Regulation of brain activity in the fusiform face and parahippocampal place areas in 7–11-year-old children

Developmental studies have demonstrated that cognitive processes such as attention, suppression of interference and memory develop throughout childhood and adolescence. However, little is currently known about the development of top-down control mechanisms and their influence on cognitive performance. In the present study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate modulation of activity in the ventral visual cortex in healthy 7–11-year-old children and young adults. The participants performed tasks that required attention to either face (Fs task) or scene (Sf task) images while trying to ignore distracting scene or face images, respectively. A face-selective area in the fusiform gyrus (fusiform face area, FFA) and an area responding preferentially to scene images in the parahippocampal gyrus (parahippocampal place area, PPA) were defined using functional localizers. Children responded slower and less accurately in the tasks than adults. In children, the right FFA was less selective to face images and regulation of activity between the Fs and Sf tasks was weaker compared to adults. In the PPA, selectivity to scenes and regulation of activity, there according to the task demands were comparable between children and adults. During the tasks, children activated prefrontal cortical areas including the middle (MFG) and superior (SFG) frontal gyrus more than adults. Functional connectivity between the right FFA and left MFG was stronger in adults than children in the Fs task. Children, on the other hand, had stronger functional connectivity than adults in the Sf task between the right FFA and right PPA and between right MFG and medial SFG. There were no group differences in the functional connectivity between the PPA and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Together the results suggest that, in 7–11-year-old children, the FFA is still immature, whereas the selectivity to scenes and regulation of activity in the PPA is comparable to adults. The results also indicated functional immaturity of the PFC in children compared to adults and weaker connectivity between the PFC and the rFFA, explaining the weaker regulation of activity in the rFFA between the Fs and Sf tasks.     

Brief strategic therapy in first myocardial infarction patients with increased levels of stress: a randomized clinical trial

Background: Little is known about the impact of interventions targeting chronic stress levels on clinical outcomes among myocardial infarction (MI) patients with increased levels of stress. Objectives: To examine the impact of the addition of brief strategic therapy (BST) to usual care (UC) on clinical outcomes in first MI patients with increased levels of stress. Design: Eighty-one patients were randomly assigned to BST in conjunction with UC (medical treatment, risk factor information, and guidance on unhealthy behavior change) or to UC. Methods: The outcome measures were scores on the Perceived Stress Scale, reinfarction and cardiac mortality rates, and scores on the Health Survey. Measures were taken before, post-treatment, and at two follow-ups. Results: Patients subjected to BST showed reduced perceived stress at post-treatment and maintained decreased levels at follow-ups. At 1-year follow-up, they had a lower rate of non-fatal reinfarction, and at 2.5-year follow-up, they had a lower rate of fatal reinfarction. Their mental and physical health was improved at post-treatment and this was sustained at follow-ups. Conclusion: The addition of BST to UC favorably influences the disease course after MI in patients with increased levels of stress.     

Coalition and Opposition in Myself? On Integrative and Confrontational Internal Dialogues,Their Functions,and the Types of Inner Interlocutors

The typology of interlocutors in internal dialogues comprises four main emotional types: faithful friend, ambivalent parent, proud rival, and helpless child. The two studies presented in the article aimed to identify which types appear in integrative and which in confrontational internal dialogues. Additionally, Study 2 compared the functions performed by these two types of dialogues. Both Study 1 (N = 101) and Study 2 (N = 99) confirmed the hypothesis that faithful friend and ambivalent parent are interlocutors typical of integrative dialogues, whereas proud rival and helpless child are characteristic for confrontational ones. It was also found that integrative dialogues perform certain functions—namely, support, bond, insight, and self-guiding—to a greater degree than confrontational dialogues.     

