Selective attention and inhibitory deficits in ADHD: Does subtype or comorbidity modulate negative priming effects?

Selective attention has durable consequences for behavior and neural activation. Negative priming (NP) effects are assumed to reflect a critical inhibitory component of selective attention. The performance of adolescents with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was assessed across two conceptually based NP tasks within a selective attention procedure. Comorbidity (non-comorbid ADHD vs. comorbid ADHD) and subtype (ADHD combined vs. ADHD inattentive) were considered key issues. Results found NP effects to differ as a function of comorbidity but not subtype. Findings are discussed in light of functional neuroimaging evidence for neuronal enhancement for unattended stimuli relative to attended stimuli that strongly complements an inhibitory-based explanation for NP. Implications for the ‘AD’ in ADHD and contemporary process models of the disorder are considered.     

Emergence of attributional style and its relation to depressive symptoms

The development of depressive attributional style (AS) and its role as a cognitive diathesis for depression were examined in children and adolescents (Grades 2-9). In a 4-wave longitudinal study of 3 overlapping age cohorts, AS, negative life events, and depressive symptoms were evaluated every 12 months. Consistency of children's attributions across situations was moderately high at all ages. The cross-sectional structure of AS changed with age, as stability became a more salient aspect of AS than internality and globality. The structure of AS also changed, becoming more traitlike as children grew older. In longitudinal analyses, evidence of a Cognitive Diathesis x Stress interaction did not emerge until Grades 8 and 9, suggesting that AS may not serve as a diathesis for depression at younger ages. Results suggest that attributional models of depression may require modification before they are applied across developmental levels.     

Social presence effects on the stroop task: Boundary conditions and an alternative account

Two studies investigated boundary conditions of an effect of social presence on the Stroop task and its interpretation in terms of an attentional view (P. Huguet, M. P. Galvaing, J. M. Monteil, & F. Dumas, 1999). In this view, social presence leads to attentional focusing, enhancing participants’ ability to screen out the distracting features of Stroop stimuli. As predicted, Stroop interference was found to be reduced by social presence, but an alternative account in which social presence exerts an effect on task selection received more support.     

Aging affects acquisition and reversal of reward-based associative learning

Reward-based associative learning is mediated by a distributed network of brain regions that are dependent on the dopaminergic system. Age-related changes in key regions of this system, the striatum and the prefrontal cortex, may adversely affect the ability to use reward information for the guidance of behavior. The present study investigated the effects of healthy aging on different components of reward learning, such as acquisition, reversal, effects of reward magnitude, and transfer of learning. A group of 30 young (mean age = 24.2 yr) and a group of 30 older subjects (mean age = 64.1 yr) completed two probabilistic reward-based stimulus association learning tasks. Older subjects showed poorer overall acquisition and impaired reversal learning, as well as deficits in transfer learning. When only those subjects who showed evidence of significant learning were considered, younger subjects showed equivalently fast learning irrespective of reward magnitude, while learning curves in older subjects were steeper for high compared to low reward magnitudes. Acquired equivalence learning, which requires generalization across stimuli and transfer of learned contingencies to new stimuli, was mildly impaired in older subjects.     

Gabaergic mechanisms of hypothalamic nuclei in the expression of conditioned fear

The amygdala, the dorsal periaqueductal gray (dPAG), and the medial hypothalamus have long been recognized to be a neural system responsible for the generation and elaboration of unconditioned fear in the brain. It is also well known that this neural substrate is under a tonic inhibitory control exerted by GABA mechanisms. However, whereas there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that the amygdala and dPAG are also able to integrate conditioned fear, it is still unclear, however, how the distinct hypothalamic nuclei participate in fear conditioning. In this work we aimed to examine the extent to which the gabaergic mechanisms of this brain region are involved in conditioned fear using the fear-potentiated startle (FPS). Muscimol, a GABA-A receptor agonist, and semicarbazide, an inhibitor of the GABA synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), were used as an enhancer and inhibitor of the GABA mechanisms, respectively. Muscimol and semicarbazide were injected into the anterior hypothalamus (AHN), the dorsomedial part of the ventromedial nucleus (VMHDM), the dorsomedial (DMH) or the dorsal premammillary (PMD) nuclei of male Wistar rats before test sessions of the fear conditioning paradigm. The injections into the DMH and PMD did not produce any significant effects on FPS. On the other hand, muscimol injections into the AHN and VMHDM caused significant reduction in FPS. These results indicate that injections of muscimol and semicarbazide into the DMH and PMD fail to change the FPS, whereas the enhancement of the GABA transmission in the AHN and VMHDM produces a reduction of the conditioned fear responses. On the other hand, the inhibition of this transmission led to an increase of this conditioned response in the AHN. Thus, whereas DMH and PMD are known to be part of the caudal-most region of the medial hypothalamic defensive system, which integrates unconditioned fear, systems mediating conditioned fear select the AHN and VMHDM nuclei that belong to the rostral-most portion of the hypothalamic defense area. Thus, distinct subsets of neurons in the hypothalamus could mediate different aspects of the defensive responses.     

