Methylphenidate improves some but not all measures of ATTENTION,as measured by the TEA-Ch in medication-naïve children with ADHD

The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) is a reliable neuropsychological assessment of attention control in children. Methylphenidate (MPH) is an effective treatment to improve attentional difficulties in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Previous studies investigating the effects of MPH on attention performance of children with ADHD have produced mixed results and prior MPH usage may have confounded these results. No previous study has tested the effects of MPH on the entire TEA-Ch battery. This study investigated the effects of MPH on attention performance using the entire TEA-Ch in 51 medication-naïve children with ADHD compared with 35 nonmedicated typically developing children. All children were tested at baseline and after 6 weeks: The children with ADHD were medication-naïve at baseline, received MPH for 6 weeks and were tested whilst on medication at the second testing session. A beneficial effect of MPH administration was found on at least one subtest of each of the three forms of attention (selective, sustained, and attentional control) assessed by the TEA-Ch, independent of practice effects. MPH aided performance on the TEA-Ch tasks that were inherently nonarousing and that might require top-down control of attention. It is recommended that the TEA-Ch measures—Sky Search Count (selective attention),Score! (sustained attention), Creature Counting Time Taken for older children (attentional control), and Same Worlds (attentional control) be prioritized for use in future pharmacological studies using MPH.     

Muscle and fat aftereffects and the role of gender: Implications for body image disturbance

Body image disturbance – a cause of distress amongst the general population and those diagnosed with various disorders – is often attributed to the media’s unrealistic depiction of ideal bodies. These ideals are strongly gendered, leading to pronounced fat concern amongst females, and a male preoccupation with muscularity. Recent research suggests that visual aftereffects may be fundamental to the misperception of body fat and muscle mass – the perceptual component of body image disturbance. This study sought to establish the influence of gender on these body aftereffects. Male and female observers were randomly assigned to one of four adaptation conditions (low-fat, high-fat, low-muscle, and high-muscle bodies) and were asked to adjust the apparent fat and muscle levels of male and female bodies to make them appear as ‘normal’ as possible both before adaptation and after adaptation. While neither the gender of observers nor of body stimuli had a direct effect, aftereffect magnitude was significantly larger when observers viewed own-gender (compared with other-gender) stimuli. This effect, which may be due to attentional factors, could have implications for the development of body image disturbance, given the preponderance of idealized own-gender bodies in media marketed to male and female consumers.     

Results of Motor Reconditioning Methods Used in Training a Backward Child

Abstract

Elements of Human Psychology. By Howard C. Warren. N. Y., Houghton Mifflin Co., 1922, 416 p. Reviewed by Douglas Fryer

Experimentelle Untersuchungen über das Gefühlsleben des Kindes im Vergleich mil dem des Erwachsenen.¹ By Helga Eng, Kristiania. Leipzig, Barth, 1922. 258 p.

The Practical Application of Psychology. By Claude Wm. Chamberlain. Sioux City, International Society of Applied Psychology, 1922. 225 p. Reviewed by Douglas Fryer     

Effects of combining disparate groups in the analysis of ethnic differences: Variations among asian american mental health service consumers in level of community functioning

The Asian American population comprises historically, socially, and culturally diverse ethnic groups. Given this diversity, investigators caution that combining disparate ethnic groups together may lead to erroneous conclusions. Whether by choice or necessity, however, mental health studies still typically consider Asian Americans as a single ethnic category rather than as separate ethnic groups. Few investigations have addressed the consequences of this practice. This paper examines the implications of conceptualizing Asian Americans as an ethnic category versus ethnic groups, in an investigation of the community functioning status of clients in publicly funded mental health programs in King County, Washington. When treated as a single ethnic category in a multivariate linear regression model, Asian Americans are found to have a lower level of functioning difficulty than their white counterparts. However, when treated as separate ethnic groups (e.g., Vietnamese, Japanese), only one of five Asian ethnic groups has a significantly lower level of difficulty. In a separate analysis of the Asian American subsample, groups are found to differ significantly from one another with respect to functional status. Several factors, including refugee status, account for this difference.     

Understanding understanding mathematics

In this paper we look at some of the ingredients and processes involved in the understanding of mathematics. We analyze elements of mathematical knowledge, organize them in a coherent way and take note of certain classes of items that share noteworthy roles in understanding. We thus build a conceptual framework in which to talk about mathematical knowledge. We then use this representation to describe the acquisition of understanding. We also report on classroom experience with these ideas.