Grip Control in Children before,during, and after Impulsive Loading

The manipulation of small objects requires continuous contributions from both predictive and reactive mechanisms. The authors aimed to study the development of predictive and reactive mechanisms used by children from 6 to 14 years of age to manage impulsive loading. The load of a handheld object was increased rapidly by the drop of a weight hung on the object. The drop was triggered either by the child (predictive condition) or by the examiner (reactive condition). Regardless of the condition, the control strategy was refined with age. Younger children were unable to adapt their grip force (GF) to the friction of their fingers, whereas the older children provided GF that was well adapted to their variable coefficient of friction, thereby producing a secure grip. This reflected either an inadequate amount of force or an inability to integrate cutaneous information from the fingers in younger children. Additionally, a modulation with age for both predictive and reactive mechanisms was observed. All together, the better predictive abilities and the more secure grip exhibited by older children allow decreased slipping and improved performance in an impulsive loading task.     

When deception influences memory: the implication of theory of mind

When deceiving, one should remember to whom a falsified story was previously told; otherwise he or she may include inconsistencies, and the deception will probably be discovered. Bearing this in mind, we investigated the potential relationship between deception and the ability to remember to whom a piece of information was previously told (i.e., destination memory). Forty-one adults were given a destination memory task in which they had to decide to whom proverbs had previously been told. They were also given a questionnaire about deception (e.g., “I sometimes tell lies if I have to) and a cognitive theory of mind task in which they had to predict the behaviour of protagonists who hold a mistaken belief about the state of the world. Results showed a positive correlation between deception and destination memory (p <?.001), a relationship that was further mediated by cognitive theory of mind ability (p?<?.01). Deception requires monitoring and inferring what targets know, suspect, and believe. This monitoring ability (i.e., cognitive theory of mind) results in better processing of the target and consequently better destination memory. By showing the involvement of deception and theory of mind in destination memory, our findings emphasize the memory variations in social and interpersonal interactions.     

Enhancement of spatial learning by predator odor in mice: Involvement of amygdala and hippocampus

Olfaction has particular links with learning and memory compared with other sensory cues, due to the interrelations between their neural circuitry. The present study deals with the effects of a putative stressor (i.e. a predator odor) on visuo-spatial learning in mice. Firstly, the results show that a predator odor spread during the Morris water maze task led to learning enhancement. In addition, a stereotaxic approach was used to investigate the involvement of the amygdala in this hippocampus-dependent type of learning. Thus, the performance of mice in visuo-spatial learning under predator odor conditions was dramatically reduced by an ibotenate bilateral amygdala lesion. The involvement of the amygdala was confirmed by a reduced expression of c-fos in the CA1 hippocampus of amygdala-lesioned mice at the end of the learning procedure.Mild exposure to a predator odor during hippocampus-dependent learning therefore leads to an enhancement of performance through the co-activation of the amygdala, probably by a stress mediated mechanism.     

Motives for secondary social sharing of emotions

This study provides new evidence of motives of secondary social sharing of emotions. In a retrospective study, 140 female (Mage = 29.4 yr., SD=12.8) and 116 male (M = 29.5 yr., SD = 13.1) participants were asked to recall a recent situation in which they had talked to a third person about a positive or negative, low or high intensity emotional narrative they had heard. 70% of the respondents reported having secondarily shared the reported event rapidly after the narration with several persons and at several times. Moreover, they not only described the event, the speaker's reaction and their own reactions, but also revealed the identity of their first confidant. Participants reported having spread the emotional narrative more widely in the high negative condition in order to seek emotional support and social comparison.     

Neuropsychology in France

The main steps in the development of neuropsychology in France are briefly reviewed, from the early contribution of Paul Broca (1861) up until the early 1990s. The current epistemological and institutional crises is analyzed with respect to some general factors inherent to the domain (e.g., disputes between the proponents of the psychological and biological dimensions) and to particular factors related to the French situation (e.g., retirement of prominent neuropsychologists). As regards clinical practice and research activities, the future will probably show some fractionation of goals and techniques prior to new synthesis.Died suddenly in March 1991.     

Logique et Realite

Sans résumé     

A modular,computer-controlled system for olfactory stimulation in the MRI environment

Although the cerebral networks involved in sensory perception are of general interest in neuroscience, registration of the effects of olfactory stimulation, especially in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment, presents particular problems and constraints. This article presents details of a reliable and portable system for olfactory stimulation that is modular in design and based on microcontroller technology. It has the following characteristics: (1)?It is under software control; (2)?the presentation of olfactory stimulation can be synchronized with respiration; (3)?it can be manually controlled; and (4)?it is fully compatible with an MRI environment. The principle underlying this system is to direct an odor to the subject’s nostrils by switching airflow to different odor diffusers. The characteristics of this system were established using (1)?ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, to measure its response time, and (2)?gas chromatography, to measure the repeatability of odor presentation in terms of gas concentration. A response time of 200?± 25 ms was obtained for the system, and the standard deviations of the gas concentration delivered during stimulation ranged from 1.5% to 22%, depending on the odor, the airflow, and the dilution of the odor used. Since it is portable, controlled by software, and reliable, on the basis of the results we obtained, this system will lend itself to a wide range of applications in olfactory neuroscience.     

Existe-t-il une typologie familiale dans les pathologies addictives ? Revue critique de la littérature sur les familles d’adolescents présentant des troubles alimentaires ou des conduites de dépendance aux substances

Among factors favoring the addictive behaviors, some specific family processes are often identified in eating disorders and dependences with psychoactive substances. Different models of systemic orientation described the familial disturbances involved in the addictive pathologies emphasizing either the emotional interaction and the processes of differentiation family, either the structure and the level of family cohesion. This article proposes a critical review of the systemic literature on the familial disturbances involved in the families of adolescents with eating disorders or with a substance-dependence. The systemic models (Bowen, Minuchin) are reference values in the understanding of family processes and therapy with families. The observations of these family processes have been confronted to empirical researches integrating different epistemological levels and different methods. The empirical results are heterogenous concerning the different forms of family functioning associated with these addictive pathologies. The empirical studies support the hypothesis of a family dysfunctioning in the different addictive behaviors and demonstrate the relationship between the severity of familial disorders and the severity of the addictive disorders. However, the family configuration described by the typological models is rarely found complete or with a similar intensity between the families. The studies support the hypothesis of an emotional distance in the family interactions and a lack of parental care which could correspond to factors of chronicity or vulnerability. Comparing the family characteristics of these two types of addictive behaviors, the literature supports the existence of (1) some specific family characteristics according to the type of addictive behavior (in particular the conflict avoidance which appears specifically in anorexic families) (2) some similar family patterns of interactions between the members of addictive families in particular the representation of a low family cohesion, an intergenerational enmeschment and a high level of control. These family patterns suggest rather to a dimensional approach of the family characterized by different protective or risk factors. We suggest that these family patterns could constitute, according to their importance (intensity and frequence), a family risk factor of development or aggravation of the addictive behaviors.