Reinforcement effects on intrinsic interest: A classroom analog

The potential undermining effects of a reinforcement program were examined in two studies with kindergarten-first grade children. The procedures were designed to provide an analog to typical classroom incentive programs. In one study, the subjects' initial interest in the target activity (coloring) was low, whereas in the other study it was reasonably high. In neither case was an undermining effect evident in follow-up observations.     

Electroencephalographic correlations of temporally spaced responding and avoidance behavior

This study was undertaken to determine whether any EEG changes occurred during a multiple schedule of reinforcement consisting of repeated periods of avoidance behavior, a time-out (TO) period, and a period of differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL). The two monkeys were permanently implanted with bipolar electrodes in various subcortical areas. The EEG was recorded from these electrodes for several weeks before any behavioral training was undertaken. Training was then begun in the multiple schedule, and EEG recordings were taken frequently throughout the training period. When a stable performance level was achieved, drugs (dl-amphetamine and sodium pentobarbital) were introduced which disrupted the DRL performance but had little or no effect on avoidance behavior. The EEG recordings continued throughout these drug studies.

The data indicate that the marked behavioral differences noted in each component of the schedule were not reflected in the EEG. However, the EEG did correlate with the general level of alertness of the animals during the various components. The drugs which differentially affected the behavior in the components of the schedule did not differentially affect the EEG, but they did change the brain-wave activity equally in all components. Finally, EEG changes correlated with the complex motor response of lever pressing were not observed.

     

A randomized trial comparing the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa delivered via telemedicine versus face-to-face

OBJECTIVE: A major problem in the delivery of mental health services is the lack of availability of empirically supported treatment, particularly in rural areas. To date no studies have evaluated the administration of an empirically supported manual-based psychotherapy for a psychiatric condition via telemedicine. The aim of this study was to compare the relative efficacy and acceptability of a manual-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for bulimia nervosa (BN) delivered in person to a comparable therapy delivered via telemedicine. METHOD: One hundred twenty-eight adults meeting DSM-IV criteria for BN or eating disorder-not otherwise specified with binge eating or purging at least once per week were recruited through referrals from clinicians and media advertisements in the targeted geographical areas. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 20 sessions of manual-based, CBT for BN over 16 weeks delivered either face-to-face (FTF-CBT) or via telemedicine (TV-CBT) by trained therapists. The primary outcome measures were binge eating and purging frequency as assessed by interview at the end of treatment, and again at 3- and 12-month follow-ups. Secondary outcome measures included other bulimic symptoms and changes in mood. RESULTS: Retention in treatment was comparable for TV-CBT and FTF-CBT. Abstinence rates at end-of-treatment were generally slightly higher for FTF-CBT compared with TV-CBT, but differences were not statistically significant. FTF-CBT patients also experienced significantly greater reductions in eating disordered cognitions and interview-assessed depression. However, the differences overall were few in number and of marginal clinical significance. CONCLUSIONS: CBT for BN delivered via telemedicine was both acceptable to participants and roughly equivalent in outcome to therapy delivered in person.     

Truthmakers and ontological commitment: or how to deal with complex objects and mathematical ontology without getting into trouble

What are the ontological commitments of a sentence? In this paper I offer an answer from the perspective of the truthmaker theorist that contrasts with the familiar Quinean criterion. I detail some of the benefits of thinking of things this way: they include making the composition debate tractable without appealing to a neo-Carnapian metaontology, making sense of neo-Fregeanism, and dispensing with some otherwise recalcitrant necessary connections.     

Neurology of affective prosody and its functional-anatomic organization in right hemisphere

Unlike the aphasic syndromes, the organization of affective prosody in brain has remained controversial because affective-prosodic deficits may occur after left or right brain damage. However, different patterns of deficits are observed following left and right brain damage that suggest affective prosody is a dominant and lateralized function of the right hemisphere. Using the Aprosodia Battery, which was developed to differentiate left and right hemisphere patterns of affective-prosodic deficits, functional-anatomic evidence is presented in patients with focal ischemic strokes to support the concepts that (1) affective prosody is a dominant and lateralized function of the right hemisphere, (2) the intrahemispheric organization of affective prosody in the right hemisphere, with the partial exception of Repetition, is analogous to the organization of propositional language in the left hemisphere and (3) the aprosodic syndromes are cortically based as part of evolutionary adaptations underlying human language and communication.     

The explicit learning of new names for known objects is improved by dexamphetamine

A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, between subjects study design (N=37) was used to investigate the effects of dexamphetamine on explicit new name learning. Participants ingested 10mg of dexamphetamine or placebo daily over 5 consecutive mornings before learning new names for 50 familiar objects plus fillers. The dexamphetamine group recognised and recalled the new names more accurately than the placebo group over the 5 days and 1 month later. Word learning success was not associated with baseline neuropsychological performance, mood, cardiovascular arousal, or sustained attention. These results may have implications for the pharmacological treatment of acquired naming difficulties.