Recognition memory for emotional faces in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: An event-related potential study

ABSTRACT

This study examined the temporal course of emotional face recognition in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Patients and healthy controls (HC) performed a face recognition task, giving old/new responses to previously studied and novel faces displaying a negative or neutral expression. In aMCI patients, recognition accuracy was preserved for negative faces. Event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed disease-related changes in early perceptual components but not in ERP indices of explicit recognition. Specifically, aMCI patients showed impaired recognition effects for negative faces on the amplitudes of N170 and P2, suggesting deficient memory-related processing of negative faces at the stage of structural encoding and during an early recognition stage at which faces are individuated, respectively. Moreover, while a right-lateralized emotion effect specifically observed for correctly recognized faces on the amplitude of N170 was absent in aMCI, a similar emotion effect for successfully recognized faces on P2 was preserved in the patients, albeit with a different distribution. This suggests that in aMCI facilitated processing of successfully recognized emotional faces starts later in the processing sequence. Nonetheless, an early frontal old/new effect confined to negative faces and a parietal old/new effect unaffected by facial emotion were observed in both groups. This indicates that familiarity and conceptual priming processes may specifically contribute to recognition of negative faces in older adults and that aMCI patients can recruit the same retrieval mechanisms as controls, despite disease-related changes on early perceptual ERP components.     

Factors associated with self-rated health status among university students from 26 low,middle and high income countries

The aim of this study was to investigate self-reported health status and associated factors in low, middle and high income countries. Using anonymous questionnaires, data were collected in a cross-sectional survey from 19 811 undergraduate university students (mean age=20.8, SD=2.8) from 27 universities in 26 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Results indicate that the overall self-rated health status score was 3.0 (range 1–5). Generally, university students from study countries of the Caribbean, South America and North Africa, Near East and Central Asia had greater self-rated health status scores than students from study countries in Asia. In multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis, older age, coming from an upper middle income or high income country, higher personal control, better mental health (not having sleep problems, and having no or fewer PTSD symptoms), and having normal weight predicted better self-rated health status. Paradoxically, a poor healthy dietary score and low physical activity were also associated with better self-rated health status. In comparing self-rated health status across a large sample of students across many countries, associations were found between sociodemographic, psycho-social and health related variables and self-rated health status.     

Longitudinal Predictors of Alcohol‐Related Harms During the Transition to Adulthood

While a range of factors have been found to increase the likelihood of alcohol‐related harms among young people, little is known about their relative importance. This article aimed to identify the risks for alcohol‐related harms at an age when alcohol use and problems tend to peak in Australia (19–20 years). A wide range of concurrent and antecedent factors from multiple domains were examined using path analysis, including individual characteristics, family environment, and externalising and internalising problems. The sample comprised of 941 individuals from the Australian Temperament Project, a large longitudinal community‐based study. The path model controlled for current risky drinking and revealed a number of variables that were significant longitudinal predictors of alcohol‐related harms within each of the domains, including adolescent antisocial behaviour and drinking behaviour, low agreeableness, impulsivity, and paternal drinking levels. The potential for developmental prevention approaches to reduce alcohol‐related harms by targeting externalising behaviour problems, interpersonal influences, and individual characteristics is discussed.     

A study of the dynamics of sex differences in adulthood

Studies of gender differences using primarily young individuals show that males, on average, perform better than females in physical activities but worse than females on tests of verbal abilities. There is however a controversy about the existence of these sex differences in adulthood. Our study used 1271 participants from four cultural backgrounds (Chinese, multi‐generation Canadians, Indu‐Canadians, and European‐Canadians) divided in five age groups. We measured sex differences in the time required for participants to complete a lexical task experiment, and also assessed their verbal tempo and physical endurance using a validated temperament test (Structure of Temperament Questionnaire). We found a significant female advantage in time on the lexical task and on the temperament scale of social–verbal tempo, and a male advantage on the temperament scale of physical endurance. These sex differences, however, were more pronounced in young age groups (17–24), fading in older groups. This “middle age–middle sex” phenomenon suggests that sex differences in these two types of abilities observed in younger groups might be “a matter of age,” and should not be attributed to gender in general. A one‐dimensional approach to sex differences (common in meta‐analytic studies) therefore overlooks a possible interaction of sex differences with age.     

The Last Shall Be First: Human Potential in Genetic and Theological Perspectives

The notion of “human potential” provides a fruitful window through which to explore the competing conceptual frameworks of contemporary genetics and Christianity. The contemporary cultural frame of genetics conceives of human potential in a broadly positive manner: the source of personal and societal flourishing is located within individual bodies, waiting to be identified and unleashed by genetic science and medicine for the good of persons and society. In the Judeo-Christian narrative, human individual, biological potential is far less relevant—and, in fact, may be construed as an impediment to the achievement of personal and social flourishing. Implications for the dialogue between genetics and religion are discussed.     

