The clinical utility of the auditory P300 latency subcomponent event-related potential in preclinical diagnosis of patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease

The present meta-analysis investigated the clinical utility of the auditory P300 latency event-related potential in differentiating patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and unaffected controls. Effect size estimates were computed from mean P300 latency measurements at midline electrodes between patients and unaffected controls using the random effects restricted maximum likelihood model. The effects of clinical and ERP/EEG methological variables were assessed in a moderator analysis. P300 latency was found to be significantly prolonged in patients with AD (and MCI) compared to unaffected controls. Shortened P300 latencies were observed when comparing patients with MCI to patients with AD. Clinically relevant differences in P300 latency effect sizes were associated with mean age, interstimulus interval, stimulus difference, target frequency, reference electrode, and sampling rate. The meta-analytic findings provide robust statistical evidence for the use of the auditory P300 latency subcomponent as a biological marker of prodromal AD.     

云南省大学生自杀行为及相关因素分析

采用SCL-90、青少年生活事件量表、应对方式量表、社会支持评定量表和自编的外显行为量表对云南省3313名大学生进行了测查,并探讨了包括自杀意念及自杀企图在内的自杀行为状况及其影响因素。结果表明:(1)427(13.2%)名大学生有自杀意念,卡方检验显示女生人数显著多于男生;154(4.7%)名大学生有过自杀企图,男女生人数没有显著差异;(2)自杀意念和自杀企图在人口统计学变量上有显著差异:在自杀意念上,女生、独生子女、文科生、来自城市的学生和不完整家庭的学生、月支出少于100元的学生得分显著高于与之对应的大学生;而在自杀企图上,只有来自城市的学生和不完整家庭的学生、月支出少于100元的学生得分显著高于与之对应的大学生;(3)大学生自杀意念和自杀企图与心理症状、生活事件、情感中心应对呈显著的正相关,与问题中心应对、社会支持呈显著的负相关;(4)在结构模型中,社会支持在心理症状和自杀行为中起到显著的调节作用,情感中心应对在生活事件、社会支持、社会支持对心理症状的调节作用中起显著的中介作用,而问题中心应对在生活事件、社会支持、社会支持对事件的调节作用中起显著的中介作用。     

竞技运动中的工作记忆

竞技运动中的工作记忆是竞技运动认知研究中较为成熟的一个领域, 对运动表现具有重要影响。现有研究主要涉及运动决策、运动表现失常和运动损伤三个方面。研究者以传统工作记忆容量测试对受试者进行容量大小区分后, 分配到决策任务中, 以了解工作记忆容量与决策表现间的关系。针对运动表现失常的研究表明, 刻板印象威胁造成的认知资源损耗降低了工作记忆容量, 为运动表现失常的解释与避免提供了新的思路。对暂时性脑震荡导致的工作记忆变化研究为进一步揭示工作记忆的脑机制提供了支持。虽然现有竞技运动中工作记忆的研究在数量上并不占优势, 但在研究成果上确实有可圈可点之处。     

Ontogeny of early event memory: I. Forgetting and retrieval by 2- and 3-month-olds

In 2 experiments, 2-month-olds, trained in the mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm for two daily sessions, showed retrieval deficits relative to 3-month-olds. In Experiment 1, tests of simple forgetting administered to 2-month-olds after retention intervals of 1, 3, 6, and 9 days (a period over which 3-month-olds remember the contingency) indicated that their forgetting was complete after delays greater than 1 day. In Experiment 2, reactivation treatments administered to 2- and 3-month-olds alleviated forgetting after a retention interval of 28, but not 35, days in the 3-month-old group only. Previously, alleviated forgetting by a reactivation treatment had been demonstrated in 2-month-olds after a delay of 18 days. In both of the present experiments, performance of the two age groups did not differ during the immediate retention test at the end of training. These results suggest that neither the age of the infant nor the age of the memory determines memory retrieval after long delays; instead, it appears to be determined by the length of time that a memory has been inaccessible (i.e., forgotten). We propose that factors which delay simple forgetting will correspondingly increase the length of the interval over which a retrieval cue can still be effective in a reactivation paradigm, irrespective of the age of the infant or the age of the memory.     

