低出生体重与代谢综合征

低出生体重是发生成年期代谢综合征的高危因素。“代谢程序化”与“营养程序化”概念的提出对人们从多层面认识该现象的内在机制有重要指导作用。随着对发生机制研究的深入,人们终将找到预防低出生体重发生成年期代谢综合征的早期干预措施。     

Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive–Behavioral Group Therapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome in a Medical Setting

Standard medical treatments have not been effective for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients. Though individualized cognitive–behavior therapy is an empirically supported treatment option, cognitive–behavioral group therapy (CBGT) has yet to be established as an effective alternative in a randomized controlled trial. This study compared the efficacy of a 10-session CBGT with a home-based symptom monitoring with weekly telephone contact (SMTC) treatment for IBS, extending previous quasi-experimental research in this area. Twenty-eight refractory IBS patients, evaluated and referred by gastroenterologists using the Rome criteria, participated in the study. IBS symptoms, psychological functioning, and health-related quality of life were assessed pre- and posttreatment, and at 3-month follow-up. CBGT patients reported significantly more gastrointestinal (GI) symptom improvement than SMTC patients on posttreatment global measures and had significantly reduced daily diary pain scores at 3-month follow-up. Based on MANOVA, there was significant improvement in psychological distress and health-related quality of life for the CBGT patients in comparison to the SMTC patients. These improvements were also maintained at the 3-month follow-up. Reductions in GI symptoms, psychological distress, and improved health related quality of life may contribute to less behavioral avoidance, disability, and health care utilization in refractory IBS patients.     

Neural substrates of the ‘low‐level’ system for speech articulation: Evidence from primary opercular syndrome

We describe a patient with progressive disorder of speech, without language impairment (opercular syndrome). Morphometric analysis confirmed asymmetric volume reduction of the precentral areas (>left). Diffusion imaging showed significant white matter changes in the left frontal lobe, with specific involvement of the left corticobulbar tract and connections between supplementary/pre‐supplementary motor areas and the frontal operculum (frontal aslant tract). We suggest that the organization of expressive language includes a ‘low level’ motor system principally distributed in the left hemisphere that shows specific susceptibility to neurodegeneration, distinct from neural systems subtending praxic, and cognitive aspects of language.     

感觉寻求、同伴压力对高中生烟酒使用的影响

对来自山东日照市两所普通高中1~3年级的689名学生进行问卷调查,考察感觉寻求、同伴压力（包括烟酒使用同伴压力与其他同伴压力）对高中生烟酒使用的影响,以及同伴压力的调节作用。结果表明：（1）感觉寻求、烟酒使用同伴压力对高中生烟酒使用有正向预测作用,其他同伴压力也能显著预测其饮酒行为。（2）烟酒共用同伴压力调节感觉寻求和高中生烟酒共用间的关系,只有在高烟酒共用同伴压力下感觉寻求才会显著预测烟酒共用;饮酒同伴压力也调节感觉寻求和高中生饮酒间的关系,只有在高饮酒同伴压力下高感觉寻求者才会有较多饮酒行为;其他同伴压力无此调节作用。（3）吸烟同伴压力不能调节感觉寻求和高中生吸烟间的关系。     

流动人口的饮酒行为及其影响因素分析

选择从农村流入到北京打工的18-30岁的年轻流动人口共2201人参加问卷调查,要求被试自我报告他们的饮酒行为、流动时间、流动城市数量以及抑郁和满意度状况,并根据他们所从事的13种职业的性质将之归类为“低危”和“高危”两类,以考察环境和个体因素与流动人口饮酒行为的关系。结果表明:(1)在过去1个月中,27%的流动人口曾醉过酒,男性流动人口的醉酒率是女性的2倍(35%vs.16%)。但流动人口的饮酒行为不存在显著的年龄、教育水平和婚姻状况的差异;(2)相关分析表明,高危职业流动人口的饮酒行为显著地高于低危职业的流动人口。同时,与没有醉过酒的流动人口相比,曾醉酒者的抑郁情绪更多,生活和工作满意度更低;(3)Amos结果表明,环境和个体因素相互作用影响流动人口的饮酒行为。流动性通过满意度以及抑郁情绪间接地影响流动人口的饮酒行为,职业性质对饮酒行为产生直接的影响,同时,职业性质又通过生活满意度和抑郁情绪间接地作用于流动人口的饮酒行为。     

The relationship between self-efficacy,readiness to change,and AUDIT risk levels in a sample of active duty emergency department patients

