The COMT Val/Met polymorphism is associated with reading‐related skills and consistent patterns of functional neural activation

In both children and adults there is large variability in reading skill, with approximately 5–10% of individuals characterized as having reading disability; these individuals struggle to learn to read despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Although it is well established that a substantial portion of this variability is attributed to the genetic differences between individuals, specifics of the connections between reading and the genome are not understood. This article presents data that suggest that variation in the COMT gene, which has previously been associated with variation in higher‐order cognition, is associated with reading and reading‐related skills, at the level of both brain and behavior. In particular, we found that the COMT Val/Met polymorphism at rs4680, which results in the substitution of the ancestral Valine (Val) by Methionine (Met), was associated with better performance on a number of critical reading measures and with patterns of functional neural activation that have been linked to better readers. We argue that this polymorphism, known for its broad effects on cognition, may modulate (likely through frontal lobe function) reading skill.     

Is there an optimal factor structure of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in patients with first‐episode psychosis?

The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) is the most widely used scale to assess a variety of symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and other psychoses. The factor structure of the PANSS has been examined with confirmatory factor analyses in several studies, but not in a well‐defined first‐episode psychosis sample. The aim of this paper is to examine the statistical fit of five different PANSS models in a first‐episode, non‐affective psychosis sample. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed on PANSS data (n = 588). A main criterion for best fit was defined as the Expected Cross Validation Index (ECVI). No tested model revealed an optimally satisfactory model fit index. The Wallwork/Fortgang five‐factor model demonstrated the most optimal psychometric properties. The corresponding subscales of all evaluated five‐factor models were strongly intercorrelated. The Wallwork/Fortgang five‐factor model was found to be statistically and clinically ideal among patients with first‐episode psychosis. Therefore, we recommend this model in forthcoming studies among patients with first‐episode psychosis. However, to prevent the loss of clinically valuable information on an item level, we do not recommend removing any items from the original form. Our study also implies that the specific choice of model will not have a substantial effect on outcome results in studies on the course and outcome in first‐episode psychosis.     

Psychometric characteristics of the Transgender Identity Survey in an Italian sample: A measure to assess positive and negative feelings towards transgender identity

Transgender people experience systematic oppression due to societal endorsement of binary notions of gender. As a result, they are at risk for self-stigmatization via the internalization of negative attitudes about being transgender. Thus, researchers need instruments to assess the multilayered nature of transgender identity and its role in the experience of mental health and well-being. This study evaluated the psychometric characteristics of the Transgender Identity Survey (TIS) in an Italian sample of 149 transgender people. The TIS assesses levels of pride, shame, alienation, and passing in transgender populations, providing researchers and clinicians with an instrument that can evaluate both positive aspects of transgender identity and internalized transphobia. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the original four-factor model had adequate fit to the data obtained from the Italian sample, with the exception of one item. Both convergent and predictive validity were assessed and partially confirmed, indicating that the TIS is significantly correlated with some of the enacted stigma and mental health outcome measures (perceived stress, depression, and anxiety). This study provides both clinicians and researchers with a tool to assess positive and negative aspects of identity in transgender populations.     

Does familiarity breed contempt or liking? Comment on Reis, Maniaci, Caprariello, Eastwick, and Finkel (2011)

Reis, Maniaci, Caprariello, Eastwick, and Finkel (see record 2011-04644-001) conducted 2 studies that demonstrate that in certain cases, familiarity can lead to liking--in seeming contrast to the results of our earlier article (see record 2006-23056-008). We believe that Reis et al. (a) utilized paradigms far removed from spontaneous, everyday social interactions that were particularly likely to demonstrate a positive link between familiarity and liking and (b) failed to include and incorporate other sources of data-both academic and real-world-showing that familiarity breeds contempt. We call for further research exploring when and why familiarity is likely to lead to contempt or liking, and we suggest several factors that are likely to inform this debate.     

Distinctiveness Reconsidered: Religiosity,Structural Location,and Understandings of Racial Inequality

Are conservative Protestants distinct in their support for individualistic explanations of racial inequality in America? Past research has generated contradictory findings on this question, along with debates about the best measure of evangelicalism and the factors that moderate religious influences on racial attitudes. Using data from the nationally representative Boundaries in the American Mosaic Project (2014), we examine how structural location interacts with religious commitment to influence understandings of and preferred solutions to African‐American disadvantage. We show that religious beliefs, involvement, and centrality influence adherents differently, depending on their age, gender, education, income, and race. We find that measures do matter, and that denominational affiliation is less predictive than the orthodoxy and centrality of religious belief. We also find that straightforward talk about distinctiveness can mask the strong and pervasive effects of structural location on racial attitudes. We call for more research that makes the interaction between religiosity and structural location a central focus of analysis.     

