Barriers perceived by teachers at work, coping strategies, self-efficacy and burnout

This study examines the relationships among stressors, coping strategies, self-efficacy and burnout in a sample of 724 Spanish primary and secondary teachers. We understood stressors as barriers perceived by teachers that interfere with their work meeting learning objectives and which cause them stress and burnout. An analysis of teacher responses using hierarchical regression revealed that pedagogical barriers had significant positive effects on the burnout dimensions. Furthermore, the results show not only the moderator role played by coping strategies in the pedagogical barriers-burnout dimensions relationship, but also the association between self-efficacy and the coping strategies used by teachers. Practical implications are discussed.     

Implementation of Response to Intervention (RtI) Model in Spain: an example of a collaboration between Canarian universities and the department of education of the Canary Islands

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of second tier intervention at-risk readers within the context of a Response to Intervention approach. The study was conducted in the Canary Islands (Spain), directed by research team ¨Dificultades de Aprendizaje, Psicolingüística y Nuevas Tecnologías¨ (DEA&NT) from University of La Laguna, and supported by the Government of the Canary Islands. A sample of 1.123 Spanish children from fourteen schools districts were given the Spanish adaptation of The Hong Kong Specific Learning Difficulties Behavior Checklist and children who scored at or above the 75th percentile on the test were classified as "at risk" for early reading difficulties. Half of the students were randomly assigned to a project-based intervention condition where they received small group supplementary intervention for 30 minutes daily using the Prevención de las Dificultades Específicas de Aprendizaje (PREDEA) curriculum from mid to late December and continued until mid June. The other half received whatever remedial services were available at their schools. Results indicated that children who received the PREDEA curriculum had higher scores on the Early Grade Reading Assessment Test (EGRA) on initial sound identification, listening comprehension, letter sound knowledge and oral reading fluency compared to the control group.     

Adaptation of the "Recovery Experience Questionnaire" in a Spanish sample

The aim of this work was to examine the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the "Recovery Experience Questionnaire" developed by Sonnentag and Fritz. The sample was made up of 941 professionals from the security sector. Results from the exploratory factor analysis suggested the possibility of considering a four-factor structure. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the four-factor model with three correlated items each provided the best fit to the data (CFI=0.97, GFI=0.96, NNFI=0.96, RMSEA=0.05 y AIC=171.76). Therefore, the questionnaire maintains the four recovery experiences -psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery experiences and control over leisure time--but with 12 items instead of 16 items as in the original scale. Reliability analysis showed good internal consistency for this scale with Cronbach alpha coefficients for the factors ranging from .75 to .88. Significant correlations were found between the recovery experiences and various external variables, providing evidence of construct validity. Thus, this Spanish version shows adequate psychometric properties and may help to achieve a better understanding of this topic.     

Physical Oracles: The Turing Machine and the Wheatstone Bridge

Earlier, we have studied computations possible by physical systems and by algorithms combined with physical systems. In particular, we have analysed the idea of using an experiment as an oracle to an abstract computational device, such as the Turing machine. The theory of composite machines of this kind can be used to understand (a) a Turing machine receiving extra computational power from a physical process, or (b) an experimenter modelled as a Turing machine performing a test of a known physical theory T. Our earlier work was based upon experiments in Newtonian mechanics. Here we extend the scope of the theory of experimental oracles beyond Newtonian mechanics to electrical theory. First, we specify an experiment that measures resistance using a Wheatstone bridge and start to classify the computational power of this experimental oracle using non-uniform complexity classes. Secondly, we show that modelling an experimenter and experimental procedure algorithmically imposes a limit on our ability to measure resistance by the Wheatstone bridge. The connection between the algorithm and physical test is mediated by a protocol controlling each query, especially the physical time taken by the experimenter. In our studies we find that physical experiments have an exponential time protocol; this we formulate as a general conjecture. Our theory proposes that measurability in Physics is subject to laws which are co-lateral effects of the limits of computability and computational complexity.     

