Developmental Features of Rapid Aiming Arm Movements Across the Lifespan

Using a lifespan approach, the authors investigated developmental features of the control of ballistic aiming arm movements by manipulating movement complexity, response uncertainty, and the use of precues. Four different age groups of participants (6- and 9-year-old boys and girls and 24- and 73-year- old men and women, 20 participants in each age group) performed 7 types of rapid aiming arm movements on the surface of a digitizer. Their movement characteristics such as movement velocity, normalized jerk, relative timing, movement linearity, and intersegment intervals were profiled. Analyses of variance with repeated measures were conducted on age and task effects in varying movement complexity (Study 1), response uncertainty (Study 2), and precue use (Study 3) conditions. Young children and senior adults had slower, more variant, less smooth, and less linear arm movements than older children and young adults. Increasing the number of movement segments resulted in slower and more variant responses. Movement accuracy demands or response uncertainty interacted with age so that the 6- and 74-year-old participants had poorer performances but responded similarly to the varying treatments. Even though older children and young adults had better performances than young children and senior adults, their arm movement performance declined when response uncertainty increased. The analyses suggested that young children's and senior adults' performances are poorer because less of their movement is under central control, and they therefore use on-line adjustments. In addition, older children and young adults use a valid precue more effectively to prepare for subsequent movements than do young children and senior adults, suggesting that older children and young adults are more capable of organizing motor responses than arc young children and senior adults.     

An Analysis of Air-Stepping in Normal Infant Vervet Monkeys

Limb movements during air-stepping were analyzed in three neonatal vervet monkeys over a three-week period. The movements had similar temporal organization both across animals and across time. For example, the duration of both the hind and the forelimb cycle equaled about 500 ms, with the hind limb return strokes lasting much longer than the hind limb power strokes. Furthermore, there were clear indications of both intra- and interlimb coordination. Specifically, all the joints of a limb tended to flex and extend simultaneously, and contralateral and ipsilateral limb pairs had an average phase relationship of approximately 50% of cycle duration. Despite a qualitative similarity between limb movements during air-stepping in the neonates and overground locomotion in older animals, there were notable differences both in temporal relationships and joint displacement patterns. Finally, there appeared to be important similarities between air-stepping in these monkeys and stepping in newborn humans. Most notably, both tended to disappear after a limited period. The implications of these similarities, as well as the overall results, are discussed in relation to the understanding of the development of locomotor behavior in human and nonhuman primates, using approaches based both upon the hard-wired and dynamic models.     

Psychological treatment of hypnotic-dependent insomnia in a primarily older adult sample

Objective

This study tested cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in hypnotic-dependent, late middle-age and older adults with insomnia.

Method

Seventy volunteers age 50 and older were randomized to CBT plus drug withdrawal, placebo biofeedback (PL) plus drug withdrawal, or drug withdrawal (MED) only. The CBT and PL groups received eight, 45 min weekly treatment sessions. The drug withdrawal protocol comprised slow tapering monitored with about six biweekly, 30 min sessions. Assessment including polysomnography (PSG), sleep diaries, hypnotic consumption, daytime functioning questionnaires, and drug screens collected at baseline, posttreatment, and 1-year follow-up.

Results

Only the CBT group showed significant sleep diary improvement, sleep onset latency significantly decreased at posttreatment. For all sleep diary measures for all groups, including MED, sleep trended to improvement from baseline to follow-up. Most PSG sleep variables did not significantly change. There were no significant between group differences in medication reduction. Compared to baseline, the three groups decreased hypnotic use at posttreatment, down 84%, and follow-up, down 66%. There was no evidence of withdrawal side-effects. Daytime functioning, including anxiety and depression, improved by posttreatment. Rigorous methodological features, including documentation of strong treatment implementation and the presence of a credible placebo, elevated the confidence due these findings.

Conclusions

Gradual drug withdrawal was associated with substantial hypnotic reduction at posttreatment and follow-up, and withdrawal side-effects were absent. When supplemented with CBT, participants accrued incremental self-reported, but not PSG, sleep benefits.     

Limits of the Retrieval-Inhibition Construct: List Segregation in Directed Forgetting

The authors hypothesized that retrieval inhibition in list method directed forgetting could be improved by presenting a task that maximized the segregation step of the retrieval-inhibition process. In Experiment 1, they presented lists of semantically related words in a list method directed-forgetting task to maximize retrieval inhibition. Contrary to predictions, this manipulation eliminated the directed-forgetting effect. The authors further investigated the results of Experiment 1 in Experiments 2 and 3 by manipulating recall instructions and by presenting lists that contained both a categorized and an unrelated list-half. They found directed-forgetting effects for semantically related word lists when participants were asked to recall only the TBR (to-be-remembered) items but not when participants were asked to recall both the TBF (to-be-forgotten) and TBR items. They also found that directed-forgetting effects were not produced when categorized items were presented in the 1st list.     

