Total number of MMPI-2 clinical scale elevations predicts premature termination after controlling for intake symptom severity and personality disorder diagnosis

Premature termination of therapy by patients is a common phenomenon that can be deleterious to treatment outcome for patients and also negatively affect therapists, treatment centers, and research programs. Therefore, a method of identifying patients at risk for premature termination could have widespread benefits. This study investigated whether patients’ MMPI-2 profiles, including clinical scale elevations and Negative Treatment Indicator (TRT) scores, could predict premature termination in an outpatient sample, controlling for personality disorder diagnosis and symptom severity at intake. Results indicated that while TRT scores were not incrementally predictive of premature termination, the total number of clinical scale elevations was significantly incrementally predictive of dropout. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Longitudinal Changes in Intellectual Development in Children with Fragile X Syndrome

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the development of intellectual functioning in 145 school-age pairs of siblings. Each pair included one child with Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and one unaffected sibling. All pairs of children were evaluated on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) at time 1 and 80 pairs of children received a second evaluation at time 2 approximately 4 years later. Compared to their unaffected siblings, children with FXS obtained significantly lower percentage correct scores on all subtests of the WISC at both time points. During the time between the first and second assessments, the annual rate of intellectual development was approximately 2.2 times faster in the unaffected children compared to the children with FXS. Levels of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) were highly associated with intellectual ability scores of the children with FXS at both time points (r=0.55 and 0.64 respectively). However, when gender, age, and the time between assessments were included as covariates in the structural equation model, FMRP accounted for only 5% of the variance in intellectual ability scores at time 1 and 13% of the variance at time 2. The results of this study suggest that slower learning contributes to the low and declining standardized IQ scores observed in children with FXS.     

Demonstrating “Reasonable Fear” at Trial: Is it Science or Junk Science?

This paper explores how scientific knowledge is used in a criminal case. I examine materials from an admissibility hearing in a murder trial and discuss the dynamics of contesting expert scientific opinion and evidence. The research finds that a purported form of “science” in the relevant scientific community is filtered through, tested by, and subjected to legal standards, conceptions, and procedures for determining admissibility. The paper details how the opposing lawyers, the expert witness, and the judge vie to contingently work out what will count in court as appropriate scientific authority, methods and evidence, and as a scientifically valid and legally admissible account of “reasonable fear.” When science becomes enmeshed in legal controversies, science does not trump law. Rather, it is the court’s canons of proper procedure and measures of substantive adequacy that take precedence.

Upward spirals of positive emotion and coping: Replication, extension, and initial exploration of neurochemical substrates

The broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001) predicts that positive emotions broaden the scopes of attention and cognition, thereby facilitating the building of personal resources and initiating upward spirals toward increasing emotional well-being. This study attempts to replicate and extend previous empirical support for this model. Using a sample of 185 undergraduates, we assessed whether positive affect and broad-minded coping, interpersonal trust, and social support reciprocally and prospectively predict one another over a two-month period, and whether this upward spiral might be partially based in changes in dopaminergic functioning. As hypothesized, PA and positive coping did mutually build on one another, as did PA and interpersonal trust. Contrary to expectation, PA did not demonstrate an upward spiral relation with social support. Results suggest further study of the relationship between PA and changes in dopamine metabolite levels over time is warranted.     

Learning in a task of complex auditory streaming and identification

Adult humans were studied for improvements in their ability to segregate natural whole speech in background noise, in 6 test sessions spaced with a very wide range of inter-session interval (ISI) ranging from minutes to weeks apart so as to examine the effect of this parameter on initial (early) and late components of perceptual learning. Improvements were found even with spacings of 3 weeks between the punctate task sessions. All subjects showed similar total learning amounts but there were sex- and ISI-dependent differences in learning patterns, which we indexed by dividing the overall exponentially-decreasing learning pattern into an early phase between the first two sessions and a later phase between the second and sixth sessions. Males tested at all ISIs and females tested at short (2, 5 and 15 min) and long (1–21 days) ISIs showed small amounts of early-phase learning and large amounts of late-phase learning. However, females tested at intermediate (30 min and 1 h) ISIs showed only early learning, i.e., faster learning given that the total learning was the same. This sex- and ISI-specific deviant pattern could be changed to the standard pattern by interposing an overnight interruption that included sleep amongst test sessions. Thus, improvement in this complex auditory streaming and identification task can occur even with very brief and widely-spaced exposure, generally through a standard pattern of slower overall learning, but also through a sex- and ISI-specific deviant pattern of very rapid early learning which can be modulated by interposed delay unlike the standard pattern.     

