Hypnotic susceptibility, interference, and alternation frequency to the Necker cube illusion

Two experiments (N = 60) were conducted to determine the effects of hypnotic susceptibility and interference on frequency of Necker cube apparent reversals (ARs). Interference was induced in Experiment 1 by having subjects respond to orally administered double-digit arithmetic (addition) problems while observing the Necker cube. In Experiment 2, counting backward by 3s served as interference. In both experiments, interference reduced ARs. Hypnotic susceptibility level also influenced ARs, with those scoring high on this attribute reporting more ARs than those scoring low. Attentional factors may have played a major role in producing the reported results.     

The Persistent Case of Major Depression: An Argument for Long-Term Treatment

According to psychotherapy outcome literature, treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD) yield impressive results. Study after study demonstrates the efficacy of brief, evidence-based interventions for depressed individuals. Nevertheless, MDD continues to exact a devastating toll on modern society. The World Health Organization has identified it as the leading cause of disability worldwide. This reality is surprising given the implications from the academic literature. A historical analysis of MDD treatment suggests that most people with MDD experienced complete remission and enhanced outcomes when long-term, psychodynamically influenced treatments prevailed. An analysis of the system that perpetuates the brief intervention model for MDD, managed care, is discussed. This analysis is followed by a case study that illustrates the harm managed care can do to patients with MDD who are not permitted treatment of longer duration. Implications and recommendations for psychologists to intervene at the micro and macro levels are discussed.     

Contextualizing the History of Yoga in Geoffrey Samuel’s The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: A Review Symposium

International Journal of Hindu Studies -     

The Development of a Methodology for Examining the Process of Family Communication of Genetic Test Results

It is important to study communication processes in families where members are undergoing testing for genetic conditions because the information received from such testing is crucial not just to the individual concerned but also to other members of the biological family. This topic has received little research attention, in part because of the complexities of methodology required. In this paper we present the development of a method specifically designed for the examination of the content and process of communication of genetic information in families. The method aims to maximize ecological validity as far as is possible. We describe how participants and other family members are recruited and how data were collected. We outline three main data analytic strategies: a graphic to show how genetic information changes as it flows from clinic and through the family, an intensive qualitative analysis of the meaning and impact of the genetic information to different family members, and an informative genogram which plots key family dynamics. This method will be illustrated in relation to a study of ten family-groups where one individual has been found to carry a genetic mutation predisposing them to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.     

Negative emotional processing induced by spoken scenarios modulates corticospinal excitability

Emotion is assumed to facilitate the preparation of behavioral responses to environmental stimuli. In the present study, we examined whether emotional processing induced by spoken scenarios of positive and negative content, related to the self or to other people, modulates corticospinal excitability. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in 20 volunteers indicated that processing of negative emotional content increased MEP amplitude, regardless of the perspective taken in the scenario. By contrast, positive emotional processing did not reliably alter MEP amplitude. These results provide the first TMS evidence that the auditory processing of emotionally negative information triggers action preparation.     

Prism adaptation in left-handers

Two experiments with left-handers examined the features of prism adaptation established by previous research with right-handers. Regardless of handedness, (1) rapid adaptation occurs in exposure pointing with developing error in the opposite direction after target achievement, especially with early visual feedback in target pointing; (2) proprioceptive or visual aftereffects are larger, depending on whether visual feedback is available early or late, respectively, in target pointing; (3) the sum of these aftereffects is equal to the total aftereffect for the eye-hand coordination loop; (4) intermanual transfer of visual aftereffects occurs only for the dominant hand; and (5) visual aftereffects are larger in left space when the dominant hand is exposed to leftward displacement. A notable handedness difference is that, while transfer of proprioceptive aftereffects only occurs to the nondominant hand in right-handers, transfer occurs in both directions for left-handers, but regardless of handedness, such transfer only occurs when the exposed hand is tested first after exposure. A discussion then focuses on the implications of these data for a theory of handedness.