Punctuated Equilibrium,Moral Panics and the Ethics Review Process

A review of the literature and ethnographic data from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom on the research ethics review process suggest that moral panics can become triggers for punctuated equilibrium in the review process at both the macro and microlevel, albeit with significantly different levels of magnitude and impact. These data suggest that neither the development of the ethics review process nor the process itself proceeds gradually, but both are characterized by periodic major shifts evoked by particular events or situations that result in varying levels of moral panic. One way to deal with this moral panic is to increase the regulation of research and the depth or intensity of the scrutiny of applications under ethics review. Moral panics at the macrolevel influence those at the microlevel and, if the moral panic evoked at the local or microlevel is not satisfactorily resolved, it will evoke action at a higher level. Understanding the evolution of research ethics review processes from this perspective might help make actions by ethics committees and policy makers more understandable and help explain why attention to research ethics are heightened at particular points in time. It may also provide a basis for developing recommendations for adaptations to the ethics review process and policy at both the local and macrolevel.     

Task requirements influence sensory integration during grasping in humans

The sensorimotor transformations necessary for generating appropriate motor commands depend on both current and previously acquired sensory information. To investigate the relative impact (or weighting) of visual and haptic information about object size during grasping movements, we let normal subjects perform a task in which, unbeknownst to the subjects, the object seen (visual object) and the object grasped (haptic object) were never the same physically. When the haptic object abruptly became larger or smaller than the visual object, subjects in the following trials automatically adapted their maximum grip aperture when reaching for the object. This adaptation was not dependent on conscious processes. We analyzed how visual and haptic information were weighted during the course of sensorimotor adaptation. The adaptation process was quicker and relied more on haptic information when the haptic objects increased in size than when they decreased in size. As such, sensory weighting seemed to be molded to avoid prehension error. We conclude from these results that the impact of a specific source of sensory information on the sensorimotor transformation is regulated to satisfy task requirements.     

Changes in anabolic and catabolic activity among women taking part in an alternative labour market programme

Thirty-two female participants in a mobilising labour market programme offering temporary, alternative employment in Sweden were followed longitudinally for one year, including a six month post participation follow-up period. It can be hypothesised that an important aspect of the physiological effects of unemployment is a change in the balance between anabolic and catabolic activities in the body and that re-employment should lead to a shift towards anabolism. An earlier study of a smaller subset of the data, however, including both men and women, showed increased prolactin and decreased dehydroepiadrosterone sulphate (DHEA-s) levels, contrary to the initial hypothesis. In the present analysis, intended to elucidate these results, psychophysiological data were summarised in two indices, one connected with anabolism (made up of testosterone and DHEA-s) and one with catabolism (prolactin, γ-glutamyl transferase, aspartate amino transferase, α levuline amino transferase, and body mass index). In addition, self-rated anxiety, depression, hopelessness and personal control were analysed. The results indicate that the effect of ‘better’ activities within the programme was a temporary increase in anabolism, possibly indicating lower stress levels, and the effect of ‘worse’ activities, on the one hand, a temporary decrease in the catabolic index, probably reflecting repressed alcohol consumption, and, on the other hand, impaired anabolism. There was also a general but transient decrease in depressiveness measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The results seem to imply that it is difficult to achieve lasting effects through a relatively short participation in a mobilising programme.     

Assessing absentmindedness: Prospective memory complaint and impairment in middle-aged adults

In two experiments, metamemorial differences between prospective and retrospective memory performance were examined. Participants in Experiment 1 were recruited through newspaper advertisements and comprised middle-aged women who experienced exceptional problems in prospective remembering. Experiment 2 involved self-reporters and nonreporters of retrospective memory problems, who were selected from a large population-based sample of middle-aged adults. In both experiments, memory performance was assessed by using a variety of tasks, including five retrospective memory tasks and three prospective memory tasks that varied in level of realism and retrieval support. In both experiments, there were selective differences in memory performance, so that participants who experienced (retrospective or prospective) memory problems showed impaired performance in prospective, but not in retrospective, memory tasks. These findings suggest that memory for future intentions provides a more sensitive task criterion than does memory for past events for assessing individual differences in self-reports of episodic memory problems. Task-specific differences in reliance on frontally mediated executive processes might underlie these differences.     

Transferring voice effects in recognition memory from remembering to knowing

In five experiments, we investigated the effects of voice congruency (same vs. different voices at study and at test) on remembering and knowing in recognition memory. With low- and medium-frequency three- or four-syllable words, a voice congruency effect occurred only in remembering. With nonwords, voice congruency effects occurred both in remembering and in knowing. With nonwords and divided attention at study, the voice congruency effect transferred almost completely from remembering to knowing. By showing a transfer of effects from remembering to knowing as encoding became more impoverished, these findings support a distinctiveness/fluency account of remembering and knowing as well as the theory that remembering and knowing indicate retrieval of events from episodic and semantic memory systems, respectively.     

