Discordance in Recovery Between Altered Locomotion and Muscle Atrophy Induced by Simulated Microgravity in Rats

Exposure to a microgravity environment leads to adverse effects in motion and musculoskeletal properties. However, few studies have investigated the recovery of altered locomotion and muscle atrophy simultaneously. The authors investigated altered locomotion in rats submitted to simulated microgravity by hindlimb unloading for 2 weeks. Motion deficits were characterized by hyperextension of the knees and ankle joints and forward-shifted limb motion. Furthermore, these locomotor deficits did not revert to their original form after a 2-week recovery period, although muscle atrophy in the hindlimbs had recovered, implying discordance in recovery between altered locomotion and muscle atrophy, and that other factors such as neural drives might control behavioral adaptations to microgravity.     

A Dual Process Account of Coarticulation in Motor Skill Acquisition

Many tasks, such as typing a password, are decomposed into a sequence of subtasks that can be accomplished in many ways. Behavior that accomplishes subtasks in ways that are influenced by the overall task is often described as “skilled” and exhibits coarticulation. Many accounts of coarticulation use search methods that are informed by representations of objectives that define skilled. While they aid in describing the strategies the nervous system may follow, they are computationally complex and may be difficult to attribute to brain structures. Here, the authors present a biologically- inspired account whereby skilled behavior is developed through 2 simple processes: (a) a corrective process that ensures that each subtask is accomplished, but does not do so skillfully and (b) a reinforcement learning process that finds better movements using trial and error search that is not informed by representations of any objectives. We implement our account as a computational model controlling a simulated two-armed kinematic “robot” that must hit a sequence of goals with its hands. Behavior displays coarticulation in terms of which hand was chosen, how the corresponding arm was used, and how the other arm was used, suggesting that the account can participate in the development of skilled behavior.     

The Effects of Eight-Month Physical Activity Intervention on Vigilance Performance in Adult Obese Population

We aim to analyze the effects of an 8-month physical activity intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness, body mass index (BMI), and vigilance performance in an adult obese population. We conducted an 8-month physical activity intervention based on dance and rhythmic activities. The weekly frequency was 2 sessions of 1 hr per day. Training sessions were divided into 3 phases: a 10-min warm-up, 40 min of dance and rhythmic activities, and 10 min to cool-down. To assess cardiorespiratory fitness, participants performed a modified version of the 6-min walk test from the Senior Fitness Test battery (Larsson & Mattsson, 2001; Rikli & Jones, 1999). Vigilance performance was measured by means of the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT). Two measurements were performed immediately before and after the intervention. The results revealed that participants improved their cardiorespiratory fitness, BMI, and vigilance performance after the intervention. All in all, findings contribute new empirical evidence to the field that investigates the benefits of physical activity intervention on cognitive processes in obese population.     

Visual and Proprioceptive Adaptation of Arm Position in a Virtual Environment

The authors examined the resolution of a discrepancy between visual and proprioceptive estimates of arm position in 10 participants. The participants fixed their right shoulder at 0°, 30°, or 60° of transverse adduction while they viewed a video on a head-mounted display that showed their right arm extended in front of the trunk for 30 min. The perceived arm position more closely approached the seen arm position on the display as the difference between the actual and visually displayed arm positions increased. In the extreme case of a 90° discrepancy, the seen arm position on the display was very gradually perceived as approaching the actual arm position. The magnitude of changes in sensory estimates was larger for proprioception (20%) than for vision (< 10%).     

Effect of Short-Term Training on Reaching Behavior in Infants: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

The purpose of this study was to test the effect of short-term training on reaching behavior in infants at the onset of reaching. The study was a single-blind, parallel group design, randomized controlled clinical trial. Thirty healthy infants were randomly assigned to a social control group (n = 15) or a reaching training group (n = 15). Infants began the study up to 3 days after the onset of reaching and were assessed three times across 2 days: pretraining (before training), posttraining 1 (after 1 session of training), and posttraining 2 (after 3 sessions of training). The reaching training group received 3 sessions of training by a physical therapist while the control group received a similar amount of time sitting in the therapist's lap. The data were analyzed using repeated-measures analyses of variance, and independent-samples tests with Bonferroni adjustments. Short-term training resulted in increased frequency of object contacts, shorter and smoother reaches, and improved hand positioning. The few short training sessions likely provided opportunities for infants to explore and learn to select movements from their existing movement repertoire. These results demonstrate that adaptive changes in infants' novel behaviors can emerge rapidly, and highlight the need for increased understanding of how to most effectively time early interventions.     

