Age and cohort effects on personality factor scores across sexes and racial/ethnic groups

Substantial differences exist across ethnic groups and sexes in generational changes in status among groups residing in Hawaii. Despite these generational differences across groups, age differences in personality are remarkably consistent across sexes and racial/ethnic groups, and the few Sex x Age, Ethnicity x Age or Sex x Ethnicity x Age interactions account for little variance in scores. It is concluded that age/generational differences in personality factor scores in these populations result from age and not, to any major degree, from cohort effects.     

Income inequality and risk of suicide in New York City neighborhoods: a multilevel case-control study

Evidence on the relationship between income inequality and suicide is inconsistent. Data from the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for all fatal injuries was collected to conduct a multilevel case-control study. In multilevel models, suicide decedents (n=374) were more likely than accident controls (n=453) to reside in neighborhoods with greater income inequality even after controlling for individual characteristics; this relation was modified by age with an effect overall and among decedents aged 15-34 but not among decedents 35-64. These data suggest that income inequality may contribute to the risk of suicide in younger adults.     

The Genetic and Environmental Relationship Between General and Specific Cognitive Abilities in Twins Age 80 and Older

In the first twin study of the old-old, individuals 80 years old and older, we examined the relationship between general and specific cognitive abilities from a genetic perspective. That is, we examined the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence major group factors of cognitive abilities, independent of general cognitive ability. As part of the OctoTwin project in Sweden, general and specific cognitive abilities were assessed in 52 monozygotic and 65 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs 80 years old and older using a battery of seven tests that assess verbal, spatial, speed-of-processing, and memory performance. Results suggest that genetic effects associated with general cognitive ability ( g ) account for the correlation between g and verbal, spatial, and speed-of-processing abilities. No genetic influences were found for these specific cognitive abilities separate from g . In contrast, memory ability appears to be more distinct genetically from g than are other cognitive abilities. Comparison with younger samples suggests that cognitive abilities relating to speed of processing may be genetically dedifferentiated in the old-old.     

Escape from deficits in sodium intake after thalamic lesions as a function of preoperative experience

Saline and water intakes in response to treatments with a natriuretic agent and a mineralocorticoid were studied in intact rats and in rats with lesions centered in the taste delay of the thalamus. Intact rats responded to the treatments by increasing both saline and water intake. Rats with thalamic lesions that had never drunk saline prior to induction of the lesions generally did not increase their saline intake in response to the treatments but showed normal increases in water intake. In contrast, rats with thalamic lesions that had drunk saline prior to induction of the lesions showed normal increases in both saline and water intake. Preoperative experience of sodium need did not protect rats against the lesion-induced deficit.     

A family study of memory processes and their relations to cognitive test scores

Members of 118 families (456 individuals) who had been tested on several measures of cognitive ability were retested on the same battery in order to determine test-retest reliability. They then were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and tests of visual memory, auditory memory, and figure memory, as well as other measures not discussed herein. Intercorrelations of memory tasks were low to moderate. Factor analysis resulted in a four factor solution. The different factors appeared to represent auditory sequential memory (Factor I); visual memory, as measured psychometrically (Factor II); visual memory, as measured experimentally (Factor III); and figure memory (Factor IV). A second order factor analysis yielded two factors, one consisting of basically psychometric measures of memory and the other of measures of memory obtained in the experimental psychological tradition. Memory measures generally showed low to moderate positive correlations with scores on the cognitive test battery. Significant spouse correlations were found for 3 of the 11 measures of memory. Significant midparent-midchild regressions were found for 9 of the 11 memory measures.