Early life origins of psychological development and mental health

According to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)‐hypothesis, conditions early in life may have life‐long consequences. In a series of epidemiological birth cohort and clinical studies and natural experiments, we have had the chance to test the extent to which this hypothesis is useful in understanding individual differences in psychological development and mental health. Our findings have provided evidence that individual differences in cognitive, social and emotional development and in mental health may lie in early life circumstances, and add significantly to the literature by pointing out which periods of early growth are the most critical. These findings are also important in translating pre‐clinical evidence to humans. What remains less clear, however, is what the mechanisms of programming are. Thus, further research is needed to elucidate these mechanisms before information on the early life origins of health and disease can be used in designing prevention and intervention programs.     

Development and Evaluation of a Decision Aid About Prenatal Testing for Women of Advanced Maternal Age

Objective: To develop and evaluate a decision aid designed to prepare patients of advanced maternal age for counseling about prenatal diagnostic testing. Setting: A regional genetics center. Design: A before/after study. Interventions: Participants used an audioguided workbook to learn about options and outcomes and to clarify personal risks, values, questions, and predispositions. Subjects: 21 women of advanced maternal age and 17 spouses. Main outcome measures: Knowledge of prenatal testing alternatives, decisional conflict, level of anxiety, and acceptability of the decision aid. Results: After using the decision aid, participants had significantly reduced decisional conflict (uncertainty) and a significant increase in knowledge. There was no effect on state or trait anxiety. More than three-quarters of participants were satisfied with the length, clarity, balance, and acceptability of the decision aid. Conclusions: The decision aid shows promise as a useful aid for preparing couples for counseling.     

Intertrial sources of stimulus control and delayed matching-to-sample performance in humans

Two experiments compared delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) accuracy under 2 procedures in adults with mental retardation. In the trial-unique procedure, every trial in a session contained different stimuli. Thus, comparison stimuli that were correct on one trial were never incorrect on other trials in that session (or vice versa). In the 2-sample DMTS procedure, the same 2 comparison stimuli were presented on each trial, and their function changed quasi-randomly across trials conditional upon the sample stimulus. Across 2 experiments, 7 of 8 subjects showed the highest overall accuracy under the trial-unique procedure, and no subject showed consistently higher accuracy under the 2-sample procedure. Negative, exponential decay functions fit to logit p values showed that this difference was due largely to the steeper delay-mediated decline in sample control for the 2-sample procedure. Stimulus-control analyses indicated that, under the 2-sample procedure, the selection of the comparison stimulus on Trial N was often controlled by the comparison stimulus selection on Trial N-1 rather than the Trial-N sample stimulus. This source of competing stimulus control is not present in trial-unique procedures. Experiment 2 manipulated intertrial interval duration. There was a small but consistent increase in accuracy as a function of intertrial interval duration under the 2-sample procedure, but not under the trial-unique procedure.     

Oxford cognitive screen: A critical review and independent psychometric evaluation

The Oxford cognitive screen (OCS) is a stroke-specific cognitive screening assessment. Although the test developers have provided psychometric information for the assessment, the OCS has received minimal external scrutiny, with which to triangulate the underpinning psychometrics. The purpose of this study is to provide a critical review and independent validation of the OCS. This study analysed data from an anonymised clinical database, which consisted of 316 patients who were assessed using the OCS on an Acute Stroke Unit. The rates of impairment on tests of memory and receptive communication were lower than expectation, suggesting that these subtests may be relatively insensitive. Patients with aphasia were more likely to be unable to categorised as impaired on non-language tests, suggesting that they remain sensitive to language processing or non-dominant hand usage. Some of the subtests of the OCS achieve high retest reliability, which makes them good candidates for measuring cognitive change over time. Although the OCS has many advantages, it is also important to adequately consider its limitations, that is insensitivity to memory problems, the potential confounding impact of non-dominant hand usage, and the potential that some tests may sample overall cognitive ability instead of domain-specific functioning.     

Continuation of Pregnancy Following the Diagnosis of a Fetal Sex Chromosome Abnormality: A Study of Parents' Counseling Needs and Experiences

Parents who decide to continue a pregnancy diagnosed with a sex chromosome abnormality (SCA) experience a variety of emotions as they deal with complex medical and genetic information. To better understand these individuals' psychosocial, educational, and support needs, 26 parents who received prenatal diagnosis of an SCA after 1989 and who had decided to continue their pregnancy were interviewed by telephone. Twenty (77%) reported they initially had a poor understanding of the predicted syndrome. All parents later met with a genetics professional. Twenty-two (92%) parents considered sterility and underdevelopment of secondary sexual characteristics to be the most negative aspects of SCAs. Contact with other parents of children with SCAs and with support organizations were generally viewed as helpful experiences. Insight gained from this study should be useful for genetic counselors and other health care providers involved with patients who have received abnormal prenatal diagnosis results.     

A computer touch-screen apparatus for training visual discriminations in rats.

We describe an operant conditioning apparatus that uses computerized touch-screen technology and is designed for the versatile and highly controlled testing of rats in a potentially wide variety of behavioral paradigms. Although computer-controlled touch-screen systems have been developed for use with pigeons, monkeys, and humans, analogous technologies and methods have not yet been developed for rats. The development of a touch-screen system for rats could enhance the efficiency of behavioral research with rats, and may offer a unique tool for studying animal learning. In the first test of the utility of the apparatus, 3 Sprague-Dawley rats learned to activate the touch screen only after the touch-screen panel was made slightly movable. These animals then learned to discriminate visual stimuli presented on the computer monitor, but only after the food magazine and pellet dispenser were moved to the rear of the chamber opposite the stimulus display and response window. In a test of the utility of the modified apparatus, 6 Long-Evans rats learned to activate the touch screen and learned one of three different simple discriminations using computer-generated, visually presented stimuli. A basic method for training rats to activate the computer touch screen and for visual discrimination training is described. Results show that rats learned to activate the touch screen and discriminate visual stimuli presented on a computer monitor. Potential applications and advantages of the touch-screen-equipped rat operant conditioning chamber are discussed.     

The screen memory and the act of remembering

Screen memories, seen by Freud, Greenacre and other analysts of a past generation as a key source of data for the reconstruction of psychic and historical reality, have been relatively neglected in contemporary analysis. A fresh look shows that these durable, constant memories have a dual relation to childhood experience: they memorialize both a specific organization of trauma, wish and defense, and a private childhood act of remembering. Close attention to the screen memory itself and the context in which it appears indicates that both aspects of screen memory have meaning for the individual and are represented in fantasy. Both currents of meaning can be seen in a literary screen memory and in the clinical situation, where both play out in transference and countertransference.     

Are Parental Rules regarding Screen Behaviors Associated with Youth’ Sedentary Behavior? The UP&DOWN Study

Abstract

This study aims to examine the associations of parental rules with sedentary behavior (SB) in youth. Leisure-time SB was assessed by accelerometry and questionnaire. In boys, parental rules regarding TV were negatively associated with objectively-measured leisure-time SB and time spent in all screen behaviors, but positively associated with educational SB. Among girls, the total number of parental rules was negatively associated with the time spent surfing the Internet, but positively related with educational SB, on weekends. The imposition of rules by parents may be a simple and effective strategy to improve sedentary patterns in youth, especially among boys.