Hemispheric differences for global/local processing in divided attention tasks: further evidence for the integration theory

Functional hemispheric asymmetries with respect to global/local processing have been observed more reliably in divided-attention than in selective-attention tasks. This difference has been accounted for by assuming that the hemispheres operate differently in the two tasks. In our study, the alternative hypothesis was tested that the interference between the global and local levels is increased under divided attention, and that this makes it necessary to base response selection on a more elaborated mental stimulus representation in which the levels and their content are integrated. Because the hemispheres systematically differ in this integration process, the increased interference between the levels explains why the corresponding asymmetries occur more reliably under divided attention. Two experiments supporting this hypothesis are reported, one with a divided and one with a selective attention task.     

Vierzig Jahre Richtlinien-Psychotherapie in Deutschland

On the 3rd of May 1967, 40 years ago, the Federal Comittee of Physicians and Health Services enacted the guidelines for ?analytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy in the medical care by panel doctors“ (?Psychotherapy Guidelines“). That short text (three and a half DIN A4 pages) was the starting point of a sheer revolutionary development. It became the basis of a health care system, which allows the total financing of relative comprehensive psychotherapeutic treatments in a worldwide unique context.     

Systemische Therapie bei Störungen des Erwachsenenalters

Background

Systemic therapy is a scientifically acknowledged form of psychotherapy in the US and many European countries, but not yet in Germany.

Method

All randomized (or parallelized) controlled trials (RCT) evaluating systemic couples/family/individual therapy with adult index patients published in English, German or Spanish up to the end of 2004 were identified via data base searches and cross-references in other meta-analyses and reviews. A meta-analysis of the identified RCT was performed.

Results

28 RCT (43 publications) evaluating systemic therapy with adult index patients suffering from clinical disorders (ICD-10) were identified. Systemic therapy is efficacious with regard to substance disorders, mental/social factors interacting with somatic disorders, schizophrenia, depression and eating disorders. The results are stable across follow-up periods of up to 5 years.

Conclusion

According to the criteria of the German Scientific Advisory Board Psychotherapy (Wissenschaftlicher Beirat Psychotherapie) there seems to be good evidence for the efficacy of systemic therapy in at least four fields of application of adult psychotherapy.     

Using cue words to investigate the distribution of autobiographical memories in childhood

The cue-word technique is frequently used with adults to examine the distribution of autobiographical memories across the life span. Such studies demonstrate childhood amnesia: a paucity of memories of events from the first 3(1/2) years of life, and a gradually increasing number of memories from age 3 to age 7. The pattern is remarkable in light of findings of autobiographical competence among children in the period of life eventually obscured by this amnesia. In the present study, we modified the cue-word task for use with school-age children. Seven- to 10-year-olds successfully generated and dated memories of past events. Girls provided more complete narratives than boys. Across the sample, the resulting distribution of memories was better fit by an exponential than by a power function, implying that early memories may not consolidate and instead remain vulnerable to interference. Implications for explanations of childhood amnesia are discussed.     

Cognitive control under stress: how stress affects strategies of task-set reconfiguration

This study investigated the effect of stress on cognitive control in task shifting. Subjects shifted between two tasks in an explicit cuing paradigm. Shift costs (i.e., performance decrements on task shifts relative to task repetitions) were measured for a long and a short cue-stimulus interval (CSI). Stress was varied by administering low-stress and high-stress IQ scales to two groups of subjects. In the low-stress group, shift costs were reduced with an increased CSI, a result that typically indicates anticipatory and shift-specific task-set reconfiguration. In the high-stress group, however, shift costs were independent of the CSI. This result is consistent with the idea that stress induces a change in the reconfiguration strategy, possibly to adapt to depleted resources.     

