When forgiving enhances psychological well-being: the role of interpersonal commitment

The present research addresses the question of when and why forgiving might enhance psychological well-being. The authors predict that forgiving is associated with enhanced well-being but that this association should be more pronounced in relationships of strong rather than weak commitment. This hypothesis received good support in Studies 1-3. Studies 2 and 3 addressed the issue of why forgiving might be associated with psychological well-being, revealing that this association was reduced after controlling for psychological tension (i.e., a psychological state of discomfort due to conflicting cognitions and feelings). Study 4 revealed that in the context of marital relationships, tendencies toward forgiving one's spouse exhibited a more pronounced association with psychological well-being than did tendencies to forgive others in general.     

The effect of category learning on the representation of shape: dimensions can be biased but not differentiated

Recent studies have suggested a profound influence of category learning on visual perception, resulting in independent processing of previously integral dimensions. The authors reinvestigate this issue for shape dimensions. They first extend previous findings that some shape dimensions (aspect ratio and curvature) are processed in a separable way, whereas others (radial frequency components) are not. They then show that a category-learning phase improved the discrimination of a relevant with respect to an irrelevant dimension, but only for separable dimensions. No similar effect was found on the relative sensitivity for integral shape dimensions. Thus, category learning is capable of biasing separable shape dimensions but does not alter the status of dimensions in the visual system as either separable or integral.     

Neural correlates of dual task interference in rapid visual streams: an fMRI study

In rapid streams of visual stimuli, identification of a first target interferes with identification of a second target presented within the next half second (the attentional blink or AB). It has been suggested that rapid perceptual decisions under masking interference involve interactions between frontal and posterior cortex. We investigated the neural correlates of the AB using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twelve subjects viewed rapid streams of black letters in which were embedded two white target letters (T1 and T2) separated by either 300 or 700 ms. As expected, fewer correct T2 identifications were observed in the short-delay condition. Corresponding fMRI statistical images showed increased activation in inferotemporal and posterior parietal cortex, but also in lateral frontal cortex and cerebellum in the short-delay condition suggesting that these brain regions are associated with perceptual decisions under masking interference.     

Is associative recognition more impaired than item recognition memory in Schizophrenia? A meta-analysis

Item recognition memory judgment can be based on two processes: item familiarity and/or the conscious recollection of the initial event. On the other hand, associative recognition relies preferably on conscious recollection. Since evidence points to a specific deficit of conscious recollection in schizophrenia, these patients could show greater impairment during associative recognition tasks relative to item recognition tasks. A meta-analysis of 23 studies of recognition memory in schizophrenia was conducted to test this hypothesis. The impairment is indeed 20% greater (p=0.04) for associative recognition relative to item recognition. This study supports the hypothesis of a specific conscious recollection deficit underlying episodic memory impairment in schizophrenia.     

Crosstalk between on-line and off-line processing of visual features

Three dual-task experiments were conducted to investigate the relation between immediate, on-line judgments about visual features and delayed, off-line judgments. One hypothesis (selective interference) predicted that dual-task performance would be challenged specifically within a visual dimension, as both tasks compete for the same resources. Another hypothesis (cost of switching) made the opposite prediction. In Experiment 1, participants performed either color or shape discriminations in the on-line and off-line visual tasks, with systematic variation of feature similarity between the on-line and off-line features. In Experiment 2, participants performed either color or shape discriminations in the off-line task and color discriminations in the on-line task, with no overlap between the on-line and off-line features. In Experiment 3, participants performed color discriminations in both the on-line and off-line tasks, with partially overlapping stimulus sets. Altogether, the data from the three experiments provided evidence in favor of the hypothesis of cost of switching. Stimulus–stimulus compatibility effects between features in the off-line task and those in the on-line task further underscored the perceptual nature of the crosstalk.     

