Are older adults in Hong Kong “living in history” in their autobiographical memories?

Transition theory posits that autobiographical memories are organized by major life transitions, which is often supported by the Living-in-History effect that occurs when people frequently refer to public events to support their date estimates of personal events. In the present study, 52 Chinese older adults in Hong Kong recalled autobiographical events using cue-word method and justified the date estimates of the events. They also reported the most important events and assessed their impacts. Results showed that participants referred to public events only when estimating the date of 5.5% of word-cued events and reported a few public events as personally important, suggesting an absence of the Living-in-History effect. Nonetheless, word-cued events and important events accumulated around major life transitions to form a transition bump; the material change that important events brought about predicted whether the important events were used to organize autobiographical memory, thereby providing new evidence for the transition theory.     

Self-referential tags in the discourse of people with Alzheimer's disease

In a study of the discourse of 100 people with Alzheimer's disease treated for 12 months with donepezil, we observed that, as a group, they used a form of tag, described here as a self-referential tag (SRT), 14 times more frequently than did caregivers. Patients use SRTs to check propositions dependent on episodic memory as in I haven't seen the doctor recently, have I? and to monitor information flow as in I told you that already, didn't I? Based on criteria developed for distinguishing checking from monitoring tags, we document the type and frequency of patients' SRT use in the ACADIE corpus and analyze these in relation to standard measures of cognitive function (Mini Mental State Exam and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive sub-scale) at baseline and 12 months. Patients using monitoring SRTs (N=31), with or without checking SRTs, show significantly better cognitive test scores at 12 months, than are seen in patients who never use tags (N=29), or who only use checking tags (N=40). SRT use may be an independent measure of potential treatment responsiveness.     

The Mother–Daughter Relationship as a Resource for Korean Women's Career Aspirations

Korean college women's career aspirations were examined among 482 Korean college women in South Korea. The inability of women to envision themselves in a career has been largely attributed to formal education that perpetuates gender inequality. As such, this study investigated the inter-relationships between external factors (school experiences and peer influences) and internal factors (maternal influences with the mother–daughter relationship) in Korean women's development of self-perception and in the significance of their sex-role behaviors (career orientation and feminist identification). The structural equation model (SEM) utilized in this study revealed that Korean women's career orientation was determined directly by their nontraditional sex-role attitudes and by a close, continuous, and satisfactory relationship with their mothers. Overall, maternal influences on the development of daughters' career orientation outweigh other factors encountered in schools, and emerge as key predictor variables in Korean women's career development.     

Differential effect of TEA on long-term synaptic modification in hippocampal CA1 and dentate gyrus in vitro.

The effectiveness of tetraethylammonium (TEA) and high-frequency stimulation (HFS) in inducing long-term synaptic modification is compared in CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG) in vitro. High-frequency stimulation induces long-term potentiation (LTP) at synapses of both perforant path-DG granule cell and Schaffer collateral-CA1 pyramidal cell pathways. By contrast, TEA (25 mM) induces long-term depression in DG while inducing LTP in CA1. The mechanisms underlying the differential effect of TEA in CA1 and DG were investigated. It was observed that T-type voltage-dependent calcium channel (VDCC) blocker, Ni2+ (50 microM), partially blocked TEA-induced LTP in CA1. A complete blockade of the TEA-induced LTP occurred when Ni2+ was applied together with the NMDA receptor antagonist, D-APV. The L-type VDCC blocker, nifidipine (20 microM), had no effect on CA1 TEA-induced LTP. In DG of the same slice, TEA actually induced long-term depression (LTD) instead of LTP, an effect that was blocked by D-APV. Neither T-type nor L-type VDCC blockade could prevent this LTD. When the calcium concentration in the perfusion medium was increased, TEA induced a weak LTP in DG that was blocked by Ni2+. During exposure to TEA, the magnitude of field EPSPs was increased in both CA1 and DG, but the increase was substantially greater in CA1. Tetraethylammonium application also was associated with a large, late EPSP component in CA1 that persisted even after severing the connections between CA3 and CA1. All of the TEA effects in CA1, however, were dramatically reduced by Ni2+. The results of this study indicate that TEA indirectly acts via both T-type VDCCs and NMDA receptors in CA1 and, as a consequence, induces LTP. By contrast, TEA indirectly acts via only NMDA receptors in DG and results in LTD. The results raise the possibility of a major synaptic difference in the density and/or distribution of T-type VDCCs and NMDA receptors in CA1 and DG of the rat hippocampus.     

