Spatial Working Memory in Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Effects of Task Load and Contextual Cueing

ABSTRACT

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is characterized by episodic memory deficits, while aspects of working memory may also be implicated, but studies into this latter domain are scarce and results are inconclusive. Using a computerized search paradigm, this study compares 25 young adults, 25 typically aging older adults and 15 amnestic MCI patients as to their working-memory capacities for object-location information and potential differential effects of memory load and additional context cues. An age-related deficit in visuospatial working-memory maintenance was found that became more pronounced with increasing task demands. The MCI group additionally showed reduced maintenance of bound information, i.e., object-location associations, again especially at elevated memory load. No effects of contextual cueing were found. The current findings indicate that working memory should be considered when screening patients for suspected MCI and monitoring its progression.     

Genetic Counseling/Consultation in South-East Asia: A Report from the Workshop at the 10th Asia Pacific Conference on Human Genetics

This paper reports on the workshop ‘Genetic Counseling/Consultations in South-East Asia’ at the 10^th Asia Pacific Conference on Human Genetics in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in December 2012. The workshop brought together professionals and language/communication scholars from South-East Asia, and the UK. The workshop aimed at addressing culture- and context-specific genetic counseling/consultation practices in South-East Asia. As a way of contextualizing genetic counseling/consultation in South-East Asia, we first offer an overview of communication-oriented research generally, drawing attention to consultation and counseling as part of a communicative continuum with distinctive interactional features. We then provide examples of genetic counseling/consultation research in Hong Kong. As other countries in South-East Asia have not yet embarked on communication-oriented empirical research, we report on the current practices of genetic counseling/consultation in these countries in order to identify similarities and differences as well as key obstacles that could be addressed through future research. Three issues emerged as ‘problematic’: language, religion and culture. We suggest that communication-oriented research can provide a starting point for evidence-based reflections on how to incorporate a counseling mentality in genetic consultation. To conclude, we discuss the need for creating a platform for targeted training of genetic counselors based on communication-oriented research findings.     

Factors Predicting Likelihood of Eating Irradiated Meat

Perception of risk associated with meat irradiation was investigated in a sample of 478 respondents. Fears associated with irradiation, the relative severity and risk of bacterial infection versus potential risks due to the irradiation, and perceptions of the safety of the meat irradiation process combined to strongly predict participants' reports of their likelihood of eating irradiated meat in the present investigation. Overall, respondents were skeptical with regard to eating irradiated meat if it became locally available. Respondents' acceptance of meat irradiation was clearly driven by concerns about the risks of irradiation, but not the risks of bacterial contamination, confirming findings in the literature on differences in perception of “natural” and “technological” risks.     

Powerful Occupational Therapists: A Community of Professionals, 1950–1980

A powerful community of therapists changed occupational therapy in the United States between 1950 until 1980. These innovators, primarily women, strategically positioned themselves to market the emerging profession. These therapists, categorized as theorists and futurists, political movers and new and old guard sustainers, determined occupational therapy's direction. Participating in the 1950s rehabilitation, the 1960s equal rights, and the 1970s women's movements, the community of therapists separated from the male-dominated medical model to gain professional and scientific authority. An internal tension arouse between those therapists embracing an objective, and arguably male, science and those supporting a characteristically feminine caring philosophical base.     

The visuospatial functions in children after cerebellar low‐grade astrocytoma surgery: A contribution to the pediatric neuropsychology of the cerebellum

The aim of this study was to specify whether cerebellar lesions cause visuospatial impairments in children. The study sample consisted of 40 children with low‐grade cerebellar astrocytoma, who underwent surgical treatment and 40 healthy controls matched with regard to age and sex. Visuospatial abilities were tested using the spatial WISC‐R subtests (Block Design and Object Assembly), Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure, Benton Judgment of Line Orientation Test, PEBL Mental Rotation Task, and Benton Visual Retention Test. To exclude general diffuse intellectual dysfunction, the WISC‐R Verbal Intelligence IQ, Performance IQ, and Full‐Scale IQ scores were analysed. Post‐surgical medical consequences were measured with the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale. Compared to controls, the cerebellar group manifested problems with mental rotation of objects, visuospatial organization, planning, and spatial construction processes which could not be explained by medical complications or general intellectual retardation. The intensity of visuospatial syndrome highly depends on cerebellar lesion side. Patients with left‐sided cerebellar lesions display more severe spatial problems than those with right‐sided cerebellar lesions. In conclusion, focal cerebellar lesions in children affect their visuospatial ability. The impairments profile is characterized by deficits in complex spatial processes such as visuospatial organization and mental rotation, requiring reconstruction of visual stimuli using the imagination, while elementary sensory analysis and perception as well as spatial processes requiring direct manipulation of objects are relatively better preserved. This pattern is analogous to the one previously observed in adult population and appears to be typical for cerebellar pathology in general, regardless of age.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Parent Anger Scale

