Changes in spinal excitability during dual task performance

ABSTRACT The authors investigated how the nervous system responds to dual task performance. Because dual tasking is associated with greater postural challenges, it was hypothesized that spinal excitability would be reduced when simultaneously performing 2 tasks. For this experiment, participants maintained a lying or standing posture with or without performing a concurrent cognitive task (i.e., reacting to an auditory tone). Spinal excitability was assessed by eliciting the soleus Hoffmann reflex (H-reflex). Results indicated that the H-reflex was 6.4 ± 2.3% smaller (p = .011) when dual compared to single tasking. The reduced H-reflex amplitude, indicating a depressed spinal excitability, when dual tasking is suggested to reflect a neural strategy that individuals adopt to maintain postural stability when cognitive resources are divided between 2 concurrent tasks.     

Multilevel Measurement of Dimensions of Collaborative Functioning in a Network of Collaboratives that Promote Child and Family Well-Being

Evaluating collaboration between community partners presents a series of methodological challenges (Roussos and Fawcett in Annu Rev Public Health 21:369-402, 2000; Yin and Kaftarian 1997), one of which is selection of the appropriate level of analysis. When data are collected from multiple members of multiple settings, multilevel analysis techniques should be used. Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) is an analytic approach that incorporates the advantages of latent variable measurement modeling and multilevel modeling for nested data. This study utilizes MCFA on data obtained from an evaluation survey of collaborative functioning provided to members of 157 community collaboratives in Georgia. This study presents a well-fitting measurement model that includes five dimensions of collaborative functioning, and a structural component with individual- and collaborative-level covariates. Findings suggest that members' role and meeting attendance significantly predicted their assessment of collaboration at the individual level, and that tenure of collaborative leaders predicted the overall functioning of the collaborative at the collaborative level. Dimensionality of collaborative functioning and implications of potentially substantial measurement biases associated with selection of respondents are addressed.     

What could be caused must actually be caused

I give two arguments for the claim that all events which occur at the actual world and are such that they could be caused, are also such that they must actually be caused. The first argument is an improvement of a similar argument advanced by Alexander Pruss, which I show to be invalid. It uses Pruss’s Brouwer Analog for counterfactual logic, and, as a consequence, implies inconsistency with Lewis’s semantics for counterfactuals. While (I suggest) this consequence may not be objectionable, the argument founders on the fact that Pruss’s Brouwer Analog has a clear counterexample. I thus turn to a second, “Lewisian” argument, which requires only an affirmation of one element of Lewis’s analysis of causation and one other, fairly weak possibility claim about the nature of wholly contingent events. The final section of the paper explains how both arguments escape objections from supposed indeterminacy in quantum physics.     

Effect of an Automated Training Presentation on Pre-service Behavior Analysts’ Implementation of Trial-based Functional Analysis

The trial-based functional analysis (FA) is a useful alternative to the traditional FA in contexts in which it is challenging to establish environmental control for extended periods of time. Previous researchers have demonstrated that others can be trained to conduct trial-based FAs with high procedural fidelity by providing a didactic presentation, small group instruction, and then a performance evaluation. However, one barrier to replicating this training sequence is that didactic presentations are not standardized and presentations can vary considerably across different groups of trainers or researchers. We designed an automated didactic presentation with video models embedded throughout for trainers and researchers to use when training others to conduct trial-based FAs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of this presentation on participant fidelity to trial-based FA procedures. Results demonstrate improved fidelity following the presentation. However, the presentation alone was insufficient to establish consistently high levels of fidelity across all conditions for all participants. Thus, additional training components are required when teaching others to conduct trial-based FAs.     

Developing a Brief Sensation Seeking Scale for Children: Establishing Concurrent Validity With Video Game Use and Rule-Breaking Behavior

Despite the importance of life-cycle models to sensation seeking research, past studies have typically focused on adolescents and adults. This is especially problematic for researchers studying the role of media use in the development of risky behaviors (e.g., violent video game consumption and aggressive behavior). To facilitate research with child populations, a brief sensation seeking scale for children (BSSS-C) is developed and validated with a sample of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders (N = 136). The BSSS-C is found to be internally reliable (α = .82) as well as a strong predictor of several risky child behaviors. Higher sensation seeking children were more likely to play video games, including violent subgenres (e.g., shooters), and to enjoy playing video games that contained specific acts of violence (e.g., weapon use). Higher sensation seekers were also more likely to engage in rule-breaking behavior, such as bringing prohibited cell phones to school. The results suggest that sensation seeking may be related to risky behavior at a very young age.     

The effect of message framing on self-management of chronic pain: A new perspective on intervention?

This study examines framed messages as a novel approach to promote self-management of chronic pain. Primary care patients reporting chronic pain (pain rated?≥?4 on 0–10 NRS-I for ≥3 months) were randomly assigned to receive a gain- or loss-framed message promoting self-management of pain. Impact of the framed message on behavioural self-management (including communicating with providers, relaxation, activity pacing, pleasant activities and healthy lifestyle) was assessed. Post-message, individuals in the loss-frame condition reported significantly greater interest in and more knowledge gained from the information presented in the message (p?≤?0.03). Loss-frame participants were significantly more likely to express confidence that they would practice relaxation (p?≤?0.03). Pain readiness to change, pain self-efficacy and message frame independently influenced motivation to engage in relaxation as a self-management strategy. Across all behaviours assessed, there were no observed interactions between message frame and either pain self-efficacy or pain readiness to change (p?>?0.05). Framing may be useful to promote pain self-management; larger trials are needed to fully evaluate its potential and to further assess the applicability of framed communication to impact a broader range of chronic conditions.     

Rural Embedded Assistants for Community Health (REACH) Network: First-Person Accounts in a Community–University Partnership

Community research and action projects undertaken by community–university partnerships can lead to contextually appropriate and sustainable community improvements in rural and urban localities. However, effective implementation is challenging and prone to failure when poorly executed. The current paper seeks to inform rural community–university partnership practice through consideration of first-person accounts from five stakeholders in the Rural Embedded Assistants for Community Health (REACH) Network. The REACH Network is a unique community–university partnership aimed at improving rural health services by identifying, implementing, and evaluating innovative health interventions delivered by local caregivers. The first-person accounts provide an insider’s perspective on the nature of collaboration. The unique perspectives identify three critical challenges facing the REACH Network: trust, coordination, and sustainability. Through consideration of the challenges, we identified several strategies for success. We hope readers can learn their own lessons when considering the details of our partnership’s efforts to improve the delivery infrastructure for rural healthcare.     

False Memory Susceptibility in OEF/OIF Veterans With and Without PTSD

False memory susceptibility was measured in 80 Iraq/Afghanistan veterans with (n = 32) and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 48) using a modified Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) word list task that included trauma-related critical (nonpresented) lures. PTSD was classified using medical record diagnoses. Participants completed a variety of self-report assessments, including the Beck Depression Inventory, the Anxiety and Stress subscales of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, and the Tellegen Absorption Scale. Veterans with PTSD displayed global memory impairments on all types of items, except for trauma-related critical lures; on these critical lures, they exhibited false memory levels equal to those seen in veterans without PTSD. The magnitude of most effects were reduced, but not entirely eliminated, when controlling for depression, suggesting that neither PTSD nor co-occurring depression entirely explain these findings. The potential effects of other mental health conditions, such as alcohol dependence, could not be ruled out. Our results support explanations of PTSD that emphasize differential processing of trauma-related information.