Influence of depression on verbal fluency performance

Abstract

Neuropsychologists are often faced with the challenge of assessing older adults who exhibit both cognitive deficits and symptoms of depression. This study examined factors associated with diminished fluency in elderly adults. Three groups were tested: 54 community elderly, 35 institutionalized elderly, and 40 young adults using the Controlled Oral Word Association test. Significant incremental contributions to performance on verbal fluency included age, education, depression, and the interaction term for depression and functional impairment. Diminished verbal fluency was associated with depression among older adults who were not functionally impaired. the results suggest that variables other than cerebral integrity must be taken into consideration when interpreting older adults' performance on fluency tests.     

U.S. Muslim women and body image: links among objectification theory constructs and the hijab

This study tested tenets of objectification theory and explored the role of the hijab in body image and eating disorder symptoms with a sample of 118 Muslim women in the United States. Results from a path analysis indicated that individual differences in wearing the hijab were related negatively with reported sexual objectification experiences. Sexual objectification experiences, in turn, had significant positive indirect relations with body surveillance, body shame, and eating disorder symptoms, primarily through the mediating role of internalization. Internalization of cultural standards of beauty also had a significant positive direct relation with body shame and significant positive direct and indirect relations with eating disorder symptoms. By contrast, the direct and indirect relations of body surveillance were significant only when the role of internalization was constrained to 0 (i.e., eliminated), suggesting that internalization of cultural standards of beauty subsumed the hypothesized role of body surveillance in the model. Taken together, these results support some of the tenets of objectification theory with a sample of U.S. Muslim women, point to the importance of internalization of dominant cultural standards of beauty within that framework, and suggest the utility of considering individual differences in wearing the hijab among U.S. Muslim women.     

Facilitation of fear extinction by D-cycloserine: theoretical and clinical implications

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychological disturbances in the industrialized world. Current behavioral therapy procedures for these disorders are somewhat effective, but their efficacy could be substantially improved. Because these procedures are largely based on the process of extinction, manipulations that enhance extinction may lead to improvements in treatment effectiveness. We review the evidence that D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial NMDA agonist, facilitates extinction of learned fear in rats. Although only a few studies have examined the effects of DCS on extinction of learned fear, this work suggests that this drug may have a number of potential clinical benefits. In addition, attempts at interpreting this research illustrate our limited understanding of the processes involved in extinction.     

Fatigue,emotional functioning,and executive dysfunction in pediatric multiple sclerosis

Objective: Fatigue, depression, anxiety, and executive dysfunction are associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) in adults. Existing research suggests similar problems in pediatric MS, but relationships between these variables have not been investigated. This study investigates the associations between executive functioning and fatigue, emotional functioning, age of onset, and disease duration in pediatric MS.

Methods: Twenty-six MS or Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS) patients, ages 7 to 18, were evaluated through a multidisciplinary demyelinating diseases clinic. Participants completed neuropsychological screening including Verbal Fluency, Digit Span, and Trail-Making Test. Parents completed rating forms of behavioral, emotional, and executive functioning. Patients and parents completed questionnaires related to the patient’s quality of life and fatigue. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to investigate relationships between fatigue, emotional functioning, and executive functioning, as well as to examine correlations between parent and child reports of fatigue.

Results: Rates of parent-reported anxiety, depression, fatigue, and executive dysfunction varied widely. Means were below average on the Trail-Making Test and average on Verbal Fluency and Digit Span, though scores varied widely. Various fatigue and emotional functioning indices—but not age of onset or disease duration—significantly correlated with various performance-based measures of executive functioning.

Conclusion: Results indicate pediatric MS is associated with some degree of fatigue, emotional difficulties, and executive dysfunction, the latter of which is associated with the two former. Notably, age of onset and disease duration did not significantly correlate with executive functioning. Results advance understanding of psychological and clinical variables related to neurocognitive outcomes in pediatric MS.     

Evaluating Generalization of Addition-Fact Fluency Using the Taped-Problems Procedure in a Second-Grade Classroom

A multiple-baseline design across math-fact sets was used to evaluate the effects of a taped-problems intervention on students’ performance with addition facts and their inverses in an intact, rural, second-grade classroom. Results suggested that the procedure was effective in improving fluency on math facts as well as their inverses. Across 3 sets of math facts, 15 students increased their fluency (i.e., average increases of 5 digits correct per min or more) on math-problem sets and these improvements were maintained over time. Additionally, results provide evidence that these increases generalized to inverse-problem sets. However, 4 students showed little gains (i.e., average increases of fewer than 5 digits correct per min) on math problems. Discussion focuses on evaluating academic interventions for generalization and directions for future research.     

The Occupational Stereotypes and Expectations for Their Children Held by Mothers Representing Different Ethnic Communities in Miami1

The study focuses on the occupational expectations and aspirations that mothers, representing 5 different ethnic groups and 2 social classes, have for their children. An intergroup perspective was adopted by considering the occupational stereotypes that mothers have of the different ethnic groups, and the extent to which ethnic group membership influences hiring decisions. The results indicate that there exist very clear ethno-occupational stereotypes, and that these influence hiring decisions. However, despite wide variation in the occupational status in the stereotypes of different ethnic groups, mothers had universally high expectations for their children. The extent to which these represent optimism or false hope is addressed.     

When infants take mothers' advice: 18-month-olds integrate perceptual and social information to guide motor action

The social cognition and perception-action literatures are largely separate, both conceptually and empirically. However, both areas of research emphasize infants' emerging abilities to use available information--social and perceptual information, respectively--for making decisions about action. Borrowing methods from both research traditions, this study examined whether 18-month-old infants incorporate both social and perceptual information in their motor decisions. The infants' task was to determine whether to walk down slopes of varying risk levels as their mothers encouraged or discouraged walking. First, a psychophysical procedure was used to determine slopes that were safe, borderline, and risky for individual infants. Next, during a series of test trials, infants received mothers' advice about whether to walk. Infants used social information selectively: They ignored encouraging advice to walk down risky slopes and discouraging advice to avoid safe slopes, but they deferred to mothers' advice at borderline slopes. Findings indicate that 18-month-old infants correctly weigh competing sources of information when making decisions about motor action and that they rely on social information only when perceptual information is inadequate or uncertain.     

Attitude to primary prevention advice of the European Code against cancer in relatives of cancer patients: implications for the development of preventive programmes

Achieving a preventive attitude is the first step in eliminating cancer risk behaviours. This cross-sectional study evaluated the attitude towards the European Code against Cancer, in 3,031 relatives of cancer patients. The study looked for keys to improve attitude by means of educational interventions. Attitude was evaluated using a questionnaire with 63 items and a Likert's scale. Measured from -2 to +2 , the mean score was 0.905 [0.894 - 0.971]. Five per cent had a mean score under 0.38 and another 5% over 1.46. A multivariate analysis found that age, sex and level of education were significantly associated with attitude: young men with a low cultural level were those with the lowest preventive attitude. The family history of cancer was not associated with attitude. Educational interventions should modify the perceived advantages of smoking and drinking, and the disadvantages related to preventive diet and sun and workplace protection.