This study assessed the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Parent Anger Scale in a sample of 326 parents of children ages 2–18 years. Exploratory factor analysis identified a two-factor solution: parent anger experience and parent anger expression. Subscales based on the items of each factor demonstrated excellent internal consistency and concurrent validity with measures of other negative affect and parent discipline. The Parent Anger Scale subscales also evidenced incremental validity, predicting discipline behaviors uniquely above that predicted by parents’ general anger and general anxiety. Specifically, analyses indicated that the Parent Anger Scale experience and expression scores were each unique predictors of inconsistent and punitive parental discipline after controlling for the influences of general anger and anxiety. However, only the Parent Anger Scale expression score had a significant incremental effect in negatively predicting positive parenting above the effects of parents’ general anger and anxiety. Results suggest that the Parent Anger Scale is a valid and useful measure for assessing anger specific to the parent-child context. However, additional research exploring the factor analytic structure and predictive value of the Parent Anger Scale in a clinical sample is needed.     

Development of social perception: a conversation study of 6-, 12- and 36-month-old children

A conversation is made up of visual and auditory signals in a complex flow of events. What is the relative importance of these components for young children's ability to maintain attention on a conversation? In the present set of experiments the visual and auditory signals were disentangled in four filmed events. The visual events were either accompanied by the speech sounds of the conversation or by matched motor sounds and the auditory events by either the natural visual turn taking of the conversation or a matched turn taking of toy trucks. A cornea-reflection technique was used to record the gaze-pattern of subjects while they were looking at the films. Three age groups of typically developing children were studied; 6-month-olds, 1-year-olds and 3-year-olds. The results show that the children are more attracted by the social component of the conversation independent of the kind of sound used. Older children find spoken language more interesting than motor sound. Children look longer at the speaking agent when humans maintain the conversation. The study revealed that children are more attracted to the mouth than to the eyes area. The ability to make more predictive gaze shifts develops gradually over age.     

New Sexism in Couple Therapy: A Discursive Analysis

The persistence of gender inequality in postindustrial societies is puzzling in light of a plethora of changes that destabilize it, including shifts in economy, legislation, and the proliferation of feminist politics. In family relations, such persistence manifests as a disconnect between couples aspiring to be more egalitarian yet continuing to enact traditional gender roles and hierarchies. There is an emerging consensus that gender inequality persists because of people's continued reliance on sexist ideology or gendered assumptions that constitute women as innately distinct from and inferior to men. Sexist ideology changes its form to accommodate to changing socio‐economic conditions. Contemporary forms of sexism are old ways of legitimizing male power articulated in new and creative ways, often by incorporating feminist arguments. To effectively recognize and address “new sexism,” scholars and practitioners require new, innovative research frameworks. Our objective in writing this article is two‐fold. First, we seek to advance discursive (i.e., focused on language in use) approaches to the study of sexism. Second, we present the results of a discursive analysis of “new” sexist discourse in the context of couple therapy. The study provides preliminary evidence that, despite endorsing egalitarian norms, couples studied continue to rely on gender binaries and remain entrenched in old‐fashioned patterns of gender inequality. Implications of these results for the practice of couple therapy and for future research are discussed.     

Is positive thinking in anticipation of a performance situation better than distraction? An experimental study in preadolescents

The current study compares the effects of experimentally induced positive anticipatory thinking and distraction in preadolescents aged 12–13. Eighty‐seven participants were instructed to either engage in positive anticipatory thoughts or perform a distraction task while preparing to perform a sporting activity in front of their peers. Results revealed that trait social anxiety was associated with more negative estimates of sport performance and catastrophic thoughts relating to the impending sport activity. Additionally, compared to children who distracted, children in the positive anticipation condition showed significantly increased anxiety levels, more catastrophic thoughts and more negative predictions of sport performance and appearance, although these effects did not appear to interact with trait social anxiety. Finally, no significant manipulation effect on participants’ observable behavior was found. The findings further highlight the utility of distracting from an impending, anxiety‐provoking situation to keep anxious feelings to a low level.