The Naked Spirit of Sport: A Framework for Revisiting the System of Bans and Justifications in the World Anti-Doping Code

As the World Anti-Doping Code is up for revision, the paper proposes a framework for reading the Code based on a relatively literal approach and an almost exclusive focus on the ‘spirit of sport’ as a key element of the Code. The author argues that this single element can contribute to revealing the underlying rationale of the Code, as it serves to justify bans of doping substances and methods, in some cases without recurring to evidence sustaining the claims made. For a substance/method to be banned, the Code requires that two out of three criteria be met: performance enhancement, health risk and the spirit of sport. The paper demonstrates how these provisions link to other parts of the Code, (under the rules of the Code 2009) in the absence of performance-enhancing properties combined with a health risk. The paper draws implications from these findings regarding terminological (im)precision, legal certainty/predictability, transparency/accountability, limits to arbitrary exercise of power and internal/external validity.     

The role of componential analysis,categorical hypothesising,replicability and confirmation bias in testing for bilingual advantages in executive functioning

Kroll and Bialystok assert that managing two languages leads to a reorganisation of the neural circuits involved in language and cognitive processing and to bilingual advantages in executive functioning. This commentary documents that bilingual advantages in inhibitory control, switching and monitoring are difficult to replicate. Kroll and Bialystok argue that the use of componential analyses and categorical hypothesising are often responsible for the null results and that these research practices have created a false controversy surrounding the existence of bilingual advantages. An alternative perspective is presented suggesting that the appearance of a steady stream of published reports has been exaggerated because of the frequent use of risky small n's, a confirmation bias to report positive findings and a reluctance to conduct and report exact replications.     

Auditory sensory gating and performance on the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System

Sensory gating is a neurological mechanism that inhibits redundant sensory information. Impaired sensory gating is not uncommon in otherwise healthy individuals, but its relationship with higher level cognitive function is poorly understood. It is plausible that cognitive fragmentation associated with poor sensory gating may affect an individual's higher level executive functioning. Fifty-one participants (Mean age?=?22.02; 24 males) were administered an electroencephalogram with a paired-tone paradigm to measure sensory gating as well as a comprehensive executive functioning battery—the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System. Overall, better performance on the D-KEFS was related to more effective sensory gating. Also, tasks that measured cognitive flexibility predicted P50 latency as well as P200 amplitude and sensory gating. Understanding the relationship between sensory gating and cognitive processing has implications for healthy individuals and clinical groups alike.     

What is the size of the relationship between global mental toughness and youth experiences?

Youth experiences are a core requirement for components of positive youth development and may be associated with an athlete’s mental toughness. The purposes of this study were to examine the relationship between mental toughness and youth experiences. Two hundred and ninety nine athletes (M_age 19.48 years, SD 1.30) completed the Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire and Youth Experiences Survey. We then conducted a standard multiple regression on the data. R for regression was significantly different from zero, F(6, 292) = 8.106, p = .0001, with R² at .14. Altogether, 14% (13% adjusted) of the variance in mental toughness was accounted for by youth experiences. These results reveal that initiative experiences have the strongest relationship with mental toughness; however, youth experiences may not be as important as previous studies suggest.     

Aging of theory of mind: The influence of educational level and cognitive processing

Previous studies of theory of mind (ToM) in old age have provided mixed results. We predicted that educational level and cognitive processing are two factors influencing the pattern of the aging of ToM. To test this hypothesis, a younger group who received higher education (mean age 20.46 years), an older group with an education level equal to that of the young group (mean age 76.29 years), and an older group with less education (mean age 73.52 years) were recruited. ToM tasks included the following tests: the second‐order false‐belief task, the faux‐pas task, the eyes test, and tests of fundamental aspects of cognitive function that included two background tests (memory span and processing speed) and three subcomponents of executive function (inhibition, updating, and shifting). We found that the younger group and the older group with equally high education outperformed the older group with less education in false‐belief and faux‐pas tasks. However, there was no significant difference between the two former groups. The three groups of participants performed equivalently in the eyes test as well as in control tasks (false‐belief control question, faux‐pas control question, faux‐pas control story, and Eyes Test control task). The younger group outperformed the other two groups in the cognitive processing tasks. Mediation analyses showed that difficulties in inhibition, memory span, and processing speed mediated the age differences in false‐belief reasoning. Also, the variables of inhibition, updating, memory span, and processing speed mediated age‐related variance in faux‐pas. Discussion focused on the links between ToM aging, educational level, and cognitive processing.     