Measuring Fear of Movement/(Re)injury in Chronic Low Back Pain Using Implicit Measures

Fear of movement/(re)injury is assumed to contribute to the development and maintenance of chronic low back pain (CLBP) in a subgroup of patients. Studying fear of movement/(re)injury with implicit attitude measures, without the awareness of the patient, might be a valuable addition to self‐report questionnaires. The aims of the current study were to investigate whether CLBP patients demonstrate more implicit fear of movement/(re)injury than healthy controls, and whether 2 implicit measures are related to each other, and to an explicit self‐report measure of fear of movement/(re)injury. A group of 66 CLBP patients and 30 healthy controls took part in this study. In addition to self‐report questionnaires, fear of movement/(re)injury was implicitly assessed by the Extrinsic Affective Simon Task (EAST) and the Go‐No‐Go‐Association Task (GNAT) that aimed to determine the association between back‐stressing movements and the evaluation “threatening”. On both implicit tasks it was found that neither CLBP patients nor healthy controls demonstrated implicit fear of movement/(re)injury, and that CLBP patients did not differ from healthy controls in their level of implicit fear of movement/(re)injury. In general, no associations were found between the EAST and the GNAT, or between implicitly measured and self‐reported fear of movement/(re)injury. One major caveat in drawing inferences from these findings is the poor reliability of these implicit measures. Research towards the psychometric properties of these measures should first be expanded before modifying, and applying, them to more complex domains such as fear of movement/(re)injury.     

Interoceptive Exposure Therapy Combined with Trauma‐related Exposure Therapy for Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder: a Case Report

Trauma‐related exposure therapy is a useful but not universally effective treatment for post‐traumatic stress disorder. Anxiety sensitivity may play an important role in this disorder, as it does in panic disorder. Studies have shown that interoceptive exposure therapy reduces anxiety sensitivity in panic disorder. The present case study was a preliminary investigation of the merits of including interoceptive exposure therapy in the treatment of post‐traumatic stress disorder, in order to improve treatment outcome for a patient who had no history of panic disorder or panic attacks. Interoceptive exposure therapy (4 sessions) was one component of treatment, combined with trauma‐related exposure therapy (4 sessions of imaginal exposure followed by 4 sessions of in vivo exposure). Treatment outcome was assessed with the Clinician‐Administered Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder Scale, a self‐report measure of post‐traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and measures of symptoms and cognitions commonly associated with post‐traumatic stress disorder. Scores on all outcome measures decreased over the course of treatment, with gains maintained at 1‐ and 3‐month follow‐up. Symptoms of anxiety sensitivity and post‐traumatic stress disorder decreased during interoceptive exposure therapy. The results indicate that interoceptive exposure therapy is a promising adjunctive intervention for post‐traumatic stress disorder. Further research is needed into the merits of combining interoceptive exposure therapy and trauma‐related exposure therapy as a means of boosting treatment efficacy.     

Impact of Experimentally Induced Positive and Anxious Mood on Alcohol Expectancy Strength in Internally Motivated Drinkers

The effects of musically‐induced positive and anxious mood on explicit alcohol‐related cognitions (alcohol expectancy strength) in 47 undergraduate students who consume alcohol either to enhance positive mood states (for enhancement motives) or to cope with anxiety (for anxiety‐related coping motives) were investigated. Pre‐ and post‐mood induction, participants completed the emotional reward and emotional relief subscales of the Alcohol Craving Questionnaire – Now. The hypothesis that anxiety‐related coping motivated drinkers in the anxious mood condition (but not those in the positive mood condition) would exhibit increases in strength of explicit emotional relief alcohol expectancies after the mood induction was supported. An additional, unanticipated finding was that enhancement‐motivated drinkers in the anxious condition also showed significant increases in strength of explicit emotional relief (but not emotional reward) alcohol expectancies. The hypothesis that enhancement‐motivated (but not anxiety‐related coping motivated) participants would exhibit increases in explicit emotional reward expectancies following exposure to the positive mood induction procedure was not supported. Taken together with past research findings, the current results highlight the importance of distinguishing between subtypes of negative affect (i.e., anxious and depressed affect) in exploring the affective antecedents of explicit alcohol outcome expectancies.     

练习促进内隐策略生成：其发生过程及应用特点

本研究通过设置隐含算术策略的问题情境,比较不同顺序和设置条件的进程段行为反应和ERP数据差异,考察被试在不断练习条件下对隐含策略的习得过程及迁移应用特点。结果：被试在对隐含策略无意识的情况下,第1-4练习进程段的反应时、错误率显著低于第5进程段（探测段）。同时,不同进程段诱发的部分ERPs特征也呈现有规律的变化。结论：在存在隐含策略的算术策略任务情境中,通过练习人们可以在无意识情况下逐渐生成内隐策略,诱发的ERP成分P200、N400s可以部分地反映其生成过程。已生成的内隐策略,能部分地应用到相应的新情境中。     

先前情绪和过度自信对灾难事件后继风险决策的影响

研究考察了先前情绪和过度自信对灾难事件后继风险决策的影响。结果发现：(1)先前情绪的主效应显著, 积极情绪比消极情绪的个体在灾后风险决策时更加倾向于风险寻求;过度自信的主效应显著, 高过度自信比低过度自信个体在灾后风险决策时更加倾向于风险寻求。(2)先前情绪和过度自信水平交互影响灾难事件后继风险决策。高过度自信者在积极情绪状态下比在消极情绪状态下更倾向于风险寻求; 消极情绪状态下过度自信水平不同的个体之间没有显著差异。