Gaze direction differentially affects avoidance tendencies to happy and angry faces in socially anxious individuals.

PubMed

Roelofs, Karin; Putman, Peter; Schouten, Sonja; Lange, Wolf-Gero; Volman, Inge; Rinck, Mike

2010-04-01

Increasing evidence indicates that eye gaze direction affects the processing of emotional faces in anxious individuals. However, the effects of eye gaze direction on the behavioral responses elicited by emotional faces, such as avoidance behavior, remain largely unexplored. We administered an Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) in high (HSA) and low socially anxious (LSA) individuals. All participants responded to photographs of angry, happy and neutral faces (presented with direct and averted gaze), by either pushing a joystick away from them (avoidance) or pulling it towards them (approach). Compared to LSA, HSA were faster in avoiding than approaching angry faces. Most crucially, this avoidance tendency was only present when the perceived anger was directed towards the subject (direct gaze) and not when the gaze of the face-stimulus was averted. In contrast, HSA individuals tended to avoid happy faces irrespectively of gaze direction. Neutral faces elicited no approach-avoidance tendencies. Thus avoidance of angry faces in social anxiety as measured by AA-tasks reflects avoidance of subject-directed anger and not of negative stimuli in general. In addition, although both anger and joy are considered to reflect approach-related emotions, gaze direction did not affect HSA's avoidance of happy faces, suggesting differential mechanisms affecting responses to happy and angry faces in social anxiety. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parental instrumental feeding, negative affect, and binge eating among overweight individuals.

PubMed

Mason, Tyler B

2015-04-01

Parental instrumental feeding (i.e., rewarding children with food for perceived correct behaviors and punishing by taking away food for perceived incorrect behaviors) and negative affect are independently associated with binge eating in adulthood. However, less is known about interactions between these variables and binge eating. This study examined the relationship of retrospective reports of parental feeding practices and negative affect to binge eating. Participants were 165 overweight and obese undergraduate students at a large Mid-Atlantic University. High parental instrumental feeding strengthened the relationship between negative affect and binge eating. Also, individuals who reported low parental feeding practices reported similar binge eating regardless of negative affect. These findings suggest that overweight and obese individuals whose parents used more instrumental feeding practices are most likely to engage in binge eating in response to negative affect. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Individual differences in Affective Neuroscience Personality Scale (ANPS) primary emotional traits and depressive tendencies.

PubMed

Montag, Christian; Widenhorn-Müller, Katharina; Panksepp, Jaak; Kiefer, Markus

2017-02-01

The present study investigated individual differences in the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS), representing measures of primary emotional systems, and depressive tendencies in two independent samples. In order to be able to find support for a continuum model with respect to the relation of strength in the cross-species "affective neuroscience" taxonomy of primary emotional systems, we investigated ANPS measured personality traits in a psychologically mostly healthy population (n=614 participants) as well as a sample of clinically depressed people (n=55 depressed patients). In both normal and depressed samples robust associations appeared between higher FEAR and SADNESS scores and depressive tendencies. A similar - albeit weaker - association was observed with lower SEEKING system scores and higher depressive tendencies, an effect again seen in both samples. The study is of cross-sectional nature and therefore only associations between primary emotional systems and depressive tendencies were evaluated. These results show that similar associations between ANPS monitored primary emotional systems and tendencies toward depression can be observed in both healthy and depressed participants. This lends support for a continuum of affective changes accompanying depression, potentially reflecting differences in specific brain emotional system activities in both affectively normal as well as clinically depressed individuals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Individual differences in cognition, affect, and performance: Behavioral, neuroimaging, and molecular genetic approaches

PubMed Central

Parasuraman, Raja; Jiang, Yang

2012-01-01

We describe the use of behavioral, neuroimaging, and genetic methods to examine individual differences in cognition and affect, guided by three criteria: (1) relevance to human performance in work and everyday settings; (2) interactions between working memory, decision-making, and affective processing; and (3) examination of individual differences. The results of behavioral, functional MRI (fMRI), event-related potential (ERP), and molecular genetic studies show that analyses at the group level often mask important findings associated with sub-groups of individuals. Dopaminergic/noradrenergic genes influencing prefrontal cortex activity contribute to inter-individual variation in working memory and decision behavior, including performance in complex simulations of military decision-making. The interactive influences of individual differences in anxiety, sensation seeking, and boredom susceptibility on evaluative decision-making can be systematically described using ERP and fMRI methods. We conclude that a multi-modal neuroergonomic approach to examining brain function (using both neuroimaging and molecular genetics) can be usefully applied to understanding individual differences in cognition and affect and has implications for human performance at work. PMID:21569853

Lay theories about social class buffer lower-class individuals against poor self-rated health and negative affect.

PubMed

Tan, Jacinth J X; Kraus, Michael W

2015-03-01

The economic conditions of one's life can profoundly and systematically influence health outcomes over the life course. Our present research demonstrates that rejecting the notion that social class categories are biologically determined-a nonessentialist belief-buffers lower-class individuals from poor self-rated health and negative affect, whereas conceiving of social class categories as rooted in biology-an essentialist belief-does not. In Study 1, lower-class individuals self-reported poorer health than upper-class individuals when they endorsed essentialist beliefs but showed no such difference when they rejected such beliefs. Exposure to essentialist theories of social class also led lower-class individuals to report greater feelings of negative self-conscious emotions (Studies 2 and 3), and perceive poorer health (Study 3) than upper-class individuals, whereas exposure to nonessentialist theories did not lead to such differences. Discussion considers how lay theories of social class potentially shape long-term trajectories of health and affect of lower-class individuals. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Affective valence signals agency within and between individuals.

PubMed

Chang, Yen-Ping; Algoe, Sara B; Chen, Lung Hung

2017-03-01

Affective valence is a core component of all emotional experiences. Building on recent evidence and theory, we reason that valence informs individuals about their agency-the mental capability of doing and intending. Expressed affect may also lead to perceptions of agency by others. Supporting the hypothesis that valence influences self- and other-perception of agency, across 5 studies, we showed that participants perceived more agency in themselves in positive versus neutral and negative personal (Study 1) and interpersonal (Study 2) events. Participants also perceived more agency in fictional characters showing positive versus negative affect, regardless of how acceptable the characters' behavior was (Studies 3 and 4). Finally, we had participants personify 24 specific emotions across the valence dimension, and found that the more positive and less negative an emotion was, the more agency participants ascribed to the "person" (Study 5). We discuss the results in terms of how valence may help with human self- and social regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The temporal dynamics of cortisol and affective states in depressed and non-depressed individuals.

PubMed

Booij, Sanne H; Bos, Elisabeth H; de Jonge, Peter; Oldehinkel, Albertine J

2016-07-01

Cortisol levels have been related to mood disorders at the group level, but not much is known about how cortisol relates to affective states within individuals over time. We examined the temporal dynamics of cortisol and affective states in depressed and non-depressed individuals in daily life. Specifically, we addressed the direction and timing of the effects, as well as individual differences. Thirty depressed and non-depressed participants (aged 20-50 years) filled out questionnaires regarding their affect and sampled saliva three times a day for 30 days in their natural environment. They were pair-matched on age, gender, smoking behavior and body mass index. The multivariate time series (T=90) of every participant were analyzed using vector autoregressive (VAR) modeling to assess lagged effects of cortisol on affect, and vice versa. Contemporaneous effects were assessed using the residuals of the VAR models. Impulse response function analysis was used to examine the timing of effects. For 29 out of 30 participants, a VAR model could be constructed. A significant relationship between cortisol and positive or negative affect was found for the majority of the participants, but the direction, sign, and timing of the relationship varied among individuals. This approach proves to be a valuable addition to traditional group designs, because our results showed that daily life fluctuations in cortisol can influence affective states, and vice versa, but not in all individuals and in varying ways. Future studies may examine whether these individual differences relate to susceptibility for or progression of mood disorders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

They know the words, but not the music: affective and semantic priming in individuals with psychopathy.

PubMed

Blair, K S; Richell, R A; Mitchell, D G V; Leonard, A; Morton, J; Blair, R J R

2006-08-01

Previous work has indicated dysfunctional affect-language interactions in individuals with psychopathy through use of the lexical decision task. However, it has been uncertain as to whether these deficits actually reflect impaired affect-language interactions or a more fundamental deficit in general semantic processing. In this study, we examined affective priming and semantic priming (dependent measures were reaction times and error rates) in individuals with psychopathy and comparison individuals, classified according to the psychopathy checklist revised (PCL-R) [Hare, R.D., 1991. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. Multi-Health Systems, Toronto, Ont] Individuals with psychopathy showed significantly less affective priming relative to comparison individuals. In contrast, the two groups showed comparable levels of semantic priming. The results are discussed with reference to current models of psychopathy.

Affective facilitation of early visual cortex during rapid picture presentation at 6 and 15 Hz

PubMed Central

Bekhtereva, Valeria

2015-01-01

The steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), a neurophysiological marker of attentional resource allocation with its generators in early visual cortex, exhibits enhanced amplitude for emotional compared to neutral complex pictures. Emotional cue extraction for complex images is linked to the N1-EPN complex with a peak latency of ∼140–160 ms. We tested whether neural facilitation in early visual cortex with affective pictures requires emotional cue extraction of individual images, even when a stream of images of the same valence category is presented. Images were shown at either 6 Hz (167 ms, allowing for extraction) or 15 Hz (67 ms per image, causing disruption of processing by the following image). Results showed SSVEP amplitude enhancement for emotional compared to neutral images at a presentation rate of 6 Hz but no differences at 15 Hz. This was not due to featural differences between the two valence categories. Results strongly suggest that individual images need to be displayed for sufficient time allowing for emotional cue extraction to drive affective neural modulation in early visual cortex. PMID:25971598

Motivations for self-injury, affect, and impulsivity: a comparison of individuals with current self-injury to individuals with a history of self-injury.

PubMed

Taylor, Julia; Peterson, Claire M; Fischer, Sarah

2012-12-01

Individuals who report nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) are characterized by the tendency to act rashly while experiencing distress (negative urgency), the tendency to act without thinking, and endorsement of both social and affect regulation motives for the behavior. However, very little research has identified characteristics that distinguish current self-injurers from those with a history of the behavior. The purpose of this study was to compare individuals with current self-injury to a history of self-injury on impulsivity-related personality traits, motives for self-injury, and distress. Among a sample of 429 undergraduates, 120 reported self-injury. Among these 120 individuals, 33 endorsed self-injury within the past month, with a mean frequency of 4.77 acts of NSSI. Within the self-injury group, current self-injurers reported higher endorsement of affect regulation motives for NSSI, and higher levels of current negative affect than individuals with a history of self-injury. There were no differences between current and former self-injurers on measures of impulsivity, endorsement of social motives for NSSI, or positive affect. We propose that individuals who use NSSI to regulate negative affect may be more likely to repeatedly engage in this behavior over time. © 2012 The American Association of Suicidology.

Personality differentially affects individual mate choice decisions in female and male Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis).

PubMed

Chen, Bo-Jian; Liu, Kai; Zhou, Lin-Jun; Gomes-Silva, Guilherme; Sommer-Trembo, Carolin; Plath, Martin

2018-01-01

Consistent individual differences in behavioral tendencies (animal personality) can affect individual mate choice decisions. We asked whether personality traits affect male and female mate choice decisions similarly and whether potential personality effects are consistent across different mate choice situations. Using western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) as our study organism, we characterized focal individuals (males and females) twice for boldness, activity, and sociability/shoaling and found high and significant behavioral repeatability. Additionally, each focal individual was tested in two different dichotomous mate choice tests in which it could choose between computer-animated stimulus fish of the opposite sex that differed in body size and activity levels, respectively. Personality had different effects on female and male mate choice: females that were larger than average showed stronger preferences for large-bodied males with increasing levels of boldness/activity (i.e., towards more proactive personality types). Males that were larger than average and had higher shoaling tendencies showed stronger preferences for actively swimming females. Size-dependent effects of personality on the strength of preferences for distinct phenotypes of potential mating partners may reflect effects of age/experience (especially in females) and social dominance (especially in males). Previous studies found evidence for assortative mate choice based on personality types or hypothesized the existence of behavioral syndromes of individuals' choosiness across mate choice criteria, possibly including other personality traits. Our present study exemplifies that far more complex patterns of personality-dependent mate choice can emerge in natural systems.

The effect of induced self-presentation concerns on cognitive appraisal and affect.

PubMed

Howle, Timothy C; Eklund, Robert C

2013-01-01

An experiment was conducted to investigate how self-presentation imperatives can influence cognition and affect. Participants were 70 collegiate and recreational athletes who were recruited because of the relevance of self-presentation processes in sport. Athletes were asked to read either a script which de-emphasized self-presentation concerns (low self-presentation) or emphasized self-presentation concerns (high self-presentation). The scripts were developed for the purpose of the study and depicted a pre-competition scenario. The low self-presentation manipulation group reported more of a challenge state of appraisal, higher self-efficacy, lower avoidance goal focus, and more positive affect, while the high self-presentation manipulation group reported more of a threat state of cognitive appraisal and more negative affect. Nonsignificant differences were observed between groups for the perception of positive affect and negative affect. These findings provide preliminary evidence that self-presentation imperatives can impact the cognitive appraisal and affect of athletes as they prepare for competition.

A FISTful of Emotion: Individual Differences in Trait Anxiety and Cognitive-Affective Flexibility During Preadolescence.

PubMed

Mărcuş, Oana; Stanciu, Oana; MacLeod, Colin; Liebregts, Heather; Visu-Petra, Laura

2016-10-01

Cognitive-affective flexibility represents the ability to switch between alternative ways of processing emotional stimuli according to situational demands and individual goals. Although reduced flexibility has been implicated as a mechanism for the development of anxiety, there is very limited data on this relationship in children and adolescents. The aim of the current study was to investigate cognitive-affective flexibility in preadolescents (N = 112, 50 girls, 11-12 and 13-14 years old) and to examine if this ability is related to individual differences in trait anxiety. Their interplay was assessed using the modified version of the Flexible Item Selection Task (FIST; Jacques and Zelazo 2001) with non-emotional stimuli (geometrical shapes) and the Emotional FIST (EM-FIST) with emotional stimuli (emotional facial expressions). Performance on the EM-FIST indicated that across the whole age range, trials requiring greater cognitive flexibility were more demanding than nonflexible ones, as revealed by both response time and accuracy performance. Moreover, flexibility demands were higher for younger children than for older ones but only in terms of response speed. Individual differences in trait anxiety moderated the impact of flexibility only on the EM-FIST. Being flexible on the EM-FIST was more demanding for high trait anxious children than for their low trait anxious peers. Lastly, overall girls responded faster than boys, but only in the EM-FIST. These findings extend the presently limited literature concerning variability in cognitive-affective flexibility during this sensitive developmental window.

Social Individualism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cornille, Thomas A.; Harrigan, John

Relationships between individuals and society have often been presented from the perspective of the social institution. Social psychology has addressed the variables that affect the individual in relationships with larger groups. Social individualism is a conceptual framework that explores the relationship of the individual and society from the…

Questions of time and affect: a person's affectivity profile, time perspective, and well-being.

PubMed

Garcia, Danilo; Sailer, Uta; Nima, Ali Al; Archer, Trevor

2016-01-01

Background. A "balanced" time perspective has been suggested to have a positive influence on well-being: a sentimental and positive view of the past (high Past Positive), a less pessimistic attitude toward the past (low Past Negative), the desire of experiencing pleasure with slight concern for future consequences (high Present Hedonistic), a less fatalistic and hopeless view of the future (low Present Fatalistic), and the ability to find reward in achieving specific long-term goals (high Future). We used the affective profiles model (i.e., combinations of individuals' experience of high/low positive/negative affectivity) to investigate differences between individuals in time perspective dimensions and to investigate if the influence of time perspective dimensions on well-being was moderated by the individual's type of profile. Method. Participants (N = 720) answered to the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory and two measures of well-being: the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale and Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being-short version. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted to identify differences in time perspective dimensions and well-being among individuals with distinct affective profiles. Four structural equation models (SEM) were used to investigate which time perspective dimensions predicted well-being for individuals in each profile. Results. Comparisons between individuals at the extreme of the affective profiles model suggested that individuals with a self-fulfilling profile (high positive/low negative affect) were characterized by a "balanced" time perspective and higher well-being compared to individuals with a self-destructive profile (low positive/high negative affect). However, a different pattern emerged when individuals who differed in one affect dimension but matched in the other were compared to each other. For instance, decreases in the past negative time perspective

45 CFR 261.16 - Does the imposition of a penalty affect an individual's work requirement?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ENSURING THAT RECIPIENTS WORK What Are the Provisions Addressing Individual Responsibility? § 261.16 Does the imposition of a penalty affect an individual's work requirement... 45 Public Welfare 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Does the imposition of a penalty affect an...

Individual Differences in Self-Efficacy Development: The Effects of Goal Orientation and Affectivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerhardt, Megan W.; Brown, Kenneth G.

2006-01-01

This study examined the moderating role of the individual differences of goal orientation and affectivity on self-efficacy development. Consistent with hypotheses, results indicate that both positive and negative affectivity moderate the impact of an enactive mastery training program on efficacy development, with those higher in positive…

Memory Load Affects Object Individuation in 18-Month-Old Infants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zosh, Jennifer M.; Feigenson, Lisa

2012-01-01

Accurate representation of a changing environment requires individuation--the ability to determine how many numerically distinct objects are present in a scene. Much research has characterized early individuation abilities by identifying which object features infants can use to individuate throughout development. However, despite the fact that…

CACNA1C risk variant affects facial emotion recognition in healthy individuals.

PubMed

Nieratschker, Vanessa; Brückmann, Christof; Plewnia, Christian

2015-11-27

Recognition and correct interpretation of facial emotion is essential for social interaction and communication. Previous studies have shown that impairments in this cognitive domain are common features of several psychiatric disorders. Recent association studies identified CACNA1C as one of the most promising genetic risk factors for psychiatric disorders and previous evidence suggests that the most replicated risk variant in CACNA1C (rs1006737) is affecting emotion recognition and processing. However, studies investigating the influence of rs1006737 on this intermediate phenotype in healthy subjects at the behavioral level are largely missing to date. Here, we applied the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" test, a facial emotion recognition paradigm in a cohort of 92 healthy individuals to address this question. Whereas accuracy was not affected by genotype, CACNA1C rs1006737 risk-allele carries (AA/AG) showed significantly slower mean response times compared to individuals homozygous for the G-allele, indicating that healthy risk-allele carriers require more information to correctly identify a facial emotion. Our study is the first to provide evidence for an impairing behavioral effect of the CACNA1C risk variant rs1006737 on facial emotion recognition in healthy individuals and adds to the growing number of studies pointing towards CACNA1C as affecting intermediate phenotypes of psychiatric disorders.

Questions of time and affect: a person’s affectivity profile, time perspective, and well-being

PubMed Central

Sailer, Uta; Nima, Ali Al; Archer, Trevor

2016-01-01

Background. A “balanced” time perspective has been suggested to have a positive influence on well-being: a sentimental and positive view of the past (high Past Positive), a less pessimistic attitude toward the past (low Past Negative), the desire of experiencing pleasure with slight concern for future consequences (high Present Hedonistic), a less fatalistic and hopeless view of the future (low Present Fatalistic), and the ability to find reward in achieving specific long-term goals (high Future). We used the affective profiles model (i.e., combinations of individuals’ experience of high/low positive/negative affectivity) to investigate differences between individuals in time perspective dimensions and to investigate if the influence of time perspective dimensions on well-being was moderated by the individual’s type of profile. Method. Participants (N = 720) answered to the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory and two measures of well-being: the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale and Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-Being-short version. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted to identify differences in time perspective dimensions and well-being among individuals with distinct affective profiles. Four structural equation models (SEM) were used to investigate which time perspective dimensions predicted well-being for individuals in each profile. Results. Comparisons between individuals at the extreme of the affective profiles model suggested that individuals with a self-fulfilling profile (high positive/low negative affect) were characterized by a “balanced” time perspective and higher well-being compared to individuals with a self-destructive profile (low positive/high negative affect). However, a different pattern emerged when individuals who differed in one affect dimension but matched in the other were compared to each other. For instance, decreases in the past negative time

Emotion, working memory task demands and individual differences predict behavior, cognitive effort and negative affect.

PubMed

Storbeck, Justin; Davidson, Nicole A; Dahl, Chelsea F; Blass, Sara; Yung, Edwin

2015-01-01

We examined whether positive and negative affect motivates verbal and spatial working memory processes, respectively, which have implications for the expenditure of mental effort. We argue that when emotion promotes cognitive tendencies that are goal incompatible with task demands, greater cognitive effort is required to perform well. We sought to investigate whether this increase in cognitive effort impairs behavioural control over a broad domain of self-control tasks. Moreover, we predicted that individuals with higher behavioural inhibition system (BIS) sensitivities would report more negative affect within the goal incompatible conditions because such individuals report higher negative affect during cognitive challenge. Positive or negative affective states were induced followed by completing a verbal or spatial 2-back working memory task. All participants then completed one of three self-control tasks. Overall, we observed that conditions of emotion and working memory incompatibility (positive/spatial and negative/verbal) performed worse on the self-control tasks, and within the incompatible conditions individuals with higher BIS sensitivities reported more negative affect at the end of the study. The combination of findings suggests that emotion and working memory compatibility reduces cognitive effort and impairs behavioural control.

[Knowledge of family members on the rights of individuals affected by mental illness].

PubMed

Moreno, Vania; Barbosa, Guilherme Correa

2015-03-01

The objective of this investigation was to understand what family members know about the rights of individuals affected by mental illness. To this end, a qualitative exploratory study was conducted. A semi-structured interview was used for data collection. Eighteen family members were interviewed at a psychosocial care center (CAPS) and a civil society organization (CSO) located in a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, between March and September 2013. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis and the following categories were constructed: mental health services and the rights of individuals affected by mental illness. We were able to infer that in addition to drug-based therapy, mental health services must provide therapeutic activities. Family members of those affected by mental illness were unaware of the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform Law and mentioned the following rights: welfare benefits, free public transport, basic food basket and medications.

Does a presentation's medium affect its message? PowerPoint, Prezi, and oral presentations.

PubMed

Moulton, Samuel T; Türkay, Selen; Kosslyn, Stephen M

2017-01-01

Despite the prevalence of PowerPoint in professional and educational presentations, surprisingly little is known about how effective such presentations are. All else being equal, are PowerPoint presentations better than purely oral presentations or those that use alternative software tools? To address this question we recreated a real-world business scenario in which individuals presented to a corporate board. Participants (playing the role of the presenter) were randomly assigned to create PowerPoint, Prezi, or oral presentations, and then actually delivered the presentation live to other participants (playing the role of corporate executives). Across two experiments and on a variety of dimensions, participants evaluated PowerPoint presentations comparably to oral presentations, but evaluated Prezi presentations more favorably than both PowerPoint and oral presentations. There was some evidence that participants who viewed different types of presentations came to different conclusions about the business scenario, but no evidence that they remembered or comprehended the scenario differently. We conclude that the observed effects of presentation format are not merely the result of novelty, bias, experimenter-, or software-specific characteristics, but instead reveal a communication preference for using the panning-and-zooming animations that characterize Prezi presentations.

Relationship between touch sensation of the affected hand and performance of valued activities in individuals with chronic stroke.

PubMed

Hill, Valerie A; Fisher, Thomas; Schmid, Arlene A; Crabtree, Jeffrey; Page, Stephen J

2014-01-01

To investigate the association between touch sensation of the affected hand and performance and satisfaction with performance of valued activities in individuals with chronic stroke. Using a cross-sectional study design, this study correlated factors related to hand sensation and activity performance in individuals with chronic stroke. The Touch Test Evaluators and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) were used. Correlations were used to determine the relationships between touch sensation of the affected hand and individuals' performance and satisfaction with performance of valued activities. There was a good to excellent relationship between sensation and performance and satisfaction with performance of valued activities for individuals with intact touch sensation of the affected hand who scored higher on the COPM. There was little to no relationship between touch sensation of the affected hand and performance of valued activities for individuals with impaired sensation. This is the first study to relate touch sensation of the affected hand and performance and satisfaction with performance of valued activities in individuals with stroke. The findings suggest that rehabilitation therapists need to continue to address sensory function in evaluation and intervention as it relates to performance in valued activities. This study serves as a foundation for future research in sensation and performance of valued activities in individuals with chronic stroke.

Predicting short-term positive affect in individuals with social anxiety disorder: The role of selected personality traits and emotion regulation strategies.

PubMed

Weisman, Jaclyn S; Rodebaugh, Thomas L; Lim, Michelle H; Fernandez, Katya C

2015-08-01

Recently, research has provided support for a moderate, inverse relationship between social anxiety and dispositional positive affect. However, the dynamics of this relationship remain poorly understood. The present study evaluates whether certain personality traits and emotion regulation variables predict short-term positive affect for individuals with social anxiety disorder and healthy controls. Positive affect as measured by two self-report instruments was assessed before and after two tasks in which the participant conversed with either a friend or a romantic partner. Tests of models examining the hypothesized prospective predictors revealed that the paths did not differ significantly across diagnostic group and both groups showed the hypothesized patterns of endorsement for the emotion regulation variables. Further, a variable reflecting difficulty redirecting oneself when distressed prospectively predicted one measure of positive affect. Additional research is needed to explore further the role of emotion regulation strategies on positive emotions for individuals higher in social anxiety. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Callosotomy affects performance IQ: A meta-analysis of individual participant data.

PubMed

Westerhausen, René; Karud, Celine M R

2018-02-05

Morphometric neuroimaging studies on healthy adult individuals regularly report a positive association between intelligence test performance (IQ) and structural properties of the corpus callosum (CC). At the same time, studies examining the effect of callosotomy on epilepsy patients report only negligible changes in IQ as result of the surgery, partially contradicting the findings of the morphometry studies. Objective of the present meta-analysis of individual participant data (IPD) of 87 cases from 16 reports was to re-investigate the effect of callosotomy on full scale IQ as well as on the verbal and performance subscale under special consideration of two possible moderating factors: pre-surgical IQ levels and the extent of the surgery (complete vs. anterior transsection). The main finding was that callosotomy selectively affects performance IQ, whereby the effect is modulated by the pre-surgical level of performance. Patients with an above-median pre-surgery performance IQ level show a significant average decrease of -5.44 (CI 95% : - 8.33 to - 2.56) IQ points following the surgery, while the below-median group does not reveal a significant change in IQ (mean change: 1.01 IQ points; CI 95% : -1.83 to 3.86). Thus, the present analyses support the notion that callosotomy has a negative effect on the patients' performance IQ, but only in those patients, who at least have an average performance levels before the surgery. This observation also lends support to the findings of previous morphometry studies, indicating that the frequently observed CC-IQ correlation might indeed reflect a functional contribution of callosal interhemispheric connectivity to intelligence-test performance. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using Emotion as Information in Future-Oriented Cognition: Individual Differences in the Context of State Negative Affect

PubMed Central

Marroquín, Brett; Boyle, Chloe C.; Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan; Stanton, Annette L.

2016-01-01

Predictions about the future are susceptible to mood-congruent influences of emotional state. However, recent work suggests individuals also differ in the degree to which they incorporate emotion into cognition. This study examined the role of such individual differences in the context of state negative emotion. We examined whether trait tendencies to use negative or positive emotion as information affect individuals' predictions of what will happen in the future (likelihood estimation) and how events will feel (affective forecasting), and whether trait influences depend on emotional state. Participants (N=119) reported on tendencies to use emotion as information (“following feelings”), underwent an emotion induction (negative versus neutral), and made likelihood estimates and affective forecasts for future events. Views of the future were predicted by both emotional state and individual differences in following feelings. Whereas following negative feelings affected most future-oriented cognition across emotional states, following positive feelings specifically buffered individuals' views of the future in the negative emotion condition, and specifically for positive future events, a category of future-event prediction especially important in psychological health. Individual differences may confer predisposition toward optimistic or pessimistic expectations of the future in the context of acute negative emotion, with implications for adaptive and maladaptive functioning. PMID:27041783

Searching for disease-susceptibility loci by testing for Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium in a gene bank of affected individuals.

PubMed

Lee, Wen-Chung

2003-09-01

The future of genetic studies of complex human diseases will rely more and more on the epidemiologic association paradigm. The author proposes to scan the genome for disease-susceptibility gene(s) by testing for deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in a gene bank of affected individuals. A power formula is presented, which is very accurate as revealed by Monte Carlo simulations. If the disease-susceptibility gene is recessive with an allele frequency of < or = 0.5 or dominant with an allele frequency of > or = 0.5, the number of subjects needed by the present method is smaller than that needed by using a case-parents design (using either the transmission/disequilibrium test or the 2-df likelihood ratio test). However, the method cannot detect genes with a multiplicative mode of inheritance, and the validity of the method relies on the assumption that the source population from which the cases arise is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Thus, it is prone to produce false positive and false negative results. Nevertheless, the method enables rapid gene hunting in an existing gene bank of affected individuals with no extra effort beyond simple calculations.

Transient emotional events and individual affective traits affect emotion recognition in a perceptual decision-making task.

PubMed

Qiao-Tasserit, Emilie; Garcia Quesada, Maria; Antico, Lia; Bavelier, Daphne; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Pichon, Swann

2017-01-01

Both affective states and personality traits shape how we perceive the social world and interpret emotions. The literature on affective priming has mostly focused on brief influences of emotional stimuli and emotional states on perceptual and cognitive processes. Yet this approach does not fully capture more dynamic processes at the root of emotional states, with such states lingering beyond the duration of the inducing external stimuli. Our goal was to put in perspective three different types of affective states (induced affective states, more sustained mood states and affective traits such as depression and anxiety) and investigate how they may interact and influence emotion perception. Here, we hypothesized that absorption into positive and negative emotional episodes generate sustained affective states that outlast the episode period and bias the interpretation of facial expressions in a perceptual decision-making task. We also investigated how such effects are influenced by more sustained mood states and by individual affect traits (depression and anxiety) and whether they interact. Transient emotional states were induced using movie-clips, after which participants performed a forced-choice emotion classification task with morphed facial expressions ranging from fear to happiness. Using a psychometric approach, we show that negative (vs. neutral) clips increased participants' propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful during several minutes. In contrast, positive movies biased classification toward happiness only for those clips perceived as most absorbing. Negative mood, anxiety and depression had a stronger effect than transient states and increased the propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful. These results provide the first evidence that absorption and different temporal dimensions of emotions have a significant effect on how we perceive facial expressions.

Transient emotional events and individual affective traits affect emotion recognition in a perceptual decision-making task

PubMed Central

Garcia Quesada, Maria; Antico, Lia; Bavelier, Daphne; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Pichon, Swann

2017-01-01

Both affective states and personality traits shape how we perceive the social world and interpret emotions. The literature on affective priming has mostly focused on brief influences of emotional stimuli and emotional states on perceptual and cognitive processes. Yet this approach does not fully capture more dynamic processes at the root of emotional states, with such states lingering beyond the duration of the inducing external stimuli. Our goal was to put in perspective three different types of affective states (induced affective states, more sustained mood states and affective traits such as depression and anxiety) and investigate how they may interact and influence emotion perception. Here, we hypothesized that absorption into positive and negative emotional episodes generate sustained affective states that outlast the episode period and bias the interpretation of facial expressions in a perceptual decision-making task. We also investigated how such effects are influenced by more sustained mood states and by individual affect traits (depression and anxiety) and whether they interact. Transient emotional states were induced using movie-clips, after which participants performed a forced-choice emotion classification task with morphed facial expressions ranging from fear to happiness. Using a psychometric approach, we show that negative (vs. neutral) clips increased participants’ propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful during several minutes. In contrast, positive movies biased classification toward happiness only for those clips perceived as most absorbing. Negative mood, anxiety and depression had a stronger effect than transient states and increased the propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful. These results provide the first evidence that absorption and different temporal dimensions of emotions have a significant effect on how we perceive facial expressions. PMID:28151976

Daily Fluctuation in Negative Affect for Family Caregivers of Individuals With Dementia

PubMed Central

Liu, Yin; Kim, Kyungmin; Almeida, David M.; Zarit, Steven H.

2017-01-01

Objective The study examined associations of intrinsic fluctuation in daily negative affect (i.e., depression and anger) with adult day service (ADS) use, daily experiences, and other caregiving characteristics. Methods This was an 8-day diary of 173 family caregivers of individuals with dementia. Multilevel models with common within-person variance were fit first to show average associations between daily stressors and mean level of daily affect. Then multilevel models with heterogeneous within-person variance were fit to test the hypotheses on associations between ADS use, daily experiences, and intrinsic fluctuation in daily affect. Results The study showed that, when the sum of ADS days was greater than average, there was a stabilizing effect of ADS use on caregivers’ within-person fluctuation in negative affect. Moreover, fewer daily stressors and greater-than-average daily care-related stressors, more positive events, not being a spouse, greater-than-average duration of caregiving, and less-than-average dependency of individuals with dementia on activities of daily living were associated with less fluctuation. Better sleep quality was associated with less intrinsic fluctuation in anger; and younger age and more years of education were associated with less intrinsic fluctuation in daily depression. Conclusions Because emotional stability has been argued as an aspect of emotional well-being in the general populations, intrinsic fluctuation of emotional experience was suggested as an outcome of evidence-based interventions for family caregivers. PMID:25365414

How does searching for health information on the Internet affect individuals' demand for health care services?

PubMed

Suziedelyte, Agne

2012-11-01

The emergence of the Internet made health information, which previously was almost exclusively available to health professionals, accessible to the general public. Access to health information on the Internet is likely to affect individuals' health care related decisions. The aim of this analysis is to determine how health information that people obtain from the Internet affects their demand for health care. I use a novel data set, the U.S. Health Information National Trends Survey (2003-07), to answer this question. The causal variable of interest is a binary variable that indicates whether or not an individual has recently searched for health information on the Internet. Health care utilization is measured by an individual's number of visits to a health professional in the past 12 months. An individual's decision to use the Internet to search for health information is likely to be correlated to other variables that can also affect his/her demand for health care. To separate the effect of Internet health information from other confounding variables, I control for a number of individual characteristics and use the instrumental variable estimation method. As an instrument for Internet health information, I use U.S. state telecommunication regulations that are shown to affect the supply of Internet services. I find that searching for health information on the Internet has a positive, relatively large, and statistically significant effect on an individual's demand for health care. This effect is larger for the individuals who search for health information online more frequently and people who have health care coverage. Among cancer patients, the effect of Internet health information seeking on health professional visits varies by how long ago they were diagnosed with cancer. Thus, the Internet is found to be a complement to formal health care rather than a substitute for health professional services. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anxiety sensitivity and affect regulatory strategies: individual and interactive risk factors for anxiety-related symptoms.

PubMed

Kashdan, Todd B; Zvolensky, Michael J; McLeish, Alison C

2008-01-01

Studies have shown that anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a risk factor in the development of pathological anxiety. Recent theoretical models emphasize the additional importance of how people handle their anxious experiences. The present study examined whether high AS and being fixated on the control and regulation of unwanted anxious feelings or being unable to properly modulate affect as needed lead to particularly problematic outcomes. We examined the interactive influence of AS and affect regulatory strategies on the frequency and intensity of anxiety symptoms. Questionnaires were completed by 248 young adults in the community. Results showed a general pattern with anxiety symptoms being the most severe when high AS was paired with affect regulatory difficulties. Of participants high in AS, anxious arousal and worry were heightened in the presence of less acceptance of emotional distress; anxious arousal, worry, and agoraphobic cognitions were heightened when fewer resources were available to properly modulate affect; and agoraphobic cognitions were heightened in the presence of high emotion expressiveness. As evidence of construct specificity, an alternative model with anhedonic depressive symptoms as a main effect and interaction effect (with regulatory strategies) failed to predict anxiety symptoms. However, anxiety sensitivity and less acceptance of emotional distress were associated with greater anhedonia. Results are discussed in the context of how and when affect regulatory behavior shifts individuals from normative anxiety to pathology.

Descriptive and numeric estimation of risk for psychotic disorders among affected individuals and relatives: Implications for clinical practice

PubMed Central

Austin, Jehannine C.; Hippman, Catriona; Honer, William G.

2013-01-01

Studies show that individuals with psychotic illnesses and their families want information about psychosis risks for other relatives. However, deriving accurate numeric probabilities for psychosis risk is challenging, and people have difficulty interpreting probabilistic information, thus some have suggested that clinicians should use risk descriptors, such as ‘moderate’ or ‘quite high’, rather than numbers. Little is known about how individuals with psychosis and their family members use quantitative and qualitative descriptors of risk in the specific context of chance for an individual to develop psychosis. We explored numeric and descriptive estimations of psychosis risk among individuals with psychotic disorders and unaffected first-degree relatives. In an online survey, respondents numerically and descriptively estimated risk for an individual to develop psychosis in scenarios where they had: A) no affected family members; and B) an affected sibling. 219 affected individuals and 211 first-degree relatives participated. Affected individuals estimated significantly higher risks than relatives. Participants attributed all descriptors between “very low” and “very high” to probabilities of 1%, 10%, 25% and 50%+. For a given numeric probability, different risk descriptors were attributed in different scenarios. Clinically, brief interventions around risk (using either probabilities or descriptors alone) are vulnerable to miscommunication and potentially profoundly negative consequences –interventions around risk are best suited to in-depth discussion. PMID:22421074

Descriptive and numeric estimation of risk for psychotic disorders among affected individuals and relatives: implications for clinical practice.

PubMed

Austin, Jehannine C; Hippman, Catriona; Honer, William G

2012-03-30

Studies show that individuals with psychotic illnesses and their families want information about psychosis risks for other relatives. However, deriving accurate numeric probabilities for psychosis risk is challenging, and people have difficulty interpreting probabilistic information; thus, some have suggested that clinicians should use risk descriptors, such as "moderate" or "quite high", rather than numbers. Little is known about how individuals with psychosis and their family members use quantitative and qualitative descriptors of risk in the specific context of chance for an individual to develop psychosis. We explored numeric and descriptive estimations of psychosis risk among individuals with psychotic disorders and unaffected first-degree relatives. In an online survey, respondents numerically and descriptively estimated risk for an individual to develop psychosis in scenarios where they had: A) no affected family members; and B) an affected sibling. Participants comprised 219 affected individuals and 211 first-degree relatives participated. Affected individuals estimated significantly higher risks than relatives. Participants attributed all descriptors between "very low" and "very high" to probabilities of 1%, 10%, 25% and 50%+. For a given numeric probability, different risk descriptors were attributed in different scenarios. Clinically, brief interventions around risk (using either probabilities or descriptors alone) are vulnerable to miscommunication and potentially negative consequences-interventions around risk are best suited to in-depth discussion. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Individual variation affects departure rate from the natal pond in an ephemeral pond-breeding anuran

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chelgren, N.D.; Rosenberg, D.K.; Heppell, S.S.; Gitelman, A.I.

2008-01-01

Frogs exhibit extreme plasticity and individual variation in growth and behavior during metamorphosis, driven by interactions of intrinsic state factors and extrinsic environmental factors. In northern red-legged frogs (Rana aurora Baird and Girard, 1852), we studied the timing of departure from the natal pond as it relates to date and size of individuals at metamorphosis in the context of environmental uncertainty. To affect body size at metamorphosis, we manipulated food availability during the larval stage for a sample (317) of 1045 uniquely marked individuals and released them at their natal ponds as newly metamorphosed frogs. We recaptured 34% of marked frogs in pitfall traps as they departed and related the timing of their initial terrestrial movements to individual properties using a time-to-event model. Median age at first capture was 4 and 9 days postmetamorphosis at two sites. The rate of departure was positively related to body size and to date of metamorphosis. Departure rate was strongly negatively related to time elapsed since rainfall, and this effect was diminished for smaller and later metamorphosing frogs. Individual variation in metamorphic traits thus affects individuals' responses to environmental variability, supporting a behavioral link with variation in survival associated with these same metamorphic traits. ?? 2008 NRC.

Testing cognition in the wild: factors affecting performance and individual consistency in two measures of avian cognition.

PubMed

Shaw, Rachael C

2017-01-01

Developing cognitive tasks to reliably quantify individual differences in cognitive ability is critical to advance our understanding of the fitness consequences of cognition in the wild. Several factors may influence individual performance in a cognitive task, with some being unrelated to the cognitive ability that is the target of the test. It is therefore essential to assess how extraneous factors may affect task performance, particularly for those tasks that are frequently used to quantify individual differences in cognitive ability. The current study therefore measured the performance of wild North Island robins in two tasks commonly used to measure individual differences in avian cognition: a novel motor task and a detour reaching task. The robins' performance in the motor task was affected by prior experience; individuals that had previously participated in a similar task that required a different motor action pattern outperformed naïve subjects. By contrast, detour reaching performance was influenced by an individual's body condition, suggesting that energetic state may affect inhibitory control in robins. Designing tasks that limit the influence of past experience and developing means of standardising motivation across animals tested in the wild remain key challenges to improving current measurements of cognitive ability in birds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Individual Differences in Amygdala-Medial Prefrontal Anatomy Link Negative Affect, Impaired Social Functioning, and Polygenic Depression Risk

PubMed Central

Holmes, Avram J.; Lee, Phil H.; Hollinshead, Marisa O.; Bakst, Leah; Roffman, Joshua L.; Smoller, Jordan W.; Buckner, Randy L.

2013-01-01

Individual differences in affective and social processes may arise from variability in amygdala-medial prefrontal (mPFC) circuitry and related genetic heterogeneity. To explore this possibility in humans, we examined the structural correlates of trait negative affect in a sample of 1050 healthy young adults with no history of psychiatric illness. Analyses revealed that heightened negative affect was associated with increased amygdala volume and reduced thickness in a left mPFC region encompassing the subgenual and rostral anterior cingulate cortex. The most extreme individuals displayed an inverse correlation between amygdala volume and mPFC thickness, suggesting that imbalance between these structures is linked to negative affect in the general population. Subgroups of participants were further evaluated on social (n = 206) and emotional (n = 533) functions. Individuals with decreased mPFC thickness exhibited the poorest social cognition and were least able to correctly identify facial emotion. Given prior links between disrupted amygdala–mPFC circuitry and the presence of major depressive disorder (MDD), we explored whether the individual differences in anatomy observed here in healthy young adults were associated with polygenic risk for MDD (n = 438) using risk scores derived from a large genome-wide association analysis (n = 18,759). Analyses revealed associations between increasing polygenic burden for MDD and reduced cortical thickness in the left mPFC. These collective findings suggest that, within the healthy population, there is significant variability in amygdala–mPFC circuitry that is associated with poor functioning across affective and social domains. Individual differences in this circuitry may arise, in part, from common genetic variability that contributes to risk for MDD. PMID:23238724

Progranulin gene variation affects serum progranulin levels differently in Danish bipolar individuals compared with healthy controls.

PubMed

Buttenschøn, Henriette N; Nielsen, Marit N; Thotakura, Gangadaar; Lee, Chris W; Nykjær, Anders; Mors, Ole; Glerup, Simon

2017-06-01

The identification of peripheral biomarkers for bipolar disorder is of great importance and has the potential to improve diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Recent studies have reported lower plasma progranulin levels in bipolar individuals compared with controls and association with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the progranulin gene (GRN). In the present study, we investigated the effect of GRN and sortilin (SORT1) gene variation on serum progranulin levels in bipolar individuals and controls. In a Danish cohort of individuals with bipolar disorder and controls, we analysed the serum progranulin level (nbipolar=80, ncontrols=76) and five SNPs located within GRN and two SNPs near the SORT1 gene encoding sortilin, a progranulin scavenger receptor known to affect circulating progranulin levels (nbipolar=166, ncontrols=186). We observed no significant difference in the serum progranulin level between cases and controls and none of the analysed SNPs located within GRN or close to SORT1 were associated with bipolar disorder. Crude and adjusted (adjusted for case-control status, sex and age) linear regression analyses showed no effect of any SNPs on the serum progranulin level. However, we observed that the mean serum progranulin level in cases and controls is affected differently depending on the genotypes of two SNPs within GRN (rs2879096 and rs4792938). The sample size is relatively small and detailed information on medication and polarity of the disorder is not available. No correction for multiple testing was performed. Our study suggests that the potential of progranulin as a biomarker for bipolar disorder is genotype dependent.

A Rare Presentation of Cryptococcal Meningoencephalitis in an Immunocompetent Individual

PubMed Central

Malhotra, Ashwin; Rao, Qin; Kelly, Sean; Schwartz, Danielle; Chow, Robert

2017-01-01

Cryptococcal meningoencephalitis is a leading of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised individuals worldwide. However, there are few documented cases in immunocompetent patients. We present a rare case of disseminated Cryptococcus with progression to meningoencephalitis in an immunocompetent patient, with a possible atypical presentation. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and electroencephalogram to rule out brain metastasis were negative. Lumbar puncture resulted positive for Cryptococcus neoformans antigen at titers of 1:2048 and a detailed history later revealed occupational exposure to bird dander by cleaning floors and cages. Diagnosis is challenging, with delays often resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. Cerebrospinal fluid and serum Cryptococcus antigen play a key role in both diagnosis and determining treatment efficacy. Furthermore, current treatment guidelines are used for immunocompromised individuals. Due to the significant side effects of these medications, further research is needed to determine the optimal treatment duration for immunocompetent patients to minimize the need for unnecessary therapy. PMID:28959388

Community Involvement in Developing Policies for Genetic Testing: Assessing the Interests and Experiences of Individuals Affected by Genetic Conditions

PubMed Central

Gollust, Sarah E.; Apse, Kira; Fuller, Barbara P.; Miller, Paul Steven; Biesecker, Barbara B.

2005-01-01

Because the introduction of genetic testing into clinical medicine and public health creates concerns for the welfare of individuals affected with genetic conditions, those individuals should have a role in policy decisions about testing. Mechanisms for promoting participation range from membership on advisory committees to community dialogues to surveys that provide evidence for supporting practice guidelines. Surveys can assess the attitudes and the experiences of members of an affected group and thus inform discussions about that community’s concerns regarding the appropriate use of a genetic test. Results of a survey of individuals affected with inherited dwarfism show how data can be used in policy and clinical-practice contexts. Future research of affected communities’ interests should be pursued so that underrepresented voices can be heard. PMID:15623855

You can't drink a word: lexical and individual emotionality affect subjective familiarity judgments.