Impact of predatory threat on fear extinction in Lewis rats

Humans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are deficient at extinguishing conditioned fear responses. A study of identical twins concluded that this extinction deficit does not predate trauma but develops as a result of trauma. The present study tested whether the Lewis rat model of PTSD reproduces these features of the human syndrome. Lewis rats were subjected to classical auditory fear conditioning before or after exposure to a predatory threat that mimics a type of traumatic stress that leads to PTSD in humans. Exploratory behavior on the elevated plus maze 1 wk after predatory threat exposure was used to distinguish resilient vs. PTSD-like rats. Properties of extinction varied depending on whether fear conditioning and extinction occurred before or after predatory threat. When fear conditioning was carried out after predatory threat, PTSD-like rats showed a marked extinction deficit compared with resilient rats. In contrast, no differences were seen between resilient and PTSD-like rats when fear conditioning and extinction occurred prior to predatory threat. These findings in Lewis rats closely match the results seen in humans with PTSD, thereby suggesting that studies comparing neuronal interactions in resilient vs. at-risk Lewis rats might shed light on the causes and pathophysiology of human PTSD.Following a severe traumatic event, some individuals manifest a syndrome, known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), characterized by repeated painful recollection of the trauma, avoidance of trauma reminders, intrusive thoughts, startle, hyperarousal, and disturbed sleep. Lifetime prevalence of PTSD ranges from 1.4% to 11.2% in representative samples (Afifi et al. 2010). Review of heritability studies indicate that there is a significant genetic component to PTSD (Nugent et al. 2008) as shared genes explain approximately 25%–38% of variability in PTSD symptom clusters and total symptoms (Afifi et al. 2010). Moreover, PTSD heritability coincides with that of other psychiatric conditions such as generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and depression (Chantarujikapong et al. 2001; Fu et al. 2007), suggesting that these disorders gain expression through common biological pathways.Although our understanding of PTSD has improved recently, we still have a limited grasp of the factors that predispose some to be at risk for PTSD, as well as those contributing to PTSD expression following trauma. In part, this situation results from the ethical limitations associated with human studies. For example, humans cannot be randomly assigned to trauma, and, importantly, the invasive techniques required to study the pathophysiology of PTSD can be used only in animals. Thus, a promising approach toward understanding the underlying pathophysiology of PTSD would be to study the disease in a valid animal model of the human syndrome.Fortunately, much work has already been performed to define an animal model of PTSD that reproduces the salient features of the human syndrome (see Adamec et al. 2006; Cohen et al. 2006a; Siegmund and Wotjak 2006). The most promising research has focused on the impact of exposing rodents to species-relevant threatening stimuli that mimic the kind of life-and-death circumstances that precipitates PTSD in humans. Indeed, rodents exposed to predators or their odor develop long-lasting (3 wk or more) manifestations of anxiety as seen in a variety of behavioral assays including the elevated plus maze (EPM), social interaction test, and acoustic startle (Adamec and Shallow 1993; Blanchard et al. 2003; Adamec et al. 2006). The inherent strength of this species-relevant stimulus was demonstrated in studies where predator odor served as an unconditioned stimulus to support cued or contextual fear conditioning (Blanchard et al. 2001; McGregor et al. 2002). As is the case with human PTSD, differential vulnerability to predatory threat was also observed in rodents. In one study, for instance, the propensity of different strains of rats to develop extreme behavioral manifestations of anxiety (EBMAs) as a result of predatory threat has been characterized, revealing that a much higher proportion (50%) of Lewis rats (an inbred strain) develops EBMAs as a result of an intense predatory threat compared with 10% of Fisher rats and 20% of Sprague–Dawley rats (Cohen et al. 2006b).Although these results are promising, it remains unclear whether Lewis rats also exhibit traits that parallel the pathophysiology of human PTSD. One such factor, thought to play a particularly critical role in the persistence of PTSD, is a compromised ability to extinguish fear memories (for review, see Quirk and Mueller 2008). Two main lines of evidence support this notion. First, in functional imaging studies, the brain structures that normally support fear expression and extinction (for review, see Pape and Pare 2010) show abnormal activity patterns in PTSD (Rauch et al. 2006; Shin et al. 2006; Bremner et al. 2008; Milad et al. 2009). Second, several studies have reported that individuals with PTSD are deficient at extinguishing classically conditioned fear responses (Orr et al. 2000; Peri et al. 2000; Blechert et al. 2007; Milad et al. 2008, 2009). Of particular interest, a study of identical twins discordant for trauma exposure has revealed that this extinction deficit was not a pre-existing condition but developed as a result of trauma (Milad et al. 2008). Given the possibility that an inability to extinguish fear might contribute to the maintenance of PTSD, we therefore tested whether Lewis rats reproduced the properties of extinction seen in human PTSD.     

