A broadband digitizing rat detector: Simultaneous recording from all sound frequencies in the range of rat ultrasonic vocalizations

A system is described that digitizes rodent vocalizations after the signals have passed through a spectrum analyzer. The system’s capacity to record simultaneously from all frequencies in a range selected by the experimenter is demonstrated. In the graphic display, both single and simultaneous multiple vocalizations of rats ranging freely in large experimental rooms are presented. The capacity of this system to record simultaneous vocalizations in a form that permits rapid analysis of many of the parameters of the signals is especially useful in the analysis of rodent social behavior.     

Socio-economic status and the developing brain in adolescence: A systematic review

Socioeconomic status is associated with differences in social, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes for adolescents. Correspondingly, the period reflects continued dynamic, complex, and adaptive brain development. Research demonstrates associations between the developing adolescent brain and SES; however, such research has not been systematically integrated. We undertook a systematic search of studies and review 21 papers that examined both SES and brain development or functioning as measured during adolescence or young adulthood in nonclinical populations (13–25 years old). Few studies focused on architecture and such findings were varied. The majority of studies focused on functioning with two themes emerging. First, studies demonstrate different activation in regions of interest to cognitive and behavioral tasks relative to SES. Second, when similar neurological activation is evident, they can be related to different behavioral observations relative to SES. There is also evidence of different neurological functioning associated with SES with regard to different conceptualizations and coding of SES. Further, some of the reviewed studies identified potential mediators to the relationship, such as parenting practices, stress, and IQ. Overall, the findings suggest it is important to consider SES and neighborhood context within neuroscience research and practice.     

Instrumentalist analyses of the functions of ethics concept-principles: a proposal for synergetic empirical and conceptual enrichment

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics - Bioethics has made a compelling case for the role of experience and empirical research in ethics. This may explain why the movement for empirical ethics has...     

The use of a consultation team to network families with other helping systems

Families, therapists, and other service providers often find themselves uncooperative and at cross purposes when working toward solutions to family problems. Sometimes each professional is involved in one small piece of the problem and may never have encountered other providers and all family members. This paper describes a family-agencies-team consultation model intended to address the above issues. The model uses a consultation team to facilitate better understanding of family needs, helping agency roles, and service provider constraints. The approach has been successful in creating dialogue, generating a wide range of goals, engendering cooperation, empowering families, and affirming agency participation.In addition to the authors, the consultation team included staff members at the Pitt County Mental Health Center working with client families and other agencies in Pitt County, North Carolina.     

Performance‐Appraisal Beliefs of Chinese Employees in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta

Working adults from Hong Kong (HK; N=102) and the Pearl River Delta (PRD; N=96) participated in a Chinese‐language, 20‐item, structured interview. The interview addressed five topics: performance criteria, implementation of the appraisal, factors attributed to performance, methods of feedback, and concerns about the use of performance appraisal (PA) at work. Results indicated that most respondents believe that PA facilitates communication between superiors and subordinates, that effective performance is a function of each individual's internal attributes (which may include aspects external to the workplace), and that feedback should be direct and frank, communicated by someone with authority and power. These results are consistent with the beliefs of people living in societies characterized as high in Confucian dynamism. We discussed implications of the findings for the use of PA in Chinese enterprises in HK and PRD.     

The rubber hand illusion in children with autism spectrum disorders: delayed influence of combined tactile and visual input on proprioception

In the rubber hand illusion, perceived hand ownership can be transferred to a rubber hand after synchronous visual and tactile stimulation. Perceived body ownership and self-other relation are foundational for development of self-awareness, imitation, and empathy, which are all affected in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We examined the rubber hand illusion in children with and without ASD. Children with ASD were initially less susceptible to the illusion than the comparison group, yet showed the effects of the illusion after 6 minutes. Delayed susceptibility to the illusion may result from atypical multisensory temporal integration and/or an unusually strong reliance on proprioception. Children with ASD who displayed less empathy were significantly less likely to experience the illusion than those with more intact ability to express empathy. A better understanding of body representation in ASD may elucidate neural underpinnings of social deficits, thus informing future intervention approaches.     

Mindfulness as a means of reducing aggressive behavior: dispositional and situational evidence

Recent research and theory suggest that mindfulness, or enhanced attention and awareness in the present moment [Brown and Ryan, 2003], may be linked to lower levels of ego-involvement and, as a result, may have implications for lowering hostility and aggressive behavior. Accordingly, we conducted two studies to examine the potential aggression-mitigating role of mindfulness. In Study 1, we found that dispositional mindfulness correlated negatively with self-reported aggressiveness and hostile attribution bias. In Study 2, participants made mindful before receiving social rejection feedback displayed less-aggressive behavior than did rejected participants not made mindful. Discussion centers on potential mechanisms by which mindfulness operates to reduce aggressive behavior.     

Facial Expressions and the Ability to Recognize Emotions from the Eyes or Mouth: A Comparison Between Children and Adults

The authors sought to contribute to the literature on the ability to recognize anger, happiness, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, and neutral emotions from facial information. They aimed to investigate if—regardless of age—this pattern changes. More specifically, the present study aimed to compare the difference between the performance of adults and 6- to 7-year-old children in detecting emotions from the whole face and a specific face region, namely the eyes and mouth. The findings seem to indicate that, for both groups, recognizing disgust, happiness, and surprise is facilitated when pictures represent the whole face. However, with regard to a specific region, a prevalence for children was not found between the eyes and mouth. Meanwhile, for adults, would seem to detect a greater role of the eye region. Finally, regarding the differences in the performance of emotions recognition, adults are better only in a few cases, whereas children are better in recognizing anger from the mouth.