Gender differences on the Five to Fifteen questionnaire in a non‐referred sample with inattention and hyperactivity‐impulsivity and a clinic‐referred sample with hyperkinetic disorder

Lambek, R., Trillingsgaard, A., Kadesjö, B., Damm, D. & Thomsen, P. H. (2010). Gender differences on the Five to Fifteen questionnaire in a non‐referred sample with inattention and hyperactivity‐impulsivity and a clinic‐referred sample with hyperkinetic disorder. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 540–447. The aim of the present study was to examine gender differences in children with inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity on the Five to Fifteen (FTF) parent questionnaire. First, non‐referred girls (n = 43) and boys (n = 51) with problems of attention and hyperactivity‐impulsivity and then clinic‐referred girls (n = 35) and boys (n = 66) with hyperkinetic disorder (HKD) were compared on the FTF. Results suggested that non‐referred boys were more hyperactive‐impulsive than non‐referred girls, whereas clinic‐referred boys and girl with HKD were more similar than dissimilar on the FTF questionnaire. Secondly, it was examined whether the application of gender mixed norms versus gender specific norms would result in varying proportions of clinic‐referred children with HKD being identified as impaired on the subdomains of the FTF questionnaire. Based on results it was concluded that the use of a gender mixed normative sample may lead to overestimation of impairment in boys with HKD, but the type of sample applied to define impairment on the FTF should depend on the purpose for applying the questionnaire.     

Effect of low dose ionizing radiation exposure in utero on cognitive function in adolescence

Heiervang, K. S., Mednick, S., Sundet, K. & Rund, B. R. (2010). Effect of low dose ionizing radiation exposure in utero on cognitive function in adolescence. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 210–215. Radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown greatly affected several Norwegian counties. The cognitive consequences of in utero exposure to radiation from the Chernobyl accident have been intensely debated. This study examines the cognitive outcomes for those Norwegians who were exposed as fetuses to the fallout from Chernobyl. The participants, 84 adolescents who were exposed in utero to radiation from the most contaminated areas in Norway and 94 adolescents from areas not contaminated by the radiation, were tested on verbal and nonverbal IQ. Two data analyses were conducted. First, using a control‐group design, the IQ scores of exposed and unexposed adolescents were compared. Second, in a timing‐of‐exposure design, those exposed during the most sensitive period were contrasted with those exposed later in gestation. Adolescents exposed to low‐dose ionizing radiation in utero scored significantly lower in full‐scale IQ than unexposed adolescents. The difference was restricted to verbal IQ and was not evident for nonverbal IQ. The effect was not observed in exposed adolescents who had passed the most sensitive gestational period prior to the accident and thus were exposed to the radiation from Chernobyl exclusively after gestational week 16. These participants performed as well as the controls. Although the results should be interpreted cautiously due to the study’s nonrandomized design, the data add new and important support to the hypothesis that the Chernobyl accident may have had a subtle effect on the cognitive functioning of those exposed to low‐dose ionizing radiation in utero during the most sensitive gestational period.     

Delivery of internet treatment for compulsive hoarding (D.I.T.C.H.)

This study tested the effectiveness of an existing private online CBT-based group intervention designed to help people with hoarding. Web-group participants were hypothesized to show more improvement in hoarding symptoms over time compared to those placed on a naturalistic waitlist. This web-based self-help group (N = 106 members, N = 155 waitlisted) includes a formal application process and requires that participants post action steps and progress at least once monthly. Members have access to educational resources on hoarding, cognitive strategies, and a chat-group. Potential research participants were invited to complete an anonymous web-based survey about their hoarding behaviors and clinical improvement on five occasions (3 months apart). The sample was mainly middle-aged, female and White. Regression analyses show that Recent members reported greater improvement and less clutter at 6 months (than Waitlist). Long-term members reported milder hoarding symptoms than Recent ones, suggesting benefits from group participation over time. All members showed reductions in clutter and hoarding symptoms over 15 months. Less posting activity was associated with greater hoarding severity. Online CBT-based self-help for hoarding appears to be a promising intervention strategy that may extend access to treatment. Evaluating the benefits of internet self-help groups is critical given growing popularity of and demand for web-based interventions.     

Directional learning,but no spatial mapping by rats performing a navigational task in an inverted orientation

Previous studies have identified neurons throughout the rat limbic system that fire as a function of the animal’s head direction (HD). This HD signal is particularly robust when rats locomote in the horizontal and vertical planes, but is severely attenuated when locomoting upside-down (Calton & Taube, 2005). Given the hypothesis that the HD signal represents an animal’s sense of directional heading, we evaluated whether rats could accurately navigate in an inverted (upside-down) orientation. The task required the animals to find an escape hole while locomoting inverted on a circular platform suspended from the ceiling. In Experiment 1, Long-Evans rats were trained to navigate to the escape hole by locomoting from either one or four start points. Interestingly, no animals from the 4-start point group reached criterion, even after 29 days of training. Animals in the 1-start point group reached criterion after about six training sessions. In Experiment 2, probe tests revealed that animals navigating from either 1- or 2-start points utilized distal visual landmarks for accurate orientation. However, subsequent probe tests revealed that their performance was markedly attenuated when navigating to the escape hole from a novel start point. This absence of flexibility while navigating upside-down was confirmed in Experiment 3 where we show that the rats do not learn to reach a place, but instead learn separate trajectories to the target hole(s). Based on these results we argue that inverted navigation primarily involves a simple directional strategy based on visual landmarks.