PubMed

Westbury, Chris

2014-10-01

For almost 30 years, subjective familiarity has been used in psycholinguistics as an explanatory variable, allegedly able to explain many phenomena that have no other obvious explanation (Gernsbacher in J Exp Psychol General 113:256-281, 1984). In this paper, the hypothesis tested is that the subjective familiarity of words is reflecting personal familiarity with or importance of the referents of words. Using an empirically-grounded model of affective force derived from Wundt (Grundriss der Psychologie [Outlines of Psychology]. Engelmann, Leibzig, 1896) and based in a co-occurrence model of semantics (which involves no human judgment), it is shown that affective force can account for the same variance in a large set of human subjective familiarity judgments as other human subjective familiarity judgments, can predict whether people will rate new words of the same objective frequency as more or less familiar, can predict lexical access as well as human subjective familiarity judgments do, and has a predicted relationship to age of acquisition norms. Individuals who have highly affective reactivity [as measured by Carver and White's (J Pers Soc Psychol 67(2):319-333, 1994) Behavioral Inhibition Scale and Behavioral Activation Scales] rate words as significantly more familiar than individuals who have low affective reactivity.

Implicit negative affect predicts attention to sad faces beyond self-reported depressive symptoms in healthy individuals: An eye-tracking study.

PubMed

Bodenschatz, Charlott Maria; Skopinceva, Marija; Kersting, Anette; Quirin, Markus; Suslow, Thomas

2018-04-04

Cognitive theories of depression assume biased attention towards mood-congruent information as a central vulnerability and maintaining factor. Among other symptoms, depression is characterized by excessive negative affect (NA). Yet, little is known about the impact of naturally occurring NA on the allocation of attention to emotional information. The study investigates how implicit and explicit NA as well as self-reported depressive symptoms predict attentional biases in a sample of healthy individuals (N = 104). Attentional biases were assessed using eye-tracking during a free viewing task in which images of sad, angry, happy and neutral faces were shown simultaneously. Participants' implicit affectivity was measured indirectly using the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test. Questionnaires were administered to assess actual and habitual explicit NA and presence of depressive symptoms. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with sustained attention to sad faces and reduced attention to happy faces. Implicit but not explicit NA significantly predicted gaze behavior towards sad faces independently from depressive symptoms. The present study supports the idea that naturally occurring implicit NA is associated with attention allocation to dysphoric facial expression. The findings demonstrate the utility of implicit affectivity measures in studying individual differences in depression-relevant attentional biases and cognitive vulnerability. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Development and validation of a questionnaire about the main variables affecting the individual investor's behavior in the Stock Exchange].

PubMed

Pascual-Ezama, David; San Martín Castellanos, Rafael; Gil-Gómez de Liaño, Beatriz; Scandroglio, Bárbara

2010-11-01

Development and validation of a questionnaire about the main variables affecting the individual investor's behavior in the Stock Exchange. There is a considerable lack of information about the methodology usually used in most of the studies about individual investor's behavior. The studies reviewed do not show the method used in the selection of the items or the psychometric properties of the questionnaires. Because of the importance of investment in the Stock Exchange nowadays, it seems relevant to obtain a reliable instrument to understand individual investor's behavior in the Stock Exchange. Therefore, the goal of the present work is to validate a questionnaire about the main variables involved in individual investors' behavior in the Stock Exchange. Based on previous studies, we elaborated a questionnaire using the Delphi methodology with a group of experts. The internal consistency (Cronbach alpha=.934) and validity evidence of the questionnaire show that it may be an effective instrument and can be applied with some assurance.

AFFECT AND THE FRAMING EFFECT WITHIN INDIVIDUALS OVER TIME: RISK TAKING IN A DYNAMIC INVESTMENT SIMULATION.

PubMed

Seo, Myeong-Gu; Goldfarb, Brent; Barrett, Lisa Feldman

2010-04-01

We examined the role of affect (pleasant or unpleasant feelings) and decision frames (gains or losses) in risk taking in a 20-day stock investment simulation in which 101 participants rated their current feelings while making investment decisions. As predicted, affect attenuated the relationships between decision frames and risk taking. After experiencing losses, individuals made more risky choices, in keeping with the framing effect. However, this tendency decreased and/or disappeared when loss was simultaneously experienced with either pleasant or unpleasant feelings. Similarly, individuals' tendency to avoid risk after experiencing gains disappeared or even reversed when they simultaneously experienced pleasant feelings.

Attitudes toward prenatal genetic testing for Treacher Collins syndrome among affected individuals and families.

PubMed

Wu, Rebecca L; Lawson, Cathleen S; Jabs, Ethylin Wang; Sanderson, Saskia C

2012-07-01

Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is a craniofacial syndrome that is both phenotypically variable and heterogeneous, caused by mutations in the TCOF1, POLR1C, and POLR1D genes. We examined attitudes towards TCS prenatal genetic testing among affected families using a telephone questionnaire. Participants were 31 affected adults and relatives recruited primarily through families cared for in the mid-Atlantic region. Nineteen participants (65%) reported that they would take a TCS prenatal genetic test which could not predict degree of disease severity. Interest in TCS genetic testing was associated with higher income, higher concern about having a child with TCS, lower religiosity, lower concern about genetic testing procedures, and having a sporadic rather than familial mutation. Over half reported that their decision to have TCS genetic testing would be influenced a great deal by their desire to relieve anxiety and attitudes toward abortion. Ten participants (32%) reported that they would be likely to end the pregnancy upon receiving a positive test result; this was lower amongst TCS affected individuals and higher amongst participants with children with TCS. Genetics healthcare providers need to be aware of affected individuals' and families' attitudes and interest in prenatal genetic testing for TCS, and the possible implications for other craniofacial disorders, so that patients' information needs can be met. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Negative Affect during a Collective (but Not an Individual) Task Is Associated with Holistic Attention in East Asian Cultural Context

PubMed Central

Tominaga, Hitoshi; Uchida, Yukiko; Miyamoto, Yuri; Yamasaki, Teruo

2017-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that individuals from East Asian cultures are more likely to show holistic attention—a pattern of attention that incorporates contextual information into focal stimuli—than individuals from North American cultures. Holistic attention is also prevalent in communities that require close cooperation. However, it is not yet known how cooperation is related to holistic attention. We theorized that holistic attention increases when people experience negative affect (e.g., worry, sadness, and frustration) during collective tasks (but not during individual tasks) because negative affect in social contexts signals the existence of potential threats to social harmony, thus indicating a need to restore social harmony. To examine this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted in which participants performed a musical duet either with another participant (a collective task requiring cooperation), or individually with a computer (an individual task). After the musical task, the Framed Line Task (FLT) was administered to examine their holistic attention. Participants also reported their emotional states both before and after the music task. Results suggested that negative affect in the collective task—but not the individual task—was positively correlated with a holistic pattern of attention. The function of negative affect in social contexts as motivation to restore relationships and how this enhances holistic attention is discussed. The moderating effect of social context on the link between negative affect and cognition is also discussed. PMID:28824483

Negative Affect during a Collective (but Not an Individual) Task Is Associated with Holistic Attention in East Asian Cultural Context.

PubMed

Tominaga, Hitoshi; Uchida, Yukiko; Miyamoto, Yuri; Yamasaki, Teruo

2017-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that individuals from East Asian cultures are more likely to show holistic attention-a pattern of attention that incorporates contextual information into focal stimuli-than individuals from North American cultures. Holistic attention is also prevalent in communities that require close cooperation. However, it is not yet known how cooperation is related to holistic attention. We theorized that holistic attention increases when people experience negative affect (e.g., worry, sadness, and frustration) during collective tasks (but not during individual tasks) because negative affect in social contexts signals the existence of potential threats to social harmony, thus indicating a need to restore social harmony. To examine this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted in which participants performed a musical duet either with another participant (a collective task requiring cooperation), or individually with a computer (an individual task). After the musical task, the Framed Line Task (FLT) was administered to examine their holistic attention. Participants also reported their emotional states both before and after the music task. Results suggested that negative affect in the collective task-but not the individual task-was positively correlated with a holistic pattern of attention. The function of negative affect in social contexts as motivation to restore relationships and how this enhances holistic attention is discussed. The moderating effect of social context on the link between negative affect and cognition is also discussed.

Lifelong physical activity affects mini mental state exam scores in individuals over 55 years of age.

PubMed

Nemati Karimooy, Habibollah; Hosseini, Mahmoud; Nemati, Maryam; Esmaily, Habib Ollah

2012-04-01

The positive effects of physical activity on cognition have been widely documented. Human studies and the results obtained from animal models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have shown that if commenced early in life, exercise effectively reduces the development of cognitive deficits caused by aging. In the present study, the scores on Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) of individuals over 55 years old who had a history of exercising have been compared to those without a history of exercising. This research was carried out on 273 individuals over 55 years of age. The subjects were randomly chosen from different areas of Mashhad and from exercise clubs. Each person completed a personal information form containing data such as demographics in addition to details of their involvement in sporting activity. Subjects were categorized as follows: 1- non-exercised, 2- exercised. The people in group 2 were then divided into non-professionally exercised (with a history of 2-10 years exercising) or professionally--exercised subjects (i.e. people who were currently, or had previously been members of an exercise club and/or had been trained for at least 10 years). Out of 273 subjects questioned in the present study, 229 were males and 44 were females. The MMSE score in men was significantly higher than women (p < 0.001). The exercised individuals of both sexes had significantly higher scores compared to non-exercised group (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between professionally- exercised individuals of either sex in comparison with exercised ones. It is suggested that lifelong physical activity and exercise affects cognitive performance in old age. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental and Individual Factors Affecting Menu Labeling Utilization: A Qualitative Research Study

PubMed Central

Schindler, Jennifer; Kiszko, Kamila; Abrams, Courtney; Islam, Nadia; Elbel, Brian

2013-01-01

Obesity is a significant public health concern that disproportionally affects low-income and minority populations. Recent policies mandating the posting of calories on menus in fast food chain restaurants have not proven to uniformly influence food choice. This qualitative research study uses focus groups to study individual and environmental factors affecting the usage of these menu labels among low-income, minority populations. Ten focus groups targeting low-income residents (n=105) were conducted at various community organizations throughout NYC in Spanish, English, or a combination of both languages, over a nine-month period in 2011. In late 2011 and early 2012, transcripts were coded through the process of thematic analysis using Atlas.ti for naturally emerging themes, influences, and determinants of food choice. Few used menu labels, despite awareness. Among the themes pertaining to menu label usage, price and time constraints, confusion and lack of understanding of caloric values, as well as the priority of preference, hunger, and habitual ordering habits were most frequently cited as barriers to menu label usage. Based on the individual and external influences on food choice that often take priority over calorie consideration, a modified approach may be necessary to make menu labels more effective and user-friendly. PMID:23402695

20 CFR 416.430 - Eligible individual with eligible spouse; essential person(s) present.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Eligible individual with eligible spouse; essential person(s) present. 416.430 Section 416.430 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED Amount of Benefits § 416.430 Eligible individual...

20 CFR 416.430 - Eligible individual with eligible spouse; essential person(s) present.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Eligible individual with eligible spouse; essential person(s) present. 416.430 Section 416.430 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED Amount of Benefits § 416.430 Eligible individual...

20 CFR 416.430 - Eligible individual with eligible spouse; essential person(s) present.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Eligible individual with eligible spouse; essential person(s) present. 416.430 Section 416.430 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED Amount of Benefits § 416.430 Eligible individual...

20 CFR 416.430 - Eligible individual with eligible spouse; essential person(s) present.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Eligible individual with eligible spouse; essential person(s) present. 416.430 Section 416.430 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED Amount of Benefits § 416.430 Eligible individual...

Individual Characteristics Influencing Physicians' Perceptions of Job Demands and Control: The Role of Affectivity, Work Engagement and Workaholism.

PubMed

Mazzetti, Greta; Biolcati, Roberta; Guglielmi, Dina; Vallesi, Caryn; Schaufeli, Wilmar B

2016-06-06

The first purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of individual characteristics, i.e., positive and negative affectivity, in explaining the different perception of job control and job demands in a particularly demanding environment such as the healthcare setting. In addition, we aimed to explore the mediational role of work engagement and workaholism using the Job Demands-Resources Model as a theoretical framework. Data were collected using a sample of 269 Italian head physicians working in nine general hospitals. To test our hypotheses, the collected data were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Moreover, Sobel Test and bootstrapping were employed to assess the mediating hypotheses. Our results indicated that positive affectivity is related to work engagement, which, in its turn, showed a positive association with job control. In addition, workaholism mediated the relationship between negative affectivity and job demands. All in all, this study represents a first attempt to explore the role of trait affectivity as a dispositional characteristic able to foster the level of work engagement and workaholism exhibited by employees and, in turn, to increase the perceived levels of job control and job demands.

Individual Characteristics Influencing Physicians’ Perceptions of Job Demands and Control: The Role of Affectivity, Work Engagement and Workaholism

PubMed Central

Mazzetti, Greta; Biolcati, Roberta; Guglielmi, Dina; Vallesi, Caryn; Schaufeli, Wilmar B.

2016-01-01

The first purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of individual characteristics, i.e., positive and negative affectivity, in explaining the different perception of job control and job demands in a particularly demanding environment such as the healthcare setting. In addition, we aimed to explore the mediational role of work engagement and workaholism using the Job Demands-Resources Model as a theoretical framework. Data were collected using a sample of 269 Italian head physicians working in nine general hospitals. To test our hypotheses, the collected data were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Moreover, Sobel Test and bootstrapping were employed to assess the mediating hypotheses. Our results indicated that positive affectivity is related to work engagement, which, in its turn, showed a positive association with job control. In addition, workaholism mediated the relationship between negative affectivity and job demands. All in all, this study represents a first attempt to explore the role of trait affectivity as a dispositional characteristic able to foster the level of work engagement and workaholism exhibited by employees and, in turn, to increase the perceived levels of job control and job demands. PMID:27275828

Metabolically healthy obese individuals present similar chronic inflammation level but less insulin-resistance than obese individuals with metabolic syndrome

PubMed Central

Penas Steinhardt, Alberto; López, Ariel Pablo; González, Claudio Daniel; Vilariño, Jorge; Frechtel, Gustavo Daniel; Cerrone, Gloria Edith

2017-01-01

The Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors, usually accompanied by the presence of insulin resistance (IR) and a systemic subclinical inflammation state. Metabolically healthy obese (MHO) individuals seem to be protected against cardiometabolic complications. The aim of this work was to characterize phenotypically the low-grade inflammation and the IR in MHO individuals in comparison to obese individuals with MetS and control non obese. We studied two different populations: 940 individuals from the general population of Buenos Aires and 518 individuals from the general population of Venado Tuerto; grouped in three groups: metabolically healthy non-obese individuals (MHNO), MHO and obese individuals with MetS (MSO). Inflammation was measured by the levels of hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C reactive protein), and we found that MHO presented an increase in inflammation when compared with MHNO (Buenos Aires: p<0.001; Venado Tuerto: p<0.001), but they did not differ from MSO. To evaluate IR we analyzed the HOMA (Homoeostatic Model Assessment) values, and we found differences between MHO and MSO (Buenos Aires: p<0.001; Venado Tuerto: p<0.001), but not between MHNO and MHO. In conclusion, MHO group would be defined as a subgroup of obese individuals with an intermediate phenotype between MHNO and MSO individuals considering HOMA, hs-CRP and central obesity. PMID:29284058

Clear signals or mixed messages: inter-individual emotion congruency modulates brain activity underlying affective body perception

PubMed Central

de Gelder, B.

2016-01-01

The neural basis of emotion perception has mostly been investigated with single face or body stimuli. However, in daily life one may also encounter affective expressions by groups, e.g. an angry mob or an exhilarated concert crowd. In what way is brain activity modulated when several individuals express similar rather than different emotions? We investigated this question using an experimental design in which we presented two stimuli simultaneously, with same or different emotional expressions. We hypothesized that, in the case of two same-emotion stimuli, brain activity would be enhanced, while in the case of two different emotions, one emotion would interfere with the effect of the other. The results showed that the simultaneous perception of different affective body expressions leads to a deactivation of the amygdala and a reduction of cortical activity. It was revealed that the processing of fearful bodies, compared with different-emotion bodies, relied more strongly on saliency and action triggering regions in inferior parietal lobe and insula, while happy bodies drove the occipito-temporal cortex more strongly. We showed that this design could be used to uncover important differences between brain networks underlying fearful and happy emotions. The enhancement of brain activity for unambiguous affective signals expressed by several people simultaneously supports adaptive behaviour in critical situations. PMID:27025242

Prevalence of GJB2 Mutations in Affected Individuals from United Arab Emirates with Autosomal Recessive Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss.

PubMed

Tlili, Abdelaziz; Al Mutery, Abdullah; Kamal Eddine Ahmad Mohamed, Walaa; Mahfood, Mona; Hadj Kacem, Hassen

2017-11-01

Mutations in the gap junction protein beta 2 (GJB2) gene are responsible for more cases of nonsyndromic recessive hearing loss than any other gene. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of GJB2 mutations among affected individuals from United Arab Emirates (UAE). There were 50 individuals diagnosed with hereditary hearing loss and 120 healthy individuals enrolled in the study. The Sanger sequencing method was used to screen the GJB2 coding region in all affected individuals. The c.-1G>A variant was determined by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method in normal individuals. Nine cases with bi-allelic mutations and three cases with mono-allelic mutations were detected in 12 out of 50 patients (24%). The homozygous mutation c.35delG was identified as the cause of hearing loss in six participants (12%). The mutation c.506G>A was identified in three affected individuals (6%). The allelic frequency (14%) and low percentage of individuals that were homozygous (2%) for the c.35delG mutation suggest that there are other genes responsible for nonsyndromic deafness in the UAE population. The results reported here are a preliminary step in collecting epidemiological data regarding autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss related to GJB2 gene mutations among the UAE population. The c.35delG mutation of the GJB2 gene is the most frequently seen causative mutation in the UAE and is followed by the p.Cys169Tyr mutation.

Perfectionism in Relation to Stress and Cardiovascular Disease among Gifted Individuals and the Need for Affective Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corson, Ansley T.; Loveless, James P.; Mochrie, Kirk D.; Whited, Matthew C.

2018-01-01

Maladaptive perfectionism has the potential to put gifted individuals at an increased risk for cardiac events via the reduced heart rate variability that results from chronic negative affect and physiological stress reactions. As a result, implementing affective interventions into gifted programs may play a critical role in teaching gifted…

"The impact of uncertain threat on affective bias: Individual differences in response to ambiguity": Correction.

PubMed

2018-04-01

Reports an error in "The impact of uncertain threat on affective bias: Individual differences in response to ambiguity" by Maital Neta, Julie Cantelon, Zachary Haga, Caroline R. Mahoney, Holly A. Taylor and F. Caroline Davis ( Emotion , 2017[Dec], Vol 17[8], 1137-1143). In this article, the copyright attribution was incorrectly listed under the Creative Commons CC-BY license due to production-related error. The correct copyright should be "In the public domain." The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2017-40275-001.) Individuals who operate under highly stressful conditions (e.g., military personnel and first responders) are often faced with the challenge of quickly interpreting ambiguous information in uncertain and threatening environments. When faced with ambiguity, it is likely adaptive to view potentially dangerous stimuli as threatening until contextual information proves otherwise. One laboratory-based paradigm that can be used to simulate uncertain threat is known as threat of shock (TOS), in which participants are told that they might receive mild but unpredictable electric shocks while performing an unrelated task. The uncertainty associated with this potential threat induces a state of emotional arousal that is not overwhelmingly stressful, but has widespread-both adaptive and maladaptive-effects on cognitive and affective function. For example, TOS is thought to enhance aversive processing and abolish positivity bias. Importantly, in certain situations (e.g., when walking home alone at night), this anxiety can promote an adaptive state of heightened vigilance and defense mobilization. In the present study, we used TOS to examine the effects of uncertain threat on valence bias, or the tendency to interpret ambiguous social cues as positive or negative. As predicted, we found that heightened emotional arousal elicited by TOS was associated with an increased tendency to

Stimulus Characteristics Affect Humor Processing in Individuals with Asperger Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samson, Andrea C.; Hegenloh, Michael

2010-01-01

The present paper aims to investigate whether individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) show global humor processing deficits or whether humor comprehension and appreciation depends on stimulus characteristics. Non-verbal visual puns, semantic and Theory of Mind cartoons were rated on comprehension, funniness and the punchlines were explained. AS…

Motivations for Self-Injury, Affect, and Impulsivity: A Comparison of Individuals with Current Self-Injury to Individuals with a History of Self-Injury

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Julia; Peterson, Claire M.; Fischer, Sarah

2012-01-01

Individuals who report nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) are characterized by the tendency to act rashly while experiencing distress (negative urgency), the tendency to act without thinking, and endorsement of both social and affect regulation motives for the behavior. However, very little research has identified characteristics that distinguish…

Deaf individuals who work with computers present a high level of visual attention.

PubMed

Ribeiro, Paula Vieira; Ribas, Valdenilson Ribeiro; Ribas, Renata de Melo Guerra; de Melo, Teresinha de Jesus Oliveira Guimarães; Marinho, Carlos Antonio de Sá; Silva, Kátia Karina do Monte; de Albuquerque, Elizabete Elias; Ribas, Valéria Ribeiro; de Lima, Renata Mirelly Silva; Santos, Tuthcha Sandrelle Botelho Tavares

2011-01-01

Some studies in the literature indicate that deaf individuals seem to develop a higher level of attention and concentration during the process of constructing of different ways of communicating. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of attention in individuals deaf from birth that worked with computers. A total of 161 individuals in the 18-25 age group were assessed. Of these, 40 were congenitally deaf individuals that worked with computers, 42 were deaf individuals that did not work, did not know how to use nor used computers (Control 1), 39 individuals with normal hearing that did not work, did not know how to use computers nor used them (Control 2), and 40 individuals with normal hearing that worked with computers (Control 3). The group of subjects deaf from birth that worked with computers (IDWC) presented a higher level of focused attention, sustained attention, mental manipulation capacity and resistance to interference compared to the control groups. This study highlights the relevance sensory to cognitive processing.

Deaf individuals who work with computers present a high level of visual attention

PubMed Central

Ribeiro, Paula Vieira; Ribas, Valdenilson Ribeiro; Ribas, Renata de Melo Guerra; de Melo, Teresinha de Jesus Oliveira Guimarães; Marinho, Carlos Antonio de Sá; Silva, Kátia Karina do Monte; de Albuquerque, Elizabete Elias; Ribas, Valéria Ribeiro; de Lima, Renata Mirelly Silva; Santos, Tuthcha Sandrelle Botelho Tavares

2011-01-01

Some studies in the literature indicate that deaf individuals seem to develop a higher level of attention and concentration during the process of constructing of different ways of communicating. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of attention in individuals deaf from birth that worked with computers. Methods A total of 161 individuals in the 18-25 age group were assessed. Of these, 40 were congenitally deaf individuals that worked with computers, 42 were deaf individuals that did not work, did not know how to use nor used computers (Control 1), 39 individuals with normal hearing that did not work, did not know how to use computers nor used them (Control 2), and 40 individuals with normal hearing that worked with computers (Control 3). Results The group of subjects deaf from birth that worked with computers (IDWC) presented a higher level of focused attention, sustained attention, mental manipulation capacity and resistance to interference compared to the control groups. Conclusion This study highlights the relevance sensory to cognitive processing. PMID:29213734

Individual and Technological Factors Affecting Undergraduates' Use of Mobile Technology in University of Ilorin, Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olufunmilola Ogulande, Oyeronke; Oladimeji Olafare, Festus; Ayuba Sakaba, Dabo

2016-01-01

The proliferation and utilization of handheld mobile technology among undergraduates for mobile learning cannot be underestimated. This study was geared towards investigating individual and technological factors affecting the perceived usefulness of mobile technology by undergraduates in university of Ilorin, Nigeria. The study was a descriptive…

Factors Affecting Individual Education Demand at the Entrance to University: Adnan Menderes University Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarpkaya, Ruhi

2010-01-01

The aim of this research is to determine the factors affecting individual education demands at the entrance to university. The research is in survey model. The universe of the study consists of 1630 freshmen at the faculties and vocational schools of Adnan Menderes University, Aydin. 574 students from 7 schools were included in the sample. The…

Interpersonal stressors and negative affect in individuals with borderline personality disorder and community adults in daily life: A replication and extension.

PubMed

Hepp, Johanna; Lane, Sean P; Wycoff, Andrea M; Carpenter, Ryan W; Trull, Timothy J

2018-02-01

Affective instability and interpersonal stress are key features of borderline personality disorder (BPD). They were shown to covary in the daily lives of patients in a recent ambulatory assessment study (Hepp et al., 2017) that observed comparatively larger positive associations between interpersonal stressors and negative affect in individuals with BPD than those with depressive disorders. The present study sought to replicate these findings, collecting data on hostility, sadness, fear, and rejection or disagreement events from 56 BPD and 60 community control participants for 21 days, 6 times a day. Using identical statistical procedures, the positive associations between momentary rejection/disagreement and hostility, sadness, and fear were replicated. Again replicating the original study, the rejection-hostility, rejection-sadness, and disagreement-hostility associations were significantly stronger in the BPD group. Time-lagged analyses extended the original study, revealing that rejection was associated with subsequent hostility and sadness more strongly in the BPD group, as was disagreement with subsequent hostility and fear. Though small, we argue that the observed group differences reflect meaningful pervasive responses in a daily life context. Future research should consider these when implementing affect regulation strategies that are applicable in interpersonal contexts for all individuals, but particularly those with BPD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Clear signals or mixed messages: inter-individual emotion congruency modulates brain activity underlying affective body perception.

PubMed

de Borst, A W; de Gelder, B

2016-08-01

The neural basis of emotion perception has mostly been investigated with single face or body stimuli. However, in daily life one may also encounter affective expressions by groups, e.g. an angry mob or an exhilarated concert crowd. In what way is brain activity modulated when several individuals express similar rather than different emotions? We investigated this question using an experimental design in which we presented two stimuli simultaneously, with same or different emotional expressions. We hypothesized that, in the case of two same-emotion stimuli, brain activity would be enhanced, while in the case of two different emotions, one emotion would interfere with the effect of the other. The results showed that the simultaneous perception of different affective body expressions leads to a deactivation of the amygdala and a reduction of cortical activity. It was revealed that the processing of fearful bodies, compared with different-emotion bodies, relied more strongly on saliency and action triggering regions in inferior parietal lobe and insula, while happy bodies drove the occipito-temporal cortex more strongly. We showed that this design could be used to uncover important differences between brain networks underlying fearful and happy emotions. The enhancement of brain activity for unambiguous affective signals expressed by several people simultaneously supports adaptive behaviour in critical situations. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

How Creativity Was Affected by Environmental Factors and Individual Characteristics: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deng, Lifang; Wang, Lijuan; Zhao, Yanyun

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how environmental factors (family environment and school education) and individual characteristics (personality, creative attitudes, and divergent thinking) collectively affect creative achievement of American and Chinese college students. Data were collected from 378 college students in the United States…

The effect of low versus high approach-motivated positive affect on memory for peripherally versus centrally presented information.

PubMed

Gable, Philip A; Harmon-Jones, Eddie

2010-08-01

Emotions influence attention and processes involved in memory. Although some research has suggested that positive affect categorically influences these processes differently than neutral affect, recent research suggests that motivational intensity of positive affective states influences these processes. The present experiments examined memory for centrally or peripherally presented information after the evocation of approach-motivated positive affect. Experiment 1 found that, relative to neutral conditions, pregoal, approach-motivated positive affect (caused by a monetary incentives task) enhanced memory for centrally presented information, whereas postgoal, low approach-motivated positive affect enhanced memory for peripherally presented information. Experiment 2 found that, relative to a neutral condition, high approach-motivated positive affect (caused by appetitive pictures) enhanced memory for centrally presented information but hindered memory for peripheral information. These results suggest a more complex relationship between positive affect and memory processes and highlight the importance of considering the motivational intensity of positive affects in cognitive processes. Copyright 2010 APA

Tropical forest fragmentation affects floral visitors but not the structure of individual-based palm-pollinator networks.

PubMed

Dáttilo, Wesley; Aguirre, Armando; Quesada, Mauricio; Dirzo, Rodolfo

2015-01-01

Despite increasing knowledge about the effects of habitat loss on pollinators in natural landscapes, information is very limited regarding the underlying mechanisms of forest fragmentation affecting plant-pollinator interactions in such landscapes. Here, we used a network approach to describe the effects of forest fragmentation on the patterns of interactions involving the understory dominant palm Astrocaryum mexicanum (Arecaceae) and its floral visitors (including both effective and non-effective pollinators) at the individual level in a Mexican tropical rainforest landscape. Specifically, we asked: (i) Does fragment size affect the structure of individual-based plant-pollinator networks? (ii) Does the core of highly interacting visitor species change along the fragmentation size gradient? (iii) Does forest fragment size influence the abundance of effective pollinators of A. mexicanum? We found that fragment size did not affect the topological structure of the individual-based palm-pollinator network. Furthermore, while the composition of peripheral non-effective pollinators changed depending on fragment size, effective core generalist species of pollinators remained stable. We also observed that both abundance and variance of effective pollinators of male and female flowers of A. mexicanum increased with forest fragment size. These findings indicate that the presence of effective pollinators in the core of all forest fragments could keep the network structure stable along the gradient of forest fragmentation. In addition, pollination of A. mexicanum could be more effective in larger fragments, since the greater abundance of pollinators in these fragments may increase the amount of pollen and diversity of pollen donors between flowers of individual plants. Given the prevalence of fragmentation in tropical ecosystems, our results indicate that the current patterns of land use will have consequences on the underlying mechanisms of pollination in remnant forests.

Spirituality, Illness Unpredictability, and Math Anxiety Effects on Negative Affect and Affect-Management Coping for Individuals Diagnosed with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.

PubMed

Worthington, Amber K; Parrott, Roxanne L; Smith, Rachel A

2018-04-01

A growing number of genetic tests are included in diagnostic protocols associated with many common conditions. A positive diagnosis associated with the presence of some gene versions in many instances predicts a range of possible outcomes, and the uncertainty linked to such results contributes to the need to understand varied responses and plan strategic communication. Uncertainty in illness theory (UIT; Mishel, 1988, 1990) guided the investigation of efforts to feel in control and hopeful regarding genetic testing and diagnosis for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). Participants included 137 individuals with AATD recruited from the Alpha-1 Research Registry who were surveyed about their subjective numeracy, anxiety about math, spirituality, perceptions of illness unpredictability, negative affect regarding genetic testing, and coping strategies about a diagnosis. Results revealed that experiencing more fear and worry contributed both directly and indirectly to affect-management coping strategies, operating through individual perceptions of illness unpredictability. The inability to predict the symptoms and course of events related to a genetic illness and anxiety regarding math heightened fear and worry. Spirituality lessened both illness unpredictability and negative affective responses to a diagnosis. Results affirm the importance of clinician and counselor efforts to incorporate attention to patient spirituality. They also illustrate the complexity associated with strategic efforts to plan communication about the different versions of a gene's effects on well-being, when some versions align with mild health effects and others with severe effects.

Affect as a Psychological Primitive

PubMed Central

Barrett, Lisa Feldman; Bliss-Moreau, Eliza

2009-01-01

In this article, we discuss the hypothesis that affect is a fundamental, psychologically irreducible property of the human mind. We begin by presenting historical perspectives on the nature of affect. Next, we proceed with a more contemporary discussion of core affect as a basic property of the mind that is realized within a broadly distributed neuronal workspace. We then present the affective circumplex, a mathematical formalization for representing core affective states, and show that this model can be used to represent individual differences in core affective feelings that are linked to meaningful variation in emotional experience. Finally, we conclude by suggesting that core affect has psychological consequences that reach beyond the boundaries of emotion, to influence learning and consciousness. PMID:20552040

The impact of uncertain threat on affective bias: Individual differences in response to ambiguity.

PubMed

Neta, Maital; Cantelon, Julie; Haga, Zachary; Mahoney, Caroline R; Taylor, Holly A; Davis, F Caroline

2017-12-01

Individuals who operate under highly stressful conditions (e.g., military personnel and first responders) are often faced with the challenge of quickly interpreting ambiguous information in uncertain and threatening environments. When faced with ambiguity, it is likely adaptive to view potentially dangerous stimuli as threatening until contextual information proves otherwise. One laboratory-based paradigm that can be used to simulate uncertain threat is known as threat of shock (TOS), in which participants are told that they might receive mild but unpredictable electric shocks while performing an unrelated task. The uncertainty associated with this potential threat induces a state of emotional arousal that is not overwhelmingly stressful, but has widespread-both adaptive and maladaptive-effects on cognitive and affective function. For example, TOS is thought to enhance aversive processing and abolish positivity bias. Importantly, in certain situations (e.g., when walking home alone at night), this anxiety can promote an adaptive state of heightened vigilance and defense mobilization. In the present study, we used TOS to examine the effects of uncertain threat on valence bias, or the tendency to interpret ambiguous social cues as positive or negative. As predicted, we found that heightened emotional arousal elicited by TOS was associated with an increased tendency to interpret ambiguous cues negatively. Such negative interpretations are likely adaptive in situations in which threat detection is critical for survival and should override an individual's tendency to interpret ambiguity positively in safe contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Interacting with Nature Improves Cognition and Affect for Individuals with Depression

PubMed Central

Berman, Marc G.; Kross, Ethan; Krpan, Katherine M.; Askren, Mary K.; Burson, Aleah; Deldin, Patricia J.; Kaplan, Stephen; Sherdell, Lindsey; Gotlib, Ian H.; Jonides, John

2012-01-01

Background This study aimed to explore whether walking in nature may be beneficial for individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). Healthy adults demonstrate significant cognitive gains after nature walks, but it was unclear whether those same benefits would be achieved in a depressed sample as walking alone in nature might induce rumination, thereby worsening memory and mood. Methods Twenty individuals diagnosed with MDD participated in this study. At baseline, mood and short term memory span were assessed using the PANAS and the backwards digit span (BDS) task, respectively. Participants were then asked to think about an unresolved negative autobiographical event to prime rumination, prior to taking a 50 minute walk in either a natural or urban setting. After the walk, mood and short-term memory span were reassessed. The following week, participants returned to the lab and repeated the entire procedure, but walked in the location not visited in the first session (i.e., a counterbalanced within-subjects design). Results Participants exhibited significant increases in memory span after the nature walk relative to the urban walk, p < .001, ηp2= .53 (a large effect-size). Participants also showed increases in mood, but the mood effects did not correlate with the memory effects, suggesting separable mechanisms and replicating previous work. Limitations Sample size and participants’ motivation. Conclusions These findings extend earlier work demonstrating the cognitive and affective benefits of interacting with nature to individuals with MDD. Therefore, interacting with nature may be useful clinically as a supplement to existing treatments for MDD. PMID:22464936

Interacting with nature improves cognition and affect for individuals with depression.

PubMed

Berman, Marc G; Kross, Ethan; Krpan, Katherine M; Askren, Mary K; Burson, Aleah; Deldin, Patricia J; Kaplan, Stephen; Sherdell, Lindsey; Gotlib, Ian H; Jonides, John

2012-11-01

This study aimed to explore whether walking in nature may be beneficial for individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). Healthy adults demonstrate significant cognitive gains after nature walks, but it was unclear whether those same benefits would be achieved in a depressed sample as walking alone in nature might induce rumination, thereby worsening memory and mood. Twenty individuals diagnosed with MDD participated in this study. At baseline, mood and short term memory span were assessed using the PANAS and the backwards digit span (BDS) task, respectively. Participants were then asked to think about an unresolved negative autobiographical event to prime rumination, prior to taking a 50-min walk in either a natural or urban setting. After the walk, mood and short-term memory span were reassessed. The following week, participants returned to the lab and repeated the entire procedure, but walked in the location not visited in the first session (i.e., a counterbalanced within-subjects design). Participants exhibited significant increases in memory span after the nature walk relative to the urban walk, p<.001, η(p)(2)=.53 (a large effect-size). Participants also showed increases in mood, but the mood effects did not correlate with the memory effects, suggesting separable mechanisms and replicating previous work. Sample size and participants' motivation. These findings extend earlier work demonstrating the cognitive and affective benefits of interacting with nature to individuals with MDD. Therefore, interacting with nature may be useful clinically as a supplement to existing treatments for MDD. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preferential occurrence of attacks during night sleep and/or upon awakening negatively affects migraine clinical presentation.

PubMed

Gori, Sara; Lucchesi, Cinzia; Baldacci, Filippo; Bonuccelli, Ubaldo

2015-01-01

It is well known that migraine attacks can preferentially occur during night sleep and/or upon awakening, however the possible implications of this timing on migraine clinical presentation remain unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the possible consequences of sleep-related migraine (defined as ≥ 75% of migraine attacks occurring during night sleep and/or upon awakening) on the migraine clinical picture (i.e. migraine-related disability, attack severity, use of symptomatic drugs), subjective sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue. Two hundred consecutive migraine without aura patients were enrolled; patients with comorbid disorders or chronic medication use were excluded. 39% of the migraineurs included in the study received a diagnosis of sleep-related migraine. The mean frequency of migraine attacks (days per month) did not significantly differ between the patients with and those without sleep-related migraine, whereas migraine-related disability (p<0.0001), mean attack severity (p<0.0001), and monthly intake of symptomatic drugs (p<0.0001) were significantly higher in patients with migraine preferentially occurring at night-time and/or upon awakening. Subjective sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness did not differ significantly between the two groups, whereas fatigue was significantly more present in the patients with sleep-related migraine (p=0.0001). These data seem to support the hypothesis that patients with sleep-related migraine represent a subset of individuals with a more severe and disabling clinical presentation of migraine and greater impairment of daily functioning, as suggested by the higher degree of fatigue. Migraineurs with night-time attacks Preferential occurrence of attacks during night sleep and/or upon awakening negatively affects migraine clinical presentation also showed a greater use of symptomatic drugs, possibly related to delayed use of symptomatic treatment. The identification of subtypes of

The effects of sleep dysfunction on cognition, affect, and quality of life in individuals with cerebellar ataxia.

PubMed

Sonni, Akshata; Kurdziel, Lauri B F; Baran, Bengi; Spencer, Rebecca M C

2014-05-15

Cerebellar ataxia comprises a group of debilitating diseases that are the result of progressive cerebellar degeneration. Recent studies suggest that, like other neurodegenerative diseases, sleep impairments are common in cerebellar ataxia. In light of the role of sleep in mood regulation and cognition, we sought to assess interactions between sleep, cognition, and affect in individuals with cerebellar ataxia. A survey of 176 individuals with cerebellar ataxia was conducted. The battery of instruments included a modified International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Restless Leg Syndrome Questionnaire, REM Behavior Disorder Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and a Composite Cognitive Questionnaire. Fifty-one percent of individuals indicated significant sleep disturbances on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, 73% of participants had two or more symptoms of restless leg syndrome, and 88% had two or more symptoms of REM behavior disorder. Ataxia severity, based on the modified International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale, predicted scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and REM Behavior Disorder Questionnaire. Median split analyses revealed that cognitive function appeared to be reduced and depressive symptoms were greater for those individuals with poor subjective sleep quality and severe RLS. Importantly, sleep appears to play a mediatory role between disease severity and depressive symptoms. These results suggest that disturbed sleep may have detrimental effects on cognition and affect in individuals with cerebellar ataxia. While objective measures are needed, such results suggest that treating sleep deficits in these individuals may improve cognitive and mental health as well as overall quality of life.

Does degree of handedness in a group of right-handed individuals affect language comprehension?

PubMed

Newman, Sharlene; Malaia, Evie; Seo, Roy

2014-04-01

The impact of handedness on language processing has been studied extensively and the results indicate that there is a relationship between the two variables; however, the nature of the relationship is not at all clear. In the current study we explored degree of handedness (DH) opposed to direction in a group of right-handed individuals. fMRI was used to explore the impact of DH on the sentence comprehension network. The results revealed that during sentence comprehension activation in regions linked to semantic memory (e.g., anterior temporal cortex) were modulated by DH. Also, unexpectedly the precuneus/posterior cingulate gyrus which has been linked to episodic memory was also affected by DH. These results extend those reported previously by showing that the neural architecture that supports sentence comprehension is modulated by DH. More specifically, together the results presented here support the hypothesis proposed by Townsend, Carrithers, and Bever (2001) that DH interacts with the language system and impacts the strategy used during sentence comprehension. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using Multigroup-Multiphase Latent State-Trait Models to Study Treatment-Induced Changes in Intra-Individual State Variability: An Application to Smokers' Affect.

PubMed

Geiser, Christian; Griffin, Daniel; Shiffman, Saul

2016-01-01

Sometimes, researchers are interested in whether an intervention, experimental manipulation, or other treatment causes changes in intra-individual state variability. The authors show how multigroup-multiphase latent state-trait (MG-MP-LST) models can be used to examine treatment effects with regard to both mean differences and differences in state variability. The approach is illustrated based on a randomized controlled trial in which N = 338 smokers were randomly assigned to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) vs. placebo prior to quitting smoking. We found that post quitting, smokers in both the NRT and placebo group had significantly reduced intra-individual affect state variability with respect to the affect items calm and content relative to the pre-quitting phase. This reduction in state variability did not differ between the NRT and placebo groups, indicating that quitting smoking may lead to a stabilization of individuals' affect states regardless of whether or not individuals receive NRT.

Effects of Presentation Mode on Veridical and False Memory in Individuals with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlin, Michael; Toglia, Michael P.; Belmonte, Colleen; DiMeglio, Chiara

2012-01-01

In the present study the effects of visual, auditory, and audio-visual presentation formats on memory for thematically constructed lists were assessed in individuals with intellectual disability and mental age-matched children. The auditory recognition test included target items, unrelated foils, and two types of semantic lures: critical related…

Dandy-Walker Malformation Presenting with Affective Symptoms.

PubMed

Batmaz, Mert; Balçik, Zeynep Ezgi; Özer, Ürün; Hamurişçi Yalçin, Burcu; Özen, Şakir

2017-09-01

Dandy-Walker malformation is defined by enlarged posterior fossa, cystic dilatation of the fourth ventricle, and cerebellar hypoplasia. Although developmental delay and mental retardation are common in Dandy-Walker malformation cases, other comorbid psychiatric conditions have been rarely reported. There are limited numbers of case reports about comorbidity of bipolar disorder with Dandy-Walker malformation in the literature. Herein, a Dandy-Walker malformation case presenting affective symptoms is reported, and psychiatric symptoms which might be seen in this rare malformation are discussed along with diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up processes. A 27-year-old male patient, hospitalized for compulsory treatment, had been diagnosed with Dandy-Walker malformation in childhood. First complaints were attention deficiency, behavioral problems, learning difficulties; and manic and depressive episodes have occurred during follow-ups. He recently complained of decreased need for sleep, irritability, and increased speed of thought, and psychiatric examination was consistent with manic episode. Cranial computed tomography (CT) revealed bilateral ventriculomegaly, enlarged third and fourth ventricles with posterior fossa cyst, and cerebellar hypoplasia. His treatment included 30 mg/day aripiprazole, 1000 mg/day valproic acid, 200 mg/day quetiapine, 4 mg/day biperiden, and 100 mg/month paliperidone palmitate. Beside its traditional role in the regulation of coordination and motor functions, cerebellum is increasingly emphasized for its involvement in the mood regulation. Thus, as seen in Dandy-Walker malformation, cerebellar anomalies are suggested to play a role in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. Further studies are needed to better understand the relationship between mood disorders and cerebellum. Moreover, treatment options should be considered carefully in terms of resistance to treatment and potential side effects, for psychiatric disorders occurring in these

The impact bias in self and others: Affective and empathic forecasting in individuals with social anxiety.

PubMed

Arditte Hall, Kimberly A; Joormann, Jutta; Siemer, Matthias; Timpano, Kiara R

2018-07-01

People tend to overestimate the intensity and duration of affect (i.e., impact bias) when making predictions about their own and others' responding, termed affective and empathic forecasting, respectively. Research links impact biases to clinical symptoms of affective disorders, but little work has been done to examine how social anxiety is related to affective and empathic forecasting biases. The current investigation included two studies examining these associations in independent samples of young adults with dimensionally distributed social anxiety symptoms. Study 1 (N = 100) examined the associations between social anxiety and affective and empathic forecasts in response to a series of novel hypothetical vignettes in which a second-person narrator (i.e., the self) elicited anger, disgust, or happiness from another person (i.e., the other). Study 2 utilized an innovative experimental paradigm involving N = 68 participant dyads. Overall, results supported the existence of affective and empathic forecasting biases. Further, symptoms of social anxiety were associated with the tendency to overestimate one's own and others' negative affect and underestimate others' positive affect. Such forecasting biases may help to explain the avoidance that is characteristic of individuals with social anxiety and could represent a fruitful target of cognitive behavioral intervention. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using Multigroup-Multiphase Latent State-Trait Models to Study Treatment-Induced Changes in Intra-Individual State Variability: An Application to Smokers' Affect

PubMed Central

Geiser, Christian; Griffin, Daniel; Shiffman, Saul

2016-01-01

Sometimes, researchers are interested in whether an intervention, experimental manipulation, or other treatment causes changes in intra-individual state variability. The authors show how multigroup-multiphase latent state-trait (MG-MP-LST) models can be used to examine treatment effects with regard to both mean differences and differences in state variability. The approach is illustrated based on a randomized controlled trial in which N = 338 smokers were randomly assigned to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) vs. placebo prior to quitting smoking. We found that post quitting, smokers in both the NRT and placebo group had significantly reduced intra-individual affect state variability with respect to the affect items calm and content relative to the pre-quitting phase. This reduction in state variability did not differ between the NRT and placebo groups, indicating that quitting smoking may lead to a stabilization of individuals' affect states regardless of whether or not individuals receive NRT. PMID:27499744

Individual Differences in Susceptibility to Inattentional Blindness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seegmiller, Janelle K.; Watson, Jason M.; Strayer, David L.

2011-01-01

Inattentional blindness refers to the finding that people do not always see what appears in their gaze. Though inattentional blindness affects large percentages of people, it is unclear if there are individual differences in susceptibility. The present study addressed whether individual differences in attentional control, as reflected by…

Social anxiety modulates subliminal affective priming.

