Drop-in suicide prevention group decreases suicidal ideation among Veterans

This study examined the effectiveness of a weekly, drop-in therapy support group designed for Veterans identified at increased risk for suicide. Veterans were identified as at risk for suicide and referred to the group following hospitalization on the inpatient psychiatric unit after an increase in suicidal ideation (SI), presentation to a provider with SI with a plan, or having made a suicide attempt. An archival chart review was performed on 359 patients who were referred to the Coping, Understanding, Support, and Prevention Group from 2009 through 2011. Documented risk of suicide was collected from the chart including: frequency of inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, visits to the emergency department or mental health walk in clinic for SI, reported SI in clinical notes, consults resulting from calls to the Veteran’s Crisis Line, and assignment or removal of suicide risk behavior flags in the electronic medical record, for a period of 12 months prior to referral to the group and for a period of 12 months after referral to the group. Negative binomial regression models found that Veterans attending the support group showed a significantly greater reduction in frequency of endorsing SI post-referral compared to those who did not attend the group. Results imply that offering Veterans an ongoing therapeutic group format to give and receive support from peers also struggling with suicide risk factors is an effective way to reduce suicide-related thoughts.     

Coarse threat images reveal theta oscillations in the amygdala: A magnetoencephalography study

Neurocognitive models propose a specialized neural system for processing threat-related information, in which the amygdala plays a key role in the analysis of threat cues. fMRI research indicates that the amygdala is sensitive to coarse visual threat relevant information—for example, low spatial frequency (LSF) fearful faces. However, fMRI cannot determine the temporal or spectral characteristics of neural responses. Consequently, we used magnetoencephalography to explore spatiotemporal patterns of activity in the amygdala and cortical regions with blurry (LSF) and normal angry, fearful, and neutral faces. Results demonstrated differences in amygdala activity between LSF threat-related and LSF neutral faces (50–250 msec after face onset). These differences were evident in the theta range (4–8 Hz) and were accompanied by power changes within visual and frontal regions. Our results support the view that the amygdala is involved in the early processing of coarse threat related information and that theta is important in integrating activity within emotion-processing networks.     

A laboratory-based procedure for measuring emotional expression from natural speech

Despite dramatic advances in the sophistication of tools for measuring prosodic and content channels of expression from natural speech, methodological issues have limited the simultaneous measurement of those channels for laboratory research. This is particularly unfortunate, considering the importance of emotional expression in daily living and how it can be disrupted in many psychological disorders (e.g., schizophrenia). The present study examined the Computerized assessment of Affect from Natural Speech (CANS), a laboratory-based procedure that was designed to measure both lexical and prosodic expression from natural speech across a range of evocative conditions. The verbal responses of 38 male and 31 female subjects were digitally recorded as they reacted to separate pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral stimuli. Lexical and prosodic expression variables significantly changed across these conditions, providing support for using the CANS in further laboratory research. The implications for understanding the interface between lexical and prosodic expressions are also discussed.     

EVALUATION OF THE MULTIPLE-STIMULUS WITHOUT REPLACEMENT PREFERENCE ASSESSMENT METHOD USING ACTIVITIES AS STIMULI

The current study examined the accuracy of the multiple-stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment for identifying preferred common classroom activities as reinforcers with children with behavioral disorders. The accuracy of predictions from the MSWO regarding high, medium, and low stimulus preference was tested by providing contingent access to activities for completing math problems within an independent seatwork format. Overall, there was an interaction effect between preference ranking (high, medium, or low) and number of problems completed. The results confirm and extend previous findings regarding the accuracy of predictions with the MSWO. The findings also reveal, however, some individual differences that may account for instances in which student behavior did not conform to predictions of stimulus preference assessments.     

Mothers' Experience of Stress Following the Birth of a First Child: Identification of Stressors and Coping Resources1

The purpose of this study is to identify, through a retrospective methodology, stressor and coping resource variables which are involved in mothers' experience of stress one month after the birth of a first child. The variables were identified on the basis of previous work in this field, and were categorized as stressor or coping resource variables according to the writings of authors in the larger domain of stress and coping. The influence of interactive and additive combinations of stressors and coping resources, as described by Wheaton (1985), were also examined in a multiple regression model. A five-variable model, accounting for 58.74% of the variance of a measure of the experience of stress, was obtained. Discussion focuses around the predictive possibilities of such a model, the impact of coping resources, and on the potential for utilizing this model for describing the process of adaptation following this event over time.     

Attention and hemispheric differences in reaction time during simultaneous audio-visual tasks

The effect of different types of competing auditory tasks on laterality differences in visual perception was investigated. Right-handed subjects were presented with digits which occurred randomly in the left or right visual fields. They responded vocally to previously specified digits in a go, no-go reaction time situation. In the absence of any competing auditory task, digits presented in the right visual field were processed more quickly. This visual field difference in reaction time was in the same direction while subjects performed a secondary musical task. However, when a secondary verbal task had to be performed, digits in the left visual field received faster responses. The results support the view that the right hemisphere is capable of some language functions, and that hemispheric differences in performance have at their basis a quantitative asymmetry, which can be reversed even in normal subjects by overloading their limited capacity.     

Phonemic and category encoding of unattended words in dichotic listening

The claim that unattended items in dichotic listening are categorized (Smith & Groen, 1974) was examined in three experiments using dichotic presentation and probe reaction time. Negative probe words from the unattended list were more difficult to reject when the dichotic lists shared a semantic category than when they differed in category, whether or not the attended list was precued, thereby replicating and extending Smith and Groen’s findings. The difficulty with intralist probes following dichotic lists of a homogeneous category was found to be a special case of the probe similarity effect, since extralist probes of the same category as the attended input were rejected more slowly (and with more errors) than different category probes. The effects of category homogeneity were evident on the attended, but not on the unattended, inputs (Experiment 2). The third experiment compared focused and divided attention with dichotic lists of unrelated items. Phonemically similar probes were more difficult to reject when related to items on the attended channel in the focused condition than either channel in divided attention, and easiest to reject when similar to an unattended item. Linear regression confirmed that the unattended input was processed only at a precategorical (acoustic) level.