Dissociations in Visual Attention Deficits among Persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment

ABSTRACT

Impairments in visual attention and visual information processing have been identified as part of the neuropsychological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD), even in its earliest stages. There is increasing recognition that these deficits may be selective rather than global, with some attentional subtypes being more vulnerable than others. The few studies that have investigated attentional deficits in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a putatively prodromal phase of AD, have not satisfactorily addressed the possible selectivity in attentional deficits in MCI. This study examined potential dissociations in visual attention deficits in MCI using a measure that assesses simple, divided, and selective attention. The results indicated a hierarchy of attentional impairments, with divided attention being the most affected and simple attention the least. Among participants with MCI, 53% showed evidence of impairment in divided attention compared to 19% of controls (OR = 4.81, p < .001). Poorer visual attention was also associated with poorer overall cognitive status. The implications of these findings for early identification of MCI, prevention of functional decline in MCI, and delay/reversal of cognitive degradation in MCI are discussed.     

Self-rated emotional health in adults with and without HIV

Affect is an important indicator of quality of life; unfortunately, many people with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) disease are vulnerable to depression and negative affect. In a secondary data analysis, 50 HIV-positive and 50 HIV-negative adults between 30 and 65 years old completed several affective measures and rated their emotional health. The HIV-positive adults reported more negative affect than the HIV-negative adults. Older age, loneliness, and HIV stigma were associated with such negative affect.     

The regulation of explicit and implicit race bias: the role of motivations to respond without prejudice

Three studies examined the moderating role of motivations to respond without prejudice (e.g., internal and external) in expressions of explicit and implicit race bias. In all studies, participants reported their explicit attitudes toward Blacks. Implicit measures consisted of a sequential priming task (Study 1) and the Implicit Association Test (Studies 2 and 3). Study 3 used a cognitive busyness manipulation to preclude effects of controlled processing on implicit responses. In each study, explicit race bias was moderated by internal motivation to respond without prejudice, whereas implicit race bias was moderated by the interaction of internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice. Specifically, high internal, low external participants exhibited lower levels of implicit race bias than did all other participants. Implications for the development of effective self-regulation of race bias are discussed.     

Anatomical correlates of normal and impaired language in a set of dizygotic twins

This report presents findings for a set of dizygotic twins at age 4 years 9 months. The male was diagnosed as specifically language impaired. For both children, the left-right perisylvian configuration was atypical. Only the male's configuration was symmetrical, a finding in line with autopsy data reported for subjects with "developmental dyslexia" who also may have had a form of language impairment. In addition, the male had an atypical (L greater than R) configuration of the cerebral hemispheres, a finding not seen in his twin, or in a series of volunteers without a history of developmental language impairment. The in utero effects of gonadal hormones that may account for these findings are discussed.     

Considering olfactory stimulation for adults with age-related dementia.

Behavioral interventions and activities for adults with age-related dementias sometimes use olfactory stimulation; however, limitations to the usefulness of such stimulation are suggested by both neurological studies which show a large amount of degeneration in the cells of the olfactory bulb and studies of perception which indicate that adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias perform poorly on tests of smell identification and detection. Current approaches to using olfactory stimulation as a component of interventions for adults with age-related dementia may need to be either abandoned or reassessed.     

AN APPOINTMENT-KEEPING IMPROVEMENT PACKAGE FOR OUTPATIENT PEDIATRICS: SYSTEMATIC REPLICATION AND COMPONENT ANALYSIS

Child health-care appointments that are not kept are an important pediatric problem. Previous research has shown that reducing effort (with a parking pass) and reminding patients (with mailed and telephone reminders) significantly improved appointment keeping for first-time and patient-scheduled appointments. This study, using a posttest-only group design, evaluated the effects of various combinations of that intervention applied to clinic-scheduled follow-up appointments. All combinations of the intervention significantly increased cancellations, but none increased appointments kept or decreased appointments not kept significantly. Log linear analyses showed that the lag time between scheduling and the appointment significantly influenced appointment keeping. The results suggest that if clinics want to increase cancellations, a mailed reminder and effort reduction are sufficient. To increase appointment keeping, other interventions, such as reduced lag time, may be necessary.     

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The impact of the activation of positive and negative components of an ethnic stereotype on judgments of responsibility for both positive and negative stereotypic behaviors was considered. Overall, stereotype activation biased judgments in a stereotype-consistent manner, across both positive and negative scenarios. Generalization of these judgments to more global trait perceptions of the target was limited to the negative scenario. Results are discussed in terms of both the use of stereotypes as inferential shortcuts and in-group favoritism mechanisms.     

Effects of Trauma of the Gulf War on Kuwaiti Children

We investigated the effects of the Gulf War on two groups of Kuwaiti children and youth. Those children experiencing war-related traumatic events and those who did not experience or witness a war-related traumatic event participated. Data were obtained from the mother of each child. Each mother completed a structured interview which included Child Traumatic Reaction Index, developed according to the DSM-IV (1994) criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The data indicated a significant interaction effect observed by mothers according to the child's gender, experience of war traumatic events, and PTSD. The results are discussed in terms of the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, the necessity of early identification, and the difficulty associated with the diagnosing PTSD in children.     

Bubble ring play of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): implications for cognition

Research on the cognitive capacities of dolphins and other cetaceans (whales and porpoises) has importance for the study of comparative cognition, particularly with other large-brained social mammals, such as primates. One of the areas in which cetaceans can be compared with primates is that of object manipulation and physical causality, for which there is an abundant body of literature in primates. The authors supplemented qualitative observations with statistical methods to examine playful bouts of underwater bubble ring production and manipulation in 4 juvenile male captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). The results are consistent with the hypothesis that dolphins monitor the quality of their bubble rings and anticipate their actions during bubble ring play.     

The World Is a Necessary Being

Philosophia - A standard conception of metaphysical modality accepts that (i) Some de re modal claims are true, (ii) These should be understood in terms of a possible worlds semantics, and (iii)...