Psychologists' attitudes toward aids

Abstract

Practicing psychologists in all areas of the country will see an increasing number of persons at risk for AIDS, or with AIDS-related illnesses. Previous research has shown that AIDS elicits negative reactions from the general public and from certain health care professionals. In the current study, a national sample of randomly selected practicing psychologists completed attitude measures after reading vignettes that described a male patient with either AIDS or leukemia who was either homosexual or heterosexual. Respondents evaluated the AIDS patient more negatively and reported less willingness to interact with him in a professional role or in casual social situations. It is important to develop training and continuing education programs to prepare psychologists to deal with persons affected by AIDS.     

Making concrete construals mindful: A novel approach for developing mindfulness and self-compassion to assist weight loss

Research on the usefulness of mindfulness and self-compassion for dieting has focused on meditative practices. However, meditation can be difficult to maintain, especially while dieting. Thus, the present research attempted to induce mindfulness and self-compassion by using food diaries that required the participant to either focus on concrete (i.e. how they are eating) construals or abstract (i.e. why they are eating) construals. The concrete construals were expected to increase mindfulness and self-compassion, as well as decrease avoidance and negative thoughts (which would further aid the development of mindfulness and self-compassion). Study 1 found that mindfulness and self-compassion mediated the inverse relationship of avoidance and negative thoughts with weight loss. Study 2 showed that concrete construal diaries increased mindfulness and self-compassion, decreased avoidance and negative thoughts, and supported weight loss significantly more than the abstract construal diaries. Study 3, then, compared the concrete construal diaries with a mindful self-compassionate meditation programme. There was no difference in weight loss at the end of the intervention, but at a three-month follow-up, the diaries performed better at weight maintenance. Thus, the concrete construal diaries may promote mindfulness and self-compassion and potentially promote long-term weight loss.     

Language difficulties in children adopted internationally: Neuropsychological and functional neural correlates

Children who have experienced deprivation as a result of orphanage care during early development are at increased risk for a number of cognitive, emotional, and social difficulties (MacLean, 2003). This study examined the neuropsychological and behavioral profile of internationally adopted children with language difficulties, one of the most common cognitive challenges (Behen et al., 2008). In addition to neuropsychological testing, fMRI was utilized to examine activation patterns during expressive fluency and receptive language tasks. In comparison to internationally adopted children without language difficulties and nonadopted controls, participants with language difficulty had worse performance on tasks of verbal memory and reasoning, academic skills, and working memory. Behaviorally, all internationally adopted participants, regardless of language ability, had more parent-reported hyperactivity and impulsivity compared with controls. The fMRI tasks revealed reduced activation in traditional language areas in participants with language difficulty. The impact of early adverse experience on later development is discussed.     

A Canonical-Correlation Analysis of 16 Fear Factors and the MMPI

To determine clinical correlates of 16 fear factors of the Wolpe-Lang Fear Survey Schedule, the fear factor and MMPI scores of 92 psychiatric inpatients were subjected to a canonical-correlation analysis. The results produced three combinations of scores which yielded statistically reliable canonical-correlation coefficients: three fear factors related to psychotic levels of personality disorganization; two related to fairly directly experienced neurotic anxiety; and five related to neurotic levels of anxiety “bound” by somatic complaints. The results suggest different treatment approaches for different patterns of expressed fears. The interpretation of several of the factors (previously related to clinical status) awaits further research.     

The Structure of Retrospective Accounts of Family Environments: Related to the Structure of Personality Attributes

Kornrich, Milton (Ed.), Psychological Test Modifications, Springfield: C. C. Thomas, 1965. P. 265. $8.75. Reviewed by Melvin A. Gravitz, Ph.D.     

The development of rapid online control in children aged 6–12 years: Reaching performance

Rapid online control during reaching has an important bearing on movement accuracy and flexibility. It is surprising then that few studies have investigated the development of rapid online control in children. In this study, we were particularly interested in age-related changes in the nature of motor control in response to visual perturbation. We compared the performance of younger (6–7 years of age), mid-aged (8–9), and older (10–12) children, as well as healthy young adults using a double-step reaching task. Participants were required to make target-directed reaching movements in near space, while also responding to visual perturbations that occurred at movement onset for a small percentage of trials. Results showed that both the older and mid-aged children corrected their reaching in response to the unexpected shifts in target location significantly faster than younger children, manifest by reduced time to correction. In turn, the responses of adults were faster than older children in terms of movement time and on kinematic measures such as time to correction and time to peak velocity. These results indicate that the capacity to utilize forward estimates of limb position in the service of online control of early perturbations to ballistic (or rapid) reaching develops in a non-linear fashion, progressing rapidly between early and middle childhood, showing a degree of stability over mid and later childhood, but then evidence for continued refinement between childhood and young adulthood. The pattern of change after childhood and into early adolescence requires further investigation, particularly during the rapid phase of physical growth that accompanies puberty.