Behavioural and ERP Effects of Cognitive and Combined Cognitive and Physical Training on Working Memory and Executive Function in Healthy Older Adults

Cognitive and physical training have been shown to be effective in improving older adults’ cognition. However, it is not yet clear whether combined cognitive and physical training offers an advantage compared to cognitive training alone. Twenty-two older adults performed cognitive or combined cognitive and physical training in order to compare their effects on working memory event-related potentials (ERPs) and on working memory and executive function performance. Before and after eight weeks of training, performance in Plus Minus, Flanker, Updated Span, and Complex Span tasks was measured, and ERPs were registered during performance of an n-back task (0-back, 2-back, and 3-back). Post-training behavioural improvement was observed in Updated Span, Complex Span, and n-back tasks. During the n-back task, the N2/P3 complex was modulated by training, with a decrease in N2 amplitude and an increase in P3 amplitude in the posttraining session compared to the pretraining session. These changes in ERP components suggest that both types of training potentially reduce the need for attentional control to perform the tasks correctly and increase working memory capacity. Thus, based on our data, no conclusion can be reached on the direct advantage of combined training, either at behavioural or at neural level. However, the present study might suggest an indirect advantage of such a combined training, because the cognitive benefit was found to be highly similar in both types of training. Using combined cognitive and physical training may produce a potential improvement in general fitness and an increased appeal of training.     

The Polish Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale: Preliminary Evidence on Validity and Cross-Cultural Comparison

Anxiety disorders are one of the most widespread psychological diseases in adolescence, which may lead to impairment in several areas of life and has been demonstrated a risk factor of other psychiatric disorders. One of the most widely used self-report measures to assess multiple symptoms of anxiety in youth is the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS). Literature suggests that anxiety symptoms vary across cultures to some extent. It has been found that individuals from collectivistic culture report higher levels of anxiety disorders than those from individualistic culture. Poland is a country whose culture was traditionally collectivistic; but now Poland is undergoing social and economic system transformation, which is taking it closer to individualistic culture. However, SCAS has never been validated in Polish samples, and thus the current study aimed (1) to assess the psychometric properties (structural validity and reliability) of SCAS in a sample of 303 Polish adolescents, (2) to examine gender differences, (3) to test the divergent validity of SCAS by relating it to the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and (4) to compare the mean levels with Chinese (collectivistic) and Italian (individualistic) samples. The results confirmed that the Polish version of SCAS showed good reliability and validity. Polish girls showed higher physical injury and generalized anxiety/overanxious symptoms than boys. Furthermore, Polish adolescents reported higher levels of anxiety than Italian youth but lower levels of anxiety than their Chinese counterparts. Implications for professionals and researchers are discussed.     

Simply Satisfied: The Role of Psychological Need Satisfaction in the Life Satisfaction of Voluntary Simplifiers

Low consumption lifestyles have the potential to impact positively on the environment and mental health. Past research indicates that individuals who engage in a low consumption lifestyle known as voluntary simplicity have higher levels of life satisfaction. This investigation aimed to test the role of psychological needs as proposed by Ryan and Deci’s (Am Psychol 55(1):68–78, 2000. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68) self-determination theory, in the relationship between voluntary simplicity and life satisfaction in a sample of 571 adults who may or may not identify as voluntary simplifiers. Self-report data was analysed using structural equation modeling to test a hypothesised path from simplifying behaviours to life satisfaction via gratification of the three proposed psychological needs. Consistent with previous research, simplifying behaviours were associated with increased life satisfaction. The proposed pathway: simplicity—psychological need gratification—life satisfaction was supported in the empirical test of the structural equation model suggesting psychological need satisfaction plays a mediating role in the increased life satisfaction of voluntary simplifiers.     

Socrates and Superiority

I propose an alternative interpretation of the Crito. The arguments that are typically taken to be Socrates' primary arguments against escape are actually supplementary arguments that rely on what I call the Superiority Thesis, the thesis that the state and its citizens are members of a moral hierarchy where those below are tied by bonds of obligation to those above. I provide evidence that Socrates holds this thesis, demonstrate how it resolves a number of apparent difficulties, and show why my interpretation is preferable to competing interpretations.     

Cognition-Oriented Treatments for Older Adults: a Systematic Overview of Systematic Reviews

Neuropsychology Review - Cognition-oriented treatments – commonly categorized as cognitive training, cognitive rehabilitation and cognitive stimulation – are promising approaches for...     

Citizen Science,the Body of Christ,and Testimonial Epistemology

How does explicit theological knowledge emerge out of communal practices, who is involved in its production, and what are its procedures? These are neither neutral nor arbitrary methodological questions; they are themselves deeply theological. Digital innovations and the subsequent transformations of society and academia invite us to redefine the work of theology. Epistemologically drawing on a theology of the cross and centring the communal nature and vulnerable existence of the witnessing community, we develop a model of doing theology that is collaborative and exploratory within the medial transformations of the digital age. Taking cues from participatory research conceptions of “citizen science,” we propose going toward and beyond a “citizen theology.” We need the courage to conceive of a theology that is ultimately centreless. Therefore, we cannot aspire to testimonially responsible forms of doing theology without striving for epistemic justice and diaconal empowerment at a global level. The “distributed theology” we envision promotes global (catholic), decentral (apostolic), and communal (local) forms of knowledge production by the whole of the body of Christ in ever more distributed ways.     

Social competence group intervention (SOCO) for children with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study

This study aimed to describe concept of social competence as a theoretical background for social skills group intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A model of social competence comprised of three components: social skills, social performance, and social adjustment. We also examined the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the manualized Social Competence group intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (SOCO) using a variety of outcome measures. The nine-month intervention included children groups, parental support groups and co-operation with teachers. A pilot study involved 23 children aged 7 to 12 years (n = 16 intervention, n = 7 control) and intervention outcomes were measured with questionnaires for parents and teachers, neuropsychological tests, and observations. The parents of the intervention group reported improvements in social skills and social adjustment, whereas the teachers reported increases in social performance. Findings also indicated that affect recognition skills, social overtures, and reactions to peers were improved in the intervention group. Although the evidence of the pilot study should be considered as preliminary, it gives some indication of the feasibility of the SOCO group intervention and supports the usability of the theoretical background and approach for multiple outcome measures.