The update of semantic memories in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

It is still controversial to what extent neocortical consolidated memories are susceptible of change by processes of reconsolidation and transformation throughout experience, and whether the medial temporal lobes are necessary for this update of semantic consolidated memories, as they are for episodic remembering. We hypothesize that patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) who have deficits in episodic memory may also have difficulties in updating information on added new features of objects. Sixteen participants with aMCI and 20 healthy control participants performed a semantic word-to-picture task, in which they were asked to identify as belonging to a given semantic category NEW objects, that have incorporated novel features, as well as OLD items, semantically and visually SIMILAR items and UNRELATED items. Patients with aMCI made a greater percentage of errors than healthy controls. Participants globally made greater percentages of errors in difficult types of items, namely NEW and SIMILAR, as compared to easier ones, OLD and UNRELATED. Importantly, an item by diagnostic group interaction effect was observed, and post hoc analysis showed that patients with aMCI made a higher percentage of errors than controls in NEW items only. In conclusion, patients with aMCI had a particular difficulty in identifying the NEW items of the word-to-picture task as compared to the control participants, supporting the concept of a flexible and dynamic conceptual knowledge system, involving the update of semantic memories and the integration of new attributes in a constant transformation process, which is impaired in these patients.     

Funcionalismo y ciencia cognitiva,lenguaje y pensamiento,modularidad y conexionismo: Entrevista con Jerry A. Fodor

RESUMEN

La obra de Jerry A. Fodor ha tenido una determinante influencia en el desarrollo de la llamada “Psicología Cognitiva“. Durante todo ese tiempo el profesor Fodor ha publicado una gran cantidad de artículos y libros que actualmente se consideran clásicos de la psicología. Su influencia va más allá de la psicología y se le considera uno de los pioneros de la llamada “ciencia cognitiva”. En esta entrevista, realizada y presentada por el profesor García-Albea, Fodor hace un recuento de su biografía, obra y, también, de las relaciones que ha mantenido con otros autores de la filosofía y la psicología clásicos, como él, dentro de la ciencia cognitiva. Nos habla además, el profesor Fodor, de los principales conceptos de su teoría: lengua del pensamiento, modularidad, teoría funcionalista, etc. Para finalizar esta entrevista, el entrevistado realiza una reflexión sobre las teorías dominantes en ciencia cognitiva, y comenta el futuro de la psicología a la luz de las actuales propuestas en investigación.     

Dysmorphic concern and behavioural impairment related to body image in adolescents

This study examined a moderated mediation model testing whether dysmorphic concern is related to behaviour altered to change appearance. This relationship is potentially mediated by depressive symptomatology (dysphoria and self-esteem) and ideas of reference about “laughing, commenting” and “attention, appearance,” and each mediated relationship moderated by sex. The sample was made up of 3377 adolescents from 12 to 18 years old (M_age = 14.52; SD = 1.65, 56.5% girls). The results showed that dysphoria and ideas of reference about “laughing, commenting” and “attention, appearance” partially mediated the relationship between dysmorphic concern and behavioural impairment related to body image. The relationship with dysphoria was moderated by sex, such that the mediation effect was stronger in girls than in boys. This result implies that girls who are worried about some characteristic of their appearance and show dysphoria are at greater risk of altered behaviour involving avoidance or controlling their appearance than boys. In addition, a possible risk of body dysmorphic disorder (3.45% of the sample) was found, with very prominent hiding behaviour using clothing or control behaviours, such as frequent weighing and looking at oneself in the mirror too much. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Child Victimization and Poly-Victimization in a Community Sample of Adolescents in Northern Chile

The aim of this article is to report the prevalence of youth victimization and poly-victimization in northern Chile. Using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire, a sample of 706 adolescents ages 12 to 17 were surveyed. The results indicated that 89% of the participants had experienced victimization at least once in their lives and 76.8% had experienced at least 1 experience of victimization in the past year. The most frequent forms were conventional crimes (70% and 54.7%), witnessing and indirect victimization (63.2% and 45.2%), and peer and sibling victimization (50.0% and 34.6%), for the lifetime and the past year, respectively. Sexual victimization was less common for both time periods, but still relevant (15.9% lifetime and 9.9% past year). Older females and younger adolescents presented a higher risk of victimization particularly in conventional crimes and victimization by caregivers. As for poly-victimization, 21% of the adolescents presented between 4 and 6 different forms of victimization (the low poly-victimization group) and 16% reported seven or more (the high poly-victimization group) in the last year. The results showed that child and adolescent victimization is a significant problem in Chile. Percentages of victimization in Chilean adolescents were higher than those found in Europe or North America. Results from the group of poly-victims reinforces the need to evaluate the multiple forms of victimization that affect adolescents in Chile and to prioritize it in the design of the treatment of the consequences of violence, taking into account differences in gender and age.     

