Fathers for Change for Substance Use and Intimate Partner Violence: Initial Community Pilot

The lack of focus on the role of men as fathers within intervention programs for men with histories of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) or substance abuse is of significant concern given the large numbers of these men who are actively parenting and coparenting children. Fathers for Change is a new intervention designed to fill this gap. Eighteen fathers with co‐occurring IPV and substance abuse were randomly assigned to Fathers for Change or Individual Drug Counseling (IDC). They were assessed at baseline, post‐intervention and 3 months following the 16‐week intervention period. Men in the Fathers for Change group: (1) were more likely to complete treatment; (2) reported significantly greater satisfaction with the program; (3) reported a trend toward less IPV; and (4) exhibited significantly less intrusiveness in coded play interactions with their children following treatment than fathers in the IDC group. Results indicate further evaluation of this intervention in a larger sample is warranted. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Strengthening the Role of Unmarried Fathers: Findings from the Co‐Parent Court Project

While the importance of fathers in unmarried coparent families is a strong area of social and political interest, a dearth of community‐based interventions exists for supporting the role of fathers in at‐risk families. The Co‐Parent Court (CPC) was a 3‐year demonstration project evaluating the effectiveness of a collaborative intervention to support unmarried coparents establishing paternity and improving their coparenting relationships and paternal involvement in their child's life. A randomized‐control experimental design was employed. The paper will explore father involvement and coparent relationship outcomes.     

Pirh2在分化型甲状腺癌中的表达及意义

探讨Pirh2、P53在分化型甲状腺癌(DTC)中的表达及其意义.随机选取湖南省人民医院乳腺甲状腺外科2006.6～2011.6间DTC64例,应用免疫组化法检测癌组织中的Pirh2、P53的表达.并以结节性甲状腺肿等良性甲状腺疾病病例作为对照,分析Pirh2、P53对DTC的可能作用.Pirh2、P53分别在64例DTC中阳性表达为68.8％ (44/64)、28.1％(18/64),而在36例甲状腺良性疾病中阳性表达为25％(9/36)、16.7％(6/36).Pirh2在DTC与良性肿瘤间的表达存在差异显著性(P＜0.001).P53在两者间的表达无差异显著性(P＞0.05).Pirh2表达与P53的表达具有正相关性(r=0.316、P＜0.05).Pirh2在DTC中呈较高表达,而在良性甲状腺疾病中表达率低,Pirh2可能与P53共同调节DTC的发生发展.     

Effects of 7.5% CO2 inhalation on allocation of spatial attention to facial cues of emotional expression

Increased vigilance to threat-related stimuli is thought to be a core cognitive feature of anxiety. We sought to investigate the cognitive impact of experimentally induced anxiety, by means of a 7.5% CO₂ challenge, which acts as an unconditioned anxiogenic stimulus, on attentional bias for positive and negative facial cues of emotional expression in the dot-probe task. In two experiments we found robust physiological and subjective effects of the CO₂ inhalation consistent with the claim that the procedure reliably induces anxiety. Data from the dot-probe task demonstrated an attentional bias to emotional facial expressions compared with neutral faces regardless of valence (happy, angry, and fearful). These attentional effects, however, were entirely inconsistent in terms of their relationship with induced anxiety. We conclude that the previously reported poor reliability of this task is the most parsimonious explanation for our conflicting findings and that future research should develop a more reliable paradigm for measuring attentional bias in this field.     

Positive Correlation Between Serum Interleukin‐1β and State Anger in Rugby Athletes

Recently, several studies reported a relationship between immune system activation and anger expression. Consequently, the aim of this study was to explore immunitary molecular mechanisms that potentially underlie anger expression. To this end, we applied the Frustration—Aggression Theory in a contact sport model, utilizing the nearing of sporting events to trigger anger feelings. In parallel, we evaluated the activation of immune system at mRNA levels. We enrolled 20 amateur rugby players (age ± SD, 27.2 ± 4.5) who underwent psychological assessment to evaluate anger, with the State‐Trait Anger Expression Inventory‐2 (STAXI‐2), before rugby matches; at the same time blood samples were taken to analyze the variations of gene expression by microarray. During the 2 hr before each game, a significant increase was verified in the Rage State (RS) score compared to the score ascertained 72 hr before. At the same time, we found modulation in expression profile, in particular increased expression of gene that encodes interleukin l‐β (IL‐1β). In a regression analysis, RS score was related to IL‐1β, and the potential risk factors age, body mass index, smoking, and drinking. The levels of cytokine were positively and independently related to RS score. Our results suggest that the nearing of sporting event can trigger anger state feelings and activate immune system in rugby players. We propose the IL‐1β as a potential biological marker of anger. However, further research is necessary to clarify the correlation between cytokine and anger. Aggr. Behav. 39 :141‐148, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The temporal dynamics of first versus second language production

