Cerebral White Matter Integrity and Cognitive Aging: Contributions from Diffusion Tensor Imaging

The integrity of cerebral white matter is critical for efficient cognitive functioning, but little is known regarding the role of white matter integrity in age-related differences in cognition. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures the directional displacement of molecular water and as a result can characterize the properties of white matter that combine to restrict diffusivity in a spatially coherent manner. This review considers DTI studies of aging and their implications for understanding adult age differences in cognitive performance. Decline in white matter integrity contributes to a disconnection among distributed neural systems, with a consistent effect on perceptual speed and executive functioning. The relation between white matter integrity and cognition varies across brain regions, with some evidence suggesting that age-related effects exhibit an anterior–posterior gradient. With continued improvements in spatial resolution and integration with functional brain imaging, DTI holds considerable promise, both for theories of cognitive aging and for translational application.     

Teresa of Avila: The will and the weaving

For more than forty-five years as a Carmelite nun in the sixteenth century, Teresa of Avila suffered from great physical pain. We see in her life how disciplined prayer can become a healing experience that moves from minimal psychic representation to full symbolic representation. After a brief examination of Teresa's life, two theoretical perspectives on somatic manifestation will be reviewed: the theory of conversion hysteria of the classical Freudian school, and the differentiation Joyce McDougall draws between hysterical and psychosomatic phenomena. For the psychosomatic, as the mystic, the void of wordless space has significance. Following after McDougall on the suffering body, a third perspective will be offered: the concept of conscious body suffering as a means to inner change.     

FEMALE VS. MALE ABSENCE RATES: A TEMPORAL ANALYSIS

The purpose of this research is to test the importance of temporal trends within absenteeism data for males and females. The data support previous findings of higher absenteeism rates for women when compared to men. The data also indicate the importance of temporal trends as suggested by Dansereau, Alutto, and Markham (1978). Conclusions are drawn concerning the use of absence rates as dependent variables.     

The verbal label: Mediator or classifier?

Three experiments on the role of verbal labels and perceptual cues in concept attainment are reported. Ss were kindergarten and second-grade upper-middle-class children. The results indicated that when Ss learned to associate two labels (or two perceptual cues) with each stimulus no positive transfer resulted, despite the fact that one of the labels (or cues) was relevant to solution. When one label only (or one perceptual cue) was associated with each stimulus, substantial positive transfer was observed. The effects of verbal labeling and perceptual cuing were identical.On the basis of these finding the authors reject the hypothesis that labels give rise to representational responses which act as mediators, and instead propose a new hypothesis, that labels and perceptual cues facilitate performance because they facilitate the division of the stimulus set into subsets which are correlated with the response systems the subjects are expected to learn.     

Adult perceptions of the infant as a function of gender labeling and observer gender

Four hundred sixty four adults rated a videotape of the activities of a 22-month-old infant whose gender was labeled differently with different subject groups. One group was told that the infant was male, a second group was told that the infant was female, and a third group was told that the infant was hermaphrodite, i.e., appeared to have the genitals of both sexes. Some subjects rated each activity as being either masculine or feminine (forced-choice method) while other subjects rated each activity with a neutral choice also available (free-choice method). The data indicate that, for both methodological groups, labeling the infant “male” resulted in significantly more activities being rated masculine than feminine, whereas the converse was true when the infant was labeled “female.” A label of “hermaphrodite” resulted in an approximately equal ratio of activities being rated as masculine and as feminine. There were no significant interaction (Gender Label × Observer Gender) for the forced-choice group, but for the free-choice group, significant interaction between child's gender label and observer's gender was found.     

JOB-RELATEDNESS OF A POSTTRAINING JOB KNOWLEDGE CRITERION USE TO ASSESS VALIDITY AND TEST FAIRNESS

Significant job-relatedness was found for a posttraining job knowledge test criterion using an application of Lawshe's content validity method. The aide test was used as a criterion to assess the predictive validity of a vocabulary test and a civil service test with samples of black ( N = 43) and white ( N = 62) psychiatric aides. Significant validities were found on both tests, but a vocabulary test proved to be the better predictor of the criterion in both samples. The obtained validities were discussed in terms of differential validity, test fairness, and sample size. This study demonstrated that a content validity method could be applied to criteria as well as selection tests. It was concluded that content validity methods may be able to help solve the problem of criterion relevance in validation research by providing quantitative evidence of the job-relatedness of criteria.