Potential fluctuations in phase change memory materials

Long-range potential fluctuations have been quantified in amorphous and crystallised thin films of a family of Ge–Sb–Te (GST) chalcogenide glasses. Among the compositions studied, the width of the potential fluctuations is the smallest for amorphous Ge₂Sb₂Te₅. This is also the most robust material in terms of the number of write–erase cycles for GST films when used as phase change memory materials. A plausible explanation for this observation is given and a criterion for selecting suitable compositions in optical memory devices is proposed.     

Couples treatment for major depression: critique of the literature and suggestions for some different directions

Current couples approaches to the treatment of depression show considerable promise for some couples, but have substantial room for improvement – in terms of efficacy as well as applicability and acceptability to a broader population. Although conjoint approaches have been shown to be efficacious in reducing couple distress and are possibly efficacious in ameliorating depression that co-occurs with couple distress, methodological problems hamper generalization from the published findings. Therefore, it is not clear that most depressed persons are likely to benefit from currently available conjoint formats. Most basically, there may often be obstacles that prevent or delay partner involvement, highlighting the need for treatments that can enhance relationship functioning without relying on a conjoint format. Existing treatment delivery systems may also fail to reach a considerable segment of the population. Developing a more flexible set of options for implementing couple-focused treatment, as well as rethinking dominant assumptions about depression, may be integral to extending the viability of couples therapy for depression.     

Space aliens and nonwords: stimuli for investigating the learning of novel word-meaning pairs.

We describe a set of pictorial and auditory stimuli that we have developed for use in word learning tasks in which the participant learns pairings of novel auditory sound patterns (names) with pictorial depictions of novel objects (referents). The pictorial referents are drawings of "space aliens," consisting of images that are variants of 144 different aliens. The auditory names are possible nonwords of English; the stimulus set consists of over 2,500 nonword stimuli recorded in a single voice, with controlled onsets, varying from one to seven syllables in length. The pictorial and nonword stimuli can also serve as independent stimulus sets for purposes other than word learning. The full set of these stimuli may be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive/.     

Pramipexole: augmentation in the treatment of depressive symptoms

We describe a retrospective case series of three patients, two with bipolar depression and one with unipolar depression. Pramipexole is a Food and Drug Administration-approved antiparkinsonian agent, which, when used to augment antidepressants, would be considered an off-label use and should be discussed with the patient. These patients had robust responses to pramipexole augmentation of their treatment regimen. All three patients had been taking an atypical antipsychotic. The depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression.     

Simple visual reaction time,personality and strength of the nervous system: A signal-detection theory approach

Eysenck (1967) has reviewed evidence which suggests that introverts have a higher level of arousal than extraverts. Moreover, Gray (1967) has proposed that introverts have weak nervous systems, in the Russian terminology. Studies of simple reaction time such as that of Mangan and Farmer (1967) have posed problems for these views, but it is suggested that this may have been due to criterion differences between introverts and extraverts. In the present study a simple visual reaction-time task and a signal-detection task were conducted side by side. No significant differences between introverts and extraverts were found in measures of strength derived from the former, or measures of criterion derived from the latter. However, high N Ss were found to have a significantly lower value for Nebylitsyn's index of the slope of the reaction time/stimulus intensity function, thus supporting the view that high N Ss have relatively weak nervous systems.