An fMRI study on conceptual, grammatical, and morpho-phonological processing

The aim of the present study was to determine whether processing of syntactic word information (lemma) is subserved by the same neural substrate as processing of conceptual or word form information (lexeme). We measured BOLD responses in 14 native speakers of German in three different decision tasks, each focussing specifically on one level of lexical processing (conceptual, syntactic, and morpho-phonological). The test parameters were natural gender, grammatical gender, and word form derivation, respectively. Discrimination between words played backwards and complex sounds served as control task. Complex contrasts revealed a functional fractionation of the left inferior frontal gyrus for each level of lexical processing.     

The role of contextual cues in the haptic perception of orientations and the oblique effect

Blindfolded right-handed participants were asked to position, with the right hand, a frontoparallel rod to one of three orientations: vertical (0°) and left 45° and right 45° obliques. Simultaneously, three different backgrounds were explored with the left hand: smooth, congruent stripes (parallel to the orientation to be produced), or incongruent stripes (tilted relative to the orientation to be produced). The analysis of variable errors showed that the oblique effect (higher precision for the vertical orientation than for the oblique orientations) was weakened in the presence of contextual cues, because of an improvement in oblique precision. Moreover, the analysis of constant errors revealed that the perception of orientations erred in the direction of the stripes, similar to the effect that has been found with vision, where visual contextual cues (tilted frame or lines) divert the perception of the vertical. These results are discussed in relation to a patterncentric frame of reference hypothesis or as a congruency effect.     

African American college women's suicide buffers

African American women have lower suicide rates than other women and men in the United States They may possess suicide buffers including social support, religiosity, negative attitudes regarding suicide acceptability, and African American culture. To examine the relationships buffers may have with suicide ideation, 300 African American female college students completed measures of suicide ideation and buffers. Three variables accounted for a significant and unique portion of the variance in suicide ideation: family support, a view that suicide is unacceptable, and a collaborative religious problem-solving style. The identification of these factors may help in the assessment, prevention, and intervention of suicide for African American women and other women and men.     

Hindsight bias in political elections

Two studies on political hindsight bias were conducted on the occasions of the German parliament election in 1998 and the Nordrhein-Westfalen state parliament election in 2000. In both studies, participants predicted the percentage of votes for several political parties and recalled these predictions after the election. The observed hindsight effects were stronger than those found in any prior study on political elections (using percentage of votes as the dependent variable). We argue that the length of the retention interval between original judgement and recollection is mainly responsible for this difference. In our second study, we investigated possible artifacts in political hindsight biases using a control-group design where half of the participants recalled their predictions shortly before or after the election. Hindsight bias was preserved, reinforcing the results of earlier studies with non-control-group designs. Finally, we discuss the possibility that the hindsight experience (in political judgement and in general) actually consists of three different, partly independent components.     

The synergy of working memory and inhibitory control: behavioral, pharmacological and neural functional evidences

Concomitant deficits in working memory and behavioral inhibition in several psychiatric disorders like attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, addiction or mania, suggest that common brain mechanisms may underlie their etiologies. Based on the theoretical assumption that a continuum exists between health and mental disorders, we explored the relationship between working memory and inhibition in healthy individuals, through spontaneous inter individual differences in behavior, and tested the hypothesis of a functional link through the fronto-striatal dopaminergic system. Rats were classified into three groups, showing good, intermediate and poor working memory and were compared for their inhibitory abilities. These two functions were simultaneously modulated by a dose-effect of d-amphetamine and in situ hybridization was used to quantify dopaminergic receptor (RD1) mRNAs in prefrontal cortex and striatal areas. A functional relationship between working memory and inhibition abilities was revealed. Both functions were similarly modulated by d-amphetamine according to an inverted-U shaped relationship and depending on initial individual performances. D-amphetamine selectively improved working memory and inhibition of poor and intermediate performers at low doses whereas it impaired both processes in good performers at a higher dose. D1 receptors were less expressed in prelimbic, infralimbic and anterior cingulate cortices of good compared to intermediate and poor performers, whereas no difference was observed between groups in striatal areas. The synergy of working memory and inhibitory abilities, observed in both healthy and psychiatric populations, may originate from endogenous variability in dopaminergic prefrontal cortex activity. Such findings confirm the validity of a dimensional approach, based on the concept of continuity between health and mental disorders for identifying endophenotypes of mental disorders.     