Developmental dissociation of visual dorsal stream parvo and magnocellular representations and the functional impact of negative retinotopic BOLD responses

Localized neurodevelopmental defects provide an opportunity to study structure–function correlations in the human nervous system. This unique multimodal case report of epileptogenic dysplasia in the visual cortex allowed exploring visual function across distinct pathways in retinotopic regions and the dorsal stream, in relation to fMRI retinotopic mapping and spike triggered BOLD responses.     

情绪对注意功能网络的调制

情绪性注意是一种对具有情绪意义的刺激进行选择和加工的注意.由于刺激的情绪效价能调制人脑的感知和注意系统,因而,与对中性刺激的注意相比,情绪性注意的神经机制更加复杂.较早的研究显示,杏仁核对感知皮层的调制对情绪性注意起关键作用.近期的证据表明,杏仁核对注意功能网络的调制可能是其重要的神经机制.本文梳理了相关领域的研究证据,主要强调情绪性刺激对注意的警觉、定向和执行控制网络的调制,发现情绪性注意加工的认知神经机制可能涉及一个以杏仁核为核心的多重功能网络.     

Sport-Based Life Skills Programming in the Schools

SUMMARY

The philosophy of sport and physical activity being readily available for all youth has a long history. Research suggests that sport is a significant factor in the development of adolescents' self-esteem, identity and feelings of competence. Using sport to promote competence in youth has tremendous benefits and risks. The greatest risk is the belief held by many that we can make a difference by just ‘throwing the ball and letting them play.’ This paper will focus on the role that sport can play in facilitating positive youth development. We delineate the environments in which sport best contributes to positive youth development and the role schools, and the psychologists who work in these schools, can play in this process. In addition, we will provide examples of several sport-based programs designed to enhance positive development, the components that make these programs successful and issues related to the design, implementation and evaluation of these programs.     

Development and Implementation of a Sport Psychology Program in an Urban High School

SUMMARY

This article is based on a dissertation of the author that was centered on the process of developing a sport psychology program at the high school level. The program was developed to address academic, mental, social, and emotional needs of student-athletes and coaches. This sport psychology program, which was developed in the Linden Public School District, a large urban district in New Jersey, may be the first such program documented on a national level. In this dissertation, the author, who was a school psychologist in the district, utilized a particular program planning and evaluation framework, with attention to the first two phases-clarification and designto develop and implement a sport psychology program.     

Task-switching abilities in children with autism spectrum disorder

Task-switching performance is often used as a measure of executive control functions. Various task-switching studies in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) found, in contrast to expectations, no impairments in cognitive flexibility. Here, we studied whether the role of memory for arbitrary task rules can explain these findings, and how studying rule memory can help to generally better understand executive control. We designed a novel task-switching paradigm to separate cognitive flexibility from demand on memory for arbitrary rules, and we compared 19 children with ASD (9 to 16 years old) with an age- and IQ-matched control group. Children with ASD had increased difficulty with task switching only when memorizing arbitrary rules was required. When no arbitrary rules needed to be memorized, they performed accurately and quickly. Nevertheless, they showed less distraction from task-irrelevant stimulus features, suggesting that they represented tasks differently from the children in the comparison group. We conclude that children with ASD have a weaker capacity of forming rule representations, which only leads to performance impairment when they need to memorize arbitrary rules. Further, executive control impairments in ASD seem more complex than hitherto hypothesized due to mutual interactions between memory demand and task representations.