Selective inactivation of adenosine A(2A) receptors in striatal neurons enhances working memory and reversal learning

The adenosine A(2A) receptor (A(2A)R) is highly enriched in the striatum where it is uniquely positioned to integrate dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and other signals to modulate cognition. Although previous studies support the hypothesis that A(2A)R inactivation can be pro-cognitive, analyses of A(2A)R's effects on cognitive functions have been restricted to a small subset of cognitive domains. Furthermore, the relative contribution of A(2A)Rs in distinct brain regions remains largely unknown. Here, we studied the regulation of multiple memory processes by brain region-specific populations of A(2A)Rs. Specifically, we evaluated the cognitive impacts of conditional A(2A)R deletion restricted to either the entire forebrain (i.e., cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and striatum, fb-A(2A)R KO) or to striatum alone (st-A(2A)R KO) in recognition memory, working memory, reference memory, and reversal learning. This comprehensive, comparative analysis showed for the first time that depletion of A(2A)R-dependent signaling in either the entire forebrain or striatum alone is associated with two specific phenotypes indicative of cognitive flexibility-enhanced working memory and enhanced reversal learning. These selective pro-cognitive phenotypes seemed largely attributed to inactivation of striatal A(2A)Rs as they were captured by A(2A)R deletion restricted to striatal neurons. Neither spatial reference memory acquisition nor spatial recognition memory were grossly affected, and no evidence for compensatory changes in striatal or cortical D(1), D(2), or A(1) receptor expression was found. This study provides the first direct demonstration that targeting striatal A(2A)Rs may be an effective, novel strategy to facilitate cognitive flexibility under normal and pathologic conditions.     

Maternal perinatal representations and their associations with mother–infant interaction and attachment: A longitudinal comparison of Portuguese and Brazilian dyads

Prior research in Western countries (mostly the US, Canada and northern Europe) indicates that mothers' representations are associated with mother–infant interaction quality and their child's attachment security later in the first year. Fewer studies, however, have evaluated whether these associations hold for mother–infant dyads in other countries, such as Brazil and Portugal. Although these countries share a similar language and culture, they differ on societal dimensions that may affect parenting attitudes and mother–infant relationships, such as economic stress, social organisation, social policy, and the availability of services for young families. In this longitudinal study, we followed two independent samples of Brazilian and Portuguese mother–infant dyads from the perinatal period to 12 months post-partum. We assessed mothers' perinatal representations using semi-structured interviews in the first 48 hours after the infant's birth, and evaluated the associations of these representations with mother interaction quality at 9 months and infant attachment at 12 months. Results were similar in each country, corroborating prior research in single Western countries: Mothers with more positive perinatal representations were more sensitive to their infants during free play at 9 months and were more likely to have infants classified as securely attached at 12 months.     

Perceived neighborhood environments and physical activity in an elderly sample

Increasing evidence indicates the importance of environmental variables in explaining physical activity. This study evaluated sex differences in perception of home and neighborhood environmental support and assessed which neighborhood environmental variables were associated with reported physical activity of elderly people. A sample of 126 women (M age = 79.1 +/- 6.6 yr.) and 55 men (M age = 76.6 +/- 7.7 yr.) were healthy, community-dwelling individuals. A questionnaire about environmental variables was administered. Physical activity was assessed on the Baecke Questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis showed that Neighborhood Safety was related to total physical activity, activity in leisure time, and sport activities. Men were also likely to be more active in leisure time than women. Neighborhood Personal Safety was associated with physical activity of these elderly people, showing a potential influence of the environmental domain in physical activity.     

Innovative moments and change in Career Construction Counseling

This article presents an exploratory study of the process of change during Career Construction Counseling (CCC). The Innovative Moments Coding System (IMCS) and the Return to the Problem Coding System (RPCS) were used to an intensive analysis of a career counseling case — the case of Michael. Both systems are grounded in a narrative conception of the self which suggests that narrative change results from the elaboration and development of narrative exceptions to a client's core problematic self-narrative. The IMCS identifies and tracks the occurrence of five different types of narrative change and the RPCS tracks the ambivalence present in the clients discourse throughout the therapeutic process. This is the first attempt to use these methods with a career counseling case. The results suggest that the narrative elaboration progresses from the first to the third session. We discuss these results, emphasizing the process of change in career counseling with clients in which maladaptive repetition underlies career decision-making difficulties.     

