Effects of differential reinforcement on the behavior and self-esteem of children with emotional and behavioral disorders

Students in a residential special school for children with emotional and behavioral disorders participated in a study designed to reduce their levels of inappropriate behavior. The residential care staff rated the students' behavioral problems and their class teachers rated their overt self-esteem pre and post intervention. In addition, the students completed self-ratings of their self-esteem. The students were divided into two groups, experimental and control. A multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to assess behavioral changes in the experimental group. Both groups received tangible rewards to the same level but only the experimental group received them contingent upon behaving appropriately. Results showed that the experimental group students made substantial reductions in their levels of inappropriate behavior, which were maintained at a three-month followup. Also, ratings of their behavioral problems by residential child care staff suggested that this improvement in behavior had generalized beyond the classroom to the residential setting. However, no significant differences were found between the pre- and post-intervention ratings of their self-esteem or teacher ratings of their overt self-esteem.     

The use of the psychological stress evaluator with stutterers

A lie detection instrument, the Psychological Stress Evaluator, has been reported by the manufacturer as being capable of quantifying changes in the degree of “stress” as reflected by a subject's voice. Speech pathologists might consider the use of the instrument in clinical and research activities concerning the stutterer's emotional (stress) reaction to stuttering.To test the validity of the instrument, four stutterers and four normal speakers were recorded while making consecutive telephone calls. Randomized recordings were analyzed by a company trained technical to determine the degree of stress for each speech sample.Results indicated that both groups had a significant reduction of stress from the first to the fourth telephone call. However, the groups did not differ in the degree of stress during the ordered series of calls. Due to the inability of the Psychological Stress Evaluator to differentiate between the groups, the validity of the instruments is questioned.     

Behavioral assessment and treatment of acquired visuoperceptual disorders

Visuoperceptual deficits are common sequelae of damage to either hemisphere of the brain, but are typically more pronounced following injuries involving the right cerebral hemisphere. Common visuoperceptual disorders include visual field cuts, hemi-inattention and hemi-spatial neglect, hemi-perceptual deficits, and gaze and visual pursuit disturbances. A number of behavioral interventions have been developed to teach patients to compensate for acquired visual deficits. Studies addressing assessment and treatment issues in this area are reviewed, and future directions for research are outlined.     

Alexithymia as a potential source of symptom over‐reporting: An exploratory study in forensic patients and non‐forensic participants

The traditional interpretation of symptom over‐reporting is that it indicates malingering. We explored a different perspective, namely that over‐reporting of eccentric symptoms is related to deficits in articulating internal experiences (i.e., alexithymia). Given that alexithymia has been linked to sleep problems and that fatigue may fuel inattentive responding to symptom lists, we administered measures of alexithymia (TAS ‐20) and symptom over‐reporting (SIMS ), but also sleep quality (SLEEP ‐50) to forensic psychiatric outpatients (n = 40) and non‐forensic participants (n = 40). Forensic patients scored significantly higher on all three indices than non‐forensic participants. In the total sample as well as in subsamples, over‐reporting correlated positively and significantly with alexithymia, with r s being in the 0.50–0.65 range. Sleep problems were also related to over‐reporting, but in the full sample and in the forensic subsample, alexithymia predicted variance in over‐reporting over and above sleep problems. Although our study is cross‐sectional in nature, its results indicate that alexithymia as a potential source of over‐reporting merits systematic research.     

Naturalistic Partial Sleep Deprivation Leads to Greater Next-Day Anxiety: The Moderating Role of Baseline Anxiety and Depression

The detrimental effects of insufficient sleep on emotional functioning have been well established. Total sleep deprivation usually leads to increased anxiety and depressive symptoms the following day. However, no study has yet examined the relationships between unmanipulated partial sleep deprivation and next-day symptoms of anxiety and depression in everyday life, which this study sought to characterize. Participants (N = 94) completed daily diary surveys twice per day for 2 weeks without instructions to alter their sleep in any way. Nights of spontaneous, naturally occurring partial sleep deprivation were followed by increased levels of self-reported symptoms of anxious arousal the next day, but were unrelated to next-day symptoms of anhedonic depression or general distress. The relationship between partial sleep deprivation and next-day anxious arousal was found to be moderated by both baseline depressive symptoms and anxiety such that individuals reporting higher levels of depression or anxiety at baseline showed relatively greater increases in symptoms of anxiety following partial sleep deprivation. These results suggest that partial sleep deprivation occurring in everyday life can lead to higher next-day levels of anxious arousal, a relationship that is particularly deleterious for individuals with higher overall levels of anxiety or depressive symptoms.     