Dopaminergic modulation of the persistence of one-trial hippocampus-dependent memory

The persistence of new memory traces in the hippocampus, encoded following appropriate activation of glutamatergic receptors and the induction of synaptic plasticity, can be influenced by heterosynaptic activation of neuromodulatory brain systems. We therefore investigated the effects of a hippocampus-specific blockade of dopamine D1/D5 receptors on the persistence of spatial memory encoded in one trial using a delayed matching-to-place (DMP) task in a watermaze in which rats learn a new escape location each day. A within-subjects design was used such that both short (20 min) and long (6 h) retention intervals, and both drug (SCH23390, a D1/D5 receptor antagonist) and vehicle (aCSF) infusions were tested on different days in the same animals. Bilateral intrahippocampal infusion of SCH23390 (5 microg in 1 microL per side) prior to trial 1 (encoding) caused a differential impairment as a function of memory delay-with no effect during trial 2 (memory retrieval) after a 20-min interval, but a block of memory at 6 h. Further experiments revealed that infusion of SCH23390 immediately after trial 1 had no effect on retention 6 h later, and the poor memory seen at long retention intervals when the drug was present at encoding was not due to a state-dependent failure of retrieval. These results suggest that activation of D1/D5 receptors during memory encoding is necessary for the formation of a persistent memory trace in the hippocampus. The complementary effects of D1/D5 receptor blockade on the persistence of LTP and the duration of memory are consistent with the idea that changes in synaptic strength underlie memory.     

Color-based grouping and inhibition in visual search: evidence from a probe detection analysis of preview search

In four experiments, we examined selection processes in visual search using a probe detection task to measure the allocation of attention. Under preview search conditions, probes were harder to detect on old relative to new distractors (Experiment 1). This cannot be attributed solely to low-level sensory factors (Experiment 2). In addition, probe detection was sensitive to color-based grouping of old distractors and to color similarity between old distractors (Experiments 3 and 4). These effects were dissociated when the color of the old distractors changed but probe detection effects remained. Collectively, the data indicate both group-based suppression of distractors and the separate inhibition of distractor features in search.     

Freedom to play,dream and think

The intention in this paper is to study what we mean when we say that play is a mediator of an inner psychic world. The internal scene becomes furnished with your own impressions from the external world. The passions and the experiences from within have no forms of their own and will use the forms in time and space in external reality. An inner object world will be created, and thus far it is the same process as it is for the creation of the dream image and its furniture. In play, there is a circular movement: the furnishings from the inner world intrude into external reality; the external form and the form of the inner object create a double exposure. We look at the object in the room with a binocular view. The experience from psychoanalysis with three children is presented to give different perspectives on the internal movements inherent in play and playing.     

Fewer intrusions after an attentional bias modification training for perceptual reminders of analogue trauma

The present experimental analogue study used computerised attention training to investigate the role of attention bias in the prediction of intrusive memories. After exposure to a trauma film, participants in a training group (n=22) were presented with a variant of the exogenic cueing task (ECT) in which visual film reminders (i.e., stills from the trauma film) were always presented during invalid and neutral control stimuli always during valid trials. The purpose of this cue–location contingency was reinforcing the direction of attention away from film reminders. Control participants (n=23) performed a similar training without such a contingency. Post-training processing bias was assessed with a single target Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) task, in which trauma-film reminders served as task-irrelevant distracters appearing shortly before a neutral target. The frequency of film-related intrusions was recorded in a take-home diary and at a follow-up session three days after film viewing. Participants who underwent attention training reported fewer film-related intrusions and showed less interference by visual film distracters than controls. Implications for research on attention bias after real-life trauma are discussed.     

Changes of the Health Service System and the Search for Evidence and Rationality

The health service systems of the Western world are transforming rapidly. These systems are under pressure from an increase of new biomedical possibilities for intervention in the processes of the human body, from the rising expectations of the public, and from demographic developments that are leading to an increase in the number of elderly people in the Western world. Parallel to these changes on the macro level there are major changes on the micro level, that is, there is a search for methods to manage the basic way that the health system functions. In short, the financing, organization and practice of medicine will be changed considerably over the next 5-10 years. In the search for a harmonious development in this field the concept "evidence" must be seen in a broad perspective that encompasses, among other things, the increasing multidisciplinary nature of modern medicine.