Selective delayed alternation deficits in dominantly inherited olivopontocerebellar atrophy

In order to characterize more completely the nature of the frontal lobe-type cognitive changes in patients with dominantly inherited olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA) we administered two tasks sensitive to frontal system dysfunction, delayed alternation (DA) and delayed response (DR), to 12 patients from one OPCA family. Affected members from this family have previously been shown to have a marked and widespread cerebral (including frontal) cortical cholinergic reduction as severe as that observed in Alzheimer's disease. Performance on DA, but not on DR, was significantly impaired in the OPCA patients compared to that in the controls. We suggest that the DA deficits in OPCA could be a consequence of a loss of cholinergic innervation to orbitofrontal or possibly temporal cortical areas and/or damage to the integrity of the cerebello-frontal neuronal connections.     

Arm adductor with arm abduction in rotator cuff tear patients vs. healthy--design of a new measuring instrument

The incidence of (a)symptomatic rotator cuff tears is high, but etiologic mechanisms are unclear and treatment outcomes vary. A practical tool providing objective outcome measures and insight into etiology and potential patient subgroups is desirable. Symptomatic cuff tears coincide with humerus cranialization. Adductor co-activation during active arm abduction has been reported to reduce subacromial narrowing and pain in cuff patients. We present an easy-to-use method to evaluate adductor co-activation. Twenty healthy controls and twenty full-thickness cuff tear patients exerted EMG-recorded isometric arm abduction and adduction tasks. Ab- and adductor EMG's were expressed using the "Activation Ratio (AR)" (-1 ≤ AR ≤ 1), where lower values express more co-activation. Mean control AR's ranged from .7 to .9 with moderate to good test-retest reliability (ICC: .60-.74). Patients showed significantly more adductor co-activation during abduction, with adductor AR's ranging between .3 (teres major) and .5 (latissimus dorsi). In conclusion, the introduced method discriminates symptomatic cuff tear patients from healthy controls, quantifies adductor co-activation in an interpretable measure, and provides the opportunity to study correlations between muscle activation and humerus cranialization in a straightforward manner. It has potential as an objective outcome measure, for distinguishing symptomatic from asymptomatic cuff tears and as a tool for surgical or therapeutic decision-making.     

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Utrecht Grief Rumination Scale

Two different types of ruminative coping, depressive rumination and grief rumination, negatively influence bereavement outcome. Although grief-specific rumination is likely to be relevant in the bereavement context no internationally validated scale to measure grief rumination exists. Therefore, the current contribution aims to validate the Utrecht Grief Rumination Scale (UGRS), a scale developed to measure grief-specific rumination, in an English sample. Psychometric properties of the English UGRS were compared with those in a Dutch sample. 204 British adults (89 % women, 11 % men), bereaved on average 16 months ago, and 316 Dutch adults (88 % women, 12 % men), bereaved on average 12 months ago, filled out online questionnaires. Different types of rumination (grief rumination, brooding, reflection, trait rumination) and symptoms of psychopathology (anxiety, depression, complicated grief) were measured. A correlated five factor model provided the best fit for the UGRS. Multi-group comparisons showed that the factor structures of the English and Dutch version of the UGRS were highly similar across language groups. The UGRS showed excellent reliability. Results further supported the construct, convergent, divergent and concurrent validity of the English UGRS. The psychometric properties of the Dutch UGRS corroborated these findings. The UGRS appears a valid instrument to assess grief-specific rumination in international research and may have potential applicability as a clinical instrument to assess rumination in individuals with problematic grief.     

Emotional Reactions and Moral Judgment: The Effects of Morally Challenging Interactions in Military Operations

This study explores the association between different types of morally challenging interactions during military deployment and response strategies (e.g., moral justification), as well as the mediating role of moral emotions. Interviews with Dutch servicemen who participated in military operations (e.g., in Afghanistan, Angola; N = 45) were content coded. We found a relationship between local-cultural and team-related interactions and moral justification; these effects were mediated by other-condemning emotions. Similarly, other-condemning emotions mediated the relationship between local-cultural interactions and relativism. This study points at the importance of other-condemning emotions in shaping military reactions to frequently occurring morally challenging interactions.     

