Parent Emotion Expression and Autonomic-Linked Emotion Dysregulation in Childhood ADHD

Despite evidence that ADHD is associated with disruptions in emotion regulation, few studies have examined the biological correlates of emotion dysregulation among children with this disorder. Prior work has pointed to roles of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system, as indexed via respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP), respectively. Work in typically developing populations suggests that parenting behavior and parental emotion expression may shape the development of these systems. To date, a single study has examined the independent and interactive roles of autonomic nervous system functioning and parent emotion expression in youth with ADHD. This study seeks to extend that work. 86 children (42 with ADHD), aged 8–12 years, and a parent completed a parent-child interaction task, while electrocardiography and impedance cardiography data were recorded to derive RSA and PEP. Parent and child emotion word use (positive and negative valence) were coded from recordings of the task. Parents of youth with ADHD used fewer positive emotion words throughout the task. Additionally, throughout the task, children with ADHD engaged in excessive RSA withdrawal from baseline. Further, the association between RSA reactivity and ADHD diagnosis was moderated by parent positive emotion word use. Specifically, those with RSA augmentation and parents displaying high positive affect across the task conditions were least likely to have an ADHD diagnosis. If replicated and extended, these results support the use of interventions specifically designed to increase parental modeling of positive emotions, while simultaneously focusing on building emotion regulation skills in youth with ADHD.     

Carbon dioxide narcosis modifies the patch leaving decision of foraging parasitoids

Gleaning information is a way for foragers to adjust their behavior in order to maximize their fitness. Information decreases the uncertainty about the environment and could help foragers to accurately estimate environmental characteristics. In a patchy resource, information sampled during previous patch visits is efficient only if it is retained in the memory and retrieved upon arrival in a new patch. In this study, we tested whether the braconid Asobara tabida, a parasitoid of Drosophila larvae, retains information gleaned on patch quality in the memory and adjusts its foraging behavior accordingly. Females were anesthetized with CO₂ after leaving a first patch containing a different number of hosts and were allowed to visit a second patch containing only kairomones. CO₂ is known to erase unconsolidated information from the memory. We show that in the absence of a short CO₂ narcosis, females responded according to their previous experience, whereas anesthetized females did not. The anesthetized females stayed a given time in the second patch irrespective of what they encountered before. CO₂ narcosis had no effect on the residence time of the non-experienced females in a patch containing hosts or only kairomones in comparison with the non-anesthetized females that had a previous foraging experience. We conclude that CO₂ narcosis erases the effect of the previous patch quality, perhaps due to a memory disruption. Direct information processing is likely to be involved in parasitoid decision making through retention of the information on the previous patch quality into a CO₂ sensitive memory.     

Natural kind and entitative beliefs in relation to prejudice toward mental disorders

Mental health campaigns often promote biogenetic beliefs to reduce stigma, but their effectiveness may vary across disorders. Our study (N = 127) examined two components of essentialist beliefs—entitative (i.e., characterizing groupness) and natural kinds (i.e., biogenetic)—about two stigmatized mental disorders (schizophrenia, alcoholism) as well as a somatic disorder (Parkinson's disease), and their relation to prejudice. The three disorders significantly differed in natural kind beliefs (Parkinson's highest, then schizophrenia, and alcoholism lowest) and prejudice (alcoholism highest, then schizophrenia, and Parkinson's lowest), but not entitative beliefs. Entitative beliefs, however, was a stronger predictor of prejudice against schizophrenia than natural kind beliefs even after controlling for social dominance orientation and prior contact. Implications for anti‐stigma efforts and strategies are discussed.     

The impact of age at seizure onset on the likelihood of atypical language representation in children with intractable epilepsy

Studies have suggested that early postnatal lesions are associated with a greater likelihood of atypical speech representation than lesions acquired later in life. Comparison groups have been defined differently across studies, with age typically being treated as a dichotomous (i.e., early versus late lesion onset) rather than continuous variable. Thus, little is known about the age at which children become less likely to exhibit atypical representation following a brain insult. This study examined the likelihood of typical versus atypical speech representation in children with intractable epilepsy (n = 75). Age of seizure onset was treated as a continuous variable to examine whether there was a naturally occurring cut-off point after which the rate of atypical speech representation decreased. A much higher proportion of children with seizure onset prior to the fifth year showed atypical speech representation as compared to children whose seizures began after 5 years of age.     

Cognitive therapy for irritable bowel syndrome is associated with reduced limbic activity, GI symptoms, and anxiety

This study sought to identify brain regions that underlie symptom changes in severely affected IBS patients undergoing cognitive therapy (CT). Five healthy controls and 6 Rome II diagnosed IBS patients underwent psychological testing followed by rectal balloon distention while brain neural activity was measured with O-15 water positron emission tomography (PET) before and after a brief regimen of CT. Pre-treatment resting state scans, without distention, were compared to post-treatment scans using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Neural activity in the parahippocampal gyrus and inferior portion of the right cortex cingulate were reduced in the post-treatment scan, compared to pre-treatment (x, y, z coordinates in MNI standard space were -30, -12, -30, P=0.017; 6, 34, -8, P=0.023, respectively). Blood flow values at these two sites in the controls were intermediate between those in the pre- and post-treatment IBS patients. Limbic activity changes were accompanied by significant improvements in GI symptoms (e.g., pain, bowel dysfunction) and psychological functioning (e.g., anxiety, worry). The left pons (-2, -26, -28, P=0.04) showed decreased neural activity which was correlated with post-treatment anxiety scores. Changes in neural activity of cortical-limbic regions that subserve hypervigilance and emotion regulation may represent biologically oriented change mechanisms that mediate symptom improvement of CT for IBS.     

