Cognitions, metacognitions, and chronic pain

Purpose: Although the content of thoughts has received a considerable amount of attention in pain research, the importance of thought processes (metacognitions) has received less attention. Method: One hundred twenty-nine individuals with muscular dystrophy and chronic pain completed measures assessing metacognitions and frequency of both catastrophizing and pain control beliefs. Results: Greater use of reappraisal and distraction metacognitions were associated with more perceived control over pain, whereas greater use of worry and punishment metacognitions were associated with more catastrophizing. Conclusions/Implications: The current findings indicate that metacognitions are associated with both pain control beliefs and catastrophizing and therefore may play an important role in the development or maintenance of pain-related cognitive content thought to influence patient functioning. Research is needed to determine whether treatments that encourage changes in both metacognitions and cognitive content are more effective than treatments that focus on cognitive content alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Early changes in muscle activation patterns of toddlers during walking

Early locomotor behavior has been the focus of considerable attention by developmentalists over several decades. Few studies have addressed explicitly patterns of muscle activity that underlie this coordination pattern. Our purposes were to illustrate a method to determine objectively the onset and offset of muscle firings during early walking and to investigate the emergence of patterns of activation of the core locomotor muscles. We tested eight toddlers as they walked overground at walking onset (max. of 3-6 independent steps) and after three months of walking experience. Surface electrodes monitored activity of the gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, quadriceps, and hamstrings. We reduced EMG signals to a frame-by-frame designation of "on-off," followed by muscle state and co-contraction analyses, and probability distributions for each muscle's activity across multiple cycles. Our results clearly show that at walking onset muscle activity was highly variable with few, if any, muscles showing recurring patterns of behavior, within or among toddlers. Variability and co-activation decreased with walking experience but remained inconsistent, in contrast to the significant increase in stability shown for joint coordination and endpoint (foot placement) parameters. We propose this trend emerges because of the high number of options (muscle combinations) available. Toddlers learn first to marshal sufficient force to balance and make forward progress but slowly discover how to optimize these resources.     

Measures of Mentoring,Department Climate,and Graduate Student Preparedness in the Responsible Conduct of Psychological Research

Drawing upon two independent national samples of 201 and 241 psychology graduate students, this article describes the development and psychometric evaluation of 4 Web-based student self-report scales tapping student socialization in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) with human participants. The Mentoring the Responsible Conduct of Research Scale (MRCR) is composed of 2 subscales assessing RCR instruction and modeling by research mentors. The 2 subscales of the RCR Department Climate Scale (RCR-DC) assess RCR department policies and faculty and student RCR practices. The RCR Preparedness scale (RCR-P) and the RCR Field Integrity scale (RCR-FI) measure respectively students' confidence in their ability to conduct research responsibly and their belief in the RCR integrity of psychology as a discipline. Factor analysis, coefficient alphas, correlations, and multiple regression analyses demonstrated each of the scales had good internal consistency and concurrent and construct validity.     

Characterization and sociocultural predictors of neuropsychological test performance in HIV+ Hispanic individuals

Hispanic individuals in the U.S. have been disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, yet little is known regarding the neuropsychological sequelae of HIV within the Hispanic population. This study characterized neuropsychological (NP) test performance of HIV+ English-speaking Hispanic participants (n = 51) and investigated the combined roles of sociocultural factors (e.g., ethnicity, socioeconomic status [SES] proxy, and reading level) on NP test performance among our HIV+ Hispanic and non-Hispanic White participants (n = 49). Results revealed that the pattern of NP impairment in HIV+ Hispanic participants is consistent with the frontal-striatal pattern observed in HIV-associated CNS sequelae, and the overall prevalence of global NP impairment was high compared to previous reports with more ethnically homogeneous, non-Hispanic White cohorts. Multivariate prediction models that considered both sociocultural factors and CD4 count revealed that reading level was the only unique predictor of global NP functioning, learning, and attention/working memory. In contrast, ethnicity was the only unique predictor of abstraction/executive functioning. This study provides support for the use of neuropsychological evaluation in detecting HIV-associated NP impairment among HIV+ Hispanic participants and adds to the growing literature regarding the importance of considering sociocultural factors in the interpretation of NP test performance.     