归因过程“背景效应假设”的初步实验研究

通过两个实验考证了归因过程的“背景效应假设”：实验1表明,当要求活动者和观察者采用同样的背景事件时．他们之间的归因差异消失了;实验2表明,当有其它的背景信息可供参考时,被试就不再完全按照Kelley所假定的一致性和区别性信息进行归因推断。     

试评外周神经生理效应的函数之争

大量的神经生理学实验久已证实由刺激引起的外周神经生理效应具有类似于心理物理效应的高度压缩现象。从外周神经纤维中观察到的神经脉冲频率或发生电位是描述这种压缩效应的常用方法。半个多世纪以来一部分研究人员观察到压缩效应遵守刺激强度的线性对数函数,而另一部分研究人员则观察到幂函数。这种传统实验分歧,通过笔者前时建立的刺激一效应方程,得到合理的说明和两者的统一     

跨通路识别汉字形音的偏差相关成分研究

采用提高非注意纯度的“跨通路延迟反应”实验范式,研究汉字形音识别的跨通路注意事件相关电位（ＥＲＰ）,以偏差刺激ＥＲＰ减去标准刺激ＥＲＰ的早期偏差相关负波（ＤＲＮ１）为主要分析对象。以１５名正常青年为被试。结果发现：无论注意与否及何种刺激,听觉Ｎ１最大峰均位于额中央部,而视觉Ｎ１最大峰位于两侧枕部与颠后部,具有明显的通路差异性。在本实验条件下,听觉与视觉通路的ＤＲＮ１与失匹配负波（ＭＭＮ）在许多性质上相似,反映着对汉字形音识别的自动加工。根据波幅及其头皮分布特点,注意条件下的Ｎ３５０很可能是Ｎ２００与Ｎ４００的重叠,并主要表现出Ｎ４００的特点;而非注意条件下的Ｎ３５０则可能是Ｎ２００。Ｎ３５０的属性因条件而异,表明ＥＲＰ成分反映的大脑加工机制具有可塑性。     

时间知觉与估计的认知理论综述

本文回顾时间知觉与估计的实验研究 ,总结该领域的国内外研究结果 ,对该领域的各主要认知模型作了较全面的考察和评述 ,并进一步探讨了时间认知领域研究的今后发展 ,尤其是时间知觉与估计研究的脑电研究思路。     

情绪对不同外倾水平个体行为抑制的影响

采用双选择oddball实验范式与事件相关电位（ERP）技术,探讨了情绪对行为抑制的影响以及外倾性的调节作用。行为数据发现,相比标准刺激,被试对偏差刺激的反应时显著更慢,证明实验成功诱发了行为抑制效应。在内倾组,负性刺激下偏差与标准刺激反应时差值显著长于正性刺激条件,而在外倾组无显著差异。脑电数据发现,在N2成分上,内倾组在正性情绪下的波幅显著小于负性和中性情绪,而在外倾组,不同情绪下的波幅不存在显著差异。在P3成分上,内倾组在正性情绪下的波幅显著大于负性和中性情绪,相反,外倾组在负性情绪下的波幅显著大于正性和中性情绪。结果表明,情绪对行为抑制的影响受到了个体外倾性水平的调节。     

Urgency and negative emotions: Evidence for moderation on negative alcohol consequences

Prior research had shown that impulsivity may enhance the impact of negative emotions on alcohol related problems. However, these studies used broad measures of both negative emotions and impulsivity that may have obscured the effects of more specific constructs of impulsivity or negative emotions. One such construct is urgency, which is defined as the tendency to act impulsively in the face of strong positive emotions (positive urgency) or negative emotions (negative urgency). The present study tested whether urgency moderated the association between separate negative emotions (anger, depression and anxiety) and alcohol related problems. Data were obtained from a large online sample of currently drinking college students attending a large Northwestern university (n = 442). Findings indicated that alcohol related problems were directly associated with anger and both urgency facets. Additionally, positive urgency, but not negative urgency, enhanced the effects of depression, while the buffering effects of positive urgency on the anxiety-consequences association approached significance. These results suggest the importance of emotional context in understanding how dispositions towards rash action may lead to problematic alcohol use.