Suggested visual hallucination without hypnosis enhances activity in visual areas of the brain

This functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) study investigated high and low suggestible people responding to two visual hallucination suggestions with and without a hypnotic induction. Participants in the study were asked to see color while looking at a grey image, and to see shades of grey while looking at a color image. High suggestible participants reported successful alterations in color perception in both tasks, both in and out of hypnosis, and showed a small benefit if hypnosis was induced. Low suggestible people could not perform the tasks successfully with or without the hypnotic induction. The fMRI results supported the self report data, and changes in brain activity were found in a number of visual areas. The results indicate that a hypnotic induction, although having the potential to enhance the ability of high suggestible people, is not necessary for the effective alteration of color perception by suggestion.     

Task practice differentially modulates task-switching performance across the adult lifespan

Cued-trials task-switching paradigms have been used extensively to examine ageing-related changes in cognitive control. Many studies report an increase in mixing cost (i.e., cost of repeating the same task in a single-task vs. a mixed-task block) and a less reliable increase in switch cost (i.e., cost of switching vs. repeating tasks in a mixed-task block) in old as compared to young adults. However, there is substantial variability between studies in the emergence and size of age effects on mixing and/or switch cost. In this study, we examined variation in mixing cost and switch cost as a function of task practice and preparation interval across the adult lifespan (18-79 years) using a paradigm that promotes advance preparation and reduces cue encoding differences between switch and repeat trials. Both preparation interval and task practice modulated mixing cost and switch cost-but task practice mediated the effects of preparation interval and age differentially for mixing cost and switch cost. Mixing cost was consistently larger in older participants, reduced with preparation and varied little with task practice. In contrast, the effect of preparation interval on switch cost varied with task practice. Reduction in switch cost with preparation interval emerged in younger participants by the second practice session and even later in older participants. When fully practiced, older participants showed greater mixing cost but less switch cost than younger participants. Age effects on both mixing cost and switch cost were mediated by changes in processing of repeat trials, indicative of reduced differentiation between switch and repeat trials in mixed-task blocks. This is consistent with reduced cognitive flexibility with increasing age.     

Characterization of the Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment for Transplant (SIPAT) in Lung Transplant Candidates

The SIPAT is a standardized measure for pre-transplant psychosocial evaluation. Previous SIPAT studies utilized a relatively small lung transplant sample and only included listed patients. This study characterized the SIPAT in 147 lung transplant candidates to better elucidate its utility. The average score corresponded to a minimally acceptable rating and nearly half of the patients had relative or absolute contraindications. Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) patients scored more favorably than non-ILD patients (U?=?7.69, p?<?.05). The Total (β?=?? .05, SE?=?.018, p?<?.01), Social Support Subscale (β?=?? .133, SE?=?.058, p?<?.05), and Psychosocial Stability and Psychopathology Subscale (β?=?? .103, SE?=?.040, p?<?.05) significantly predicted listing status. The SIPAT has a unique profile in lung transplant candidates and demonstrated utility for guiding transplant decisions. Future research should examine which lung transplant outcomes are significantly associated with SIPAT scores.

     

Unique Ways in Which the Quality of Friendships Matter for Life Satisfaction

Journal of Happiness Studies - The quality of individuals’ social relationships consistently predicts greater well-being. But little is known about the relative importance of different...     

Efficiency and interactions of alerting,orienting and executive networks: The impact of imperative stimulus type

The Attention Network Test (ANT) generates measures of three attention networks: alerting, orienting and executive control. Arrows have been generally used as imperative stimuli in the different versions of this paradigm. However, it is unknown whether the directional nature of these stimuli can modulate the efficiency of the executive control and its interaction with alerting and orienting. We developed three ANT variants to examine attentional effects in response to directional and non-directional stimuli. Arrows (ANTI-A), colored fruits (ANTI-F) and black geometrical-shape (ANTI-G) were used as imperative stimuli (i.e., flanker stimuli). Data collected from fifty-two university students, in two experiments, showed that arrows stimuli produced a greater interference effect and a greater orienting effect as compared to the other stimuli. Moreover, only arrows modulated the interaction between executive control and orienting: a reduced flanker effect in spatially cued trials was only observed in ANTI-A. These results suggest that the directional value of the stimuli increases the conflict and modulates the efficiency of executive control and its interaction with orienting network.     

