Change in cognitive functioning associated with apoE genotype in a community sample of older adults

The influence of a genetic risk factor, apolipoprotein E (apoE) epsilon4 variant, was assessed in older adults aged 70 to 94 on 3 occasions over 7 years. The results of latent growth curve analyses are reported for individuals genotyped for apoE at the 2nd measurement occasion (n = 601) and for a subsample of individuals without probable or definite dementia during the 1st or 2nd occasion (n = 434). ApoE-epsilon4 status was a significant predictor of level and change in memory performance and change in speed performance in the full sample, and of initial level and change in memory performance in the nondemented subsample. These results support previous findings that apoE-epsilon4 is associated with accelerated memory deterioration in individuals without clinical dementia.     

Cruise ships and kayaks: welfare and rehabilitation approaches for women with disabilities in poverty

Women with disabilities have low employment rates and about one-third live in poverty. They represent half of the population using either services of the vocational rehabilitation (VR) system or the welfare system, and many use both. Although both systems have made gains in improving their employment status, neither comprehensively addresses the needs of this population. Welfare policy has encouraged state level innovation and moved large numbers of people into employment in as little as five years. State welfare agencies offer a range of services specifically addressing the needs of families with children. VR agencies have decades of specific experience assisting people with disabilities gain employment. Welfare reform has been the cruise ship moving large numbers of people across an ocean. VR agencies have been the kayak builders designing specialized small craft to move specific people along tributaries. What can they learn from each other? Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Posttraining glucocorticoid receptor agonist enhances memory in appetitive and aversive Pavlovian discrete-cue conditioning paradigms

Glucocorticoid modulation of emotional memory has repeatedly been shown in aversive learning paradigms, but has received little attention in appetitive tasks. It has also been suggested that it may be selective for contextual cues. In order to investigate if glucocorticoids can modulate memory in discrete-cue conditioning of both appetitive and aversive tasks, two experiments were carried out. Male Lister-Hooded rats received pairings of an auditory cue and either food-reward (experiment 1) or footshock (experiment 2), followed immediately by posttraining injections of the glucocorticoid receptor agonist dexamethasone (0.3, 0.6, and 1.2 mg/kg) or vehicle. Dexamethasone (1.2 mg/kg) led to significantly enhanced learning. These results give support to the notion that glucocorticoids play a role in the modulation of both appetitive and aversive emotional memories and show that their role in learning goes beyond the construction of context representations. The modulation of appetitive and aversive discrete-cue learning may be subserved by a common mechanism.     

Opportunistic use of cognitive smokescreens by araneophagic jumping spiders

Little is known about how a prey species' cognitive limitations might shape a predator's prey-capture strategy. A specific hypothesis is investigated: predators take advantage of times when the prey's attention is focussed on its own prey. Portia fimbriata, an araneophagic jumping spider (Salticidae) from Queensland, is shown in a series of 11 experiments to exploit opportunistically a situation in which a web-building spider on which it preys, Zosis genicularis (Uloboridae), is preoccupied with wrapping up its own prey. Experimental evidence supports three conclusions: (1) while relying on optical cues alone, P. fimbriata perceives when Z. genicularis is wrapping up prey; (2) when busy wrapping up prey, the responsiveness of Z. genicularis to cues from potential predators is diminished; and (3) P. fimbriata moves primarily during intervals when Z. genicularis is busy wrapping up prey. P. fimbriata's strategy is effective partly because the wrapping behaviour of Z. genicularis masks the web signals generated by the advancing P. fimbriata's footsteps and also because, while wrapping, Z. genicularis' attention is diverted away from predator-revealing cues. Electronic Publication     

Dual processes in recognition: Does a focus on measurement operations provide a sufficient foundation?

Current theoretical thinking about dual processes in recognition relies heavily on the measurement operations embodied within the process dissociation procedure. We critically evaluate the ability of this procedure to support this theoretical enterprise. We show that there are alternative processes that would produce a rough invariance in familiarity (a key prediction of the dual-processing approach) and that the process dissociation procedure does not have the power to differentiate between these alternative possibilities. We also show that attempts to relate parameters estimated by the process dissociation procedure to subjective reports (remember-know judgments) cannot differentiate between alternative dual-processing models and that there are problems with some of the historical evidence and with obtaining converging evidence. Our conclusion is that more specific theories incorporating ideas about representation and process are required.     

Using Advice and Assessing Its Quality

People received advice from four sources and used it to produce a judgment. They also assessed the quality of advice by estimating the probability that it would be correct. They were better at assessing than at using advice: combinations of advice based on their assessments were superior to their judgments. Order of assessing and using advice, superficial differences between advisors, and using other methods of advice assessment had no significant effects on this superiority of advice assessment over advice use. However, use but not assessment was improved when some advisors exhibited biases opposite to those that people typically show. It appears that using advice imposes a heavier processing load than assessing its quality and that this load can be lightened by including advisors who exhibit unusual behavior. Their salience may help people working under a heavy processing load make appropriate pairings between advisor weights and advice.     

Postural stability and hand preference as constraints on one-handed catching performance in children

Effects of postural state and hand preference as constraints on 1-handed catching performance were investigated in different ability groups of children aged 9-10 years. On the basis of pretest data, the authors classified 48 participants into groups of good, intermediate, and poor catchers (n = 16 in each) and asked them to perform 1-handed catches with their preferred and nonpreferred hands while standing and sitting. The good catchers' performance was not affected by the imposed postural constraints but did improve when they used the preferred hand. A similar effect of hand preference was evident in the intermediate and poor catchers, but there was also an effect of postural constraint. Independent of hand preference, intermediate catchers' performance while seated improved significantly compared with that during standing. For poor catchers, there was an interaction between hand preference and posture; significant improvement was evident only when they used the preferred hand in the sitting condition. The finding that manipulation of posture and hand preference affected performance outcomes indicates that perceptual skill is not the only influence on catching performance in children. Manipulation of those key constraints may facilitate the acquisition of catching skill, but more research is needed to determine the permanence of those effects.