Neuroimaging studies of serotonin gene polymorphisms: Exploring the interplay of genes, brain, and behavior

Because of the unique ability it provides to investigate information processing at the level of neural systems, functional neuroimaging is a powerful tool to explore the relationship between genes, brain, and behavior. Recently, functional neuroimaging has provided dramatic illustrations of how a promoter polymorphism in the human serotonin transporter gene, which has been weakly related to several dimensions of emotional behaviors (such as neuroticism and anxiety traits), is strongly related to the engagement of neural systems—namely, the amygdala and subgenual prefrontal cortex, subserving emotional information processing. This review will outline the experimental strategy by which these genetic effects on brain function have been explored and highlight the effectiveness of this strategy to delineate biological pathways and mechanisms contributing to the emergence of individual differences in brain function that potentially bias behavior and risk for psychiatric illness. Correspondence relating to this article may be sent to A. R. Hariri,     

Vertical vs horizontal bullying: A need of socio‐interactive ethical trainings at workplace

Bullying at workplaces is a growing problem associated with several antecedents and outcomes of psychological disorders. Extant literature shows the relationship of victimization with the owning‐up curriculum to confront bullying, but so far there is little research to cure the issue of bullying through ethics and there is no study to check the impact of ethical lessons and exercises in training materials to curb bullying at workplace. The current paper is based on a literature review of aggression and bullying, and chiefly addresses the HR practices in rescuing the people from peer victimization. Conceptually segregating supervisor‐subordinate (vertical) and peer‐peer (horizontal) bullying psychology, this paper attempts to see what possible corrective steps can be taken by senior managers, supervisors and psychologists to resolve this critical problem through interior capacities. In this paper, we have developed three propositions for conducting a future empirical investigation in connection to a cohort study. By addressing the counterproductive/deviant behavior, the present report is likely to be beneficial for psychology scientists and HR practitioners in noticing and resolving the bullying issues at the workplace for the well‐being of employees.     

A Model of Spirituality for Ageing Muslims

Spirituality’s influence on general well-being and its association with healthy ageing has been studied extensively. However, a different perspective has to be brought in when dealing with spirituality issues of ageing Muslims. Central to this perspective is the intertwining of religion and spirituality in Islam. This article will contribute to the understanding of the nature of Islamic spirituality and its immense importance in the life of a practicing ageing Muslim. Consequently, it will help care providers to include appropriate spiritual care in the care repertoire of a Muslim care recipient. It is assumed that the framework for a model of spirituality based on Islamic religious beliefs would help contextualise the relationship between spirituality and ageing Muslims. Not only challenges, but also the opportunities that old age provides for charting the spiritual journey have underpinned this model.     

Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Predicts Intimate Partner Victimization in Young Women

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with interpersonal dysfunction during childhood and adolescence, yet little is known about the romantic relationships of young women with childhood ADHD. In the present study, we draw from a longitudinal sample of girls followed prospectively into young adulthood, comparing those with (n?=?114) and without (n?=?79; comparisons) childhood ADHD in terms of their risk for physical victimization by an intimate partner (physical IPV; e.g., slapping, punching) by 17–24 years of age. We examined ADHD both diagnostically and dimensionally, at the same time establishing reliable indicators of young adult physical IPV. Externalizing and internalizing problems, and academic achievement during adolescence, were tested as potential mediators. Overall, participants with a childhood diagnosis of ADHD experienced more physical IPV than did comparisons (30.7 % vs. 6.3 %). In parallel, IPV was associated with higher levels of childhood ADHD symptomatology (d?=?0.73). Young women with persistent ADHD stood the highest risk of experiencing IPV (37.3 %), followed by those with transient ADHD (19.0 %) and those never-diagnosed (5.9 %). Academic achievement measured during adolescence was a significant partial mediator of the childhood ADHD symptomatology-young adult IPV relationship, even with control of sociodemographic, psychiatric, and cognitive factors, including childhood reading and math disorders. Findings indicate that in young women, childhood ADHD is a specific and important predictor of physically violent victimization in their intimate relationships. This vulnerable population requires IPV prevention and intervention, with academic empowerment as a key target.     

