Co-sleeping as a proximal context for infant development: The importance of physical touch

Co-sleeping is a complex familial phenomenon that has yet to be well understood by Western scientists. This paper provides an interdisciplinary review of research from anthropology, nursing, pediatrics, sociology, social work, public health, family studies, and psychology to focus on the role of physical touch in the context of co-sleeping, and how close physical contact in this context affects infants and their caregivers. Including an anthropological, evolutionary view of co-sleeping with other perspectives highlights it as an experience-expectant proximal context for infant growth and development. From this view, the importance of physical contact and touch in the nighttime caretaking microenvironment of co-sleeping becomes a central question, rather than an artifactual byproduct of “unhealthy” sleep arrangements. Rather than trying to eliminate co-sleeping, public health messages for parents would likely benefit from a more culturally-sensitive approach that focuses on advising how to co-sleep safely for families choosing it. For families trying to retain physical closeness between parent(s) and infants in the context of modern (especially Western) infant care practices that have reduced this physical contact, co-sleeping can be an important developmental context for encouraging and engaging in sensitive and responsive caregiving and providing a context for maternal-infant physiological synchrony and regulation.     

Testing the role of cognitive inhibition in physical endurance using high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation over the prefrontal cortex

The aim of this study was to clarify the role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in physical effort regulation. We hypothesized that the PFC would be progressively involved in physical endurance through the engagement of cognitive inhibition, which would be necessary to maintain effort by inhibiting fatigue-related cues. This hypothesis was examined using a double-blind, sham-controlled, within-subjects study (N = 20) using high-definition (HD) transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Participants had to maintain a knee extensor contraction at 30% of their maximal force while simultaneously performing an Eriksen flanker task to evaluate their inhibition performance during the task. Anodal stimulation of the dlPFC influenced response to the cognitive task during exercise, as seen by slower response times and better accuracy. However, it did not lead to any measureable improvement in cognitive inhibition and did not influence endurance time. There was no correlation between cognitive inhibition and the maintenance of physical effort. This result does not indicate a relationship between cognitive inhibition and endurance performance. The contribution of the PFC in physical endurance could be explained through its involvement on decisional processes.     

Compared to Dematerialized Money,Cash Increases Impatience in Intertemporal Choice

When it comes to trading time for money (or vice versa), people tend to be impatient and myopic. Often dramatically so. For illustration, half of people would rather collect $15 now than $30 in 3 months. This willingness to forego 50% of the reward to skip a 3‐month wait corresponds to an annual discount rate of 277%. This article investigates how money's physical form biases intertemporal choice. We ask, what happens to (im)patience (i.e., discount rates) when time is traded against cash rather than against an equivalent sum of dematerialized money? We find that intertemporal decisions pitting time against cash (rather than against dematerialized money) increase impatience. The underlying mechanism relates to the pain of parting from money. Letting go of cash (dematerialized money) we can have now is psychologically more (less) painful, which in turn reduces (increases) our willingness to wait for larger‐later payoffs. Importantly, heightening prevention focus (i.e., concerns for safety and security) moderates this bias. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the research, particularly for the psychology of saving behavior.     

Acute effects of exercise on women with pre-existing body image concerns: A test of potential mediators

The primary purpose of this study was to propose and test a mediation model of changes in physical self-efficacy, physical self-perceptions, and affect as mediators by which a single bout of exercise improves state body image. A secondary purpose was to identify how long improvements in state body image are sustained post-exercise. Sixty university-aged women (19.57 ± 1.37 y) with pre-existing body image concerns, and who exercised regularly, were randomized to perform 30 min of moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise or quiet reading. State body image, physical self-efficacy, physical self-perceptions and affect were assessed. Mediational analyses revealed self-perceptions of body fatness (95% CI [0.03, 0.44], κ² = 0.13, ab_ps = 0.20) and strength (95% CI [0.15, 0.60], κ² = 0.23, ab_ps = 0.33) mediated improvements in state body image which were sustained at least 20 min post-exercise. These results contribute to the development of a model explaining the effects of exercise on body image and practical recommendations for the use of exercise to improve body image.     

绿色锻炼的心理效益:身体锻炼与自然环境的融合

绿色锻炼是指在自然绿色环境中进行身体锻炼。已有研究主要采用前后测实验设计,比较不同绿色环境、身体锻炼和个体特征条件下绿色锻炼心理效益的差异,结果显示绿色锻炼、模拟绿色环境均有助于个体获得更多的心理效益。心理进化模型和注意恢复理论认为人对自然环境的选择偏好是产生绿色锻炼心理效益的原因,但尚未有研究证实。我国的相关研究较少,绿色锻炼内在机制、环境污染与绿色锻炼,以及人工模拟绿色环境将是今后研究的热点。     

Unilateral Fatigue Affects the Unipedal Postural Balance in Individuals With Intellectual Disability

This study aimed to explore the effect of local muscle fatigue on the unipedal stance in men with intellectual disability (ID). The Centre of pressure (CoP) excursions and the isometric maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) were measured before and after a fatiguing exercise. Higher baseline values of CoP excursions and lower MVC values were recorded in the ID group. After the fatiguing exercise, this group showed higher MVC decrease and higher percentage of increase of the mean CoP velocity. In conclusion, men with ID are more vulnerable to the disturbing effects of fatigue during the unipedal stance compared to men without ID.     

Acute aerobic exercise helps overcome emotion regulation deficits

Although colloquial wisdom and some studies suggest an association between regular aerobic exercise and emotional well-being, the nature of this link remains poorly understood. We hypothesised that aerobic exercise may change the way people respond to their emotions. Specifically, we tested whether individuals experiencing difficulties with emotion regulation would benefit from a previous session of exercise and show swifter recovery than their counterparts who did not exercise. Participants (N?=?80) completed measures of emotion response tendencies, mood, and anxiety, and were randomly assigned to either stretch or jog for 30?minutes. All participants then underwent the same negative and positive mood inductions, and reported their emotional responses. Analyses showed that more perceived difficulty generating regulatory strategies and engaging in goal-directed behaviours after the negative mood induction predicted more intense and persistent negative affect in response to the stressor, as would be expected. Interactions revealed that aerobic exercise attenuated these effects. Moderate aerobic exercise may help attenuate negative emotions for participants initially experiencing regulatory difficulties. This study contributes to the literature on aerobic exercise’s therapeutic effects with experimental data, specifically in the realm of emotional processing.     

论传统“阴阳辨证”理论及其在现代运动训练中的应用

"阴阳辨证"是我国传统的思维方式,是对自然界相互关联的某些事物或现象对立双方的概括,即含有对立统一的内涵。本文较深入地分析了"阴阳辨证"理论的优缺点,并依托太极拳的训练理念和方法,首次提出了针对短跑训练的建议和设想。研究表明:对于复杂的人体运动系统,传统的"阴阳辨证"理论对现代运动训练理论和实践具有积极的指导意义。