The influence of partial‐match cues on event‐based prospective memory

In event‐based prospective memory tasks people form an intention to respond when an environmental cue signals that conditions are appropriate to fulfil an intended activity. In the ongoing activity the authors embedded partial‐match cues that only partially, but not completely, satisfied the conditions required to make a prospective response. The consequence of encountering these partial‐match cues was to increase responses to appropriate prospective memory cues encountered later. This outcome occurred both with semantic and orthographic cues, but only the former led to longer processing latencies of the partial‐match cues. This asymmetry suggests that partial‐match cues may not need to be processed consciously in order to benefit event‐based prospective memory. A parametric manipulation of the number of partial‐match cues resulted in numerically but not statistically better prospective memory. Consequently, partial‐match cues may function as overt reminders of the intention to respond or they may serve to engage participants in self‐initiated remindings of the intention.     

Individual differences in false memory from misinformation: Cognitive factors

This research investigated the cognitive correlates of false memories that are induced by the misinformation paradigm. A large sample of Chinese college students (N=436) participated in a misinformation procedure and also took a battery of cognitive tests. Results revealed sizable and systematic individual differences in false memory arising from exposure to misinformation. False memories were significantly and negatively correlated with measures of intelligence (measured with Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), perception (Motor-Free Visual Perception Test, Change Blindness, and Tone Discrimination), memory (Wechsler Memory Scales and 2-back Working Memory tasks), and face judgement (Face Recognition and Facial Expression Recognition). These findings suggest that people with relatively low intelligence and poor perceptual abilities might be more susceptible to the misinformation effect.     

Autobiographical memory bias in social anxiety

In social anxiety the psychological self is closely related to the feared stimulus. Socially anxious individuals are, by definition, concerned about how the self is perceived and evaluated by others. As autobiographical memory is strongly related to views of the self it follows that biases in autobiographical memory play an important role in social anxiety. In the present study high (n = 19) and low (n = 29) socially anxious individuals were compared on autobiographical memory bias, current goals, and self-discrepancy. Individuals high in social anxiety showed a bias towards recalling more negative and more social anxiety-related autobiographical memories, reported more current goals related to overcoming social anxiety, and showed larger self-discrepancies. The pattern of results is largely in line with earlier research in individuals with PTSD and complicated grief. This suggests that the relation between autobiographical memory bias and the self is a potentially valuable trans-diagnostic factor.     

Children’s developing understanding of the relation between variable causal efficacy and mechanistic complexity

Two experiments investigated 3–4-year-olds’ ability to infer the causal mechanisms for a pair of lights. In both experiments the exterior of the two lights appeared identical. In Experiment 1, one light displayed a stable activation pattern of a single color while the other light displayed a variable pattern of activation by cycling through a series of different colors (i.e., a more varied effect). Children were asked to judge which light had a more complex internal structure. Four-year-olds were more likely to match the light with the more variable effect with a more complex internal mechanism and the light with the more stable effect with a less complex mechanism. Three-year-olds’ responses were at chance. Experiment 2 replicated this finding when the activation patterns of the two lights were described verbally but never demonstrated. Taken together, these results suggest that 4-year-olds appreciate that the variability of an object’s causal efficacy is related to the complexity of its internal mechanistic structure.     

A Study of Posttraumatic Stress in a Student Population

The authors examined the incidence of posttraumatic stress (PTS), with respect to levels of exposure to traumatic events, in a British student population. Respondents (N = 700) completed a standard questionnaire booklet that contained a posttraumatic stress disorder interview. The questionnaire collected personal demographic information and was used by researchers to ascertain whether respondents had experienced a traumatic event. Consistent with previous American studies, PTS was found to be relatively common; 23.3% of the sample showed either current or past PTS. Female participants had a significantly higher incidence of PTS than did male participants, although the latter were more likely to report having experienced a traumatic event. The experience of trauma was significantly associated with the likelihood of PTS. The authors discuss implications of their results in terms of long-term consequences of unresolved trauma.     

Psychological treatment of hypnotic-dependent insomnia in a primarily older adult sample

Objective

This study tested cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in hypnotic-dependent, late middle-age and older adults with insomnia.

Method

Seventy volunteers age 50 and older were randomized to CBT plus drug withdrawal, placebo biofeedback (PL) plus drug withdrawal, or drug withdrawal (MED) only. The CBT and PL groups received eight, 45 min weekly treatment sessions. The drug withdrawal protocol comprised slow tapering monitored with about six biweekly, 30 min sessions. Assessment including polysomnography (PSG), sleep diaries, hypnotic consumption, daytime functioning questionnaires, and drug screens collected at baseline, posttreatment, and 1-year follow-up.