PubMed

Paul, Elizabeth S; Pope, Stuart A J; Fennell, John G; Mendl, Michael T

2012-01-01

It is well established that there is anxiety-related variation between observers in the very earliest, pre-attentive stage of visual processing of images such as emotionally expressive faces, often leading to enhanced attention to threat in a variety of disorders and traits. Whether there is also variation in early-stage affective (i.e. valenced) responses resulting from such images, however, is not yet known. The present study used the subliminal affective priming paradigm to investigate whether people varying in trait social anxiety also differ in their affective responses to very briefly presented, emotionally expressive face images. Participants (n = 67) completed a subliminal affective priming task, in which briefly presented and smiling, neutral and angry faces were shown for 10 ms durations (below objective and subjective thresholds for visual discrimination), and immediately followed by a randomly selected Chinese character mask (2000 ms). Ratings of participants' liking for each Chinese character indicated the degree of valenced affective response made to the unseen emotive images. Participants' ratings of their liking for the Chinese characters were significantly influenced by the type of face image preceding them, with smiling faces generating more positive ratings than neutral and angry ones (F(2,128) = 3.107, p<0.05). Self-reported social anxiety was positively correlated with ratings of smiling relative to neutral-face primed characters (Pearson's r = .323, p<0.01). Individual variation in self-reported mood awareness was not associated with ratings. Trait social anxiety is associated with individual variation in affective responding, even in response to the earliest, pre-attentive stage of visual image processing. However, the fact that these priming effects are limited to smiling and not angry (i.e. threatening) images leads us to propose that the pre-attentive processes involved in generating the subliminal affective priming effect may be different

Soluble sortilin is present in excess and positively correlates with progranulin in CSF of aging individuals.

PubMed

Molgaard, Simon; Demontis, Ditte; Nicholson, Alexandra M; Finch, Nicole A; Petersen, Ronald C; Petersen, Claus M; Rademakers, Rosa; Nykjaer, Anders; Glerup, Simon

2016-11-01

Mutations in progranulin are a major cause of frontotemporal lobe degeneration (FTLD). Hence, plasma progranulin is an attractive biomarker in FTLD but poorly reflects levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), suggesting tissue-specific regulation of progranulin levels. Sortilin was recently identified as a progranulin scavenger receptor that destines it for lysosomal degradation. Proteolysis or alternative splicing generates soluble sortilin variants that retain progranulin binding and potentially functions as a decoy receptor. In the present study, we analyzed soluble sortilin and progranulin in plasma and CSF in 341 aging individuals. We found that soluble sortilin exists in CSF in ten-fold molar excess compared to progranulin and observed a highly significant positive correlation between soluble sortilin and progranulin levels in CSF but not in plasma. However, carriers of the minor allele of SNP rs646776 in SORT1 encoding sortilin displayed significantly increased soluble sortilin and reduced progranulin specifically in plasma but not in CSF. Taken together, our findings suggest that soluble sortilin may affect progranulin levels in both a tissue-specific and genotype-dependent manner. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

AFFECT AND THE FRAMING EFFECT WITHIN INDIVIDUALS OVER TIME: RISK TAKING IN A DYNAMIC INVESTMENT SIMULATION

PubMed Central

SEO, MYEONG-GU; GOLDFARB, BRENT; BARRETT, LISA FELDMAN

2011-01-01

We examined the role of affect (pleasant or unpleasant feelings) and decision frames (gains or losses) in risk taking in a 20-day stock investment simulation in which 101 participants rated their current feelings while making investment decisions. As predicted, affect attenuated the relationships between decision frames and risk taking. After experiencing losses, individuals made more risky choices, in keeping with the framing effect. However, this tendency decreased and/or disappeared when loss was simultaneously experienced with either pleasant or unpleasant feelings. Similarly, individuals’ tendency to avoid risk after experiencing gains disappeared or even reversed when they simultaneously experienced pleasant feelings. PMID:26412860

Affective functioning among early adolescents at high and low familial risk for depression and their mothers: A focus on individual and transactional processes across contexts

PubMed Central

McMakin, Dana L.; Burkhouse, Katie L.; Olino, Thomas M.; Siegle, Greg J.; Dahl, Ronald E.; Silk, Jennifer S.

2013-01-01

This study aimed to characterize affective functioning in families of youth at high familial risk for depression, with particular attention to features of affective functioning that appear to be critical to adaptive functioning but have been underrepresented in prior research including: positive and negative affect across multiple contexts, individual and transactional processes, and affective flexibility. Interactions among early adolescents (ages 9-14) and their mothers were coded for affective behaviors across both positive and negative contexts. Primary analyses compared never-depressed youth at high (n=44) and low (n=57) familial risk for depression. The high risk group showed a relatively consistent pattern for low positive affect across negative and positive contexts at both the individual and transactional level. In contrast to prior studies focusing on negative affect that did not support disruptions in negative affect, the data from this study suggest variability by context: (i.e. increased negativity in a positive, but not negative, context) and individual vs. transactional processes (e.g., negative escalation). Findings are discussed in concert with attention to affect flexibility, contextual and transactional factors. PMID:21744058

ENIGMA and the individual: Predicting factors that affect the brain in 35 countries worldwide☆☆☆★

PubMed Central

Thompson, Paul M.; Andreassen, Ole A.; Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro; Bearden, Carrie E.; Boedhoe, Premika S.; Brouwer, Rachel M.; Buckner, Randy L.; Buitelaar, Jan K.; Bulayeva, Kazima B.; Cannon, Dara M.; Cohen, Ronald A.; Conrod, Patricia J.; Dale, Anders M.; Deary, Ian J.; Dennis, Emily L.; de Reus, Marcel A.; Desrivieres, Sylvane; Dima, Danai; Donohoe, Gary; Fisher, Simon E.; Fouche, Jean-Paul; Francks, Clyde; Frangou, Sophia; Franke, Barbara; Ganjgahi, Habib; Garavan, Hugh; Glahn, David C.; Grabe, Hans J.; Guadalupe, Tulio; Gutman, Boris A.; Hashimoto, Ryota; Hibar, Derrek P.; Holland, Dominic; Hoogman, Martine; Pol, Hilleke E. Hulshoff; Hosten, Norbert; Jahanshad, Neda; Kelly, Sinead; Kochunov, Peter; Kremen, William S.; Lee, Phil H.; Mackey, Scott; Martin, Nicholas G.; Mazoyer, Bernard; McDonald, Colm; Medland, Sarah E.; Morey, Rajendra A.; Nichols, Thomas E.; Paus, Tomas; Pausova, Zdenka; Schmaal, Lianne; Schumann, Gunter; Shen, Li; Sisodiya, Sanjay M.; Smit, Dirk J.A.; Smoller, Jordan W.; Stein, Dan J.; Stein, Jason L.; Toro, Roberto; Turner, Jessica A.; van den Heuvel, Martijn P.; van den Heuvel, Odile L.; van Erp, Theo G.M.; van Rooij, Daan; Veltman, Dick J.; Walter, Henrik; Wang, Yalin; Wardlaw, Joanna M.; Whelan, Christopher D.; Wright, Margaret J.; Ye, Jieping

2016-01-01

In this review, we discuss recent work by the ENIGMA Consortium (http://enigma.ini.usc.edu) – a global alliance of over 500 scientists spread across 200 institutions in 35 countries collectively analyzing brain imaging, clinical, and genetic data. Initially formed to detect genetic influences on brain measures, ENIGMA has grown to over 30 working groups studying 12 major brain diseases by pooling and comparing brain data. In some of the largest neuroimaging studies to date – of schizophrenia and major depression – ENIGMA has found replicable disease effects on the brain that are consistent worldwide, as well as factors that modulate disease effects. In partnership with other consortia including ADNI, CHARGE, IMAGEN and others1, ENIGMA's genomic screens – now numbering over 30,000 MRI scans – have revealed at least 8 genetic loci that affect brain volumes. Downstream of gene findings, ENIGMA has revealed how these individual variants – and genetic variants in general – may affect both the brain and risk for a range of diseases. The ENIGMA consortium is discovering factors that consistently affect brain structure and function that will serve as future predictors linking individual brain scans and genomic data. It is generating vast pools of normative data on brain measures – from tens of thousands of people – that may help detect deviations from normal development or aging in specific groups of subjects. We discuss challenges and opportunities in applying these predictors to individual subjects and new cohorts, as well as lessons we have learned in ENIGMA's efforts so far. PMID:26658930

Individual and community level risk-factors for alcohol use disorder among conflict-affected persons in Georgia.

PubMed

Roberts, Bayard; Murphy, Adrianna; Chikovani, Ivdity; Makhashvili, Nino; Patel, Vikram; McKee, Martin

2014-01-01

The evidence on alcohol use disorder among conflict-affected civilian populations remains extremely weak, despite a number of potential risk-factors. The aim of this study is to examine patterns of alcohol use disorder among conflict-affected persons in the Republic of Georgia. A cross-sectional survey of 3600 randomly selected internally displaced persons (IDPs) and former IDPs. Two alcohol use disorder outcomes were measured: (i) having at least hazardous alcohol use (AUDIT score ≥ 8); (ii) episodic heavy drinking (consuming >60 grams of pure alcohol per drinking session at least once a week). Individual level demographic and socio-economic characteristics were also recorded, including mental disorders. Community level alcohol environment characteristics relating to alcohol availability, marketing and pricing were recorded in the respondents' communities and a factor analysis conducted to produce a summary alcohol environment factor score. Logistic regression analyses examined associations between individual and community level factors with the alcohol use disorder outcomes (among men only). Of the total sample, 71% of men and 16% of women were current drinkers. Of the current drinkers (N = 1386), 28% of men and 1% of women were classified as having at least hazardous alcohol use; and 12% of men and 2% of women as episodic heavy drinkers. Individual characteristics significantly associated with both outcomes were age and experiencing a serious injury, while cumulative trauma events and depression were also associated with having at least hazardous alcohol use. For the community level analysis, a one unit increase in the alcohol environment factor was associated with a 1.27 fold increase in episodic heavy drinking among men (no significant association with hazardous alcohol use). The findings suggest potential synergies for treatment responses for alcohol use disorder and depression among conflict-affected populations in Georgia, as well as the need for stronger

Individual and Community Level Risk-Factors for Alcohol Use Disorder among Conflict-Affected Persons in Georgia

PubMed Central

Roberts, Bayard; Murphy, Adrianna; Chikovani, Ivdity; Makhashvili, Nino; Patel, Vikram; McKee, Martin

2014-01-01

Background The evidence on alcohol use disorder among conflict-affected civilian populations remains extremely weak, despite a number of potential risk-factors. The aim of this study is to examine patterns of alcohol use disorder among conflict-affected persons in the Republic of Georgia. Methods A cross-sectional survey of 3600 randomly selected internally displaced persons (IDPs) and former IDPs. Two alcohol use disorder outcomes were measured: (i) having at least hazardous alcohol use (AUDIT score ≥8); (ii) episodic heavy drinking (consuming >60 grams of pure alcohol per drinking session at least once a week). Individual level demographic and socio-economic characteristics were also recorded, including mental disorders. Community level alcohol environment characteristics relating to alcohol availability, marketing and pricing were recorded in the respondents' communities and a factor analysis conducted to produce a summary alcohol environment factor score. Logistic regression analyses examined associations between individual and community level factors with the alcohol use disorder outcomes (among men only). Results Of the total sample, 71% of men and 16% of women were current drinkers. Of the current drinkers (N = 1386), 28% of men and 1% of women were classified as having at least hazardous alcohol use; and 12% of men and 2% of women as episodic heavy drinkers. Individual characteristics significantly associated with both outcomes were age and experiencing a serious injury, while cumulative trauma events and depression were also associated with having at least hazardous alcohol use. For the community level analysis, a one unit increase in the alcohol environment factor was associated with a 1.27 fold increase in episodic heavy drinking among men (no significant association with hazardous alcohol use). Conclusion The findings suggest potential synergies for treatment responses for alcohol use disorder and depression among conflict-affected populations in

Increasing social support for depressed individuals: a cross-cultural assessment of an affect-expectancy approach.

PubMed

Siegel, Jason T; Alvaro, Eusebio M; Crano, William D; Lienemann, Brianna A; Hohman, Zachary P; O'Brien, Erin

2012-01-01

Depression is a mental illness affecting 121 million people. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently launched a national, bilingual (English and Spanish) campaign to motivate young adults to support friends with mental illness. This article highlights and assesses the usefulness of two theoretically derived variables for increasing the social support received by all depressed individuals: (a) affect and (b) social support outcome expectations. In accord with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's bilingual campaign, the authors conducted two studies using intercepts at 2 swap meets in the U.S. Southwest. One study sample consisted of Spanish-dominant Hispanics, the other non-Hispanics. For both samples, results indicate that affect, social support outcome expectations, and their interaction accounted for more than 50% of the variance of social support intentions (67% in the Hispanic sample when familism was considered). Affect is commonplace in the helping behavior literature; results indicate social support outcome expectations deserve equal consideration. Moreover, an unexpected finding emerged: Perceiving a lack of willpower, need for attention, and lack of moral character to be the cause of depression resulted in increased sympathy among the Hispanic sample but increased anger among non-Hispanics.

Dandy-Walker Malformation Presenting with Affective Symptoms

PubMed Central

BATMAZ, Mert; BALÇIK, Zeynep Ezgi; ÖZER, Ürün; HAMURİŞÇİ YALÇIN, Burcu; ÖZEN, Şakir

2017-01-01

Dandy-Walker malformation is defined by enlarged posterior fossa, cystic dilatation of the fourth ventricle, and cerebellar hypoplasia. Although developmental delay and mental retardation are common in Dandy-Walker malformation cases, other comorbid psychiatric conditions have been rarely reported. There are limited numbers of case reports about comorbidity of bipolar disorder with Dandy-Walker malformation in the literature. Herein, a Dandy-Walker malformation case presenting affective symptoms is reported, and psychiatric symptoms which might be seen in this rare malformation are discussed along with diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up processes. A 27-year-old male patient, hospitalized for compulsory treatment, had been diagnosed with Dandy-Walker malformation in childhood. First complaints were attention deficiency, behavioral problems, learning difficulties; and manic and depressive episodes have occurred during follow-ups. He recently complained of decreased need for sleep, irritability, and increased speed of thought, and psychiatric examination was consistent with manic episode. Cranial computed tomography (CT) revealed bilateral ventriculomegaly, enlarged third and fourth ventricles with posterior fossa cyst, and cerebellar hypoplasia. His treatment included 30 mg/day aripiprazole, 1000 mg/day valproic acid, 200 mg/day quetiapine, 4 mg/day biperiden, and 100 mg/month paliperidone palmitate. Beside its traditional role in the regulation of coordination and motor functions, cerebellum is increasingly emphasized for its involvement in the mood regulation. Thus, as seen in Dandy-Walker malformation, cerebellar anomalies are suggested to play a role in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. Further studies are needed to better understand the relationship between mood disorders and cerebellum. Moreover, treatment options should be considered carefully in terms of resistance to treatment and potential side effects, for psychiatric disorders occurring in these

The effect of presenting information about invasive follow-up testing on individuals' noninvasive colorectal cancer screening participation decision: results from a discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Benning, Tim M; Dellaert, Benedict G C; Severens, Johan L; Dirksen, Carmen D

2014-07-01

Many national colorectal cancer screening campaigns have a similar structure. First, individuals are invited to take a noninvasive screening test, and, second, in the case of a positive screening test result, they are advised to undergo a more invasive follow-up test. The objective of this study was to investigate how much individuals' participation decision in noninvasive screening is affected by the presence or absence of detailed information about invasive follow-up testing and how this effect varies over screening tests. We used a labeled discrete choice experiment of three noninvasive colorectal cancer screening types with two versions that did or did not present respondents with detailed information about the possible invasive follow-up test (i.e., colonoscopy) and its procedure. We used data from 631 Dutch respondents aged 55 to 75 years. Each respondent received only one of the two versions (N = 310 for the invasive follow-up test information specification version, and N = 321 for the no-information specification version). Mixed logit model results show that detailed information about the invasive follow-up test negatively affects screening participation decisions. This effect can be explained mainly by a decrease in choice shares for the most preferred screening test (a combined stool and blood sample test). Choice share simulations based on the discrete choice experiment indicated that presenting invasive follow-up test information decreases screening participation by 4.79%. Detailed information about the invasive follow-up test has a negative effect on individuals' screening participation decisions in noninvasive colorectal cancer screening campaigns. This result poses new challenges for policymakers who aim not only to increase uptake but also to provide full disclosure to potential screening participants. Copyright © 2014 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Inter-individual differences in trait negative affect moderate cortisol's effects on memory formation: preliminary findings from two studies.

PubMed

Abercrombie, Heather C; Wirth, Michelle M; Hoks, Roxanne M

2012-05-01

Acute emotional arousal moderates the effects of cortisol on memory. However, it is currently unknown how stable inter-individual differences (i.e., traits) moderate cortisol's effects on memory. In two studies using within-subjects designs - 31 healthy males in Study 1 and 42 healthy subjects (22 female) in Study 2 - we measured trait negative affect (NA) and presented emotional and neutral pictures. In Study 1, we manipulated endogenous cortisol levels using a speech stressor following encoding. In Study 2, using a randomized placebo-controlled design, we pharmacologically manipulated cortisol levels prior to encoding (0.1mg/kg hydrocortisone vs. saline infused over 30min). Free recall for pictures was subsequently assessed. Trait NA repeatedly moderated the relationship between cortisol and memory formation. Findings suggested the speculative conclusion that the direction of effects may vary by sex. In males, cortisol was related to memory facilitation in subjects with lower Trait NA. Conversely, females with higher Trait NA showed greater cortisol-related increases in memory. Trait NA may be a stable inter-individual difference predicting neurocognitive effects of cortisol during stressors. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mixing of Honeybees with Different Genotypes Affects Individual Worker Behavior and Transcription of Genes in the Neuronal Substrate

PubMed Central

Bienefeld, Kaspar; Beye, Martin

2012-01-01

Division of labor in social insects has made the evolution of collective traits possible that cannot be achieved by individuals alone. Differences in behavioral responses produce variation in engagement in behavioral tasks, which as a consequence, generates a division of labor. We still have little understanding of the genetic components influencing these behaviors, although several candidate genomic regions and genes influencing individual behavior have been identified. Here, we report that mixing of worker honeybees with different genotypes influences the expression of individual worker behaviors and the transcription of genes in the neuronal substrate. These indirect genetic effects arise in a colony because numerous interactions between workers produce interacting phenotypes and genotypes across organisms. We studied hygienic behavior of honeybee workers, which involves the cleaning of diseased brood cells in the colony. We mixed ∼500 newly emerged honeybee workers with genotypes of preferred Low (L) and High (H) hygienic behaviors. The L/H genotypic mixing affected the behavioral engagement of L worker bees in a hygienic task, the cooperation among workers in uncapping single brood cells, and switching between hygienic tasks. We found no evidence that recruiting and task-related stimuli are the primary source of the indirect genetic effects on behavior. We suggested that behavioral responsiveness of L bees was affected by genotypic mixing and found evidence for changes in the brain in terms of 943 differently expressed genes. The functional categories of cell adhesion, cellular component organization, anatomical structure development, protein localization, developmental growth and cell morphogenesis were overrepresented in this set of 943 genes, suggesting that indirect genetic effects can play a role in modulating and modifying the neuronal substrate. Our results suggest that genotypes of social partners affect the behavioral responsiveness and the neuronal

Evaluation in the Affective Domain. NSPER: 76.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gephart, William J.; And Others

The National Symposium for Professors of Educational Research for 1976 focused on two topics: the nature of affect, and principles and guidelines for measuring individual affect and learning environment. This document contains five major papers presented at the conference. The first paper contrasted the physiological and emotional concept of…

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Individuals Presenting for Care at a Comprehensive Cancer Center.

PubMed

Judson, Patricia L; Abdallah, Reem; Xiong, Yin; Ebbert, Judith; Lancaster, Johnathan M

2017-03-01

To define the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in individuals presenting for care at a comprehensive cancer center. A total of 17 639 individuals presenting to an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center (and consortium sites) completed a questionnaire regarding CAM use. Data were analyzed using the univariate χ 2 test to assess CAM use associated with a number of variables, including cancer status, age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, race, employment, and education level. Eighty-seven percent of individuals who completed the CAM survey acknowledged CAM therapy use within the previous 12 months. Of the 5 broad categories of CAM, the most commonly used were biologically based approaches (14 759/17 639 [83.67%]), mind-body interventions (4624/17 485 [26.45%]), manipulative and body-based therapies (3957/17 537 [22.56%]), alternative medical systems (429/15 952 [2.69%]), and energy therapies (270/15 872 [1.7%]). CAM use was more prevalent among women, non-Hispanics, Caucasians, patients 60 to 69 years of age, and those who are married, have a higher level of education, and are employed ( P < .005). This is the largest report of CAM use in individuals presenting for care at a comprehensive cancer center. Our analysis revealed that a very high percentage of patients utilize CAM. Because many of these CAM interventions are not studied in oncology patients, additional research on safety, efficacy, and mechanisms of action are essential. Furthermore, it is important that oncologists understand CAM modalities and counsel their patients about their use.

The Effect of Positive Mood on Flexible Processing of Affective Information.

PubMed

Grol, Maud; De Raedt, Rudi

2017-07-17

Recent efforts have been made to understand the cognitive mechanisms underlying psychological resilience. Cognitive flexibility in the context of affective information has been related to individual differences in resilience. However, it is unclear whether flexible affective processing is sensitive to mood fluctuations. Furthermore, it remains to be investigated how effects on flexible affective processing interact with the affective valence of information that is presented. To fill this gap, we tested the effects of positive mood and individual differences in self-reported resilience on affective flexibility, using a task switching paradigm (N = 80). The main findings showed that positive mood was related to lower task switching costs, reflecting increased flexibility, in line with previous findings. In line with this effect of positive mood, we showed that greater resilience levels, specifically levels of acceptance of self and life, also facilitated task set switching in the context of affective information. However, the effects of resilience on affective flexibility seem more complex. Resilience tended to relate to more efficient task switching when negative information was preceded by positive information, possibly because the presentation of positive information, as well as positive mood, can facilitate task set switching. Positive mood also influenced costs associated with switching affective valence of the presented information. This latter effect was indicative of a reduced impact of no longer relevant negative information and more impact of no longer relevant positive information. Future research should confirm these effects of individual differences in resilience on affective flexibility, considering the affective valence of the presented information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Social Anxiety Modulates Subliminal Affective Priming

PubMed Central

Paul, Elizabeth S.; Pope, Stuart A. J.; Fennell, John G.; Mendl, Michael T.

2012-01-01

Background It is well established that there is anxiety-related variation between observers in the very earliest, pre-attentive stage of visual processing of images such as emotionally expressive faces, often leading to enhanced attention to threat in a variety of disorders and traits. Whether there is also variation in early-stage affective (i.e. valenced) responses resulting from such images, however, is not yet known. The present study used the subliminal affective priming paradigm to investigate whether people varying in trait social anxiety also differ in their affective responses to very briefly presented, emotionally expressive face images. Methodology/Principal Findings Participants (n = 67) completed a subliminal affective priming task, in which briefly presented and smiling, neutral and angry faces were shown for 10 ms durations (below objective and subjective thresholds for visual discrimination), and immediately followed by a randomly selected Chinese character mask (2000 ms). Ratings of participants' liking for each Chinese character indicated the degree of valenced affective response made to the unseen emotive images. Participants' ratings of their liking for the Chinese characters were significantly influenced by the type of face image preceding them, with smiling faces generating more positive ratings than neutral and angry ones (F(2,128) = 3.107, p<0.05). Self-reported social anxiety was positively correlated with ratings of smiling relative to neutral-face primed characters (Pearson's r = .323, p<0.01). Individual variation in self-reported mood awareness was not associated with ratings. Conclusions Trait social anxiety is associated with individual variation in affective responding, even in response to the earliest, pre-attentive stage of visual image processing. However, the fact that these priming effects are limited to smiling and not angry (i.e. threatening) images leads us to propose that the pre-attentive processes involved in

Influence of Suboptimally and Optimally Presented Affective Pictures and Words on Consumption-Related Behavior

PubMed Central

Winkielman, Piotr; Gogolushko, Yekaterina

2018-01-01

Affective stimuli can influence immediate reactions as well as spontaneous behaviors. Much evidence for such influence comes from studies of facial expressions. However, it is unclear whether these effects hold for other affective stimuli, and how the amount of stimulus processing changes the nature of the influence. This paper addresses these issues by comparing the influence on consumption behaviors of emotional pictures and valence-matched words presented at suboptimal and supraliminal durations. In Experiment 1, both suboptimal and supraliminal emotional facial expressions influenced consumption in an affect-congruent, assimilative way. In Experiment 2, pictures of both high- and low-frequency emotional objects congruently influenced consumption. In comparison, words tended to produce incongruent effects. We discuss these findings in light of privileged access theories, which hold that pictures better convey affective meaning than words, and embodiment theories, which hold that pictures better elicit somatosensory and motor responses. PMID:29434556

Response to hypothetical social scenarios in individuals with traumatic brain injury who present inappropriate social behavior: a preliminary report.

PubMed

Gagnon, Jean; Henry, Anne; Decoste, François-Pierre; Ouellette, Michel; McDuff, Pierre; Daelman, Sacha

2013-03-01

Very little research thus far has examined the decision making that underlies inappropriate social behavior (ISB) post-TBI (traumatic brain injury). To verify the usefulness of a new instrument, the Social Responding Task, for investigating whether, in social decision making, individuals with TBI, who present inappropriate social behavior (ISB), have difficulty anticipating their own feelings of embarrassment and others' angry reactions following an ISB. Seven subjects with TBI presenting with inappropriate social behavior (TBI-ISB), 10 presenting with appropriate social behavior (TBI-ASB), and 15 healthy controls were given 12 hypothetical scenarios three times, each time ending with a different behavioral response. Subjects were asked to gauge the likelihood of their displaying the behavior in that situation (part A) and of it being followed by an angry reaction from the other or by feelings of embarrassment in themselves (part B). TBI-ISB subjects scored higher than TBI-ASB and healthy controls on a scale of likelihood of displaying an ISB. RESULTS regarding expectations of angry reactions from others and feelings of embarrassment after an ISB were similar among groups. Negative correlations between endorsement of an inappropriate behavior and anticipation of negative emotional consequences were significant for both TBI-ASB and control subjects, but not for TBI-ISB subjects. RESULTS suggest that the TBI-ISB participants were likely to endorse an ISB despite being able to anticipate a negative emotional response in themselves or others, suggesting that there were other explanations for their poor behavior. A self-reported likely response to hypothetical social scenarios can be a useful approach for studying the neurocognitive processes behind the poor choices of individuals with TBI-ISB, but the task needs further validation studies. A comprehensive discussion follows on the underlying mechanisms affecting social behaviors after a TBI.

Individual identity and affective valence in marmoset calls: in vivo brain imaging with vocal sound playback.

PubMed

Kato, Masaki; Yokoyama, Chihiro; Kawasaki, Akihiro; Takeda, Chiho; Koike, Taku; Onoe, Hirotaka; Iriki, Atsushi

2018-05-01

As with humans, vocal communication is an important social tool for nonhuman primates. Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) often produce whistle-like 'phee' calls when they are visually separated from conspecifics. The neural processes specific to phee call perception, however, are largely unknown, despite the possibility that these processes involve social information. Here, we examined behavioral and whole-brain mapping evidence regarding the detection of individual conspecific phee calls using an audio playback procedure. Phee calls evoked sound exploratory responses when the caller changed, indicating that marmosets can discriminate between caller identities. Positron emission tomography with [ 18 F] fluorodeoxyglucose revealed that perception of phee calls from a single subject was associated with activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal, medial prefrontal, orbitofrontal cortices, and the amygdala. These findings suggest that these regions are implicated in cognitive and affective processing of salient social information. However, phee calls from multiple subjects induced brain activation in only some of these regions, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. We also found distinctive brain deactivation and functional connectivity associated with phee call perception depending on the caller change. According to changes in pupillary size, phee calls from a single subject induced a higher arousal level compared with those from multiple subjects. These results suggest that marmoset phee calls convey information about individual identity and affective valence depending on the consistency or variability of the caller. Based on the flexible perception of the call based on individual recognition, humans and marmosets may share some neural mechanisms underlying conspecific vocal perception.

The effects of priming on children's attitudes toward older individuals.

PubMed

Hoe, Sony; Davidson, Denise

2002-01-01

The purpose of the present research was to examine younger (7-years-old) and older (10-years-old) children's attitudes toward older individuals following one type of five primes: positive prime, negative prime, elderly prime, grandparent prime, or neutral prime. Overall, children's attitudes on three tests--Apperception, Semantic Differential, and Attribute Salience--were affected by the type of prime children were given, with positive and grandparent primes resulting in more positive views toward older individuals than negative, elderly, or neutral (control group) primes. The present research provides evidence that priming the most accessible cognitions about an individual can affect even young children's perception of the individual. These results are discussed in terms of category-based and data-driven processing and may explain the disparate findings obtained in previous studies that have shown the children's attitudes toward older individuals are sometimes negative, whereas other studies have shown that children's attitudes are more positive or neutral.

Affective forecasting and the Big Five

PubMed Central

Hoerger, Michael; Quirk, Stuart W.

2011-01-01

Recent studies on affective forecasting clarify that the emotional reactions people anticipate often differ markedly from those they actually experience in response to affective stimuli and events. However, core personality differences in affective forecasting have received limited attention, despite their potential relevance to choice behavior. In the present study, 226 college undergraduates rated their anticipated and experienced reactions to the emotionally-evocative event of Valentine’s Day and completed a measure of the Big Five personality traits – neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness – and their facet scales. Neuroticism and extraversion were associated with baseline mood, experienced emotional reactions, and anticipated emotional reactions. The present findings hold implications for the study of individual differences in affective forecasting, personality theory, and interventions research. PMID:22021944

Differential Predictability of Four Dimensions of Affect Intensity

PubMed Central

Rubin, David C.; Hoyle, Rick H.; Leary, Mark R.

2013-01-01

Individual differences in affect intensity are typically assessed with the Affect Intensity Measure (AIM). Previous factor analyses suggest that the AIM is comprised of four weakly correlated factors: Positive Affectivity, Negative Reactivity, Negative Intensity and Positive Intensity or Serenity. However, little data exist to show whether its four factors relate to other measures differently enough to preclude use of the total scale score. The present study replicated the four-factor solution and found that subscales derived from the four factors correlated differently with criterion variables that assess personality domains, affective dispositions, and cognitive patterns that are associated with emotional reactions. The results show that use of the total AIM score can obscure relationships between specific features of affect intensity and other variables and suggest that researchers should examine the individual AIM subscales. PMID:21707262

Relationship between Individual External Doses, Ambient Dose Rates and Individuals' Activity-Patterns in Affected Areas in Fukushima following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

PubMed

Naito, Wataru; Uesaka, Motoki; Yamada, Chie; Kurosawa, Tadahiro; Yasutaka, Tetsuo; Ishii, Hideki

2016-01-01

The accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on March 11, 2011, released radioactive material into the atmosphere and contaminated the land in Fukushima and several neighboring prefectures. Five years after the nuclear disaster, the radiation levels have greatly decreased due to physical decay, weathering, and decontamination operations in Fukushima. The populations of 12 communities were forced to evacuate after the accident; as of March 2016, the evacuation order has been lifted in only a limited area, and permanent habitation is still prohibited in most of the areas. In order for the government to lift the evacuation order and for individuals to return to their original residential areas, it is important to assess current and future realistic individual external doses. Here, we used personal dosimeters along with the Global Positioning System and Geographic Information System to understand realistic individual external doses and to relate individual external doses, ambient doses, and activity-patterns of individuals in the affected areas in Fukushima. The results showed that the additional individual external doses were well correlated to the additional ambient doses based on the airborne monitoring survey. The results of linear regression analysis suggested that the additional individual external doses were on average about one-fifth that of the additional ambient doses. The reduction factors, which are defined as the ratios of the additional individual external doses to the additional ambient doses, were calculated to be on average 0.14 and 0.32 for time spent at home and outdoors, respectively. Analysis of the contribution of various activity patterns to the total individual external dose demonstrated good agreement with the average fraction of time spent daily in each activity, but the contribution due to being outdoors varied widely. These results are a valuable contribution to understanding realistic individual external doses and the corresponding

Affective states and adaptation to parabolic flights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collado, Aurélie; Langlet, Cécile; Tzanova, Tzvetomira; Hainaut, Jean-Philippe; Monfort, Vincent; Bolmont, Benoît

2017-05-01

This exploratory study investigates (i) inter-individual variations of affective states before a parabolic flight (i.e., PF) on the basis of quality of adaptation to physical demands, and (ii) intra-individual variations of affective states during a PF. Mood-states, state-anxiety and salivary cortisol were assessed in two groups with a different quality of adaptation (an Adaptive Group, i.e., AG, and a Maladaptive Group, i.e., MG) before and during a PF. Before PF, MG scored higher on mood states (Anger-Hostility, Fatigue-Inertia) than AG. During the flight, while AG seemed to present "normal" affective responses to the demanding environment (e.g., increase in salivary cortisol), MG presented increases in mood states such as Confusion-Bewilderment or Tension-Anxiety. The findings suggest that the psychological states of MG could have disturbed their ability to integrate sensory information from an unusual environment, which led to difficulties in coping with the physical demands of PF.

Realistic Affective Forecasting: The Role of Personality

PubMed Central

Hoerger, Michael; Chapman, Ben; Duberstein, Paul

2016-01-01

Affective forecasting often drives decision making. Although affective forecasting research has often focused on identifying sources of error at the event level, the present investigation draws upon the ‘realistic paradigm’ in seeking to identify factors that similarly influence predicted and actual emotions, explaining their concordance across individuals. We hypothesized that the personality traits neuroticism and extraversion would account for variation in both predicted and actual emotional reactions to a wide array of stimuli and events (football games, an election, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, happy/sad film clips, and an intrusive interview). As hypothesized, individuals who were more introverted and neurotic anticipated, correctly, that they would experience relatively more unpleasant emotional reactions, and those who were more extraverted and less neurotic anticipated, correctly, that they would experience relatively more pleasant emotional reactions. Personality explained 30% of the concordance between predicted and actual emotional reactions. Findings suggest three purported personality processes implicated in affective forecasting, highlight the importance of individual-differences research in this domain, and call for more research on realistic affective forecasts. PMID:26212463

Realistic affective forecasting: The role of personality.

PubMed

Hoerger, Michael; Chapman, Ben; Duberstein, Paul

2016-11-01

Affective forecasting often drives decision-making. Although affective forecasting research has often focused on identifying sources of error at the event level, the present investigation draws upon the "realistic paradigm" in seeking to identify factors that similarly influence predicted and actual emotions, explaining their concordance across individuals. We hypothesised that the personality traits neuroticism and extraversion would account for variation in both predicted and actual emotional reactions to a wide array of stimuli and events (football games, an election, Valentine's Day, birthdays, happy/sad film clips, and an intrusive interview). As hypothesised, individuals who were more introverted and neurotic anticipated, correctly, that they would experience relatively more unpleasant emotional reactions, and those who were more extraverted and less neurotic anticipated, correctly, that they would experience relatively more pleasant emotional reactions. Personality explained 30% of the concordance between predicted and actual emotional reactions. Findings suggest three purported personality processes implicated in affective forecasting, highlight the importance of individual-differences research in this domain, and call for more research on realistic affective forecasts.

A capability model of individual differences in frontal EEG asymmetry.

PubMed

Coan, James A; Allen, John J B; McKnight, Patrick E

2006-05-01

Researchers interested in measuring individual differences in affective style via asymmetries in frontal brain activity have depended almost exclusively upon the resting state for EEG recording. This reflects an implicit conceptualization of affective style as a response predisposition that is manifest in frontal EEG asymmetry, with the goal to describe individuals in terms of their general approach or withdrawal tendencies. Alternatively, the response capability conceptualization seeks to identify individual capabilities for approach versus withdrawal responses during emotionally salient events. The capability approach confers a variety of advantages to the study of affective style and personality, and suggests new possibilities for the approach/withdrawal motivational model of frontal EEG asymmetry and emotion. Logical as well as empirical arguments supportive of this conclusion are presented.

Work load and individual factors affecting work ability among aging municipal employees.

PubMed

Tuomi, K; Eskelinen, L; Toikkanen, J; Jarvinen, E; Ilmarinen, J; Klockars, M

1991-01-01

The effects of work stressors, individual characteristics, symptoms, and diseases on work ability were studied among 4255 municipal employees. Work ability was assessed by a work ability index in two cross-sectional inquiries, one in 1981 and the other in 1985. The most impairing for work ability were mental symptoms and musculoskeletal disease. Among the work stressors, high physical demands at work, poor physical work environment, and lack of freedom were associated with impaired work ability. Muscular work, disturbing temperatures at the workplace, and lack of freedom particularly affected employees with disease, whereas poor work postures and role conflicts at work were particularly injurious for healthy employees. The worst situation was observed when a worker with many symptoms and disease was exposed to many different work stressors. Life satisfaction, sitting work posture, a good basic education, and physical exercise during leisure time were associated with good work ability.

Characterization of MHC-II antigen presentation by B cells and monocytes from older individuals

PubMed Central

HL, Clark; R, Banks; L, Jones; TR, Hornick; PA, Higgins; CJ, Burant; DH, Canaday

2012-01-01

In this study we examine the effects of aging on antigen presentation of B cells and monocytes. We compared the antigen presentation function of peripheral blood B cells from young and old subjects using a system that specifically measures the B cell receptor (BCR)-mediated MHC-II antigen presentation. Monocytes were studied as well. Overall the mean magnitude of antigen presentation of soluble antigen and peptide was not different in older and younger subjects for both B cells and monocytes. Older subjects, however, showed increased heterogeneity of BCR-mediated antigen presentation by their B cells. The magnitude and variability of peptide presentation, which does not require uptake and processing, was the same between groups. Presentation by monocytes had similar variability between the older and younger subjects. These data suggest that poor B cell antigen processing, which results in diminished presentation in some older individuals may contribute to poor vaccine responses. PMID:22797466

Genotypic Characterization of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Derived from Antiretroviral Drug-Treated Individuals Residing in Earthquake-Affected Areas in Nepal.

PubMed

Negi, Bharat Singh; Kotaki, Tomohiro; Joshi, Sunil Kumar; Bastola, Anup; Nakazawa, Minato; Kameoka, Masanori

2017-09-01

Molecular epidemiological data on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are limited in Nepal and have not been available in areas affected by the April 2015 earthquake. Therefore, we conducted a genotypic study on HIV-1 genes derived from individuals on antiretroviral therapy residing in 14 districts in Nepal highly affected by the earthquake. HIV-1 genomic fragments were amplified from 40 blood samples of HIV treatment-failure individuals, and a sequencing analysis was performed on these genes. In the 40 samples, 29 protease, 32 reverse transcriptase, 25 gag, and 21 env genes were sequenced. HIV-1 subtyping revealed that subtype C (84.2%, 32/38) was the major subtype prevalent in the region, while CRF01_AE (7.9%, 3/38) and other recombinant forms (7.9%, 3/38) were also detected. In addition, major drug resistance mutations were identified in 21.9% (7/32) of samples, indicating the possible emergence of HIV-1 drug resistance in earthquake-affected areas in Nepal.

Social partners and momentary affect in the oldest-old: the presence of others benefits affect depending on who we are and who we are with.

PubMed

Chui, Helena; Hoppmann, Christiane A; Gerstorf, Denis; Walker, Ruth; Luszcz, Mary A

2014-03-01

Links between social relationships and emotional well-being in old age are well documented, but little is known about daily life fluctuations in momentary affective experiences of the oldest-old while interacting with specific social partners. We examined associations between the presence of different types of social partners and moment-to-moment fluctuations in affect in the oldest-old, taking into account individual differences in gender, neuroticism, depressive symptoms, chronic health conditions, and loneliness. Participants (N = 74, M age = 88.7 years, range = 84-102 years, 68% women) provided self-reports concurrently on the presence of social partners and subjective affective states 6 times a day for each of 7 consecutive days (3,071 occasions, in total). Relative to being with other people, time spent alone was associated with lower positive affect in the oldest-old. Being with other family members and friends was associated with more positive affective experiences. Compared with men, women reported more negative affective experiences when they were with their spouses than when their spouses were not present. Individuals with more chronic health problems reported more negative affective experiences when they were with their spouses than not. Participants higher in neuroticism reported more positive affective experiences when they were with their friends, compared with times when their friends were not present. Finally, lonelier individuals reported more positive affective experiences when they were with their spouses than when they were not. These findings suggest that affective experience is a function of individual differences and the type of social partners oldest-old adults interact with in everyday life. We discuss how our findings can be generalized to oldest-olds of different marital statuses, taking into account the proportion of widows in our sample as well as measurement specifics. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Mother-infant dyadic reparation and individual differences in vagal tone affect 4-month-old infants' social stress regulation.

PubMed

Provenzi, Livio; Casini, Erica; de Simone, Paola; Reni, Gianluigi; Borgatti, Renato; Montirosso, Rosario

2015-12-01

Infants' social stress regulation (i.e., reactivity and recovery) might be affected by mother-infant dyadic functioning and infants' vagal tone (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA). This study investigated the role of a specific dyadic functioning feature (i.e., dyadic reparation) and individual differences in vagal tone regulation (i.e., RSA suppression vs. non-suppression) in relation to social stress regulation in 4-month-old infants. A total of 65 mother-infant dyads participated in the face-to-face still-face paradigm. Social stress reactivity and recovery were measured as negative emotionality during Still-Face and Reunion episodes, respectively. RSA was measured during Play, Still-Face, and Reunion episodes. Suppressors had higher dyadic reparation during Play and higher recovery from social stress compared with non-suppressors. Higher reparation during Play was associated with lower reactivity and higher recovery only for suppressors. Findings suggest a joint role of infants' RSA individual differences and dyadic reparation in affecting infants' social stress regulation at 4 months of age. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Unemotional on all counts: Evidence of reduced affective responses in individuals with high callous-unemotional traits across emotion systems and valences.

PubMed

Fanti, Kostas A; Panayiotou, Georgia; Lombardo, Michael V; Kyranides, Melina Nicole

2016-01-01

The current study aimed to identify atypical neurophysiological activity associated with deficient affective processing in individuals with high callous-unemotional traits (CU). Fifty-six participants (M age = 20.52; 46% male) divided in two groups, differentiated on levels of CU traits, were invited to participate in the experimental phase of the study. Medial prefrontal cortex activity, measured with functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, and facial electro-myography activity were recorded during videos depicting violent, comedy and neutral scenes. Individuals high on CU traits showed similar medial prefrontal cortex oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO(2)) activity to positive and negative films, while the pre-frontal cortical responses of low CU individuals were more pronounced to positive than negative materials. High CU participants also showed reduced facial electromyography at the corrugator muscle in response to violent films, which was not differentiated from their responses to comedy films. These findings suggest that individuals high on CU traits show reduced but not absent (i.e., flat) affect to emotional material. Deficits in processing positive and negative valent material, measured with different neuro-physiological modalities, might be essential to understand CU traits.

Contrasting Expectations of Individuals and Collectivists: Achieving Effective Group Interaction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waltman, John L.; Bush-Bacelis, Jean L.

1995-01-01

Techniques for training students of international business to understand collectivism and individualism, both as they affect classroom interaction and as they may affect intercultural relations in business, are presented. Tools are offered for adapting group projects given to individualists in individualist cultures to help them develop a…

How stock of origin affects performance of individuals across a meta-ecosystem: an example from sockeye salmon.

PubMed

Griffiths, Jennifer R; Schindler, Daniel E; Seeb, Lisa W

2013-01-01

Connectivity among diverse habitats can buffer populations from adverse environmental conditions, influence the functioning of meta-ecosystems, and ultimately affect the reliability of ecosystem services. This stabilizing effect on populations is proposed to derive from complementarity in growth and survival conditions experienced by individuals in the different habitats that comprise meta-ecosystems. Here we use the fine scale differentiation of salmon populations between diverse lake habitats to assess how rearing habitat and stock of origin affect the body condition of juvenile sockeye salmon. We use genetic markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms) to assign individuals of unknown origin to stock group and in turn characterize ecologically relevant attributes across habitats and stocks. Our analyses show that the body condition of juvenile salmon is related to the productivity of alternative habitats across the watershed, irrespective of their stock of origin. Emigrants and residents with genetic origins in the high productivity lake were also differentiated by their body condition, poor and high respectively. These emigrants represented a substantial proportion of juvenile sockeye salmon rearing in the lower productivity lake habitat. Despite emigrants originating from the more productive lake, they did not differ in body condition from the individuals spawned in the lower productivity, recipient habitat. Genetic tools allowed us to assess the performance of different stocks groups across the diverse habitats comprising their meta-ecosystem. The ability to characterize the ecological consequences of meta-ecosystem connectivity can help develop strategies to protect and restore ecosystems and the services they provide to humans.

How Stock of Origin Affects Performance of Individuals across a Meta-Ecosystem: An Example from Sockeye Salmon

PubMed Central

Griffiths, Jennifer R.; Schindler, Daniel E.; Seeb, Lisa W.

2013-01-01

Connectivity among diverse habitats can buffer populations from adverse environmental conditions, influence the functioning of meta-ecosystems, and ultimately affect the reliability of ecosystem services. This stabilizing effect on populations is proposed to derive from complementarity in growth and survival conditions experienced by individuals in the different habitats that comprise meta-ecosystems. Here we use the fine scale differentiation of salmon populations between diverse lake habitats to assess how rearing habitat and stock of origin affect the body condition of juvenile sockeye salmon. We use genetic markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms) to assign individuals of unknown origin to stock group and in turn characterize ecologically relevant attributes across habitats and stocks. Our analyses show that the body condition of juvenile salmon is related to the productivity of alternative habitats across the watershed, irrespective of their stock of origin. Emigrants and residents with genetic origins in the high productivity lake were also differentiated by their body condition, poor and high respectively. These emigrants represented a substantial proportion of juvenile sockeye salmon rearing in the lower productivity lake habitat. Despite emigrants originating from the more productive lake, they did not differ in body condition from the individuals spawned in the lower productivity, recipient habitat. Genetic tools allowed us to assess the performance of different stocks groups across the diverse habitats comprising their meta-ecosystem. The ability to characterize the ecological consequences of meta-ecosystem connectivity can help develop strategies to protect and restore ecosystems and the services they provide to humans. PMID:23505539

A fixed-effects multilevel analysis of how community family structure affects individual mortality in Norway.

