Does Overgeneralized Autobiographical Memory Facilitate or Inhibit Intrusive Images? Its Relation to Depressive Symptoms

People with high levels of depressive symptoms experience overgeneralized autobiographical memory (OGM) in voluntary recall and intrusive images in involuntary recall. The present study examined the relationship between OGM and intrusive images and the influence of depressive symptoms on this relationship over 1 week. Fifty‐three students completed self‐report questionnaires, autobiographical memory test, and the trauma film paradigm. Subsequently, they reported intrusive images from the trauma film in a diary for 1 week. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that individuals with higher levels of depressive symptoms experienced more intrusive images than did individuals with low depressive symptoms. An interaction effect between negative memory specificity and depressive symptoms revealed that number of intrusive images was related to high negative memory specificity (i.e. low OGM) in individuals with higher levels of depressive symptoms. These results support the functional avoidance strategy of OGM in analogue trauma stimuli, especially in individuals with higher depressive symptoms.Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Socio-Ecological Predictor Model of Parental Intention to Participate in Triple P-Positive Parenting Program

We examined variables associated with parental intention to participate in a parenting program viewed within a socio-ecological framework. In two metropolitan areas in Japan, 222 families voluntarily completed a series of questionnaires. A series of multiple regression analyses was used to evaluate the Socio-Ecological Predictor Model that was able to account for 50% of the variance associated with parental intention to participate in a parenting program. The most significant predictor in the model was program features, which accounted for 30% of the variance. It is important to consider program features that make it more likely that parents will engage positively in a parenting program. We discuss parental intention to participate in a parenting program as well as the limitations of the study and areas for future research.     

The Role of Dispositional Traits in Accounting for Country and Ethnic Group Differences on Adjustment

ABSTRACT Country and ethnic group differences on adjustment have been demonstrated numerous times, and the source of these differences has been typically interpreted as cultural. We report two studies in which country ( Study 1 ) and ethnic group ( Study 2 ) differences on depression, anxiety, optimism versus pessimism, well-being, and self-esteem are mediated by dispositional traits. These findings provide an alternative explanation for previously reported country and ethnic group differences on these variables and encourage researchers to consider multiple sources, including traits, in their models and studies.     

Hemodynamic and electrophysiological relationship involved in human face processing: evidence from a combined fMRI-ERP study

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potential (ERP) experiments were conducted in the same group of subjects and with an identical task paradigm to investigate a possible relationship between hemodynamic and electrophysiological responses within the brain. The subjects were instructed to judge whether visually presented stimuli were faces or houses and then press the corresponding button. Functional MRI identified face- and house-related regions in the lateral and medial part of the fusiform gyrus, respectively, while ERP showed significantly greater N170 negativity for face than for house stimuli in the temporo-occipital electrodes. Correlation analysis between the BOLD signal in the fusiform gyrus and ERP parameters demonstrated a close relationship between the signal and both latency and amplitude of N170 across the subjects. These correlations may indicate that the variation in cognitive demand and hemodynamic responses during the face/house discrimination task is coupled with the variation of N170 peak latency/amplitude across the subjects. Thus, integrative analysis of spatial and temporal information obtained from the two experimental modalities may help in studying neural correlates involved in a particular cognitive task.     

Sexually dimorphic preference for altruism in the opposite sex according to recipient

Sexual selection may affect human altruistic behaviour. Evolutionary psychology predicts that human mate preference reflects sexual selection. We investigated sex differences in preference for opposite‐sex altruism according to recipient because the reasons for altruistic behaviour differ according to the relationship between actor and recipient. We employed the Self‐Report Altruism Scale Distinguished by the Recipient, which was newly developed to evaluate altruism among Japanese undergraduates. We asked participants to evaluate preferences for each item based on the recipient of the altruistic behaviour (family members, friends or acquaintances, and strangers). Preference for opposite‐sex altruism differed according to recipient, gender of the participant, and relationship type, and several significant interactions were observed among these factors. We suggest that whereas women use a potential partner's altruism towards strangers as a costly signal of their resource‐holding potential when choosing a mate, they consider altruism towards family when they are in a long‐term relationship to ensure that resources are not allocated to non‐relatives.     

Critical roles of mecamylamine-sensitive mushroom body neurons in insect olfactory learning

In insects, cholinergic neurons are thought to transmit olfactory conditioned stimulus (CS) to the sites for associating the CS with unconditioned stimulus (US), but the types of acetylcholine (ACh) receptor used by neurons participating in the association have not been determined. In cockroaches, a type of nicotinic ACh receptor specifically antagonized by mecamylamine (MEC) has been characterized. Here we investigated the roles of neurons possessing MEC-sensitive ACh receptors (MEC-sensitive neurons) in olfactory conditioning of salivation, monitored by changes in activities of salivary neurons, in cockroaches. Local and bilateral microinjection of MEC into each of the three olfactory centers, antennal lobes, calyces of the mushroom bodies and lateral protocerebra, impaired olfactory responses of salivary neurons, indicating that MEC-sensitive neurons in all olfactory centers participate in pathways mediating olfactory responses of salivary neurons. Conditioning of olfactory CS with sucrose US was impaired by injection of MEC into the antennal lobes or calyces, i.e., conditioned responses were absent even after recovery from MEC injection, suggesting that the CS-US association occurs in MEC-sensitive neurons in calyces (most probably Kenyon cells) or in neurons in downstream pathways. In contrast, conditioned responses appeared after recovery from MEC injection into the lateral protocerebra, suggesting that MEC-sensitive neurons in the lateral protocerebra are downstream of the association sites. Since lateral protocerebra are major termination areas of mushroom body efferent neurons, we suggest that input synapses of MEC-sensitive Kenyon cells, or their output synapses upon mushroom body efferent neurons, are the sites for CS-US association for conditioning of salivation.