In this study we explored the temporal origin of processing differences between first and second language production. Forty highly proficient bilinguals named objects of high and low lexical frequency aloud for both L1 and L2 separately while event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded. The first electrophysiological differences elicited by response language occurred at the same early P2 peak (∼140–220 ms) where we observed the onset of the lexical frequency effect, but only for those bilinguals who started naming in an L1 context and afterwards switched to an L2 naming context. The bilinguals who named objects in the reverse direction did not display a language effect in the ERPs. Taken together, the data show that the L2 naming disadvantage originates during the onset of lexical access and seems to be driven by both representational strength, which is lower for L2 words, and language control demands, which are higher for L2 words.     

Categorization of two-dimensional and three-dimensional stimuli by 18-month-old infants

In two experiments, 18-month-old infants’ categorization of 3D replicas and 2D photographs of the same animals and vehicles were compared to explore infants’ flexibility in categorization across different object representations. Using a sequential touching procedure, infants completed one superordinate and two basic-level categorization tasks with 3D replicas, 2D cut out photographs, or 2D images on photo cubes (“2D cubes”). For superordinate sets, 3D replicas elicited longer mean run lengths than 2D cut outs, and 3D replicas elicited equivalent mean run lengths as 2D cubes. For basic-level sets, infants categorized high-contrast animal sets when presented with 3D replicas, but they failed to categorize any of the 2D photograph sets. Categorization processes appear to differ for 3D and 2D stimuli, and infants’ discovery of object properties over time while manipulating objects may facilitate categorization, as least at the superordinate level. These findings are discussed in the context of infants’ representation abilities and the integration of perception and action.     

Impact of negative affectively charged stimuli and response style on cognitive-control-related neural activation: An ERP study

The canonical AX-CPT task measures two forms of cognitive control: sustained goal-oriented control (“proactive” control) and transient changes in cognitive control following unexpected events (“reactive” control). We modified this task by adding negative and neutral International Affective Picture System (IAPS) pictures to assess the effects of negative emotion on these two forms of cognitive control. Proactive and reactive control styles were assessed based on measures of behavior and electrophysiology, including the N2 event-related potential component and source space activation (Low Resolution Tomography [LORETA]). We found slower reaction-times and greater DLPFC activation for negative relative to neutral stimuli. Additionally, we found that a proactive style of responding was related to less prefrontal activation (interpreted to reflect increased efficiency of processing) during actively maintained previously cued information and that a reactive style of responding was related to less prefrontal activation (interpreted to reflect increased efficiency of processing) during just-in-time environmentally triggered information. This pattern of results was evident in relatively neutral contexts, but in the face of negative emotion, these associations were not found, suggesting potential response style-by-emotion interaction effects on prefrontal neural activation.     

不同特质焦虑水平的选择性注意偏向

高特质焦虑个体常表现出对威胁性刺激的选择性注意偏向的特点。然而其潜在的神经机制目前仍不清楚。通过记录高、低特质焦虑者各17名进行情绪加工时的ERP,比较了两组个体在选择性注意偏向发生的时间进程和相关的神经反应的差异。结果发现,高特质焦虑者诱发出更大的N1,进一步发现恐惧图片比中性图片诱发更大的N1;而低特质焦虑者诱发了更大的N2,特质焦虑得分越低, N2波幅越大。结果初步说明高特质焦虑者加工早期对恐惧图片分配了较多的注意资源,并且其抑制执行功能可能受损;而低特质焦虑者较晚开始区分恐惧图片和中性图片。这些结果提供了支持认知-动机模型的新证据。