Structural Comparison of Cognitive Associative Networks in Two Populations1

The cognitive associative structure of 2 populations was studied using network analysis of free‐word associations. Structural differences in the associative networks were compared using measures of network centralization, size, density, clustering, and path length. These measures are closely aligned with cognitive theories describing the organization of knowledge and retrieval of concepts from memory. Size and centralization of semantic structures were larger for college students than for 7^th graders, while density, clustering, and mean path length were similar. Findings presented reveal that subpopulations might have very different cognitive associative networks. This study suggests that graph theory and network analysis methods are useful in mapping differences in associative structures across groups.     

A Content and Sample Analysis of Quantitative Articles Published in the Journal of Counseling & Development Between 1991 and 2000

This study reviewed the content of articles and characteristics of samples in all quantitative articles published in the Journal of Counseling & Development between 1991 and 2000. The content analysis revealed that the areas that received the most attention were academic/career, multicultural issues, symptoms/disorders, and counseling process. Gender was reported in 88%, race/ethnicity in 60%, socioeconomic status in 11%, and sexual orientation in 1% of the articles. Implications for future research are addressed.     

Book Review of Crisis and Trauma: Developmental‐Ecological Intervention

Book reviewed in this article: Crisis and Trauma: Developmental‐Ecological Intervention by Barbara G. Collins & Thomas M. Collins (Eds.), 2005     

Immediate early gene activation in hippocampus and dorsal striatum: effects of explicit place and response training

Evidence from lesion, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging studies support the hypothesis that the hippocampus and dorsal striatum process afferent inputs in such a way that each structure regulates expression of different behaviors in learning and memory. The present study sought to determine whether rats explicitly trained to perform one of two different learning strategies, spatial or response, would display disparate immediate early gene activation in hippocampus and striatum. c-Fos and Zif268 immunoreactivity (IR) was measured in both hippocampus and striatum 30 or 90 min following criterial performance on a standard plus-maze task (place learners) or a modified T-maze task (response learners). Place and response learning differentially affected c-Fos-IR in striatum but not hippocampus. Specifically, explicit response learning induced greater c-Fos-IR activation in two subregions of the dorsal striatum. This increased c-Fos-IR was dependent upon the number of trials performed prior to reaching behavioral criterion and accuracy of performance during post-testing probe trials. Quantification of Zif268-IR in both hippocampus and striatum failed to distinguish between place and response learners. The changes in c-Fos-IR occurred 30 min, but not 90 min, post-testing. The synthesis of c-Fos early in testing could reflect the recruitment of key structures in learning. Consequently, animals that were able to learn the response task efficiently displayed greater amounts of c-Fos-IR in dorsal striatum.     

Experiential simulations of negated text information

We investigated the question of whether comprehenders mentally simulate a described situation even when this situation is explicitly negated in the sentence. In two experiments, participants read negative sentences such as There was no eagle in the sky, and subsequently responded to pictures of mentioned entities in the context of a recognition task. Participants' responses following negative sentences were faster when the depicted entity matched rather than mismatched the negated situation. These results suggest that comprehenders simulate the negated situation when processing a negated sentence. The results thereby provide further support for the experiential-simulations view of language comprehension.     

Levels of arousal in high- and low-frequency gamblers

High-(N = 22) and low-(N = 22) frequency gamblers were subjected to provocation with gambling or neutral stimuli prior to playing a poker machine. All Ss used a minimum of AS$3 of their own money and played a machine currently in use in local clubs with a maximum major payout of AS$100. HR and subjective measures of arousal were taken throughout. Neither provocation condition resulted in changes from baseline arousal in either group. Playing was associated with increases in arousal in both groups, but significantly greater arousal was shown by high-frequency players.