PubMed

Kravdal, Øystein

2007-08-01

By using register data for the entire Norwegian population aged 50-89 in the period 1980-1999, during which there were about 720,000 deaths, I estimate how the proportions of persons who were divorced or never married in the municipality affected all-cause mortality, net of individual marital status. The data include individual histories of changes in marital status and places of residence, providing a rare opportunity to enter municipality fixed effects into the model, thereby capturing the time-invariant unobserved factors at that level. The positive health externality of marriage that is suggested in the literature is supported by some of the estimates for women. Other estimates--especially those for men--point in the opposite direction. One possible interpretation of these findings is that social cohesion is perhaps not as beneficial for people's health as often claimed, at least not for both sexes. Alternatively, the results may reflect that marriage perhaps undermines rather than strengthens social cohesion, or that other mechanisms are involved-for example, those that are related to people 's perceptions of their health relative to the health of others. Estimates from models without such municipality fixed effects are markedly different, but these also shed doubt on the notion that a high proportion of unmarried persons generally increases individual mortality.

Competitive interactions affect working memory performance for both simultaneous and sequential stimulus presentation.

PubMed

Ahmad, Jumana; Swan, Garrett; Bowman, Howard; Wyble, Brad; Nobre, Anna C; Shapiro, Kimron L; McNab, Fiona

2017-07-06

Competition between simultaneously presented visual stimuli lengthens reaction time and reduces both the BOLD response and neural firing. In contrast, conditions of sequential presentation have been assumed to be free from competition. Here we manipulated the spatial proximity of stimuli (Near versus Far conditions) to examine the effects of simultaneous and sequential competition on different measures of working memory (WM) for colour. With simultaneous presentation, the measure of WM precision was significantly lower for Near items, and participants reported the colour of the wrong item more often. These effects were preserved when the second stimulus immediately followed the first, disappeared when they were separated by 500 ms, and were partly recovered (evident for our measure of mis-binding but not WM precision) when the task was altered to encourage participants to maintain the sequentially presented items together in WM. Our results show, for the first time, that competition affects the measure of WM precision, and challenge the assumption that sequential presentation removes competition.

Short-term exposure to mobile phone base station signals does not affect cognitive functioning or physiological measures in individuals who report sensitivity to electromagnetic fields and controls.

PubMed

Eltiti, Stacy; Wallace, Denise; Ridgewell, Anna; Zougkou, Konstantina; Russo, Riccardo; Sepulveda, Francisco; Fox, Elaine

2009-10-01

Individuals who report sensitivity to electromagnetic fields often report cognitive impairments that they believe are due to exposure to mobile phone technology. Previous research in this area has revealed mixed results, however, with the majority of research only testing control individuals. Two studies using control and self-reported sensitive participants found inconsistent effects of mobile phone base stations on cognitive functioning. The aim of the present study was to clarify whether short-term (50 min) exposure at 10 mW/m(2) to typical Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) base station signals affects attention, memory, and physiological endpoints in sensitive and control participants. Data from 44 sensitive and 44 matched-control participants who performed the digit symbol substitution task (DSST), digit span task (DS), and a mental arithmetic task (MA), while being exposed to GSM, UMTS, and sham signals under double-blind conditions were analyzed. Overall, cognitive functioning was not affected by short-term exposure to either GSM or UMTS signals in the current study. Nor did exposure affect the physiological measurements of blood volume pulse (BVP), heart rate (HR), and skin conductance (SC) that were taken while participants performed the cognitive tasks.

Selecting Behavioral Interventions for Individualized Intervention Plans.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center, David B.

This paper cites ethical provisions and professional standards that affect the selection of behavioral interventions that will benefit exceptional individuals without undermining their dignity. A three-category system that classifies behavioral interventions on the basis of their intrusiveness or restrictiveness is presented. Interventions are…

Individual Differences in Beat Perception Affect Gait Responses to Low- and High-Groove Music

PubMed Central

Leow, Li-Ann; Parrott, Taylor; Grahn, Jessica A.

2014-01-01

Slowed gait in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be improved when patients synchronize footsteps to isochronous metronome cues, but limited retention of such improvements suggest that permanent cueing regimes are needed for long-term improvements. If so, music might make permanent cueing regimes more pleasant, improving adherence; however, music cueing requires patients to synchronize movements to the “beat,” which might be difficult for patients with PD who tend to show weak beat perception. One solution may be to use high-groove music, which has high beat salience that may facilitate synchronization, and affective properties, which may improve motivation to move. As a first step to understanding how beat perception affects gait in complex neurological disorders, we examined how beat perception ability affected gait in neurotypical adults. Synchronization performance and gait parameters were assessed as healthy young adults with strong or weak beat perception synchronized to low-groove music, high-groove music, and metronome cues. High-groove music was predicted to elicit better synchronization than low-groove music, due to its higher beat salience. Two musical tempi, or rates, were used: (1) preferred tempo: beat rate matched to preferred step rate and (2) faster tempo: beat rate adjusted to 22.5% faster than preferred step rate. For both strong and weak beat-perceivers, synchronization performance was best with metronome cues, followed by high-groove music, and worst with low-groove music. In addition, high-groove music elicited longer and faster steps than low-groove music, both at preferred tempo and at faster tempo. Low-groove music was particularly detrimental to gait in weak beat-perceivers, who showed slower and shorter steps compared to uncued walking. The findings show that individual differences in beat perception affect gait when synchronizing footsteps to music, and have implications for using music in gait rehabilitation. PMID:25374521

Longitudinal study of factors affecting taste sense decline in old-old individuals.

PubMed

Ogawa, T; Uota, M; Ikebe, K; Arai, Y; Kamide, K; Gondo, Y; Masui, Y; Ishizaki, T; Inomata, C; Takeshita, H; Mihara, Y; Hatta, K; Maeda, Y

2017-01-01

The sense of taste plays a pivotal role for personal assessment of the nutritional value, safety and quality of foods. Although it is commonly recognised that taste sensitivity decreases with age, alterations in that sensitivity over time in an old-old population have not been previously reported. Furthermore, no known studies utilised comprehensive variables regarding taste changes and related factors for assessments. Here, we report novel findings from a 3-year longitudinal study model aimed to elucidate taste sensitivity decline and its related factors in old-old individuals. We utilised 621 subjects aged 79-81 years who participated in the Septuagenarians, Octogenarians, Nonagenarians Investigation with Centenarians Study for baseline assessments performed in 2011 and 2012, and then conducted follow-up assessments 3 years later in 328 of those. Assessment of general health, an oral examination and determination of taste sensitivity were performed for each. We also evaluated cognitive function using Montreal Cognitive Assessment findings, then excluded from analysis those with a score lower than 20 in order to secure the validity and reliability of the subjects' answers. Contributing variables were selected using univariate analysis, then analysed with multivariate logistic regression analysis. We found that males showed significantly greater declines in taste sensitivity for sweet and sour tastes than females. Additionally, subjects with lower cognitive scores showed a significantly greater taste decrease for salty in multivariate analysis. In conclusion, our longitudinal study revealed that gender and cognitive status are major factors affecting taste sensitivity in geriatric individuals. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Behavioral and neural indices of affective coloring for neutral social stimuli

PubMed Central

Schaefer, Stacey M; Lapate, Regina C; Schoen, Andrew J; Gresham, Lauren K; Mumford, Jeanette A; Davidson, Richard J

2018-01-01

Abstract Emotional processing often continues beyond the presentation of emotionally evocative stimuli, which can result in affective biasing or coloring of subsequently encountered events. Here, we describe neural correlates of affective coloring and examine how individual differences in affective style impact the magnitude of affective coloring. We conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging in 117 adults who passively viewed negative, neutral and positive pictures presented 2 s prior to neutral faces. Brain responses to neutral faces were modulated by the valence of preceding pictures, with greater activation for faces following negative (vs positive) pictures in the amygdala, dorsomedial and lateral prefrontal cortex, ventral visual cortices, posterior superior temporal sulcus, and angular gyrus. Three days after the magnetic resonance imaging scan, participants rated their memory and liking of previously encountered neutral faces. Individuals higher in trait positive affect and emotional reappraisal rated faces as more likable when preceded by emotionally arousing (negative or positive) pictures. In addition, greater amygdala responses to neutral faces preceded by positively valenced pictures were associated with greater memory for these faces 3 days later. Collectively, these results reveal individual differences in how emotions spill over onto the processing of unrelated social stimuli, resulting in persistent and affectively biased evaluations of such stimuli. PMID:29447377

Positive affect protects against deficient safety learning during extinction of fear of movement-related pain in healthy individuals scoring relatively high on trait anxiety.

PubMed

Meulders, Ann; Meulders, Michel; Vlaeyen, Johan W S

2014-06-01

From a treatment perspective, it is highly relevant to pinpoint individual vulnerability factors for resistance to exposure treatment in highly fearful chronic pain patients. Previous fear conditioning research showed that healthy individuals scoring relatively high on trait anxiety display sustained fear to safety cues during extinction. In the context of fear of movement-related pain, this intriguing question has been largely neglected so far. Even more importantly, positive psychological traits such as trait positive affect may function as protective factors against the spreading of fear to safe movements and improve exposure treatment outcomes. In this study, healthy participants completed a trait anxiety and trait positive affect questionnaire and underwent acquisition and extinction of fear of movement-related pain using an experimental voluntary movement paradigm. During acquisition, one movement (CS+) was paired with a painful stimulus and another movement was not (CS-). During extinction, the CS+ was no longer reinforced. Results show failure of fear inhibition to the CS- during extinction in healthy individuals scoring relatively high on trait anxiety or relatively low on positive affect. These findings seem to suggest that safety learning is more vulnerable in healthy people with a high anxious disposition and/or relatively lower levels of positive affect. In addition, this is the first study to show that the negative impact of high trait anxiety on fear inhibition to safety cues during extinction can be countered by high levels of positive affect. These findings may have important clinical implications. Both low positive affect and high trait anxiety are associated with impaired fear inhibition to nonpainful movements during fear extinction. Interestingly, high levels of positive affect buffer against the negative impact of trait anxiety. Increasing positive affect during exposure may counter the effects of trait vulnerabilities and improve treatment

Perspectives of healthcare providers and HIV-affected individuals and couples during the development of a Safer Conception Counseling Toolkit in Kenya: stigma, fears, and recommendations for the delivery of services.

PubMed

Mmeje, Okeoma; Njoroge, Betty; Akama, Eliud; Leddy, Anna; Breitnauer, Brooke; Darbes, Lynae; Brown, Joelle

2016-01-01

Reproduction is important to many HIV-affected individuals and couples and healthcare providers (HCPs) are responsible for providing resources to help them safely conceive while minimizing the risk of sexual and perinatal HIV transmission. In order to fulfill their reproductive goals, HIV-affected individuals and their partners need access to information regarding safer methods of conception. The objective of this qualitative study was to develop a Safer Conception Counseling Toolkit that can be used to train HCPs and counsel HIV-affected individuals and couples in HIV care and treatment clinics in Kenya. We conducted a two-phased qualitative study among HCPs and HIV-affected individuals and couples from eight HIV care and treatment sites in Kisumu, Kenya. We conducted in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) to assess the perspectives of HCPs and HIV-affected individuals and couples in order to develop and refine the content of the Toolkit. Subsequently, IDIs were conducted among HCPs who were trained using the Toolkit and FGDs among HIV-affected individuals and couples who were counseled with the Toolkit. HIV-related stigma, fears, and recommendations for delivery of safer conception counseling were assessed during the discussions. One hundred and six individuals participated in FGDs and IDIs; 29 HCPs, 49 HIV-affected women and men, and 14 HIV-serodiscordant couples. Participants indicated that a safer conception counseling and training program for HCPs is needed and that routine provision of safer conception counseling may promote maternal and child health by enhancing reproductive autonomy among HIV-affected couples. They also reported that the Toolkit may help dispel the stigma and fears associated with reproduction in HIV-affected couples, while supporting them in achieving their reproductive goals. Additional research is needed to evaluate the Safer Conception Toolkit in order to support its implementation and use in HIV care and

Does a presentation’s medium affect its message? PowerPoint, Prezi, and oral presentations

PubMed Central

Türkay, Selen; Kosslyn, Stephen M.

2017-01-01

Despite the prevalence of PowerPoint in professional and educational presentations, surprisingly little is known about how effective such presentations are. All else being equal, are PowerPoint presentations better than purely oral presentations or those that use alternative software tools? To address this question we recreated a real-world business scenario in which individuals presented to a corporate board. Participants (playing the role of the presenter) were randomly assigned to create PowerPoint, Prezi, or oral presentations, and then actually delivered the presentation live to other participants (playing the role of corporate executives). Across two experiments and on a variety of dimensions, participants evaluated PowerPoint presentations comparably to oral presentations, but evaluated Prezi presentations more favorably than both PowerPoint and oral presentations. There was some evidence that participants who viewed different types of presentations came to different conclusions about the business scenario, but no evidence that they remembered or comprehended the scenario differently. We conclude that the observed effects of presentation format are not merely the result of novelty, bias, experimenter-, or software-specific characteristics, but instead reveal a communication preference for using the panning-and-zooming animations that characterize Prezi presentations. PMID:28678855

Attentional bias to negative affect moderates negative affect's relationship with smoking abstinence.

PubMed

Etcheverry, Paul E; Waters, Andrew J; Lam, Cho; Correa-Fernandez, Virmarie; Vidrine, Jennifer Irvin; Cinciripini, Paul M; Wetter, David W

2016-08-01

To examine whether initial orienting (IO) and inability to disengage (ITD) attention from negative affective stimuli moderate the association of negative affect with smoking abstinence during a quit attempt. Data were from a longitudinal cohort study of smoking cessation (N = 424). A negative affect modified Stroop task was administered 1 week before and on quit day to measure IO and ITD. Ecological Momentary Assessments were used to create negative affect intercepts and linear slopes for the week before quitting and on quit day. Quit day and long-term abstinence measures were collected. Continuation ratio logit model analyses found significant interactions for prequit negative affect slope with prequit ITD, odds ratio (OR) = 0.738 (0.57, 0.96), p = .02, and for quit day negative affect intercept with quit day ITD, OR = 0.62 (0.41, 950), p = .03, predicting abstinence. The Prequit Negative Affect Intercept × Prequit IO interaction predicting quit day abstinence was significant, OR = 1.42 (1.06, 1.90), p = .02, as was the Quit Day Negative Affect Slope × Quit Day IO interaction predicting long-term abstinence, OR = 1.45 (1.02, 2.08), p = .04. The hypothesis that the association of negative affect with smoking abstinence would be moderated by ITD was generally supported. Among individuals with high ITD, negative affect was inversely related to abstinence, but unrelated to abstinence among individuals with lower levels of ITD. Unexpectedly, among individuals with low IO, negative affect was inversely related to abstinence, but unrelated to abstinence among individuals with higher levels of ITD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Neural responses to nostalgia-evoking music modeled by elements of dynamic musical structure and individual differences in affective traits.

PubMed

Barrett, Frederick S; Janata, Petr

2016-10-01

Nostalgia is an emotion that is most commonly associated with personally and socially relevant memories. It is primarily positive in valence and is readily evoked by music. It is also an idiosyncratic experience that varies between individuals based on affective traits. We identified frontal, limbic, paralimbic, and midbrain brain regions in which the strength of the relationship between ratings of nostalgia evoked by music and blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal was predicted by affective personality measures (nostalgia proneness and the sadness scale of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales) that are known to modulate the strength of nostalgic experiences. We also identified brain areas including the inferior frontal gyrus, substantia nigra, cerebellum, and insula in which time-varying BOLD activity correlated more strongly with the time-varying tonal structure of nostalgia-evoking music than with music that evoked no or little nostalgia. These findings illustrate one way in which the reward and emotion regulation networks of the brain are recruited during the experiencing of complex emotional experiences triggered by music. These findings also highlight the importance of considering individual differences when examining the neural responses to strong and idiosyncratic emotional experiences. Finally, these findings provide a further demonstration of the use of time-varying stimulus-specific information in the investigation of music-evoked experiences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cognitive determinants of affective forecasting errors

PubMed Central

Hoerger, Michael; Quirk, Stuart W.; Lucas, Richard E.; Carr, Thomas H.

2011-01-01

Often to the detriment of human decision making, people are prone to an impact bias when making affective forecasts, overestimating the emotional consequences of future events. The cognitive processes underlying the impact bias, and methods for correcting it, have been debated and warrant further exploration. In the present investigation, we examined both individual differences and contextual variables associated with cognitive processing in affective forecasting for an election. Results showed that the perceived importance of the event and working memory capacity were both associated with an increased impact bias for some participants, whereas retrieval interference had no relationship with bias. Additionally, an experimental manipulation effectively reduced biased forecasts, particularly among participants who were most distracted thinking about peripheral life events. These findings have direct theoretical implications for understanding the impact bias, highlight the importance of individual differences in affective forecasting, and have ramifications for future decision making research. The possible functional role of the impact bias is discussed within the context of evolutionary psychology. PMID:21912580

Exploring the effects of individual customer incivility encounters on employee incivility: the moderating roles of entity (in)civility and negative affectivity.

PubMed

Walker, David D; van Jaarsveld, Danielle D; Skarlicki, Daniel P

2014-01-01

Incivility between customers and employees is common in many service organizations. These encounters can have negative outcomes for employees, customers, and the organization. To date, researchers have tended to study incivility as an aggregated and accumulated phenomenon (entity perspective). In the present study, we examined incivility as it occurs during a specific service encounter (event perspective) alongside the entity perspective. Using a mixed-method multilevel field study of customer service interactions, we show that individual customer incivility encounters (i.e., events) trigger employee incivility as a function of the employee's overall accumulated impression of the (in)civility in his or her customer interactions, such that the effects are more pronounced among employees who generally perceive their customer interactions to be more versus less civil. We also find that these interactive effects occur only among employees who are lower (vs. higher) in negative affectivity. Our results show that, in order to expand the understanding of customer incivility, it is important to study the incivility encounter, the social context in which negative customer interactions occur, and individual differences. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved

Biases in affective forecasting and recall in individuals with depression and anxiety symptoms.

PubMed

Wenze, Susan J; Gunthert, Kathleen C; German, Ramaris E

2012-07-01

The authors used experience sampling to investigate biases in affective forecasting and recall in individuals with varying levels of depression and anxiety symptoms. Participants who were higher in depression symptoms demonstrated stronger (more pessimistic) negative mood prediction biases, marginally stronger negative mood recall biases, and weaker (less optimistic) positive mood prediction and recall biases. Participants who were higher in anxiety symptoms demonstrated stronger negative mood prediction biases, but positive mood prediction biases that were on par with those who were lower in anxiety. Anxiety symptoms were not associated with mood recall biases. Neither depression symptoms nor anxiety symptoms were associated with bias in event prediction. Their findings fit well with the tripartite model of depression and anxiety. Results are also consistent with the conceptualization of anxiety as a "forward-looking" disorder, and with theories that emphasize the importance of pessimism and general negative information processing in depressive functioning.

Changes in Sleep Predict Changes in Affect in Older Caregivers of Individuals with Alzheimer's Dementia: A Multilevel Model Approach.

PubMed

McCrae, Christina S; Dzierzewski, Joseph M; McNamara, Joseph P H; Vatthauer, Karlyn E; Roth, Alicia J; Rowe, Meredeth A

2016-05-01

Understanding predictors of older dementia caregivers' mood could provide insight into potential treatments which may delay institutionalization of their care recipient. Research with older noncaregivers has shown that nights characterized by better subjective sleep were associated with days characterized by higher positive and lower negative affect, and vice versa. Examining daily relationships is important, as sleep and affect are state-like behaviors that fluctuate within individuals, across time. This study was a preliminary examination of whether a sample with a greater proportion of older dementia caregivers exhibits similar daily sleep/affect associations. Sleep diaries, actigraphy, and affect data were collected concurrently for 7 days in 55 community-dwelling, dementia caregivers (M = 62.80 years, SD = 12.21; 77.8% female). Sleep and affect were examined within- (day-to-day level) and between-persons (mean level). Findings for older noncaregivers were replicated for negative affect only. Specifically, nights characterized by better subjective sleep were characterized by lower negative affect, and vice versa. Examining older caregivers' daily sleep/affect association is important, because caregiving-related awakenings are unavoidable, often unpredictable, and can impact mood. Future research is needed to examine whether regularization in awakenings and/or negative affect represent important secondary, or even target, treatment outcomes for this vulnerable population. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Individual Differences: Factors Affecting Employee Utilization of Flexible Work Arrangements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lambert, Alysa D.; Marler, Janet H.; Gueutal, Hal G.

2008-01-01

This study investigated individual and organizational factors that predict an individual's choice to use flexible work arrangements (FWAs). Survey data was collected from 144 employees in two different organizations. The results revealed several significant predictors of FWAs: tenure, hours worked per week, supervisory responsibilities,…

The temporal stability and predictive validity of affect-based and cognition-based intentions.

PubMed

Keer, Mario; Conner, Mark; Van den Putte, Bas; Neijens, Peter

2014-06-01

Recent research has revealed individual differences in the extent to which people base their intentions on affect and cognition. Two studies are presented that assess whether such differences predict the strength of individuals' intention-behaviour relationships. Participants completed measures of affect, cognition, intention, and behaviour regarding a range of health behaviours. Study 1 (N = 300) found that the strength of the intention-behaviour relationship was significantly related to the extent to which individuals based their intentions on affect, but not to the extent they based them on cognition. Study 2 (N = 387) replicated the findings of the first study. In addition, Study 2 revealed that intention stability mediated the relationship between the degree people based their intentions on affect and the strength of the intention-behaviour relationship. Thus, individuals who base their intentions strongly on affect have more stable intentions, and are therefore more likely to enact them. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Does organ donation legislation affect individuals' willingness to donate their own or their relative's organs? Evidence from European Union survey data.

PubMed

Mossialos, Elias; Costa-Font, Joan; Rudisill, Caroline

2008-02-27

Maintaining adequately high organ donation rates proves essential to offering patients all appropriate and available treatment options. However, the act of donation is in itself an individual decision that requires a depth of understanding that interacts with the social setting and the institutional framework into which an individual is embedded. This study contributes to understanding factors driving organ donation rates by examining how country regulation, individuals' awareness of regulatory setting, social interactions and socio-demographic determinants influence individuals' willingness to donate their own organs or those of a relative. We draw representative data from the Eurobarometer survey 58.2 undertaken in 2002 with respondents throughout the European Union to capture heterogeneity in institutional setting. We use logistic regression techniques to estimate the determinants of willingness to donate one's own organs and those of a deceased relative. We employ interaction terms to examine the relationship between institutional setting and respondent's awareness of organ donation legislation in their country. Our findings indicate that individuals are more likely to donate their organs than to consent to the donation of a relative's organs. Both decisions are affected by regulation (presumed consent), awareness of regulation and social interactions such as the ability to count on others in case of a serious problem (reciprocity). Furthermore, education (more educated), age (younger), expressing some sort of political affiliation determine willingness to donate one's own organs and consent to the donation of those of a relative. This study confirms and develops further previous research findings that presumed consent organ donation policy positively affects the willingness of individuals to donate their own organs and those of relative by highlighting the importance of awareness of this regulation and an individual's level of social interactions in making

Individuals' decisions affecting radiation exposure after a nuclear explosion.

PubMed

Florig, H Keith; Fischhoff, Baruch

2007-05-01

In the aftermath of a nuclear attack, shelters can offer potentially important protection. How well they fill that role depends on a set of interdependent decisions made by the individuals and organizations that must prepare and use them. We look at three such decisions. For each, we begin with formal analysis of the consequences expected from different possible actions. Those analyses are, then, reviewed in terms of how individuals facing these choices will perceive them, given the information that they are likely to have. The first example suggests that preparing a home shelter according to guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security may not pass a cost-benefit test. The second example explores the use of readily available information about a blast to infer how urgently shelter should be sought. The third example considers when shelters should be left, suggesting that individuals with the best shelters and slowest evacuation speeds should evacuate last, if they have the provisions needed to remain. In each case, helping people to protect themselves requires prior risk analyses and communication development.

Who I am depends on how I feel: the role of affect in the expression of culture.

PubMed

Ashton-James, Claire E; Maddux, William W; Galinsky, Adam D; Chartrand, Tanya L

2009-03-01

We present a novel role of affect in the expression of culture. Four experiments tested whether individuals' affective states moderate the expression of culturally normative cognitions and behaviors. We consistently found that value expressions, self-construals, and behaviors were less consistent with cultural norms when individuals were experiencing positive rather than negative affect. Positive affect allowed individuals to explore novel thoughts and behaviors that departed from cultural constraints, whereas negative affect bound people to cultural norms. As a result, when Westerners experienced positive rather than negative affect, they valued self-expression less, showed a greater preference for objects that reflected conformity, viewed the self in more interdependent terms, and sat closer to other people. East Asians showed the reverse pattern for each of these measures, valuing and expressing individuality and independence more when experiencing positive than when experiencing negative affect. The results suggest that affect serves an important functional purpose of attuning individuals more or less closely to their cultural heritage.

Neural dynamics underlying emotional transmissions between individuals

PubMed Central

Levit-Binnun, Nava; Hendler, Talma; Lerner, Yulia

2017-01-01

Abstract Emotional experiences are frequently shaped by the emotional responses of co-present others. Research has shown that people constantly monitor and adapt to the incoming social–emotional signals, even without face-to-face interaction. And yet, the neural processes underlying such emotional transmissions have not been directly studied. Here, we investigated how the human brain processes emotional cues which arrive from another, co-attending individual. We presented continuous emotional feedback to participants who viewed a movie in the scanner. Participants in the social group (but not in the control group) believed that the feedback was coming from another person who was co-viewing the same movie. We found that social–emotional feedback significantly affected the neural dynamics both in the core affect and in the medial pre-frontal regions. Specifically, the response time-courses in those regions exhibited increased similarity across recipients and increased neural alignment with the timeline of the feedback in the social compared with control group. Taken in conjunction with previous research, this study suggests that emotional cues from others shape the neural dynamics across the whole neural continuum of emotional processing in the brain. Moreover, it demonstrates that interpersonal neural alignment can serve as a neural mechanism through which affective information is conveyed between individuals. PMID:28575520

Teachers' Affective Presentation of Children's Books and Young Children's Display of Affective Engagement during Classroom Book Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moschovaki, Eleni; Meadows, Sara; Pellegrini, Anthony

2007-01-01

This study examines how teachers' use of affective strategies (voice intonation, dramatization, personal involvement comments) during the reading and discussion of books influence young children's affective reactions (dramatization, personal engagement, language play comments). Twenty kindergarten teachers read four books, two fiction and two…

Implicit affectivity in patients with borderline personality disorder.

PubMed

Dukalski, Bibiana; Quirin, Markus; Kersting, Anette; Suslow, Thomas; Donges, Uta-Susan

2017-01-01

It has been argued that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is related to an enhanced affective reactivity. According to findings from research based on self-report, individuals with BPD develop and feel more negative and less positive affect than healthy individuals. Implicit affectivity, which can be measured using indirect assessment methods, relates to processes of the impulsive, intuitive system. In the present study, implicit and explicit affectivity was examined in patients suffering from BPD compared to healthy persons. Thirty-five women with BPD and 35 healthy women participated in the study. Implicit affectivity was assessed using the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT). Measures of explicit state and trait affectivity were also administered. BPD women had lower explicit positive state and trait affect scores and higher negative state and trait affect scores than healthy women. They had also lower implicit positive affect but they did not differ from healthy women regarding implicit negative affect. Total number of comorbid disorders was correlated with both implicit positive and implicit negative affect. According to our data, BPD patients exhibit reduced implicit positive affect as well as reduced explicit positive affect compared to healthy persons. According to our IPANAT data, BPD patients are characterized by a normal disposition to develop negative affective reactions which is in line with a number of findings from psycho-physiological research on BPD. Self-reports of negative affectivity in BPD could be biased by negative distortion.

Adherence to diet and fluid restriction of individuals on hemodialysis treatment and affecting factors in Turkey.

PubMed

Efe, Dilek; Kocaöz, Semra

2015-04-01

This study was conducted to determine adherence to diet and fluid restriction in hemodialysis-treated individuals and the affecting factors in Turkey. This descriptive study was conducted between 15 October 2010 and 15 January 2011 in subjects who voluntarily agreed to participate in the study from three dialysis centers in a city located in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. One hundred and twenty-one individuals treated with hemodialysis made up the study sample. The data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of 41 questions and the Dialysis Diet and Fluid Non-adherence Questionnaire. The data were evaluated with percentage, median, Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Student's t-test in independent samples and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The authors found that 98.3% of the individuals experienced non-adherence to diet and 95.0% with fluid restriction. The authors found a weak and negative relationship between calcium levels and non-adherence to fluid restriction, a weak relationship between phosphorus levels and diet non-adherence frequency and degree and the fluid non-adherence frequency scores, and a moderate positive relationship between phosphorus levels and fluid restriction non-adherence degree scores (P < 0.05). Based on these results, regular training and information regarding diet and fluid restriction must be provided to individuals aged 21-35 years with no one in the family to help with their care, those who consumed salted food, or had interdialytic weight gain of 4.5 kg or more. © 2014 The Authors. Japan Journal of Nursing Science © 2014 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.

Intranasal Oxytocin Affects Amygdala Functional Connectivity after Trauma Script-Driven Imagery in Distressed Recently Trauma-Exposed Individuals.

PubMed

Frijling, Jessie L; van Zuiden, Mirjam; Koch, Saskia B J; Nawijn, Laura; Veltman, Dick J; Olff, Miranda

2016-04-01

Approximately 10% of trauma-exposed individuals go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Neural emotion regulation may be etiologically involved in PTSD development. Oxytocin administration early post-trauma may be a promising avenue for PTSD prevention, as intranasal oxytocin has previously been found to affect emotion regulation networks in healthy individuals and psychiatric patients. In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled between-subjects functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study, we assessed the effects of a single intranasal oxytocin administration (40 IU) on seed-based amygdala resting-state FC with emotion regulation areas (ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC)), and salience processing areas (insula, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC)) in 37 individuals within 11 days post trauma. Two resting-state scans were acquired; one after neutral- and one after trauma-script-driven imagery. We found that oxytocin administration reduced amygdala-left vlPFC FC after trauma script-driven imagery, compared with neutral script-driven imagery, whereas in PL-treated participants enhanced amygdala-left vlPFC FC was observed following trauma script-driven imagery. Irrespective of script condition, oxytocin increased amygdala-insula FC and decreased amygdala-vmPFC FC. These neural effects were accompanied by lower levels of sleepiness and higher flashback intensity in the oxytocin group after the trauma script. Together, our findings show that oxytocin administration may impede emotion regulation network functioning in response to trauma reminders in recently trauma-exposed individuals. Therefore, caution may be warranted in administering oxytocin to prevent PTSD in distressed, recently trauma-exposed individuals.

Contextualizing Mathematics Related Affect: Significance of Students' Individual and Social Level Affect in Finland and Chile

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuohilampi, Laura

2016-01-01

Mathematics related affect turn from positive to negative during comprehensive school years worldwide. There is a clear need to find solutions to the problem. However, some gaps and problems appear in the methodologies and the common approaches used in the field. This article discusses five studies addressing affective development, challenges some…

The Digestive System and Nutritional Considerations for Individuals with Rett Syndrome

PubMed Central

Lotan, Meir; Zysman, Lilit

2006-01-01

Rett syndrome (RS) is a neurodevelopmental syndrome of genetic origin that mainly affects females. Individuals diagnosed with RS exhibit a variety of functional difficulties that impair their quality of life. One of the affected systems is the digestive system, where 74% of persons with RS have abnormal functioning. The affected digestive system causes this population to present an array of problems, such as gastroesophageal reflux (GER), constipation, and malnutrition, leading to failure to thrive (FTT), which resolves in reduced functional ability. Due to the severe effects of the dysfunctional digestive system of individuals with RS, this article will describe the problems common to this population, as well as propose some clinical suggestions for intervention. . PMID:17195872

Anxiety and autonomic response to social-affective stimuli in individuals with Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Ng, Rowena; Bellugi, Ursula; Järvinen, Anna

2016-12-01

Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic condition characterized by an unusual "hypersocial" personality juxtaposed by high anxiety. Recent evidence suggests that autonomic reactivity to affective face stimuli is disorganised in WS, which may contribute to emotion dysregulation and/or social disinhibition. Electrodermal activity (EDA) and mean interbeat interval (IBI) of 25 participants with WS (19 - 57 years old) and 16 typically developing (TD; 17-43 years old) adults were measured during a passive presentation of affective face and voice stimuli. The Beck Anxiety Inventory was administered to examine associations between autonomic reactivity to social-affective stimuli and anxiety symptomatology. The WS group was characterized by higher overall anxiety symptomatology, and poorer anger recognition in social visual and aural stimuli relative to the TD group. No between-group differences emerged in autonomic response patterns. Notably, for participants with WS, increased anxiety was uniquely associated with diminished arousal to angry faces and voices. In contrast, for the TD group, no associations emerged between anxiety and physiological responsivity to social-emotional stimuli. The anxiety associated with WS appears to be intimately related to reduced autonomic arousal to angry social stimuli, which may also be linked to the characteristic social disinhibition. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Affect-Based Adaptation of an Applied Video Game for Educational Purposes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bontchev, Boyan; Vassileva, Dessislava

2017-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to clarify how affect-based adaptation can improve implicit recognition of playing style of individuals during game sessions. This study presents the "Rush for Gold" game using dynamic difficulty adjustment of tasks based on both player performance and affectation inferred through electrodermal activity and…

Factors Affecting Parent's Perception on Air Quality-From the Individual to the Community Level.

PubMed

Guo, Yulin; Liu, Fengfeng; Lu, Yuanan; Mao, Zongfu; Lu, Hanson; Wu, Yanyan; Chu, Yuanyuan; Yu, Lichen; Liu, Yisi; Ren, Meng; Li, Na; Chen, Xi; Xiang, Hao

2016-05-12

The perception of air quality significantly affects the acceptance of the public of the government's environmental policies. The aim of this research is to explore the relationship between the perception of the air quality of parents and scientific monitoring data and to analyze the factors that affect parents' perceptions. Scientific data of air quality were obtained from Wuhan's environmental condition reports. One thousand parents were investigated for their knowledge and perception of air quality. Scientific data show that the air quality of Wuhan follows an improving trend in general, while most participants believed that the air quality of Wuhan has deteriorated, which indicates a significant difference between public perception and reality. On the individual level, respondents with an age of 40 or above (40 or above: OR = 3.252; 95% CI: 1.170-9.040), a higher educational level (college and above: OR = 7.598; 95% CI: 2.244-25.732) or children with poor healthy conditions (poor: OR = 6.864; 95% CI: 2.212-21.302) have much more negative perception of air quality. On the community level, industrial facilities, vehicles and city construction have major effects on parents' perception of air quality. Our investigation provides baseline information for environmental policy researchers and makers regarding the public's perception and expectation of air quality and the benefits to the environmental policy completing and enforcing.

Activity and social factors affect cohesion among individuals in female Japanese macaques: A simultaneous focal-follow study.

PubMed

Nishikawa, Mari; Suzuki, Mariko; Sprague, David S

2014-07-01

Understanding cohesion among individuals within a group is necessary to reveal the social system of group-living primates. Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) are female-philopatric primates that reside in social groups. We investigated whether individual activity and social factors can affect spatio-temporal cohesion in wild female Japanese macaques. We conducted behavioral observation on a group, which contained 38 individuals and ranged over ca. 60 ha during the study period. Two observers carried out simultaneous focal-animal sampling of adult female pairs during full-day follows using global positioning system which enabled us to quantify interindividual distances (IIDs), group members within visual range (i.e., visual unit), and separation duration beyond visual range as indicators of cohesion among individuals. We found considerable variation in spatio-temporal group cohesion. The overall mean IID was 99.9 m (range = 0-618.2 m). The percentage of IIDs within visual range was 23.1%, within auditory range was 59.8%, and beyond auditory range was 17.1%. IIDs varied with activity; they were shorter during grooming and resting, and longer during foraging and traveling. Low-ranking females showed less cohesion than high-ranking ones. Kin females stayed nearly always within audible range. The macaques were weakly cohesive with small mean visual unit size (3.15 counting only adults, 5.99 counting all individuals). Both-sex units were the most frequently observed visual unit type when they were grooming/resting. Conversely, female units were the most frequently observed visual unit type when they were foraging. The overall mean visual separation duration was 25.7 min (range = 3-513 min). Separation duration was associated with dominance rank. These results suggest that Japanese macaques regulate cohesion among individuals depending on their activity and on social relationships; they were separated to adapt food distribution and aggregated to maintain social

An unusual presentation of listeriosis: anemia and cutaneous manifestations.

PubMed

Teo, Hooi Khee; Yap, Jonathan; Fong, Yuke Tien

2014-03-01

Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular pathogen causing food-borne disease. It usually affects the young as well as immunocompromised individuals and is associated with high mortality rates. Cutaneous manifestations have rarely been described. We describe an interesting case of a traveller from the tropics presenting with cutaneous listeriosis and anemia.

Individual and Situational Factors Associated with Social Barriers for Persons with Mobility Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCaughey, Tiffany

2009-01-01

Decades of research have examined factors involved in complex, and sometimes stressful, interpersonal interactions between individuals with and without disabilities. The present study applies structural equation modeling to test an integrative model of individual and situational factors affecting encounters between able-bodied college students and…

The role of vocal individuality in conservation

PubMed Central

Terry, Andrew MR; Peake, Tom M; McGregor, Peter K

2005-01-01

Identifying the individuals within a population can generate information on life history parameters, generate input data for conservation models, and highlight behavioural traits that may affect management decisions and error or bias within census methods. Individual animals can be discriminated by features of their vocalisations. This vocal individuality can be utilised as an alternative marking technique in situations where the marks are difficult to detect or animals are sensitive to disturbance. Vocal individuality can also be used in cases were the capture and handling of an animal is either logistically or ethically problematic. Many studies have suggested that vocal individuality can be used to count and monitor populations over time; however, few have explicitly tested the method in this role. In this review we discuss methods for extracting individuality information from vocalisations and techniques for using this to count and monitor populations over time. We present case studies in birds where vocal individuality has been applied to conservation and we discuss its role in mammals. PMID:15960848

Emotional Granularity Effects on Event-Related Brain Potentials during Affective Picture Processing.

PubMed

Lee, Ja Y; Lindquist, Kristen A; Nam, Chang S

2017-01-01

There is debate about whether emotional granularity , the tendency to label emotions in a nuanced and specific manner, is merely a product of labeling abilities, or a systematic difference in the experience of emotion during emotionally evocative events. According to the Conceptual Act Theory of Emotion (CAT) (Barrett, 2006), emotional granularity is due to the latter and is a product of on-going temporal differences in how individuals categorize and thus make meaning of their affective states. To address this question, the present study investigated the effects of individual differences in emotional granularity on electroencephalography-based brain activity during the experience of emotion in response to affective images. Event-related potentials (ERP) and event-related desynchronization and synchronization (ERD/ERS) analysis techniques were used. We found that ERP responses during the very early (60-90 ms), middle (270-300 ms), and later (540-570 ms) moments of stimulus presentation were associated with individuals' level of granularity. We also observed that highly granular individuals, compared to lowly granular individuals, exhibited relatively stable desynchronization of alpha power (8-12 Hz) and synchronization of gamma power (30-50 Hz) during the 3 s of stimulus presentation. Overall, our results suggest that emotional granularity is related to differences in neural processing throughout emotional experiences and that high granularity could be associated with access to executive control resources and a more habitual processing of affective stimuli, or a kind of "emotional complexity." Implications for models of emotion are also discussed.

Mindfulness and Affective Responses to Treadmill Walking in Individuals with Low Intrinsic Motivation to Exercise

PubMed Central

COX, ANNE E.; ROBERTS, MADELINE A.; CATES, HAILEY L.; MCMAHON, AMANDA K.

2018-01-01

An aversion to the sensations of physical exertion can deter engagement in physical activity. This is due in part to an associative focus in which individuals are attending to uncomfortable interoceptive cues. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of mindfulness on affective valence, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), and enjoyment during treadmill walking. Participants (N=23; Mage=19.26, SD = 1.14) were only included in the study if they engaged in no more than moderate levels of physical activity and reported low levels of intrinsic motivation. They completed three testing sessions including a habituation session to determine the grade needed to achieve 65% of heart rate reserve (HRR); a control condition in which they walked at 65% of HRR for 10 minutes and an experimental condition during which they listened to a mindfulness track that directed them to attend to the physical sensations of their body in a nonjudgmental manner during the 10-minute walk. ANOVA results showed that in the mindfulness condition, affective valence was significantly more positive (p = .02, ηp2 = .22), enjoyment and mindfulness of the body were higher (p < .001, ηp2 = .36 and .40, respectively), attentional focus was more associative (p < .001, ηp2 =.67) and RPE was minimally lower (p = .06, ηp2 =.15). Higher mindfulness of the body was moderately associated with higher enjoyment (p < .05, r =.44) in the mindfulness but not the control condition. Results suggest that mindfulness during exercise is associated with more positive affective responses. PMID:29541336

Mindfulness and Affective Responses to Treadmill Walking in Individuals with Low Intrinsic Motivation to Exercise.

PubMed

Cox, Anne E; Roberts, Madeline A; Cates, Hailey L; McMahon, Amanda K

2018-01-01

An aversion to the sensations of physical exertion can deter engagement in physical activity. This is due in part to an associative focus in which individuals are attending to uncomfortable interoceptive cues. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of mindfulness on affective valence, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), and enjoyment during treadmill walking. Participants ( N =23; M age =19.26, SD = 1.14) were only included in the study if they engaged in no more than moderate levels of physical activity and reported low levels of intrinsic motivation. They completed three testing sessions including a habituation session to determine the grade needed to achieve 65% of heart rate reserve (HRR); a control condition in which they walked at 65% of HRR for 10 minutes and an experimental condition during which they listened to a mindfulness track that directed them to attend to the physical sensations of their body in a nonjudgmental manner during the 10-minute walk. ANOVA results showed that in the mindfulness condition, affective valence was significantly more positive ( p = .02, η p 2 = .22), enjoyment and mindfulness of the body were higher ( p < .001, η p 2 = .36 and .40, respectively), attentional focus was more associative ( p < .001, η p 2 =.67) and RPE was minimally lower ( p = .06, η p 2 =.15). Higher mindfulness of the body was moderately associated with higher enjoyment ( p < .05, r =.44) in the mindfulness but not the control condition. Results suggest that mindfulness during exercise is associated with more positive affective responses.

Alexithymia Components Are Differentially Related to Explicit Negative Affect But Not Associated with Explicit Positive Affect or Implicit Affectivity.

PubMed

Suslow, Thomas; Donges, Uta-Susan

2017-01-01

Alexithymia represents a multifaceted personality construct defined by difficulties in recognizing and verbalizing emotions and externally oriented thinking. According to clinical observations, experience of negative affects is exacerbated and experience of positive affects is decreased in alexithymia. Findings from research based on self-report indicate that all alexithymia facets are negatively associated with the experience of positive affects, whereas difficulties identifying and describing feelings are related to heightened negative affect. Implicit affectivity, which can be measured using indirect assessment methods, relates to processes of the impulsive system. The aim of the present study was to examine, for the first time, the relations between alexithymia components and implicit and explicit positive and negative affectivity in healthy adults. The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) were administered to two hundred and forty-one healthy individuals along with measures of depression and trait anxiety. Difficulties identifying feelings were correlated with explicit negative trait affect, depressive mood and trait anxiety. Difficulties describing feelings showed smaller but also significant correlations with depressive mood and trait anxiety but were not correlated with explicit state or trait affect as assessed by the PANAS. Externally oriented thinking was not significantly correlated with any of the implicit and explicit affect measures. According to our findings, an externally oriented, concrete way of thinking appears to be generally unrelated to dispositions to develop positive or negative affects. Difficulties identifying feelings seem to be associated with increased conscious negative affects but not with a heightened disposition to develop negative affects at an automatic response level.

Processing of face identity in the affective flanker task: a diffusion model analysis.

PubMed

Mueller, Christina J; Kuchinke, Lars

2016-11-01

Affective flanker tasks often present affective facial expressions as stimuli. However, it is not clear whether the identity of the person on the target picture needs to be the same for the flanker stimuli or whether it is better to use pictures of different persons as flankers. While Grose-Fifer, Rodrigues, Hoover & Zottoli (Advances in Cognitive Psychology 9(2):81-91, 2013) state that attentional focus might be captured by processing the differences between faces, i.e. the identity, and therefore use pictures of the same individual as target and flanker stimuli, Munro, Dywan, Harris, McKee, Unsal & Segalowitz (Biological Psychology, 76:31-42, 2007) propose an advantage in presenting pictures of a different individual as flankers. They state that participants might focus only on small visual changes when targets and flankers are from the same individual instead of processing the affective content of the stimuli. The present study manipulated face identity in a between-subject design. Through investigation of behavioral measures as well as diffusion model parameters, we conclude that both types of flankers work equally efficient. This result seems best supported by recent accounts that propose an advantage of emotional processing over identity processing in face recognition. In the present study, there is no evidence that the processing of the face identity attracts sufficient attention to interfere with the affective evaluation of the target and flanker faces.

How Dementia Affects Personal Dignity: A Qualitative Study on the Perspective of Individuals With Mild to Moderate Dementia.

PubMed

van Gennip, Isis E; Pasman, H Roeline W; Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G; Willems, Dick L; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D

2016-05-01

This article examines how dementia affects personal dignity in individuals with mild to moderate dementia from their perspective. In this qualitative cross-sectional study, in-depth interviews were carried out with 14 individuals, aged 50-94, with mild to moderate dementia who lived at home. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed making use of the principles of thematic analysis. Although mild to moderate dementia resulted in a diminished sense of personal dignity, in general participants still felt reasonably dignified. The decline in personal dignity was generally caused by cognitive impairments resulting in diminished autonomy and changes to the individual's former identity. However, the intensity with which the decline in personal dignity was experienced depended to a large degree on the social context of the individual, with a marked difference between the private sphere of the home and the external, social environment. The study gives recommendations how others can help to sustain personal dignity in people with mild to moderate dementia. Given the considerable impact the social environment has on the personal dignity of people with mild to moderate dementia, it is important in caregiving not to confine attention to health-related or even any individual aspects alone, but also to take interpersonal aspects into consideration. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Individual differences in emotional processing and autobiographical memory: interoceptive awareness and alexithymia in the fading affect bias.

