A Structural Equation Analysis of the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning in a Clinical Sample

A maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis was performed by applying LISREL VII to the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML) in a clinical sample (N = 271). Analyses were designed to determine which of 10 hypothesized oblique factor solutions could best explain memory as measured by the WRAML. Competing latent variable models were identified in previous studies and monographs on memory. Findings supported a three-factor model including Verbal Memory, Visual Memory, and Attention/Concentration factors. Our results are consistent with previous studies suggesting that attention is an important component of memory as measured by the WRAML. This study replicates previous research in which the Learning Index was not empirically supported.     

Neural computations that underlie decisions about sensory stimuli

Decision-making behavior has been studied extensively, but the neurophysiological mechanisms responsible for this remarkable cognitive ability are just beginning to be understood. Here we propose neural computations that can account for the formation of categorical decisions about sensory stimuli by accumulating information over time into a single quantity: the logarithm of the likelihood ratio favoring one alternative over another. We also review electrophysio-logical studies that have identified brain structures that may be involved in computing this sort of decision variable. The ideas presented constitute a framework for understanding how and where perceptual decisions are formed in the brain.     

Assessing Psychosocial Impairment in the Pediatric Emergency Department: Child/Caregiver Concordance

The objective of this study was to examine the level of agreement between child- and caregiver-reports of the child’s psychosocial problems presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) using a validated screening tool. This was an anonymous, prospective, cross-sectional, multi-informant (child and caregiver) study assessing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems and physical complaints in children and adolescents presenting to a PED. Three-hundred and fifty-eight children and adolescents (8–18 years old) and their caregivers participated. Children completed the Youth-Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-Y), while their caregivers completed the Pediatric Symptom Checklist–35 (PSC-35) to measure psychosocial impairment. The child’s physical complaints (e.g., chief complaint, chronicity, other medical problems, medications) and demographic information were assessed using an investigator-developed patient background questionnaire completed by the caregivers. Physical complaints (e.g., chief complaint, chronicity, other medical problems, medications) were assessed using an investigator-developed patient background questionnaire. Agreement between child- and caregiver- reports was analyzed using Cohen’s kappa coefficient. Differences between child and caregiver-reported scores were determined by t-tests. Poor to moderate agreement was found between child- and caregiver-reports of attention problems (κ = .355), externalizing problems (κ = .340), internalizing problems (κ = .065), and total PSC score (κ = .410). Both children and caregivers should complete the psychosocial screener to maximize the accuracy of assessment and the identification of impairment.     

Effectiveness of virtual reality for pediatric pain distraction during i.v. placement.

The objective of this study was to test the efficacy and suitability of virtual reality (VR) as a pain distraction for pediatric intravenous (i.v.) placement. Twenty children (12 boys, 8 girls) requiring i.v. placement for a magnetic resonance imaging/computed tomography (MRI/CT) scan were randomly assigned to two conditions: (1) VR distraction using Street Luge (5DT), presented via a head-mounted display, or (2) standard of care (topical anesthetic) with no distraction. Children, their parents, and nurses completed self-report questionnaires that assessed numerous health-related outcomes. Responses from the Faces Pain Scale-Revised indicated a fourfold increase in affective pain within the control condition; by contrast, no significant differences were detected within the VR condition. Significant associations between multiple measures of anticipatory anxiety, affective pain, i.v. pain intensity, and measures of past procedural pain provided support for the complex interplay of a multimodal assessment of pain perception. There was also a sufficient amount of evidence supporting the efficacy of Street Luge as a pediatric pain distraction tool during i.v. placement: an adequate level of presence, no simulator sickness, and significantly more child-, parent-, and nurse-reported satisfaction with pain management. VR pain distraction was positively endorsed by all reporters and is a promising tool for decreasing pain, and anxiety in children undergoing acute medical interventions. However, further research with larger sample sizes and other routine medical procedures is warranted.     

Age-related memory deficits in rats and mice: enhancement with peripheral injections of epinephrine

Epinephrine peripherally administered to rats and mice immediately following avoidance and/or appetitive training enhances later memory retention in both young and old animals. These findings suggest a possible involvement of peripheral adrenergic systems in memory dysfunctions which accompany aging.     

Cognitive functioning of older people in relation to social and personality variables

Age differences in performance on memory measures and in subjective ratings of memory adequacy were examined in the context of 12 social, personality, adjustment, and lifestyle measures. Participants were 285 men and women, aged 65 to 93, of middle- and working-class backgrounds. A series of multivariate and univariate analyses revealed that a large proportion of the age differences and virtually all of the social-class differences on memory measures could be accounted for by contextual variables, with education, intellectual activity, extroversion, neuroticism, and lie scores (on the Eysenck Personality Inventory) all accounting for more of the variance in memory performance than did age. Self-rated memory adequacy was not correlated with performance, and although the expected finding of lower ratings by older participants was obtained with the working-class group, the opposite was true for the middle-class group. Implications of these results for understanding age differences in memory are discussed.     

The socialization of sex-differentiated skills and academic performance: A mediational model

Using a multifactorial model, sex differences in academic performance were examined in a sample of 347 elementary school children. As expected, girls' academic performance averaged higher than boys'. Path analysis confirmed initial hypotheses that girls' advantage is partially due to their characteristic of greater responsiveness to social cues and compliance with adult direction. This advantage was partially offset in this model by boys' greater visual-spatial skill, which also was a predictor of academic success. Access to stereotypic masculine toys and activities at home was, for both sexes, a predictor of children's visual-spatial ability. As expected, socioeconomic variables, including mothers' occupation and fathers' level of education, also influenced the environmental, social, and cognitive factors predicting academic success. These results indicate that boys' and girls' differential development of specific cognitive and social skills may play an important role in establishing sex differences in academic performance.