青少年领导力发展的研究述评

青少年时期是领导力发展的最佳时机和关键时机。青少年领导力发展是指对青少年所实施的帮助其增强领导力意识、发展领导力素质及掌握领导力技巧的各种经历或活动。本文在回顾国内外青少年领导力发展的模式、途径和内容等相关研究的基础上,提出了青少年领导力发展的未来研究趋势,主要包括：（1）青少年领导力发展理论模式的实证检验;（2）体育课或体育活动中青少年领导力发展的实证探索;（3）中国背景下青少年领导力发展的实证研究。     

Self-Talk: Conversation With Oneself? On the Types of Internal Interlocutors

The two studies presented in the article aimed to empirically verify the tentative typology of internal interlocutors in self-talk proposed in a previous research project. The typology comprised four emotional types: Faithful Friend, Ambivalent Parent, Proud Rival, and Helpless Child. Study 1 involved 98 participants (49 women) and Study 2 involved 114 (55 women), mostly students. In both studies, the names of internal interlocutors were generated by participants as qualitative data, quantified by reference to the standard set of affect terms, and, as affective patterns, subjected to clustering. Study 2 fully confirmed the recent results, whereas Study 1 revealed a new interlocutor type instead of Helpless Child – Calm Optimist. The conducted studies confirm the existence of four main types of inner interlocutors and provide a reason to verify the existence of Calm Optimist.     

Heidegger’s thinking on the “Same” of science and technology

In this article, we trace and elucidate Heidegger’s radical re-thinking on the relation between science and technology from about 1940 until 1976. A range of passages from the Gesamtausgabe seem to articulate a reversal of the primacy of science and technology in claiming that “Science is applied technology.” After delving into Heidegger’s reflection on the being of science and technology and their “coordination,” we show that such a claim is essentially grounded in Heidegger’s idea that “Science and technology are the Same [das Selbe].” In addition, we argue that, although different ontic epochs can be distinguished in the evolvement of science and/or technology, for Heidegger there is only one unique ontological Epoch of modernity that encompasses various ontic epochs. Therefore, the change from an “epoch of objectivity” to an “epoch of orderability [Bestellbarkeit]” cannot be considered to be an ontological shift. Furthermore, it is not right to ascribe to Heidegger the view that the development of quantum physics signals the beginning of a new ontological Epoch.     

When Interrogative Self‐talk Improves Task Performance: The Role of Answers to Self‐posed Questions

Nearly all the self‐talk cues studied so far have been self‐statements. However, the findings of Senay, Albarracin, and Noguchi suggest that interrogative self‐talk produces better task performance than declarative one. Two of the experiments reported here were meant to replicate that study, but the expected differences were not confirmed. Experiment 3 showed that if a self‐posed question about future behavior was answered positively, task performance was better than in groups exposed either to the self‐statement ‘I will do it’ or to a negative answer following the question. However, these differences occurred only in those who self‐reported the awareness of the impact of self‐talk on their thought processes. This effect and the possible reasons why between‐group differences were not found in Experiments 1 and 2 are discussed. An alternative explanation for the results of Experiment 3 is also proposed beside that stressing the impact of internal answer. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

K-means、潜在类别模型和混合Rasch模型的比较

基于模拟研究比较了K-means方法、潜在类别模型和混合Rasch模型在二分外显变量情境下的聚类效果.结果表明：（1）潜在类别数量、变量数量、样本量、样本平衡和变量间相关对K-means方法、潜在类别模型和混合Rasch模型的分类准确性均有影响且因素间的交互作用存在;（2）除了在2个潜在类别的样本不平衡条件下K-means方法表现较差外,在其他条件下与潜在类别模型和混合Rasch模型的表现相当;（3）混合Rasch模型的分类一致性在2个潜在类别的情境下要好于潜在类别模型,但是在4个潜在类别的情境下要差于潜在类别模型.     

Determinants of Integration and Confrontation in Internal Dialogues

Interest in the distinction between integrative and confrontational internal dialogues has been growing, as research suggests numerous positive functions of the former compared to the latter. The article proposes a theoretical approach to integration and confrontation in internal dialogue and an empirical method of measuring these processes. Exploratory research is also presented that seeks to identify personality‐related and situational determinants of integration and confrontation in internal dialogue simulating social relationships. Canonical correlation analysis did not establish personality determinants but it did reveal situational determinants (understood as cognitive interpretation of the enacted situation) behind integration and confrontation in internal dialogue. Perceiving the internal interlocutor as similar to the dialogue's author is associated with the author's integrative attitude. An increase in the wishfulness of the dialogue is accompanied by an increase in the author's confrontational attitude and the interlocutor's integrative attitude.