Motor excitability is reduced prior to voluntary movements in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuro‐developmental disorder characterized by the occurrence of motor and vocal tics: involuntary, repetitive, stereotyped behaviours that occur with a limited duration, often typically many times in a single day. Previous studies suggest that children and adolescents with TS may undergo compensatory, neuroplastic changes in brain structure and function that help them gain control over their tics. In the current study we used single‐pulse and dual‐site paired‐pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), in conjunction with a manual choice reaction time task that induces high levels of inter‐manual conflict, to investigate this conjecture in a group of children and adolescents with TS, but without co‐morbid Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). We found that performance on the behavioural response‐conflict task did not differ between the adolescents with TS and a group of age‐matched typically developing individuals. By contrast, our study demonstrated that cortical excitability, as measured by TMS‐induced motor‐evoked potentials (MEPs), was significantly reduced in the TS group in the period immediately preceding a finger movement. This effect is interpreted as consistent with previous suggestions that the cortical hyper‐excitability that may give rise to tics in TS is actively suppressed by cognitive control mechanisms. Finally, we found no reliable evidence for altered patterns of functional inter‐hemispheric connectivity in TS. These results provide evidence for compensatory brain reorganization that may underlie the increased self‐regulation mechanisms that have been hypothesized to bring about the control of tics during adolescence.     

Rapid naming deficits in children and adolescents with reading disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Seventy-one children in three groups (reading disabilities, ADHD without reading disabilities, and normal controls) were compared on their ability to rapidly name colors, letters, numbers, and objects (RAN Tasks) and alternating letters/numbers and letters/numbers/colors (RAS tasks). Children with reading disabilities were found to be slower on letter- and number-naming tasks and made more errors on all tasks than controls or children with ADHD. There was an age effect for the RAN/RAS tasks, with younger children with reading disabilities performing more poorly on all tasks, while the older children with reading disabilities showed poorer performance only on the letter- and number-naming tasks.     

Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography Monitoring of Cerebral Hemodynamics During Performance of Cognitive Tasks: A Review

The examination of blood flow velocity (BFV) changes during the performance of mental tasks is one of the applications of transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography. The purpose of this review is to summarize the results of the functional TCD literature, to investigate the effects of methodological differences between studies, and to provide guidelines for future research. It is concluded that larger series of more homogeneous groups concerning age and handedness, and stricter criteria for subject selection and laboratory setting are required. The implication of quantitative and qualitative performance measures and psychological parameters (motivation, anxiety, and task anticipation) could also yield important information. We recommend future agreement upon a more standardized methodology. TCD promises to be a useful tool to provide further insight into the cerebral organization and temporal reactivity of the human brain.     

Can the location negative priming process operate in a proactive manner?

The location negative priming (NP) effect refers to the fact that the processing of a current target stimulus (probe trial) is delayed when it appears at a location that has recently contained a distractor event (prime trial), relative to when it occurs at a previously unoccupied position. One view is that the process causing the NP effect involves the inhibition of the internal representation of the prime-distractor event, and that the future processing of target stimuli that involve this event are prolonged because this distractor inhibition is persistent. In this study, we examined the possibility that the NP process (inhibition) could act proactively; specifically asking whether inhibition could be allocated to a location merely predicted to hold a future distractor event. To do this, we cued the probe distractor's location using an otherwise traditional location NP paradigm. No evidence of a proactive NP process was obtained. Probe-trial target latency was the same whether it appeared at the cued distractor location or at a new location, but was delayed when it occupied the prime-distractor location (NP effect). The location NP process is seemingly a reactive one, applying inhibition only when an actual distractor is present, much as past theories have implied.     

