Irritability and Emotional Impulsivity as Core Feature of ADHD and ODD in Children

The categorical approach of diagnosing mental disorders entails the problem of frequently occurring comorbidities, suggesting a more parsimonious structure of psychopathology. In this study, we therefore aim to assess how affective dysregulation (AD) is associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children. To assess AD in children aged 8–12 years (n?=?391), we employed the parent version of a newly constructed parent rating scale. Following item reduction, we conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to establish a factorial structure of AD. One core dimension was identified, comprising irritability and emotional impulsivity, and two smaller dimensions, comprising positive emotionality and exuberance. Subsequently, we examined five different latent factor models – a unidimensional model, a first-order correlated factor model, a second-order correlated factor model, a traditional bifactor model, and a bifactor S-1 model, in which the first-order factor AD-Irritability/Emotional Impulsivity (II) was modeled as the general reference factor. A bifactor S-1 model with the a priori defined general reference domain AD-II provided the best fit to our data and was straightforward to interpret. This model showed excellent model fit and no anomalous factor loadings. This still held true, when comparing it to bifactor S-1 models with ADHD/ODD-related reference factors. Differential correlations with emotion regulation skills and the established Parent Proxy Anger Scale validate the interpretation of the different dimensions. Our results suggest that irritability/emotional impulsivity might be a common core feature of ADHD and ODD.

     

F-waves and H-reflexes in hemispastic syndrome

Canalized F-waves and H-reflexes occurring on small hand and foot muscles are to be considered symptoms of central disinhibition. Occurrence of these waves and reflexes in patients with hemispastic syndrome is analyzed and correlated with clinical aspects.     

Social support and coping: A longitudinal analysis

This paper examined the interrelation between social support and coping in a longitudinal study of 380 clinically depressed individuals. A two-wave, two-variable panel analysis revealed that connections between support and coping varied by gender and across the specific sources of support and modes of coping examined. In the family context, increases in support were related to increases in problem-solving coping among women and to a decline in emotional discharge coping among men. In the work context, increases in social support were related to a greater reliance on affective regulation among women and to more information/support seeking among men. Overall, the results suggest that specific aspects of support and coping processes jointly mediate the link between stress and adjustment among depressed individuals.     

Investigation into the effect of fluphenazine hydrochloride (lyorodin) in children with behaviour disorders by means of psychophysiological parameters

In a group of 44 children with behaviour disorders, the mode of action of the phenothiazine preparation fluphenazine hydrochloride (Lyorodin) was tested by means of psychophysiological methods of measurement (critical flicker-fuse frequency and measurement of the response time). In some of the comparative examinations before and after administration of the drug significant differences were found. A defined psychic stress resulted in changed measured values in both methods. Children with cerebral injuries showed a lower degree of reaction after the administration of the preparation than children not encephalopathically affected.     

Overgeneral memory and suppression of trauma memories in post-traumatic stress disorder

The study investigated the relationship between the suppression of trauma memories and overgeneral memory in 42 assault survivors with and without PTSD. Overgeneral memory (OGM) was assessed with a standard autobiographical memory test (AMT). Participants completed two further AMTs under the instructions to either suppress or not suppress assault memories, in counterbalanced order. Participants with PTSD retrieved fewer and more general memories when following the suppression instruction than participants without PTSD, but not under the control instruction. OGM correlated with PTSD symptom severity, and measures of cognitive avoidance. The results are discussed with reference to current theories of overgeneral memory and its possible relationship with PTSD.     

Automatic activation of task-related representations in task shifting

Stimulus displays consisting of a target and a distractor can produce task conflicts when target and distractor are associated with different tasks. The present study examined whether these stimulus-induced task conflicts are affected by priming the irrelevant task or by increasing the salience of the distractor. In a series of three experiments, we employed a task-shifting paradigm in which subjects had to apply one of two judgments to either the global or the local level of a hierarchical stimulus. In each block, the target level and the judgment were either constant or mixed. Stimulus-induced judgment conflicts were measured by comparing performance for stimuli associated with two judgments and stimuli associated with only one. It turned out that only mixing the target level and not mixing the judgment increased the conflicts. These findings indicate that only the salience of the distractor modulates stimulus-induced conflicts.     

Size matters: saccades during scene perception

We investigated the effect of image size on saccade amplitudes. First, in a meta-analysis, relevant results from previous scene perception studies are summarised, suggesting the possibility of a linear relationship between mean saccade amplitude and image size. Forty-eight observers viewed 96 colour scene images scaled to four different sizes, while their eye movements were recorded. Mean and median saccade amplitudes were found to be directly proportional to image size, while the mode of the distribution lay in the range of very short saccades. However, saccade amplitudes expressed as percentages of image size were not constant over the different image sizes; on smaller stimulus images, the relative saccades were found to be larger, and vice versa. In sum, and as far as mean and median saccade amplitudes are concerned, the size of stimulus images is the dominant factor. Other factors, such as image properties, viewing task, or measurement equipment, are only of subordinate importance. Thus, the role of stimulus size has to be reconsidered, in theoretical as well as methodological terms.     

管仲和亚里士多德法治思想异同论

管仲和亚里士多德分别在古代中国和希腊大致同时提出了法治理论,旗帜鲜明地提倡法治反对人治。然而,由于对于法律与法治的不同理解,管仲的法治是君主用法律维护其统治的“以法治国”,亚里士多德的法治则是用良法规范社会的“依法治国”。两者的“法治”内涵虽然不同,但法治思想中的“法律至上”对我国的法治建设有所启示。     

Adaptive control of event integration

Identifying 2 target stimuli in a rapid stream of visual symbols is much easier if the 2nd target appears immediately after the 1st target (i.e., at Lag 1) than if distractor stimuli intervene. As this phenomenon comes with a strong tendency to confuse the order of the targets, it seems to be due to the integration of both targets into the same attentional episode or object file. The authors investigated the degree to which people can control the temporal extension of their (episodic) integration windows by manipulating the expectations participants had with regard to the time available for target processing. As predicted, expecting more time to process increased the number of order confusions at Lag 1. This was true for between-subjects and within-subjects (trial-to-trial) manipulations, suggesting that integration windows can be adapted actively and rather quickly.