Cognitive change 5 years after coronary artery bypass surgery.

A longitudinal study of cognitive function after coronary artery bypass surgery examined 107 participants using 11 tests, preoperatively and at 6 days, 8 weeks, and 5 years after surgery. The overall neuropsychological (NP) change score declined at 6 days, showed some recovery at 8 weeks, and declined again at 5 years. The number of microemboli recorded during surgery, postoperative short-term cognitive change, and degree of recovery at 8 weeks were identified as predictors of change in NP score to 5 years. This suggests that even over a 5-year period, operative damage is detectable. Patients' vulnerability to short-term deterioration and resilience or ability to recover over a few weeks from operative cerebral insult are important processes of unknown mechanisms.     

The early biopsychosocial development of boys and the origins of violence in males

We apply a biopsychosocial approach to introduce early-in-life experiences that explain a significant part of the male preponderance in the perpetration of violence. Early caregiver abuse and neglect, father absence, and exposure to family and neighborhood violence exacerbate boys’ greater risk for aggressive behavior and increase the probability of carrying out violent acts later in life. We examine the development of the psychological self and explore conditions that encourage physical aggression, focusing on the impact on the infant and toddler's emergent mental representation of self, others, and self–other relationships. Boys’ slower developmental timetable in the first years of life may enhance their vulnerability for disorganization in emergent neurobiological networks mediating organization of socioemotional relationships. Emergent attachment and activation relationship systems may differentially affect risk and resilience in boys and girls, particularly in single-parent families. Evidence has suggested that the dramatic increase in single-parent families is especially linked to corresponding increases in behavioral undercontrol, antisocial behavior, and the emergence of violence in boys.     

When to offer cognitive behavioural or psychoanalytic psychotherapy in an integrated psychotherapy service: Are everyday allocation decisions theoretically congruent?

Different modes of psychotherapy can be an effective form of treatment for a range of mental health problems. Psychotherapy provision in the NHS is organised in a variety of ways, with patient entry to various modes of therapy determined by a range of factors including evidence‐based guidelines and patient or referrer preference. The methods by which patients arrive at a particular mode of psychotherapy are largely unreported. This paper aims to describe this process in one UK NHS psychotherapy service offering cognitive behavioural and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and provides data to inform a discussion on the theoretical congruence of these allocation decisions.     

Neurobehavioral reorganization in early infancy: Patterns of head orientation following lateral and midline holds

Head orientation was investigated in a longitudinal study of 37 infants, who were observed at ages 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks, during a 60-second period that followed each of four (60 second) midline or lateral holds. When newborn, the infants tended to lie with their heads to the right, but this bias weakened over the first 3 postnatal months. This rightward motor bias was constrained further by such factors as sex and holding position; both factors had their strongest effect at 8 weeks. Finally, evidence was found for behavioral reorganization of postural orientation such that head orientation was less influenced by prior head positioning after than prior to 8 weeks.     

Motor asymmetries in the human infant: Stepping movements

Stepping movements were investigated for evidence of early motor asymmetry in 24 familial right-handed infants and 14 familial left-handed infants at each of five ages: 2–3 days after birth, 14 days, and 1, 2, and 3 months of age. Results indicated a nonsignificant right leg advantage during the newborn period, with few significant lateral preferences evidenced in either direction at later testing ages. These results fail to indicate that a reliable leg preference persists beyond the newborn period, particularly among familial right-handed infants. Thus, it seems unlikely that an asymmetry in stepping movements during early infancy marks the beginning of a direct developmental path that culminates in a motor asymmetry in later childhood.     

On the state-dependent nature of infant head orientation

The relationship between infant state and head orientation after the head is held in a midline or lateral position was investigated longitudinally in infants 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks of age. Across the four ages, there was a general decrease in the amount of time spent in an active-awake state, whereas the amount of time spent crying remained fairly stable. Overall, infants turned more often to the right than to the left, but this difference was more pronounced when the infants were quietly alert or active-awake than when they were crying. The results thus indicate that state variables influence the expression of headorientation biases in early infancy.     

A longitudinal study of lateral biases in parents' cradling and holding of infants

Lateral preferences in parents' cradling and holding of their infants were assessed in a longitudinal study commencing 1–3 days after birth and ending at 18 months. Right-handed parents showed a consistent left-side preference, which declined slightly as the infants grew older. Left-handed mothers showed an initial left-side preference and then more variable holding behavior, including right-side preferences, in some conditions. No relationship between the parents' holding behavior and two measures of infant head posture was found. It is suggested that parental side-holding preferences and infant head orientation biases are components of a biobehavioral system designed to enhance the organization of the caregiver-infant relationship.     

Culture,gender, and the first memories of black and white American students

A pattern of delayed offset of childhood amnesia in Asian cultures has been attributed to the influence of the collectivist orientation of these cultures. To explore the generality of this finding, black and white American students were compared in two studies. A culture X gender interaction was observed in both studies; black women were approximately 11-16 months older at the time of their first memory than were black men, white women, and white men. In the second study, analyses of memory content indicated that black women were least likely to report personal experiences and most likely to report experiences from family or wider social contexts. Overall, black participants rated their memories as more vivid, but there were culture X gender interactions for ratings of emotional intensity and coherence. We consider multiple influences on age at first memory, including distal influences, gender themes in self-construal, and proximal influences on search criteria.