Learning capacities during sleep: A preliminary study in a group of schizophrenic inpatients

The relationship between sleep and learning processes is analysed in a sample of schizophrenic patients, starting from more recent hypotheses about the function of REM sleep in learning and memory processes. This is done by means of two experiments: in the first AA. evaluate the possibility to elicit a simple motor conditional reflex acquired during daytime in different sleep stages. With the second experiment daytime learning performances are evaluated with and without a reinforcement administered during REM sleep. Results for the first experiment underline a qualitative difference between REM and nREM sleep in a reflexological perspective. In nREM sleep the conditional response is better maintained than in REM sleep. The second experiment confirms the possibility to improve daytime learning performances after an additional presentation of learning material in REM. The joint study of sleep abnormalities and learning and cognitive impairment in schizophrenic patients is finally suggested.     

The effect of disgust on preference for structure: Evidence for a double‐sided response

The literature on emotions converges on the idea that people cope with the undesired effects of disgust through an immediate response of avoidance aimed to the physical and psychological rejection of any contamination threat. However, previous research does not consider what happens after this immediate response. We investigate the dual response to disgust and propose that disgust generates an immediate preference for structure, but also an opposite, subsequent tendency to prefer unstructured stimuli. Our reasoning is based on the mobilization‐minimization theory, which suggests opposed reactions to negative emotions. We demonstrate that, while immediate reactions to disgust imply preference for structured logos, after the disgust‐eliciting stimulus is eliminated from the environment, people show higher preference for visually unstructured logos. The study of the dual response to disgust offers novel insights to consumer behavior, decision‐making, and emotion literature, showing that a typically avoidance‐triggering emotion, that is, disgust, can then lead to opposite effects in terms of preference for structure.     

Building therapeutic relationship in schizophrenic and alcohol-related disorder cases

Current literature on the dual diagnosis in cases of schizophrenia and alcohol dependence has reported how pharmacological treatment has positive effects on the reduction of both disorders. Nevertheless, patients have considerable difficulties in following the prescribed medication. This work aims to build an engagement stage and therapeutic relationship in seven patients with schizophrenic and alcohol-related disorder cases. This result was achieved through the use of the vignette technique and narrative psychodynamic approach during group counselling sessions. Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) and Munich Alcoholism Test (MALT) were applied before and after treatment. A follow-up session was organized. The PANSS and MALT scores indicated there was no reduction of the psychiatric symptoms after treatment. The follow-up session showed positive outcomes in terms of increasing the level of socialisation as well as awareness of their own condition; at the same, an adherence to pharmacological treatment and psychotherapy for all the subjects.     

The effects of school anxiety on self-esteem and self-handicapping in pupils attending primary school

School anxiety appears to be related to self-esteem and self-handicapping strategies. This study aims at identifying children with atypical levels of anxiety and examining the relationship between their self-esteem at school and their use of self-handicapping strategies. The sample included 120 pupils (M = 8.6 years) attending third grade of primary school and was divided into three groups: pupils with low anxiety, average anxiety and high anxiety. Children were administered the Scale for Evaluation of Anxiety (SAFA A), the TMA - Multidimensional test of Self-esteem- and the Self-Handicapping Scale for Children. On the whole, results demonstrate a nearly normative distribution of school anxiety in a nonclinical sample. Pupils with an average level of school anxiety showed a higher level of Self-esteem and engaged more in self-handicapping strategies. The developmental perspective suggests the importance of preventive research in order to identify any risk factors of subsequent anxiety disorders at an early age.     

Crucial problems in psychotherapy of schizophrenia

This paper is an attempt to summarize some of the most important problems I have encountered in a 20-year-old psychotherapeutic experience with schizophrenic patients.     

Amodale Ergänzung und „Erwartungsfehler“ des Gestaltpsychologen

Zusammenfassung Der Fehler des Gestaltpsychologen wird durch das Erstaunen enthüllt, das von einem gestaltpsychologisch orientierten Forscher empfunden wird, wenn eine gewisse Erscheinung den Erwartungen nicht entspricht, die eine schematische Anwendung des Gestaltprinzips hervorrufen würde. Einige Beispiele, in denen ein solcher Fehler in klarer Weise erscheint, werden angegeben und besprochen. Es werden noch einige Bemerkungen über manche Bedingungen und Folgen der amodalen Ergänzung hinzugefügt.

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Amodal totalization and the Gestalt-Error

Summary The gestalt-expectation-error consists in the surprise felt by a gestalt oriented student of perception, when a perceptual phenomenon does not correspond to the expectations raised by a schematic application of gestalt laws. Some examples of such expectation-errors are presented and discussed. A few remarks on the conditions and the effects of amodal completion phenomena are added.

     

Daytime naps improve motor imagery learning

Sleep is known to contribute to motor memory consolidation. Recent studies have provided evidence that a night of sleep plays a similar functional role following motor imagery (MI), while the simple passage of time does not result in performance gains. Here, we examined the benefits of a daytime nap on motor memory consolidation after MI practice. Participants were trained by MI on an explicitly known sequence of finger movements at 11:00. Half of the participants were then subjected (at 14:00) to either a short nap (10 min of stage 2 sleep) or a long nap (60–90 min, including slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep). We also collected data from both quiet and active rest control groups. All participants remained in the lab until being retested at 16:00. The data revealed that a daytime nap after imagery practice improved motor performance and, therefore, facilitated motor memory consolidation, as compared with spending a similar time interval in the wake state. Interestingly, the results revealed that both short and long naps resulted in similar delayed performance gains. The data might also suggest that the presence of slow wave and rapid eye movement sleep does not provide additional benefits for the sleep-dependent motor skill consolidation following MI practice.