Self-awareness and self-monitoring of cognitive and behavioral deficits in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, primary progressive aphasia and probable Alzheimer's disease

Lack of insight is a core diagnostic criterion for behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), and is believed to be intact in the early stages of primary progressive aphasia (PPA). In other neurological conditions, symptom-specific insight has been noted, with behavioral symptoms appearing especially vulnerable to reduced insight. Different components of insight, self-awareness and self-monitoring, are also often considered separate phenomena. The current study compared insight in patients with PPA, bvFTD, and probable Alzheimer's disease (PrAD) and a group of cognitively intact control subjects. Additionally, differences in insight for the domains primarily affected by the three types of dementia, namely, Behavior, Naming, and Memory, were assessed, and self-awareness and self-monitoring were compared. A total of 55 participants were enrolled. Participants were asked to complete self-estimate scales demonstrating their perceived ability immediately prior to, and immediately following a test in each domain of interest. Results indicated that PPA and normal control groups performed very similarly on control (Weight and Eyesight) and cognitive domains, whereas bvFTD and PrAD patients were unable to accurately assess Memory. All three diagnostic groups failed to accurately assess their behavioral symptoms, suggesting that this domain is vulnerable to loss of insight across diagnoses. Naming ability, in contrast, was either accurately assessed or underestimated in all groups. Finally, there were no notable differences between self-awareness and self-monitoring, potential explanations for this are examined.     

Being distinctive versus being conspicuous: The effects of numeric status and sex-stereotyped tasks on individual performance in groups

Being in the numeric minority (e.g., being a solo woman in a group of men) influences how well a person performs within a work group. But being the solo member is only one way in which people can be atypical in a group; a person can also represent a social or demographic category that has not typically been associated with the task that the group is working on. Using a design with four categories of group composition (minority, balanced, majority, homogeneous) and two categories of tasks (sex-typical, sex-atypical) we found that the sex composition of the group interacted with the sex typicality of the task to influence both positive deferrals by group members and individual performance in groups. But, rather than consistently reducing performance as prior research has suggested, being numerically atypical enhanced individual performance when the task was typical for that person’s sex. Further, positive deferrals mediated between the interaction of numeric composition and task typicality in influencing individual performance suggesting that both majority group members and the solo member affect one another’s performance in groups. We conclude by discussing why understanding the interplay between these two sources of stereotyping, numeric composition and task typicality, is important for understanding the social nature of individual performance in groups.     

Age differences in proactive interference, working memory, and abstract reasoning

It has been hypothesized that older adults are especially susceptible to proactive interference (PI) and that this may contribute to age differences in working memory performance. In young adults, individual differences in PI affect both working memory and reasoning ability, but the relations between PI, working memory, and reasoning in older adults have not been examined. In the current study, young, old, and very old adults performed a modified operation span task that induced several cycles of PI buildup and release as well as two tests of abstract reasoning ability. Age differences in working memory scores increased as PI built up, consistent with the hypothesis that older adults are more susceptible to PI, but both young and older adults showed complete release from PI. Young adults' reasoning ability was best predicted by working memory performance under high PI conditions, replicating M. Bunting (2006). In contrast, older adults' reasoning ability was best predicted by their working memory performance under low PI conditions, thereby raising questions regarding the general role of susceptibility to PI in differences in higher cognitive function among older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).     

The role of representational status and item complexity in parent–child conversations about pictures and objects

Mother–child conversations about pictures systematically differ from mother–child conversations about objects: Pictures are more likely than objects to elicit talk about kinds, whereas objects are more likely than pictures to elicit talk about individuals. The purpose of the current study is to examine whether this difference between pictures and objects is explained by differences in item complexity. Mothers and their 4-year-old children were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: simple or complex. In each condition, participants viewed 12 toy objects and 12 pictures, matched for content. The items were either highly detailed (complex condition) or very plain (simple condition). Replicating previous research, mothers and children provided relatively more focus on kinds when talking about pictures, and relatively more focus on individuals when talking about objects. The current results go further, however, to demonstrate that this effect is independent of the items’ complexity. We therefore propose that the picture–object difference is not due to low-level differences in amount of perceptual detail provided, but rather is due to the greater ease with which pictures serve as representations [DeLoache, J. S. (1991). Symbolic functioning in very young children: Understanding of pictures and models. Child Development, 62, 736–752]. These data indicate the ways in which a fundamental conceptual distinction between kinds and individuals arises in different linguistic expressions and in different contexts.     

Congruences on Dynamic Algebras

The lattice Cong of all dynamic congruences on a given dynamic algebra is presented. Whenever is separable with zero we define dynamic ideal on , given rise to the lattice Ide. The notions of kernel of a dynamic congruence andthe congruence generated by a dynamic ideal are introduced todescribe a Galois connection between Cong and Ide. We study conditions under which a dynamic congruence is determined byits kernel.     

Group cognitive behavioural therapy for depression outcomes predicted by willingness to engage in homework, compliance with homework, and cognitive restructuring skill acquisition

There is a need to understand the mechanism through which homework contributes to clinically meaningful change in therapy. Theoretically meaningful factors such as willingness to complete therapeutic assignments and cognitive skill acquisition have not been carefully studied in prior research. Depressed outpatients (N = 46) received cognitive behavioural group therapy for a 10-week period and were assigned relevant homework activities. Patient self-report and independent ratings of homework compliance were obtained on a session-by-session basis. Using path analysis, the authors found evidence that willingness to complete homework assignments and mastery of skill in cognitive restructuring helped account for the relationship between homework compliance and reduced symptom severity (R2 = .40). However, paths were only significant when patient self-report of homework compliance was used in the model. The present study highlights the problems in assessing homework compliance and in assuming that independent assessment of compliance is more accurate than patient self-report.     

Teaching Phoneme Segmenting and Blending as Critical Early Literacy Skills: An Experimental Analysis of Minimal Textual Repertoires

The purpose of the current study was to examine blending and segmenting of phonemes as an instance of small, textual response classes that students learn to combine to produce whole word reading. Using an A/B/A/B design, a phoneme segmenting and blending condition that included differential reinforcement for response classes at the level of phonemes was compared to a control condition which was equated for differential reinforcement of reading words and opportunities to respond. The critical difference between conditions was the size of the responses that were brought under stimulus control (phonemes versus whole words). Findings clearly supported the superiority of the phoneme blending treatment condition over the control condition in producing generalized increases in word reading. The results are discussed in terms of the behavioral mechanisms that govern early literacy behaviors and the essential role that targeting measured increases in academic responses plays in furthering our understanding of how to improve the analysis and instruction of students who need to learn these important skills.     

Effects of age on associating virtual and embodied toys.

Technologies such as videos, toys, and video games are used as tools in delivering education to young children. Do children spontaneously transfer between virtual and real-world mediums as they learn? Fifty-six children learned facts about a toy dog presented through varying levels of technology and interactivity (e.g., video game, stuffed animal, picture books). They then met a similar dog character in a new embodiment (e.g., as a stuffed animal if first met the dog as video character). Would children spontaneously generalize the facts they learned about the dog character across mediums (dynamic and static environments)? Results indicate that younger children were more likely to generalize facts across mediums. Specific aspects of the level of technology and interactivity had little effect.