also contained humans, presumably because of shared features. When 2 targets were presented in RSVP, a prolonged attentional blink appeared that was almost eliminated when both targets were detected without being identified. The results suggest rapid feature analysis mediating detection, followed by attention-demanding binding for identification and localization.     

Life history and social learning: megapode chicks fail to acquire feeding preferences from conspecifics

Australian brush-turkeys, Alectura lathami, are birds with an unusual life history: The young receive no parental care and first encounter conspecifics at an unpredictable age. Brush-turkey chicks that were 3-4 days old were presented with a robot model that appeared to feed from a distinctively colored dish. In control training trials, chicks saw a robot standing next to a different dish and scanning from side to side. Chicks expressed a strong tendency to feed from dishes of the type indicated by the pecking robot, but this effect proved ephemeral. Brush-turkeys hence appear to show no social learning under conditions that inculcate stable preferences in other galliforms such as chickens, suggesting that life history plays an important role in the evolution of learning.     

The role of the orbitofrontal cortex in normally developing compulsive-like behaviors and obsessive-compulsive disorder

Mounting evidence concerning obsessive-compulsive disorders points to abnormal functioning of the orbitofrontal cortices. First, patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) perform poorly on tasks that rely on response suppression/motor inhibition functions mediated by the orbitofrontal cortex relative to both normal and clinical controls. Second, patients with OCD exhibit functional hyperactivity in lateral orbitofrontal and related structures corresponding with symptom severity. In this article, we compare these neurocognitive correlates of OCD with the executive and neural underpinnings of "compulsive-like" behaviors that are common in normal childhood. We discuss the phenomenology and natural history of normative compulsive-like behaviors as well as the behavioral, emotional, and cognitive continuities between typical and pathological obsessive-compulsive behaviors. We then examine associations between children's executive performance deficits and their observed compulsive-like characteristics. We relate these patterns to executive deficits shown by adults with OCD. Finally, we speculate on the developmental neurobiology of children's compulsive-like behaviors, with particular attention to orbitofrontal functions including behavioral and emotional regulation, and we suggest similarities and differences with the neurobiology of OCD. In making these comparisons, we hope to open a dialogue between researchers who study underlying brain pathologies associated with OCD and those who explore the neurocognitive bases of normal development.     

Do behavioral disturbances in persons with Alzheimer's disease predict caregiver depression over time?

Random effects models were used to examine the association between behavioral disturbances in persons with Alzheimer's disease (N = 90) and caregiver depressive symptoms at 2-month intervals over an 18-month period. There was substantial variability in trajectories of change in caregiver depressive symptoms over time but no systematic increase in distress despite increased severity of dementia symptoms. Total behavioral disturbances were associated with higher levels of caregiver depressive symptoms: this effect was primarily attributable to aggressive behaviors. No consistent departure from linearity was evident in the relationship between behavior and depression over time.     

Georg von Békésy: visualization of hearing

Georg von Békésy received the Nobel Prize in 1961 for his research on the functioning of the auditory system. In psychoacoustics, Békésy both extended and perfected the lines of research begun by von Helmholtz in the 19th century. First in his native Hungary and later at Harvard, Békésy used novel and imaginative devices and methods to observe and model the functioning of the inner ear. He also explored the nature of sensory inhibition by which the nervous system sharpens sensory transitions.     

Neuropsychopharmacologic treatment of depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders in HIV-infected individuals

How can neuropsychiatric disorders and syndromes be underdiagnosed and inadequately treated in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus? Depression in particular is among the most prevalent diagnoses and there is a solid foundation of data from controlled clinical studies that has begun to examine the efficacy of various antidepressants in HIV-infected persons. This article summarizes essential findings pertaining to the use of psychotropic medications to treat depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders in the context of immunodeficiency. This includes discussion of clinically significant treatment considerations (eg, efficacy, side effects, drug-drug interactions) derived from the existing literature. Taken together, there is compelling evidence that psychopharmacologic intervention can improve the quality of life of mentally ill HIV-infected individuals.     

An analysis of response,direction, and place learning in an open field and T maze

Rats were trained to locate food in a response, direction, or place problem on an open field located at 2 positions. In Experiment 1, both the response and direction groups solved the problem. The place group failed to solve the task in approximately 300 trials. Experiment 2 demonstrated that rats need distinguishable start points to solve a place problem when neither a response nor a direction solution is available. Findings from Experiment 3 suggest that a combination of path traveled and distinct cues help to differentiate start points. Experiment 4 replicated the findings using a T maze. These results suggest "place" solutions are difficult for rats. The data are discussed with respect to conditional learning and modern spatial mapping theory.