Dogs (Canis familiaris) learn from their owners via observation in a manipulation task

Eighty-seven pet dogs (Canis familiaris) were involved in an experiment in which they had to solve a task to obtain a ball. After witnessing a full demonstration by their owner (10 times pushing the handle of the box, which released a ball), most dogs preferred to touch the handle sooner and more frequently in comparison with other parts of the box, and they used the handle to get the ball. In contrast, dogs in 3 control groups developed their own respective methods. The lack of emergence of the ball and playing after the demonstration did not affect the learning performance strongly. This suggests that in dogs the outcome of a demonstration plays only a restricted role in the manifestation of social learning.     

Long-term, non-specific spinal pain: reliable and valid subgroups of patients

The aim of this study was to identify reliable and valid subgroups of spinal pain patients, using data from the Swedish version of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI-S). A second aim was to test the generalisability of the three patient profiles described in earlier studies on the MPI ("adaptive coper", "dysfunctional" and "interpersonally distressed" patients). The study base consisted of two samples of individuals suffering from long-term, non-specific spinal pain and the results were validated across these samples. Cluster analysis was used to detect distinct groups of patients and the validity of these subgroups was evaluated on variables not used to generate the cluster solution. One subgroup was characterised by lower pain severity, lower interference with everyday activities, lower affective distress and higher life control than the other two subgroups. This patient profile was similar to the MPI adaptive coper patients. A second subgroup resembled the dysfunctional patient profile, thus displaying a worse adjustment to chronic pain than the AC patients. The third patient group reported significantly lower levels of social support from "significant others" than the other subgroups. This patient profile was similar to that of the interpersonally distressed patient group. Taken together, the results support the reliability, validity and generalisability of three subgroups of chronic pain patients derived from the MPI-S.     

The medico-legal status of young sex offenders: forensic psychiatric evaluations in Sweden 1988-1995.

Young sex offenders (YSOs) attract significant public and professional concern. YSOs might be perceived as more psychologically deviant or dangerous than other offenders. This study focused on how often YSOs subjected to forensic psychiatric investigation (FPI) were declared medico-legally insane as compared to young non-sex offenders and adult sex offenders. Logistic regression models were applied to data from all major FPIs performed in Sweden between 1988 and 1995 (N=4354) to explore factors affecting the likelihood of receiving a medico-legal insanity declaration. When we adjusted for the statistical effects of age, sex offender status, and psychopathology, YSOs (n=47) were three to four times more likely to be declared insane in the medico-legal sense. The results indicate that YSOs in Sweden constitute a medico-legally distinct subgroup of forensic psychiatric examinees.     

Grandiose-Manipulative,Callous-Unemotional,and Daring-Impulsive: the Prediction of Psychopathic Traits in Adolescence and their Outcomes in Adulthood

There has been much debate about how to measure psychopathic traits in adolescence. One of the main issues is whether one should focus on callous-unemotional (CU) traits alone, or CU traits in combination with Grandiose-Manipulative (GM) and Daring-Impulsive (DI) traits. The current study first investigates the extent to which youth who are high on CU traits are also high on GM and DI traits. In addition, the study investigates if being high on both CU and GM, and high on both CU and DI, identify groups that are particularly characterized by past and future impairments. To investigate this, data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) was analyzed. The CSDD is a prospective longitudinal study of 411 English boys spanning over 50 years. The information available at age 12–14 was coded on the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). Childhood risk factors were measured at age 8–10 and later life outcomes were measured at age 32. The results indicate that being high on CU in combination with DI delineates a clinically interesting group who are characterized by high childhood risk and poorer adult life outcomes. The same applied to the high CU/high GM group, but to a lesser extent.     

Brain activation patterns in major depressive disorder and work stress-related long-term sick leave among Swedish females

Deficits in executive functioning and working memory associated with frontal lobe dysfunction are prominent in depression and work-related long-term sick leave (LTSL). This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate potential differences in brain activation patterns in these conditions. In addition, the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis was examined and compared between groups. Since there is a clear overrepresentation of women in these diagnostic groups, and to ensure a more homogenous sample population, only women were included. To examine the neural correlates of relevant cognitive processes in patients on sick leave >90 days due to work-related LTSL, recently diagnosed patients with major depression Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV criteria, untreated), and healthy controls (n?=?10, each group), a 2-back working memory task and a visual long-term memory task were administered during fMRI scanning. HPA axis functioning was investigated using a diurnal curve of saliva cortisol and a dexamethasone suppression test. Task performance was comparable among the three groups. Multivariate image analysis revealed that both memory tasks engaged a similar brain network in all three groups, including the prefrontal and parietal cortex. During the 2-back task, LTSL patients had significant frontal hypoactivation compared to controls and patients with depression. Saliva cortisol measurements showed a flattening of the diurnal rythmicity in LTSL patients compared to patients with depression and healthy contols. Taken together, these findings indicate that work stress-related LTSL and major depression are dissociable in terms of frontal activation and diurnal cortisol rhythmicity.