Memory-enhancing corticosterone treatment increases amygdala norepinephrine and Arc protein expression in hippocampal synaptic fractions

Considerable evidence indicates that glucocorticoid hormones enhance the consolidation of memory for emotionally arousing events through interactions with the noradrenergic system of the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA). We previously reported that intra-BLA administration of a β-adrenoceptor agonist immediately after inhibitory avoidance training enhanced memory consolidation and increased hippocampal expression of the protein product of the immediate early gene activity-regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein (Arc). In the present experiments corticosterone (3 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered to male Sprague-Dawley rats immediately after inhibitory avoidance training to examine effects on long-term memory, amygdala norepinephrine levels, and hippocampal Arc expression. Corticosterone increased amygdala norepinephrine levels 15 min after inhibitory avoidance training, as assessed by in vivo microdialysis, and enhanced memory tested at 48 h. Corticosterone treatment also increased expression of Arc protein in hippocampal synaptic tissue. The elevation in BLA norepinephrine appears to participate in corticosterone-influenced modulation of hippocampal Arc expression as intra-BLA blockade of β-adrenoceptors with propranolol (0.5 μg/0.2 μL) attenuated the corticosterone-induced synaptic Arc expression in the hippocampus. These findings indicate that noradrenergic activity at BLA β-adrenoceptors is involved in corticosterone-induced enhancement of memory consolidation and expression of the synaptic-plasticity-related protein Arc in the hippocampus.     

Time course of inhibitory processes in bilingual language processing

This study examines the time course of inhibitory processes in Spanish–English bilinguals, using the procedure described in Macizo, Bajo, and Martín. Bilingual participants were required to decide whether pairs of English words were related. Critical word pairs contained a word that shared the same orthography across languages but differed in meaning (interlingual homographs such as pie, meaning foot in Spanish). In Expts 1 and 2, participants were slower to respond to homographs presented along with words related to the Spanish meaning of the homograph as compared to control words. This result agrees with the view that bilinguals non‐selectively activate their two languages irrespective of the language they are using. In addition, bilinguals also slowed their responses when the English translation of the Spanish homograph meaning was presented 500 ms after responding to homographs (Expt 1). This result suggests that bilinguals inhibited the irrelevant homograph meaning. However, the inhibitory effect was not observed in Expt 2 when the between‐trial interval was fixed to 750 ms which suggests that inhibition decayed over time.     

Role of attention, memory, and covariation-detection processes in clinically significant eating-disorder symptoms

Cognitive theorists implicate a role for cognitive processing of shape- and weight-related information in the maintenance and potential etiology of eating disorders. The present study examines the role of women’s processing of information regarding other women’s body size and affect in eating disorder symptoms among young women. 253 female undergraduates completed attention, memory, and covariation-detection tasks that presented full-body photographs of young women, as well as an eating-disorder measure. High-Symptom women, relative to Medium- and Low-Symptom women, showed greater relative attention to body size than affect, better memory for body size and worse memory for affect, and enhanced sensitivity to the manipulated covariation between body size and affect. All participants perceived an illusory correlation between body size and affect. These findings suggest that cognitive theories may be extended usefully by considering processing of other-relevant and affective information, as well as the role of covariation-detection processes in eating disorders.     

The quality of teacher-student interactions: associations with first graders' academic and behavioral outcomes

The associations between the quality of teacher-student interactions and first grade academic and adaptive behavior outcomes were examined in a study of 106 Portuguese students in 64 first grade classrooms. Students' vocabulary, print concepts, math, and adaptive skills were assessed both at the end of preschool and in first grade. Classrooms were observed in the spring of first grade. After taking into account family risk factors and preschool skills, the quality of teacher-student interactions, particularly in terms of classroom organization, was positively associated with students' first grade vocabulary and print concepts. In addition, classroom quality predicted number identification outcomes differently depending on student skills prior to school entry. Students with lower preschool math skills seemed to benefit from higher quality teacher-student interactions. These findings provide further support for the unique contribution of the quality of teacher-student interactions in first grade and suggest that it may be an important mechanism to improve academic skills.     

The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26): reliability and validity in Spanish female samples

This paper focuses on the validation of the Spanish form of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26; Garner, Olmsted, Bohr & Garfinkel, 1982) across two studies. Participants in Study 1 were 778 females recruited from community settings (aged 12-21). Study 2 included 86 females recruited from clinical and 86 females from community settings (aged 12-35). Results from Principal and Simultaneous Component Analyses showed a unidimensional structure of the EAT-26 item scores. Reliability analyses supported the internal consistency of the scale. Study 1 also explores the ability of the EAT-26 to discriminate between subjects with Eating Disorder (ED), Symptomatic or Asymptomatic by means of ROC analyses and using results from the Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnoses (Q-EDD; Mintz, O'Halloran, Mulholland, & Schneider, 1997) as criterion. The EAT-26 demonstrated good specificity but insufficient sensitivity to detect a full or partial ED. Study 2 explores the ability of the questionnaire to discriminate between subjects with and without ED. The EAT-26 demonstrated good specificity and moderate sensitivity to detect ED. Clinical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

Alleviating women’s mathematics stereotype threat through salience of group achievements

Stereotype threat impairs performance in situations where a stereotype holds that one’s group will perform poorly. Two experiments investigated whether reminding women of other women’s achievements might alleviate women’s mathematics stereotype threat. In Experiment 1, college women performed significantly better on a difficult mathematics test when they were first told that women in general make better participants than men in psychology experiments. In Experiment 2, college women performed significantly better on a difficult mathematics test when they first read about four individual women who had succeeded in architecture, law, medicine, and invention. The results are seen as having implications for theories of stereotype threat, self-evaluation, and performance expectations.     

When causality shapes the experience of time: Evidence for temporal binding in young children

It is well established that the temporal proximity of two events is a fundamental cue to causality. Recent research with adults has shown that this relation is bidirectional: events that are believed to be causally related are perceived as occurring closer together in time—the so‐called temporal binding effect. Here, we examined the developmental origins of temporal binding. Participants predicted when an event that was either caused by a button press, or preceded by a non‐causal signal, would occur. We demonstrate for the first time that children as young as 4 years are susceptible to temporal binding. Binding occurred both when the button press was executed via intentional action, and when a machine caused it. These results suggest binding is a fundamental, early developing property of perception and grounded in causal knowledge. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQC_MqjxZQQ     

Increased Cognitive Load during Video Game Play Reduces Rape Myth Acceptance and Hostile Sexism after Exposure to Sexualized Female Avatars

The present study investigated how task demand (cognitive load and interactivity) and avatar sexualization in a video game influenced rape myth acceptance (RMA), hostile sexism, and self-objectification. In a between-subjects design, 300 U.S. college students either played or watched someone else play a videogame as either a sexualized or non-sexualized female avatar under high (memorize 7 symbols) or low (memorize 2 symbols) cognitive load. Hypotheses were derived from the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing (LC4MP) and perspectives on stereotype processing. Results contradicted hypotheses that greater task demands and sexualization would produce greater RMA, hostile sexism, and self-objectification. Instead, we found that sexualization did not affect these variables. Greater cognitive load reduced rape myth acceptance and hostile sexism for those in the sexualized avatar condition, but it did not affect self-objectification. We discuss these results with respect to the LC4MP and suggest that the processing of stereotype-inconsistent information might be the underlying cause of these unexpected findings. These results provide tentative evidence that cognitively demanding video game environments may prompt players to focus on stereotype-inconsistent, rather than stereotype-consistent, social information.