Creativity on tap 2: Investigating dose effects of alcohol on cognitive control and creative cognition

This preregistered study aimed to replicate and extend research on the role of cognitive control in creative cognition by examining dose effects of alcohol in a randomized controlled trial. A sample of 125 participants was randomly assigned to three experimental groups, either drinking alcoholic beer (BAC = 0.03 or 0.06) or drinking non-alcoholic beer (placebo-control group). Before and after the alcohol intervention, participants completed two tests of cognitive control and two established creative thinking tasks. A BAC of 0.06 led to an impairment of verbal fluency, while working memory performance was unaffected at both alcohol levels. Alcohol had no facilitative or detrimental effects on creative thinking performance, neither in terms of RAT performance, divergent thinking fluency or divergent thinking creativity. These results indicate that moderate alcohol levels have dose-dependent, selective effects on cognitive control, and that minor impairments of cognitive control do not generally increase or attenuate creative thinking performance.     

A Randomized Comparison of Two Psychosocial Interventions on Family Functioning in Adolescents with Bipolar Disorder

Impairments in family functioning are associated with more severe depressive and manic symptoms, earlier recurrences, and more suicidal behaviors in early-onset bipolar disorder. This study examined whether family-focused treatment for adolescents (FFT-A) with BD I or II disorder led to greater increases in family cohesion and adaptability and decreases in conflict over 2 years compared to a briefer psychoeducational treatment (enhanced care, EC). Participants were 144 adolescents (mean age: 15.6 ± 1.4 years) with BD I or II with a mood episode in the previous 3 months. Adolescents and parents were randomized to either FFT-A (21 sessions) or EC (three sessions). Patients received guideline-based pharmacotherapy throughout the 2-year study. Trajectories of adolescent- and parent-rated family cohesion, adaptability, and conflict were analyzed over 2 years. FFT-A had greater effects on adolescent-rated family cohesion compared to EC over 2 years. Participants in FFT-A and EC reported similar improvements in family conflict across the 2 years. In the FFT-A group, low-conflict families had greater adolescent-rated family cohesion throughout the study compared to high-conflict families. High-conflict families in both treatment groups tended to show larger reductions in conflict over 2 years than low-conflict families. Family psychoeducation and skills training may improve family cohesion in the early stages of BD. Measuring levels of family conflict at the start of treatment may inform treatment responsiveness among those receiving FFT-A.     

Different risk factors are associated with alcohol use versus problematic use in male Pakistani adolescents

Substance abuse is a significant problem in Pakistan (Hussain, 2017), yet, there are few studies of risk factors in this population, particularly in remote areas. Male adolescents (N = 243; M = 16.9 years, SD = 1.3 years) were recruited from schools in Gilgit-Baltistan, and completed questions on demographics, substance use, and psychosocial functioning. As a Muslim country, there are strict prohibitions against alcohol use, yet 44.9% of the sample reported lifetime alcohol use. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (Babor, Higgins-Biddle, Saunders, & Monteiro, 2001), was used to quantify level of risk associated with use, and 22.6% of the sample had scores indicating significant risk levels. Logistic regression analyses indicated that lifetime alcohol use was associated with internalising problems (e.g., depression, anxiety), while risky alcohol use was associated with externalising problems (e.g., aggressive and delinquent behaviour). Attention problems were related to both outcomes. Implications for prevention are discussed.     

Trait displaced aggression and psychopathy differentially moderate the effects of acute alcohol intoxication and rumination on triggered displaced aggression

When angered, alcohol and rumination increase aggression toward the source of a subsequent minor annoyance. Little is known about individual differences that moderate this phenomenon. One hundred university students (47 men, 53 women) were provoked and given either alcohol or placebo and subsequently induced to ruminate or engage in distraction. Participants were then given the opportunity to aggress against a somewhat annoying fictitious participant by determining the amount of hot sauce the other participant must consume. Alcohol and rumination independently augmented aggressive behavior, and these effects were moderated by trait displaced aggression and psychopathy, respectively. These findings suggest alcohol use and rumination as targets of intervention, specifically for those high in trait displaced aggression and psychopathy.     