The effective time course of preparation

In reaction time (RT) research on nonspecific preparation, the preparation period is often identified with the foreperiod (FP), the interval between the offset of a neutral warning stimulus (S1) and the onset of the reaction stimulus (S2). However, the “effective preparation period” may be longer than FP: nonspecific preparation may start prior to FP (e.g., at the onset of S1) and/or continue after it (i.e., in parallel with the reaction process). In four experiments, we factorially varied FP and an additional factor (S1-duration; S2-luminance; stimulus–response compatibility) that probed the effective preparation period outside the bounds of FP. By examining how equivalent RT–FP functions obtain at the different levels of the additional factor, we showed that nonspecific preparation (1) starts at the onset of S1 for brief FPs but at its offset for longer FPs and (2) continues in parallel with S2-encoding but stops prior to response selection.     

Why dieters fail: Testing the goal conflict model of eating

A new theory of eating regulation is presented to account for the over-responsiveness of restrained eaters to external food-relevant cues. According to this theory, the food intake of restrained eaters is characterized by a conflict between two chronically accessible incentives or goals: eating enjoyment and weight control. Their difficulty in weight control is due to their behavioral sensitivity to eating enjoyment and its incompatibility with the eating control goal. Accordingly, exposure to food-relevant stimuli primes the goal of eating enjoyment in restrained (but not unrestrained) eaters, resulting in an inhibition of weight control thoughts. Three studies are reported that support these assumptions. Study 1 demonstrates a substantial relation between Eating Restraint and measures of ambivalence towards eating. Studies 2 and 3 show that priming eating enjoyment decreases the accessibility of eating control concepts. The results are discussed in the context of current research on the psychology of obesity and restrained eating.     

Patterns of attachment and parents' adjustment to the death of their child

The impact of adult attachment on psychological adjustment among bereaved parents and the mediating effect of relationship satisfaction were examined among a sample of 219 couples of parents. Data collection took place 6, 13, and 20 months after loss. Use of the actor partner interdependence model in multilevel regression analysis enabled exploration of both individual as well as partner attachment as predictors of grief and depression. Results indicated that the more insecurely attached parents were (on both avoidance and anxiety attachment), the higher the symptoms of grief and depression. Neither the attachment pattern of the partner nor similarity of attachment within the couple had any influence on psychological adjustment of the parent. Marital satisfaction partially mediated the association of anxious attachment with symptomatology. Contrary to previous research findings, avoidant attachment was associated with high grief intensity. These findings challenge the notion that the avoidantly attached are resilient.     

Homesickness in social context: An ecological momentary assessment study among 1st-year university students

Homesickness is common among university students and associated with mental health problems. Most previous studies assessed homesickness as a summary of the past weeks. However, there may be significant fluctuations across situations. At the current residence, homesickness may especially be triggered during (phone) interactions with attachment figures. Dutch and international 1st-year students (n = 92) completed the Utrecht Homesickness Scale and subsequently used a smartphone application to record social interactions for 14 days (ecological momentary assessment [EMA]). For each interaction they reported the social context (e.g. location, contact type) and their affective state, including homesickness. Homesickness in the past weeks and momentary homesickness were both higher in international students than in Dutch students. Feeling homesick was highest at participants' current residency, when interacting with parents, or when using video-chat. When participants felt more homesick, they reported less pleasant and more unpleasant affect. In conclusion, EMA provided insight in cross-situational variations in homesickness.     

The efficacy of a brief internet-based self-help intervention for the bereaved

Research so far has shown little evidence that written disclosure facilitates recovery from bereavement. There are good reasons to assume that written disclosure may only benefit those bereaved who are at risk for developing problems or who are experiencing significant psychological problems as a result of their loss, and only when appropriate writing instructions are used. Drawing on previous work in the area of post-traumatic stress, a writing intervention was designed to test these assumptions. Bereaved individuals, who were still significantly distressed by their loss, were randomly assigned to the intervention condition (N = 460) or a waiting-list control condition (N = 297). Both groups filled in questionnaires online at baseline, and 3 and 6 months later. The intervention was administered via e-mail immediately after baseline measurement. Results showed that writing decreased feelings of emotional loneliness and increased positive mood, in part through its effect on rumination. However, writing did not affect grief or depressive symptoms. Contrary to expectations, effects did not depend on participants' risk profile or baseline distress level. Implications of these findings are discussed.