Verbal fluency over time as a measure of automatic and controlled processing in children with ADHD

The performance of ADHD children on semantic category fluency (SCF) versus initial letter fluency (ILF) tasks was examined. For each participant, word production was recorded for each 15-s time slice on each task. Performance on both fluency tasks was compared to test the hypothesis that children with ADHD are characterized by a performance deficit on the ILF task because performance on this task is less automated than performance on the SCF. Children classified with ADHD (N = 20) were compared to children with other psychopathology (N = 118) and healthy controls (N = 130). Results indicated that the groups could not be differentiated by the total number of words produced in 60 s in either fluency task. As hypothesized, a significant interaction of group by productivity over time by type of fluency task was found: ADHD children had more problems finding words in the first 15 s of the IFL than did children in the other two groups, and as compared with their performance on the SCF. Results were taken to indicate that children with ADHD symptoms show a delay in the development of automating skills for processing abstract verbal information.     

Neurocognitive performance of 5- and 6-year-old children who met criteria for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder at 18 months follow-up: results from a prospective population study

The aim of this prospective study was to examine whether neurocognitive performance of children aged 5–6 years distinguished children who were later diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or borderline ADHD from children without ADHD after adjustment for behavioral measures and to examine the influence of comorbid psychopathology. Out of a general population of 1,317 children, 366 children were selected on the basis of their scores on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Eighteen months later, the parents were interviewed using a standardized child psychiatric interview: 33 children were classified as ADHD and 75 children as borderline ADHD, and there were 258 children without ADHD. Children with rated ADHD were significantly impaired on measures of visuomotor ability and working memory compared to children without ADHD after adjustment for CBCL results. The performance of borderline ADHD children was in between that of children with and without ADHD. In addition, 4 groups of children were analyzed: 9 ADHD, 24 ADHD with comorbid oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder (ODD/CD), 59 ODD/CD, and 274 controls. Children with rated comorbid ADHD and ODD/CD performed significantly worse on these tasks compared to children with rated ODD/CD and control children while they did not differ from ADHD children. Our results imply that neurocognitive measures can contribute to the early identification of ADHD with and without comorbid ODD/CD.     

The Child Behavior Checklist for Group Care Workers: A Study Regarding the Factor Structure

In this study we examined the factor structure of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) filled out by group care workers. Group care workers' judgements were collected on 846 children and adolescents treated in various residential settings in The Netherlands. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we were able to show that the original CBCL factor model based on parental judgments of child behavior also fits for the judgments of group care workers. This means that the well known 8 narrow-band syndromes (Withdrawn, Somatic Complaints, etc.) as well as the 2 broad-band syndromes (Internalizing and Externalizing) can be used to interpret the CBCL scores of group care workers. This confirmation of the CBCL factor structure is a first step to add a group care worker version to the CBCL family. However, as a second step, normative data need to be gathered to further enhance the use of the CBCL for group care workers.     

A Semantics for Means-end Relations

There has been considerable work on practical reasoning in artificial intelligence and also in philosophy. Typically, such reasoning includes premises regarding means–end relations. A clear semantics for such relations is needed in order to evaluate proposed syllogisms. In this paper, we provide a formal semantics for means–end relations, in particular for necessary and sufficient means–end relations. Our semantics includes a non-monotonic conditional operator, so that related practical reasoning is naturally defeasible. This work is primarily an exercise in conceptual analysis, aimed at clarifying and eventually evaluating existing theories of practical reasoning (pending a similar analysis regarding desires, intentions and other relevant concepts). “They were in conversation without speaking. They didn’t need to speak. They just changed reality so that they had spoken.” Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man     

An fMRI investigation of posttraumatic flashbacks

Flashbacks are a defining feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but there have been few studies of their neural basis. We tested predictions from a dual representation model of PTSD that, compared with ordinary episodic memories of the same traumatic event, flashbacks would be associated with activity in dorsal visual stream and related areas rather than in the medial temporal lobe. Participants with PTSD, with depression but not PTSD, and healthy controls were scanned during a recognition task with personally relevant stimuli. The contrast of flashbacks versus ordinary episodic trauma memories in PTSD was associated with increased activation in sensory and motor areas including the insula, precentral gyrus, supplementary motor area, and mid-occipital cortex. The same contrast was associated with decreased activation in the midbrain, parahippocampal gyrus, and precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex. The results were discussed in terms of theories of PTSD and dual-process models of recognition.     

Concept Shift and the Development of the Concept of Class in Children

The authors compared parent-related perceptions by hospitalized adolescents (i.e., who were admitted to a specialized psychiatric unit; n = 50) and delinquent adolescents (i.e., who were placed at a juvenile treatment institution; n = 51) with adolescents from the general population (n = 51). All adolescents completed a broad set of measures of attachment, perceived parenting, and separation–individuation. Contrary to initial expectations, hospitalized adolescents scored higher than controls on indices of excessive autonomy. Ambivalence regarding issues of interpersonal closeness and distance was found among delinquent adolescents. In addition, hospitalized and delinquent adolescents were found to be struggling, each in their specific way, with attachment-related experiences of trauma. Finally, delinquent adolescents also showed a stage-appropriate form of potentially adaptive narcissism. These findings add to the growing consensus in the literature that associations between adolescent psychopathology and parent-related perceptions are typically complex and somewhat counterintuitive.     

Can We Make Sense of the Notion of Trustworthy Technology?

In this paper we raise the question whether technological artifacts can properly speaking be trusted or said to be trustworthy. First, we set out some prevalent accounts of trust and trustworthiness and explain how they compare with the engineer’s notion of reliability. We distinguish between pure rational-choice accounts of trust, which do not differ in principle from mere judgments of reliability, and what we call “motivation-attributing” accounts of trust, which attribute specific motivations to trustworthy entities. Then we consider some examples of technological entities that are, at first glance, best suited to serve as the objects of trust: intelligent systems that interact with users, and complex socio-technical systems. We conclude that the motivation-attributing concept of trustworthiness cannot be straightforwardly applied to these entities. Any applicable notion of trustworthy technology would have to depart significantly from the full-blown notion of trustworthiness associated with interpersonal trust.     

Roles of the Amygdala and Basal Forebrain in Defense: a Reply to Luyck Et al. and Implications for Defensive Action

Neuropsychology Review - The commentary by Luyck and colleagues on our paper provides many stimulating viewpoints and interpretations of our original study on dissociable responses in the amygdala...