Development and validation of a Client Problem Profile and Index for drug treatment

The development of the Client Problem Profile and Index are described, and initial concurrent and predictive validity data are presented for a sample of 547 patients in outpatient methadone treatment. Derived from the TCU Brief Intake for drug treatment admissions, the profile covers 14 problem areas related to drug use (particularly cocaine, heroin/opiate, marijuana, other illegal drugs, and multiple drug use), HIV risks, psychosocial-functioning, health, employment, and criminality. Analyses of predictive validity show the profile and its index (number of problem areas) were significantly related to therapeutic engagement, during-treatment performance, and posttreatment follow-up outcomes. Low moderate to high moderate effect sizes were observed in analyses of the index's discrimination.     

Sleep disturbances associated with age and HIV

Sleep disturbances are common in normal people of several age groups and those with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) disease. In a secondary analysis of data, 50 HIV-positive and 50 HIV-negative adults between 30 and 65 years old responded to 5 items about sleep. No statistically significant differences by HIV status or age group were found.     

Lasting increases in basolateral amygdala activity after emotional arousal: implications for facilitated consolidation of emotional memories

Manipulations that reduce or enhance the activity of basolateral amygdala (BLA) neurons in the minutes to hours after training have been shown to respectively impair or facilitate retention on the inhibitory avoidance task. Although this suggests that BLA activity is altered after emotional arousal, such changes have not been directly demonstrated. To test this, we devised a feline analog of the inhibitory avoidance task and recorded BLA unit activity before and after a single inescapable footshock. Single-unit recordings revealed that the firing rate of many BLA neurons gradually increased after the footshock, peaking 30-50 min post-shock and then subsiding to baseline levels 2 h later. During this period of increased activity, the discharges of simultaneously recorded BLA cells were more synchronized than before the shock. Although it was known that pairing innocuous (conditioned stimulus, CS) and noxious stimuli modifies the responsiveness of BLA neurons to the CS, our results constitute the first demonstration that emotional arousal produces lasting increases in the spontaneous firing rates of BLA neurons. We propose that these changes in BLA activity may promote Hebbian interactions between coincident but spatially distributed activity patterns in BLA targets, facilitating the consolidation of emotional memories.     

Grading distractor-identification tests

On distractor-identification tests students mark as many distractors as possible on each test item. A grading scale is developed for this type testing. The scale is optimal in that it is the unique scale giving an unbiased estimate of the student's true score, i.e., the score that would result if no guessing occurred. If the test is administered as a usual multiple choice test and graded using the usual correction for guessing scale, the expected item score is the same as for the distractor-identification testing using the optimal grading scale. However, the variance of the item score is shown to be less for distractor-identification testing than for usual multiple choice testing under certain conditions.     

Fixed vs. Flexible Neuropsychological Test Batteries Under the Daubert Standard for the Admissibility of Scientific Evidence

In Chapple v. Ganger, (1994), the Daubert standard was applied for the very first time to the use of fixed (standardized) versus flexible (nonstandardized) neuropsychological test batteries in the federal court. In this personal injury case the Chapple court gave far greater weight to the results obtained from a fixed battery than to the results obtained from two flexible neuropsychological test batteries. Significantly, under the Daubert standard the District Judge noted the lack of medical and scientific evidence to support the conclusions made by the Plaintiffs' two expert witnesses, a psychologist and a neuropsychologist, even though each had administered a comprehensive and flexible neuropsychological test battery and had based their conclusions on the test results. However, the Judge accepted as scientific evidence the objective test results obtained from the fixed Halstead–Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery for Older Children administered by the Defendants' expert witness Dr. Ralph Reitan and also accepted his scientific expert medical testimony which was closely derived from these data. Applying the Daubert standard to the neuropsychological test results and opinions of the expert witnesses, the District Judge held that the entire reasoning process and not simply part of the reasoning process upon which the expert witness derives a conclusion must reflect scientific methodology.     

Reducing risk of head injury in youth soccer: An extension of behavioral skills training for heading

Recently, concerns regarding sport-related concussions have increased within the research literature, the media, and popular culture. One potential source of soccer-related concussions involves the purposeful striking of the ball with one's head (i.e., heading). There is currently limited research on an effective teaching method to improve safe heading technique. In the current study, Behavior Skills Training (BST) was evaluated as a method to teach correct heading techniques to youth soccer players. BST increased the percentage of correct steps for each player based on a task analysis of heading. Based on social validity questionnaires administered to players and the coach, BST was rated as an acceptable form of training. After the final training session, experienced coaches rated each player as having improved from baseline to training.