Psychometric Properties of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form: A Study of Portuguese Speaking Children/Youths

The development of measures of children and adolescents’ subjective well-being is crucial to the conceptualization and evaluation of positive mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate the factorial structure and invariance of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF—adolescents) across children and youths. Participants were from two different samples: 208 elementary school children (sample 1) and 216 middle school youths (sample 2). Results confirmed the three-dimensional structure of subjective well-being in both samples. The three sub-scales of the MHCSF yielded high internal consistency and results from the HTMT85 indicated discriminant validity. Measurement invariance testing across three different age groups (7–8, 9–10 and 11–14 years) confirmed the full metric and approximate scalar invariance of the MHC-SF. Full scalar invariance was achieved across gender. The study also compared the latent means for mental well-being in the three age groups, and found that the younger groups showed significantly higher levels of wellbeing. The present research study strongly suggests that the MHC-SF (adolescents) is an appropriate instrument to measure the positive mental health and well-being of children and pre-adolescents as multidimensional construct.     

“It’s only ‘madness’ that I know”: analysis of how mental illness is conceptualised by congregants of selected Charismatic churches in Ghana

In Ghana, many individuals employ traditional and faith healing for treating illnesses. Although attitudes and knowledge of laypeople on mental illness have been explored, little is known about Christians’ knowledge and how the church influences such knowledge. The present study explored knowledge on definition, types and symptoms of mental illness, church teachings on mental illness and the influence of such teachings on the mental well-being of 86 congregants of six Charismatic churches in Ghana. Through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observations, we found that knowledge surrounded psychotic disorders with a few citing other DSM/ICD categories. Regarding church teachings, some churches provided education and spiritual healing, and others emphasised non-existence of, and immunity from, mental illness. Findings showed the “double-edged” role of religion in enhancing and hindering congregants’ mental well-being. The paper concludes with an argument for psycho-education on mental illness and collaboration between churches and mental health practitioners.     

Kinship recognition by unrelated observers depends on implicit and explicit cognition

Previous studies have shown that neutral observers are able to identify kinship in strangers by matching photographs of children with their parents. We asked whether this ability depended on implicit and/or explicit cognitive processes. Fifty unrelated male observers viewed triads of photographs (one woman in her early 20's and two older women) and had to select which of the two older women was the mother, and rate their confidence in their decision. Observers identified 62.5% of mother-daughter pairs correctly (p < .001). Signal detection analyses showed that confidence was related to accuracy (d' = .28) and observers could report the cues they utilized. However, those who failed to show a relationship between confidence and accuracy (d' ≤ 0) still performed significantly above chance, and both confidence and d' decreased over trials whereas accuracy did not. Results show that neutral observers spontaneously used both explicit and implicit cognitive processes in the task. Recognition of kinship by neutral observers may be a task which allows the interplay between explicit and implicit cognition for a system relevant to ancestral social environments to be observed in the laboratory.     

Growing Older in Portugal: Gender Issues in Physical Health and Well-being

This article presents three studies which demonstrate that (1) Older women enjoy the status of grandparenthood, and they show resources, continued personal growth, and positive functioning; (2) Spouses provide emotional support, and widowhood has an impact on the experience of emotional loneliness; and (3) As they age, men remain cognitively more preserved, and women affectively more preserved. Over a 3-year period, older people showed smooth changes in physical health, cognitive functioning, and mental health. Results are discussed in terms of healthy living, resilience, positive affect, and also conditions that promote undesirable pathways in older age. Implications for feminist therapy with older people are discussed.     

A process-dissociation analysis of semantic illusions

We examine semantic illusions from a dual-process perspective according to which the processes that go into failing or succeeding to detect such illusions can be decomposed into controlled processes (checking the facts in the sentence against the information in memory) and automatic processes (the impression of truth that comes from the semantic associations between the elements in the sentence). These processes, we argue, make largely independent contributions to truth judgments about semantic-illusory sentences. The Process Dissociation Procedure was used to obtain estimates of these two kinds of processes. In Study 1, participants judged whether sentences were true or false while under high or low cognitive load. Cognitive load increased the rate of semantic illusions by specifically affecting controlled processing but not automatic processing. In Study 2, a previous paired-associate learning task also increased the rate of semantic illusions, but it did so by specifically affecting automatic processing, not controlled processing.