Computerized Cognitive Tests (CCT) in elderly: A psychometric review

Introduction/aim

Computerized Cognitive Tests (CCT) play an increasing role in the assessment of elderly cognitive impairment. In this framework, it is important to review the psychometric data of the available CCT in the detection of cognitive decline.

多巴胺D2受体参与调节感觉门控的机制

精神分裂症是一种常见的病因不明的精神疾病。大量文献表明精神分裂症患者所表现出来的认知紊乱和思维异常等症状与感觉门控功能的缺失有密切的关系, 感觉门控是指在充满刺激的环境中, 从外界的感觉信息中过滤无关的感觉信息然后执行与注意力相关的认知过程, 以对显著的刺激做出反应。研究感觉门控的经典范式是震惊反射的前脉冲抑制。研究发现多巴胺D₂受体可以参与调控前脉冲抑制的过程, 但是多巴胺D₂受体参与调控前脉冲抑制的机制仍不清楚。探讨多巴胺D₂受体参与调控感觉门控即前脉冲抑制的关键脑区、神经环路及分子机制, 有利于促进对精神分裂症感觉门控功能的深入研究。     

D型人格对大学新生心理健康的影响:基于三个时间点调查数据的有调节的中介模型

为考察感知到的压力在D型人格与大学新生心理健康关系中的中介作用及心理韧性的调节作用。在新生入学3个月内的不同时间点,利用D型人格量表（T1）、心理韧性量表（T2）、感知到的压力量表（T2）和心理健康量表（T3）对某大学1428名大学新生进行调查。结果显示：（1）在控制性别、年龄、是否恋爱和心理健康（T1）后,社交抑制对感知到的压力具有显著预测作用,感知到的压力对心理健康具有显著预测作用,即社交抑制通过感知到的压力的中介作用间接影响心理健康;在负性情感与心理健康的关系中,感知到的压力中介作用不成立;（2）心理韧性在社交抑制与心理健康的关系中调节效应显著;心理韧性在感知到的压力与心理健康的关系中调节效应显著;（3）一个有调节的中介模型成立。研究结果不仅有助于理解大学新生适应大学生活过程中的心理状况,而且为提高大学新生心理健康水平提供参考依据。     

Improving payment of traffic fines with financial incentives: Discounts vs. penalties

The effective enforcement of traffic laws is critical for improved road safety outcomes. Decisions to follow traffic rules and pay fines are influenced by formal institutions (e.g. laws, court summons, and fines) as well as informal institutions (e.g. norms and aspects of culture). Formal and informal institutions create incentives that should be designed to steer individuals’ behaviour towards desired outcomes. Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe that the institutions to deal with traffic violations in South Africa currently create effective incentives. This paper discusses the findings of a controlled laboratory experiment, conducted with a sample of university students, that tested the efficacy of different financial incentives that may influence the payment of traffic fines. An early payment discount was compared to a late payment penalty (used in other countries, for example, some states in the USA), and to the absence of any incentives. Furthermore, we examined whether the willingness to settle fines is sensitive to the likelihood of detection by the authorities. We found that introducing financial incentives significantly increases voluntary payment of fines, irrespective of whether immediate payment is encouraged with a discount or late payment is discouraged with a surcharge. In addition, subjects are more sensitive to the likelihood of detection when financial incentives are present.     

Asymmetrical effects of Pavlovian excitatory and inhibitory aversive transfer on Pavlovian appetitive responding and acquisition

Predictions of a theory of Pavlovian motivational transfer, which incorporates principles of both the theory of reciprocal inhibition and the Rescorla-Wagner model, were tested in several Pavlovian aversive to Pavlovian appetitive transfer tasks. As predicted, the presence of a signal for an aversive event, conditioned stimulus (AV CS+), reliably suppressed performance of appetitive conditioned responses (CRs) whether imposed during acquisition or on independently established responding. Acquisition of appetitive responding to a novel CS reinforced in compound with an AV CS+, however, was enhanced (“superconditioning”). This observation suggests that the effects of a discrepancy between expectation and actual outcome on a conditioning trial are influenced by the affective value of both the expectation and the reinforcer. These transfer effects were not symmetrical for an inhibitory aversive stimulus (AV CS?). An AV CS? did not enhance appetitive responding compared to a random control condition, nor did the AV CS? reduce (i.e., block) appetitive conditioning to a novel CS when appetitive reinforcement occurred in the presence of the AV CS?. Comparison of the two shock-exposed conditions with a naive control condition suggests that previous results that were apparently consistent with inhibitory aversive enhancement and blocking of appetitive conditioning may have been due to aversive context conditioning.     

Manual reaction time to linguistic stimuli in child stutterers and nonstutterers

Ten stuttering and ten nonstuttering children, ages 4–8 yr, served as subjects for a motor reaction task to simple and complex linguistic stimuli. The subjects reacted by pressing one of four panels on a touch-sensitive board that depicted the appropriate semantic relationship in response to 30 simple and complex linguistic stimuli. There was a significant increase in the reaction time of both groups with increasing linguistic complexity. No significant differences were found in the reaction time between the two groups, nor in the interaction between group and complexity. Implications regarding linguistic processing are discussed, and an “overload” hypothesis of stuttering is dispelled. It is concluded that stutterers and nonstutterers in this study did not differ in their reaction time nor in their processing time of linguistic material.     

Case report of stuttering acquired in association with phenytoin use for post-head-injury seizures

Previous research indicates that stuttering and deficits in motor performance may be associated with the use of phenytoin (Dilantin). The present report concerns a case of stuttering acquired in association with phenytoin use for post-head-injury seizures. The extent and nature of dysfluencies and the motor performance of speech and nonspeech muscle systems were evaluated over an extended period during which changes in anticonvulsant medication were made. Reductions in dysfluency levels and improved motor performance were observed following a medication change from phenytoin to carbamazepine. Performance on tests assessing nonmotor functions, such as memory and attention, was equivalent before and after the medication change. The apparent association between dysfluency levels, motor performance deficits, and phenytoin suggest that in the present case stuttering resulted in part from a general impairment in motor control.     

Cognitive analysis of a case of pure dysgraphia

An Italian patient with a pure dysgraphia who incorrectly spelled words and nonwords is described. The spelling errors made by the patient were not affected by lexical factors (e.g., frequency, form class) and were qualitatively the same for words and nonwords. The pattern of writing performance is discussed in relation to current models of writing and, specifically, in relation to the role of the Output Grapheme Buffer and Phoneme-Grapheme Conversion in writing.