Effectiveness of follow‐up reminiscence therapy on autobiographical memory in pathological ageing

The objective is to examine the effects of reminiscence therapy (RT) on total, episodic and semantic autobiographical memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) groups, testing the effects of RT on different stages of autobiographical memory, and its effectiveness at follow‐up. A sample composed of 43 aMCI (27 treatments, 16 controls) and 30 AD (15 treatments, 15 controls) subjects were evaluated with the Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI) test. The RT consisted of 10 sessions lasting 60 minutes each. Both groups, aMCI and AD, showed significant effects on overall autobiographical memory; aMCI showed significant main effects on episodic and semantic autobiographical memory in the treatment group, increasing scores in both cases. For AD, significant effects were observed on autobiographical episodic memory, showing an increase in the treatment group from Time 1 to follow‐up; semantic memory showed a decrease in the control group from Time 1 to follow‐up. Results show that RT implementation and follow‐up are effective in increasing autobiographical memory in subjects with aMCI and AD.     

Questioning the preparatory function of counterfactual thinking

Why do individuals mentally modify reality (e.g., “If it hadn’t rained, we would have won the game”)? According to the dominant view, counterfactuals primarily serve to prepare future performance. In fact, individuals who have just failed a task tend to modify the uncontrollable features of their attempt (e.g., “If the rules of the game were different, I would have won it”), generating counterfactuals that are unlikely to play any preparatory role. By contrast, they generate prefactuals that focus on the controllable features of their ensuing behavior (e.g., “If I concentrate more, I will win the next game”). Here, we test whether this tendency is robust and general. Studies 1a and 1b replicate this tendency and show that it occurs regardless of whether individuals think about their failures or their successes. Study 2 shows that individuals generate relatively few controllable counterfactuals, unless explicitly prompted to do so. These results raise some questions regarding the generality of the dominant view according to which counterfactuals mainly serve a preparatory function.     

Changes in cytochrome oxidase activity following spatial working memory learning in rats treated with tacrine

We evaluated change in cytochrome oxidase (COx) activity of the hippocampus and related structures of the limbic system following spatial working memory learning in rats after treatment with tacrine (8.0mg/kg). Control groups treated with saline and tacrine and an untreated group were added. Acetylcholinesterase optical density levels were also measured. The tacrine and saline groups showed similar behavioral results, but a decrease in COx activity was found in the tacrine group in the prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, anterior thalamus, hippocampus and nucleus basalis of Meynert. Similarly, acetylcholinesterase levels of the tacrine group were lower in most of the regions. Learning-related increase in COx activity was found in the prefrontal cortex and dentate gyrus in the saline group. The tacrine group presented the same increase in the anterodorsal thalamus, dentate gyrus, CA3 and mammillary nuclei. These results suggest that inhibition of the acetylcholinesterase produces a different pattern of learning-related neuronal activity in the limbic system of the rat.     

Subject relative clauses are not universally easier to process: Evidence from Basque

Studies from many languages consistently report that subject relative clauses (SR) are easier to process than object relatives (OR). However, Hsiao and Gibson (2003) report an OR preference for Chinese, a finding that has been contested. Here we report faster OR versus SR processing in Basque, an ergative, head-final language with pre-nominal relative clauses. A self-paced reading task was used in Experiments 1 and 2, while ERPs were recorded in Experiment 3. We used relative clauses that were ambiguous between an object or subject-gap interpretation and disambiguated later in the sentence. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 showed that SR took longer to read than OR in the critical disambiguating region. In addition, Experiment 3 showed that SR produced larger amplitudes than OR in the P600 window immediately after reading the critical disambiguating word. Our results suggest that SR are not universally easier to process. They cast doubts on universal hypotheses and suggest that processing complexity may depend on language-specific aspects of grammar.     

Learning to use words: Event-related potentials index single-shot contextual word learning

Humans have the remarkable capacity to learn words from a single instance. The goal of this study was to examine the impact of initial learning context on the understanding of novel word usage using event-related brain potentials. Participants saw known and unknown words in strongly or weakly constraining sentence contexts. After each sentence context, word usage knowledge was assessed via plausibility ratings of these words as the objects of transitive verbs. Plausibility effects were observed in the N400 component to the verb only when the upcoming novel word object had initially appeared in a strongly constraining context. These results demonstrate that rapid word learning is modulated by contextual constraint and reveal a rapid mental process that is sensitive to novel word usage.     