Examining the utility of the PCL:SV as a screening measure using competing factor models of psychopathy

The correspondence between the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995) and the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991, 2003) was examined in forensic (N = 175) and correctional (N = 188) samples. Intermeasure correlations for Total scores (.95 forensic, .94 correctional) and the original 2-factor, D. J. Cooke and C. Michie's (2001) 3-factor, and R. D. Hare's (2003) 4-facet models (range = .87-.95) were high. Area under the curve values for the PCL:SV were .98 in both samples (cutoff = PCL-R Total score of 25). The PCL:SV performed well as a screen, maximizing false positive relative to false negative errors. Close correlations for prediction of violent recidivism in the correctional sample were obtained for the PCL-R (.42) and PCL:SV (.37). Results indicate the robust relation between the measures is maintained whether they are completed on the basis of file review only or file plus interview and whether the same or different raters score the measures.     

Gender differences in attitudes toward psychopathic sexual offenders

Although a considerable amount of research has been conducted examining the validity of psychopathy as a psychological construct, relatively few studies have focused on the effects of using this disorder in "real-world" settings to influence the attitudes of laypersons who are making life-altering decisions about offenders. This study attempted to replicate and extend earlier findings (Guy & Edens, 2003) suggesting that there are gender differences in the impact of expert testimony regarding psychopathy. A sample of 599 undergraduates reviewed case facts regarding a hypothetical Sexually Violent Predator trial in which the type of risk assessment testimony provided (clinical opinion, actuarial scale, psychopathy evaluation) and the age of the victims (adult versus child) were manipulated. Consistent with prior research, despite overall high rates of support for commitment in the adult victim condition, men were less prone than women to support civil commitment when the defendant was described as "a psychopath" (62.5 versus 86.5%). No such gender differences were noted in the clinical opinion or actuarial conditions. When the victims were identified as children, type of testimony had no impact because support for commitment was almost unilateral. Finally, ratings of how psychopathic the defendant was perceived to be (regardless of the testimony provided) were significantly associated with support for commitment across most conditions.     

A computational model for simulating text comprehension

In the present article, we outline the architecture of a computer program for simulating the process by which humans comprehend texts. The program is based on psycholinguistic theories about human memory and text comprehension processes, such as the construction-integration model (Kintsch, 1998), the latent semantic analysis theory of knowledge representation (Landauer & Dumais, 1997), and the predication algorithms (Kintsch, 2001; Lemaire & Bianco, 2003), and it is intended to help psycholinguists investigate the way humans comprehend texts.     

An investigation of appearance motives for tanning: The development and evaluation of the Physical Appearance Reasons For Tanning Scale (PARTS) and its relation to sunbathing and indoor tanning intentions

Motives for UV exposure have been shown to be related to appearance concerns, yet little research has examined specific tan appearance attitudes. Given this lacuna, Study 1 involved the identification of six factors among college female tanners: general attractiveness, media influence, family/friends influence, physical fitness appearance, acne reasons, and skin aging concerns. In Study 2, a separate sample of college female tanners were used to validate a higher order factor model, which demonstrated acceptable fit. Additionally, the factors converged in the expected directions, with the general attractiveness and skin aging concerns being the best correlate of UV exposure and sun-protection intentions. The relevance of these findings to skin cancer prevention is discussed.     

The emotional costs of parents' conditional regard: a self-determination theory analysis

Parents' use of conditional regard as a socializing practice was hypothesized to predict their children's introjected internalization (indexed by a sense of internal compulsion), resentment toward parents, and ill-being. In Study 1, involving three generations, mothers' reports of their parents' having used conditional regard to promote academic achievement predicted (a) the mothers' poor well-being and controlling parenting attitudes, and (b) their college-aged daughters' viewing them as having used conditional regard, thus showing both negative affective consequences from and intergenerational transmission of conditional regard. Study 2 expanded on the first by using four domains, including both genders, and examining mediating processes. College students' perceptions of their mothers' and fathers' having used conditional regard in four domains (emotion control, prosocial, academic, sport) were found to relate to introjected internalization, behavioral enactment, fluctuations in self-esteem, perceived parental disapproval, and resentment of parents. Introjection mediated the link from conditional regard to behavioral enactment. The results suggest that use of conditional regard as a socializing practice can promote enactment of the desired behaviors but does so with significant affective costs.