Parasitoid wasps’ exposure to host-infested plant volatiles affects their olfactory cognition of host-infested plants

Using Cotesia vestalis, a parasitoid wasp of diamondback moth larvae and three crucifer plant species (cabbage, komatsuna, and Japanese radish), we examined the effects of exposure to host-infested plant volatiles from one plant species on a newly emerged wasp’s subsequent olfactory cognition of host-infested plant volatiles from the same or different plant species. The preference of C. vestalis between infested and uninfested plant volatiles was tested in a choice chamber. Volatile-inexperienced wasps significantly preferred infested cabbage and infested radish volatiles, but not infested komatsuna volatiles. After exposure to infested cabbage volatiles, wasps showed a significant preference for infested cabbage volatiles, while the significant preference for infested radish volatiles that had been observed in inexperienced wasps was no longer observed. After exposure to infested komatsuna volatiles, wasps significantly preferred infested komatsuna volatiles, and the pre-exposure significant preferences for infested cabbage volatiles and infested radish volatiles remained. After exposure to infested radish volatiles, the significant preferences for infested cabbage and infested radish volatiles did not change. Furthermore, wasps showed a significant preference for infested komatsuna volatiles. The compound compositions of the volatile blends from the three infested plant species were grouped separately in a principal coordinates analysis. The experience-based cognition of C. vestalis for host-infested plant volatiles of three plant species is discussed.     

Discovery of the pendulum and spring dynamics in the early stages of walking

The authors investigated the self-selected, overground walking patterns of 7 children (aged 11 months to 1 year, 5 months) at the initiation of walking (brand-new walkers [BNWs]) and for the next 6 months at 1-month intervals. Walking speed, stride length, and stride frequency increased significantly between the first 2 visits without significant changes in height and weight. The authors calculated sagittal plane angular accelerations of the center of mass over the foot for each step as an indicator of the escapement pulse. Results for the acceleration profiles changed after the 1st visit to positive, single-peaked accelerations that occurred < 0.20 s after initial foot contact. Increases in sagittal plane hip angular displacement and decreases in frontal plane pelvic angular displacement were observed. The pattern changes suggest that children quickly discover appropriately timed and directed escapements that initiate and support the conservative sagittal plane pendulum and spring dynamics observed in older children.     

Positive mood enhances divergent but not convergent thinking

A positive mood enhances creative performance. We examined which type of creativity, divergent or convergent thinking, was enhanced by a positive mood. Half of the participants listened to happy music and thought about happy events (positive group). The other half listened to the Japanese Constitution (neutral group). Participants' emotional valence and arousal were measured before and after mood induction. All participants then engaged in a creative activity involving the generation of new names for rice. The results indicated that the positive group produced more divergent ideas than did the neutral group. On the other hand, the two groups did not differ with respect to the number of convergent ideas that were generated. We suggest that being in a positive mood facilitates flexible thinking and consequently leads to production of unconventional and atypical ideas.     

Embodiment and sexual experiences of some latin American PLWHA men in Japan

In this paper, we present the third part of our ethnographic investigation including HIV-positive Latin Americans living in Japan. In order to investigate the relationship between psychological well-being and sexual activity among our informants, we interviewed 20 male HIV-positive Latin Americans living in Japan. From April to September, 2002 and August 2003, and 2004, we conducted a set of six 60-minute interviews with twenty 28- to 37-year-old HIV-positive males. Three of them were illegal aliens and seven of them claimed to be homosexual. Participants were contacted through a hospital, a NGO, (non-governmental organization) and by snowball sampling. Our analysis of the interviews indicates that concurrent with a negative attitude towards life informants feel disembodied and asexual after seroconversion. However, after resuming their sex life they experience a positive attitudinal change and emotional release. Drug side-effects on libido make them use stimulants and Viagra. Phallocentrism, fears of infection, and discrimination are obstacles to a full sex life. Informants look for casual sex and engage in prostitution in big cities. These findings have several implications for sex education practice.