The impact of left and right intracranial tumors on picture and word recognition memory

This study investigated the effects of left and right intracranial tumors on picture and word recognition memory. We hypothesized that left hemispheric (LH) patients would exhibit greater word recognition memory impairment than right hemispheric (RH) patients, with no significant hemispheric group picture recognition memory differences. The LH patient group obtained a significantly slower mean picture recognition reaction time than the RH group. The LH group had a higher proportion of tumors extending into the temporal lobes, possibly accounting for their greater pictorial processing impairments. Dual coding and enhanced visual imagery may have contributed to the patient groups' similar performance on the remainder of the measures.     

Is there any "free" choice? Self and dissonance in two cultures

Four experiments provided support for the hypothesis that upon making a choice, individuals justify their choice in order to eliminate doubts about culturally sanctioned aspects of the self, namely, competence and efficacy in North America and positive appraisal by other people in Japan. Japanese participants justified their choice (by increasing liking for chosen items and decreasing liking for rejected items) in the standard free-choice dissonance paradigm only when self-relevant others were primed, either by questionnaires (Studies 1-3) or by incidental exposure to schematic faces (Study 4). In the absence of these social cues, Japanese participants showed no dissonance effect. In contrast, European Americans justified their choices regardless of the social-cue manipulations. Implications for cognitive dissonance theory are discussed.     

The morality of money

Pastoral Psychology -     

Infant visual recognition memory: independent contributions of speed and attention

Relations between infant visual recognition memory and later cognition have fueled interest in identifying the underlying cognitive components of this important infant ability. The present large-scale study examined three promising factors in this regard--processing speed, short-term memory capacity, and attention. Two of these factors, attention and processing speed (but, surprisingly, not short-term memory capacity), were related to visual recognition memory: Infants who showed better attention (shorter looks and more shifts) and faster processing had better recognition memory. The contributions of attention and processing speed were independent of one another and were similar at all ages studied--5, 7, and 12 months. Taken together, attention and speed accounted for 6%-9% of the variance in visual recognition memory, leaving a considerable, but not unexpected, portion of the variance unexplained.     

Event-related FMRI study of context processing in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia

Context processing is conceptualized as an executive function involved in voluntary, complex actions such as overcoming automatic responses. The present study tested the hypothesis that context-processing deficits in patients with schizophrenia are associated with a dysfunction of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 17 controls and 17 medicated patients performed a version of the AX task in which a learned, automatic response had to be inhibited. In controls, left DLPFC activity increased when preparing to overcome an automatic response, whereas patients with schizophrenia showed no differential activation. In controls, context processing appeared to be associated with the differential representation of cues associated with the need to provide top-down support for overcoming automatic responses. This mechanism appeared to be impaired in patients with schizophrenia.     

Attention affects the stereoscopic depth aftereffect

'Preattentive' vision is typically considered to include several low-level processes, including the perception of depth from binocular disparity and motion parallax. However, doubt was cast on this model when it was shown that a secondary attentional task can modulate the motion aftereffect (Chaudhuri, 1990 Nature 344 60-62). Here we investigate whether attention can also affect the depth aftereffect (Blakemore and Julesz, 1971 Science 171 286-288). Subjects adapted to stationary or moving random-dot patterns segmented into depth planes while attention was manipulated with a secondary task (character processing at parametrically varied rates). We found that the duration of the depth aftereffect can be affected by attentional manipulations, and both its duration and that of the motion aftereffect varied with the difficulty of the secondary task. The results are discussed in the context of dynamic feedback models of vision, and support the penetrability of low-level sensory processes by attentional mechanisms.     

Stroop interference, practice, and aging

We report two experiments that investigate practice effects on Stroop color-word interference in older and younger adults. Both experiments employed a computerized, single-item version of the Stroop task with a voice response, and both involved practice over hundreds of trials. Both experiments showed generally similar practice patterns, including a practice-related reduction in the size of the color-word interference effect. However, the older group continued to show a larger interference effect throughout practice. These findings indicate that older adults show the same trend in practice-related improvement on the Stroop task as younger adults.     

Dissociable parietal systems for primacy and subsequent memory effects

The frequently observed superior memory for the first items on a list is referred to as primacy. The aetiology of this effect in terms of cognitive processes and their neural substrate is subject to an ongoing debate. However, the brain areas generally involved in successful encoding are well described by subsequent memory studies in which activity during encoding is correlated with memory performance. We employed an object-location association paradigm to differentiate the neural correlate of the primacy from the subsequent memory effect. Activity in the intraparietal sulcus predicted memory performance across all encoding positions. Increased activity in the inferior parietal lobe and angular gyrus resulted exclusively in a more efficient encoding of the first item presented. These areas are part of the ventral frontoparietal network involved in stimulus driven attention. Our results implicate the relatively elevated attention to the first item probably due to its contextual distinctiveness, as a major contributor to the primacy effect.     

Taking a Capabilities Approach to Evaluating Supportive Environments for Older People

The ageing of our population means that most places have to see themselves as retirement communities. A pressing question is therefore how environments are supporting quality of life for older people. This paper suggests that a capabilities approach could be a valuable tool. Firstly, it can explicitly address issues of inequality and diversity (Sen, Inequality re-examined. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992; Nussbaum, Women and human development: The capabilities approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000; Robeyns, Feminist Economics 9/2–3:61–92, 2003). Secondly, because the capabilities approach acknowledges agency, it can be used to ensure that older people themselves name the criteria that are important. The resulting framework can be used by older people and policy makers to map the responsiveness of their place to later life concerns. It offers, therefore, a means of shifting attitudes from one of deficit and dependency to independence and well being. In producing capabilities criteria, this paper looks to the views of older people as expressed in recently published work in the UK. The paper discusses in turn the domains cited by older people: health, adequate income, mobility, safe neighbourhood, the comfortable and secure home, social relations and support illustrating how these key quality of life factors are often compromised by poor policy provision.     

Family Resilience and the Management of Fibromyalgia: Implications for Family Therapists

Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is one of the most troubling rheumatic disorders for patients, significant others, and the health care providers who treat them. Responses from 150 participants provided valuable information on the relationship between family resilience and the management of fibromyalgia. Self reported family stressors, strains, and distress were significantly associated with an increase in health problems/functional disability, whereas family hardiness and family social support were associated with a decrease. Family stressors and family strains were also positively associated with the frequency of medication use. Medical family therapy interventions that consider the familial context are recommended for treatment. Additional implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed. J. Cameron Preece, PhD, Sage Health Care, PLLC, 339 Allumbaugh Street, Boise, ID 83704. Jonathan G. Sandberg, PhD, Department of Marriage and Family Therapy, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244. (jgandbe@syr.edu) Special thanks go to Linda Stone Fish, PhD, for her support and guidance throughout the study.