Bowen Theory: A Study of Differentiation of Self, Social Anxiety, and Physiological Symptoms

The study tested several propositions about an important construct in Bowen's theory of differentiation of self, using an Israeli sample of university students to examine relationships between differentiation of self, social anxiety, and physiological symptoms. The main finding was that family differentiation was negatively correlated with social anxiety (particularly fear of negative evaluation) and physiological symptoms. Results suggest that differentiation is a meaningful construct for Israeli students, and that less differentiated students may be at risk for high levels of social anxiety and symptomatology. They also suggest that therapists should consider various aspects of differentiation when treating a client's social anxiety.     

记忆机制中再认的事件相关电位

ERP对于记忆的研究有独到之处,在研究方法是有外显的直接范式和内隐的间接范式,分别表现为ERP新旧效应和重复效应,即在刺激200ms以后的正向偏移.对于记忆提取的ERP效应已有一些理论解释,但在听觉记忆、汉字记忆以及记忆的脑内机制等方面还需要进一步的深入研究.     

The effect of intentional expectancy on mental processing: a chronopsychophysiological investigation

Expected events are processed faster than unexpected ones. Previously, we have reported evidence that passive expectancies determined by the preceding event sequence mainly affected the duration of motoric processes. Here we examined the effects of instructed, intentional expectancies in a two-choice reaction time (RT) task. As predicted, RTs were shorter for expected than unexpected events. Onset of the lateralized readiness potential as an index of selective response activation, and the latency of the P300 component of the event-related potential, reflecting the duration of perceptual processing, indicated that intentional expectancy affected the time demands for central processing but did not influence the duration of early perceptual or motoric processes. Together the present and our previous results provide evidence that different kinds of expectancy can be distinguished by their locus of action within the information processing system.     

Effect of drugs on response-duration differentiation VII: response-force requirements

Rats were trained to press a lever for at least 1 s but for less than 1.3 s. The force required to press the lever was then increased or decreased by 10, 15, or 20 g. Increases in the force requirements for lever pressing decreased timing accuracy, but decreases in the force requirement had the opposite effect. Accuracy decreases at increasing force requirements were characterized by an increase in the relative frequency of responses that were too short to meet the reinforcement criterion. In contrast, increases in accuracy when the force requirements were decreased were characterized by increases in response durations that met the reinforcement criterion and decreases in the relative frequency of responses that were too short to produce the reinforcer. Phencyclidine (PCP) and methamphetamine produced dose-dependent decreases in accuracy that were associated primarily with increases in the relative frequency of short response durations, although methamphetamine also produced increases in long response durations at some doses. When the effects of PCP were determined with the force requirement increased by 10 g or decreased by 15 g, the cumulative response-duration distribution shifted toward even shorter response durations. When the effects of methamphetamine were determined with the force requirement on the lever increased by 10 g, the cumulative frequency distribution was shifted toward shorter response durations to about the same extent as it had been before force requirements increased; however, when the force required to press the lever was decreased by 15 g, these shifts toward shorter response durations almost completely disappeared. These results show that increases and decreases in the force requirements for lever pressing have different effects on the accuracy of temporal response differentiation.     

Inferior parietal lobule involved in representation of “what” in a delayed-action Libet task

Intentional motor action is typically characterized by the decision about the timing, and the selection of the action variant, known as the “what” component. We compared free action selection with instructed action, where the movement type was externally cued, in order to investigate the action selection and action representation in a Libet’s task. Temporal and spatial locus of these processes was examined using the combination of high-density electroencephalography, topographic analysis of variance, and source reconstruction. Instructed action, engaging representation of the response movement, was associated with distinct negativity at the parietal and centro-parietal channels starting around 750 ms before the movement, which has a source particularly in the bilateral inferior parietal lobule. This suggests that in delayed-action tasks, the process of action representation in the inferior parietal lobule may play an important part in the larger parieto-frontal activity responsible for movement selection.     