PubMed

Muir, Kate; Madill, Anna; Brown, Charity

2017-11-01

The capacity to perceive internal bodily states is linked to emotional awareness and effective emotional regulation. We explore individual differences in emotional awareness in relation to the fading affect bias (FAB), which refers to the greater dwindling of unpleasant compared to pleasant emotions in autobiographical memory. We consider interoceptive awareness and alexithymia in relation to the FAB, and private event rehearsal as a mediating process. With increasing interoceptive awareness, there was an enhanced FAB, but with increasing alexithymia, there was a decreased FAB. Further, the effects of interoceptive awareness were partially mediated by private rehearsal of pleasant events. We provide novel evidence that capacity for emotional awareness and thus effective processing is an important factor predictive of the FAB. Moreover, our results imply an important role for maintaining positive affect in the FAB. Our findings offer new insights into the effects of interoception and alexithymia on autobiographical memory, and support concepts of the FAB emerging as a result of adaptive emotional regulation processes.

Daily Mean Temperature Affects Urolithiasis Presentation in Seoul: a Time-series Analysis.

PubMed

Lee, SeoYeon; Kim, Min-Su; Kim, Jung Hoon; Kwon, Jong Kyou; Chi, Byung Hoon; Kim, Jin Wook; Chang, In Ho

2016-05-01

This study aimed to investigate the overall cumulative exposure-response and the lag response relationships between daily temperature and urolithiasis presentation in Seoul. Using a time-series design and distributing lag nonlinear methods, we estimated the relative risk (RR) of urolithiasis presentation associated with mean daily temperature, including the cumulative RR for a 20 days period, and RR for individual daily lag through 20 days. We analyzed data from 14,518 patients of 4 hospitals emergency department who sought medical evaluation or treatment of urolithiasis from 2005-2013 in Seoul. RR was estimated according to sex and age. Associations between mean daily temperature and urolithiasis presentation were not monotonic. Furthermore, there was variation in the exposure-response curve shapes and the strength of association at different temperatures, although in most cases RRs increased for temperatures above the 13°C reference value. The RRs for urolothiasis at 29°C vs. 13°C were 2.54 in all patients (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.67-3.87), 2.59 in male (95% CI, 1.56-4.32), 2.42 in female (95% CI, 1.15-5.07), 3.83 in male less than 40 years old (95% CI, 1.78-8.26), and 2.47 in male between 40 and 60 years old (95% CI, 1.15-5.34). Consistent trends of increasing RR of urolithiasis presentation were observed within 5 days of high temperatures across all groups. Urolithiasis presentation increased with high temperature with higher daily mean temperatures, with the strongest associations estimated for lags of only a few days, in Seoul, a metropolitan city in Korea.

Congenital hyperinsulinism as the presenting feature of Kabuki syndrome: clinical and molecular characterization of 10 affected individuals.

PubMed

Yap, Kai Lee; Johnson, Amy E Knight; Fischer, David; Kandikatla, Priscilla; Deml, Jacea; Nelakuditi, Viswateja; Halbach, Sara; Jeha, George S; Burrage, Lindsay C; Bodamer, Olaf; Benavides, Valeria C; Lewis, Andrea M; Ellard, Sian; Shah, Pratik; Cody, Declan; Diaz, Alejandro; Devarajan, Aishwarya; Truong, Lisa; Greeley, Siri Atma W; De Leó-Crutchlow, Diva D; Edmondson, Andrew C; Das, Soma; Thornton, Paul; Waggoner, Darrel; Del Gaudio, Daniela

2018-06-15

Describe the clinical and molecular findings of patients with Kabuki syndrome (KS) who present with hypoglycemia due to congenital hyperinsulinism (HI), and assess the incidence of KS in patients with HI. We documented the clinical features and molecular diagnoses of 10 infants with persistent HI and KS via a combination of sequencing and copy-number profiling methodologies. Subsequently, we retrospectively evaluated 100 infants with HI lacking a genetic diagnosis, for causative variants in KS genes. Molecular diagnoses of KS were established by identification of pathogenic variants in KMT2D (n = 5) and KDM6A (n = 5). Among the 100 infants with HI of unknown genetic etiology, a KS diagnosis was uncovered in one patient. The incidence of HI among patients with KS may be higher than previously reported, and KS may account for as much as 1% of patients diagnosed with HI. As the recognition of dysmorphic features associated with KS is challenging in the neonatal period, we propose KS should be considered in the differential diagnosis of HI. Since HI in patients with KS is well managed medically, a timely recognition of hyperinsulinemic episodes will improve outcomes, and prevent aggravation of the preexisting mild to moderate intellectual disability in KS.

Metabolomic profiles in individuals with negative affectivity and social inhibition: a population-based study of Type D personality.

PubMed

Altmaier, Elisabeth; Emeny, Rebecca T; Krumsiek, Jan; Lacruz, Maria E; Lukaschek, Karoline; Häfner, Sibylle; Kastenmüller, Gabi; Römisch-Margl, Werner; Prehn, Cornelia; Mohney, Robert P; Evans, Anne M; Milburn, Michael V; Illig, Thomas; Adamski, Jerzy; Theis, Fabian; Suhre, Karsten; Ladwig, Karl-Heinz

2013-08-01

Individuals with negative affectivity who are inhibited in social situations are characterized as distressed, or Type D, and have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The underlying biomechanisms that link this psychological affect to a pathological state are not well understood. This study applied a metabolomic approach to explore biochemical pathways that may contribute to the Type D personality. Type D personality was determined by the Type D Scale-14. Small molecule biochemicals were measured using two complementary mass-spectrometry based metabolomics platforms. Metabolic profiles of Type D and non-Type D participants within a population-based study in Southern Germany were compared in cross-sectional regression analyses. The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 instruments were also used to assess symptoms of depression and anxiety, respectively, within this metabolomic study. 668 metabolites were identified in the serum of 1502 participants (age 32-77); 386 of these individuals were classified as Type D. While demographic and biomedical characteristics were equally distributed between the groups, a higher level of depression and anxiety was observed in Type D individuals. Significantly lower levels of the tryptophan metabolite kynurenine were associated with Type D (p-value corrected for multiple testing=0.042), while no significant associations could be found for depression and anxiety. A Gaussian graphical model analysis enabled the identification of four potentially interesting metabolite networks that are enriched in metabolites (androsterone sulfate, tyrosine, indoxyl sulfate or caffeine) that associate nominally with Type D personality. This study identified novel biochemical pathways associated with Type D personality and demonstrates that the application of metabolomic approaches in population studies can reveal mechanisms that may contribute to psychological health and disease. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cognitive and affective mechanisms linking trait mindfulness to craving among individuals in addiction recovery.

PubMed

Garland, Eric L; Roberts-Lewis, Amelia; Kelley, Karen; Tronnier, Christine; Hanley, Adam

2014-04-01

The present study aimed to identify affective, cognitive, and conative mediators of the relation between trait mindfulness and craving in data culled from an urban sample of 165 persons (in abstinence verified by urinalysis) entering into residential treatment for substance use disorders between 2010 and 2012. Multivariate path analysis adjusting for age, gender, education level, employment status, and substance use frequency indicated that the association between the total trait mindfulness score on the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and alcohol/drug craving was statistically mediated by negative affect (measured by the PANAS, beta = -.13) and cognitive reappraisal (measured by the CERQ, beta = -.08), but not by readiness to change (measured by the URICA, beta = -.001). Implications for mindfulness-oriented treatment of persons with substance use disorders are discussed. The study's limitations are noted.

A developmental neuroscience perspective on affect-biased attention.

PubMed

Morales, Santiago; Fu, Xiaoxue; Pérez-Edgar, Koraly E

2016-10-01

There is growing interest regarding the impact of affect-biased attention on psychopathology. However, most of the research to date lacks a developmental approach. In the present review, we examine the role affect-biased attention plays in shaping socioemotional trajectories within a developmental neuroscience framework. We propose that affect-biased attention, particularly if stable and entrenched, acts as a developmental tether that helps sustain early socioemotional and behavioral profiles over time, placing some individuals on maladaptive developmental trajectories. Although most of the evidence is found in the anxiety literature, we suggest that these relations may operate across multiple domains of interest, including positive affect, externalizing behaviors, drug use, and eating behaviors. We also review the general mechanisms and neural correlates of affect-biased attention, as well as the current evidence for the co-development of attention and affect. Based on the reviewed literature, we propose a model that may help us better understand the nuances of affect-biased attention across development. The model may serve as a strong foundation for ongoing attempts to identify neurocognitive mechanisms and intervene with individuals at risk. Finally, we discuss open issues for future research that may help bridge existing gaps in the literature. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A Developmental Neuroscience Perspective on Affect-Biased Attention

PubMed Central

Morales, Santiago; Fu, Xiaoxue; Pérez-Edgar, Koraly E.

2016-01-01

There is growing interest regarding the impact of affect-biased attention on psychopathology. However, most of the research to date lacks a developmental approach. In the present review, we examine the role affect-biased attention plays in shaping socioemotional trajectories within a developmental neuroscience framework. We propose that affect-biased attention, particularly if stable and entrenched, acts as a developmental tether that helps sustain early socioemotional and behavioral profiles over time, placing some individuals on maladaptive developmental trajectories. Although most of the evidence is found in the anxiety literature, we suggest that these relations may operate across multiple domains of interest, including positive affect, externalizing behaviors, drug use, and eating behaviors. We also review the general mechanisms and neural correlates of affect-biased attention, as well as the current evidence for the co-development of attention and affect. Based on the reviewed literature, we propose a model that may help us better understand the nuances of affect-biased attention across development. The model may serve as a strong foundation for ongoing attempts to identify neurocognitive mechanisms and intervene with individuals at risk. Finally, we discuss open issues for future research that may help bridge existing gaps in the literature. PMID:27606972

Heightened Vagal Activity during High-Calorie Food Presentation in Obese compared with Non-obese Individuals - Results of a Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Udo, Tomoko; Weinberger, Andrea H.; Grilo, Carlos M.; Brownell, Kelly D.; DiLeone, Ralph J.; Lampert, Rachel; Matlin, Samantha L.; Yanagisawa, Katherine; McKee, Sherry A.

2013-01-01

Summary Eating behaviors are highly cue-dependent. Changes in mood states and exposure to palatable food both increase craving and consumption of food. Vagal activity supports adaptive modulation of physiological arousal and has an important role in cue-induced appetitive behaviors. Using high-frequency heart rate variability (HF HRV), this preliminary study compared vagal activity during positive and negative mood induction, and presentation of preferred high-calorie food items between obese (n = 12; BMI ≥ 30) and non-obese individuals (n = 14; 18.5 < BMI < 30). Participants completed two laboratory sessions (negative vs. positive mood conditions). Following 3-hours of food deprivation, all participants completed a mood induction, and then were exposed to their preferred high-calorie food items. HF HRV was assessed throughout. Obese and non-obese individuals were not significantly different in HF HRV during positive or negative mood induction. Obese individuals showed significantly greater levels of HF HRV during presentation of their preferred high-calorie food items than non-obese individuals, particularly in the positive mood condition. This is the first study to demonstrate increased vagal activity in response to food cues in obese individuals compared with non-obese individuals. Our findings warrant further investigation on the potential role of vagally-mediated cue reactivity in overeating and obesity. PMID:24847667

Parsing affective dynamics to identify risk for mood and anxiety disorders.

PubMed

Heller, Aaron S; Fox, Andrew S; Davidson, Richard J

2018-06-04

Emotional dysregulation is thought to underlie risk for both anxiety and depressive disorders. However, despite high rates of comorbidity, anxiety and depression are phenotypically different. Apart from nosological differences (e.g., worry for anxiety, low mood for depression), it remains unclear how the emotional dysregulation inherent in individual differences in trait anxiety and depression severity present on a day-to-day basis. One approach that may facilitate addressing these questions is to utilize Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) using mobile phones to parse the temporal dynamics of affective experiences into specific parameters. An emerging literature in affective science suggests that risk for anxiety and depressive disorders may be associated with variation in the mean and instability/variability of emotion. Here we examine the extent to which distinct temporal dynamic parameters uniquely predict risk for anxiety versus depression. Over 10 days, 105 individuals rated their current positive and negative affective state several times each day. Using two distinct approaches to statistically assess mean and instability of positive and negative affect, we found that individual differences in trait anxiety was generally associated with increased instability of positive and negative affect whereas mean levels of positive and negative affect were generally associated with individual differences in depression. These data provide evidence that the emotional dysregulation underlying risk for mood versus anxiety disorders unfolds in distinct ways and highlights the utility in examining affective dynamics to understand psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Perceptual Learning of Acoustic Noise by Individuals with Dyslexia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agus, Trevor R.; Carrión-Castillo, Amaia; Pressnitzer, Daniel; Ramus, Franck

2014-01-01

Purpose: A phonological deficit is thought to affect most individuals with developmental dyslexia. The present study addresses whether the phonological deficit is caused by difficulties with perceptual learning of fine acoustic details. Method: A demanding test of nonverbal auditory memory, "noise learning," was administered to both…

49 CFR 802.7 - Requests: How, where, and when presented; verification of identity of individuals making requests...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...; verification of identity of individuals making requests; accompanying persons; and procedures for... Procedures and Requirements § 802.7 Requests: How, where, and when presented; verification of identity of... which the record is contained. (d) Verification of identity of requester. (1) For written requests, the...

49 CFR 802.7 - Requests: How, where, and when presented; verification of identity of individuals making requests...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...; verification of identity of individuals making requests; accompanying persons; and procedures for... Procedures and Requirements § 802.7 Requests: How, where, and when presented; verification of identity of... which the record is contained. (d) Verification of identity of requester. (1) For written requests, the...

A Comparative Study of Finland and Chile: The Culture-Dependent Significance of the Individual and Interindividual Levels of the Mathematics-Related Affect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuohilampi, Laura; Laine, Anu; Hannula, Markku S.; Varas, Leonor

2016-01-01

Mathematics-related affect is established regarding both individual and interindividual levels. However, the interaction between the levels has not been elaborated. Furthermore, it is known that people may draw either from intrinsic or extrinsic experiences to construct their identities depending on their cultural environment. Thus, affective…

Emotional state affects gait initiation in individuals with Parkinson’s disease

PubMed Central

Hass, Chris J.; Bowers, Dawn; Janelle, Christopher M.

2013-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to determine the impact of manipulating emotional state on gait initiation in persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and healthy older adults. Following the presentation of pictures that are known to elicit specific emotional responses, participants initiated gait and continued to walk for several steps at their normal pace. Reaction time, the displacement and velocity of the center of pressure (COP) trajectory during the preparatory postural adjustments, and length and velocity of the first two steps were measured. Analysis of the gait initiation measures revealed that exposure to (1) threatening pictures, relative to all other pictures, speeded the initiation of gait for PD patients and healthy older adults; (2) approach-oriented emotional pictures (erotic and happy people), relative to withdrawal-oriented pictures, facilitated the anticipatory postural adjustments of gait initiation for PD patients and healthy older adults, as evidenced by greater displacement and velocity of the COP movement; and (3) emotional pictures modulated gait initiation parameters in PD patients to the same degree as in healthy older adults. Collectively, these findings hold significant implications for understanding the circuitry underlying the manner by which emotions modulate movement and for the development of emotion-based interventions designed to maximize improvements in gait initiation for individuals with PD. PMID:22194236

EVENT PREDICTION AND AFFECTIVE FORECASTING IN DEPRESSIVE COGNITION: USING EMOTION AS INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUTURE.

PubMed

Marroquín, Brett; Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan

2015-02-01

Depression is characterized by a bleak view of the future, but the mechanisms through which depressed mood is integrated into basic processes of future-oriented cognition are unclear. We hypothesized that dysphoric individuals' predictions of what will happen in the future ( likelihood estimation ) and how the future will feel ( affective forecasting ) are attributable to individual differences in incorporating present emotion as judgment-relevant information. Dysphoric individuals ( n = 77) made pessimistic likelihood estimates and blunted positive affective forecasts relative to controls ( n = 84). These differences were mediated by dysphoric individuals' tendencies to rely on negative emotion as information more than controls-and on positive emotion less-independent of anhedonia. These findings suggest that (1) blunted positive affective forecasting is a distinctive component of depressive future-oriented cognition, and (2) future-oriented cognitive processes are linked not just to current emotional state, but also to individual variation in using that emotion as information. This role of individual differences elucidates basic mechanisms in future-oriented cognition, and suggests routes for intervention on interrelated cognitive and affective processes in depression.

Individual differences in susceptibility to inattentional blindness.

PubMed

Seegmiller, Janelle K; Watson, Jason M; Strayer, David L

2011-05-01

Inattentional blindness refers to the finding that people do not always see what appears in their gaze. Though inattentional blindness affects large percentages of people, it is unclear if there are individual differences in susceptibility. The present study addressed whether individual differences in attentional control, as reflected by variability in working memory capacity, modulate susceptibility to inattentional blindness. Participants watched a classic inattentional blindness video (Simons & Chabris, 1999) and were instructed to count passes among basketball players, wherein 58% noticed the unexpected: a person wearing a gorilla suit. When participants were accurate with their pass counts, individuals with higher working memory capacity were more likely to report seeing the gorilla (67%) than those with lesser working memory capacity (36%). These results suggest that variability in attentional control is a potential mechanism underlying the apparent modulation of inattentional blindness across individuals.

Individual heterogeneity in life histories and eco-evolutionary dynamics

PubMed Central

Vindenes, Yngvild; Langangen, Øystein

2015-01-01

Individual heterogeneity in life history shapes eco-evolutionary processes, and unobserved heterogeneity can affect demographic outputs characterising life history and population dynamical properties. Demographic frameworks like matrix models or integral projection models represent powerful approaches to disentangle mechanisms linking individual life histories and population-level processes. Recent developments have provided important steps towards their application to study eco-evolutionary dynamics, but so far individual heterogeneity has largely been ignored. Here, we present a general demographic framework that incorporates individual heterogeneity in a flexible way, by separating static and dynamic traits (discrete or continuous). First, we apply the framework to derive the consequences of ignoring heterogeneity for a range of widely used demographic outputs. A general conclusion is that besides the long-term growth rate lambda, all parameters can be affected. Second, we discuss how the framework can help advance current demographic models of eco-evolutionary dynamics, by incorporating individual heterogeneity. For both applications numerical examples are provided, including an empirical example for pike. For instance, we demonstrate that predicted demographic responses to climate warming can be reversed by increased heritability. We discuss how applications of this demographic framework incorporating individual heterogeneity can help answer key biological questions that require a detailed understanding of eco-evolutionary dynamics. PMID:25807980

Crohn's disease in adolescence: presentation and treatment.

PubMed

Cullen, Mick; Barnes, Claire

2015-05-13

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel condition that affects more than 115,000 people in the UK. This article focuses on Crohn's disease in adolescents. Management of the condition in this group should address adolescent-specific characteristics and treatment goals. Key elements include optimising growth, pubertal development and social functioning, including education. The condition can affect an individual's mental and emotional wellbeing significantly, as well as their physical health. As adolescence is a time of great change, the additional burden of a chronic illness can prove difficult to manage. The authors provide information on the presentation of Crohn's disease in adolescence and insights into the particular issues encountered by this group.

Melorheostosis of the hand affecting the c6 sclerotome and presenting with carpal tunnel syndrome

PubMed Central

Abdullah, Shalimar; Nor, Noreen Fazlina Mat; Haflah, Nor Hazla Mohamed

2014-01-01

Melorheostosis is a rare, progressive bone disease accompanied by hyperostosis and soft tissue fibrosis. While affected adults present with contracture and pain, children present with limb length discrepancy and deformity. We report the case of a 20-year-old woman with melorheostosis since childhood who presented with right hand deformity and numbness. Radiographs showed not only a combination of dense sclerosis and opacities, but also the classic ‘flowing candle wax’ appearance. Radiography can be used to identify melorheostosis, thus preventing unnecessary bone biopsies. Carpal tunnel release revealed the presence of a thickened flexor retinaculum and a degenerated median nerve distal to the retinaculum, but did not show hyperostosis. This case highlights the role of nerve decompression in melorheostosis and the importance of early identification of the disease to prevent unnecessary bone biopsies. PMID:24763843

Melorheostosis of the hand affecting the c6 sclerotome and presenting with carpal tunnel syndrome.

PubMed

Abdullah, Shalimar; Mat Nor, Noreen Fazlina; Mohamed Haflah, Nor Hazla

2014-04-01

Melorheostosis is a rare, progressive bone disease accompanied by hyperostosis and soft tissue fibrosis. While affected adults present with contracture and pain, children present with limb length discrepancy and deformity. We report the case of a 20-year-old woman with melorheostosis since childhood who presented with right hand deformity and numbness. Radiographs showed not only a combination of dense sclerosis and opacities, but also the classic 'flowing candle wax' appearance. Radiography can be used to identify melorheostosis, thus preventing unnecessary bone biopsies. Carpal tunnel release revealed the presence of a thickened flexor retinaculum and a degenerated median nerve distal to the retinaculum, but did not show hyperostosis. This case highlights the role of nerve decompression in melorheostosis and the importance of early identification of the disease to prevent unnecessary bone biopsies.

Is organizational justice climate at the workplace associated with individual-level quality of care and organizational affective commitment? A multi-level, cross-sectional study on dentistry in Sweden.

PubMed

Berthelsen, Hanne; Conway, Paul Maurice; Clausen, Thomas

2018-02-01

The aim of this study is to investigate whether organizational justice climate at the workplace level is associated with individual staff members' perceptions of care quality and affective commitment to the workplace. The study adopts a cross-sectional multi-level design. Data were collected using an electronic survey and a response rate of 75% was obtained. Organizational justice climate and affective commitment to the workplace were measured by items from Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire and quality of care by three self-developed items. Non-managerial staff working at dental clinics with at least five respondents (n = 900 from 68 units) was included in analyses. A set of Level-2 random intercept models were built to predict individual-level organizational affective commitment and perceived quality of care from unit-level organizational justice climate, controlling for potential confounding by group size, gender, age, and occupation. The results of the empty model showed substantial between-unit variation for both affective commitment (ICC-1 = 0.17) and quality of care (ICC-1 = 0.12). The overall results showed that the shared perception of organizational justice climate at the clinical unit level was significantly associated with perceived quality of care and affective commitment to the organization (p < 0.001). Organizational justice climate at work unit level explained all variation in affective commitment among dental clinics and was associated with both the individual staff members' affective commitment and perceived quality of care. These findings suggest a potential for that addressing organizational justice climate may be a way to promote quality of care and enhancing affective commitment. However, longitudinal studies are needed to support causality in the examined relationships. Intervention research is also recommended to probe the effectiveness of actions increasing unit-level organizational justice climate and test their impact on

How emotions affect eating: a five-way model.

PubMed

Macht, Michael

2008-01-01

Despite the importance of affective processes in eating behaviour, it remains difficult to predict how emotions affect eating. Emphasizing individual differences, previous research did not pay full attention to the twofold variability of emotion-induced changes of eating (variability across both individuals and emotions). By contrast, the present paper takes into account both individual characteristics and emotion features, and specifies five classes of emotion-induced changes of eating: (1) emotional control of food choice, (2) emotional suppression of food intake, (3) impairment of cognitive eating controls, (4) eating to regulate emotions, and (5) emotion-congruent modulation of eating. These classes are distinguished by antecedent conditions, eating responses and mediating mechanisms. They point to basic functional principles underlying the relations between emotions and biologically based motives: interference, concomitance and regulation. Thus, emotion-induced changes of eating can be a result of interference of eating by emotions, a by-product of emotions, and a consequence of regulatory processes (i.e., emotions may regulate eating, and eating may regulate emotions).

Individual differences in cardiorespiratory measures of mental workload: An investigation of negative affectivity and cognitive avoidant coping in pilot candidates.

PubMed

Grassmann, Mariel; Vlemincx, Elke; von Leupoldt, Andreas; Van den Bergh, Omer

2017-03-01

Cardiorespiratory measures provide useful information in addition to well-established self-report measures when monitoring operator capacity. The purpose of our study was to refine the assessment of operator load by considering individual differences in personality and their associations with cardiorespiratory activation. Physiological and self-report measures were analyzed in 115 pilot candidates at rest and while performing a multiple task covering perceptual speed, spatial orientation, and working memory. In the total sample and particularly in individuals with a general tendency to worry a lot, a cognitive avoidant coping style was associated with a smaller task-related increase in heart rate. Negative affectivity was found to moderate the association between cardiac and self-reported arousal. Given that physiological and self-report measures of mental workload are usually combined when evaluating operator load (e.g., in pilot selection and training), our findings suggest that integrating individual differences may reduce unexplained variance and increase the validity of workload assessments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Epilepsy due to PNPO mutations: genotype, environment and treatment affect presentation and outcome

PubMed Central

Mills, Philippa B.; Camuzeaux, Stephane S.M.; Footitt, Emma J.; Mills, Kevin A.; Gissen, Paul; Fisher, Laura; Das, Krishna B.; Varadkar, Sophia M.; Zuberi, Sameer; McWilliam, Robert; Stödberg, Tommy; Plecko, Barbara; Baumgartner, Matthias R.; Maier, Oliver; Calvert, Sophie; Riney, Kate; Wolf, Nicole I.; Livingston, John H.; Bala, Pronab; Morel, Chantal F.; Feillet, François; Raimondi, Francesco; Del Giudice, Ennio; Chong, W. Kling; Pitt, Matthew

2014-01-01

The first described patients with pyridox(am)ine 5’-phosphate oxidase deficiency all had neonatal onset seizures that did not respond to treatment with pyridoxine but responded to treatment with pyridoxal 5’-phosphate. Our data suggest, however, that the clinical spectrum of pyridox(am)ine 5’-phosphate oxidase deficiency is much broader than has been reported in the literature. Sequencing of the PNPO gene was undertaken for a cohort of 82 individuals who had shown a reduction in frequency and severity of seizures in response to pyridoxine or pyridoxal 5’-phosphate. Novel sequence changes were studied using a new cell-free expression system and a mass spectrometry-based assay for pyridoxamine phosphate oxidase. Three groups of patients with PNPO mutations that had reduced enzyme activity were identified: (i) patients with neonatal onset seizures responding to pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (n = 6); (ii) a patient with infantile spasms (onset 5 months) responsive to pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (n = 1); and (iii) patients with seizures starting under 3 months of age responding to pyridoxine (n = 8). Data suggest that certain genotypes (R225H/C and D33V) are more likely to result in seizures that to respond to treatment with pyridoxine. Other mutations seem to be associated with infertility, miscarriage and prematurity. However, the situation is clearly complex with the same combination of mutations being seen in patients who responded and did not respond to pyridoxine. It is possible that pyridoxine responsiveness in PNPO deficiency is affected by prematurity and age at the time of the therapeutic trial. Other additional factors that are likely to influence treatment response and outcome include riboflavin status and how well the foetus has been supplied with vitamin B6 by the mother. For some patients there was a worsening of symptoms on changing from pyridoxine to pyridoxal 5’-phosphate. Many of the mutations in PNPO affected residues involved in binding flavin

Gitelman syndrome in a South African family presenting with hypokalaemia and unusual food cravings.

PubMed

van der Merwe, Pieter Du Toit; Rensburg, Megan A; Haylett, William L; Bardien, Soraya; Davids, M Razeen

2017-01-26

Gitelman syndrome (GS) is an autosomal recessive renal tubular disorder characterised by renal salt wasting with hypokalaemia, metabolic alkalosis, hypomagnesaemia and hypocalciuria. It is caused by mutations in SLC12A3 encoding the sodium-chloride cotransporter on the apical membrane of the distal convoluted tubule. We report a South African family with five affected individuals presenting with hypokalaemia and unusual food cravings. The affected individuals and two unaffected first degree relatives were enrolled into the study. Phenotypes were evaluated through history, physical examination and biochemical analysis of blood and urine. Mutation screening was performed by sequencing of SLC12A3, and determining the allele frequencies of the sequence variants found in this family in 117 ethnically matched controls. The index patient, her sister, father and two aunts had a history of severe salt cravings, fatigue and tetanic episodes, leading to consumption of large quantities of salt and vinegar. All affected individuals demonstrated hypokalaemia with renal potassium wasting. Genetic analysis revealed that the pseudo-dominant pattern of inheritance was due to compound heterozygosity with two novel mutations: a S546G substitution in exon 13, and insertion of AGCCCC at c.1930 in exon 16. These variants were present in the five affected individuals, but only one variant each in the unaffected family members. Neither variant was found in any of the controls. The diagnosis of GS was established in five members of a South African family through clinical assessment, biochemical analysis and mutation screening of the SLC12A3 gene, which identified two novel putative pathogenic mutations.

The Affective Gatekeeper: A Synthesis of Perspectives on Creativity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bagley, Dan S., III

1979-01-01

The article presents research reports on the nature of creativity, including such elements as its characteristics; the function of the affective gatekeeper (which filters the "reality" perceived by each individual); the constructs of perception; and the functions of role playing, altered states of consciousness, and fantasy. (PHR)

Body-related cognitions, affect and post-event processing in body dysmorphic disorder.

PubMed

Kollei, Ines; Martin, Alexandra

2014-03-01

Cognitive behavioural models postulate that individuals with BDD engage in negative appearance-related appraisals and affect. External representations of one's appearance are thought to activate a specific mode of processing characterized by increased self-focused attention and an activation of negative appraisals and affect. The present study used a think-aloud approach including an in vivo body exposure to examine body-related cognitions and affect in individuals with BDD (n = 30), as compared to individuals with major depression (n = 30) and healthy controls (n = 30). Participants were instructed to think aloud during baseline, exposure and follow-up trials. Individuals with BDD verbalized more body-related and more negative body-related cognitions during all trials and reported higher degrees of negative affect than both control groups. A weaker increase of positive body-related cognitions during exposure, a stronger increase of sadness and anger after exposure and higher levels of post-event processing, were specific processes in individuals with BDD. Individuals with major depression were not excluded from the BDD group. This is associated with a reduction of internal validity, as the two clinical groups are somewhat interwoven. Key findings need to be replicated. The findings indicate that outcomes such as negative appearance-related cognitions and affect are specific to individuals with BDD. An external representation of one's appearance activates a specific mode of processing in BDD, manifesting itself in the absence of positive body-related cognitions, increased anger and sadness, and high levels of post-event processing. These specific processes may contribute toward maintenance of BDD psychopathology. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Verbal versus Numerical Probabilities: Does Format Presentation of Probabilistic Information regarding Breast Cancer Screening Affect Women's Comprehension?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vahabi, Mandana

2010-01-01

Objective: To test whether the format in which women receive probabilistic information about breast cancer and mammography affects their comprehension. Methods: A convenience sample of 180 women received pre-assembled randomized packages containing a breast health information brochure, with probabilities presented in either verbal or numeric…

Toward Affective Development: A Program to Stimulate Psychological and Affective Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearl, Linda F.

1987-01-01

Toward Affective Development (TAD), a 191-lesson program designed to stimulate psychological and affective development for third- through sixth-graders, can be used in special education, resource rooms, and remedial settings. TAD's five sections encompass: openness to experience, effects of emotions, group dynamics, individuality, and conflict…

Modeling Individual Differences in Within-Person Variation of Negative and Positive Affect in a Mixed Effects Location Scale Model Using BUGS/JAGS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rast, Philippe; Hofer, Scott M.; Sparks, Catharine

2012-01-01

A mixed effects location scale model was used to model and explain individual differences in within-person variability of negative and positive affect across 7 days (N=178) within a measurement burst design. The data come from undergraduate university students and are pooled from a study that was repeated at two consecutive years. Individual…

Intra-individual and inter-individual variations in sperm aneuploidy frequencies in normal men.

PubMed

Tempest, Helen G; Ko, Evelyn; Rademaker, Alfred; Chan, Peter; Robaire, Bernard; Martin, Renée H

2009-01-01

To investigate whether there are intra-individual and/or inter-individual variations in sperm aneuploidy frequencies within the normal male population, and, if this is the case, whether they are sporadic or time-stable variants. Prospective study. University research laboratory. Ten men aged 18-32 years. None. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to investigate sperm aneuploidy frequencies for chromosomes X, Y, 13, and 21 in serial semen samples collected over a period of 12-18 months. Intra-individual and inter-individual variations were investigated by comparing serial samples from the same donor and by comparing the donors with each other, respectively. Intra-individual variations were found in all 10 donors for at least one investigated chromosome; variations tended to be sporadic events affecting only one time point. Inter-individual variations were found for all chromosomes (except XX and YY disomy and disomy 21), with three men identified as stable variants, consistently producing higher levels of aneuploidy for at least one of the following aneuploidies: sex chromosome nullisomy; disomy 13, or diploidy. These results suggest that there are a number of factors and mechanisms that have the potential to sporadically or consistently affect sperm aneuploidy.

Effect of intrinsic motivation on affective responses during and after exercise: latent curve model analysis.

PubMed

Shin, Myoungjin; Kim, Inwoo; Kwon, Sungho

2014-12-01

Understanding the relationship between affect and exercise is helpful in predicting human behavior with respect to exercise participation. The goals of the present study were to investigate individual differences in affective response during and after exercise and to identify the role of intrinsic motivation in affective changes. 30 active male college students (M age = 21.4 yr.) who regularly participated in sports activities volunteered to answer a questionnaire measuring intrinsic motivation toward running activities and performed a 20-min. straight running protocol at heavy intensity (about 70% of VO2max). Participants' affective responses were measured every 5 min. from the beginning of the run to 10 min. after completing the run. Latent curve model analysis indicated that individuals experienced different changes in affective state during exercise, moderated by intrinsic motivation. Higher intrinsic motivation was associated with more positive affect during exercise. There were no significant individual differences in the positive tendency of the participants' affective responses after exercise over time. Intrinsic motivation seems to facilitate positive feelings during exercise and encourages participation in exercise.

The fading affect bias shows positive outcomes at the general but not the individual level of analysis in the context of social media.

PubMed

Gibbons, Jeffrey A; Horowitz, Kyle A; Dunlap, Spencer M

2017-08-01

Unpleasant affect fades faster than pleasant affect (e.g., Walker, Vogl, & Thompson, 1997); this effect is referred to as the Fading Affect Bias (FAB; Walker, Skowronski, Gibbons, Vogl, & Thompson, 2003a). Research shows that the FAB is consistently related to positive/healthy outcomes at a general but not at a specific level of analysis based on event types and individual differences (e.g., Gibbons et al., 2013). Based on the positive outcomes for FAB and negative outcomes for social media (Bolton et al., 2013; Huang, 2010), the current study examined FAB in the context of social media events along with related individual differences. General positive outcomes were shown in the form of robust FAB effects across social media and non-social media events, a larger FAB for non-social media events than for social media events, negative correlations of FAB with depression, anxiety, and stress as well as a positive correlation of FAB with self-esteem. However, the lack of a negative correlation between FAB and anxiety for social media events in a 3-way interaction did not show positive outcomes at a specific level of analysis. Rehearsal ratings mediated the 3-way interaction. Implications are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors Affecting Parent’s Perception on Air Quality—From the Individual to the Community Level

PubMed Central

Guo, Yulin; Liu, Fengfeng; Lu, Yuanan; Mao, Zongfu; Lu, Hanson; Wu, Yanyan; Chu, Yuanyuan; Yu, Lichen; Liu, Yisi; Ren, Meng; Li, Na; Chen, Xi; Xiang, Hao

2016-01-01

The perception of air quality significantly affects the acceptance of the public of the government’s environmental policies. The aim of this research is to explore the relationship between the perception of the air quality of parents and scientific monitoring data and to analyze the factors that affect parents’ perceptions. Scientific data of air quality were obtained from Wuhan’s environmental condition reports. One thousand parents were investigated for their knowledge and perception of air quality. Scientific data show that the air quality of Wuhan follows an improving trend in general, while most participants believed that the air quality of Wuhan has deteriorated, which indicates a significant difference between public perception and reality. On the individual level, respondents with an age of 40 or above (40 or above: OR = 3.252; 95% CI: 1.170–9.040), a higher educational level (college and above: OR = 7.598; 95% CI: 2.244–25.732) or children with poor healthy conditions (poor: OR = 6.864; 95% CI: 2.212–21.302) have much more negative perception of air quality. On the community level, industrial facilities, vehicles and city construction have major effects on parents’ perception of air quality. Our investigation provides baseline information for environmental policy researchers and makers regarding the public’s perception and expectation of air quality and the benefits to the environmental policy completing and enforcing. PMID:27187432

Emotional Granularity Effects on Event-Related Brain Potentials during Affective Picture Processing

PubMed Central

Lee, Ja Y.; Lindquist, Kristen A.; Nam, Chang S.

2017-01-01

There is debate about whether emotional granularity, the tendency to label emotions in a nuanced and specific manner, is merely a product of labeling abilities, or a systematic difference in the experience of emotion during emotionally evocative events. According to the Conceptual Act Theory of Emotion (CAT) (Barrett, 2006), emotional granularity is due to the latter and is a product of on-going temporal differences in how individuals categorize and thus make meaning of their affective states. To address this question, the present study investigated the effects of individual differences in emotional granularity on electroencephalography-based brain activity during the experience of emotion in response to affective images. Event-related potentials (ERP) and event-related desynchronization and synchronization (ERD/ERS) analysis techniques were used. We found that ERP responses during the very early (60–90 ms), middle (270–300 ms), and later (540–570 ms) moments of stimulus presentation were associated with individuals’ level of granularity. We also observed that highly granular individuals, compared to lowly granular individuals, exhibited relatively stable desynchronization of alpha power (8–12 Hz) and synchronization of gamma power (30–50 Hz) during the 3 s of stimulus presentation. Overall, our results suggest that emotional granularity is related to differences in neural processing throughout emotional experiences and that high granularity could be associated with access to executive control resources and a more habitual processing of affective stimuli, or a kind of “emotional complexity.” Implications for models of emotion are also discussed. PMID:28392761

48 CFR 501.403 - Individual deviations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Individual deviations. 501... Individual deviations. (a) An individual deviation affects only one contract action. (1) The Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA) must approve an individual deviation to the FAR. The authority to grant an...

What's in a face? The role of skin tone, facial physiognomy, and color presentation mode of facial primes in affective priming effects.

PubMed

Stepanova, Elena V; Strube, Michael J

2012-01-01

Participants (N = 106) performed an affective priming task with facial primes that varied in their skin tone and facial physiognomy, and, which were presented either in color or in gray-scale. Participants' racial evaluations were more positive for Eurocentric than for Afrocentric physiognomy faces. Light skin tone faces were evaluated more positively than dark skin tone faces, but the magnitude of this effect depended on the mode of color presentation. The results suggest that in affective priming tasks, faces might not be processed holistically, and instead, visual features of facial priming stimuli independently affect implicit evaluations.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN IMPULSIVE CHOICE AND TIMING IN RATS

PubMed Central

Galtress, Tiffany; Garcia, Ana; Kirkpatrick, Kimberly

2012-01-01

Individual differences in impulsive choice behavior have been linked to a variety of behavioral problems including substance abuse, smoking, gambling, and poor financial decision-making. Given the potential importance of individual differences in impulsive choice as a predictor of behavioral problems, the present study sought to measure the extent of individual differences in a normal sample of hooded Lister rats. Three experiments utilized variations of a delay discounting task to measure the degree of variation in impulsive choice behavior across individual rats. The individual differences accounted for 22–55% of the variance in choice behavior across the three experiments. In Experiments 2 and 3, the individual differences were still apparent when behavior was measured across multiple choice points. Large individual differences in the rate of responding, and modest individual differences in timing of responding were also observed during occasional peak trials. The individual differences in timing and rate, however, did not correlate consistently with individual differences in choice behavior. This suggests that a variety of factors may affect choice behavior, response rate, and response timing. PMID:22851792

Neural mechanisms mediating contingent capture of attention by affective stimuli

PubMed Central

Reeck, Crystal; LaBar, Kevin S.; Egner, Tobias

2013-01-01

Attention is attracted exogenously by physically salient stimuli, but this effect can be dampened by endogenous attention settings, a phenomenon called “contingent capture”. Emotionally salient stimuli are also thought to exert a strong exogenous influence on attention, especially in anxious individuals, but whether and how top-down attention can ameliorate bottom-up capture by affective stimuli is currently unknown. Here, we paired a novel spatial cueing task with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in order to investigate contingent capture as a function of the affective salience of bottom-up cues (face stimuli) and individual differences in trait anxiety. In the absence of top-down cues, exogenous stimuli validly cueing targets facilitated attention in low anxious participants, regardless of affective salience. However, while high anxious participants exhibited similar facilitation following neutral exogenous cues, this facilitation was completely absent following affectively negative exogenous cues. Critically, these effects were contingent on endogenous attentional settings, such that explicit top-down cues presented prior to the appearance of exogenous stimuli removed anxious individuals’ sensitivity to affectively salient stimuli. FMRI analyses revealed a network of brain regions underlying this variability in affective contingent capture across individuals, including the fusiform face area (FFA), posterior ventrolateral frontal cortex, and supplementary motor area. Importantly, activation in the posterior ventrolateral frontal cortex and the supplementary motor area fully mediated the effects observed in FFA, demonstrating a critical role for these frontal regions in mediating attentional orienting and interference resolution processes when engaged by affectively salient stimuli. PMID:22360642

Effect of workplace incivility on end-of-work negative affect: examining individual and organizational moderators in a daily diary study.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhiqing E; Yan, Yu; Che, Xin Xuan; Meier, Laurenz L

2015-01-01

Although previous studies have linked workplace incivility with various negative outcomes, they mainly focused on the long-term effects of chronic exposure to workplace incivility, whereas targets' short-term reactions to incivility episodes have been largely neglected. Using a daily diary design, the current study examined effects of daily workplace incivility on end-of-work negative affect and explored potential individual and organizational moderators. Data collected from 76 full-time employees across 10 consecutive working days revealed that daily workplace incivility positively predicted end-of-work negative affect while controlling for before-work negative affect. Further, the relationship was stronger for people with low emotional stability, high hostile attribution bias, external locus of control, and people experiencing low chronic workload and more chronic organizational constraints, as compared with people with high emotional stability, low hostile attribution bias, internal locus of control, and people experiencing high chronic workload and fewer chronic organizational constraints, respectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved). PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Age and Achalasia: How Does Age Affect Patient Presentation, Hospital Course, and Surgical Outcomes?

PubMed

Downs, Darrell J; Jadick, Giavanna; Swaid, Forat; Ross, Sharona B; Rosemurgy, Alexander S

2017-09-01

Heller myotomy is the "gold-standard" therapy for achalasia, alleviating symptoms by defunctionalizing the lower esophageal sphincter mechanism. Observation has suggested many differences between young and old patients with achalasia, raising the question: is achalasia in younger patients a different disorder than it is in older patients? This study was undertaken to answer this question. With Institutional Review Board approval, 648 patients undergoing laparoscopic Heller myotomy from 1992-2016 were prospectively followed up. Patients self-assessed symptom frequency/severity preoperatively and postoperatively using a Likert scale; 0 (never/not bothersome) to 10 (always/very bothersome). Before myotomy, frequency/severity of many symptoms (e.g., "dysphagia," "chest pain," and "regurgitation") inversely correlated with age (P < 0.01 each). Symptom duration and the number of previous abdominal operations correlated with age, as did intraoperative complications (e.g., gastrotomy), postoperative complications (e.g., atrial fibrillation), and length of stay (P < 0.01 for each). Patients experienced amelioration of all symptoms queried, regardless of age (P < 0.01 each). Age did affect outcome because older patients had less frequent and severe symptoms. Age did not affect improvement of symptoms (e.g., dysphagia) (i.e., differences between preoperative and postoperative scores) (P = 0.88). Age did not influence symptom resolution or patient satisfaction (P = 0.98 and P = 0.15, respectively). The presentation with achalasia, hospital course, and outcome after myotomy are significantly impacted by age, whereas patient improvement after myotomy is constant independent of age. Younger and older patients have different presentations, experiences, and outcomes; these patients seem to have "different disorders", but Heller myotomy provides similar significant amelioration of symptoms independent of age.

The role of psychological resilience and positive affect in risky decision-making.

PubMed

Xing, Cai; Sun, Jian-min

2013-01-01

Past studies suggest that positive affect produces a wide range of desirable outcomes because it helps people build lasting resources. It may be assumed that these resources build on positive affect over time, which in turn may explain the beneficial effect of positive affect in stressful encounters. However, this assumption has not been directly tested by empirical studies. This question is important in that it helps clarify the underlying mechanism through which individuals with more positive affect might respond adaptively to adverse situations. Using a stressful task that included 20 rounds of risky investment choices, the current study examined whether psychological resilience, an important personal resource fuelled by positive affect, could account for the beneficial effects of positive affect. Specifically, we examined the relationship between individuals' baseline levels of positive affect, their levels of psychological resilience, their choices in a risky investment decision task, and their levels of positive affect on the final investment task. The results demonstrate that psychological resilience could indeed help explain happier people's enhanced outcomes: They chose higher return although more risky investment options and experienced more positive affect at the end of the task. The current study supports the notion that individuals who experience frequent positive affect thrive through various challenges not simply because they feel good, but because they have resources that they can utilize to deal with these challenges. Findings from the present study support further investigation of the important relationship between specific positive affect, psychological resilience, and performance in risky investment tasks.

Speckled lentiginous nevus: A rare presentation associated with motor neuropathy and muscular atrophy in a child.

PubMed

Greywal, Tanya; Matiz, Catalina

2018-05-01

Speckled lentiginous nevus syndrome has been described in individuals with a speckled lentiginous nevus with rare associated neurologic deficits. Because speckled lentiginous nevus syndrome almost always affects adults, it is not typically considered when evaluating children. We present the first reported case of speckled lentiginous nevus syndrome presenting in a young child with muscle atrophy and motor deficits affecting muscles along the same distribution as the speckled lentiginous nevus. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Individual differences in language and working memory affect children's speech recognition in noise.

