Effects of Cannabis on Neurocognitive Functioning: Recent Advances, Neurodevelopmental Influences, and Sex Differences

Decades of research have examined the effects of cannabis on neurocognition. Recent advances in this field provide us with a better understanding of how cannabis use influences neurocognition both acutely (during intoxication) and non-acutely (after acute effects subside). Evidence of problems with episodic memory is one of the most consistent findings reported; however, several other neurocognitive domains appear to be adversely affected by cannabis use under various conditions. There is significant variability in findings across studies, thus a discussion of potential moderators is increasingly relevant. The purpose of this review was to 1) provide an update on research of cannabis’ acute and non-acute effects on neurocognition, with a focus on findings since 2007 and 2) suggest and discuss how neurodevelopmental issues and sex differences may influence cannabis effects on neurocognition. Finally we discuss how future investigations may lead to better understanding of the complex interplay among cannabis, stages of neurodevelopment, and sex on neurocognitive functioning.     

Imaging brain in search of mind

The fourth annual fMRI Experience was held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, on 3-14 May 2002. The conference was organized jointly by research fellows at the NIH and Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) in London, and benefited from financial support from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Intramural Research Program, the NIMH Division of Intramural Training, and the Guarantors of Brain in association with the IoP.     

How social perception can automatically influence behavior

Do we always know the reasons for our actions? Or is our behavior sometimes unknowingly and unintentionally influenced by what we have recently perceived? It has been traditionally assumed that the automatic influence of knowledge in memory is limited to people's interpretation of the world, and stops short of shaping their actual behavior. Researchers in experimental social psychology have begun to challenge this assumption by documenting how people's behaviors can be unknowingly influenced by knowledge that is incidentally activated in memory during social perception. We review findings that suggest that the social knowledge that is incidentally activated while reading words or imagining events subsequently affects participants' behaviors across a range of ostensibly unrelated domains.     

Murderers and martyrs: Violence,discourse, and the (re)construction of meaning

In recent years, the question of violence has drawn attention from religious studies scholars and public commentators alike. From schoolchildren with guns to terrorists with bombs, the perpetrators of violent acts have forced communities, nations, and even scholars to grapple with the nature and meaning of violence. But although significant attention has been paid to religious groups that foster violence and to those that resist it, the ways in which violence challenges structures of meaning have been addressed primarily by theologians seeking to grapple with overwhelming episodes of violence. This article suggests that certain violent acts can be classed as ‘symbolically disruptive violence'—acts that threaten or shatter a group's symbolic world. Although this analytical concept has broad applicability, the article explores its relevance for one in‐depth case study: reactions to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming.     

Talking about Twisters: Relations between Mothers' and Children's Contributions to Conversations about a Devastating Tornado

Mother-child dyads who experienced a devastating tornado talked about the storm and about two affectively more positive or neutral events at each of two time points: 4 months and 10 months after the storm. The conversations were analyzed to determine whether mothers and/or children's contributions differed as a function of event type and whether there were concurrent and/or cross-lagged relations between mothers and children's contributions to the conversations. For both members of the dyads, contributions were similar (and correlated) across event types. Maternal narrative style related to children's levels of participation and to the amount of unique information the children contributed to the conversations, both concurrently and over time; cross-lagged relations were more robust for the tornado relative to the nontornado related events. The implications of the patterns for socialization models of autobiographical memory development are discussed.     

Genetic Risk Assessment for Women with Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: Referral Patterns and Outcomes in a University Gynecologic Oncology Clinic

Little is known about genetic service utilization and ovarian cancer. We identified the frequency and outcome of genetic counseling referral, predictors of referral, and referral uptake for ovarian cancer patients. Using pathology reports, we identified all epithelial ovarian cancer patients seen in a university gynecologic oncology clinic (1/04–8/06). Electronic medical records (EMR) were used to document genetic service referral, time from diagnosis-to-referral, point-in-treatment at referral, personal/family cancer history, demographics, and genetic test results. Groups were compared using chi-squared and Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables. The study population consisted of 376 women with ovarian cancer, 72 (19 %) of who were referred for genetic counseling/testing, primarily during surveillance. Of those referred, 42 (58 %) had personal or family genetic counseling and 34 (47 %) were ultimately tested or identified due to known family mutation. Family history and prior cancer were associated with referral. Family history, living in a larger community, higher-stage disease, and serous histology were associated with undergoing genetic counseling. Risk assessment identified 20 BRCA1/2 (5.3 %) and 1 HNPCC (0.3 %) mutation carriers. Based on recent estimates that 11.7–16.6 % of women with ovarian cancer are BRCA carriers and 2 % are HNPCC carriers, results suggest under-identification of carriers and under-utilization of genetic services by providers and patients. Interventions to increase medical providers’ referrals, even in a specialized oncology clinic, are necessary and may include innovations in educating these providers using web-based methods. Ease of referral by the introduction of an electronic cancer genetic referral form represents another new direction that may increase genetic risk assessment for high-risk women with ovarian cancer.     

Effects of video-game play on information processing: A meta-analytic investigation

Do video games enhance cognitive functioning? We conducted two meta-analyses based on different research designs to investigate how video games impact information-processing skills (auditory processing, executive functions, motor skills, spatial imagery, and visual processing). Quasi-experimental studies (72 studies, 318 comparisons) compare habitual gamers with controls; true experiments (46 studies, 251 comparisons) use commercial video games in training. Using random-effects models, video games led to improved information processing in both the quasi-experimental studies, d = 0.61, 95 % CI [0.50, 0.73], and the true experiments, d = 0.48, 95 % CI [0.35, 0.60]. Whereas the quasi-experimental studies yielded small to large effect sizes across domains, the true experiments yielded negligible effects for executive functions, which contrasted with the small to medium effect sizes in other domains. The quasi-experimental studies appeared more susceptible to bias than were the true experiments, with larger effects being reported in higher-tier than in lower-tier journals, and larger effects reported by the most active research groups in comparison with other labs. The results are further discussed with respect to other moderators and limitations in the extant literature.     

Questioning Our Questions: A Constructivist Technique for Clinical Supervision

Consistent themes in the constructivist supervision of counseling and psychotherapy include the fostering of supervisee reflexivity, perspective taking, and capacity to generate alternative conceptualizations and interventions. In keeping with these objectives, we describe a technique for deepening therapists' reflection on their interchanges with clients through “questioning their questions” and the clients' responses to them. We further illustrate the procedure in the supervision of a therapist in training who (a) analyzed in writing a series of six question-and-answer cycles pertaining to a client, (b) considered the larger implications of the interaction for the therapeutic relationship with this client, (c) received supervisory feedback on his journaling, and (d) offered a final reflexive comment on the procedure. We conclude with a few thoughts about variations on the technique to enhance its relevance in different supervisory settings.     

DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSE PATTERNS TO THE CONTROL CONDITION BETWEEN TWO PROCEDURES TO ASSESS SOCIAL REINFORCERS FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

Historically, reinforcer assessment procedures focus primarily on identifying nonsocial reinforcers (e.g., tangibles and edibles). Far less empirical attention has been allocated to the systematic identification of social consequences that function as reinforcers. This discrepancy is problematic given that social consequences are commonly incorporated into behavioral treatment programs without systematic evaluation of their efficacy. In this study, two methodologies (a single operant and a concurrent choice) were used to assess social reinforcers for children with autism. Results highlighted differences in response allocation to the control condition between procedures. Specifically, responding occurred in the control condition of the single‐operant procedure but not in the concurrent‐operant procedure. These differences highlight the need for further evaluation of procedures to assess social reinforcers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.