The purpose of this study was to test the relationship between self-efficacy, readiness to change, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) risk levels in a sample of active duty drinkers who were seeking care in a military emergency department. Civilian health educators screened participants for alcohol use with the AUDIT and collected sociodemographic, service, and drinking-related cognitions data from active duty patients admitted to an emergency department. A total of 787 active duty military personnel participated in the study. Almost half (48%) drank at least once a week and 32% reported consuming five or more alcoholic drinks during a typical drinking episode. One in five participants reported heavy episodic drinking weekly to almost daily. Results of a multinomial logistic regression model showed that active duty service members with a self-reported diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder since joining the military were more likely to be an at-risk or high/severe risk drinker relative to a low risk drinker. Higher controlled drinking self-efficacy was associated with a decrease in the odds of being either an at-risk or high/severe risk drinker. Increased readiness to reduce drinking was associated with an increase in the odds of being either an at risk or high/severe risk drinker. The results of this research suggest self-efficacy to control one’s heavy drinking as well as readiness to change may be important factors to consider when designing alcohol education programs within the military.     

No evidence that alcohol intoxication impairs judgments of learning in face recognition

Alcohol use is frequently involved in crime, making it crucial to understand the role of alcohol in facial recognition to maximize correct perpetrator identifications. Although the majority of the alcohol and face recognition research has investigated recognition with retrospective confidence judgments, we examined the effects of alcohol intoxication on face recognition with prospective metacognitive judgments. Participants (N = 54 university students without a history of hazardous alcohol/substance use) consumed either alcohol (mean breath alcohol concentration of 0.06 at pretest and 0.07 at post‐test) or a non‐alcoholic placebo drink. Participants then studied unfamiliar male and female faces and made judgments of learning (JOLs) for each face (i.e., predicted the likelihood of recognizing that face on a future memory test). After a brief distractor task, participants completed an old–new recognition test on which they attempted to distinguish the studied faces from new faces. It was found that the alcohol manipulation had minimal effect on face recognition performance or judgments of learning. Our results suggest that theory‐based cues about the effects of alcohol might play a greater role in retrospective judgments than prospective judgments. Although not a primary focus of the study, face recognition was better for male faces than female faces, and this occurred for both female and male participants. Limitations and implications of the research are discussed.     

And one more for the road: Commentary on the Special Issue on alcohol and eyewitness memory

Studies examining the influence of alcohol intoxication have reported mixed findings on whether it impairs eyewitness memory. Although the studies in this Special Issue investigated different questions and tested different variables, the findings of these studies collectively provide insight into mechanisms and methodological issues that may explain the ambiguous findings of alcohol intoxication and eyewitness memory. In this commentary, we first describe the experimental studies of this Special Issue. We then discuss four mechanisms that could underlie those mixed findings (alcohol myopia, disinhibition, hypervigilance, and metacognitive processes at retrieval). Last, we address methodological issues that may have contributed to those ambiguous findings (i.e., alcohol intoxication levels, automatic processing of stimuli, sensitivity of dependent variables, and possible interactions with arousal) and provide suggestions for future research to address these issues.     

Efficacy of a Brief,School‐Based Bystander Bullying Intervention on High School Students' Alcohol Use

The authors examined the efficacy of a brief bystander bullying intervention on reducing alcohol use among high school students (N = 61). As hypothesized, high‐risk drinkers in the intervention group reported reduced drinking compared with control students at a 30‐day follow‐up.     

Implicit sequence learning in young people with Tourette syndrome with and without co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Impaired habit-learning has been proposed to underlie the tic symptoms of Tourette syndrome (TS). However, accounts differ in terms of how habit-learning is altered in TS, with some authors proposing habit formation is impaired due to a deficient ‘chunking’ mechanism, and others proposing habit-learning is overactive and tics reflect hyperlearned behaviours. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently co-occurs with TS and is known to affect cognitive function in young people with co-occurring TS and ADHD (TS + ADHD). It is unclear, however, how co-occurring ADHD symptoms affect habit-learning in TS. In this study, we investigated whether young people with TS would show deficient or hyperactive habit-learning, and assessed the effects of co-occurring ADHD symptoms on habit-learning in TS. Participants aged 9–17 years with TS (n = 18), TS + ADHD (n = 17), ADHD (n = 13), and typical development (n = 20) completed a motor sequence learning task to assess habit-learning. We used a 2 (TS-yes, TS-no) × 2 (ADHD-yes, ADHD-no) factorial analysis to test the effects of TS, ADHD, and their interaction on accuracy and reaction time indices of sequence learning. TS was associated with intact sequence learning, but a tendency for difficulty transitioning from sequenced to non-sequenced performance was suggestive of hyper-learning. ADHD was associated with significantly poorer accuracy during acquisition of the sequence, indicative of impaired habit-learning. There were no interactions between the TS and ADHD factors, indicating young people with TS + ADHD showed both TS- and ADHD-related atypicalities in habit-learning.