PubMed

McCreery, Ryan W; Spratford, Meredith; Kirby, Benjamin; Brennan, Marc

2017-05-01

We examined how cognitive and linguistic skills affect speech recognition in noise for children with normal hearing. Children with better working memory and language abilities were expected to have better speech recognition in noise than peers with poorer skills in these domains. As part of a prospective, cross-sectional study, children with normal hearing completed speech recognition in noise for three types of stimuli: (1) monosyllabic words, (2) syntactically correct but semantically anomalous sentences and (3) semantically and syntactically anomalous word sequences. Measures of vocabulary, syntax and working memory were used to predict individual differences in speech recognition in noise. Ninety-six children with normal hearing, who were between 5 and 12 years of age. Higher working memory was associated with better speech recognition in noise for all three stimulus types. Higher vocabulary abilities were associated with better recognition in noise for sentences and word sequences, but not for words. Working memory and language both influence children's speech recognition in noise, but the relationships vary across types of stimuli. These findings suggest that clinical assessment of speech recognition is likely to reflect underlying cognitive and linguistic abilities, in addition to a child's auditory skills, consistent with the Ease of Language Understanding model.

Individual differences in automatic emotion regulation affect the asymmetry of the LPP component.

PubMed

Zhang, Jing; Zhou, Renlai

2014-01-01

The main goal of this study was to investigate how automatic emotion regulation altered the hemispheric asymmetry of ERPs elicited by emotion processing. We examined the effect of individual differences in automatic emotion regulation on the late positive potential (LPP) when participants were viewing blocks of positive high arousal, positive low arousal, negative high arousal and negative low arousal pictures from International affect picture system (IAPS). Two participant groups were categorized by the Emotion Regulation-Implicit Association Test which has been used in previous research to identify two groups of participants with automatic emotion control and with automatic emotion express. The main finding was that automatic emotion express group showed a right dominance of the LPP component at posterior electrodes, especially in high arousal conditions. But no right dominance of the LPP component was observed for automatic emotion control group. We also found the group with automatic emotion control showed no differences in the right posterior LPP amplitude between high- and low-arousal emotion conditions, while the participants with automatic emotion express showed larger LPP amplitude in the right posterior in high-arousal conditions compared to low-arousal conditions. This result suggested that AER (Automatic emotion regulation) modulated the hemispheric asymmetry of LPP on posterior electrodes and supported the right hemisphere hypothesis.

Dispositional Mindfulness Predicts Adaptive Affective Responses to Health Messages and Increased Exercise Motivation

PubMed Central

O’Donnell, Matthew Brook; Strecher, Victor J.; Falk, Emily B.

2016-01-01

Feelings can shape how people respond to persuasive messages. In health communication, adaptive affective responses to potentially threating messages constitute one key to intervention success. The current study tested dispositional mindfulness, characterized by awareness of the present moment, as a predictor of adaptive affective responses to potentially threatening health messages and desirable subsequent health outcomes. Both general and discrete negative affective states (i.e., shame) were examined in relation to mindfulness and intervention success. Individuals (n=67) who reported less than 195 weekly minutes of exercise were recruited. At baseline, participants’ dispositional mindfulness and exercise outcomes were assessed, including self-reported exercise motivation and physical activity. A week later, all participants were presented with potentially threatening and self-relevant health messages encouraging physical activity and discouraging sedentary lifestyle, and their subsequent affective response and exercise motivation were assessed. Approximately one month later, changes in exercise motivation and physical activity were assessed again. In addition, participants’ level of daily physical activity was monitored by a wrist worn accelerometer throughout the entire duration of the study. Higher dispositional mindfulness predicted greater increases in exercise motivation one month after the intervention. Importantly, this effect was fully mediated by lower negative affect and shame specifically, in response to potentially threatening health messages among highly mindful individuals. Baseline mindfulness was also associated with increased self-reported vigorous activity, but not with daily physical activity as assessed by accelerometers. These findings suggest potential benefits of considering mindfulness as an active individual difference variable in theories of affective processing and health communication. PMID:28344683

Dispositional Mindfulness Predicts Adaptive Affective Responses to Health Messages and Increased Exercise Motivation.

PubMed

Kang, Yoona; O'Donnell, Matthew Brook; Strecher, Victor J; Falk, Emily B

2017-04-01

Feelings can shape how people respond to persuasive messages. In health communication, adaptive affective responses to potentially threating messages constitute one key to intervention success. The current study tested dispositional mindfulness, characterized by awareness of the present moment, as a predictor of adaptive affective responses to potentially threatening health messages and desirable subsequent health outcomes. Both general and discrete negative affective states (i.e., shame) were examined in relation to mindfulness and intervention success. Individuals (n=67) who reported less than 195 weekly minutes of exercise were recruited. At baseline, participants' dispositional mindfulness and exercise outcomes were assessed, including self-reported exercise motivation and physical activity. A week later, all participants were presented with potentially threatening and self-relevant health messages encouraging physical activity and discouraging sedentary lifestyle, and their subsequent affective response and exercise motivation were assessed. Approximately one month later, changes in exercise motivation and physical activity were assessed again. In addition, participants' level of daily physical activity was monitored by a wrist worn accelerometer throughout the entire duration of the study. Higher dispositional mindfulness predicted greater increases in exercise motivation one month after the intervention. Importantly, this effect was fully mediated by lower negative affect and shame specifically, in response to potentially threatening health messages among highly mindful individuals. Baseline mindfulness was also associated with increased self-reported vigorous activity, but not with daily physical activity as assessed by accelerometers. These findings suggest potential benefits of considering mindfulness as an active individual difference variable in theories of affective processing and health communication.

Does erotic stimulus presentation design affect brain activation patterns? Event-related vs. blocked fMRI designs.

PubMed

Bühler, Mira; Vollstädt-Klein, Sabine; Klemen, Jane; Smolka, Michael N

2008-07-22

Existing brain imaging studies, investigating sexual arousal via the presentation of erotic pictures or film excerpts, have mainly used blocked designs with long stimulus presentation times. To clarify how experimental functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) design affects stimulus-induced brain activity, we compared brief event-related presentation of erotic vs. neutral stimuli with blocked presentation in 10 male volunteers. Brain activation differed depending on design type in only 10% of the voxels showing task related brain activity. Differences between blocked and event-related stimulus presentation were found in occipitotemporal and temporal regions (Brodmann Area (BA) 19, 37, 48), parietal areas (BA 7, 40) and areas in the frontal lobe (BA 6, 44). Our results suggest that event-related designs might be a potential alternative when the core interest is the detection of networks associated with immediate processing of erotic stimuli.Additionally, blocked, compared to event-related, stimulus presentation allows the emergence and detection of non-specific secondary processes, such as sustained attention, motor imagery and inhibition of sexual arousal.

Does erotic stimulus presentation design affect brain activation patterns? Event-related vs. blocked fMRI designs

PubMed Central

Bühler, Mira; Vollstädt-Klein, Sabine; Klemen, Jane; Smolka, Michael N

2008-01-01

Background Existing brain imaging studies, investigating sexual arousal via the presentation of erotic pictures or film excerpts, have mainly used blocked designs with long stimulus presentation times. Methods To clarify how experimental functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) design affects stimulus-induced brain activity, we compared brief event-related presentation of erotic vs. neutral stimuli with blocked presentation in 10 male volunteers. Results Brain activation differed depending on design type in only 10% of the voxels showing task related brain activity. Differences between blocked and event-related stimulus presentation were found in occipitotemporal and temporal regions (Brodmann Area (BA) 19, 37, 48), parietal areas (BA 7, 40) and areas in the frontal lobe (BA 6, 44). Conclusion Our results suggest that event-related designs might be a potential alternative when the core interest is the detection of networks associated with immediate processing of erotic stimuli. Additionally, blocked, compared to event-related, stimulus presentation allows the emergence and detection of non-specific secondary processes, such as sustained attention, motor imagery and inhibition of sexual arousal. PMID:18647397

Phenotype, penetrance, and treatment of 133 CTLA-4-insufficient individuals.

PubMed

Schwab, Charlotte; Gabrysch, Annemarie; Olbrich, Peter; Patiño, Virginia; Warnatz, Klaus; Wolff, Daniel; Hoshino, Akihiro; Kobayashi, Masao; Imai, Kohsuke; Takagi, Masatoshi; Dybedal, Ingunn; Haddock, Jamanda A; Sansom, David; Lucena, Jose M; Seidl, Maximilian; Schmitt-Gräff, Annette; Reiser, Veronika; Emmerich, Florian; Frede, Natalie; Bulashevska, Alla; Salzer, Ulrich; Schubert, Desirée; Hayakawa, Seiichi; Okada, Satoshi; Kanariou, Maria; Kucuk, Zeynep Yesim; Chapdelaine, Hugo; Petruzelkova, Lenka; Sumnik, Zdenek; Sediva, Anna; Slatter, Mary; Arkwright, Peter D; Cant, Andrew; Lorenz, Hanns-Martin; Giese, Thomas; Lougaris, Vassilios; Plebani, Alessandro; Price, Christina; Sullivan, Kathleen E; Moutschen, Michel; Litzman, Jiri; Freiberger, Tomas; van de Veerdonk, Frank L; Recher, Mike; Albert, Michael H; Hauck, Fabian; Seneviratne, Suranjith; Schmid, Jana Pachlopnik; Kolios, Antonios; Unglik, Gary; Klemann, Christian; Speckmann, Carsten; Ehl, Stephan; Leichtner, Alan; Blumberg, Richard; Franke, Andre; Snapper, Scott; Zeissig, Sebastian; Cunningham-Rundles, Charlotte; Giulino-Roth, Lisa; Elemento, Olivier; Dückers, Gregor; Niehues, Tim; Fronkova, Eva; Kanderová, Veronika; Platt, Craig D; Chou, Janet; Chatila, Talal; Geha, Raif; McDermott, Elizabeth; Bunn, Su; Kurzai, Monika; Schulz, Ansgar; Alsina, Laia; Casals, Ferran; Deyà-Martinez, Angela; Hambleton, Sophie; Kanegane, Hirokazu; Taskén, Kjetil; Neth, Olaf; Grimbacher, Bodo

2018-05-04

Cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte-antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is a negative immune regulator. Heterozygous CTLA4 germline mutations can cause a complex immune dysregulation syndrome in humans. To characterize the penetrance, the clinical features and the best treatment options in 133 CTLA4 mutation carriers. Genetics, clinical features, laboratory values, and outcome of treatment options were assessed in a worldwide cohort of CTLA4 mutation carriers. We identified 133 individuals from 54 unrelated families carrying 45 different heterozygous CTLA4 mutations, including 28 previously undescribed mutations. Ninety mutation carriers were considered affected, suggesting the clinical penetrance of at least 67%; median age of onset was 11 years, and mortality rate within affected mutation carriers was 16% (n=15). Main clinical manifestations included hypogammaglobulinemia (84%), lymphoproliferation (73%), autoimmune cytopenia (62%), respiratory- (68%), gastrointestinal- (59%), or neurological features (29%). Eight affected mutation carriers developed lymphoma, three gastric cancer. An EBV association was found in six malignancies. CTLA4 mutations were associated with lymphopenia and decreased T-, B-, and NK-cell counts. Successful targeted therapies included the application of CTLA-4-fusion-proteins, mTOR-inhibitors, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. EBV reactivation occurred in two affected mutation carriers under immunosuppression. Affected mutation carriers with CTLA-4 insufficiency may present in any medical specialty. Family members should be counseled, as disease manifestation may occur as late as age 50. EBV- and CMV-associated complications must be closely monitored. Treatment interventions should be coordinated in clinical trials. This large cohort of affected CTLA4 mutation carriers gives first insights into different possible treatment options and presents available clinical information on treatment response and survival. With this knowledge, affected mutation carriers

Chronic and Daily Stressors Along With Negative Affect Interact to Predict Daily Tiredness.

PubMed

Hartsell, Elizabeth N; Neupert, Shevaun D

2017-11-01

The present study examines the within-person relationship of daily stressors and tiredness and whether this depends on daily negative affect and individual differences in chronic stress. One hundred sixteen older adult participants were recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk for a 9-day daily diary study. Daily tiredness, daily stressors, and negative affect were measured each day, and chronic stress was measured at baseline. Daily stressors, daily negative affect, and chronic stress interacted to predict daily tiredness. People with high chronic stress who experienced an increase in daily negative affect were the most reactive to daily stressors in terms of experiencing an increase in daily tiredness. We also found that people with low levels of chronic stress were the most reactive to daily stressors when they experienced low levels of daily negative affect. Our results highlight the need for individualized and contextualized approaches to combating daily tiredness in older adults.

Affective and cognitive reactivity to mood induction in chronic depression.

PubMed

Guhn, Anne; Sterzer, Philipp; Haack, Friderike H; Köhler, Stephan

2018-03-15

Chronic depression (CD) is strongly associated with childhood maltreatment, which has been proposed to lead to inefficient coping styles that are characterized by abnormal affective responsiveness and dysfunctional cognitive attitudes. However, while this notion forms an important basis for psychotherapeutic strategies in the treatment of CD, there is still little direct empirical evidence for a role of altered affective and cognitive reactivity in CD. The present study therefore experimentally investigated affective and cognitive reactivity to two forms of negative mood induction in CD patients versus a healthy control sample (HC). For the general mood induction procedure, a combination of sad pictures and sad music was used, while for individualized mood induction, negative mood was induced by individualized scripts with autobiographical content. Both experiments included n = 15 CD patients versus n = 15 HC, respectively. Interactions between affective or cognitive reactivity and group were analyzed by repeated measurements ANOVAs. General mood induction neither revealed affective nor cognitive reactivity in the patient group while the control group reported the expected decrease of positive affect [interaction (IA) affective reactivity x group: p = .011, cognitive reactivity x group: n.s.]. In contrast, individualized mood induction specifically increased affective reactivity (IA: p = .037) as well as the amount of dysfunctional cognitions in patients versus controls (IA: p = .014). The experiments were not balanced in a crossover design, causal conclusions are thus limited. Additionally, the differences to non-chronic forms of depression are still outstanding. The results suggest that in patients with CD, specific emotional activation through autobiographical memories is a key factor in dysfunctional coping styles. Psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at modifying affective and cognitive reactivity are thus of high relevance in the treatment of CD. Copyright �

CO2-induced ocean acidification does not affect individual or group behaviour in a temperate damselfish.

PubMed

Kwan, Garfield Tsz; Hamilton, Trevor James; Tresguerres, Martin

2017-07-01

Open ocean surface CO 2 levels are projected to reach approximately 800 µatm, and ocean pH to decrease by approximately 0.3 units by the year 2100 due to anthropogenic CO 2 emissions and the subsequent process of ocean acidification (OA). When exposed to these CO 2 /pH values, several fish species display abnormal behaviour in laboratory tests, an effect proposed to be linked to altered neuronal GABA A- receptor function. Juvenile blacksmith ( Chromis punctipinnis ) are social fish that regularly experience CO 2 /pH fluctuations through kelp forest diurnal primary production and upwelling events, so we hypothesized that they might be resilient to OA. Blacksmiths were exposed to control conditions (pH ∼ 7.92; p CO 2  ∼ 540 µatm), constant acidification (pH ∼ 7.71; p CO 2  ∼ 921 µatm) and oscillating acidification (pH ∼ 7.91, p CO 2  ∼ 560 µatm (day), pH ∼ 7.70, p CO 2  ∼ 955 µatm (night)), and caught and tested in two seasons of the year when the ocean temperature was different: winter (16.5 ± 0.1°C) and summer (23.1 ± 0.1°C). Neither constant nor oscillating CO 2 -induced acidification affected blacksmith individual light/dark preference, inter-individual distance in a shoal or the shoal's response to a novel object, suggesting that blacksmiths are tolerant to projected future OA conditions. However, blacksmiths tested during the winter demonstrated significantly higher dark preference in the individual light/dark preference test, thus confirming season and/or water temperature as relevant factors to consider in behavioural tests.

EVENT PREDICTION AND AFFECTIVE FORECASTING IN DEPRESSIVE COGNITION: USING EMOTION AS INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUTURE

PubMed Central

MARROQUÍN, BRETT; NOLEN-HOEKSEMA, SUSAN

2015-01-01

Depression is characterized by a bleak view of the future, but the mechanisms through which depressed mood is integrated into basic processes of future-oriented cognition are unclear. We hypothesized that dysphoric individuals’ predictions of what will happen in the future (likelihood estimation) and how the future will feel (affective forecasting) are attributable to individual differences in incorporating present emotion as judgment-relevant information. Dysphoric individuals (n = 77) made pessimistic likelihood estimates and blunted positive affective forecasts relative to controls (n = 84). These differences were mediated by dysphoric individuals’ tendencies to rely on negative emotion as information more than controls—and on positive emotion less—independent of anhedonia. These findings suggest that (1) blunted positive affective forecasting is a distinctive component of depressive future-oriented cognition, and (2) future-oriented cognitive processes are linked not just to current emotional state, but also to individual variation in using that emotion as information. This role of individual differences elucidates basic mechanisms in future-oriented cognition, and suggests routes for intervention on interrelated cognitive and affective processes in depression. PMID:26146452

Factors Affecting Attendance at an Adapted Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Program for Individuals with Mobility Deficits Poststroke.

PubMed

Marzolini, Susan; Balitsky, Amaris; Jagroop, David; Corbett, Dale; Brooks, Dina; Grace, Sherry L; Lawrence, Danielle; Oh, Paul I

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting attendance at an adapted cardiac rehabilitation program for individuals poststroke. A convenience sample of ambulatory patients with hemiparetic gait rated 20 potential barriers to attendance on a 5-point Likert scale upon completion of a 6-month program of 24 prescheduled weekly sessions. Sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, cardiovascular fitness, and comorbidities were collected by questionnaire or medical chart. Sixty-one patients attended 77.3 ± 12% of the classes. The longer the elapsed time from stroke, the lower the attendance rate (r = -.34, P = .02). The 4 greatest barriers influencing attendance were severe weather, transportation problems, health problems, and traveling distance. Health problems included hospital readmissions (n = 6), influenza/colds (n = 6), diabetes and cardiac complications (n = 4), and musculoskeletal issues (n = 2). Of the top 4 barriers, people with lower compared to higher income had greater transportation issues (P = .004). Greater motor deficits of the stroke-affected leg were associated with greater barriers related to health issues (r = .7, P = .001). The only sociodemographic factor associated with a higher total mean barrier score was non-English as the primary language spoken at home (P = .002); this factor was specifically related to the barriers of cost (P = .007), family responsibilities (P = .018), and lack of social support (P = .001). No other associations were observed. Barriers to attendance were predominantly related to logistic/transportation and health issues. People who were more disadvantaged socioeconomically (language, finances), and physically (stroke-related deficits) were more affected by these barriers. Strategies to reduce these barriers, including timely referral to exercise programs, need to be investigated. Copyright © 2015 National Stroke Association. Published by

Delay in presentation to the hospital and factors affecting it in breast cancer patients attending tertiary care center in Central India.

PubMed

Thakur, N A; Humne, A Y; Godale, L B

2015-01-01

Despite lower incidence of breast cancer in India, the total number of cases and the net mortality is high. To reduce this increasing load of mortality due to breast cancer we need to lay emphasis on early detection and increased use of systemic therapy. Early detection itself depends on early presentation to a health facility; thus, it is important to identify factors affecting delay in a presentation to hospital. To study the clinico-social profile of breast carcinoma patients attending a tertiary care hospital and to study the time lag since detection of lump by women and presentation to the hospital and factors affecting them. A total of 120 primary breast cancer patients visiting a tertiary care hospital over a period of 7 months (August 2010 to February 2011) were taken up for study. A detailed retrospective analysis of patients was done according to planned proforma. Maximum study subjects were in the age group of 41-50 years. Right and left breasts were equally affected. The most common histo-pathological type of breast carcinoma observed was invasive ductal carcinoma (NOS) in 105 (87.50%) cases. Majority of the cases were in stage III or stage II. The median time lag self-detection of lump in the breast by women and presentation to the hospital was 6 months. Women living in a rural area, those with lower socio-economic status and those with older age tend to assess health-care late. Carcinoma of the breast is a common cancer affecting young to middle age group with invasive ductal carcinoma being the most common histological type. Delay in presentation and late stage presentation is a major concern. Hence, proper awareness and screening programmers are needed to identify, inform and educate these categories of women.

Prematurity Affects Age of Presentation of Pyloric Stenosis.

PubMed

Costanzo, Caitlyn M; Vinocur, Charles; Berman, Loren

2017-02-01

Term infants with hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS) typically present between 4 and 6 weeks. There is limited consensus, however, regarding age of presentation of premature infants. We aim to determine if there is an association between the degree of prematurity and chronological age of presentation of HPS. A total of 2988 infants who had undergone a pyloromyotomy for HPS were identified from the 2012 and 2013 NSQIP-P Participant Use Files. Two hundred seventeen infants (7.3%) were born prematurely. A greater degree of prematurity was associated with an older chronological age of presentation ( P < .0001). Prematurity was significantly associated with an increase in overall postoperative morbidity, reintubation, readmission, and postoperative length of stay. When clinicians evaluate an infant with nonbilious emesis with a history of prematurity, they should consider pyloric stenosis if the calculated postconceptional age is between 44 and 50 weeks. When counseling families of premature infants, surgeons should discuss the increased incidence of postpyloromyotomy morbidity.

Cultural evolution and individual development of openness and conservatism

PubMed Central

Acerbi, Alberto; Enquist, Magnus; Ghirlanda, Stefano

2009-01-01

We present a model of cultural evolution in which an individual's propensity to engage in social learning is affected by social learning itself. We assume that individuals observe cultural traits displayed by others and decide whether to copy them based on their overall preference for the displayed traits. Preferences, too, can be transmitted between individuals. Our results show that such cultural dynamics tends to produce conservative individuals, i.e., individuals who are reluctant to copy new traits. Openness to new information, however, can be maintained when individuals need significant time to acquire the cultural traits that make them effective cultural models. We show that a gradual enculturation of young individuals by many models and a larger cultural repertoire to be acquired are favorable circumstances for the long-term maintenance of openness in individuals and groups. Our results agree with data about lifetime personality change, showing that openness to new information decreases with age. Our results show that cultural remodeling of cultural transmission is a powerful force in cultural evolution, i.e., that cultural evolution can change its own dynamics. PMID:19858478

Testing the Grandchildren's Received Affection Scale using Affection Exchange Theory.

PubMed

Mansson, Daniel H

2013-04-01

The purpose of this study was to test the Grandchildren's Received Affection Scale (GRAS) using Affection Exchange Theory (Floyd, 2006). In accordance with Affection Exchange Theory, it was hypothesized that grandchildren's scores on the Trait Affection Received Scale (i.e., the extent to which individuals by nature receive affection) would be related significantly and positively to their reports of received affection from their grandparents (i.e., their scores on the GRAS). Additionally, a research question was asked to explore if grandchildren's received affection from their grandparents is dependent on their grandparent's biological sex or lineage (i.e., maternal vs paternal). Thus, young adult grandchildren (N = 422) completed the GRAS and the Trait Affection Received Scale. The results of zero-order Pearson correlational analyses provided support for the hypothesis, whereas the results of MANOVAs tests only partially support extant grandparent-grandchild theory and research. These findings broaden the scope of Affection Exchange Theory and also bolster the GRAS's utility in future grandparent-grandchild affectionate communication research.

Individual-specific antibody identification methods

DOEpatents

Francoeur, Ann -Michele

1989-11-14

An identification method, applicable to the identification of animals or inanimate objects, is described. The method takes advantage of a hithertofore unknown set of individual-specific, or IS antibodies, that are part of the unique antibody repertoire present in animals, by reacting an effective amount of IS antibodies with a particular panel, or n-dimensional array (where n is typically one or two) consisting of an effective amount of many different antigens (typically greater than one thousand), to give antibody-antigen complexes. The profile or pattern formed by the antigen-antibody complexes, termed an antibody fingerprint, when revealed by an effective amount of an appropriate detector molecule, is uniquely representative of a particular individual. The method can similarly by used to distinguish genetically, or otherwise similar individuals, or their body parts containing IS antibodies. Identification of inanimate objects, particularly security documents, is similarly affected by associating with the documents, an effective amount of a particular individual's IS antibodies, or conversely, a particular panel of antigens, and forming antibody-antigen complexes with a particular panel of antigens, or a particular individual's IS antibodies, respectively. One embodiment of the instant identification method, termed the blocked fingerprint assay, has applications in the area of allergy testing, autoimmune diagnostics and therapeutics, and the detection of environmental antigens such as pathogens, chemicals, and toxins.

Adolescent social cognitive and affective neuroscience: past, present, and future

PubMed Central

Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne

2012-01-01

In this article, we review three areas of research within adolescent social cognitive and affective neuroscience: (i) emotion reactivity and regulation, (ii) mentalizing and (iii) peer relations, including social rejection or acceptance as well as peer influence. The review provides a context for current contributions to the special issue of Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience on Adolescence, and highlights three important themes that emerge from the special issue, which are relevant to future research. First, the age of participants studied (and labels for these age groups) is a critical design consideration. We suggest that it might be logical to reduce the reliance on convenience samples of undergraduates to represent adults in psychology and cognitive neuroscience studies, since there is substantial evidence that the brain is still developing within this age range. Second, developmental researchers are broadening their scope of inquiry by testing for non-linear effects, via increased use of longitudinal strategies or much wider age ranges and larger samples. Third, there is increasing appreciation for the interrelatedness of the three areas of focus in this special issue (emotion reactivity and regulation, mentalizing, and peer relations), as well as with other areas of interest in adolescent development. PMID:22228750

Music supported therapy promotes motor plasticity in individuals with chronic stroke.

PubMed

Ripollés, P; Rojo, N; Grau-Sánchez, J; Amengual, J L; Càmara, E; Marco-Pallarés, J; Juncadella, M; Vaquero, L; Rubio, F; Duarte, E; Garrido, C; Altenmüller, E; Münte, T F; Rodríguez-Fornells, A

2016-12-01

Novel rehabilitation interventions have improved motor recovery by induction of neural plasticity in individuals with stroke. Of these, Music-supported therapy (MST) is based on music training designed to restore motor deficits. Music training requires multimodal processing, involving the integration and co-operation of visual, motor, auditory, affective and cognitive systems. The main objective of this study was to assess, in a group of 20 individuals suffering from chronic stroke, the motor, cognitive, emotional and neuroplastic effects of MST. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we observed a clear restitution of both activity and connectivity among auditory-motor regions of the affected hemisphere. Importantly, no differences were observed in this functional network in a healthy control group, ruling out possible confounds such as repeated imaging testing. Moreover, this increase in activity and connectivity between auditory and motor regions was accompanied by a functional improvement of the paretic hand. The present results confirm MST as a viable intervention to improve motor function in chronic stroke individuals.

Affective Traits in Schizophrenia and Schizotypy

PubMed Central

Horan, William P.; Blanchard, Jack J.; Clark, Lee Anna; Green, Michael F.

2008-01-01

This article reviews empirical studies of affective traits in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, population-based investigations of vulnerability to psychosis, and genetic and psychometric high-risk samples. The review focuses on studies that use self-report trait questionnaires to assess Negative Affectivity (NA) and Positive Affectivity (PA), which are conceptualized in contemporary models of personality as broad, temperamentally-based dispositions to experience corresponding emotional states. Individuals with schizophrenia report a pattern of stably elevated NA and low PA throughout the illness course. Among affected individuals, these traits are associated with variability in several clinically important features, including functional outcome, quality of life, and stress reactivity. Furthermore, evidence that elevated NA and low PA (particularly the facet of anhedonia) predict the development of psychosis and are detectable in high-risk samples suggests that these traits play a role in vulnerability to schizophrenia, though they are implicated in other forms of psychopathology as well. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for treatment, etiological models, and future research to advance the study of affective traits in schizophrenia and schizotypy. PMID:18667393

[The influence of affect on satisfaction with conversations and interpersonal impressions from the perspective of dyadic affective combinations].

PubMed

Ken, Fujiwara; Daibo, Ikuo

2013-12-01

This study examined the influence of affect on interpersonal relationships in a dyadic communication context. The combination of speakers' affective states was considered, as compared to previous studies which considered only the individual's affective state. The independent variables, in a between-subjects design, were affective condition (positive vs. negative) and affective combination (similar vs. dissimilar). Participants (N = 86) took a test on creative thinking and were given false feedback. Then they had a 6-minute conversation and answered questions about their satisfaction with the conversation and their impressions of their partner. Results showed that the two-factor interactions were significant for satisfaction with the conversation and interpersonal impressions (social desirability) of the partner. The scores for these variables in the positive affect condition were higher than in the negative affect condition only when the affective combination was dissimilar. These results show that individual's affect could not predict conversational outcomes. The results were discussed in terms of incorrect inferences about the partner's affective state and imbalanced conversation activity.

Individual Differences in Social Anxiety Affect the Salience of Errors in Social Contexts

PubMed Central

Barker, Tyson V.; Troller-Renfree, Sonya; Pine, Daniel S.; Fox, Nathan A.

2015-01-01

The error-related negativity (ERN) is an event-related potential that occurs approximately 50 ms after an erroneous response. The magnitude of the ERN is influenced by contextual factors, such as when errors are made during social evaluation. The ERN is also influenced by individual differences in anxiety, and it is elevated amongst anxious individuals. However, little research has examined how individual differences in anxiety interact with contextual factors to impact the ERN. Social anxiety involves fear and apprehension of social evaluation. The current study explored how individual differences in social anxiety interact with social contexts to modulate the ERN. The ERN was measured in 43 young adults characterized as either high or low in social anxiety while they completed a flanker task in two contexts: alone and during social evaluation. Results revealed a significant interaction between social anxiety and context, such that the ERN was enhanced in a social relative to a non-social context only among high socially anxious individuals. Furthermore, the degree of such enhancement significantly correlated with individual differences in social anxiety. These findings demonstrate that social anxiety is characterized by enhanced neural activity to errors in social evaluative contexts. PMID:25967929

Predicting individual affect of health interventions to reduce HPV prevalence.

PubMed

Corley, Courtney D; Mihalcea, Rada; Mikler, Armin R; Sanfilippo, Antonio P

2011-01-01

Recently, human papilloma virus (HPV) has been implicated to cause several throat and oral cancers and HPV is established to cause most cervical cancers. A human papilloma virus vaccine has been proven successful to reduce infection incidence in FDA clinical trials, and it is currently available in the USA. Current intervention policy targets adolescent females for vaccination; however, the expansion of suggested guidelines may extend to other age groups and males as well. This research takes a first step toward automatically predicting personal beliefs, regarding health intervention, on the spread of disease. Using linguistic or statistical approaches, sentiment analysis determines a text's affective content. Self-reported HPV vaccination beliefs published in web and social media are analyzed for affect polarity and leveraged as knowledge inputs to epidemic models. With this in mind, we have developed a discrete-time model to facilitate predicting impact on the reduction of HPV prevalence due to arbitrary age- and gender-targeted vaccination schemes.

Predicting Individual Affect of Health Interventions to Reduce HPV Prevalence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Corley, Courtney D.; Mihalcea, Rada; Mikler, Armin R.

Recently, human papilloma virus has been implicated to cause several throat and oral cancers and hpv is established to cause most cervical cancers. A human papilloma virus vaccine has been proven successful to reduce infection incidence in FDA clinical trials and it is currently available in the United States. Current intervention policy targets adolescent females for vaccination; however, the expansion of suggested guidelines may extend to other age groups and males as well. This research takes a first step towards automatically predicting personal beliefs, regarding health intervention, on the spread of disease. Using linguistic or statistical approaches, sentiment analysis determinesmore » a texts affective content. Self-reported HPV vaccination beliefs published in web and social media are analyzed for affect polarity and leveraged as knowledge inputs to epidemic models. With this in mind, we have developed a discrete-time model to facilitate predicting impact on the reduction of HPV prevalence due to arbitrary age and gender targeted vaccination schemes.« less

Hold it! Memory affects attentional dwell time.

PubMed

Parks, Emily L; Hopfinger, Joseph B

2008-12-01

The allocation of attention, including the initial orienting and the subsequent dwell time, is affected by several bottom-up and top-down factors. How item memory affects these processes, however, remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether item memory affects attentional dwell time by using a modified version of the attentional blink (AB) paradigm. Across four experiments, our results revealed that the AB was significantly affected by memory status (novel vs. old), but critically, this effect depended on the ongoing memory context. Specifically, items that were unique in terms of memory status demanded more resources, as measured by a protracted AB. The present findings suggest that a more comprehensive understanding of memory's effects on attention can be obtained by accounting for an item's memorial context, as well as its individual item memory strength. Our results provide new evidence that item memory and memory context play a significant role in the temporal allocation of attention.

Assessing individual differences in proneness to shame and guilt: development of the Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory.

PubMed

Tangney, J P

1990-07-01

Individual differences in proneness to shame and proneness to guilt are thought to play an important role in the development of both adaptive and maladaptive interpersonal and intrapersonal processes. But little empirical research has addressed these issues, largely because no reliable, valid measure has been available to researchers interested in differentiating proneness to shame from proneness to guilt. The Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory (SCAAI) was developed to assess characteristic affective, cognitive, and behavioral responses associated with shame and guilt among a young adult population. The SCAAI also includes indices of externalization of cause or blame, detachment/unconcern, pride in self, and pride in behavior. Data from 3 independent studies of college students and 1 study of noncollege adults provide support for the reliability of the main SCAAI subscales. Moreover, the pattern of relations among the SCAAI subscales and the relation of SCAAI subscales to 2 extant measures of shame and guilt support the validity of this new measure. The SCAAI appears to provide related but functionally distinct indices of proneness to shame and guilt in a way that these previous measures have not.

Individual differences affecting caffeine intake. Analysis of consumption behaviours for different times of day and caffeine sources.

PubMed

Penolazzi, Barbara; Natale, Vincenzo; Leone, Luigi; Russo, Paolo Maria

2012-06-01

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the individual variables contributing to determine the high variability in the consumption behaviours of caffeine, a psychoactive substance which is still poorly investigated in comparison with other drugs. The effects of a large set of specific personality traits (i.e., Impulsivity, Sensation Seeking, Anxiety, Reward Sensitivity and Circadian Preference) were compared along with some relevant socio-demographic variables (i.e., gender and age) and cigarette smoking behaviour. Analyses revealed that daily caffeine intake was significantly higher for males, older people, participants smoking more cigarettes and showing higher scores on Impulsivity, Sensation Seeking and a facet of Reward Sensitivity. However, more detailed analyses showed that different patterns of individual variables predicted caffeine consumption when the times of day and the caffeine sources were considered. The present results suggest that such detailed analyses are required to detect the critical predictive variables that could be obscured when only total caffeine intake during the entire day is considered. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of meal consumption on emotion among individuals with eating disorders.

PubMed

Anderson, Lisa M; Crow, Scott J; Peterson, Carol B

2014-01-01

This pilot study sought to determine how meal consumption impacts affective states for treatment-seeking individuals with eating disorders (ED). Participants with heterogeneous ED diagnoses completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and Profile of Mood States measures before and immediately after meal consumption. Meal consumption was associated with significant decreases in negative affect and total mood disturbance for individuals with binge eating disorder (BED). Decreases in negative affect across meal time for individuals with BED were significantly different from increases in negative affect for participants with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Findings indicate that individuals with BED have significantly different affective responses to eating non-binge meals than individuals with AN or BN. Data suggest changes in negative affect following meal consumption may be specific to certain ED diagnoses. Results provide preliminary evidence consistent with the idea that emotion states may function as maintenance mechanisms for psychopathology among ED diagnoses. Limitations and future directions pertaining to food-mood relationships for individuals with ED are discussed.

[Effects of situational and individual variables on critical thinking expression].

PubMed

Tanaka, Yuko; Kusumi, Takashi

2016-04-01

The present study examined when people decide to choose an expression that is based on critical thinking, and how situational and individual variables affect such a decision process. Given a conversation scenario including overgeneralization with two friends, participants decided whether to follow the conversation by a critical-thinking expression or not. The authors controlled purpose and topic as situational variables, and measured critical-thinking ability, critical-thinking disposition, and self-monitoring as individual variables. We conducted an experiment in which the situational variables were counterbalanced in a within-subject design with 60 university students. The results of logistic regression analysis showed differences within individuals in the decision process whether to choose a critical-thinking expression, and that some situational factors and some subscales of the individual measurements were related to the differences.

Affect and Low Back Pain: More to Consider Than the Influence of Negative Affect Alone.

PubMed

Hassett, Afton L; Goesling, Jenna; Mathur, Sunjay N; Moser, Stephanie E; Brummett, Chad M; Sibille, Kimberly T

2016-10-01

Affect balance style, a measure of trait positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA), is predictive of pain and functioning in fibromyalgia and healthy individuals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution of affect balance styles and the relationship between these styles and clinical factors in low back pain. In this cross-sectional study, patients with low back pain (N=443) completed questionnaires and were categorized as having 1 of 4 distinct affect balance styles: Healthy (high levels of PA and low levels of NA), Low (low PA/low NA), Reactive (high PA/high NA), and Depressive (low PA/high NA). Comparisons between groups were made in regard to pain, functioning, and psychiatric comorbidity. High NA was observed in 63% (n=281), whereas low PA was present in 81% (n=359). We found that having a Depressive style was associated with greater pain severity, increased odds for comorbid fibromyalgia, and worse functioning compared with having a Healthy or Low style. Yet, those with a Low style were at increased risk for depression compared with a Healthy style, whereas patients with a Reactive style had similar levels of pain, functioning, and depression as those with a Healthy affective style. Our study revealed that there are important differences between trait affect balance styles in regard to pain, mood, and functioning in low back pain. Findings related to Reactive and Low affective styles suggest that relationships between affect, pain, and disability in low back pain extend beyond considering NA alone.

Relationships between chronotypes and affective temperaments in healthy young adults.

PubMed

Park, Chun Il; An, Suk Kyoon; Kim, Hae Won; Koh, Min Jung; Namkoong, Kee; Kang, Jee In; Kim, Se Joo

2015-04-01

Chronotype, an individual׳s preferred time for activity and sleep, has been known to be associated with affective disorders. Affective temperaments may be subclinical manifestations that represent a biological diathesis for affective disorders. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between circadian preferences and affective temperaments. Six hundred and forty one healthy young adults (376 male, 265 female) completed the Korean Translation of Composite Scale of Morningness to measure diurnal preferences and the Temperament Scale of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego - Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A) to measure cyclothymic, depressive, hyperthymic, irritable, and anxious affective temperaments. Multivariate analyses of covariance were computed with the five affective temperaments as dependent variables, chronotype and gender as an independent variable, and age as a covariate. One hundred and sixteen subjects were classified as having morning-type (18.1%), 402 as intermediate-type (62.7%), and 123 as evening-type (19.2%) circadian preferences. Evening-type was significantly associated with greater depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious temperaments, while morning-type was significantly associated with hyperthymic temperament. The present study only used self-report questionnaires to measure diurnal preference. Evening-type subjects were more likely to have depressive, cyclothymic, irritable and anxious temperaments, whereas morning-types were more likely to have hyperthymic temperament. This relationship between chronotype and affective temperament might be important for vulnerability to affective disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Caffeine affects CD8+ lymphocyte apoptosis and migration differently in naïve and familiar individuals following moderate intensity exercise.

PubMed

Navalta, James W; Fedor, Elizabeth A; Schafer, Mark A; Lyons, T Scott; Tibana, Ramires A; Pereira, Guilherme B; Prestes, Jonato

2016-06-01

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the lymphocyte subset response to 30 min of moderate treadmill exercise during caffeine supplemented (6.0 mg.kg(-1)) and placebo conditions in caffeine-naïve and -familiar individuals. Seventeen individuals participated (caffeine-familiar = 8, caffeine-naïve = 9) completing two exercise bouts (caffeine supplemented and placebo control) 48 h apart in a counterbalanced and double-blinded fashion. Individuals were classified as follows: caffeine-naive <50 mg.d(-1) and caffeine-familiar >200 mg.d(-1) Whole blood samples were obtained at rest, 30 min after caffeine or placebo ingestion, immediately following exercise, and 1 h post exercise. Blood was used to analyze apoptosis (annexin V) and cellular migration (CX3CR1) responses in lymphocyte subsets (CD4+, CD8+, CD19+). Absolute changes from rest values were calculated and differences between conditions were determined through Chi-squared analysis with significance accepted at P <0.05. With regard to CD4+ and CD19+ lymphocytes, the interaction of caffeine and exercise did not affect naïve individuals to a greater extent immediately post exercise when compared to familiar, as similar apoptotic and migratory responses were observed (P >0.05). However, CD8+ lymphocyte cell death and migration responses were observed to be significantly greater at each sampling point in caffeine-familiar individuals (P <0.05). It is possible that chronic caffeine supplementation may prime CD8+ cell receptors for responsiveness to apoptosis and migration and the consequence of this form of immunosuppression in the post-exercise period should be determined. © The Author(s) 2015.

Sexuality in Older Couples: Individual and Dyadic Characteristics.

PubMed

Waite, Linda J; Iveniuk, James; Laumann, Edward O; McClintock, Martha K

2017-02-01

Sexuality is a key component of health and functioning that changes with age. Although most sexual activity takes place with a partner, the majority of research on sexuality has focused on individuals. In this paper, we focused on the sexual dyad. We proposed and tested a conceptual model of the predictors of partnered sexual activity in older adulthood. This model began with the personality of each of the partners, which affects individuals' views of sex and characteristics of the partnership, which in turn affected sexual expression in the couple. We measured a key feature of personality, Positivity, which reflected the individual's tendency to present his or herself positively in social situations. This trait, we posited, increased frequency of sex through increased desire for sex, and the subjective importance of sex to each member of the couple. In this model, Positivity also impacted characteristics of the relationship that promoted dyadic sexual behavior. These processes differed for men and women in the model. We tested this model with data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, which conducted personal interviews with both partners in 940 American dyads (average male age 72; average female age 69). We found that couples in which the husbands' (but not wives') were high in Positivity show higher levels of sexual activity, and that this association was partially mediated by dimensions of relationship quality, but more so by individual factors such as thinking about sex and believing sex is important.

Individual differences in proactive interference in verbal and visuospatial working memory.

PubMed

Lilienthal, Lindsey

2017-09-01

Proactive interference (PI) has been shown to affect working memory (WM) span as well as the predictive utility of WM span measures. However, most of the research on PI has been conducted using verbal memory items, and much less is known about the role of PI in the visuospatial domain. In order to further explore this issue, the present study used a within-subjects manipulation of PI that alternated clusters of trials with verbal and visuospatial to-be-remembered items. Although PI was shown to build and release across trials similarly in the two domains, important differences also were observed. The ability of verbal WM to predict performance on a measure of fluid intelligence was significantly affected by the amount of PI present, consistent with past research, but this proved not to be the case for visuospatial WM. Further, individuals' susceptibility to PI in one domain was relatively independent of their susceptibility in the other domain, suggesting that, contrary to some theories of executive function, individual differences in PI susceptibility may not be domain-general.

Attitudes, experiences, and beliefs affecting end-of-life decision-making among homeless individuals.

PubMed

Tarzian, Anita J; Neal, Maggie T; O'Neil, J Anne

2005-02-01

Individuals who are homeless may encounter various barriers to obtaining quality end-of-life (EOL) care, including access barriers, multiple sources of discrimination, and lack of knowledge among health care providers (HCPs) of their preferences and decision-making practices. Planning for death with individuals who have spent so much energy surviving requires an understanding of their experiences and preferences. This study sought to increase HCPs' awareness and understanding of homeless or similarly marginalized individuals' EOL experiences and treatment preferences. Focus groups were conducted with homeless individuals using a semi-structured interview guide to elicit participants' EOL experiences, decision-making practices, and personal treatment preferences. Five focus groups were conducted with 20 inner-city homeless individuals (4 per group) at a free urban health care clinic for homeless individuals in the United States. Sixteen of the 20 participants were African American; 4 were Caucasian. None were actively psychotic. All had experienced multiple losses and drug addiction. Five main themes emerged: valuing an individual's wishes; acknowledging emotions; the primacy of religious beliefs and spiritual experience; seeking relationship-centered care; and reframing advance care planning. The narrative process of this qualitative study uncovered an approach to EOL decision-making in which participants' reasoning was influenced by emotions, religious beliefs, and spiritual experience. Relationship-centered care, characterized by compassion and respectful, two-way communication, was obvious by its described absence--reasons for this are discussed. Recommendations for reframing advance care planning include ways for HCPs to transform advance care planning from that of a legal document to a process of goal-setting that is grounded in human connection, respect, and understanding.

Hostility and Facial Affect Recognition: Effects of a Cold Pressor Stressor on Accuracy and Cardiovascular Reactivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herridge, Matt L.; Harrison, David W.; Mollet, Gina A.; Shenal, Brian V.

2004-01-01

The effects of hostility and a cold pressor stressor on the accuracy of facial affect perception were examined in the present experiment. A mechanism whereby physiological arousal level is mediated by systems which also mediate accuracy of an individual's interpretation of affective cues is described. Right-handed participants were classified as…

A new twist to a traditional approach to environmental monitoring: differentiation of oil sands process-affected waters and natural systems by comparison of individual organic acids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scarlett, A.; Lengger, S.; West, C.; Rowland, S.

