Timing is essential for rapid effects of corticosterone on synaptic potentiation in the mouse hippocampus

Stress facilitates memory formation, but only when the stressor is closely linked to the learning context. These effects are, at least in part, mediated by corticosteroid hormones. Here we demonstrate that corticosterone rapidly facilitates synaptic potentiation in the mouse hippocampal CA1 area when high levels of the hormone and high-frequency stimulation coincide in time, but not when corticosterone is given either before or after repetitive stimulation. This effect could not be blocked by antagonists of the mineralocorticoid receptor and glucocorticoid receptor (spironolactone and RU 38486, respectively). These data provide a biological substrate for the important behavioral observation that stress and corticosteroid hormones can facilitate learning and memory processes.     

The effect of contingent reinforcement on target variables in outpatient psychotherapy for depression: a successful and unsuccessful case using functional analytic psychotherapy

The current study investigated a behavior-analytic treatment, functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP), for outpatient depression utilizing two single-subject A/A+B designs. The baseline condition was cognitive behavioral therapy. Results demonstrated treatment success in 1 client after the addition of FAP and treatment failure in the 2nd. This study highlights the challenges in measuring treatment progress and outcome idiographically in this population.     

Do humans and baboons use the same information when categorizing human and baboon faces?

What information is used for sorting pictures of complex stimuli into categories? We applied a reverse correlation method to reveal the visual features mediating categorization in humans and baboons. Two baboons and 6 humans were trained to sort, by species, pictures of human and baboon faces on which random visual noise was superimposed. On ambiguous probe trials, a human-baboon morph was presented, eliciting "human" responses on some trials and "baboon" responses on others. The difference between the noise patterns that induced the two responses made explicit the information mediating the classification. Unlike the humans, the baboons based their categorization on information that closely matched that used by a theoretical observer responding solely on the basis of the pixel similarities between the probe and training images. We show that the classification-image technique and principal components analysis provide a method to make explicit the differences in the information mediating categorization in humans and animals.     

Outcome From a Randomized Controlled Trial of Group Therapy for Binge Eating Disorder: Comparing Dialectical Behavior Therapy Adapted for Binge Eating to an Active Comparison Group Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Binge Eating Disorder (DBT-BED) aims to reduce binge eating by improving adaptive emotion-regulation skills. Preliminary findings have been promising but have only compared DBT-BED to a wait-list. To control for the hypothesized specific effects of DBT-BED, the present study compared DBT-BED to an active comparison group therapy (ACGT). Men and women (n = 101) meeting DSM-IV BED research criteria were randomly assigned to 20 group sessions of DBT-BED (n = 50) or ACGT (n = 51). DBT-BED had a significantly lower dropout rate (4%) than ACGT (33.3%). Linear Mixed Models revealed that posttreatment binge abstinence and reductions in binge frequency were achieved more quickly for DBT-BED than for ACGT (posttreatment abstinence rate = 64% for DBT-BED vs. 36% for ACGT) though differences did not persist over the 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up assessments (e.g., 12-month follow-up abstinence rate = 64% for DBT-BED vs. 56% for ACGT). Secondary outcome measures revealed no sustained impact on emotion regulation. Although both DBT-BED and ACGT reduced binge eating, DBT-BED showed significantly fewer dropouts and greater initial efficacy (e.g., at posttreatment) than ACGT. The lack of differential findings over follow-up suggests that the hypothesized specific effects of DBT-BED do not show long-term impact beyond those attributable to nonspecific common therapeutic factors.     

Development and Initial Validation of an Implicit Measure of Religiousness‐Spirituality

An implicit measure of religiousness‐spirituality (RS) was constructed and used in two studies. In Study 1, undergraduates completed a Religiousness‐Spirituality Implicit Association Test (RS‐IAT) and several self‐report measures of RS and related constructs (e.g., religious fundamentalism, authoritarianism). Informants rated the participants’ RS. The RS‐IAT was internally consistent. Implicit RS correlated positively with self‐reported RS, spiritual transcendence, spiritual experiences, religious fundamentalism, and intrinsic religiousness. Informant ratings correlated positively with participants’ self‐reported religiousness but not implicit RS. In Study 2, implicit RS accounted for unique variability in self‐reported attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women when controlling for self‐reported religiousness and right‐wing authoritarianism. These findings demonstrate that an implicit measure of trait RS explains some variability in attitudes that self‐report measures do not. An implicit measure of RS could advance the scientific study of religion beyond what is known from self‐report measures.     

Whatever does not kill us: cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience

Exposure to adverse life events typically predicts subsequent negative effects on mental health and well-being, such that more adversity predicts worse outcomes. However, adverse experiences may also foster subsequent resilience, with resulting advantages for mental health and well-being. In a multiyear longitudinal study of a national sample, people with a history of some lifetime adversity reported better mental health and well-being outcomes than not only people with a high history of adversity but also than people with no history of adversity. Specifically, U-shaped quadratic relationships indicated that a history of some but nonzero lifetime adversity predicted relatively lower global distress, lower self-rated functional impairment, fewer posttraumatic stress symptoms, and higher life satisfaction over time. Furthermore, people with some prior lifetime adversity were the least affected by recent adverse events. These results suggest that, in moderation, whatever does not kill us may indeed make us stronger.     

More than just skin deep? Personality information influences men's ratings of the attractiveness of women's body sizes

This study examined the influence of personality information on perceptions of the physical attractiveness of a range of female body sizes. A sample of 2,157 male university students were randomly assigned to one of 10 groups in which they received personality information about women they were rating, or a control group in which they received no personality information. Controlling for participants' age and body mass index, results showed no significant between-group differences in the body size that participants found most attractive. However, participants provided with positive personality information perceived a wider range of body sizes as physically attractive compared with the control group, whereas participants provided with negative personality information perceived a narrower range of body sizes as attractive. Correlations showed that participants' own Extraversion was associated with their body size ratings. These results suggest that non-physical cues have an influence on the perception of physical beauty.     

The Effectiveness of Group Metacognitive Therapy for Generalised Anxiety Disorder: A Pilot Study

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) responds well to individually delivered metacognitive therapy (MCT). The current study investigated the effectiveness of MCT administered to groups of patients with GAD in a general outpatient treatment centre. Thirty-three consecutively referred adult patients with GAD were assessed before treatment (pretreatment), after the last treatment session (posttreatment), and six months after treatment had ended (follow-up). Analyses of treatment effects were conducted for all patients entering the study (i.e., intent-to-treat analysis, using the last-observation-carried-forward procedure), and repeated for the patients who completed treatment (completers analysis), using paired samples t-tests. Further, effect sizes (ESs) and indices of clinical significance were calculated, and compared with those reported in studies into the efficacy and effectiveness of individually delivered MCT for GAD. Among both the intent-to-treat and the completers sample, large pre- to posttreatment reductions in symptoms of worry, trait-anxiety, and general psychopathology. The magnitude of change and the degree of clinical significance were smaller than those reported in studies into the effectiveness of individually delivered MCT for GAD, whereas the attrition rate (27 %) was higher. It is tentatively concluded that MCT for GAD can be effectively delivered in a group format in a heterogenous clinical practice setting. Further evaluation is clearly indicated.