The relative consistency of system RRC* and some of its extensions

We present a relative consistency proof for second order systemRRC* and for certain important extensions of this system. The proof proceeds as follows: we prove first the equiconsistency of the strongest of such extensions (viz., systemH RRC*+(/CP**)) with second order systemT ^* . Now, N. Cocchiarella has shown thatT ^* is relatively consistent to systemT*+Ext; clearly, it follows thatH RRC*+(/CP**) is relatively consistent toT*+E _xt. As an immediate consequence, the relative consistency ofRRC* and the other extensions also follows, being all of them subsystems ofH RRC*+(/CP**).I am grateful to the referee for some modifications suggested to an earlier draft of this paper.Presented byMelvin Fitting     

Women Surviving an Abusive Relationship: Grief and the Process of Change

The authors briefly survey the literature about women in abusive relationships and discuss key issues about the change process that arise from that work and are consistent with the grieving process. The constructs of depression, guilt, and decision-making difficulty among women abused by an intimate partner are examined and compared with the perspective of the normal grieving of a major loss. Implications for counseling practice are considered.     

Stimulus-governance and the hyperkinetic syndrome

The hypothesis that hyperkinetic children are stimulusgoverned was tested. In a sample of 39 nonmedicated hyperkinetic boys 26 were found to be stimulus-governed. In a control sample of 20 nonmedicated boys 6 were found to be stimulus-governed. An association was found between the hyperkinetic syndrome and stimulusgovernance. The hypothesis is raised that response to methylphenidate is related to stimulusgovernance. Several issues raised by the research are discussed.This research was supported in part by a grant from Bloemendaal Psychiatric Hospital, The Hague, The Netherlands. The authors wish to thank Mr. E. M. Ockhorst, for constructing the KFA-testing equipment, and Mr. R. Reyneart, for helping with the computer analysis. An earlier draft of the paper was presented at the European Conference of Neuropsychology, sponsored by the International Neuropsychology Society, at Oxford University, England.     

The multiple vigilance test

The multiple vigilance test is a 30-min signal detection task designed to assess performance. Sixty target and 180 nontarget stimuli are presented with random interstimulus intervals ranging from 4 to 11 sec. Subjects respond by pressing the spacebar (or microswitch in an alternate version of the program) when they see the masking pattern transformed into the target. This vigilance test is used in conjunction with measures of physiological sleepiness (Multiple Sleep Latency Test) and subjective sleepiness (Stanford Sleepiness Scale). This behavioral information concerning manifest sleepiness provides a more complete picture of a subject’s state of alertness. The assessment of vigilance during long, monotonous, nonstimulating tasks is clinically important in patients with disorders of sleep and arousal.     

Traumatic Brain Injury in School-Age Children Academic and Social Outcome

School-aged children with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) require extraordinary effort and energy from individuals in their school, home, and community. The purpose of this study was to examine the academic, behavioral, and social outcomes of a cohort of children and adolescents following TBI. A comprehensive assessment of cognitive functioning, achievement, and adaptive behavior was administered to 43 school-aged children 2 years after their TBI. Premorbid functioning for each participant was obtained from state-mandated test scores assessed prior to the TBI. The predictive utility of premorbid functioning, TBI severity, and age at injury were examined. Findings revealed that premorbid functions were significant predictors of reading and spelling achievement and adaptive functioning. Severity of injury was predictive of adaptive functioning. Implications of findings include program development, reintegration into school, and educating parents and teachers.     

The auditory motionaftereffect: Its tuning and specificity in the spatial and frequency domains

In this paper, the auditory motion aftereffect (aMAE) was studied, using real moving sound as both the adapting and the test stimulus. The sound was generated by a loudspeaker mounted on a robot arm that was able to move quietly in three-dimensional space. A total of 7 subjects with normal hearing were tested in three experiments. The results from Experiment 1 showed a robust and reliable negative aMAE in all the subjects. After listening to a sound source moving repeatedly to the right, a stationary sound source was perceived to move to the left. The magnitude of the aMAE tended to increase with adapting velocity up to the highest velocity tested (20°/sec). The aftereffect was largest when the adapting and the test stimuli had similar spatial location and frequency content. Offsetting the locations of the adapting and the test stimuli by 20° reduced the size of the effect by about 50%. A similar decline occurred when the frequency of the adapting and the test stimuli differed by one octave. Our results suggest that the human auditory system possesses specialized mechanisms for detecting auditory motion in the spatial domain.