Analysis of multivariate mixed longitudinal data: A flexible latent process approach

Multivariate ordinal and quantitative longitudinal data measuring the same latent construct are frequently collected in psychology. We propose an approach to describe change over time of the latent process underlying multiple longitudinal outcomes of different types (binary, ordinal, quantitative). By relying on random‐effect models, this approach handles individually varying and outcome‐specific measurement times. A linear mixed model describes the latent process trajectory while equations of observation combine outcome‐specific threshold models for binary or ordinal outcomes and models based on flexible parameterized non‐linear families of transformations for Gaussian and non‐Gaussian quantitative outcomes. As models assuming continuous distributions may be also used with discrete outcomes, we propose likelihood and information criteria for discrete data to compare the goodness of fit of models assuming either a continuous or a discrete distribution for discrete data. Two analyses of the repeated measures of the Mini‐Mental State Examination, a 20‐item psychometric test, illustrate the method. First, we highlight the usefulness of parameterized non‐linear transformations by comparing different flexible families of transformation for modelling the test as a sum score. Then, change over time of the latent construct underlying directly the 20 items is described using two‐parameter longitudinal item response models that are specific cases of the approach.     

Improving executive function using transcranial infrared laser stimulation

Transcranial infrared laser stimulation is a new non‐invasive form of low‐level light therapy that may have a wide range of neuropsychological applications. It entails using low‐power and high‐energy‐density infrared light from lasers to increase metabolic energy. Preclinical work showed that this intervention can increase cortical metabolic energy, thereby improving frontal cortex‐based memory function in rats. Barrett and Gonzalez‐Lima (2013, Neuroscience, 230, 13) discovered that transcranial laser stimulation can enhance sustained attention and short‐term memory in humans. We extend this line of work to executive function. Specifically, we ask whether transcranial laser stimulation enhances performance in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task that is considered the gold standard of executive function and is compromised in normal ageing and a number of neuropsychological disorders. We used a laser of a specific wavelength (1,064 nm) that photostimulates cytochrome oxidase – the enzyme catalysing oxygen consumption for metabolic energy production. Increased cytochrome oxidase activity is considered the primary mechanism of action of this intervention. Participants who received laser treatment made fewer errors and showed improved set‐shifting ability relative to placebo controls. These results suggest that transcranial laser stimulation improves executive function and may have exciting potential for treating or preventing deficits resulting from neuropsychological disorders or normal ageing.     

Emotion recognition in music changes across the adult life span

In comparison with other modalities, the recognition of emotion in music has received little attention. An unexplored question is whether and how emotion recognition in music changes as a function of ageing. In the present study, healthy adults aged between 17 and 84 years (N=114) judged the magnitude to which a set of musical excerpts (Vieillard et al., 2008) expressed happiness, peacefulness, sadness and fear/threat. The results revealed emotion-specific age-related changes: advancing age was associated with a gradual decrease in responsiveness to sad and scary music from middle age onwards, whereas the recognition of happiness and peacefulness, both positive emotional qualities, remained stable from young adulthood to older age. Additionally, the number of years of music training was associated with more accurate categorisation of the musical emotions examined here. We argue that these findings are consistent with two accounts on how ageing might influence the recognition of emotions: motivational changes towards positivity and, to a lesser extent, selective neuropsychological decline.     

A contextual approach on sex-related biases in pain judgements: the moderator effects of evidence of pathology and patients' distress cues on nurses' judgements of chronic low-back pain

Although women report feeling more pain than men, their pain is often underdiagnosed and undertreated. By proposing a gender-based theoretical conceptualisation, we argue that such sex-related biases may be enhanced or suppressed by contextual variables pertaining to the clinical situation, the perceiver or the patient. Consequently, we aimed to explore the moderator role of two clinically relevant variables in a chronic low-back pain (CLBP) scenario: diagnostic evidence of pathology (EP) and pain behaviours conveying distress. One-hundred and twenty-six female nurses (M?=?35.33, SD?=?7.64) participated in an experimental between-subjects design, 2 (patient's sex)?×?2 (EP: present vs. absent)?×?2 (pain behaviours: with vs. without distress). Independent variables were operationalised by vignettes depicting a patient with CLBP. Nurses judged the patient's pain on several dimensions: (1) credibility; (2) disability; (3) severity of the clinical situation; (4) psychological attributions and (5) willingness to offer support. Main findings showed that judgements of women's pain were influenced by EP, while judgements of men's pain were not. Moreover, nurses showed biases against men, but only in the presence of EP. The influence of distress cues was less consistent. Theoretical and practical implications are drawn.     