Around the world,adolescence is a time of heightened sensation seeking and immature self‐regulation

The dual systems model of adolescent risk‐taking portrays the period as one characterized by a combination of heightened sensation seeking and still‐maturing self‐regulation, but most tests of this model have been conducted in the United States or Western Europe. In the present study, these propositions are tested in an international sample of more than 5000 individuals between ages 10 and 30 years from 11 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, using a multi‐method test battery that includes both self‐report and performance‐based measures of both constructs. Consistent with the dual systems model, sensation seeking increased between preadolescence and late adolescence, peaked at age 19, and declined thereafter, whereas self‐regulation increased steadily from preadolescence into young adulthood, reaching a plateau between ages 23 and 26. Although there were some variations in the magnitude of the observed age trends, the developmental patterns were largely similar across countries.     

Eating behaviors and emotional distress are predicted by treatment and adverse outcome in patients with type 2 diabetes

Depression and anxiety are hightly prevalent among patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), however not commonly related to outcomes, treatment and comorbidities. Eating behaviors could also have an implication. To evaluate the relation between mood and eating behaviors with demographic, physical, treatment, biochemical profiles and chronic comorbidities in T2D we conducted this exploratory cross sectional study in a population from Mexico. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire Revised 21 (TFEQ-R21) were correlated with age, gender, blood pressure, treatment and comorbidities (nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy and cardiopathy). Multi-linear regression models and 2^k factorial analyses were conducted. Sixty-one patients (31 male) 55 years old (SD 13) with at least 5 years of T2D were included. Anxiety correlated with depression (r = 0.25, p < 0.05). Gender (women) (std B 0.026, p < 0.001), insulin therapy (std B 0.3, p = 0.11), systolic blood pressure (std B 0.263, p = 0.02) and cardiovascular disease (std B 0.232, p = 0.035) predicted depression. Insulin therapy had a positive effect in cognitive restraint. (std B 0.32, p = 0.001). Age (std B 0.37, p = 0.003) and systolic blood pressure (std B 0.237, p = 0.048) predicted positively emotional eating (not previously published). 2^k factorial analyses proved additive interaction between complications and insulin therapy with depression. This study supports the relation between mood disorders and eating behaviors with demographic, physical, treatment, biochemical profiles and chronic comorbidities in T2D and the additive interaction between factors and mood disorders.     

Inferences from disclosures about the truth and falsity of expert testimony

Participants acting as mock jurors made inferences about whether a person was a suspect in a murder based on an expert's testimony about the presence of objects at the crime scene and the disclosure that the testimony was true or false. Experiment 1 showed that participants made more correct inferences, and made inferences more quickly, when the truth or falsity of the expert's testimony was disclosed immediately after the testimony rather than when the disclosure was delayed. Experiment 2 showed no advantage for prior disclosure over immediate disclosure. Experiment 3 showed that the pattern of inferences when there was no disclosure mirrored the pattern when it was disclosed that the expert's testimony was true rather than false. Participants made more correct inferences from true conjunctions than disjunctions, and from false disjunctions than conjunctions. We discuss the implications for theories of the mental representations and cognitive processes that underlie human reasoning.     

To be a Fan is to be Happier: Using the Eudaimonic Spectator Questionnaire to Measure Eudaimonic Motivations in Spanish Fans

Many studies have linked audiovisual entertainment to hedonia. Recently, also to eudaimonic happiness. The Eudaimonic Spectator Questionnaire is proposed as a new tool to explore eudaimonic motivations that are linked to the consumption of audiovisual entertainment. The new questionnaire groups these eudaimonic motivations into two factors: the cultivation of cognitive–intellectual growth and social–emotional growth. Once the consistency and reliability of the questionnaire was tested, we observed statistically significant differences between fans and non-fan spectators; these differences were observed in both factors. The results indicated that being a fan is associated with the cultivation of human virtues and character strengths.