The effect of an irrelevant directional cue on choice reaction time: Duration of the phenomenon and its relation to stages of processing

Two experimental paradigms were used to investigate the interference which occurs in a choice RT task when the source of a stimulus does not correspond with its meaning. In one paradigm, subjects were instructed to delay executing their response to a red or green light until they heard a go signal which was presented 0, 150,250, or 350 msec after the light. In the other paradigm, subjects translated the pitch of a tone into an appropriate keypress response. For some groups, the stimulus response connections were specified prior to or simultaneously with the presentation of the stimulus tone, while, for other groups, the labeling of the response keys followed the onset of the tone. Results indicated that irrelevant directional cues produce interference which affects the response selection stage and persists for approximately 250 msec     

Successive-beat analysis of cardiovascular orienting and conditional responses

We have shown that prominent changes in heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) occur in dogs during classical defensive conditioning. These changes are usually analyzed as average HR and BP during control periods versus averages during conditional stimulus (CS) and unconditional stimulus (US) periods. A new method has been developed for evaluation of these functions, viz., analysis across many trials of successive beats beginning at onset of CS and working backward (control period) and forward (CS period). Nine awake dogs were continuously studied: six with HR and intra-arterial BP measurements and three with HR measurements only. A drop in HR occurs 1 to 2 beats after CS onset (often noted as a “dropped” beat on individual trials). In some dogs, on the third to fifth beat HR reaches its maximum during the CS period, thereafter falling slightly, but still above baseline; other dogs show progressively increasing HR throughout the whole CS period. At US onset (foreleg shock) HR usually rises rapidly to a peak greater than that at CS maximum. BP follows HR changes fairly closely, diastolic better than systolic. These results indicate that I) this method can reveal transients previously unsuspected, 2) a prominent initial sudden bradycardia followed by tachycardia commonly occurs in conditioning in dogs, 3) the latent period of prominent HR increase is usually quite short (1.3 to 1.6 secs.), and 4) BP follows HR directly during the early part of the CS.     

L-Type Voltage-Dependent Calcium Channel Blocker Nifedipine Enhances Memory Retention When Infused into the Hippocampus

Wistar rats with cannulae bilaterally implanted in the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus were trained in a step-down inhibitory avoidance task. Through these cannulae they received an infusion of 28 or 280 ng per side of the L-type voltage-dependent calcium channel antagonist nifedipine, or of its vehicle (20% dimethyl sulfoxide in saline). The two doses of the drug were studied by administration 0 or 30 min after training; in addition, the higher dose was studied by infusion 10 min before training. A retention test was carried out 24 h after the training session. The highest dose of nifedipine administered 0 min post-training enhanced test session performance of the animals compared to the control group; the effect of the lower dose was not statistically significant. There was no effect of the drug given 30 min post-training or 10 min pretraining. Despite the inability to discriminate direct neural from indirect vascular effects, these results are consistent with previous reports on nootropic actions of the dihydropyridine class of calcium channel blockers. The data are at variance with the amnestic effect of intrahippocampal nifedipine described by Lee and Lin (1991,Life Sciences,48,1333–1340), which may be attibuted to the different range of doses studied here. This might resemble the inverted U-shaped dose–response curve observed with another dihydropyridine, nimodipine, by other authors.     

Acoustic Distinctions in the Speech of Male Psychopaths

A key feature of psychopathy is the ability to deceive, manipulate, and con the unwary, while seeming to be perfectly sincere. Is this impression of sincerity achieved solely through body gestures and facial expression, or is there also something different about the voice quality of psychopaths? We analyzed the acoustic characteristics of speech in 20 male offenders (10 psychopaths and 10 nonpsychopaths), assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist—Revised (Hare, 1991). We used a computer program developed by Alpert, Merewether, Homel, Martz, and Lomask (1986) to measure variations in amplitude and prosody. Results indicated that psychopaths spoke more quietly than controls and did not differentiate, in voice emphasis, between neutral and affective words. These findings are consistent with the developing view that psychopaths are insensitive to the emotional connotations of language. In addition, their vocal characteristics may be part of a self-presentation mode designed to manipulate and control interpersonal interactions.     

Concepts as Tools Not Rules: a Commentary on (Re-) Defining Racism

In (Re-) Defining Racism, Alberto Urquidez argues that conflicting philosophical accounts over the definition of racism are at bottom linguistic confusions that would benefit from a Wittgensteinian-inspired approach. In this essay, I argue that such an approach would be helpful in disputes over the definition of metaphysically contested concepts, such as “race,” or semantically contested concepts, such as “racialization.” I disagree, however, that such insights would prove helpful or do very little for disputes concerning normatively contested concepts, such as “racism.”

     

THE POST-METROPOLIS IS GOD: Notes for a Phenomenology of the Urban Spirit

Topoi - More akin to the Roman Empire’s concept of civitas mobilis augescens, the distinction between the twentieth-century metropolis and the Roman model of a city must be sought in the...     

Internet-based self-help treatment for panic disorder: a randomized controlled trial comparing mandatory versus optional complementary psychological support

Panic disorder (PD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders. Web-based self-help treatments for PD have had promising results. These online treatments seem to have larger effect sizes (ESs) when professional support is added. However, the amount of support or how it should be administered is not yet clear. The aim of this trial was to study two ways of administering psychological support provided by phone as a part of Internet-based self-help treatment for PD based on cognitive behavioral therapy. Seventy-seven participants diagnosed with PD were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: a waiting list control group; a treatment group with non-scheduled psychological support; or a treatment group with scheduled psychological support. PD symptoms of participants who received treatment improved significantly compared to the control group (mean ES d = 1.18, p < .05). In addition, there were statistically and clinically significant differences between treatment groups (Mean difference = ?3.20, p = .005, 95% CI [?5.62, ?.79]). The scheduled group showed a larger ES, a lower dropout rate, and better adherence to treatment than the non-scheduled group. Scheduled support seems to be indicated for patients who seek Web-based treatment for PD, and their symptoms of panic, anxiety, and depression improve at post-treatment and six-month follow-up. In contrast, when support depends on patient demand, they receive less support and so, the therapeutic effect is poorer.     

Junior version of the Spanish NEO PI-R (JS NEO)

This article presents the preliminary data of the development of a Junior version of the Spanish NEO PI-R (JS NEO), suitable for teenagers from 12 to 17 years of age. From the 240 original English items, 92 were modified or reworded to some degree to make the vocabulary adequate for this age group. The psychometric properties of the JS NEO were investigated in a sample of 2,505 adolescents. Results showed that the adult NEO PI-R factor structure was replicated in the junior version of the inventory. Internal consistency and temporal stability reliabilities of the scales were adequate for most scales. Furthermore, the cross-form correlations between the junior (JS NEO) and the adult (NEO PI-R) scales indicated satisfactory construct validity of the junior version of the inventory.     

The semantic/episodic distinction: The case for social information processing

The directed-forgetting paradigm was used in order to dissociate episodic from semantic processes in an impression formation task. Results demonstrate that incongruent behaviors are more prone to manipulations that disrupt episodic memory, whereas congruent behaviors are unaffected by such manipulations. The results suggest that the distinction between episodic and semantic memory processes is central for the understanding of social information processing. An explanation is put forward according to which the incongruency effect, a signature effect of impression formation, is due to an episodic encoding advantage for incongruent behaviors because of their semantically isolated nature, and their impoverished semantic encoding.