Meditation,Health and Scientific Investigations: Review of the Literature

A growing number of people are seeking health recovery treatments with a holistic approach to the human being. Meditation is a mental training capable of producing connection between the mind, body and spirit. Its practice helps people to achieve balance, relaxation and self-control, in addition to the development of consciousness. At present, meditation is classified as a complementary and integrative technique in the area of health. The purpose of this review of the literature was to describe what meditation is, its practices and effects on health, demonstrated by consistent scientific investigations. Recently, the advances in researches with meditation, the discovery of its potential as an instrument of self-regulation of the human body and its benefits to health have shown that it is a consistent alternative therapy when associated with conventional medical treatments.     

Co-referential Processing of Pronouns and Repeated Names in Italian

In this study, we investigate whether co-referential processing across sentence boundaries is driven by universal properties of the general architecture of memory systems and whether cross-linguistic differences concerning the number of anaphoric forms available in a language’s referential inventory can impact the process of inter-sentential co-reference resolution. As a window into these questions, we test whether the repeated-name penalty (RNP) and the overt-pronoun penalty (OPP)—comprehension delays associated with repeated names and overt pronouns, respectively, in comparison to more reduced anaphoric forms in reference to salient antecedents—occur in Italian, examining the extent to which Italian resembles other null-subject languages, with focus on Spanish. Our self-paced reading experiment with factors Antecedent (Subject, Object) and Anaphor (Null Pronoun, Overt Pronoun, Repeated Name) found that Italian exhibits both an OPP and a (weaker) RNP, extending previous research that showed these effects in Spanish and strengthening the claim that co-reference resolution might be subject to universal principles.     

Limitations in verbal fluency following heavy burdens of early childhood diarrhea in Brazilian shantytown children.

The effects of heavy burdens of diarrhea in the first 2 years of life on specific executive control function like verbal fluency are not well understood. In previous studies, we have shown associations of early childhood diarrhea (ECD) with nonverbal intelligence and school functioning. Therefore, we postulated that ECD might affect early neuropsychological development leading to long-term deficits in normal cognitive development. Based on our extensive 14-year prospective cohort studies of early childhood diarrheal illnesses in a Brazilian shantytown community, we examined ECD correlations between specific impairments of higher mental function and executive skills in shantytown children 5-10 years later (now at 6-12) years of age. Specifically we examined whether heavy diarrheal illnesses correlate with reduced performance on selected tests of executive function. Our study, for the first time, suggests a disproportional impairment in semantic but not phonetic fluency in a subset of children with heavy burdens of diarrhea in their first 2 years of life even when controlling for maternal education, breastfeeding, and child schooling. Similar semantic decrements have been associated with impaired recovery from brain injury. These exploratory studies suggest the importance of verbal fluency tests to assess executive functioning in children challenged by poor nutrition and diarrhea in early life. In addition, our unique findings show the potential influences of early childhood diarrhea on language development that is so critical to productive adulthood and potentially set a foundation for new neuropsychological approaches, which assess early burdens of enteric illnesses on childhood development.     

Predictors of Attitudes Towards the Construction of a Waste Incinerator: Two Case Studies1

This investigation examined the predictors of the acceptance of waste incineration facilities. A survey was conducted of a random sample of the residents in two sites where an incinerator was planned (450 participants in Study 1 and 300 in Study 2). Attitudes towards the incinerator were mainly predicted by the perception of the risks as dread, positive expectancies about the project, trust in social actors involved in the process, perceived distributive justice, and distance of residence to the site. The relationship between distance of residence and attitude towards the incinerator was partially mediated by perceived risk, perceived justice, and expectations. As expected from the elaboration likelihood model, substantive peripheral cues were better predictors of attitudes for involved than for noninvolved dwellers.     

Exposure to a specific prompt topography predicts its relative efficiency when teaching intraverbal behavior to children with autism spectrum disorder

Comparisons of the relative efficiency of different prompt topographies (visual or auditory), when teaching intraverbal behavior to children with disabilities, have yielded idiosyncratic results. Recent research has shown that previous exposure to a specific prompt type may affect its efficiency when teaching intraverbal behavior to preschool children. The current study was an attempt to replicate these results with 3 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. For all participants, increased exposure to one prompt topography was sufficient to make it relatively more efficient as measured by number of trials to criterion. These results suggest that previous history with a prompt type may predict its efficiency.