A single bout of resistance exercise can enhance episodic memory performance

Acute aerobic exercise can be beneficial to episodic memory. This benefit may occur because exercise produces a similar physiological response as physical stressors. When administered during consolidation, acute stress, both physical and psychological, consistently enhances episodic memory, particularly memory for emotional materials. Here we investigated whether a single bout of resistance exercise performed during consolidation can produce episodic memory benefits 48 h later. We used a one-leg knee extension/flexion task for the resistance exercise. To assess the physiological response to the exercise, we measured salivary alpha amylase (a biomarker of central norepinephrine), heart rate, and blood pressure. To test emotional episodic memory, we used a remember-know recognition memory paradigm with equal numbers of positive, negative, and neutral IAPS images as stimuli. The group that performed the exercise, the active group, had higher overall recognition accuracy than the group that did not exercise, the passive group. We found a robust effect of valence across groups, with better performance on emotional items as compared to neutral items and no difference between positive and negative items. This effect changed based on the physiological response to the exercise. Within the active group, participants with a high physiological response to the exercise were impaired for neutral items as compared to participants with a low physiological response to the exercise. Our results demonstrate that a single bout of resistance exercise performed during consolidation can enhance episodic memory and that the effect of valence on memory depends on the physiological response to the exercise.     

Suppression of irrelevant activation in the horizontal and vertical Simon task differs quantitatively not qualitatively

The Simon effect is usually explained by the assumption that the irrelevant stimulus location automatically activates the corresponding response. In the case of incongruent stimulus–response assignments automatically activated responses therefore have to be suppressed to ensure correct responses. This account, however, has been called into question for other than horizontally arranged visual Simon tasks. We investigated whether there is a qualitative or quantitative difference in suppression of irrelevant activation between horizontally and vertically arranged Simon tasks, using delta-function analyses. Sequential analyses revealed suppression after incongruent trials in both tasks, supporting the idea of a quantitative rather than a qualitative difference between the tasks. We conclude that automatic response activation is weaker in vertical tasks resulting in lower inhibitory demands as compared to horizontal tasks.     

ADHD Symptoms and Attachment Representations: Considering the Role of Conduct Problems,Cognitive Deficits and Narrative Responses in Non-Attachment-Related Story Stems

The overall aim of the present study was to investigate ADHD symptoms in relation to attachment representations. We used both attachment- and non-attachment-related story stems, which allowed us to investigate whether problems with narrative production can explain the relation between ADHD symptoms and attachment representations. We also investigated the role of cognitive deficits and conduct problems in these relations. The sample consisted of 89 children (27 % girls) between 6 and 10 years old, with an oversampling of children with high levels of ADHD symptoms. ADHD symptoms and conduct problems were rated by parents and teachers. Cognitive functioning was investigated using laboratory tests of inhibition, working memory and sustained attention. Attachment representations were coded as secure, organized insecure and disorganized categories. Narrative responses to non-attachment-related story stems were coded for incoherence and negative content. Results showed that children in the disorganized attachment category had significantly higher levels of ADHD symptoms compared to those in the secure category. Both ADHD symptoms and disorganized attachment were related to incoherence and negative content. Attachment representations were not associated with ADHD symptoms when controlling for negative content in response to non-attachment-related story stems. These results suggest that the associations between attachment security and ADHD are yet to be fully understood. Importantly, a propensity to envisage negative events seems to characterize children with high levels of ADHD symptoms.     

Psychopathic Traits,Empathy, and Aggression are Differentially Related to Cortisol Awakening Response

Psychopathy is thought to be related to a lack of empathy which interferes with conscience development and promotes aggressive behavior. Little research has examined underlying mechanisms contributing to psychopathy, empathy, and aggression, such as an altered Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis response system. The current study examined how subscales of psychopathic personality traits, empathy, and aggression are related to the cortisol awakening response (CAR), an index of an individual’s physiological preparedness for the challenges of the upcoming day. A mixed-sex sample of 57 college students was recruited for the study, and HLM analyses tested whether these constructs were related to blunted CAR. Results indicated that Machiavellian Egocentricity, Blame Externalization, and Carefree Nonplanfulness subscales of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory – Short Form were all related to blunted CAR, whereas the Social Potency subscale was significantly related to steeper CAR increase. Further, affective empathy and reactive physical aggression were related to blunted CAR. Findings suggest that CAR provides a novel biological index of psychopathic personality traits, affective empathy, and reactive physical aggression.     

Therapeutischer Stil und psychotherapeutische Behandlung älterer Patienten

Although the clinical field of psychotherapy for elderly patients is gradually developing, there is still a considerable gap in research on the topic. This mainly concerns questions about the characteristics of psychotherapy for elderly people. Based on clinical experience the therapeutic relationship and therapeutic style are of particular importance. This article presents a survey of psychotherapists who were asked with a questionnaire on their therapeutic style in the treatment of both elderly and younger patients. Data analysis showed differences between the two groups of patients concerning therapeutic technique and the assumed impact factors. In addition, differences between behavioral therapists and psychodynamic psychotherapists are important. The findings are discussed in the context of necessary modifications in the treatment of elderly people and training requirements.