Stimulant Treatment Reduces Lapses in Attention among Children with ADHD: The Effects of Methylphenidate on Intra-Individual Response Time Distributions

Recent research has suggested that intra-individual variability in reaction time (RT) distributions of children with ADHD is characterized by a particularly large rightward skew that may reflect lapses in attention. The purpose of the study was to provide the first randomized, placebo-controlled test of the effects of the stimulant methylphenidate (MPH) on this tail and other RT distribution characteristics. Participants were 49 9- to 12-year-old children with ADHD. Children participated in a 3-day double-blind, placebo-controlled medication assessment during which they received long-acting MPH (Concerta®), with the nearest equivalents of 0.3 and 0.6 mg/kg t.i.d. immediate-release MPH. Children completed a simple two-choice speeded discrimination task on and off of medication. Mode RT and deviation from the mode were used to examine the peak and skew, respectively, of RT distributions. MPH significantly reduced the peak and skew of RT distributions. Importantly, the two medication effects were uncorrelated suggesting that MPH works to improve both the speed and variability in responding. The improvement in variability with stimulant treatment is interpreted as a reduction in lapses in attention. This, in turn, may reflect stimulant enhancement of self-regulatory processes theorized to be at the core of ADHD.     

Social Information Processing Skills in Children with Histories of Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

Based on caregiver report, children with prenatal alcohol exposure have difficulty with social functioning, but little is known about their social cognition. The current study assessed the social information processing patterns of school-age children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure using a paradigm based on Crick and Dodge’s reformulated six-stage model. Fifty-two children (aged 7–11) with and without heavy prenatal alcohol exposure were tested using a structured interview measure of social information processing involving 18 videotaped vignettes of children in group entry and provocation situations. Alcohol-exposed children displayed maladaptive processing patterns on the goal, response generation, and response evaluation steps in group entry situations, and encoding, attribution, response evaluation, and enactment steps during provocation situations. Children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure also had difficulty on the Test of Problem Solving, and performance correlated with social information processing measures. Such difficulties may lead to problems in social functioning and warrant early intervention.     

医疗界与法律界的关系问题——中国医疗秩序重构中的重要课题

医疗秩序是指各医疗要素的合理配置、医疗关系中各主体的有规则的有序互动所形成的整齐规则状态。当今中国医疗失序的本质是医疗正义的缺失。医疗秩序重构和恢复的实质在于医疗正义的彰显。在彰显医疗正义的过程中,需要研究解决的重要课题之一是如何处理作为医疗实践者的医疗界与作为正义实践者的法律界之间的关系。     

网络成瘾的潜在结构:连续的还是分类的?

变量的潜在结构是连续的还是分类的不应被随意指定,错误的设定可能导致不正确的结论。本研究的目的在于从实证的角度探索网络成瘾的潜在结构。研究采用了来自中国杭州的2511名初中生对Young网络成瘾量表的有效作答数据,比较了Rasch模型、潜在类别模型和混合Rasch模型与数据的拟合情况。结果表明:2个潜在类别的混合Rasch模型可以最好地反映网络成瘾的潜在结构,说明网络成瘾包含两个存在着质的差异的群体,并且每个群体内的个体间存在量的差异。研究进一步比较了基于混合Rasch模型的分类与传统划界分数分类的区别,结果表明:Young的网络成瘾标准可能具有很小的误判率和较高的漏判率;基于Young网络成瘾测验的修订需要考虑有针对性地增加部分题目。     

创伤后应激障碍患者情绪记忆优势研究述评

创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)是由高情绪刺激引起延迟出现和长期持续的精神障碍。闯入、闪回、病理性重复体验、持续性警觉性增高和回避等症状严重损害其认知功能。PTSD患者记忆形成了情绪网络。情绪记忆具有强烈、持久的特点, 在记忆中具有优势地位。回顾PTSD患者情绪记忆优势的行为及脑成像研究发现, PTSD患者情绪记忆优势研究结果并不完全一致, 受到诸多因素的影响, 这些影响因素需进一步探讨。