Communicative gestures of the hand and arm when 4-year-old sons and their mothers interact

This study investigated a wide range of communicative hand/arm gestures of 4-year-old males when interacting with their mothers. The types of gesture categories observed were in keeping with the predicted encoding ability of this aged child. Pantomimic and deictic gestures were observed in significantly greater numbers than semantic modifying and relational gestures. Although it was found that the mothers' gestural usage reflected the type of gesture categories seen in the children's group, no correlation was found between gesture usage of individual mother-child pairs.     

On the role of the anterior cingulate cortex in phonation: A case report

A 41-year-old male patient is presented with a lesion in the anterior cingulate cortex, medial orbital cortex, and rostral striatum bilaterally and supplementary motor area on the left side. The patient first exhibited a state of akinetic mutism which lasted about 6 weeks. During this state, no volitional vocal utterances were made; there were, however, occasional groans of pain. During recovery, the mute phase was replaced by a state in which the patient could whisper but not phonate verbal utterances. About 10 weeks after the accident, phonation was restored. The speech was characterized, however, by monotonous intonation and a very low frequency of spontaneous utterances. While the frequency of spontaneous speech improved noticeably during the following months, emotional intonation remained permanently defective. A comparison of the present case with other cases from the literature as well as experimental monkey data suggest that the anterior cingulate cortex is involved in the volitional control of emotional vocal utterances.     

The purposes of laboratory experimentation and the virtues of deliberate artificiality

Critics of the laboratory experiment have maintained that artificiality (the intrusion into the experiment of “unrealistic” conditions) vitiates any possibility of generalizability beyond the confines of the laboratory. It is argued here that such artificiality in laboratory experimentation is a defect or flaw only within the context of verification and may be a distinct virtue in the context of discovery. Indeed it is argued that social psychological experiments may not be artificial enough when contrasted with the most fruitful experiments in the natural sciences. One purpose of an experiment may be to maximize artificiality deliberately so as to discover regularities that do not presently obtain under the “real” conditions outside the laboratory but which are capable of existing. When such observed laboratory regularities produce potentially beneficial outcomes, an attempt may be made to create the specific artificial laboratory conditions outside the laboratory to benefit mankind. This logic, exceedingly common in the natural sciences, has been virtually ignored in social psychology, even in the laboratory experiment, in favor of “realistic” reproduction of existing or reasonably plausible situations. Theoretical benefits of this additional modality of experimentation are illustrated by two recent developments in psychology.     

An in depth, astute, comprehensive, and erudite attempt at categorization of stuttering theorists

The purpose of this paper is to make the reader aware of the various theoretical categories into which people who have been productive in the area of stuttering can be “slotted.” Readers are encouraged to read the characteristics, as I conceive of them, of each group of people and then see where their favorite “authorities” (which in many cases will undoubtedly include themselves) fit.     

Reaction times and speed-of-processing: Their relationship to timed and untimed measures of intelligence

Eighty-one university students were given a battery of reaction time tests, measuring the speed with which they performed various elementary cognitive processes, and a group test of intelligence which yielded timed and untimed scores. Multiple regression analyses indicated that speed of information-processing was an equally good predictor of timed and untimed intelligence test performance, and that various combinations of speed-of-processing variables accounted for as much as 48% of the variance in intelligence test scores. Different speed-of-processing variables varied relatively systematically in the extent to which they correlated with the individual subtests and scales of the intelligence test.     

Sexual well-being and perceived stress in couples transitioning to parenthood: A dyadic analysis

Background/ObjectiveThe transition to parenthood encompasses several psychological and relational changes that might contribute to couples’ high levels of stress postpartum. Although common across the postpartum, couples’ sexual changes are frequently overlooked.MethodWe surveyed 255 mixed-sex new parent couples to examine the associations between sexual well-being—sexual satisfaction, desire, and postpartum sexual concerns—and perceived stress postpartum. Couples completed self-report questionnaires assessing perceived stress and sexual well-being.ResultsFor both mothers and fathers, greater sexual satisfaction was associated with their partners’ lower perceived stress and, for fathers, this was also associated with their own lower perceived stress. For mothers, greater partner-focused sexual desire was associated with their own lower perceived stress whereas, for fathers, greater partner-focused sexual desire was associated with their partners’ higher perceived stress. In addition, greater solitary sexual desire and postpartum sexual concerns were associated with both parents’ own higher perceived stress.ConclusionsThis study highlights the association between sexual well-being and couples’ postpartum stress, suggesting that more positive sexual experiences are linked to lower perceptions of stress across this vulnerable period. Couples’ sexual well-being may be an important target for interventions aimed at helping postpartum couples cope with stress.     

慢性应激损害大鼠学习记忆且抑制海马及额叶FGF2蛋白表达

慢性应激能够影响学习和记忆等认知功能。海马和额叶是与学习和记忆联系密切的脑区, 参与信息的获得、保持及提取。碱性成纤维生长因子(FGF2)对神经元发生、存活以及损伤修复具有重要促进作用, 目前成为神经系统退行性疾病相关研究的热点。本研究旨在探索慢性应激如何影响大鼠学习和记忆能力, 以及这一过程中FGF2蛋白在海马和额叶中表达的改变。实验中将16只雄性SD大鼠随机分为对照组和慢性应激组, 采用慢性不可预见温和刺激建立大鼠慢性应激模型, 通过Morris水迷宫实验及Y迷宫实验检测学习与记忆功能的改变, 并对海马及额叶中FGF2蛋白的表达情况进行Western blot及免疫组织化学检测。结果发现, 5周慢性应激导致大鼠学习和记忆能力受损, 海马及额叶FGF2蛋白表达下调。因此认为, FGF2蛋白可能参与慢性应激损害学习记忆能力的机制, 提示FGF2可能是诊断和治疗神经系统退行性病变的分子靶目标。     

高中生的亲子沟通质量对情绪性刺激注意偏向的影响

为了探讨高中生亲子沟通质量对情绪性刺激注意偏向的影响,实验一采用亲子沟通量表,筛选出亲子沟通高分组和低分组,两组被试参加点探测任务,要求被试迅速判断情绪性图片出现后呈现的圆点的位置。实验为2（组别：高亲子沟通组、低亲子沟通组）×2（情绪类型：负性和正性）×2（探测点位置一致性：一致、不一致）的混合实验设计。结果发现,负性和正性刺激的不一致条件反应时均显著短于一致条件的反应时。实验二采用事件相关电位（ERP）记录了情绪性图片诱发的信号反应。结果发现,亲子沟通高分组对负性刺激所诱发的注意指向和集中（P2成分）及选择和巩固（P3成分）显著高于低分组。以上结果表明,亲子沟通较好,在注意早期定向和选择中会对负性情绪刺激产生注意偏向。亲子沟通较差,则对情绪性的刺激没有明显的偏向性,类似于“漠不关心”的状态。