2013-12-01

Review panels of both the Canadian Federal and Alberta Provincial governments have recommended a complete overhaul of existing monitoring programs of the Athabasca oil sands industry and have called for a greater understanding of the potential impacts of mining activities to allow for future sustainable development. Due to the no release policy, it is critical that leakages of oil sands process-affected waters (OSPW) from tailings ponds can be differentiated from natural waters flowing through the McMurray formation into the Athabasca river system. Environmental monitoring of oil contamination usually entails profiling of known compounds, e.g. the US EPA list of priority Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, but until now a similar approach has not been possible for OSPW due to its extreme complexity. It has been estimated that the number of carboxylic acids, historically referred to as ';naphthenic acids' (NA) in OSPW, to be in excess of 10000 compounds. Until recently, individual structures of these NA were unknown but analyses by tandem gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCxGC-MS) have now begun to reveal the individual structures of alicyclic, aromatic and sulphur-containing acids within OSPWs stored in tailings ponds. Now that some individual structures present in OSPW are known and standards are available, a methodological approach similar to traditional oil monitoring can be developed using individual diamondoid NA and recently discovered diacids and applied to tailings pond OSPW and environmental waters. One obstacle to understanding whether the NA present in environmental groundwater samples are associated with particular tailings ponds is the lack of knowledge of the variability of OSPW within and between ponds. In the current study, GCxGC-MS analyses have been applied to statistically compare OSPWs of two industries, both temporally and spatially, using specific, known compounds as well as associated isomers. Although variation within individual ponds was

Does Insight Affect the Efficacy of Antipsychotics in Acute Mania?: An Individual Patient Data Regression Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Welten, Carlijn C M; Koeter, Maarten W J; Wohlfarth, Tamar D; Storosum, Jitschak G; van den Brink, Wim; Gispen-de Wied, Christine C; Leufkens, Hubert G M; Denys, Damiaan A J P

2016-02-01

Patients having an acute manic episode of bipolar disorder often lack insight into their condition. Because little is known about the possible effect of insight on treatment efficacy, we examined whether insight at the start of treatment affects the efficacy of antipsychotic treatment in patients with acute mania. We used individual patient data from 7 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled registration studies of 4 antipsychotics in patients with acute mania (N = 1904). Insight was measured with item 11 of the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) at baseline and study endpoint 3 weeks later. Treatment outcome was defined by (a) mean change score, (b) response defined as 50% or more improvement on YMRS, and (c) remission defined as YMRS score less than 8 at study endpoint. We used multilevel mixed effect linear (or logistic) regression analyses of individual patient data to assess the interaction between baseline insight and treatment outcomes. At treatment initiation, 1207 (63.5%) patients had impaired or no insight into their condition. Level of insight significantly modified the efficacy of treatment by mean change score (P = 0.039), response rate (P = 0.033), and remission rate (P = 0.043), with greater improvement in patients with more impaired insight. We therefore recommend that patients experiencing acute mania should be treated immediately and not be delayed until patients regain insight.

Dental anomalies inside the cleft region in individuals with nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate.

PubMed

Sá, Jamile; Araújo, Luana; Guimarães, Laís; Maranhão, Samário; Lopes, Gabriela; Medrado, Alena; Coletta, Ricardo; Reis, Silvia

2016-01-01

Individuals with nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL±P) present high frequency of dental anomalies, which may represent complicating factors for dental treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of dental anomalies inside cleft area in a group of Brazilians with NSCL±P. Retrospective analysis of 178 panoramic radiographs of patients aged from 12 to 45 years old and without history of tooth extraction or orthodontic treatment was performed. Association between cleft type and the prevalence of dental anomalies was assessed by chi-square test with a significance level set at p≤ 0.05. Dental anomalies were found in 88.2% (n=157) of the patients. Tooth agenesis (47.1%), giroversion (20%) and microdontia (15.5%) were the most common anomalies. Individuals with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate (CLP, p<0.0001), bilateral complete CLP (p=0.0002) and bilateral incomplete CLP (p< 0.0001) were more affected by tooth agenesis than individuals with other cleft types. The maxillary lateral incisors were the most affected teeth (p<0.0001). The present study revealed a high frequency of dental anomalies inside cleft region in NSCL±P patients, and further demonstrated that patients with unilateral complete CLP and bilateral incomplete CLP were frequently more affected by dental anomalies. Moreover, our results demonstrate that dental anomalies should be considered during dental treatment planning of individuals affected by NSCL±P.

Ideal affect in daily life: implications for affective experience, health, and social behavior.

PubMed

Tsai, Jeanne L

2017-10-01

Over the last decade, researchers have increasingly demonstrated that ideal affect-the affective states that people value and ideally want to feel-shapes different aspects of daily life. Here I briefly review Affect Valuation Theory (AVT), which integrates ideal affect into existing models of affect and emotion by identifying the causes and consequences of variation in ideal affect. I then describe recent research that applies AVT to the valuation of negative states as well as more complex states, examines how ideal affect shapes momentary affective experience, suggests that ideal affect has both direct and indirect effects on health, and illustrates that people's ideal affect shapes how they judge and respond to others. Finally, I discuss the implications of cultural and individual differences in ideal affect for clinical, educational, work, and leisure settings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Negative mood induction normalizes decision making in male cocaine dependent individuals.

PubMed

Fernández-Serrano, María José; Moreno-López, Laura; Pérez-García, Miguel; Viedma-Del Jesús, María I; Sánchez-Barrera, María B; Verdejo-García, Antonio

2011-10-01

Decision making is thought to play a key role in psychostimulant relapse, but very few studies have addressed the issue of how to counteract decision-making deficits in addicted individuals. According to the somatic marker framework, pervasive decision-making problems in addicted individuals may relate to abnormalities in the processing of emotional signals that work to anticipate the prospective outcomes of potential decisions. The present study was conducted to test whether the induction of different emotional states (positive, negative, or drug-related) could either normalize or further impair decision-making performance in male cocaine polysubstance-using individuals (CPSI), as indexed by the Iowa gambling task (IGT). Forty-two CPSI and 65 healthy control individuals (all males) were randomly allocated in four affective conditions using a parallel-group design. Participants in the different conditions performed the IGT during exposure to neutral, positive, negative, or drug-related sets of affective images. The results showed that the CPSI exposed to the negative affective context showed a preference for the risk-averse safe choices of the IGT and had a net performance indistinguishable from that of controls. On the other hand, CPSI exposed to positive, drug-related, and neutral contexts showed the typical pattern of disadvantageous performance in the IGT and performed significantly poorer than controls. The impact of the negative mood induction could not be explained in terms of baseline differences in decision-making skills, personality traits related to sensitivity to reward/punishment, or trait positive/negative affect. We conclude that negative mood induction can normalize decision-making performance in male CPSI, which may have important implications for the treatment of cocaine use-related disorders.

Integrating Individual-Based Indices of Contaminant Effects

DOE PAGES

Rowe, Christopher L.; Hopkins, William A.; Congdon, Justin D.

2001-01-01

Habitat contamination can alter numerous biological processes in individual organisms. Examining multiple individual-level responses in an integrative fashion is necessary to understand how individual health or fitness reflects environmental contamination. Here we provide an example of such an integrated perspective based upon recent studies of an amphibian (the bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana) that experiences several, disparate changes when larval development occurs in a trace element�contaminated habitat. First, we present an overview of studies focused on specific responses of individuals collected from, or transplanted into, a habitat contaminated by coal combustion residues (CCR). These studies have reported morphological, behavioral, and physiological modificationsmore » to individuals chronically interacting with sediments in the CCR-contaminated site. Morphological abnormalities in the oral and tail regions in contaminant-exposed individuals influenced other properties such as grazing, growth, and swimming performance. Behavioral changes in swimming activities and responses to stimuli appear to influence predation risk in the contaminant-exposed population. Significant changes in bioenergetics in the contaminated habitat, evident as abnormally high energetic expenditures for survival (maintenance) costs, may ultimately influence production pathways (growth, energy storage) in individuals. We then present a conceptual model to examine how interactions among the affected systems (morphological, behavioral, physiological) may ultimately bring about more severe effects than would be predicted if the responses were considered in isolation. A complex interplay among simultaneously occurring biological changes emerges in which multiple, sublethal effects ultimately can translate into reductions in larval or juvenile survival, and thus reduced recruitment of juveniles into the population. In systems where individuals are exposed to low concentrations of

Rehabilitation Strategies for the Athletic Individual with Early Knee Osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Jayabalan, Prakash; Ihm, Joseph

2016-01-01

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of disability in the United States. The condition has most commonly been associated with elderly sedentary individuals; however, it also can affect those who participate in regular athletic activities. The diagnosis and management of these individuals can be challenging because of both their higher level of physical activity and their overall athletic goals. Treatment requires an appropriate exercise regimen, rehabilitation program, and education of both the athlete and the coach. The focus of our article is to provide an up-to-date overview of the evaluation and management of the athletic individual who presents with symptomatic early knee OA, in particular, the nonsurgical rehabilitation treatment options available to the practitioner and the evidence to support these recommendations.

Individual differences in temperament and behavioral management practices for nonhuman primates

PubMed Central

Coleman, Kristine

2011-01-01

Effective behavioral management plans are tailored to unique behavioral patterns of each individual species. However, even within a species behavioral needs of individuals can vary. Factors such as age, sex, and temperament can affect behavioral needs of individuals. While some of these factors, such as age and sex, are taken into account, other factors, such as an individual’s temperament, are rarely specifically provided for in behavioral management plans. However, temperament may affect how animals respond to socialization, positive reinforcement training and other forms of enrichment. This review will examine how individual differences in temperament might affect, or be affected by, behavioral management practices for captive primates. Measuring temperament may help us predict outcome of social introductions. It can also predict which animals may be difficult to train using traditional methods. Further, knowledge of temperament may be able to help identify individuals at risk for development of behavioral problems. Taken together, understanding individual differences in temperament of captive primates can help guide behavioral management decisions. PMID:22518067

Dynamic Synchronization of Teacher-Students Affection in Affective Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Wenhai; Lu, Jiamei

2011-01-01

Based on Bower's affective network theory, the article links the dynamic analysis of affective factors in affective instruction, and presents affective instruction strategic of dynamic synchronization between teacher and students to implement the best ideal mood that promotes students' cognition and affection together. In the process of teaching,…

Remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting oedema (RS3PE) case presentation and comparison with other polyarthritides affecting older people.

PubMed

Eguia, Hans A; Parodi Garcia, José Francisco; Ramas Diez, Covadonga; Eguia A, Edwin A

2017-03-01

Remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting oedema (RS3PE) syndrome mainly affects elderly men and responds well to steroids. Since this syndrome can resemble other diseases, its diagnosis is a significant challenge. Through the following paper, we hope to improve the diagnosis of RS3PE by presenting a table comparing RS3PE to two other common polyarthritic conditions affecting the elderly. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Factors Affecting School Relocation in Singapore: The Past and the Present.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ho, Kwok Keung

2004-01-01

This paper attempts to argue that school relocation deserves more serious attention than it has usually been given, and it affects the people as well as the education of the children as much as any other changes in education. It also seeks to unravel the theoretical and practical reasons, which influence the location and relocation of a…

Affective empathy in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Bonfils, Kelsey A; Lysaker, Paul H; Minor, Kyle S; Salyers, Michelle P

2016-08-01

Affective empathy, or the emotional response one has to the experiences or emotional states of others, contributes to relationship-maintaining behaviors and is key in fostering social connections, yet no work has synthesized the body of literature for people with schizophrenia. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to determine the extent to which those diagnosed with schizophrenia experience deficits in affective empathy. A literature search was conducted of studies examining empathy. Data were analyzed using a random effects meta-analytic model with Hedges' g standardized mean difference effect size. Individuals with schizophrenia exhibited significant, medium deficits in affective empathy (k=37). Measurement type moderated the affective empathy deficit such that performance-based measures showed larger schizophrenia group deficits than self-report measures. Consistent, significant deficits in affective empathy were found comparing people with schizophrenia to healthy controls, especially when using performance-based assessments. The medium effect suggests an important role for empathy in the realm of social cognitive research, and points to the need for further investigation of measurement techniques and associations with functional outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neuroticism and Extraversion Magnify Discrepancies Between Retrospective and Concurrent Affect Reports.

PubMed

Lay, Jennifer C; Gerstorf, Denis; Scott, Stacey B; Pauly, Theresa; Hoppmann, Christiane A

2017-12-01

Although research often relies on retrospective affect self-reports, little is known about personality's role in retrospective reports and how these converge or deviate from affect reported in the moment. This micro-longitudinal study examines personality (Neuroticism, Extraversion) and emotional salience (peak and recent affect) associations with retrospective-momentary affect report discrepancies over different time frames. Participants were 179 adults aged 20-78 (M = 48.7 years; 73.7% Caucasian/White) who each provided up to 60 concurrent affect reports over 10 days, then retrospectively reported overall intensity of each affective state after 1 day and again after 1-2 months. Multilevel models revealed that individuals retrospectively overreported or underreported various affective states, exhibiting peak associations for high arousal positive and negative affect, recency associations for low arousal positive affect, and distinct personality profiles that strengthened over time. Individuals high in both Extraversion and Neuroticism exaggerated high arousal positive and negative affect and underreported low arousal positive affect, high Extraversion/low Neuroticism individuals exaggerated high arousal positive affect and underreported low arousal positive affect, and low Extraversion/high Neuroticism individuals exaggerated high and low arousal negative affect. This study is the first to identify arousal-specific retrospective affect report discrepancies over time and suggests retrospective reports also reflect personality differences in affective self-knowledge. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Are Some Negotiators Better Than Others? Individual Differences in Bargaining Outcomes

PubMed Central

Elfenbein, Hillary Anger; Curhan, Jared R.; Eisenkraft, Noah; Shirako, Aiwa; Baccaro, Lucio

2008-01-01

The authors address the long-standing mystery of stable individual differences in negotiation performance, on which intuition and conventional wisdom have clashed with inconsistent empirical findings. The present study used the Social Relations Model to examine individual differences directly via consistency in performance across multiple negotiations and to disentangle the roles of both parties within these inherently dyadic interactions. Individual differences explained a substantial 46% of objective performance and 19% of subjective performance in a mixed-motive bargaining exercise. Previous work may have understated the influence of individual differences because conventional research designs require specific traits to be identified and measured. Exploratory analyses of a battery of traits revealed few reliable associations with consistent individual differences in objective performance—except for positive beliefs about negotiation, positive affect, and concern for one's outcome, each of which predicted better performance. Findings suggest that the field has large untapped potential to explain substantial individual differences. Limitations, areas for future research, and practical implications are discussed. PMID:21720453

Does informal caregiving affect self-esteem? Results from a population-based study of individuals aged 40 and over in Germany from 2002 to 2014.

PubMed

Hajek, André; König, Hans-Helmut

2017-11-29

While it is known that informal caregiving is associated with care-derived self-esteem cross-sectionally, little is known about the impact of informal caregiving on general self-esteem longitudinally. Thus, we aimed at examining whether informal caregiving affects general self-esteem using a longitudinal approach. Data were gathered from a population-based sample of community-dwelling individuals aged 40 and over in Germany from 2002 to 2014 (n = 21 271). General self-esteem was quantified using the Rosenberg scale. Individuals were asked whether they provide informal care regularly. Fixed effects regressions showed no significant effect of informal caregiving on general self-esteem longitudinally. General self-esteem decreased with increasing morbidity, increasing age, decreasing social ties, whereas it was not associated with changes in employment status, marital status and body mass index. Additional models showed that decreases in self-esteem were associated with decreases in functional health and increases in depressive symptoms. Our longitudinal study emphasises that the occurrence of informal caregiving did not affect general self-esteem longitudinally. Further research is needed in other cultural settings using panel data methods. © 2017 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Distracted and down: neural mechanisms of affective interference in subclinical depression

PubMed Central

Andrews-Hanna, Jessica R.; Spielberg, Jeffrey M.; Warren, Stacie L.; Sutton, Bradley P.; Miller, Gregory A.; Heller, Wendy; Banich, Marie T.

2015-01-01

Previous studies have shown that depressed individuals have difficulty directing attention away from negative distractors, a phenomenon known as affective interference. However, findings are mixed regarding the neural mechanisms and network dynamics of affective interference. The present study addressed these issues by comparing neural activation during emotion-word and color-word Stroop tasks in participants with varying levels of (primarily subclinical) depression. Depressive symptoms predicted increased activation to negative distractors in areas of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), regions implicated in cognitive control and internally directed attention, respectively. Increased dACC activity was also observed in the group-average response to incongruent distractors, suggesting that dACC activity during affective interference is related to overtaxed cognitive control. In contrast, regions of PCC were deactivated across the group in response to incongruent distractors, suggesting that PCC activity during affective interference represents task-independent processing. A psychophysiological interaction emerged in which higher depression predicted more positively correlated activity between dACC and PCC during affective interference, i.e. greater connectivity between cognitive control and internal-attention systems. These findings suggest that, when individuals high in depression are confronted by negative material, increased attention to internal thoughts and difficulty shifting resources to the external world interfere with goal-directed behavior. PMID:25062838

Why Do You Make Us Feel Good? Correlates and Interpersonal Consequences of Affective Presence in Speed-dating

PubMed Central

BERRIOS, RAUL; TOTTERDELL, PETER; NIVEN, KAREN

2015-01-01

Recent research indicates that people consistently make others feel a certain way (e.g. happy or stressed). This individual difference has been termed affective presence, but little is known about its correlates or consequences. The present study investigated the following: (i) whether affective presence influences others' romantic interest in a person and (ii) what types of people have positive and negative affective presence. Forty volunteers took part in a speed-dating event, during which they dated six or seven opposite-sex partners. A Social Relations Model analysis confirmed that individuals prompted consistent positive emotional reactions in others. Participants were more likely to want to see dates with greater positive affective presence again in the future, and positive affective presence explained the effects of perceived responsiveness on romantic interest. Associations between positive affective presence and trait predictors, including emotion regulation, emotional expressiveness, attachment style, agreeableness and extraversion, were also observed. The findings indicate that what emotionally distinguishes one individual from another lies in part in the emotional consequences of their behaviours on others. © 2013 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology. PMID:25750481

Subliminal cues bias perception of facial affect in patients with social phobia: evidence for enhanced unconscious threat processing

PubMed Central

Jusyte, Aiste; Schönenberg, Michael

2014-01-01

Socially anxious individuals have been shown to exhibit altered processing of facial affect, especially expressions signaling threat. Enhanced unaware processing has been suggested an important mechanism which may give rise to anxious conscious cognition and behavior. This study investigated whether individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are perceptually more vulnerable to the biasing effects of subliminal threat cues compared to healthy controls. In a perceptual judgment task, 23 SAD and 23 matched control participants were asked to rate the affective valence of parametrically manipulated affective expressions ranging from neutral to angry. Each trial was preceded by subliminal presentation of an angry/neutral cue. The SAD group tended to rate target faces as “angry” when the preceding subliminal stimulus was angry vs. neutral, while healthy participants were not biased by the subliminal stimulus presentation. The perceptual bias in SAD was also associated with higher reaction time latencies in the subliminal angry cue condition. The results provide further support for enhanced unconscious threat processing in SAD individuals. The implications for etiology, maintenance, and treatment of SAD are discussed. PMID:25136307

Subliminal cues bias perception of facial affect in patients with social phobia: evidence for enhanced unconscious threat processing.

PubMed

Jusyte, Aiste; Schönenberg, Michael

2014-01-01

Socially anxious individuals have been shown to exhibit altered processing of facial affect, especially expressions signaling threat. Enhanced unaware processing has been suggested an important mechanism which may give rise to anxious conscious cognition and behavior. This study investigated whether individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are perceptually more vulnerable to the biasing effects of subliminal threat cues compared to healthy controls. In a perceptual judgment task, 23 SAD and 23 matched control participants were asked to rate the affective valence of parametrically manipulated affective expressions ranging from neutral to angry. Each trial was preceded by subliminal presentation of an angry/neutral cue. The SAD group tended to rate target faces as "angry" when the preceding subliminal stimulus was angry vs. neutral, while healthy participants were not biased by the subliminal stimulus presentation. The perceptual bias in SAD was also associated with higher reaction time latencies in the subliminal angry cue condition. The results provide further support for enhanced unconscious threat processing in SAD individuals. The implications for etiology, maintenance, and treatment of SAD are discussed.

Disparities at Presentation, Diagnosis, Treatment and Survival in African American Men, Affected by Prostate Cancer

PubMed Central

Chornokur, Ganna; Dalton, Kyle; Borysova, Meghan; Kumar, Nagi

2011-01-01

Background Prostate cancer (PCa) remains the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. PCa exhibits the most striking racial disparity, as African American men are at 1.4 times higher risk of being diagnosed, and two to three times higher risk of dying of PCa, compared to Caucasian men. The etiology of the disparity has not been clearly elucidated. The objective of this paper is to critically review the literature and summarize the most prominent PCa racial disparities accompanied by proposed explanations. Methods The present literature on disparities at presentation, diagnosis, treatment and survival of African American men affected by PCa was systematically reviewed. Original research as well as relevant review articles were included. Results African American men recurrently present with more advanced disease than Caucasian men, are administered different treatment regimens than Caucasian men, and have shorter progression-free survival following treatment. In addition, African American men report more treatment related side-effects that translates to the diminished quality of life. Conclusions PCa racial disparity exists at stages of presentation, diagnosis, treatment regimens and subsequent survival, and the quality of life. The disparities are complex in involving biological, socio-economic and socio-cultural determinants. These mounting results highlight an urgent need for future clinical, scientific and socio-cultural research involving transdisciplinary teams to elucidate the causes for PCa racial disparities. PMID:21541975

Identifying Two Groups of Entitled Individuals: Cluster Analysis Reveals Emotional Stability and Self-Esteem Distinction.

PubMed

Crowe, Michael L; LoPilato, Alexander C; Campbell, W Keith; Miller, Joshua D

2016-12-01

The present study hypothesized that there exist two distinct groups of entitled individuals: grandiose-entitled, and vulnerable-entitled. Self-report scores of entitlement were collected for 916 individuals using an online platform. Model-based cluster analyses were conducted on the individuals with scores one standard deviation above mean (n = 159) using the five-factor model dimensions as clustering variables. The results support the existence of two groups of entitled individuals categorized as emotionally stable and emotionally vulnerable. The emotionally stable cluster reported emotional stability, high self-esteem, more positive affect, and antisocial behavior. The emotionally vulnerable cluster reported low self-esteem and high levels of neuroticism, disinhibition, conventionality, psychopathy, negative affect, childhood abuse, intrusive parenting, and attachment difficulties. Compared to the control group, both clusters reported being more antagonistic, extraverted, Machiavellian, and narcissistic. These results suggest important differences are missed when simply examining the linear relationships between entitlement and various aspects of its nomological network.

Memory for Self-Performed Actions in Individuals with Asperger Syndrome

PubMed Central

Zalla, Tiziana; Daprati, Elena; Sav, Anca-Maria; Chaste, Pauline; Nico, Daniele; Leboyer, Marion

2010-01-01

Memory for action is enhanced if individuals are allowed to perform the corresponding movements, compared to when they simply listen to them (enactment effect). Previous studies have shown that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have difficulties with processes involving the self, such as autobiographical memories and self performed actions. The present study aimed at assessing memory for action in Asperger Syndrome (AS). We investigated whether adults with AS would benefit from the enactment effect when recalling a list of previously performed items vs. items that were only visually and verbally experienced through three experimental tasks (Free Recall, Old/New Recognition and Source Memory). The results showed that while performance on Recognition and Source Memory tasks was preserved in individuals with AS, the enactment effect for self-performed actions was not consistently present, as revealed by the lower number of performed actions being recalled on the Free Recall test, as compared to adults with typical development. Subtle difficulties in encoding specific motor and proprioceptive signals during action execution in individuals with AS might affect retrieval of relevant personal episodic information. These disturbances might be associated to an impaired action monitoring system. PMID:20967277

Memory for self-performed actions in individuals with Asperger syndrome.

PubMed

Zalla, Tiziana; Daprati, Elena; Sav, Anca-Maria; Chaste, Pauline; Nico, Daniele; Leboyer, Marion

2010-10-12

Memory for action is enhanced if individuals are allowed to perform the corresponding movements, compared to when they simply listen to them (enactment effect). Previous studies have shown that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have difficulties with processes involving the self, such as autobiographical memories and self performed actions. The present study aimed at assessing memory for action in Asperger Syndrome (AS). We investigated whether adults with AS would benefit from the enactment effect when recalling a list of previously performed items vs. items that were only visually and verbally experienced through three experimental tasks (Free Recall, Old/New Recognition and Source Memory). The results showed that while performance on Recognition and Source Memory tasks was preserved in individuals with AS, the enactment effect for self-performed actions was not consistently present, as revealed by the lower number of performed actions being recalled on the Free Recall test, as compared to adults with typical development. Subtle difficulties in encoding specific motor and proprioceptive signals during action execution in individuals with AS might affect retrieval of relevant personal episodic information. These disturbances might be associated to an impaired action monitoring system.

The Legal Past, Present and Future of Prenatal Genetic Testing: Professional Liability and Other Legal Challenges Affecting Patient Access to Services.

PubMed

Pergament, Deborah; Ilijic, Katie

2014-12-15

This chapter is an overview of the current status of the law in the United States regarding prenatal genetic testing with an emphasis on issues related to professional liability and other challenges affecting patient access to prenatal genetic testing. The chapter discusses the roles that federal regulations, promulgated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), play in the regulation of prenatal genetic tests. The chapter discusses tort litigation based on allegations of malpractice in the provision of prenatal genetic testing and how courts have analyzed issues related to causation, damages and mitigation of damages. The chapter provides reference information regarding how individual states address causes of action under the tort theories of wrongful birth and wrongful life. The chapter concludes with a discussion of future legal issues that may affect clinical prenatal genetic testing services arising from the continued expansion of prenatal genetic testing, legal restrictions on access to abortion and the potential development of embryonic treatments.

The Legal Past, Present and Future of Prenatal Genetic Testing: Professional Liability and Other Legal Challenges Affecting Patient Access to Services

PubMed Central

Pergament, Deborah; Ilijic, Katie

2014-01-01

This chapter is an overview of the current status of the law in the United States regarding prenatal genetic testing with an emphasis on issues related to professional liability and other challenges affecting patient access to prenatal genetic testing. The chapter discusses the roles that federal regulations, promulgated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), play in the regulation of prenatal genetic tests. The chapter discusses tort litigation based on allegations of malpractice in the provision of prenatal genetic testing and how courts have analyzed issues related to causation, damages and mitigation of damages. The chapter provides reference information regarding how individual states address causes of action under the tort theories of wrongful birth and wrongful life. The chapter concludes with a discussion of future legal issues that may affect clinical prenatal genetic testing services arising from the continued expansion of prenatal genetic testing, legal restrictions on access to abortion and the potential development of embryonic treatments. PMID:26237611

How Do Airlines Perceive That Strategic Alliances Affect Their Individual Branding?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalligiannis, Konstantinos; Iatrou, Kostas; Mason, Keith

2006-01-01

Much research has been carried out to evaluate the impact of strategic alliance membership on the performance of airlines. However it would be of interest to identify how airlines perceive this impact in terms of branding by each of the three global alliance groupings. It is the purpose of this paper to gather the opinion of airlines, belonging to the three strategic alliance groups, on the impact that the strategic alliance brands have had on their individual brands and how do they perceive that this impact will change in the future. To achieve this, a comprehensive survey of the alliance management and marketing departments of airlines participating in the three global strategic alliances was required. The results from this survey give an indication whether the strategic airline alliances, which are often referred to as marketing agreements, enhance, damage or have no impact on the individual airline brands.

Assessing collective affect recognition via the Emotional Aperture Measure.

PubMed

Sanchez-Burks, Jeffrey; Bartel, Caroline A; Rees, Laura; Huy, Quy

2016-01-01

Curiosity about collective affect is undergoing a revival in many fields. This literature, tracing back to Le Bon's seminal work on crowd psychology, has established the veracity of collective affect and demonstrated its influence on a wide range of group dynamics. More recently, an interest in the perception of collective affect has emerged, revealing a need for a methodological approach for assessing collective emotion recognition to complement measures of individual emotion recognition. This article addresses this need by introducing the Emotional Aperture Measure (EAM). Three studies provide evidence that collective affect recognition requires a processing style distinct from individual emotion recognition and establishes the validity and reliability of the EAM. A sample of working managers further shows how the EAM provides unique insights into how individuals interact with collectives. We discuss how the EAM can advance several lines of research on collective affect.

The Mere Co-Presence: Synchronization of Autonomic Signals and Emotional Responses across Co-Present Individuals Not Engaged in Direct Interaction

PubMed Central

Golland, Yulia; Arzouan, Yossi; Levit-Binnun, Nava

2015-01-01

Existing evidence suggests that in social contexts individuals become coupled in their emotions and behaviors. Furthermore, recent biological studies demonstrate that the physiological signals of interacting individuals become coupled as well, exhibiting temporally synchronized response patterns. However, it is yet unknown whether people can shape each other's responses without the direct, face-to-face interaction. Here we investigated whether the convergence of physiological and emotional states can occur among “merely co-present” individuals, without direct interactional exchanges. To this end, we measured continuous autonomic signals and collected emotional responses of participants who watched emotional movies together, seated side-by-side. We found that the autonomic signals of co-present participants were idiosyncratically synchronized and that the degree of this synchronization was correlated with the convergence of their emotional responses. These findings suggest that moment-to-moment emotional transmissions, resulting in shared emotional experiences, can occur in the absence of direct communication and are mediated by autonomic synchronization. PMID:26018597

Voluntary movement affects simultaneous perception of auditory and tactile stimuli presented to a non-moving body part.

PubMed

Hao, Qiao; Ora, Hiroki; Ogawa, Ken-Ichiro; Ogata, Taiki; Miyake, Yoshihiro

2016-09-13

The simultaneous perception of multimodal sensory information has a crucial role for effective reactions to the external environment. Voluntary movements are known to occasionally affect simultaneous perception of auditory and tactile stimuli presented to the moving body part. However, little is known about spatial limits on the effect of voluntary movements on simultaneous perception, especially when tactile stimuli are presented to a non-moving body part. We examined the effect of voluntary movement on the simultaneous perception of auditory and tactile stimuli presented to the non-moving body part. We considered the possible mechanism using a temporal order judgement task under three experimental conditions: voluntary movement, where participants voluntarily moved their right index finger and judged the temporal order of auditory and tactile stimuli presented to their non-moving left index finger; passive movement; and no movement. During voluntary movement, the auditory stimulus needed to be presented before the tactile stimulus so that they were perceived as occurring simultaneously. This subjective simultaneity differed significantly from the passive movement and no movement conditions. This finding indicates that the effect of voluntary movement on simultaneous perception of auditory and tactile stimuli extends to the non-moving body part.

Affective temperament and personal identity.

PubMed

Stanghellini, Giovanni; Rosfort, René

2010-10-01

The complex relationship between temperament and personal identity, and between these and mental disorders, is of critical interest to both philosophy and psychopathology. More than other living creatures, human beings are constituted and characterized by the interplay of their genotype and phenotype. There appears to be an explanatory gap between the almost perfect genetic identity and the individual differences among humans. One reason for this gap is that a human being is a person besides a physiological organism. We propose an outline of a theoretical model that might somewhat mitigate the explanatory discrepancies between physiological mechanisms and individual human emotional experience and behaviour. Arguing for the pervasive nature of human affectivity, i.e., for the assumption that human consciousness and behaviour is characterised by being permeated by affectivity; to envisage the dynamics of emotional experience, we make use of a three-levelled model of human personal identity that differentiates between factors that are simultaneously at work in the constitution of the individual human person: 1) core emotions, 2) affective temperament types/affective character traits, and 3) personhood. These levels are investigated separately in order to respect the methodological diversity among them (neuroscience, psychopathology, and philosophy), but they are eventually brought together in a hermeneutical account of human personhood. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attentional consequences of pregoal and postgoal positive affects.

PubMed

Gable, Philip A; Harmon-Jones, Eddie

2011-12-01

Decades of research have suggested that all positive affective states broaden attention. Recent studies have found that positive affects high in approach motivation narrow attention, whereas positive affects low in approach motivation broaden attention. However, these studies were limited because they used only affective pictures to manipulate positive affect. The pictures, rather than the affective states created by them, may have caused individuals to focus on the emotional details of the picture, and this attentional focus may have caused the narrowing of attentional scope. Moreover, no experiment has yet to examine both low and high approach-motivated positive affect within the same individuals in the same study. The current experiments manipulated pregoal (high approach) and postgoal (low approach) positive states by giving participants the opportunity to win money on a game. Results revealed that pregoal positive affect caused a narrowing of attention, whereas postgoal positive affect caused a broadening of attention. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Do individualism and collectivism on three levels (country, individual, and situation) influence theory-of-mind efficiency? A cross-country study.

PubMed

Vu, Tuong-Van; Finkenauer, Catrin; Huizinga, Mariette; Novin, Sheida; Krabbendam, Lydia

2017-01-01

This study investigated whether individualism and collectivism (IC) at country, individual, and situational level influence how quickly and accurately people can infer mental states (i.e. theory of mind, or ToM), indexed by accuracy and reaction time in a ToM task. We hypothesized that collectivism (having an interdependent self and valuing group concerns), compared to individualism (having an independent self and valuing personal concerns), is associated with greater accuracy and speed in recognizing and understanding the thoughts and feelings of others. Students (N = 207) from individualism-representative (the Netherlands) and collectivism-representative (Vietnam) countries (Country IC) answered an individualism-collectivism questionnaire (Individual IC) and were randomly assigned to an individualism-primed, collectivism-primed, or no-prime task (Situational IC) before performing a ToM task. The data showed vast differences between the Dutch and Vietnamese groups that might not be attributable to experimental manipulation. Therefore, we analyzed the data for the groups separately and found that Individual IC did not predict ToM accuracy or reaction time performance. Regarding Situational IC, when primed with individualism, the accuracy performance of Vietnamese participants in affective ToM trials decreased compared to when primed with collectivism and when no prime was used. However, an interesting pattern emerged: Dutch participants were least accurate in affective ToM trials, while Vietnamese participants were quickest in affective ToM trials. Our research also highlights a dilemma faced by cross-cultural researchers who use hard-to-reach populations but face the challenge of disentangling experimental effects from biases that might emerge due to an interaction between cultural differences and experimental settings. We propose suggestions for overcoming such challenges.

Do individualism and collectivism on three levels (country, individual, and situation) influence theory-of-mind efficiency? A cross-country study

PubMed Central

Finkenauer, Catrin; Huizinga, Mariette; Novin, Sheida; Krabbendam, Lydia

2017-01-01

This study investigated whether individualism and collectivism (IC) at country, individual, and situational level influence how quickly and accurately people can infer mental states (i.e. theory of mind, or ToM), indexed by accuracy and reaction time in a ToM task. We hypothesized that collectivism (having an interdependent self and valuing group concerns), compared to individualism (having an independent self and valuing personal concerns), is associated with greater accuracy and speed in recognizing and understanding the thoughts and feelings of others. Students (N = 207) from individualism-representative (the Netherlands) and collectivism-representative (Vietnam) countries (Country IC) answered an individualism-collectivism questionnaire (Individual IC) and were randomly assigned to an individualism-primed, collectivism-primed, or no-prime task (Situational IC) before performing a ToM task. The data showed vast differences between the Dutch and Vietnamese groups that might not be attributable to experimental manipulation. Therefore, we analyzed the data for the groups separately and found that Individual IC did not predict ToM accuracy or reaction time performance. Regarding Situational IC, when primed with individualism, the accuracy performance of Vietnamese participants in affective ToM trials decreased compared to when primed with collectivism and when no prime was used. However, an interesting pattern emerged: Dutch participants were least accurate in affective ToM trials, while Vietnamese participants were quickest in affective ToM trials. Our research also highlights a dilemma faced by cross-cultural researchers who use hard-to-reach populations but face the challenge of disentangling experimental effects from biases that might emerge due to an interaction between cultural differences and experimental settings. We propose suggestions for overcoming such challenges. PMID:28832602

Give Me a Hand: Adult Involvement During Object Exploration Affects Object Individuation in Infancy

PubMed Central

Johnson, Kristin M.; Woods, Rebecca J.

2015-01-01

The development of object individuation, a fundamental ability that supports identification and discrimination of objects across discrete encounters, has been examined extensively by researchers. There are significant advancements in infants’ ability to individuate objects during the first year-and-a-half. Experimental work has established a timeline of object individuation abilities and revealed some mechanisms underlying this ability, however, the influence of adult assistance during object exploration has not yet been explored. The current study investigates the effect of adult involvement during object exploration on infants’ object individuation abilities. In Experiment 1a and 1b, we examined 9.5-month-old infants’ colour-based object individuation following adult-assisted multisensory object exploration. Two components of adult interaction were of particular interest: facilitation of object manipulation (grasping, rotating, and attention-getting behaviours) and social engagement (smiling, pointing, attention-getting verbalizations, and object-directed gaze). Experiment 2a and 2b assessed these components with 4.5-month-olds to examine their impact across development. The results showed that after adult-guided object exploration, both 9.5- and 4.5-month-old infants successfully individuated previously undifferentiated objects. Results of Experiments 1b and 2b provide implications for the mechanisms underlying the scaffolding influence of adult interaction during infant behaviours. PMID:28082834

Relevance of the Tripartite Dimensions of Affect for Anxiety and Depression in Youth: Examining Sex and Psychopathology Status

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Bolle, Marleen; Decuyper, Mieke; De Clercq, Barbara; De Fruyt, Filip

2010-01-01

Using a combined sample (N = 1,215) of referred children and children from the general population aged between 8 and 14 years, the present study addressed two research goals: First, latent mean differences (depending on the individual's sex or psychopathology level) in anxiety, depression, Positive Affect (PA), Negative Affect (NA) and…

The role of individual differences in particular autonomy-connectedness in women's and men's work-family balance.

PubMed

Bekker, Marrie H J; Willemse, Jolanda J P; De Goeij, Jacqueline W J M

2010-05-01

Individual differences are increasingly considered important in the relationship between work-family balance and health. The present study examined the role of autonomy-connectedness in positive and negative work-family interaction and family-work interaction. We also investigated the relationship of work-family interaction and family-work interaction with positive and negative affect, coping patterns, and demographic characteristics. All variables under study were measured with questionnaires in a Dutch sample of 205 respondents. As expected, the individual difference factors were substantially associated with work-family interaction and family-work interaction; together they accounted for 10 to 39% of their variance. In particular, negative affect and the autonomy-connectedness components Sensitivity to others and Capacity for managing new situations appeared to be strongly related to work-family interactions. Health implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations for further research are presented.

Fanconi anaemia in South Africa: Past, present and future.

PubMed

Feben, C; Wainstein, T; Kromberg, J; Essop, F; Krause, A

2018-04-25

Fanconi anaemia (FA) is an inherited genetic disorder characterised by somatic anomalies, bone marrow failure and an increased predisposition to solid tumours and haematological malignancies. South African (SA) black and Afrikaner individuals are at higher than average risk for this condition owing to genetic founder mutations in certain Fanconi-associated genes. This review explores the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic modalities and recommended care of affected patients, focusing on the founder population groups in SA. The early diagnosis of FA is important and provides improved opportunities for early intervention, but remains challenging.

COMT val108/158 met genotype affects neural but not cognitive processing in healthy individuals.

PubMed

Dennis, Nancy A; Need, Anna C; LaBar, Kevin S; Waters-Metenier, Sheena; Cirulli, Elizabeth T; Kragel, James; Goldstein, David B; Cabeza, Roberto

2010-03-01

The relationship between cognition and a functional polymorphism in the catechol-O-methlytransferase (COMT) gene, val108/158met, is one of debate in the literature. Furthermore, based on the dopaminergic differences associated with the COMT val108/158met genotype, neural differences during cognition may be present, regardless of genotypic differences in cognitive performance. To investigate these issues the current study aimed to 1) examine the effects of COMT genotype using a large sample of healthy individuals (n = 496-1218) and multiple cognitive measures, and using a subset of the sample (n = 22), 2) examine whether COMT genotype effects medial temporal lobe (MTL) and frontal activity during successful relational memory processing, and 3) investigate group differences in functional connectivity associated with successful relational memory processing. Results revealed no significant group difference in cognitive performance between COMT genotypes in any of the 19 cognitive measures. However, in the subset sample, COMT val homozygotes exhibited significantly decreased MTL and increased prefrontal activity during both successful relational encoding and retrieval, and reduced connectivity between these regions compared with met homozygotes. Taken together, the results suggest that although the COMT val108/158met genotype has no effect on cognitive behavioral measures in healthy individuals, it is associated with differences in neural process underlying cognitive output.

The effect of hand movements on numerical bisection judgments in early blind and sighted individuals.

PubMed

Rinaldi, Luca; Vecchi, Tomaso; Fantino, Micaela; Merabet, Lotfi B; Cattaneo, Zaira

2015-10-01

Recent evidence suggests that in representing numbers blind individuals might be affected differently by proprioceptive cues (e.g., hand positions, head turns) than are sighted individuals. In this study, we asked a group of early blind and sighted individuals to perform a numerical bisection task while executing hand movements in left or right peripersonal space and with either hand. We found that in bisecting ascending numerical intervals, the hemi-space in which the hand was moved (but not the moved hand itself) influenced the bisection bias similarly in both early blind and sighted participants. However, when numerical intervals were presented in descending order, the moved hand (and not the hemi-space in which it was moved) affected the bisection bias in all participants. Overall, our data show that the operation to be performed on the mental number line affects the activated spatial reference frame, regardless of participants' previous visual experience. In particular, both sighted and early blind individuals' representation of numerical magnitude is mainly rooted in world-centered coordinates when numerical information is given in canonical orientation (i.e., from small to large), whereas hand-centered coordinates become more relevant when the scanning of the mental number line proceeds in non-canonical direction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of individual enabling and support on empowerment and depression severity in persons with affective disorders: outcome of a randomized control trial.

PubMed

Porter, Susann; Bejerholm, Ulrika

2018-05-01

To evaluate the effect of Individual Enabling and Support (IES) on empowerment and depression severity as compared to Traditional Vocational Rehabilitation (TVR) in people with affective disorders at 12 months follow-up. Additionally, longitudinal changes within the intervention groups and the correlation over time between empowerment and depression severity were evaluated. A single-blind randomized controlled trial of two intervention groups, IES (n = 33) and TVR (n = 28), was performed with measurement points at baseline, 6, and 12 months. Individuals with affective disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder diagnoses were included. The Empowerment Scale and Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Self-Rating Scale were administered, and Intention-To-Treat analysis was applied. The study was registered with the trial number ISRCTN93470551. There was a statistically significant difference between the intervention groups on empowerment and depression severity at 12 months. Within-group analysis showed that IES-participants increased their perceived empowerment and decreased their depression severity between measurement points, this was not seen among TVR-participants. A moderate, inverse relationship was detected between empowerment and depression. IES is more effective in increasing empowerment and decreasing depression severity after a 12-month intervention than is TVR. This study was limited by a small sample size and larger trials in different contexts are needed.

Cognitive Psychophysiological Substrates of Affective Temperaments.

PubMed

Poyraz, Burç Çağrı; Sakallı Kani, Ayşe; Aksoy Poyraz, Cana; Öcek Baş, Tuba; Arıkan, Mehmet Kemal

2017-03-01

Affective temperaments are the subclinical manifestations or phenotypes of mood states and hypothetically represent one healthy end of the mood disorder spectrum. However, there is a scarcity of studies investigating the neurobiological basis of affective temperaments. One fundamental aspect of temperament is the behavioral reactivity to environmental stimuli, which can be effectively evaluated by use of cognitive event-related potentials (ERPs) reflecting the diversity of information processing. The aim of the present study is to explore the associations between P300 and the affective temperamental traits in healthy individuals. We recorded the P300 ERP waves using an auditory oddball paradigm in 50 medical student volunteers (23 females, 27 males). Participants' affective temperaments were evaluated using the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego-auto questionnaire version (TEMPS-A). In bivariate analyses, depressive temperament score was significantly correlated with P300 latency ( r s = 0.37, P < .01). In a multiple linear regression analysis, P300 latency showed a significant positive correlation with scores of depressive temperament (β = 0.40, P < .01) and a significant negative one with scores of cyclothymic temperament (β = -0.29, P = .03). Affective temperament scores were not associated with P300 amplitude and reaction times. These results indicate that affective temperaments are related to information processing in the brain. Depressive temperament may be characterized by decreased physiological arousal and slower information processing, while the opposite was observed for cyclothymic temperament.

Refractive errors affect the vividness of visual mental images.

PubMed

Palermo, Liana; Nori, Raffaella; Piccardi, Laura; Zeri, Fabrizio; Babino, Antonio; Giusberti, Fiorella; Guariglia, Cecilia

2013-01-01

The hypothesis that visual perception and mental imagery are equivalent has never been explored in individuals with vision defects not preventing the visual perception of the world, such as refractive errors. Refractive error (i.e., myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism) is a condition where the refracting system of the eye fails to focus objects sharply on the retina. As a consequence refractive errors cause blurred vision. We subdivided 84 individuals according to their spherical equivalent refraction into Emmetropes (control individuals without refractive errors) and Ametropes (individuals with refractive errors). Participants performed a vividness task and completed a questionnaire that explored their cognitive style of thinking before their vision was checked by an ophthalmologist. Although results showed that Ametropes had less vivid mental images than Emmetropes this did not affect the development of their cognitive style of thinking; in fact, Ametropes were able to use both verbal and visual strategies to acquire and retrieve information. Present data are consistent with the hypothesis of equivalence between imagery and perception.

Individual differences in non-verbal number acuity correlate with maths achievement.

PubMed

Halberda, Justin; Mazzocco, Michèle M M; Feigenson, Lisa

2008-10-02

Human mathematical competence emerges from two representational systems. Competence in some domains of mathematics, such as calculus, relies on symbolic representations that are unique to humans who have undergone explicit teaching. More basic numerical intuitions are supported by an evolutionarily ancient approximate number system that is shared by adults, infants and non-human animals-these groups can all represent the approximate number of items in visual or auditory arrays without verbally counting, and use this capacity to guide everyday behaviour such as foraging. Despite the widespread nature of the approximate number system both across species and across development, it is not known whether some individuals have a more precise non-verbal 'number sense' than others. Furthermore, the extent to which this system interfaces with the formal, symbolic maths abilities that humans acquire by explicit instruction remains unknown. Here we show that there are large individual differences in the non-verbal approximation abilities of 14-year-old children, and that these individual differences in the present correlate with children's past scores on standardized maths achievement tests, extending all the way back to kindergarten. Moreover, this correlation remains significant when controlling for individual differences in other cognitive and performance factors. Our results show that individual differences in achievement in school mathematics are related to individual differences in the acuity of an evolutionarily ancient, unlearned approximate number sense. Further research will determine whether early differences in number sense acuity affect later maths learning, whether maths education enhances number sense acuity, and the extent to which tertiary factors can affect both.

Psychosis in autism: comparison of the features of both conditions in a dually affected cohort†

PubMed Central

Larson, Felicity V.; Wagner, Adam P.; Jones, Peter B.; Tantam, Digby; Lai, Meng-Chuan; Baron-Cohen, Simon; Holland, Anthony J.

