The neural bases of the constructive nature of autobiographical memories studied with a self-paced fMRI design

In Conway and Pleydell-Pearce's model (2000), autobiographical memories are viewed as transitory mental representations, more often generated in an effortful way. An important claim of the model concerns the dynamic process that evolves over time, from the left prefrontal areas to posterior regions, to retrieve specific memories. The present work aims at investigating, using fMRI, the temporal distribution of effortful autobiographical memory construction. In addition, a self-paced design was implemented to elucidate the question of the timing window required to evoke recollections. The results showed a large pattern of brain regions, which included the two major poles of activation predicted by Conway and Pleydell-Pearce's model. Likewise, we were able to detect the earlier implication of the left dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex, by comparison with posterior structures, which seemed to confirm its involvement in the effortful retrieval process. Finally, the self-paced procedure allowed us to refine the timing window necessary to construct past events.     

Self-compassion and social anxiety disorder

Abstract

Self-compassion refers to having an accepting and caring orientation towards oneself. Although self-compassion has been studied primarily in healthy populations, one particularly compelling clinical context in which to examine self-compassion is social anxiety disorder (SAD). SAD is characterized by high levels of negative self-criticism as well as an abiding concern about others’ evaluation of one's performance. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that: (1) people with SAD would demonstrate less self-compassion than healthy controls (HCs), (2) self-compassion would relate to severity of social anxiety and fear of evaluation among people with SAD, and (3) age would be negatively correlated with self-compassion for people with SAD, but not for HC. As expected, people with SAD reported less self-compassion than HCs on the Self-Compassion Scale and its subscales. Within the SAD group, lesser self-compassion was not generally associated with severity of social anxiety, but it was associated with greater fear of both negative and positive evaluation. Age was negatively correlated with self-compassion for people with SAD, whereas age was positively correlated with self-compassion for HC. These findings suggest that self-compassion may be a particularly important target for assessment and treatment in persons with SAD.     

Enhancing Compassion: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Compassion Cultivation Training Program

Psychosocial interventions often aim to alleviate negative emotional states. However, there is growing interest in cultivating positive emotional states and qualities. One particular target is compassion, but it is not yet clear whether compassion can be trained. A community sample of 100 adults were randomly assigned to a 9-week compassion cultivation training (CCT) program (n = 60) or a waitlist control condition (n = 40). Before and after this 9-week period, participants completed self-report inventories that measured compassion for others, receiving compassion from others, and self-compassion. Compared to the waitlist control condition, CCT resulted in significant improvements in all three domains of compassion—compassion for others, receiving compassion from others, and self-compassion. The amount of formal meditation practiced during CCT was associated with increased compassion for others. Specific domains of compassion can be intentionally cultivated in a training program. These findings may have important implications for mental health and well-being.     

Self-Sitting and Reaching in 5- to 8-Month-Old Infants: The Impact of Posture and Its Development on Early Eye-Hand Coordination

The relation between progress in the control of posture (i.e., the achievement of self-sitting posture) and the developmental transition from two-handed to one-handed engagement in infant reaching was investigated. Two groups of 5- to 8-month-old infants, who were either able or yet unable to sit on their own, were videotaped while they reached for objects in four different posture conditions that provided varying amounts of body support. Videotapes of infant reaches were microanalyzed to determine the relative engagement of both hands during reaches. Results demonstrate the interaction between postural development and the morphology of infant reaching. Nonsitting infants displayed symmetrical and synergistic engagement of both arms and hands while reaching in all but the seated posture condition. Sitting infants, by contrast, showed asymmetrical and lateralized (one-handed) reaches in all posture conditions. Results also show that, aside from posture, the perceived spatial arrangement of the object display is a determinant of infant reaching. Combined, these results are discussed as evidence for the interaction between postural and perceptual development in the control of early eye-hand coordination.     

