Memory for syntax despite amnesia

Syntactic persistence is a tendency for speakers to reproduce sentence structures independently of accompanying meanings, words, or sounds. The memory mechanisms behind syntactic persistence are not fully understood. Although some properties of syntactic persistence suggest a role for procedural memory, current evidence suggests that procedural memory (unlike declarative memory) does not maintain the abstract, relational features that are inherent to syntactic structures. In a study evaluating the contribution of procedural memory to syntactic persistence, patients with anterograde amnesia and matched control speakers reproduced prime sentences with different syntactic structures; reproduced 0, 1, 6, or 10 neutral sentences; then spontaneously described pictures that elicited the primed structures; and finally made recognition judgments for the prime sentences. Amnesic and control speakers showed significant and equivalent syntactic persistence, despite the amnesic speakers' profoundly impaired recognition memory for the primes. Thus, syntax is maintained by procedural-memory mechanisms. This result reveals that procedural memory is capable of supporting abstract, relational knowledge.     

Cognitive inhibition and working memory in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Studies of cognitive control in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have emphasized the ability to suppress motor responses (i.e., behavioral inhibition) rather than the ability to actively suppress prepotent mental representations (i.e., cognitive inhibition). Further, working memory deficits are suspected in ADHD, yet their distinction from cognitive inhibition is unclear. Two hundred and eighty-eight adolescent and adult participants, 115 of whom met criteria for ADHD and 173 of whom were for non-ADHD comparison, completed a sentence processing task that required the suppression of an incorrect interpretation and a working memory task. The results failed to support cognitive inhibition problems in ADHD. Moreover, the ability to reanalyze sentences with a temporary misinterpretation was at least partially related to working memory performance. The results challenge a unitary inhibition problem in ADHD and suggest inhibition problems do not extend to cognitive suppression in this age range.     

Parents’ Positive Interpersonal Coping After a Child’s Death

Despite the challenging context of grieving for the death of a child, evidence shows that it is possible for parents to manage and preserve their relationship. The aim of this study was to examine parents’ perceptions of positive interpersonal coping processes that helped their relationship after the death of their child. Individual semi-structured interviews with 17 bereaved maritally committed parents were conducted. The interview guide included questions covering themes such as parents’ coping together, relationship strengths and mutual support. Data were analyzed through constructivist grounded theory methods. Three main themes were identified: search for meaning (reframing of partners’ different coping processes and the changes/difficulties in the relationship, and development of shared beliefs); communication with the partner (direct and indirect feedback, and mutual learning); and care-in-relation (caring for the partner and the relationship). Dyad-level interventions should aim at promoting mutual empathy, development of shared appraisals, and the identification and consideration of each other’s boundaries.     

Central bottleneck influences on the processing stages of word production

Does producing a word slow performance of a concurrent, unrelated task? In 2 experiments, 108 participants named pictures and discriminated tones. In Experiment 1, pictures were named after cloze sentences; the durations of the word-production stages of lemma and phonological word-form selection were manipulated with high- and low-constraint cloze sentences and high- and low-frequency-name pictures, respectively. In Experiment 2, pictures were presented with simultaneous distractor words; the durations of lemma and phoneme selection were manipulated with conceptually and phonologically related distractors. All manipulations, except the phoneme-selection manipulation, delayed tone-discrimination responses as much as picture-naming responses. These results suggest that early word-production stages--lemma and phonological word-form selection--are subject to a central processing bottleneck, whereas the later stage--phoneme selection--is not.     

Phonological influences on lexical (mis)selection

Speakers produce words to convey meaning, but does meaning alone determine which words they say? We report three experiments that show independent semantic and phonological influences converging to determine word selection. Speakers named pictures (e.g., of a priest) following visually presented cloze sentences that primed either semantic competitors of the target object name ("The woman went to the convent to become a..."), homophones of the competitors ("I thought that there would still be some cookies left, but there were..."), or matched unrelated control object names. Primed semantic competitors (nun) were produced instead of picture names more often than primed unrelated control object names, showing the well-documented influence of semantic similarity on lexical selection. Surprisingly, primed homophone competitors (none) also substituted for picture names more often than control object names even though they only sounded like competitors. Thus, independent semantic and phonological influences can converge to affect word selection.     

The Need to Present a Perfect Body Image: Development of a New Measure of Perfectionistic Self-Presentation

Perfectionistic self-presentation is linked to different clinical conditions and specially to eating disorders. In fact, the role that the drive to reach “perfection” and display it to others plays on eating and body image-related symptoms has long been the target of theoretical and empirical interest. However, an instrument that specifically assessed the need to present a perfect body image to others did not exist. The current study presents the development and validation of the Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale – Body Image (PSPS-BI), a measure designed to assess the need to present a perfect body image to others by displaying a flawless physical appearance and by occulting perceived imperfections in a public context. Three studies that included a total of 364 males and 541 females with ages between 18 to 38 years, were used to examine the structure and psychometric properties of the scale. Results showed that PSPS-BI presents two factors that measure the concealment of body imperfections and the display of body perfection. PSPS-BI revealed good internal reliability and temporal stability. Also, the PSPS-BI revealed good concurrent validity, tested with measures of perfectionism, body image flexibility, and general and eating psychopathology. Furthermore, a mediational analysis indicated that the need to present a perfect body image to others fully mediates the relationship between a general measure of perfectionistic self-presentation and drive for thinness, in both men and women. PSPS-BI showed good preliminary evidence as a reliable and accurate measure that seems to offer new possibilities to the research field of body image and eating-related difficulties.     

Hands Support and Postural Oscillation During Sit-to-Stand Movement in Children With Cerebral Palsy and Typical Children

The authors aimed to compare the weight bearing on hands during sit-to-stand (STS) movement in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and typical children (TC), verify its effect on postural oscillation, and analyze the relationship between weight bearing on hands and postural oscillation. Twenty children with CP (Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I and II) and 35 TC performed STS with and without anterior hands support. Mann-Whitney test compared weight bearing between groups. Wilcoxon test investigated differences in postural oscillation between the conditions with and without anterior hand support for both groups. The Spearman correlation tested the relationship between weight-bearing and postural oscillation during the hand support condition. Children with CP bore more weight on hands than TC to perform STS. The hand support reduced postural oscillation during the second phase of STS in both groups. In the CP group, greater weight bearing was related with lower postural oscillation in the beginning of STS. Although children with CP were able to perform STS without support, they bore more weight on their hands to perform the task than TC. Moreover, children with CP and TC use mechanical and somatosensory information to modulate their postural control during STS in different ways.