Word recognition and face recognition following posterior cerebral artery stroke: Overlapping networks and selective contributions

It has been suggested that word- and face recognition rely on a common cerebral network for perceptual processing. To further explore this hypothesis, face- and word recognition were assessed in seven patients with focal lesions after stroke of the posterior cerebral artery in either hemisphere. The aim was to investigate if problems in face- and word recognition would co-occur, if testing was sensitive and patients were not pre-selected based on behavioural symptoms. Patients and matched controls were given a reading test and a delayed matching paradigm with faces, objects, and words. Interestingly, all patients with word recognition difficulties had problems in face recognition, independently of the affected hemisphere, supporting the existence of a bilateral perceptual network for faces and words. However, two patients showed selective face recognition problems after unilateral damage to either hemisphere, suggesting that parts of this network may be more critical for face than for word recognition.     

Selective attention, memory bias, and symptom perception in idiopathic environmental intolerance and somatoform disorders

Idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI) refers to a polysymptomatic condition, similar to somatoform disorders. Various processes seem to contribute to its yet unknown etiology. Attention and memory for somatic symptom and IEI-trigger words was compared among participants with IEI (n = 54), somatoform disorders (SFD; n = 44) and control participants (n = 54). Groups did not differ in a dot-probe task. However, in an emotional Stroop task, attention was biased in IEI and SFD groups toward symptom words but not toward IEI-trigger words. Only the IEI group rated trigger words as more unpleasant and more arousing, and participants remembered them better in a recognition task. These implicit and explicit cognitive abnormalities in IEI and SFD may maintain processes of somatosensory amplification.     

EICHMANN’S BLOOD‐BARTER IN HUNGARY

In 1944, with the Second World War all but lost for Germany and her bombed‐out industry unable to supply the military, one desperate measure taken to obtain needed war material was an offer by Eichmann to barter the lives of one million Jews for ten thousand trucks. The interaction between the SS and Jewish leaders in Budapest—and in turn their appeals outside Hungary—is the subject of five plays: one originating in Austria, two in Germany, one in Great Britain and one in Israel. All five are discussed here in terms of their approach to the subject, their raisons d’être and their pursuit of the ethical issues raised by Jewish involvement with the Nazis. Whether under a fictional or his real name, a central character in these plays is Reszö Kastner (1906–1957), who was accused after the war of cooperation with the Nazis.     

Generalisierte Angststörung

The core features of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are excessive worry about various topics which are perceived as uncontrollable and mostly last for at least 6 months. Worrying is accompanied by a number of symptoms (e.g. muscle tension and irritability). Various etiological models suggest that avoidance of internal processes (e.g. cognitive, emotional, and physical) by worrying is central to the development and maintenance of GAD. Empirically well supported cognitive-behavioral interventions are worry exposure, applied relaxation, treating metacognitions, intolerance of uncertainty and negative problem orientation. Initial studies indicate the efficacy of mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches as well as psychodynamic approaches to treat GAD. The present article reports central diagnostic procedures, important differential diagnoses and illustrates actual (psycho) therapeutic treatment options.     

CHOOSING A BOOK: ARE BOB SUMMARIES HELPFUL?

ABSTRACT

The author reviewed 37 different back‐of‐the‐book (BOB) summaries to evaluate how helpful these summaries might be for adolescent readers selecting a book for recreational reading. Specifically, they analyzed BOB summary features, including length and organization, story grammar focus, accuracy of story portrayal and related aspects of usefulness for book choice. Teacher education students also provided information for this review as they participated in a related course task. Results indicate that BOB summaries focus largely on plot events and do so accurately. Reader reactions showed that they valued the accuracy of the summary and found the predictive nature of the summary to be helpful. Results demonstrate the potential value in using BOB summaries in the classroom.