The Deal on Testosterone Responses to Poker Competition

The following study investigated the effect of poker competition on testosterone (T) responses. Thirty-two participants played one-on-one poker in a lab on campus. Saliva samples were obtained before and after the poker games. On average, participants produced a significant increase in T during the competition, with no difference between winners and losers. This study is the first of its kind to examine T responses in a gambling competition. Possible implications for destructive gambling behaviors are discussed.     

Evolution of the wealth gap in child development and mediating pathways: Evidence from a longitudinal study in Bogota,Colombia

Large gaps in cognition and language on the Bayley‐III between the top and bottom household wealth quartiles in 1,330 children aged 6–42 months in a representative sample of low‐ and middle‐income families in Bogota were previously shown. Maternal education and the home environment mediated these wealth effects, whereas height‐for‐age mediated a small amount of the language deficit only. At ages 6–8 years, we relocated 72% of the children and assessed their IQ on the WISC‐V, school achievement, and behavior to investigate the evolution of the wealth gaps and potential mediators. The wealth gap in IQ at 6–8 years was significantly larger than that in a factor combining Bayley‐III language and cognition at 6–42 months; whereas the gap in achievement was larger but not significantly. Moreover, in cross‐sectional analysis, the IQ gap increased from 6 to 8 years reaching over 1 SD. In contrast, the gap in behavior was not significant in either childhood stage. Parental education and early home environment remained major mediators of the wealth gap in IQ and achievement at 6–8 years; later home environment and attending private education also had an effect; and early height‐for‐age was no longer significant. The home environment partly mediated the effect of parental education on wealth. All mediators combined explained most of the variance in the wealth gap; the remaining gaps being not significant. Results highlight the importance of the early home environment and suggest that interventions focusing on that should have long‐term benefits. Also, continued intervention through to 8 years may be desirable. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/_U53iXNww3I .     

Fostering Contact After Historical Atrocities: The Potential of Moral Exemplars

Intergroup contact is a known remedy for complicated intergroup relations. At the same time, contact is rare in postconflict settings. In the present article, we examine whether exposure to narratives about moral exemplars (i.e., members of a perpetrator group who acted morally and in opposition to the passivity or aggression displayed by majority) could increase openness to contact among historical adversaries. In Study 1 (N = 73), presenting members of a historical perpetrator group with information about ingroup moral exemplars led to a decrease of prejudice towards individuals from a historical victim group, which, in turn, resulted in higher openness to contact with them. In Study 2 (N = 100) and 3 (N = 92), exposure to narratives about outgroup moral exemplars in a historically victimized group increased openness to contact with members of a perpetrator group. These effects were mediated by a decrease in prejudice (Studies 2 and 3) and by an increase in trust towards historical perpetrators (Study 2).     

The Motivations for and Outcomes of Employee Referrals

Research on employee referrals demonstrates positive outcomes for the recruited individual and the organization. However, little research addressed employees who make employment referrals, also known as employee recommenders. To address this gap in knowledge, we developed a conceptual model and present the theoretical basis for addressing the motivation of, and organizational outcomes associated with, employees who make employment recommendations. The model is based on the theories of word-of-mouth communication, cognitive dissonance, self-perception, and attitude change through self-persuasion. Partial support for the model was found in an experimental design simulating an employee referral situation. Results showed an increase in normative commitment of recommenders.     

An improved screw-free method for electrode implantation and intracranial electroencephalographic recordings in mice

We recently developed a glue-based method for the implantation of intracranial electrodes in mice. Our approach is to secure a preconstructed electrode array using a cyanoacrylate-based glue (similar to Krazy Glue). This method is applicable to both young and aging mice and is suitable for long-term electroencephalographic recordings. In the present experiment, we explored whether the glue-based method is capable of securing individual electrodes in addition to securing the electrode array. C57 black mice aged 25–35 days or 13–19 months were operated on under isoflurane anesthesia. Monopolar or bipolar electrodes were inserted independently in the ipsilateral hippocampal CA3 and entorhinal cortical areas, and they were fixed onto the skull using the glue together with dental acrylic, but without anchoring screws. We found that the implanted electrodes were stable and allowed repeat intracranial recordings and electrical stimulation in freely moving mice.