Acculturation,Adaptation and Saudade Among Portuguese Migrants

Saudade is a psychological reaction to the absence of significant others and familiar places. This investigation examined differences in saudade in a sample of 227 Portuguese adults without migratory experience, and 202 Portuguese migrants living in Switzerland. Within the migrant group, the relation between saudade and acculturation and adaptation factors was also examined. Results indicate that migrants experienced higher levels of saudade than did non-migrants. Length of residence abroad influenced the level of saudade: the longer the time spent abroad the less saudade was felt. Acculturation and adaptation factors accounted for 44% of the explained variance in saudade. Among acculturation factors, higher Portuguese proficiency and separation, and lower assimilation predicted more saudade. Among the adaptation factors, higher sociocultural adaptation problems and lower migration satisfaction also predicted higher saudade. It is hoped that investigation on saudade continues, and suggestions are made for further research.     

Brief Sensation Seeking Scale for Chinese – Cultural adaptation and psychometric assessment

International behavioral research requires instruments that are not culturally-biased to assess sensation seeking. In this study we described a culturally adapted version of the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale for Chinese (BSSS-C) and its psychometric characteristics. The adapted scale was assessed using an adult sample (n = 238) with diverse educational and residential backgrounds. The BSSS-C (Cronbach alpha = 0.90) was correlated with the original Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (r = 0.85, p < 0.01) and fitted the four-factor model well (CFI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.03). The scale scores significantly predicted intention to and actual engagement in a number of health risk behaviors, including alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and sexual risk behaviors. In conclusion, the BSSS-C has adequate reliability and validity, supporting its utility in China and potential in other developing countries.     

Internet pornography and paedophilia

Various indices of use of Internet pornography have drawn attention to the extent of adult sexual interest in children; clinical experience and now research evidence are accumulating to suggest that the Internet is not simply drawing attention to those with existing paedophilic interests, but is contributing to the crystallisation of those interests in people with no explicit prior sexual interest in children. Drawing on clinical experience in a specialist NHS outpatient psychotherapy service, the author argues that a dichotomous notion of paedophilia is no longer tenable, and any model of paedophilia needs to take account of eruptions of a sexual interest in children in those who appear not to be consistently paedophilic and who have had adult-to-adult sexual relationships. This phenomenon is analysed in two ways: first, by considering how it is that the adult sexual adaptation might ‘unravel’ under the influence of Internet sex to reveal underlying paedophilic currents and second, by revisiting general and psychoanalytic theories of paedophilia and by considering how predisposing factors to paedophilia might be amplified through access to Internet pornography.     

Motivational and cognitive determinants of control during conflict processing

Previous studies suggest that both reward anticipation and expected or experienced conflicts activate cognitive control. The present study investigated how these factors interact during conflict processing. In two experiments, participants performed a variant of the Stroop task, receiving performance-dependent monetary rewards in some blocks. In addition, we manipulated the level of conflict-triggered reactive and expectancy-driven proactive control: In Experiment 1, we compared the Stroop effect after previously congruent and incongruent trials to examine the conflict adaptation effect (reactive control). We found that the level of motivation did not interact with conflict adaptation. In Experiment 2, we varied the proportion of congruent and incongruent trials to manipulate conflict expectancy (proactive control). The data suggest the effects of motivation to be less pronounced under conditions of high conflict expectancy. We conclude that the interaction of motivation with cognitive determinants of control depends on whether these activate proactive or reactive control processes.     

The effects of team strategic orientation on team process and information search

We tested the effects of team strategic orientation on team member perceptions, work strategy and information search. In Experiment 1, 80 teams worked on a hidden profile decision-making task. A defensive team strategic orientation increased members’ perceptions of the problem’s scope, leading to a more process-focused work strategy and broader information search compared to an offensive team strategic orientation. When teams needed critical information from the environment, defensive teams outperformed offensive teams; offensive teams performed better when critical information resided within the team. In Experiment 2, these findings were replicated with 92 teams performing a different decision task. When making a second decision, half of the teams were led to change their strategic orientation; teams shifting from offense to defense altered their information search behavior more readily than did teams shifting in the opposite direction, suggesting an asymmetric adaptation effect.