Interoceptive Awareness and Suicidal Ideation in a Clinical Eating Disorder Sample: The Role of Body Trust

Previous research has demonstrated that both suicidal ideation (SI) and eating disorders (EDs) are associated with poor interoceptive awareness (IA). Suicidality research has demonstrated that the IA dimension of lower body trust is associated with SI, suicide plans, and suicide attempts. Similarly, in ED samples, recent research supports that low body trust has been the most robust dimension of IA associated with eating pathology. However, to date, research is lacking in how dimensions of IA may be associated with SI in an ED sample, above and beyond the impact of eating pathology on SI. Thus, in a clinical ED sample, the present study sought to determine which IA dimensions predict the presence and severity of SI, above and beyond ED symptoms. Participants (N = 102) completed a clinical interview assessing SI and self-report assessments including the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). Results demonstrated that patients with current SI reported greater ED psychopathology, lower MAIA Attention Regulation, MAIA Self-Regulation, and MAIA Trusting scores compared to patients without SI. Higher ED psychopathology and lower MAIA Attention Regulation, Self-Regulation, and Trusting subscale scores were all significantly associated with the presence of SI. However, only low MAIA Trusting scores predicted the presence of SI, above and beyond covariates (age, depression, and eating pathology). No MAIA subscales were correlated with the severity of SI. Consistent with previous research, results suggest low MAIA Trusting scores may be associated with SI in ED samples and highlight the need for future research on mechanisms of these associations.     

Neurodualism: People Assume that the Brain Affects the Mind more than the Mind Affects the Brain

People commonly think of the mind and the brain as distinct entities that interact, a view known as dualism. At the same time, the public widely acknowledges that science attributes all mental phenomena to the workings of a material brain, a view at odds with dualism. How do people reconcile these conflicting perspectives? We propose that people distort claims about the brain from the wider culture to fit their dualist belief that minds and brains are distinct, interacting entities: Exposure to cultural discourse about the brain as the physical basis for the mind prompts people to posit that mind–brain interactions are asymmetric, such that the brain is able to affect the mind more than vice versa. We term this hybrid intuitive theory neurodualism. Five studies involving both thought experiments and naturalistic scenarios provided evidence of neurodualism among laypeople and, to some extent, even practicing psychotherapists. For example, lay participants reported that “a change in a person's brain” is accompanied by “a change in the person's mind” more often than vice versa. Similarly, when asked to imagine that “future scientists were able to alter exactly 25% of a person's brain,” participants reported larger corresponding changes in the person's mind than in the opposite direction. Participants also showed a similarly asymmetric pattern favoring the brain over the mind in naturalistic scenarios. By uncovering people's intuitive theories of the mind–brain relation, the results provide insights into societal phenomena such as the allure of neuroscience and common misperceptions of mental health treatments.     

Personality pathology severity,cluster type and specific therapeutic interventions in outpatient psychotherapy

We explored the relationship between severity of personality pathology, cluster type and therapeutic interventions (psychodynamic–interpersonal [PI] and cognitive–behavioural [CB]) in 76 outpatients across two early sessions (3rd and 9th) of psychodynamic psychotherapy, while accounting for patients' baseline global symptom severity. Pretreatment personality pathology severity was assessed using the Personality Disorder Index (PDI), where DSM‐IV Axis II PD was assigned a value of 2, subclinical traits and features were assigned a 1 and absence of Axis II psychopathology was assigned a 0. Interrater reliability of personality pathology severity was excellent (ICC [1, 1]: 0.85). Interrater agreement for Cluster A (κ = 0.75), Cluster B (κ = 0.92) and Cluster C (κ = 0.70) was high. Interventions were coded with Comparative Psychotherapy Process Scale (CPPS) from videotapes, and reliability was excellent (CPPS‐PI = 0.86; CPPS‐CB = 0.78). Stepwise linear regressions indicated that therapists' focus on mood shift/topic avoidance (B = 0.29, p = .009) and future events (B = ?0.26, p = .020) predicted Axis II severity. Overall use of PI techniques and Cluster A personality disorder (CLA) were positively correlated (r = .312, p = .006). Stepwise binomial logistic regressions indicated that therapists' focus on uncomfortable feelings (B = 1.915, p = .008) and explaining rationale behind approach (B = 1.276, p =. 038) predicted CLA. All results remained significant when controlling for patients' baseline general symptomatology (Brief Symptom Inventory‐Global Severity Index [BSI‐GSI]), except for the relation between explaining rationale and CLA. Discussion highlights how using psychodynamic treatment model, therapists' focus on patient's in‐session affect expression and explaining rationale behind approach are highly relevant when working with CLA patients.     

孤独症儿童动作发展障碍的神经机制

动作发展障碍(Developmental motor disorders)是孤独症谱系障碍的常见特征。通过系统回顾孤独症儿童动作发展障碍的神经科学研究, 发现γ-氨基丁酸和5-羟色胺浓度的改变及γ-氨基丁酸相关蛋白和Shank蛋白的表达异常不仅会损害中枢神经系统的发育, 而且还能导致突触兴奋性与抑制性失衡, 进而改变孤独症儿童小脑和大脑皮层运动区的功能连接。孤独症儿童小脑、基底神经节和胼胝体结构的改变对全脑的连通性产生了负面影响。神经生化机制和脑结构的异常共同导致了脑功能的异常, 最终造成孤独症儿童的动作发展障碍。此外, 动作发展障碍与孤独症核心症状共同的神经基础主要包括镜像神经元系统紊乱, 丘脑、基底神经节和小脑异常以及SLC7A5和PTEN 基因突变。未来研究需要关注与运动密切相关的其他神经递质, 如乙酰胆碱和多巴胺; 探索动作发展障碍神经网络的动态机制及其形成; 剖析该障碍的神经机制和自闭症核心症状神经机制的相互作用。