Maternal Expressive Style and Children's Emotional Development

Maternal expressive styles, based on a combination of positive and negative expressive patterns, were identified at two points in time and related to multiple aspects of preschool children's emotional development. Mother–child pairs from 260 families participated when the children were 3 years old, and 240 participated again at aged 4 years. Expressive styles were identified at age 3 using cluster analysis, replicated at age 4 and examined in relation to children's emotional understanding, expressiveness and regulation. Three expressive styles were identified: high positive/low negative, very low positive/average negative and average positive/very high negative. Cluster membership was stable in 63% of families from age 3 to 4 years; no systematic patterns of change were evident in the remaining families. Expressive style was related to aspects of children's emotional expression at 3 years and to emotion expression and regulation at 4 years. Children's expressiveness and regulation at age 3 were also related to changes in mothers' expressive styles over 1 year. Identifying mothers' expressive styles provides a unique way to understand the potential role of the emotional climates in which preschool‐aged children learn to express and regulate their own emotions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some reflections on the unique time of Nachträglichkeit in theory and clinical practice

Of the various forms that the matter of time assumes in analysis, Nachträglichkeit represents Freud’s first intuition on the subject. The focus of this article is directed toward the specific temporal dimension that the concept of Nachträglichkeit expresses, and how that dimension, which overturns linear time, is expressed in clinical work. The concept of Nachträglichkeit is approached from a theoretical point of view, tracing back the role and development that this notion has had in psychoanalytic Freudian and post‐Freudian thinking. The goal of this article is to demonstrate how Nachträglichkeit represents the unique temporal movement of the analytic session and the characteristic positioning of the mind of the analyst at work. Three clinical examples are presented. The analytic scene is formulated as occurring in two times, and through the working through that takes place, patients can recover the enigmatic ‘remainder’, which is consequently traumatic and which has compulsively accompanied them through the various times of their existence. Nachträglichkeit, as a non‐linear temporality, introduces a unique dimension into the clinical work that influences listening to and interpretation of the material. The recognition of that (trauma, infantile sexuality, non‐linear temporality) has consequences for the analyst’s way of working in session and on the interpretation of clinical material, as I will try to show through my theoretical exposition and clinical examples.     

Locus of control as a contributing factor in the relation between self-perception and adolescent aggression

Researchers continue to debate the role of self-esteem in aggression, but research has shown a consistent association between narcissism and aggression in adults and adolescents [e.g., Barry et al., 2007; Bushman and Baumeister, 1998; Stucke, 2007]. The primary aim of the current study was to examine whether locus of control (LOC) moderated the relation between self-perception variables (i.e., self-esteem and narcissism) and aggression in adolescents. Participants were 174 youth (145 males, 26 females) between the ages of 16 and 19 who were enrolled in a voluntary residential program for youth who have dropped out of school. The results showed that LOC moderated the association between self-esteem and aggression such that low self-esteem was associated with higher levels of aggression for individuals with an external LOC. Contrary to expectations, LOC failed to moderate the narcissism-aggression relation. The implications of this study for understanding how self-perception is related to adolescent aggression are discussed.     

Development and initial validation of the inventory of Microaggressions Against Black Individuals

The present article describes the development and initial validation of the Inventory of Microaggressions Against Black Individuals (IMABI) using a sample of 385 undergraduates who self-identified as Black or African American. The IMABI is a 14-item, unidimensional measure of racial microaggressions that captures both microinsults and microinvalidations. The present findings support the IMABI as a reliable and valid measure of microaggressions that was associated with general distress and perceived stress. Importantly, the association between the IMABI and psychological adjustment persisted even when social desirability and another measure of race-related stress were included in the analyses. Discussion focuses on the potential implications of the IMABI for understanding the daily experiences and psychological adjustment of Black individuals.