Talking points: A modulating circle reduces listening effort without improving speech recognition

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - Speech recognition is improved when the acoustic input is accompanied by visual cues provided by a talking face (Erber in Journal of Speech and Hearing Research,...     

In the eye of the beholder: The role of cognitive style and similarity in the evaluation of brand extensions

Fit has been identified as an antecedent of the success of brand extensions. Recently, a new stream of literature has distinguished two different types of fit: feature‐based taxonomic similarity and relation‐based thematic similarity. Although researchers in this field have investigated how thematic and taxonomic brand extensions are evaluated, they have not accounted for interindividual differences in these evaluations. To address this gap, we investigate how cognitive styles are related to the evaluation of brand extensions that are based on different types of similarity. We show that a systematic cognitive style is related to the evaluation of taxonomic brand extensions. Moreover, we take the first steps to disentangle the relationship between intuitive cognitive style and the evaluation of thematic brand extensions, and we show that positive affect might play an important role as a moderator in these cases. The results provide us with a better understanding of how interindividual differences in information processing might account for differences in preferences for different types of brand extensions and, hence, consumer behavior.     

Is there a burden attached to synaesthesia? Health screening of synaesthetes in the general population

Synaesthesia has long been considered a benign alternative form of perception most often associated with positive rather than negative outcomes. The condition has been associated with a variety of cognitive and perceptual advantages, including benefits in memory, processing speed, and creativity. It is not currently recognized in the DSM‐IV. Recently, however, several studies have raised the question of a possible link between synaesthesia and clinical conditions. Here, we present the first large‐scale screening of the general population in which we (1) objectively identified grapheme‐colour synaesthetes and (2) elicited information from our participants about a range of clinical conditions. We compared the prevalence rates of these conditions in synaesthetes versus non‐synaesthetes to establish whether any conditions were found at a higher rate among synaesthetes. In our initial study, screening 3,742 people (95 synaesthetes and 3,647 controls), we found initially that grapheme‐colour was significantly comorbid with two conditions (anxiety disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder). In our second study, screening a new population of 120 synaesthetes and 166 non‐synaesthetes, we replicated our finding that grapheme‐colour synaesthesia is comorbid with anxiety disorder. At the same time, we also addressed a methodological concern that likely elevated rates of OCD in Study 1. We consider the aetiology of synaesthesia to determine whether there may be a shared genetic or neurological basis with anxiety disorder, and we question the status of synaesthesia within a mental health framework.     

Disquiet in the consulting room: everything/nothing that is said here is confidential

Writing from experiences in the consulting room in private practice in Australia, the author refers to the layered complexity of a conflict of ethical duty which has legal and social implications. The paper explores how the ethics that are congruent with creating a safe vas bene claustrum can be diametrically opposed to the social and legal structures and processes on which we all rely. It is suggested that within the vas, analysts and analysands engage in a shared process of emotionally connected, layered, symbolic thinking. Subpoenas directed at analysts are seeking concrete evidence that will stand up in court. The paper argues that this is a category error based on ignorance and misconceptions of what analytic work entails. The intrusion of a subpoena into the vas has the potential to cause havoc in the mental health and the lives of already vulnerable, possibly traumatized and isolated individuals. It can undermine a fundamental human right and undermine the profession of psychotherapy as a whole. The paper proposes that analysts have an ethical obligation to protect the work contained within the vas from these category errors and to educate other professionals as to why we cannot provide the kind of evidence that the courts require.     

Coping with unpleasant group memberships in Japan and Germany: Cultural differences in disidentification,confrontation and emotion regulation

Disidentification, the psychological distancing from unpleasant group memberships, has mainly been studied in individualistic societies. We tested whether disidentification is a coping strategy to deal with conflicts in small and large groups, in Japan and Germany. Study 1 (N = 79) illustrates that Japanese recalled more unpleasant situations related to small than large groups. Study 2 (N = 198) confirms that Japanese, but not German students’ disidentification varied with group size and was stronger after small-group conflict. Study 3 (N = 132) shows that anger was related to disidentification in Japan but to confrontation in Germany. Study 4 (N = 335) shows that, after group conflict, Japanese felt relieved when imagining to disidentify, whereas Germans felt relieved when imagining to confront the source of conflict. Combining correlational and experimental designs with culture-sensitive situation sampling, we show that disidentification exists as a psychological construct across cultures, albeit serving different psychological functions.