Emergence of an egocentric cue guiding and allocentric inferring strategy that mirrors hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the Morris water maze

From insects to humans, successful navigation relies on retained representations of spatial relations. These representations are thought to depend on the hippocampal formation, particularly those that are independent of the navigator (allocentric representations). The Morris water maze is a simple and popular task often used to assess spatial navigation. But how animals navigate toward and retain information regarding the location of the goal in this task remains unclear. We provide a comprehensive account of how the water maze is accomplished behaviourally. Our findings suggest that animals solve the task using distal cues via an initial view-matching strategy that is supported by egocentric guidance. Through increased training, however, an emergence of an egocentric-guiding strategy combined with the animal’s greater ability to infer the hidden platform’s location (via allocentric extrapolation) emerges. We also demonstrate that behavioural changes, towards a more allocentric strategy, are reflected in increases in hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor.     

Assessing the validity of computer-game-like tests of processing speed and working memory

Processing speed (Gs) and working memory (WM) tasks have received considerable interest as correlates of more complex cognitive performance measures. Gs and WM tasks are often repetitive and are often rigidly presented, however. The effects of Gs and WM may, therefore, be confounded with those of motivation and anxiety. In an effort to address this problem, we assessed the concurrent and predictive validity of computer-game-like tests of Gs (Space Code) and WM (Space Matrix) across two experiments. In Experiment 1, within a university sample (N =70), Space Matrix exhibited concurrent validity as a WM measure, whereas Space Code appeared to be a mixed-ability measure. In Experiment 2, Space Matrix exhibited concurrent validity as well as predictive validity (as a predictor of school grades) within a school-aged sample (N=94), but the results for Space Code were less encouraging. Relationships between computer-game-like tests and gender, handedness, and computergame experience are also discussed.     

Sexual Desire and Depression Following Spinal Cord Injury: Masculine Sexual Prowess as a Moderator

Men’s adherence to masculine norms stressing sexual prowess may contribute to their adjustment to changes in sexual functioning following spinal cord injury. The authors test this hypothesis by examining the moderating role of men’s conformity to gender norms for sexual prowess on the relationship between sexual desire and depression. One hundred and sixteen male citizens of the United States with spinal cord injuries were recruited for participation in the internet-based survey. Results indicated that participants with strong sexual desire evinced higher rates of depression when they conformed to masculine norms emphasizing sexual prowess. Men with little reported sexual desire, by contrast, demonstrated lower rates of depression when they endorsed norms for prowess. Directions for future research and treatment interventions are offered.     

Experiences of peer aggression and parental attachment are correlated in adolescents

Whether levels of parental attachment differentiate how individuals are peer victimised was studied in 13, 14 and 15 year olds (N = 204), who completed a modified version of the Direct and Indirect Aggression Scales (DIAS) and the parent sections of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA). Results showed a moderate negative correlation between Total Victimisation scores and Total Attachment scores (r = −.254, p = .001, CI₉₅ = [−.38, −.12]); the magnitude of correlations was similar for subscale scores and for data on both mother and father considered separately; data did not differ by gender of the respondent. Attachment to mother significantly exceeded attachment to father. The factor structure of the self-report DIAS was explored and a hierarchical solution suggested that it measures general experience of victimisation along with two lower order factors defined by experiences of either direct or indirect aggression.     

Consumers’ Desire towards Current and Prospective Reproductive Genetic Testing

As our knowledge and abilities in molecular genetics continues to expand, so does our ability to detect certain conditions/traits prenatally; however, it is unknown if this increase in scientific ability will be utilized by the consumers of genetic services. Our study gauges the consumers’ opinion towards reproductive testing for diseases and enhancements. Prior to their initial visit with a genetic counselor, patients were asked to participate in a survey. These consumers were asked to indicate traits and conditions for which they would choose reproductive genetic testing. The majority of respondents would elect to have prenatal genetic testing for mental retardation (75%), deafness (54%), blindness (56%), heart disease (52%), and cancer (51%). Our results indicated that 49.3% would choose testing for a condition that resulted in death by 5 years of age, whereas only 41.1%, 24.9%, and 19% would choose testing for conditions that results in death by 20, 40, and 50 years of age, respectively. Most respondents did not desire testing for enhancements (e.g. 13% would choose testing for superior intelligence). Our study suggests that consumers desire more reproductive genetic testing than what is currently offered; however, their selection of tests suggests self-imposed limits on testing.