Results

Only the CBT group showed significant sleep diary improvement, sleep onset latency significantly decreased at posttreatment. For all sleep diary measures for all groups, including MED, sleep trended to improvement from baseline to follow-up. Most PSG sleep variables did not significantly change. There were no significant between group differences in medication reduction. Compared to baseline, the three groups decreased hypnotic use at posttreatment, down 84%, and follow-up, down 66%. There was no evidence of withdrawal side-effects. Daytime functioning, including anxiety and depression, improved by posttreatment. Rigorous methodological features, including documentation of strong treatment implementation and the presence of a credible placebo, elevated the confidence due these findings.

Conclusions

Gradual drug withdrawal was associated with substantial hypnotic reduction at posttreatment and follow-up, and withdrawal side-effects were absent. When supplemented with CBT, participants accrued incremental self-reported, but not PSG, sleep benefits.     

Motivational support provided via email improves the effectiveness of internet-delivered self-help treatment for insomnia: A randomized trial

Internet-delivered treatment is effective for insomnia, but little is known about the beneficial effects of support. The aim of the current study was to investigate the additional effects of low-intensity support to an internet-delivered treatment for insomnia. Two hundred and sixty-two participants were randomized to an internet-delivered intervention for insomnia with (n = 129) or without support (n = 133). All participants received an internet-delivered cognitive behavioral treatment for insomnia. In addition, the participants in the support condition received weekly emails. Assessments were at baseline, post-treatment, and 6-month follow-up. Both groups effectively ameliorated insomnia complaints. Adding support led to significantly higher effects on most sleep measures (d = 0.3–0.5; p < 0.05), self-reported insomnia severity (d = 0.4; p < 0.001), anxiety, and depressive symptoms (d = 0.4; p < 0.01). At the 6-month follow-up, these effects remained significant for sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, insomnia symptoms, and depressive symptoms (d = 0.3–0.5; p < 0.05). Providing support significantly enhances the benefits of internet-delivered treatment for insomnia on several variables. It appears that motivational feedback increases the effect of the intervention and encourages more participants to complete the intervention, which in turn improves its effectiveness.     

Cognitive behaviour therapy for common mental disorders in people with Multiple Sclerosis: A bench marking study

Background

Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are common in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and are often under treated.

Aims

This paper reports on the clinical effectiveness of a cognitive behaviour therapy service for common mental disorders in people with MS and compares it to previous randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) in this population.

Methods

49 patients were deemed appropriate for CBT and 29 accepted treatment. Assessments were completed at baseline and end of treatment and included the Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale. Results in the form of a standardized effect of treatment were compared with five previous RCTs.

Results

The results from this clinical service indicated statistically significant outcomes with reductions in depression and anxiety. The uncontrolled effect size was large but inferior to those found in published RCTs.

Conclusions

Cognitive behaviour therapy is effective for people with MS in routine clinical practice. Possible limits on effectiveness include more liberal patient selection, lack of specificity in rating scales and heterogeneity of target problems. Given the high rates of distress in this population, routine psychological interventions within neurology services are justifiable. Future research should aim to maximise CBT in such settings.     

Predictors of outcome in Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy for severe health anxiety

Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for severe health anxiety can be effective, but not all patients achieve full remission. Under these circumstances, knowledge about predictors is essential for the clinician in order to make reliable treatment recommendations. The primary aim of this study was to investigate clinical, demographic, and therapy process-related predictors of Internet-based CBT for severe health anxiety. We performed three types of analyses on data from a sample comprising participants (N = 81) who had received Internet-based CBT in a randomized controlled trial. Outcomes were a) end state health anxiety, b) improvement in health anxiety (continuous change scores), and c) clinically significant improvement. Outcomes were assessed at six-month follow-up. The results showed that the most stable predictors of both end state health anxiety and improvement were baseline health anxiety and depressive symptoms. Treatment adherence, i.e. the number of completed treatment modules, also significantly predicted outcome. Notably, health anxiety at baseline was positively associated with symptom improvement while depressive symptoms was negatively related to improvement. Demographic factors were largely without significant impact on end state symptoms or improvement. We conclude that baseline symptom burden and adherence to treatment have strong predictive effects in Internet-based CBT for severe health anxiety.     

Cognitive bias modification of interpretations: A viable treatment for child and adolescent anxiety?

Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents are common and impairing. As many patients do not benefit from – or have difficulties accessing – frontline treatments, novel, effective and easy-to-deliver interventions are needed. Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations (CBM-I) training has been used to treat adult anxiety disorders. CBM-I methods train individuals to endorse benign rather than negative resolutions of ambiguous cues. Developmental extensions of CBM-I are important for several reasons. First, implementing CBM-I in symptomatic children and adolescents may facilitate early preventative gains. Second, as training uses simple learning mechanisms, CBM-I may reflect a developmentally-suitable strategy for shaping adaptive processing styles. Third, as this age range involves protracted neurocognitive maturation and associated plasticity, administering CBM-I early could drive powerful, long-lasting benefits for emotional development. Finally, data from CBM-I studies could inform the cognitive mechanisms involved in the genesis of early-emerging anxiety. This paper provides the first organised review of CBM-I studies conducted in children and adolescents, and contains suggestions for future research that may help realise the therapeutic potential of early CBM-I interventions.