Differential Effect of TEA on Long-Term Synaptic Modification in Hippocampal CA1 and Dentate Gyrus in vitro

The effectiveness of tetraethylammonium (TEA) and high-frequency stimulation (HFS) in inducing long-term synaptic modification is compared in CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG) in vitro. High-frequency stimulation induces long-term potentiation (LTP) at synapses of both perforant path-DG granule cell and Schaffer collateral-CA1 pyramidal cell pathways. By contrast, TEA (25 mM) induces long-term depression in DG while inducing LTP in CA1. The mechanisms underlying the differential effect of TEA in CA1 and DG were investigated. It was observed that T-type voltage-dependent calcium channel (VDCC) blocker, Ni²⁺ (50 μM), partially blocked TEA-induced LTP in CA1. A complete blockade of the TEA-induced LTP occurred when Ni²⁺ was applied together with the NMDA receptor antagonist, D-APV. The L-type VDCC blocker, nifidipine (20 μM), had no effect on CA1 TEA-induced LTP. In DG of the same slice, TEA actually induced long-term depression (LTD) instead of LTP, an effect that was blocked by D-APV. Neither T-type nor L-type VDCC blockade could prevent this LTD. When the calcium concentration in the perfusion medium was increased, TEA induced a weak LTP in DG that was blocked by Ni²⁺. During exposure to TEA, the magnitude of field EPSPs was increased in both CA1 and DG, but the increase was substantially greater in CA1. Tetraethylammonium application also was associated with a large, late EPSP component in CA1 that persisted even after severing the connections between CA3 and CA1. All of the TEA effects in CA1, however, were dramatically reduced by Ni²⁺. The results of this study indicate that TEA indirectly acts via both T-type VDCCs and NMDA receptors in CA1 and, as a consequence, induces LTP. By contrast, TEA indirectly acts via only NMDA receptors in DG and results in LTD. The results raise the possibility of a major synaptic difference in the density and/or distribution of T-type VDCCs and NMDA receptors in CA1 and DG of the rat hippocampus.     

阅读潘菽

为纪念潘菽先生诞辰110周年(2007)和逝世20周年(2008),中国科学院心理研究所、中国心理学会和人民教育出版社联合编辑出版了<潘菽全集>.     

大学生自尊发展的特点

采用自编《大学生自尊评定问卷》,探讨1104名大学生自尊发展的特点。结果表明：（1）随着年级的增长大学生自尊呈稳定发展趋势,重要感、胜任感、归属感三个维度上表现出显著的年级差异。（2）大学生自尊发展存在着显著的性别差异,男生发展水平显著高于女生,性别差异主要体现在归属感维度。（3）文科生外表感维度得分显著高于理科生,独生子女、城市学生以及学生干部在自尊总分及其三个维度得分显著高于非独生子女、农村学生以及非学生干部。     

非球面人工晶状体临床应用的启示

非球面人工晶状体是波前像差技术与现代白内障手术完美结合的产物,也是多学科联合发展的结果.非球面人工晶状体较传统球面人工晶状体可明显改善白内障患者的视功能.倘若能实现个体化设计,非球面人工晶状体有望取代球面人工晶状体成为人工晶状体的主流.     

十五年来中国男性择偶标准的变化

对《中国妇女》1985年至2000年15年间每隔5年选择一年,并在每一季度中选择一期杂志,统计男性刊登的征婚启事,总共得到332例。采用统计学方法进行定量研究。发现中国男性在15年间对自身的人品、财产、相貌的重视程度显著增高,对自身的婚史和事业的重视程度明显降低;对女方的持家能力的重视程度显著增高,对女方的健康和工作的重视程度显著降低。当代中国男性的择偶标准随时间的推移有了明显的变化,但仍受到中国传统观念的影响。     

阅读理解水平对文章信息保持迁移影响的研究

探讨阅读理解水平不同的被试前后两次阅读的文章结构与内容上的共同性对目标文章信息保持的迁移效应。研究结果表明：阅读理解水平的差异影响信息保持的迁移效应;被试必须具有一定的阅读理解水平,文章的结构特征与内容特征才会对文章信息的迁移有促进作用。