Referential Form and Memory for the Discourse History

The way we refer to things in the world is shaped by the immediate physical context as well as the discourse history. But what part of the discourse history is relevant to language use in the present? In four experiments, we combine the study of task-based conversation with measures of recognition memory to examine the role of physical contextual cues that shape what speakers perceive to be a part of the relevant discourse history. Our studies leverage the differentiation effect, a phenomenon in which speakers are more likely to use a modified expression to refer to an object (e.g., dotted sock) if they had previously described a similar object (e.g., striped sock) than when they had not described a similar object. Two physical cues—the background that framed the to-be-described pictures and the position of the pictures in the display—were manipulated to alter perceptions about the relevant discourse context. We measured the rate with which speakers modify referring expressions to differentiate current from past referents. Recognition memory measures following the conversation probed what was and was not remembered about past discourse referents and contexts. Analysis of modification rates indicated that these contextual grouping cues shaped perceptions about the relevant discourse context. The contextual cues did not affect memory for the referents, but the memory for past referents was better for speakers than for listeners. Our findings show that perceptions about the relevant discourse history are a key determinant of how language is used in the moment but also that conversational partners form asymmetric representations of the discourse history.     

Effects of chronic exercise on attentional bias among individuals with methamphetamine use disorder

BackgroundIndividuals with substance use disorder show attentional bias toward drug-related cues, which may be associated with attentional control deficits. Although exercise improves attention in healthy people, whether individuals with substance use disorder also benefit is unknown. We explored the effects of chronic exercise on behavioral and neural correlates of attentional bias in men with methamphetamine use disorder.MethodsSixty-one such men were randomized to high- or moderate-intensity exercise or to a control group with little exercise for 12 weeks. The dot-probe task assessed attentional bias before and after exercise intervention, with event-related potentials recorded during the task to determine underlying neural mechanisms.ResultsAttentional bias scores and event-related potential amplitudes significantly decreased after high- or moderate-intensity chronic exercise, but not in controls.ConclusionsChronic exercise reduces attentional bias in individuals with methamphetamine use disorder by enhancing early identification of drug-related stimuli and diverting attention to reduce conflict processing.     

Which limb is it? Responses to vibrotactile stimulation in early infancy

This study focuses on how the body schema develops during the first months of life, by investigating infants’ motor responses to localized vibrotactile stimulation on their limbs. Vibrotactile stimulation was provided by small buzzers that were attached to the infants’ four limbs one at a time. Four age groups were compared cross‐sectionally (3‐, 4‐, 5‐, and 6‐month‐olds). We show that before they actually reach for the buzzer, which, according to previous studies, occurs around 7–8 months of age, infants demonstrate emerging knowledge about their body's configuration by producing specific movement patterns associated with the stimulated body area. At 3 months, infants responded with an increase in general activity when the buzzer was placed on the body, independently of the vibrator's location. Differentiated topographical awareness of the body seemed to appear around 5 months, with specific responses resulting from stimulation of the hands emerging first, followed by the differentiation of movement patterns associated with the stimulation of the feet. Qualitative analyses revealed specific movement types reliably associated with each stimulated location by 6 months of age, possibly preparing infants’ ability to actually reach for the vibrating target. We discuss this result in relation to newborns’ ability to learn specific movement patterns through intersensory contingency.

Statement of contribution

what is already known on infants’ sensorimotor knowledge about their own bodies

• 3‐month‐olds readily learn to produce specific limb movements to obtain a desired effect (movement of a mobile).
• infants detect temporal and spatial correspondences between events involving their own body and visual events.

what the present study adds

• until 4–5 months of age, infants mostly produce general motor responses to localized touch.
• this is because in the present study, infants could not rely on immediate contingent feedback.
• we propose a cephalocaudal developmental trend of topographic differentiation of body areas.

     

Emotion differentiation and its relation with emotional well-being in adolescents

Emotion differentiation (ED) refers to the precision with which people can identify and distinguish their emotions and has been associated with well-being in adults. This study investigated ED and its relation with emotional well-being (i.e. depressive symptoms, positivity and negativity intensity and propensity, implicit theories of emotions) in adolescents. We used an experience sampling method with 72 participants (M_age?=?14.00, 71% girls) to assess adolescents’ positive and negative emotions at different time points over the course of two weekends and a baseline questionnaire to assess emotional well-being. Differentiating negative emotions was related to less negativity intensity and propensity, and to the belief that emotions are malleable. Differentiating positive emotions was not related to any of the assessed well-being variables. Together, these results suggest that a detailed awareness of one’s negative emotional states is an important dimension of well-being, also in adolescence.