Word frequency as a cue for identifying function words in infancy

While content words (e.g., ‘dog’) tend to carry meaning, function words (e.g., ‘the’) mainly serve syntactic purposes. Here, we ask whether 17-month old infants can use one language–universal cue to identify function word candidates: their high frequency of occurrence. In Experiment 1, infants listened to a series of short, naturally recorded sentences in a foreign language (i.e., in French). In these sentences, two determiners appeared much more frequently than any content word. Following this, infants were presented with a visual object, and simultaneously with a word pair composed of a determiner and a noun. Results showed that infants associated the object more strongly with the infrequent noun than with the frequent determiner. That is, when presented with both the old object and a novel object, infants were more likely to orient towards the old object when hearing a label with a new determiner and the old noun compared to a label with a new noun and the old determiner. In Experiment 2, infants were tested using the same procedure as in Experiment 1, but without the initial exposure to French sentences. Under these conditions, infants did not preferentially associate the object with nouns, suggesting that the preferential association between nouns and objects does not result from specific acoustic or phonological properties. In line with various biases and heuristics involved in acquiring content words, we provide the first direct evidence that infants can use distributional cues, especially the high frequency of occurrence, to identify potential function words.     

Élaboration du Questionnaire de mesure de l’intensité des conduites addictives (QMICA) : évaluation des addictions et co-addictions avec et sans substances

Referring to studies about addictive behaviors, the objective of this article is to present the validation of a new tool for the assessment of the addictive behaviors with or without substances: the Addictive Intensity Evaluation Questionnaire (AIEQ). Twelve different versions of the AIEQ have been administered to 354 participants in order to assess their addictive behaviors. The study of the factorial structure of the questionnaire and its reliability allow us considering the psychometric qualities of the AIEQ as satisfactory. The results suggest the existence of a continuum between the absence of addiction and the severe forms of addiction. The discussion section proposes a classification based on the severity of the addictive behaviors and applications of the use of the AIEQ.     

Reconsolidation in humans opens up declarative memory to the entrance of new information

A consolidated memory recalled by a reminder enters a vulnerability phase (labilization), followed by a process of stabilization (reconsolidation). Several authors have suggested that the labilization of the consolidated memory makes the incorporation of new information possible. Here, we demonstrate updating in the framework of memory declarative reconsolidation in humans by giving an opportune verbal instruction. Volunteers learn an association between five cue-syllables (L1) and their respective response-syllables. Twenty-four hours later, the paired-associate verbal memory is labilized by exposing the subjects to the reminder, and then they receive the verbal Instruction of adding three new cue-response syllables (INFO) with their respective responses to the former list of five. The new information is incorporated into the single former L1-memory and both INFO and L1 are successfully retrieved on the third day. However, when the Instruction is not preceded by a proper reminder, or when the instruction omits the order of adding the INFO into the former L1-memory, we observed interference in retrieval of both the original and the new information, suggesting that they are encoded independently and coexist as separate memories.     

Time-course of 5-HT6 receptor mRNA expression during memory consolidation and amnesia

Growing evidence indicates that antagonists of the 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) receptor₆ (5-HT₆) improve memory and reverse amnesia although the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Hence, in this paper RT-PCR was used to evaluate changes in mRNA expression of 5-HT₆ receptor in trained and untrained rats treated with the 5-HT₆ receptor antagonist SB-399885 and amnesic drugs scopolamine or dizocilpine. Changes in mRNA expression of 5-HT₆ receptor were investigated at different times in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum. Data indicated that memory in the Pavlovian/instrumental autoshaping task was a progressive process associated to reduced mRNA expression of 5-HT₆ receptor in the three structures examined. SB-399885 improved long-term memory at 48 h, while the muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine or the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist dizocilpine impaired it at 24 h. Autoshaping training and treatment with SB-399885 increased 5-HT₆ receptor mRNA expression in (maximum increase) prefrontal cortex and striatum, 24 or 48 h. The scopolamine-induced amnesia suppressed 5-HT₆ receptor mRNA expression while the dizocilpine-induced amnesia did not modify 5-HT₆ receptor mRNA expression. SB-399885 and scopolamine or dizocilpine were able to reestablish memory and 5-HT₆ receptor mRNA expression. These data confirmed previous memory evidence and of more interest is the observation that training, SB-399885 and amnesic drugs modulated 5-HT₆ receptor mRNA expression in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum. Further investigation in different memory tasks, times and amnesia models together with more complex control groups might provide further clues.