Empirical support for a Type A belief system

Much of the research on Type A behavior has focused on overt manifestations of the pattern; consequently, the underlying psychological dimensions are poorly understood (Matthews, 1982). Price (1982) has proposed an elaborate, but empirically unvalidated, model suggesting that a specific set of beliefs underlies the Type A behavior pattern. A series of experiments was conducted to test the validity of Price's model and to develop a device for assessing these beliefs. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of this measure were .94 and .84, respectively. Significant positive correlations were found with traditional measures of Type A behavior as well as various facets of anger and anxiety. Finally, subjects who endorsed a high degree of Type A beliefs set significantly higher performance standards and were less likely to achieve these standards than their low-scoring counterparts. Results are discussed with regard to the theoretical construct of Type A as well as their implications for future research and treatment.This research is an extension of a study presented at the 92nd meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada, August 1984Special thanks to to Drs. James A. Blumenthal, Martin T. Gipson, Abby C. King, and Ellie T. Sturgis for their helpful comments in the preparation of this article.     

Psychometric properties of the Social Problem Solving Inventory (SPSI) with normal and emotionally disturbed adolescents

The factor structure of the Social Problem Solving Inventory (SPSI; D'Zurilla & Nezu, 1990) was evaluated with a sample of 708 normal adolescents. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the empirically derived five-factor model reported by D'Zurilla and Maydeu-Olivares (1994) using an adult sample, but not the theoretically derived seven-factor structure of the original SPSI. The psychometric properties of the original and revised inventories are reported for normal adolescents and psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents (n=63). Internal consistency and reliability estimates were adequate. Support for the validity of the revised SPSI was demonstrated by examining the relationship between social skills, depression, and social problem solving; in addition, differences between normal and inpatient adolescent samples were examined. The findings are discussed in terms of the utility of the inventories with adolescents.     

Selective peripheral fading: evidence for inhibitory sensory effect of attention

A circular array of six discs, three green and three orange in alternate positions, was presented against a uniform grey background. Sixteen observers maintained steady fixation at the centre of the array, and were instructed to direct their attention to three discs of one colour and to ignore the three discs of the other colour. In about 10 s (mean = 11.35 s), some discs started to fade away from awareness. Of those starting to fade, most (mean = 81.3%) were those selected for attention. The faded discs remained out of awareness for up to a few seconds (mean = 1.55 s) during which other discs were clearly visible. The fading increased with eccentricity, a defining characteristic of Troxler fading. However, the selectivity of the fading strongly suggests that voluntary attention can have an inhibitory effect on early sensory processing. Were the fading entirely due to local sensory adaptation, the unattended stimuli would have to be equally adapted and yet somehow remain visible for seconds, which is not plausible.     

Parent vs. Self-Report: Contributions Toward Diagnosis of Adolescent Psychopathology

Assessment of psychopathology in adolescents can be complicated due to uncertainties about who should be considered the primary informant. While a multimethod, multiinformant approach to assessment allows for a thorough assessment, it can also result in contradictory findings. The purpose of this study was to use a sample of 121 adolescents to investigate issues of parent-adolescent agreement on behavior rating scales and a structured diagnostic interview. Additionally, this study evaluated whether adolescent report offers unique information to the assessment beyond the parent's report. The sample included both normal controls and adolescents who met criteria for diagnosis of an Internalizing or Externalizing disorder based on the DSM-IV criteria. Agreement between parents and adolescents on the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents—Revised (DICA-R) was low for ADHD (39.4%) and Externalizing Disorders (41.1%) and moderate for Internalizing Disorders (56.6%). A significant difference was found between the number of ADHD symptoms reported, with parents reporting more symptoms (M = 9.42) than adolescents (M = 8.34). Regression analysis indicated that the adolescent completed Youth Self-report (YSR) contributed unique information beyond the parent completed measures in predicting both the adolescent and the parent interviews for Internalizing Disorders. This finding emphasizes the need to continue to collect self-report information, especially when assessing Internalizing disorders, which inherently contain symptoms indicating high-risk behaviors such as suicide ideation.     

Manualized Treatment of Panic Disorder in a Medical Setting: Two Illustrative Case Studies

People who experience panic attacks (PAs) typically present to medical settings, concerned that their symptoms signify a life-threatening condition. Despite the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic disorder (PD), medical practitioners seldom provide this type of treatment. Physicians may lack the time or expertise to impart such behavioral medicine interventions, while patients may find group or individual CBT too costly even when available. Researchers have begun investigating manualized CBT as a cost-effective alternative when traditional forms of this intervention are prohibited. This article describes two case studies in which women presenting to a medical clinic with PD were treated with 6 weeks of manualized CBT after pharmacotherapy was unsuccessful or unpalatable. Both patients exhibited reductions in panic and depressive symptomatology over baseline levels, along with increases in self-efficacy regarding their ability to manage future PAs. Improvements were maintained over 12 months, supporting continued use of manualized CBT as a supplement or alternative to pharmacological methods of treating PD in the medical setting.