Beliefs about the meaning and measurement of intelligence: a cross‐cultural comparison of American,British and Malaysian undergraduates

This study examined lay beliefs about intelligence cross‐culturally using a questionnaire based on an expert summary of what is known about intelligence. Two hundred and thirty five university undergraduates in Malaysia, 347 undergraduates in Britain and 137 undergraduates in the US rated for agreement 30 items about the nature, measurement, between‐group differences and practical importance of intelligence. An exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors: (1) stability, reliability and validity of intelligence tests; (2) practical importance of intelligence and (3) source and stability of within‐group intelligence. While the overall factor structure did not vary a great deal between groups, there were significant cross‐cultural differences on the mean scores for Factors 1–3. Explanations for cross‐cultural differences in implicit theories of intelligences are considered, and limitations of the study discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Acute exposure to a 50 Hz magnetic field impairs consolidation of spatial memory in rats

This study was planned to evaluate the effect of an exposure to magnetic fields on consolidation and retrieval of hippocampus dependent spatial memory using a water maze. In Experiments 1 and 2, rats were trained in a hidden version (spatial) of water maze task with two blocks of four trials. The retention of spatial memory was evaluated 48 h later. Exposure to a 50 Hz 8 mT, but not 2 mT magnetic fields for 20 min immediately after training impaired retention performance. The same time exposure shortly before retention testing had no effect. In Experiment 3, rats were trained in a cued version of water maze with two blocks of four trials. Exposure to magnetic field at 8 mT for 20 min immediately after training did not impair retention performance. These findings indicate that acute exposure to a 50 Hz magnetic field at 8 mT for short time can impair consolidation of spatial memory.     

A Comparison of Effectiveness of Dohsa‐hou and the Alexander Technique on Happiness,Social Adjustment,Hope, Mental Health,and Quality of Life in Patients with Parkinson's Disease

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Dohsa‐hou and the Alexander Technique on happiness, social adjustment, hope, mental health, and quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease. The statistical population of this study included all of the patients with Parkinson's disease who were clients of neural therapeutic centers in Isfahan City in 2015. Among this population, 28 patients were selected through convenience sampling as the sample of the study. The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, the Social Adjustment Scale, the Adult Hope Scale, the General Health Questionnaire, and the Word Health Quality of Life Questionnaire were used as the instruments of the study. Data were analyzed by analyses of variance with repeated measures. The results showed that both interventions of this study can improve happiness, hope, and quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease, but Dohsa‐hou is more effective than the Alexander Technique in the improvement of happiness and hope. Probable explanations have been discussed.     

Evaluation of Psychometric Properties of the Second Version of the Taqwa (Piety) Questionnaire in Bahasa Melayu

The aim of the study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Bahasa Melayu version of the Taqwa (piety) questionnaire, used for the measurement of behaviour of Drug Dependency Syndrome (DDS), in Malay patients. A sample of 98 males with a psychiatric diagnosis (DSM-IV-R) as the DDS was randomly selected from Kajang Khafidz Polyclinic Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After receiving their agreement to attend the study, they completed the Taqwa (piety) questionnaire. The reliability was assessed by determining the Cronbach’s \( \alpha \) to measure the consistency of related questions for all four dimensions (subscales), including individual, social, cognitional, and emotional Taqwa behaviour. In the next step to evaluate the composite reliability, convergent, and discrimination validity, a measurement model was determined via Conformity Factor Analysis (CFA) based on Partial List Square method (Smart- PLS Ver: 2M3). The reliability of four dimensions of the questionnaire was acceptable (\( \alpha_{1} = 0.881, \;\alpha_{2} - 0.862, \;\alpha_{3} = 0.86, \;{\text{and }}\;\alpha_{4} = 0.90)\; {\text{and}} \) correlated to each other. However, according to the CFA method, the items with low loading factor (<0.5) were excluded from each dimension. Item 24 and 35 that were related to individual Taqwa, and item 35 that belonged to emotional Taqwa were excluded from the analysis. The composite reliability and convergent, and discrimination validity were satisfied in all conformity factor loading that exceeded 0/05. The psychometric properties of the Taqwa questionnaire are acceptable, and the scale is a good instrument for assessing the Islamic attitude, beliefs, and behaviour of the Bahasa Melayu DDS patients.