Evaluation of multiple schedules with naturally occurring and therapist‐arranged discriminative stimuli following functional communication training

Many studies have shown that (a) functional communication training (FCT) is effective for reducing problem behavior, and (b) multiple schedules can facilitate reinforcer schedule thinning during FCT. Most studies tha have used multiple schedules with FCT have included therapist‐arranged stimuli (e.g., colored cards) as the discriminative stimuli (S^Ds), but recently, researchers have evaluated similar multiple‐schedule training procedures with naturally occurring S^Ds (e.g., overt therapist behavior). The purposes of the current study were to compare the effects of arranged and naturally occurring S^Ds directly during (a) acquisition of discriminated functional communication responses (FCRs) and (b) generalization of discriminated FCRs when we introduced the multiple schedules in novel contexts in which the naturally occurring stimuli were either relatively easy or difficult to discriminate. Results showed that (a) 2 of 3 participants acquired discriminated responding of the FCR more rapidly with arranged than with naturally occurring stimuli, (b) 2 of 3 participants showed resurgence of problem behavior , and (c) 2 of 3 participants showed greater generalization of discriminated responding to novel contexts with arranged stimuli than with naturally occurring stimuli. We discuss these results relative to the conditions under which naturally occurring and arranged S^Ds may promote rapid and generalized treatment gains.     

The effects of sport dance on brain connectivity and body intelligence

Dancing is characterised by physical movement in accordance with rhythm perception. Twelve sport dancers and 12 age- and sex-matched young adults who had no dance experience (control group) were recruited. Body intelligence and brain activity were assessed in both groups using the Body Intelligence Scale (BIS) and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. BIS scores of dancers were higher than those of control subjects. The dancer group showed increased functional connectivity from the precentral gyrus to the right cingulate gyrus, right occipital fusiform gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, right parietal postcentral gyrus, and right frontal lobe compared with control subjects. Sport dancers had increased body intelligence sensitivity compared with matched controls. In addition, the characteristics of dance, including physical movement in accordance with rhythm perception, might be associated with increased brain activity in the somatosensory and rhythm perception networks.     

脑激活定律

用物理学的观点在系统水平上讨论脑内功能子系统的脑区激活及相互作用。引入一些参量描述脑功能特性 ,并且根据现有实验事实提出脑激活的四条定律。     

Baseline reinforcement rate and resurgence of destructive behavior

Concepts from behavioral momentum theory, along with some empirical findings, suggest that the rate of baseline reinforcement may contribute to the relapse of severe destructive behavior. With seven children who engaged in destructive behavior, we tested this hypothesis in the context of functional communication training by comparing the effects of different baseline reinforcement rates on resurgence during a treatment challenge (i.e., extinction). We observed convincing resurgence of destructive behavior in four of seven participants, and we observed more resurgence in the condition associated with high‐rate baseline reinforcement (i.e., variable‐interval 2 s in Experiment 1 or fixed‐ratio 1 in Experiment 2) compared to a low‐rate baseline reinforcement condition. We discuss the implications of these results relative to schedules of reinforcement in the treatment of destructive behavior and strategies to mitigate resurgence in clinical settings.     

Response latency as a measure of behavior in the assessment of elopement

Elopement is a common form of problem behavior but is relatively underrepresented in the functional analysis literature. One barrier to assessing elopement experimentally is the need to retrieve the subject following an instance of elopement. This retrieval confounds programmed session contingencies when the goal is to obtain repeated measurement of free‐operant behavior. The current study evaluated latency to elopement as an alternative to free‐operant measurement. We first compared response latency to allocation in 5‐min sessions and then measured latency alone in a trial‐based format. The identified reinforcers matched across both data analysis modalities in the session‐based assessments, and the trial‐based functional analysis showed a significant time savings in identifying the function of behavior over a session‐based assessment. Results indicated that elopement serves idiosyncratic social functions in young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and that a latency‐based assessment saves time while yielding equally clear results.     

A comparison of functional analysis methods of inappropriate mealtime behavior

Investigators have evaluated two procedural variations for conducting a functional analysis of inappropriate mealtime behavior exhibited by children with feeding problems. One method involves prompting bites only in the escape condition (e.g., Najdowski et al., 2008). Another method involves prompting bites across all conditions (e.g., Piazza et al., 2003). We assessed the food refusal of 3 children diagnosed with a feeding disorder by comparing the two variations. The two methods resulted in different outcomes for 2 of 3 children. Prompting bites only in the escape condition identified a single function (i.e., escape). Prompting bites across all conditions identified multiple functions (i.e., escape and attention). We then examined the relative effects of extinction procedures (individually and in combination) to determine the validity of each method. Results of the treatment evaluation suggested that the procedural variation that failed to identify an attention function for 2 of 3 children produced false negative findings.     

Assessing the generality and durability of interview‐informed functional analyses and treatment

Due to the limited research demonstrating socially valid outcomes of function‐based treatments in ecologically relevant environments (Santiago, Hanley, Moore, & Jin, 2016), we replicated and extended the effects of the interview‐informed functional analysis and skill‐based treatment procedure described by Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, and Hanratty (2014) with two children diagnosed with autism in a home setting. The assessment and treatment was implemented by a home‐based service provider and treatment was extended to the participants’ parents. Following the interview‐informed functional analyses, we taught the participants functional communication responses and to engage in less‐preferred activities when functional communication outcomes were delayed. We observed large reductions in problem behavior following the introduction of the function‐based treatment. The effects extended to novel settings, stimuli, and caregivers and the results maintained at 6‐week follow‐ups.     

JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE: WEAVING SCIENCE WITH THE HUMANITIES

This article discusses Journey of the Universe as a project that consists of a film, book, conversation series, online classes, and a website. It describes how the creators worked to integrate science and humanities, not privilege or elevate science. It refutes arguments made in Lisa Sideris's Consecrating Science: Wonder, Knowledge, and the Natural World that suggest that Journey overlooks religion and distorts wonder. The article observes that Journey does not dismiss religion but includes it in explicit ways. It does not dictate wonder; it evokes wonder. In short, Journey is a living or functional cosmology with implications for mutually enhancing human–Earth relations.