Overgeneral memory and suppression of trauma memories in post-traumatic stress disorder

The study investigated the relationship between the suppression of trauma memories and overgeneral memory in 42 assault survivors with and without PTSD. Overgeneral memory (OGM) was assessed with a standard autobiographical memory test (AMT). Participants completed two further AMTs under the instructions to either suppress or not suppress assault memories, in counterbalanced order. Participants with PTSD retrieved fewer and more general memories when following the suppression instruction than participants without PTSD, but not under the control instruction. OGM correlated with PTSD symptom severity, and measures of cognitive avoidance. The results are discussed with reference to current theories of overgeneral memory and its possible relationship with PTSD.     

The Illegal Way In and The Moral Way Out

At the heart of the current debate about immigration we find a conflict of convictions. Many people seem to believe that a country has a right to decide who to let in and who to keep out, but quite often they appear equally committed to the view that it is morally wrong to expel someone from within the borders of their country if that would seriously jeopardise the person in question. While the first conviction leads to stricter border controls in an attempt to prevent would-be immigrants from entering the country illegally, the latter conviction ensures that aliens with a legitimate claim on protection will not be removed forcibly. It is not strange, therefore, that the task of pinning down a morally sound immigration policy is such an elusive enterprise.
In this paper I take it for granted that no electorate would be prepared to accept the kind of policy they ought to, and that we in consequence will continue to let in as few immigrants as is currently the case. Given this constraint I argue against two common assumptions concerning a viable immigration policy. First, granted that certain conditions are satisfied, professional smugglers should not face legal sanctions for bringing asylum seekers to a potential host country. Second, countries that limit immigration should not treat people seeking family reunion preferentially or on a par with other immigrants, but rather act so as to maximise the number of refugees allowed to enter.     

Virtual reality for the psychophysiological assessment of phobic fear: responses during virtual tunnel driving

An overall assessment of phobic fear requires not only a verbal self-report of fear but also an assessment of behavioral and physiological responses. Virtual reality can be used to simulate realistic (phobic) situations and therefore should be useful for inducing emotions in a controlled, standardized way. Verbal and physiological fear reactions were examined in 15 highly tunnel-fearful and 15 matched control participants in 3 virtual driving scenarios: an open environment, a partially open tunnel (gallery), and a closed tunnel. Highly tunnel-fearful participants were characterized by elevated fear responses specifically during tunnel drives as reflected in verbal fear ratings, heart rate reactions, and startle responses. Heart rate and fear ratings differentiated highly tunnel-fearful from control participants with an accuracy of 88% and 93%, respectively. Results indicate that virtual environments are valuable tools for the assessment of fear reactions and should be used in future experimental research.     

Pianists duet better when they play with themselves: on the possible role of action simulation in synchronization

Ensemble musicians play in synchrony despite expressively motivated irregularities in timing. We hypothesized that synchrony is achieved by each performer internally simulating the concurrent actions of other ensemble members, relying initially on how they would perform in their stead. Hence, musicians should be better at synchronizing with recordings of their own earlier performances than with others' recordings. We required pianists to record one part from each of several piano duets, and later to play the complementary part in synchrony with their own or others' recordings. The pianists were also asked to identify their own recordings. The pianists were better at synchronizing with their own than with others' performances, and they were able to recognize their own recordings. Furthermore, synchronization accuracy and recognition were correlated: Pianists who were relatively accurate at synchronizing with their own performances were also good at recognizing them. Thus, action simulation may underlie both synchronization and self-recognition.     

Nice wor_ if you can get the wor_: subliminal semantic and form priming in fragment completion

Two experiments investigated subliminal semantic and form priming in a word-completion task. Visual gap-words with a dominant and a subordinate solution were preceded by form-related or by semantically related words, which were briefly presented and sandwich-masked. Priming of the subordinate solution was assessed in Experiment 1, relative to a neutral condition. Both solutions were primed in Experiment 2. In the absence of conscious prime recognition, both semantic and form primes reliably increased the probability with which the primed solution was given. With our variant of fragment-completion, response priming can be ruled out as explanation. Moreover, effects were already present at first presentation, excluding an interpretation in terms of partial awareness due to massive repetition. The data demonstrate automatic activation at both form and semantic levels in the absence of conscious awareness.