Monitoring stress among internal medicine residents: an experience-driven,practical and short measure

Residents experience severely high levels of stress, depression and burnout, leading to perceived medical errors, as well as to symptoms of impairment, such as chronic anger, cognitive impairment, suicidal behavior and substance abuse. Because research has not yet provided a psychometrically robust population-specific tool to measure the level of stress of medicine residents, we aimed at building and validating such a measure. Using an inductive scale development approach, a short, pragmatic measure was built, based on the interviews of 17 medicine residents. The Internal Medicine Residency Stress Scale (IMRSS) was then administered in a sample of 259 internal medicine residents (199 females, 60 males, M_Age = 25.6) along with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Satisfaction With Life Scale and Ways of Coping Checklist. The IMRSS showed satisfactory internal reliability (Cronbach’s α = .86), adequate structural validity – studied through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (χ²/df = 2.51, CFI = .94; SRMR = .037, RMSEA = .076) – and good criterion validity – the IMRSS was notably strongly correlated with emotional exhaustion (r = .64; p < .001) and anxiety (r = .57; p < .001). Because of its short length and robust psychometric qualities, the use of the IMRSS is recommended to quickly and frequently assess and monitor stress among internal medicine residents.     

Psychiatry and religion: a perspective on meaning

ABSTRACT

A Position Statement on Spirituality and Religion in Psychiatry was issued by the World Psychiatric Association in 2016. Among many recommendations, this statement underscores the need for research on both religion and spirituality in psychiatry, especially on their clinical applications. In this contribution we will put light on the issue of meaning and meaning-making, i.e., an important field for every human, Particularly for individuals suffering from severe mental disorders. After an introduction about meaning in its religious/spiritual dimension, we will describe what needs to be studied in order to get a better knowledge as to how patients cope with meaning, and how they process (in terms of meaning-making) the outburst of a severe mental disorder such as schizophrenia.     

Visual perception in domestic dogs: susceptibility to the Ebbinghaus–Titchener and Delboeuf illusions

Susceptibility to geometrical visual illusions has been tested in a number of non-human animal species, providing important information about how these species perceive their environment. Considering their active role in human lives, visual illusion susceptibility was tested in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Using a two-choice simultaneous discrimination paradigm, eight dogs were trained to indicate which of two presented circles appeared largest. These circles were then embedded in three different illusory displays; a classical display of the Ebbinghaus–Titchener illusion; an illusory contour version of the Ebbinghaus–Titchener illusion; and the classical display of the Delboeuf illusion. Significant results were observed in both the classical and illusory contour versions of the Ebbinghaus–Titchener illusion, but not the Delboeuf illusion. However, this susceptibility was reversed from what is typically seen in humans and most mammals. Dogs consistently indicated that the target circle typically appearing larger in humans appeared smaller to them, and that the target circle typically appearing smaller in humans, appeared larger to them. We speculate that these results are best explained by assimilation theory rather than other visual cognitive theories explaining susceptibility to this illusion in humans. In this context, we argue that our findings appear to reflect higher-order conceptual processing in dogs that cannot be explained by accounts restricted to low-level mechanisms of early visual processing.     

The Hidden Cost of Insurance on Cooperation

A common solution to mitigate risk is to buy insurance. Employing the trust game, we find that buying insurance against the risk of betrayal has a hidden cost: trustees are more likely to act opportunistically when trustors choose to be insured against the breach of trust. Supposedly, trustees are less likely to cooperate when trustors buy insurance because choosing insurance implicitly signals that the trustor expects the trustee to behave opportunistically, paradoxically encouraging trustees not to cooperate. These results shed new light on the potential drawbacks of financial safeguards that are intended to minimize the risky nature of trust taking: the presumed safeguard against the risk of betrayal may, under certain circumstances, increase the probability of betrayal. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A review of abnormalities in the perception of visual illusions in schizophrenia

Specific abnormalities of vision in schizophrenia have been observed to affect high-level and some low-level integration mechanisms, suggesting that people with schizophrenia may experience anomalies across different stages in the visual system affecting either early or late processing or both. Here, we review the research into visual illusion perception in schizophrenia and the issues which previous research has faced. One general finding that emerged from the literature is that those with schizophrenia are mostly immune to the effects of high-level illusory displays, but this effect is not consistent across all low-level illusions. The present review suggests that this resistance is due to the weakening of top–down perceptual mechanisms and may be relevant to the understanding of symptoms of visual distortion rather than hallucinations as previously thought.