2017-01-01

Background There is limited information on the presentation and characteristics of psychotic illness experienced by people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Aims To describe autistic and psychotic phenomenology in a group of individuals with comorbid ASD and psychosis (ASD–P) and compare this group with populations affected by either, alone. Method We studied 116 individuals with ASD–P. We compared features of their ASD with people with ASD and no comorbid psychosis (ASD–NP), and clinical characteristics of psychosis in ASD–P with people with psychosis only. Results Individuals with ASD–P had more diagnoses of atypical psychosis and fewer of schizophrenia compared with individuals with psychosis only. People with ASD–P had fewer stereotyped interests/behaviours compared with those with ASD–NP. Conclusions Our data show there may be a specific subtype of ASD linked to comorbid psychosis. The results support findings that psychosis in people with ASD is often atypical, particularly regarding affective disturbance. PMID:27979819

Distracted and down: neural mechanisms of affective interference in subclinical depression.

PubMed

Kaiser, Roselinde H; Andrews-Hanna, Jessica R; Spielberg, Jeffrey M; Warren, Stacie L; Sutton, Bradley P; Miller, Gregory A; Heller, Wendy; Banich, Marie T

2015-05-01

Previous studies have shown that depressed individuals have difficulty directing attention away from negative distractors, a phenomenon known as affective interference. However, findings are mixed regarding the neural mechanisms and network dynamics of affective interference. The present study addressed these issues by comparing neural activation during emotion-word and color-word Stroop tasks in participants with varying levels of (primarily subclinical) depression. Depressive symptoms predicted increased activation to negative distractors in areas of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), regions implicated in cognitive control and internally directed attention, respectively. Increased dACC activity was also observed in the group-average response to incongruent distractors, suggesting that dACC activity during affective interference is related to overtaxed cognitive control. In contrast, regions of PCC were deactivated across the group in response to incongruent distractors, suggesting that PCC activity during affective interference represents task-independent processing. A psychophysiological interaction emerged in which higher depression predicted more positively correlated activity between dACC and PCC during affective interference, i.e. greater connectivity between cognitive control and internal-attention systems. These findings suggest that, when individuals high in depression are confronted by negative material, increased attention to internal thoughts and difficulty shifting resources to the external world interfere with goal-directed behavior. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Individual Differences in Moral Development: Does Intelligence Really Affect Children's Moral Reasoning and Moral Emotions?

PubMed

Beißert, Hanna M; Hasselhorn, Marcus

2016-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between intelligence and individual differences in children's moral development across a range of different moral transgressions. Taking up prior research that showed morality and intelligence to be related in adolescents and adults, the current study wants to test if these findings can be extended to younger children. The study was designed to address some of the shortcomings in prior research by examining young children aged between 6 years; 4 months and 8 years; 10 months, using a broad concept of moral development including emotional aspects and applying an approach that is closely connected to children's daily lives. Participants ( N = 129) completed a standardized intelligence test and were presented four moral transgression stories to assess moral development. Results demonstrated that findings from prior research with adolescents or adults cannot simply be extended to younger participants. No significant correlations of moral development and intelligence were found for any of the presented stories. This provides first evidence that - at least in middle childhood - moral developmental status seems to be independent from children's general intelligence assessed by figural inductive reasoning tests.

Mind Invasion: Situated Affectivity and the Corporate Life Hack.

PubMed

Slaby, Jan

2016-01-01

In view of the philosophical problems that vex the debate on situated affectivity, it can seem wise to focus on simple cases. Accordingly, theorists often single out scenarios in which an individual employs a device in order to enhance their emotional experience, or to achieve new kinds of experience altogether, such as playing an instrument, going to the movies, or sporting a fancy handbag. I argue that this narrow focus on cases that fit a "user/resource model" tends to channel attention away from more complex and also more problematic instances of situated affectivity. Among these are scenarios in which a social domain draws individuals into certain modes of affective interaction, often by way of attunement and habituation to affective styles and interaction patterns that are normative in the domain in question. This can lead to a phenomenon that is not so much "mind extension" than "mind invasion": affectivity is dynamically framed and modulated from without, often contrary to the prior orientations of the individuals in question. As an example, I discuss affective patterns prevalent in today's corporate workplace. I claim that workplace affect sometimes contributes to what is effectively a "hack" of employees' subjectivity.

Trauma exposure and cigarette smoking: the impact of negative affect and affect-regulatory smoking motives.

PubMed

Farris, Samantha G; Zvolensky, Michael J; Beckham, Jean C; Vujanovic, Anka A; Schmidt, Norman B

2014-01-01

Cognitive-affective mechanisms related to the maintenance of smoking among trauma-exposed individuals are largely unknown. Cross-sectional data from trauma-exposed treatment-seeking smokers (n = 283) were utilized to test a series of multiple mediator models of trauma exposure and smoking, as mediated by the sequential effects of negative affect and affect-modulation smoking motives. The sequential effects of both mediators indirectly predicted the effect of greater trauma exposure types on nicotine dependence, a biochemical index of smoking, perceived barriers to smoking cessation, and greater withdrawal-related problems during past quit attempts. Negative affect and affect-modulation motives for smoking may contribute to the trauma-smoking association.

Trauma Exposure and Cigarette Smoking: The Impact of Negative Affect and Affect-Regulatory Smoking Motives

PubMed Central

Farris, Samantha G.; Zvolensky, Michael J.; Beckham, Jean C.; Vujanovic, Anka A.; Schmidt, Norman B.

2014-01-01

Cognitive-affective mechanisms related to the maintenance of smoking among trauma-exposed individuals are largely unknown. Cross-sectional data from trauma-exposed treatment-seeking smokers (n = 283) were utilized to test a series of multiple mediator models of trauma exposure and smoking, as mediated by the sequential effects of negative affect and affect-modulation smoking motives. The sequential effects of both mediators indirectly predicted the effect of greater trauma exposure types on nicotine dependence, a biochemical index of smoking, perceived barriers to smoking cessation, and greater withdrawal-related problems during past quit attempts. Negative affect and affect-modulation motives for smoking may contribute to the trauma-smoking association. PMID:25299617

28 CFR 549.71 - Inmates affected.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Inmates affected. 549.71 Section 549.71 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT MEDICAL SERVICES Fees for Health Care Services § 549.71 Inmates affected. This subpart applies to: (a) Any individual...

28 CFR 549.71 - Inmates affected.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Inmates affected. 549.71 Section 549.71 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT MEDICAL SERVICES Fees for Health Care Services § 549.71 Inmates affected. This subpart applies to: (a) Any individual...

28 CFR 549.71 - Inmates affected.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Inmates affected. 549.71 Section 549.71 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT MEDICAL SERVICES Fees for Health Care Services § 549.71 Inmates affected. This subpart applies to: (a) Any individual...

28 CFR 549.71 - Inmates affected.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Inmates affected. 549.71 Section 549.71 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT MEDICAL SERVICES Fees for Health Care Services § 549.71 Inmates affected. This subpart applies to: (a) Any individual...

28 CFR 549.71 - Inmates affected.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Inmates affected. 549.71 Section 549.71 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT MEDICAL SERVICES Fees for Health Care Services § 549.71 Inmates affected. This subpart applies to: (a) Any individual...

Coronary artery endothelial dysfunction is present in HIV positive individuals without significant coronary artery disease

PubMed Central

IANTORNO, Micaela; SCHÄR, Michael; SOLEIMANIFARD, Sahar; BROWN, Todd T.; MOORE, Richard; BARDITCH-CROVO, Patricia; STUBER, Matthias; LAI, Shenghan; GERSTENBLITH, Gary; WEISS, Robert G.; HAYS, Allison G.

2017-01-01

Objective HIV+ individuals experience an increased burden of coronary artery disease (CAD) not adequately accounted for by traditional CAD risk factors. Coronary endothelial function (CEF), a barometer of vascular health, is depressed early in atherosclerosis and predicts future events but has not been studied in HIV+ individuals. We tested whether CEF is impaired in HIV+ subjects without CAD as compared to an HIV- population matched for cardiac risk factors. Design/Methods In this observational study, CEF was measured noninvasively by quantifying isometric handgrip exercise (IHE)-induced changes in coronary vasoreactivity with MRI in 18 participants with HIV but no CAD (HIV+CAD-, based on prior imaging), 36 age- and cardiac risk factor-matched healthy participants with neither HIV nor CAD (HIV-CAD-), 41 subjects with no HIV but with known CAD (HIV-CAD+) and 17 subjects with both HIV and CAD (HIV+CAD+). Results CEF was significantly depressed in HIV+CAD- subjects as compared to that of risk-factor-matched HIV-CAD- subjects (p<0.0001), and was depressed to the level of that in HIV- participants with established CAD. Mean IL-6 levels were higher in HIV+ participants (p<0.0001), and inversely related to CEF in the HIV+ subjects (p=0.007). Conclusions Marked coronary endothelial dysfunction is present in HIV+ subjects without significant CAD and is as severe as that in clinical CAD patients. Furthermore, endothelial dysfunction appears inversely related to the degree of inflammation in HIV+ subjects, as measured by IL-6. CEF testing in HIV+ patients may be useful for assessing cardiovascular risk and testing new CAD treatment strategies, including those targeting inflammation. PMID:28353539

Incorporating affective bias in models of human decision making

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nygren, Thomas E.

1991-01-01

Research on human decision making has traditionally focused on how people actually make decisions, how good their decisions are, and how their decisions can be improved. Recent research suggests that this model is inadequate. Affective as well as cognitive components drive the way information about relevant outcomes and events is perceived, integrated, and used in the decision making process. The affective components include how the individual frames outcomes as good or bad, whether the individual anticipates regret in a decision situation, the affective mood state of the individual, and the psychological stress level anticipated or experienced in the decision situation. A focus of the current work has been to propose empirical studies that will attempt to examine in more detail the relationships between the latter two critical affective influences (mood state and stress) on decision making behavior.

Automatic processing of facial affects in patients with borderline personality disorder: associations with symptomatology and comorbid disorders.

PubMed

Donges, Uta-Susan; Dukalski, Bibiana; Kersting, Anette; Suslow, Thomas

2015-01-01

Instability of affects and interpersonal relations are important features of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Interpersonal problems of individuals suffering from BPD might develop based on abnormalities in the processing of facial affects and high sensitivity to negative affective expressions. The aims of the present study were to examine automatic evaluative shifts and latencies as a function of masked facial affects in patients with BPD compared to healthy individuals. As BPD comorbidity rates for mental and personality disorders are high, we investigated also the relationships of affective processing characteristics with specific borderline symptoms and comorbidity. Twenty-nine women with BPD and 38 healthy women participated in the study. The majority of patients suffered from additional Axis I disorders and/or additional personality disorders. In the priming experiment, angry, happy, neutral, or no facial expression was briefly presented (for 33 ms) and masked by neutral faces that had to be evaluated. Evaluative decisions and response latencies were registered. Borderline-typical symptomatology was assessed with the Borderline Symptom List. In the total sample, valence-congruent evaluative shifts and delays of evaluative decision due to facial affect were observed. No between-group differences were obtained for evaluative decisions and latencies. The presence of comorbid anxiety disorders was found to be positively correlated with evaluative shifting owing to masked happy primes, regardless of baseline-neutral or no facial expression condition. The presence of comorbid depressive disorder, paranoid personality disorder, and symptoms of social isolation and self-aggression were significantly correlated with response delay due to masked angry faces, regardless of baseline. In the present affective priming study, no abnormalities in the automatic recognition and processing of facial affects were observed in BPD patients compared to healthy individuals

Individual Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corsini, Raymond

1981-01-01

Paper presented at the 66th Convention of the International Association of Pupil Personnel Workers, October 20, 1980, Baltimore, Maryland, describes individual education based on the principles of Alfred Adler. Defines six advantages of individual education, emphasizing student responsibility, mutual respect, and allowing students to progress at…

Do job demands and job control affect problem-solving?

PubMed

Bergman, Peter N; Ahlberg, Gunnel; Johansson, Gun; Stoetzer, Ulrich; Aborg, Carl; Hallsten, Lennart; Lundberg, Ingvar

2012-01-01

The Job Demand Control model presents combinations of working conditions that may facilitate learning, the active learning hypothesis, or have detrimental effects on health, the strain hypothesis. To test the active learning hypothesis, this study analysed the effects of job demands and job control on general problem-solving strategies. A population-based sample of 4,636 individuals (55% women, 45% men) with the same job characteristics measured at two times with a three year time lag was used. Main effects of demands, skill discretion, task authority and control, and the combined effects of demands and control were analysed in logistic regressions, on four outcomes representing general problem-solving strategies. Those reporting high on skill discretion, task authority and control, as well as those reporting high demand/high control and low demand/high control job characteristics were more likely to state using problem solving strategies. Results suggest that working conditions including high levels of control may affect how individuals cope with problems and that workplace characteristics may affect behaviour in the non-work domain.

An investigation of the relationship of drooling with nutrition and head control in individuals with quadriparetic cerebral palsy

PubMed Central

Taş, Seda Ayaz; Çankaya, Tamer

2015-01-01

[Purpose] The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship of drooling, nutrition, and head control in individuals with quadriparetic cerebral palsy. [Subjects and Methods] Fifty-six individuals between the ages 2 and 15 diagnosed with spastic quadriparetic cerebral palsy and their families/caretakers were included in the study. Drooling severity and frequency of individuals was evaluated by using the scale developed by Thomas-Stonell and Greenberg (Drooling Severity and Frequency Scale). Individuals having a drooling severity value of 1 were included in the not drooling group (group 2) (n=27). Individuals having a drooling severity of 2, 3, 4, or 5 were included in the drooling group (group 1) (n=29). The evaluations were applied to both groups. [Results] There were significant differences between the two groups in terms of gestational age, nutrition behavior, eating abilities, head control, gagging, nutritional status (inadequate nutrition, normal nutrition, over weight-obese), and low weight. It was established that as head control increased, drooling severity diminished, and as drooling severity increased, BMI index decreased. Independence of eating ability was found to be greater in the group having better drooling control. [Conclusion] In the present study, it was determined that drooling control affected nutritional functions and that drooling control was affected by head control. PMID:26696723

Insular Activity during Passive Viewing of Aversive Stimuli Reflects Individual Differences in State Negative Affect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meriau, Katja; Wartenburger, Isabell; Kazzer, Philipp; Prehn, Kristin; Villringer, Arno; van der Meer, Elke; Heekeren, Hauke R.

2009-01-01

People differ with regard to how they perceive, experience, and express negative affect. While trait negative affect reflects a stable, sustained personality trait, state negative affect represents a stimulus limited and temporally acute emotion. So far, little is known about the neural systems mediating the relationship between negative affect…

Macroscopic brain dynamics during verbal and pictorial processing of affective stimuli.

PubMed

Keil, Andreas

2006-01-01

Emotions can be viewed as action dispositions, preparing an individual to act efficiently and successfully in situations of behavioral relevance. To initiate optimized behavior, it is essential to accurately process the perceptual elements indicative of emotional relevance. The present chapter discusses effects of affective content on neural and behavioral parameters of perception, across different information channels. Electrocortical data are presented from studies examining affective perception with pictures and words in different task contexts. As a main result, these data suggest that sensory facilitation has an important role in affective processing. Affective pictures appear to facilitate perception as a function of emotional arousal at multiple levels of visual analysis. If the discrimination between affectively arousing vs. nonarousing content relies on fine-grained differences, amplification of the cortical representation may occur as early as 60-90 ms after stimulus onset. Affectively arousing information as conveyed via visual verbal channels was not subject to such very early enhancement. However, electrocortical indices of lexical access and/or activation of semantic networks showed that affectively arousing content may enhance the formation of semantic representations during word encoding. It can be concluded that affective arousal is associated with activation of widespread networks, which act to optimize sensory processing. On the basis of prioritized sensory analysis for affectively relevant stimuli, subsequent steps such as working memory, motor preparation, and action may be adjusted to meet the adaptive requirements of the situation perceived.

Presentation and management of chronic pain.

PubMed

Rajapakse, Dilini; Liossi, Christina; Howard, Richard F

2014-05-01

Chronic pain is an important clinical problem affecting significant numbers of children and their families. The severity and impact of chronic pain on everyday function is shaped by the complex interaction of biological, psychological and social factors that determine the experience of pain for each individual, rather than a straightforward reflection of the severity of disease or extent of tissue damage. In this article we present the research findings that strongly support a biopsychosocial concept of chronic pain, describe the current best evidence for management strategies and suggest a common general pathway for all types of chronic pain. The principles of management of some of the most important or frequently encountered chronic pain problems in paediatric practice; neuropathic pain, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), musculoskeletal pain, abdominal pain and headache are also described.

Negative Affect Instability among Individuals with Comorbid Borderline Personality Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

PubMed Central

Scheiderer, Emily M.; Wang, Ting; Tomko, Rachel L.; Wood, Phillip K.; Trull, Timothy J.

2015-01-01

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA; Stone & Shiffman, 1994) was utilized to examine affective instability (AI) in the daily lives of outpatients with borderline personality disorder (BPD; n=78) with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A psychiatric control group (n=50) composed of outpatients with major depressive disorder/dysthymia (MDD/DYS) was employed to compare across subgroups: BPD-only, BPD+PTSD, MDD/DYS-only, and MDD/DYS+PTSD. Compared to the BPD-only group, the BPD+PTSD group had significantly greater instability of fear and sadness, but did not significantly differ in instability of hostility or aggregate negative affect. This pattern of elevated instability of fear and sadness was not present—and, in fact, was reversed—in the MDD/DYS group. Results emphasize the importance of examining AI within the context of specific comorbidities and affect types. Treatment and research addressing AI in the context of BPD-PTSD comorbidity may benefit from a focus on fear and sadness as separate from hostility or general negative affect. PMID:26904388

Factors affecting presentation and delay in patients with testicular cancer: results of a qualitative study.

PubMed

Gascoigne, P; Mason, M D; Roberts, E

1999-01-01

A qualitative study was undertaken with men treated for testicular tumours, to ascertain how they interpreted their symptoms and the factors which influenced a decision to consult a physician. The research was undertaken with six men who had been diagnosed as having testicular tumours. Interviews were also conducted with four wives and one mother. The findings showed that giving men information on testicular cancer may not guarantee early presentation. Symptoms were not generally attributed to cancer and the one patient who practised self-examination had delayed seeking help for 6 months. The extent to which symptoms affected the patient's lifestyle was also a factor in the decision-making process, as was the checking of symptoms with other family members. Wives were often pivotal in persuading men to seek help. The discovery of testicular symptoms produced emotional responses which included embarrassment and fear of both cancer and castration. There was evidence of strong feelings of masculine identity bound up with the appearance of 'normal' genitals. Provider-delay was identified in four cases and was associated with misattribution of symptoms by physicians and the failure to initiate specialist referral. Delay was under-recorded in the hospital notes in all cases where presentation was not immediate.

How will predicted land-use change affect waterfowl spring stopover ecology? Inferences from an individual-based model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beatty, William; Kesler, Dylan C.; Webb, Elisabeth B.; Naylor, Luke W.; Raedeke, Andrew H.; Humburg, Dale D.; Coluccy, John M.; Soulliere, Gregory J.

2017-01-01

Habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, overexploitation and climate change pose familiar and new challenges to conserving natural populations throughout the world. One approach conservation planners may use to evaluate the effects of these challenges on wildlife populations is scenario planning.We developed an individual-based model to evaluate the effects of future land use and land cover changes on spring-migrating dabbling ducks in North America. We assessed the effects of three Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emission scenarios (A1B, A2 and B1) on dabbling duck stopover duration, movement distances and mortality. We specifically focused on migration stopover duration because previous research has demonstrated that individuals arriving earlier on the nesting grounds exhibit increased reproductive fitness.Compared to present conditions, all three scenarios increased stopover duration and movement distances of agent ducks.Although all three scenarios presented migrating ducks with increased amounts of wetland habitat, scenarios also contained substantially less cropland, which decreased overall carrying capacity of the study area.Synthesis and applications. Land-use change may increase waterfowl spring migration stopover duration in the midcontinent region of North America due to reduced landscape energetic carrying capacity. Climate change will alter spatial patterns of crop distributions with corn and rice production areas shifting to different regions. Thus, conservation planners will have to address population-level energetic implications of shifting agricultural food resources and increased uncertainty in yearly precipitation patterns within the next 50 years.

The assisted presentations of self in nursing home life.

PubMed

Næss, Anders; Fjær, Eivind Grip; Vabø, Mia

2016-02-01

In this paper, based on ethnographic data from five nursing homes, we introduce the concept of assisted self-presentation as an analytical tool for exploring how different care practices affect nursing home residents' dignity and sense of self. Practices of assisted self-presentation are geared at recognizing and preserving the individuality and autonomy of residents in situations where it may otherwise come under threat or be misrecognized. Sufficient or appropriate forms of attentiveness to residents' selves and sense of dignity is thus a matter of finding the right balance between intervening too much or too little in residents' production of their physical or social appearance. Here, staff-members' knowledge and recognition of the individuality of residents is essential. Whereas intervening too much in residents' appearance or performance of self might be perceived and experienced as pacifying, infantilizing, or as paternalistic overbearingness, intervening too little might be seen as neglectfulness or inhumane. Since practices of assisted self-presentation refer to a kind of social action, which will always be contingent upon the specific capacities and conditions of performing actors, it allows for the simultaneous recognition of failed or perverted work practices as well as promising practices through which residents' selves are successfully recognized. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Minho Affective Sentences (MAS): Probing the roles of sex, mood, and empathy in affective ratings of verbal stimuli.

PubMed

Pinheiro, Ana P; Dias, Marcelo; Pedrosa, João; Soares, Ana P

2017-04-01

During social communication, words and sentences play a critical role in the expression of emotional meaning. The Minho Affective Sentences (MAS) were developed to respond to the lack of a standardized sentence battery with normative affective ratings: 192 neutral, positive, and negative declarative sentences were strictly controlled for psycholinguistic variables such as numbers of words and letters and per-million word frequency. The sentences were designed to represent examples of each of the five basic emotions (anger, sadness, disgust, fear, and happiness) and of neutral situations. These sentences were presented to 536 participants who rated the stimuli using both dimensional and categorical measures of emotions. Sex differences were also explored. Additionally, we probed how personality, empathy, and mood from a subset of 40 participants modulated the affective ratings. Our results confirmed that the MAS affective norms are valid measures to guide the selection of stimuli for experimental studies of emotion. The combination of dimensional and categorical ratings provided a more fine-grained characterization of the affective properties of the sentences. Moreover, the affective ratings of positive and negative sentences were not only modulated by participants' sex, but also by individual differences in empathy and mood state. Together, our results indicate that, in their quest to reveal the neurofunctional underpinnings of verbal emotional processing, researchers should consider not only the role of sex, but also of interindividual differences in empathy and mood states, in responses to the emotional meaning of sentences.

Automatic Processing of Emotional Faces in High-Functioning Pervasive Developmental Disorders: An Affective Priming Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamio, Yoko; Wolf, Julie; Fein, Deborah

2006-01-01

This study examined automatic processing of emotional faces in individuals with high-functioning Pervasive Developmental Disorders (HFPDD) using an affective priming paradigm. Sixteen participants (HFPDD and matched controls) were presented with happy faces, fearful faces or objects in both subliminal and supraliminal exposure conditions, followed…

Imidacloprid seed treatments affect individual ant behavior and community structure but not egg predation, pest abundance or soybean yield.

PubMed

Penn, Hannah J; Dale, Andrew M

2017-08-01

Neonicotinoid seed treatments are under scrutiny because of their variable efficacy against crop pests and for their potential negative impacts on non-target organisms. Ants provide important biocontrol services in agroecosystems and can be indicators of ecosystem health. This study tested for effects of exposure to imidacloprid plus fungicide or fungicide-treated seeds on individual ant survival, locomotion and foraging capabilities and on field ant community structure, pest abundance, ant predation and yield. Cohorts of ants exposed to either type of treated seed had impaired locomotion and a higher incidence of morbidity and mortality but no loss of foraging capacity. In the field, we saw no difference in ant species richness, regardless of seed treatment. Blocks with imidacloprid did have higher species evenness and diversity, probably owing to variable effects of the insecticide on different ant species, particularly Tetramorium caespitum. Ant predation on sentinel eggs, pest abundance and soybean growth and yield were similar in the two treatments. Both seed treatments had lethal and sublethal effects on ant individuals, and the influence of imidacloprid seed coating in the field was manifested in altered ant community composition. Those effects, however, were not strong enough to affect egg predation, pest abundance or soybean yield in field blocks. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Individuals Undergoing Sex-Reassignment Surgery: Somatic Morbidity and Cause of Death.

PubMed

Simonsen, Rikke Kildevæld; Hald, Gert Martin; Kristensen, Ellids; Giraldi, Annamaria

2016-03-01

Studies of mortality and somatic well-being after sex-reassignment surgery (SRS) of transsexual individuals are equivocal. Accordingly, the present study investigated mortality and somatic morbidity using a sample of transsexual individuals who comprised 98% (n = 104) of all surgically reassigned transsexual individuals in Denmark. To investigate somatic morbidity before and after SRS and cause of death and its relation to somatic morbidity after SRS in Danish individuals who underwent SRS from 1978 through 2010. Somatic morbidity and mortality in 104 sex-reassigned individuals were identified retrospectively by data from the Danish National Health Register and the Cause of Death Register. Somatic morbidity and cause of death. Overall, 19.2% of the sample were registered with somatic morbidity before SRS and 23.1% after SRS (P = not significant). In total, 8.6% had somatic morbidity before and after SRS. The most common diagnostic category was cardiovascular disease, affecting 18 individuals, 9 before and 14 after SRS, and 5 of those 14 who were affected after SRS had cardiovascular disease before and after SRS. Ten individuals died after SRS at an average age of 53.5 ± 7.9 years (male to female) and 53.5 ± 7.3 years (female to male). Of 98% of all Danish transsexuals who officially underwent SRS from 1978 through 2010, one in three had somatic morbidity and approximately 1 in 10 had died. No significant differences in somatic morbidity or mortality were found between male-to-female and female-to-male individuals. Despite the young average age at death and the relatively larger number of individuals with somatic morbidity, the present study design does not allow for determination of casual relations between, for example, specific types of hormonal or surgical treatment received and somatic morbidity and mortality. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Mind Invasion: Situated Affectivity and the Corporate Life Hack

PubMed Central

Slaby, Jan

2016-01-01

In view of the philosophical problems that vex the debate on situated affectivity, it can seem wise to focus on simple cases. Accordingly, theorists often single out scenarios in which an individual employs a device in order to enhance their emotional experience, or to achieve new kinds of experience altogether, such as playing an instrument, going to the movies, or sporting a fancy handbag. I argue that this narrow focus on cases that fit a “user/resource model” tends to channel attention away from more complex and also more problematic instances of situated affectivity. Among these are scenarios in which a social domain draws individuals into certain modes of affective interaction, often by way of attunement and habituation to affective styles and interaction patterns that are normative in the domain in question. This can lead to a phenomenon that is not so much “mind extension” than “mind invasion”: affectivity is dynamically framed and modulated from without, often contrary to the prior orientations of the individuals in question. As an example, I discuss affective patterns prevalent in today's corporate workplace. I claim that workplace affect sometimes contributes to what is effectively a “hack” of employees' subjectivity. PMID:26941705

Geographic clustering of emergency department presentations for atrial fibrillation and flutter in Alberta, Canada.

PubMed

Rosychuk, Rhonda J; Mariathas, Hensley H; Graham, Michelle M; Holroyd, Brian R; Rowe, Brian H

2015-08-01

Atrial fibrillation and flutter (AFF) are the most common arrhythmias seen in the outpatient setting, and they affect more than 300,000 adult Canadians. The aims of this study were to examine temporal and geographic trends in emergency department (ED) presentations made by adults (age ≥ 35 years) for AFF in Alberta, Canada, from 1999 to 2011. Statistical disease cluster detection techniques were used to identify geographic areas with higher numbers of individuals presenting with AFF and higher numbers of ED presentations for AFF than expected by chance alone. Geographic clusters of individuals with stroke or heart failure follow-up within 365 days of ED presentations for AFF were also identified. All ED presentations for AFF made by individuals aged ≥35 years were extracted from Alberta's Ambulatory Care Classification System. The Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan provided population counts and demographics for the patients presenting (age, sex, year, geographic unit). The Physician Claims File provided non-ED physician claims data after a patient's ED presentation. Statistical analyses included numerical and graphical summaries, directly standardized rates, and statistical disease cluster detection tests. During 12 years, there were 63,395 ED presentations for AFF made by 32,101 individuals. Standardized rates remained relatively stable over time, at about two per 1,000 for individuals presenting to the ED for AFF and about three per 1,000 for ED presentations for AFF. The northern and southeastern parts of the province were identified as clusters of individuals presenting for AFF, and ED presentations for AFF, and several of the areas demonstrated clusters in multiple years. Further, several of the geographic clusters were also identified as potential clusters for stroke or heart failure within 365 days after the ED presentations for AFF. This population-based study spanned 12 fiscal years and showed variations in the number of people presenting to EDs for

Congenital Limb Deficiency Associated with Intellectual Disability: Unusual Presentation in Two Subjects.

PubMed

Raza, Muhammad Ummear; Ullah, Waheed; Malik, Sajid

2016-09-01

Congenital constriction ring (CCR) and symbrachydactyly are two distinct, rare, and heterogeneous limb deficiency conditions which affect the digits. Here, we report on two different individuals with an unusual presentation of limb deficiency accompanying intellectual disability (ID) and certain other malformations. In the first index female, CCR occurred with mild ID, squint eyes, obesity, and metatarsus adductus. The second index male was presented with symbrachydactyly, profound ID, and speech/hearing impairments. The association of limb deficiency conditions with these anomalies is very rare. Differential diagnosis and literature survey have been offered to establish the rarity of these entities.

Pseudobulbar affect: the spectrum of clinical presentations, etiologies and treatments.

PubMed

Miller, Ariel; Pratt, Hillel; Schiffer, Randolph B

2011-07-01

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) consists of uncontrollable outbursts of laughter or crying inappropriate to the patient's external circumstances and incongruent with the patient's internal emotional state. Recent data suggest disruption of cortico-pontine-cerebellar circuits, reducing the threshold for motor expression of emotion. Disruption of the microcircuitry of the cerebellum itself may likewise impair its ability to act as a gate-control for emotional expression. Current evidence also suggests that serotonergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission play key roles. Although antidepressants have shown benefit, the supportive clinical data have often derived from small numbers of patients and unvalidated measures of PBA severity. Dextromethorphan/quinidine, the first FDA-approved PBA medication, is a novel therapy with antiglutamatergic actions. As life expectancy lengthens and the neurologic settings of PBA become more common, the need for treatment can be expected to increase.

Error affect inoculation for a complex decision-making task.

PubMed

Tabernero, Carmen; Wood, Robert E

2009-05-01

Individuals bring knowledge, implicit theories, and goal orientations to group meetings. Group decisions arise out of the exchange of these orientations. This research explores how a trainee's exploratory and deliberate process (an incremental theory and learning goal orientation) impacts the effectiveness of individual and group decision-making processes. The effectiveness of this training program is compared with another program that included error affect inoculation (EAI). Subjects were 40 Spanish Policemen in a training course. They were distributed in two training conditions for an individual and group decision-making task. In one condition, individuals received the Self-Guided Exploration plus Deliberation Process instructions, which emphasised exploring the options and testing hypotheses. In the other condition, individuals also received instructions based on Error Affect Inoculation (EAI), which emphasised positive affective reactions to errors and mistakes when making decisions. Results show that the quality of decisions increases when the groups share their reasoning. The AIE intervention promotes sharing information, flexible initial viewpoints, and improving the quality of group decisions. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Evaluation of body temperature in individuals with stroke.

PubMed

Alfieri, Fábio Marcon; Massaro, Ayrton Roberto; Filippo, Thais Raquel; Portes, Leslie Andrews; Battistella, Linamara Rizzo

2017-01-01

A stroke can cause alterations in thermal sensitivity. to verify the conditions of body temperature in hemiplegic patients after stroke as compared to healthy individuals, as well as establish relations between thermal sensitivity and gender, age, Body Mass Index (BMI), plegic side, time after stroke, reports of thermal alterations and the motricity of patients with stroke sequelae. This cross-sectional study included 100 patients (55.6±13 years) with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke sequelae with unilateral hemiparesis and thirty healthy subjects (55±12.9 years). Individuals with nervous peripheral lesions, diabetes, peripheral vascular diseases or tumors were not included in this study. The volunteers underwent axillary temperature evaluations with the use of a cutaneous thermometer and evaluations of cutaneous temperature of hands and feet as measured by infrared thermography captured by an infrared sensor (ThermaCAMTM SC 500-FLIR Systems). The mean temperature (°C) was analyzed with the SigmaStat 3.5 statistical package. The results have shown that healthy individuals have similar temperatures on either side of the body. The hemiplegic subjects presented a lower temperature on the plegic side and compared to the healthy subjects, both feet of the hemiparetic individuals were colder. The results have also shown that age, body mass index, and the time after stroke have no influence on the alterations in temperature. Regarding the paretic side, individuals with hemiplegia on the right side (right foot) had a lower temperature than those affected on the left side. Motricity was not related to any difference in temperature between the limbs and the reports of temperature differences had no relation with the actual differences found in the study. Healthy individuals have temperature symmetry between between sides of the body, while individuals with stroke sequelae present lower temperature in the paretic side, especially on their feet.

The neural transfer effect of working memory training to enhance hedonic processing in individuals with social anhedonia

PubMed Central

Li, Xu; Li, Zhi; Li, Ke; Zeng, Ya-wei; Shi, Hai-song; Xie, Wen-lan; Yang, Zhuo-ya; Lui, Simon S. Y.; Cheung, Eric F. C.; Leung, Ada W. S.; Chan, Raymond C. K.

2016-01-01

Anhedonia, the diminished ability to experience pleasure, is a challenging negative symptom in patients with schizophrenia and can be observed in at-risk individuals with schizotypy. Deficits in hedonic processing have been postulated to be related to decreased motivation to engage in potentially rewarding events. It remains unclear whether non-pharmacological interventions, such as cognitive training, could improve anhedonia. The present study aimed to examine the neural mechanism for alleviating hedonic deficits with working memory (WM) training in individuals with social anhedonia. Fifteen individuals with social anhedonia were recruited and received 20 sessions of training on a dual n-back task, five sessions a week. Functional imaging paradigms of the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) and the Affective Incentive Delay (AID) tasks were administered both before and after the training to evaluate the neural transfer effects on hedonic processing ability. Enhanced brain activations related to anticipation were observed at the anterior cingulate cortex, the left dorsal striatum and the left precuneus with the AID task, and at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the supramarginal gyrus with the MID task. The present findings support that WM training may improve monetary-based and affective-based hedonic processing in individuals with social anhedonia. PMID:27752140

Hearing Feelings: Affective Categorization of Music and Speech in Alexithymia, an ERP Study

PubMed Central

Goerlich, Katharina Sophia; Witteman, Jurriaan; Aleman, André; Martens, Sander

2011-01-01

Background Alexithymia, a condition characterized by deficits in interpreting and regulating feelings, is a risk factor for a variety of psychiatric conditions. Little is known about how alexithymia influences the processing of emotions in music and speech. Appreciation of such emotional qualities in auditory material is fundamental to human experience and has profound consequences for functioning in daily life. We investigated the neural signature of such emotional processing in alexithymia by means of event-related potentials. Methodology Affective music and speech prosody were presented as targets following affectively congruent or incongruent visual word primes in two conditions. In two further conditions, affective music and speech prosody served as primes and visually presented words with affective connotations were presented as targets. Thirty-two participants (16 male) judged the affective valence of the targets. We tested the influence of alexithymia on cross-modal affective priming and on N400 amplitudes, indicative of individual sensitivity to an affective mismatch between words, prosody, and music. Our results indicate that the affective priming effect for prosody targets tended to be reduced with increasing scores on alexithymia, while no behavioral differences were observed for music and word targets. At the electrophysiological level, alexithymia was associated with significantly smaller N400 amplitudes in response to affectively incongruent music and speech targets, but not to incongruent word targets. Conclusions Our results suggest a reduced sensitivity for the emotional qualities of speech and music in alexithymia during affective categorization. This deficit becomes evident primarily in situations in which a verbalization of emotional information is required. PMID:21573026

Modeling of Individual and Organizational Factors Affecting Traumatic Occupational Injuries Based on the Structural Equation Modeling: A Case Study in Large Construction Industries.

PubMed

Mohammadfam, Iraj; Soltanzadeh, Ahmad; Moghimbeigi, Abbas; Akbarzadeh, Mehdi

2016-09-01

Individual and organizational factors are the factors influencing traumatic occupational injuries. The aim of the present study was the short path analysis of the severity of occupational injuries based on individual and organizational factors. The present cross-sectional analytical study was implemented on traumatic occupational injuries within a ten-year timeframe in 13 large Iranian construction industries. Modeling and data analysis were done using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach and the IBM SPSS AMOS statistical software version 22.0, respectively. The mean age and working experience of the injured workers were 28.03 ± 5.33 and 4.53 ± 3.82 years, respectively. The portions of construction and installation activities of traumatic occupational injuries were 64.4% and 18.1%, respectively. The SEM findings showed that the individual, organizational and accident type factors significantly were considered as effective factors on occupational injuries' severity (P < 0.05). Path analysis of occupational injuries based on the SEM reveals that individual and organizational factors and their indicator variables are very influential on the severity of traumatic occupational injuries. So, these should be considered to reduce occupational accidents' severity in large construction industries.

A Systematic Review of Individual and Contextual Factors Affecting ART Initiation, Adherence, and Retention for HIV-Infected Pregnant and Postpartum Women

PubMed Central

Hodgson, Ian; Plummer, Mary L.; Konopka, Sarah N.; Colvin, Christopher J.; Jonas, Edna; Albertini, Jennifer; Amzel, Anouk; Fogg, Karen P.

2014-01-01

Background Despite progress reducing maternal mortality, HIV-related maternal deaths remain high, accounting, for example, for up to 24 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is effective in improving outcomes among HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women, yet rates of initiation, adherence, and retention remain low. This systematic literature review synthesized evidence about individual and contextual factors affecting ART use among HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women. Methods Searches were conducted for studies addressing the population (HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women), intervention (ART), and outcomes of interest (initiation, adherence, and retention). Quantitative and qualitative studies published in English since January 2008 were included. Individual and contextual enablers and barriers to ART use were extracted and organized thematically within a framework of individual, interpersonal, community, and structural categories. Results Thirty-four studies were included in the review. Individual-level factors included both those within and outside a woman’s awareness and control (e.g., commitment to child’s health or age). Individual-level barriers included poor understanding of HIV, ART, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and difficulty managing practical demands of ART. At an interpersonal level, disclosure to a spouse and spousal involvement in treatment were associated with improved initiation, adherence, and retention. Fear of negative consequences was a barrier to disclosure. At a community level, stigma was a major barrier. Key structural barriers and enablers were related to health system use and engagement, including access to services and health worker attitudes. Conclusions To be successful, programs seeking to expand access to and continued use of ART by integrating maternal health and HIV services must identify and address the relevant barriers and enablers in

Consider the category: The effect of spacing depends on individual learning histories.

PubMed

Slone, Lauren K; Sandhofer, Catherine M

2017-07-01

The spacing effect refers to increased retention following learning instances that are spaced out in time compared with massed together in time. By one account, the advantages of spaced learning should be independent of task particulars and previous learning experiences given that spacing effects have been demonstrated in a variety of tasks across the lifespan. However, by another account, spaced learning should be affected by previous learning because past learning affects the memory and attention processes that form the crux of the spacing effect. The current study investigated whether individuals' learning histories affect the role of spacing in category learning. We examined the effect of spacing on 24 2- to 3.5-year-old children's learning of categories organized by properties to which children's previous learning experiences have biased them to attend (i.e., shape) and properties to which children are less biased to attend (i.e., texture and color). Spaced presentations led to significantly better learning of shape categories, but not of texture or color categories, compared with massed presentations. In addition, generalized estimating equations analyses revealed positive relations between the size of children's "shape-side" productive vocabularies and their shape category learning and between the size of children's "against-the-system" productive vocabularies and their texture category learning. These results suggest that children's attention to and memory for novel object categories are strongly related to their individual word-learning histories. Moreover, children's learned attentional biases affected the types of categories for which spacing facilitated learning. These findings highlight the importance of considering how learners' previous experiences may influence future learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relationship between Individual External Doses, Ambient Dose Rates and Individuals’ Activity-Patterns in Affected Areas in Fukushima following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

PubMed Central

Kurosawa, Tadahiro; Yasutaka, Tetsuo; Ishii, Hideki

2016-01-01

The accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on March 11, 2011, released radioactive material into the atmosphere and contaminated the land in Fukushima and several neighboring prefectures. Five years after the nuclear disaster, the radiation levels have greatly decreased due to physical decay, weathering, and decontamination operations in Fukushima. The populations of 12 communities were forced to evacuate after the accident; as of March 2016, the evacuation order has been lifted in only a limited area, and permanent habitation is still prohibited in most of the areas. In order for the government to lift the evacuation order and for individuals to return to their original residential areas, it is important to assess current and future realistic individual external doses. Here, we used personal dosimeters along with the Global Positioning System and Geographic Information System to understand realistic individual external doses and to relate individual external doses, ambient doses, and activity-patterns of individuals in the affected areas in Fukushima. The results showed that the additional individual external doses were well correlated to the additional ambient doses based on the airborne monitoring survey. The results of linear regression analysis suggested that the additional individual external doses were on average about one-fifth that of the additional ambient doses. The reduction factors, which are defined as the ratios of the additional individual external doses to the additional ambient doses, were calculated to be on average 0.14 and 0.32 for time spent at home and outdoors, respectively. Analysis of the contribution of various activity patterns to the total individual external dose demonstrated good agreement with the average fraction of time spent daily in each activity, but the contribution due to being outdoors varied widely. These results are a valuable contribution to understanding realistic individual external doses and the corresponding

Psychological and Social Work Factors as Predictors of Mental Distress and Positive Affect: A Prospective, Multilevel Study

PubMed Central

Finne, Live Bakke; Christensen, Jan Olav; Knardahl, Stein

2016-01-01

Occupational health research has mainly addressed determinants of negative health effects, typically employing individual-level self-report data. The present study investigated individual- and department-level (means of each work unit) effects of psychological/social work factors on mental distress and positive affect. Employees were recruited from 63 Norwegian organizations, representing a wide variety of job types. A total of 4158 employees, in 918 departments, responded at baseline and at follow-up two years later. Multilevel linear regressions estimated individual- and department-level effects simultaneously, and accounted for clustering of data. Baseline exposures and average exposures over time ([T1+T2]/2) were tested. All work factors; decision control, role conflict, positive challenge, support from immediate superior, fair leadership, predictability during the next month, commitment to organization, rumors of change, human resource primacy, and social climate, were related to mental distress and positive affect at the individual and department level. However, analyses of baseline exposures adjusted for baseline outcome, demonstrated significant associations at the individual level only. Baseline “rumors of change” was related to mental distress only and baseline “predictability during the next month” was not a statistical significant predictor of either outcome when adjusted for outcome at baseline. Psychological and social work factors were generally related to mental distress and positive affect in a mirrored way. Impact of exposures seemed most pervasive at the individual level. However, department-level relations were also discovered. Supplementing individual-level measures with aggregated measures may increase understanding of working conditions influence on employees`health and well-being. Organizational improvements focusing on the work factors in the current study should be able to reduce distress and enhance positive affect. Furthermore

Psychological and Social Work Factors as Predictors of Mental Distress and Positive Affect: A Prospective, Multilevel Study.

PubMed

Finne, Live Bakke; Christensen, Jan Olav; Knardahl, Stein

2016-01-01

Occupational health research has mainly addressed determinants of negative health effects, typically employing individual-level self-report data. The present study investigated individual- and department-level (means of each work unit) effects of psychological/social work factors on mental distress and positive affect. Employees were recruited from 63 Norwegian organizations, representing a wide variety of job types. A total of 4158 employees, in 918 departments, responded at baseline and at follow-up two years later. Multilevel linear regressions estimated individual- and department-level effects simultaneously, and accounted for clustering of data. Baseline exposures and average exposures over time ([T1+T2]/2) were tested. All work factors; decision control, role conflict, positive challenge, support from immediate superior, fair leadership, predictability during the next month, commitment to organization, rumors of change, human resource primacy, and social climate, were related to mental distress and positive affect at the individual and department level. However, analyses of baseline exposures adjusted for baseline outcome, demonstrated significant associations at the individual level only. Baseline "rumors of change" was related to mental distress only and baseline "predictability during the next month" was not a statistical significant predictor of either outcome when adjusted for outcome at baseline. Psychological and social work factors were generally related to mental distress and positive affect in a mirrored way. Impact of exposures seemed most pervasive at the individual level. However, department-level relations were also discovered. Supplementing individual-level measures with aggregated measures may increase understanding of working conditions influence on employees`health and well-being. Organizational improvements focusing on the work factors in the current study should be able to reduce distress and enhance positive affect. Furthermore, both

Positive Affective Priming: A Behavioral Technique to Facilitate Therapeutic Engagement by Families, Caregivers, and Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Ian M.

2010-01-01

Affective priming is a technique used in experimental psychology to investigate the organization of emotional schemata not fully available to conscious awareness. The presentation of stimuli (the prime) with strong positive emotional valence alters the accessibility of positive stimuli within the individual's emotionally encoded cognitive system.…

Embodied Brains, Social Minds, Cultural Meaning: Integrating Neuroscientific and Educational Research on Social-Affective Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Immordino-Yang, Mary Helen; Gotlieb, Rebecca

2017-01-01

Social-affective neuroscience is revealing that human brain development is inherently social--our very nature is organized by nurture. To explore the implications for human development and education, we present a series of interdisciplinary studies documenting individual and cultural variability in the neurobiological correlates of emotional…

Turning lemonade into lemons: Dampening appraisals reduce positive affect and increase negative affect during positive activity scheduling.

PubMed

Burr, Leigh-Anne; Javiad, Mahmood; Jell, Grace; Werner-Seidler, Aliza; Dunn, Barnaby D

2017-04-01

The way individuals appraise positive emotions may modulate affective experience during positive activity scheduling. Individuals may either engage in dampening appraisals (e.g., think "this is too good to last") or amplifying appraisals (e.g., think "I deserve this"). A cross-over randomized design was used to examine the consequences of these appraisal styles. Participants (N = 43) rated positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) during four daily walks in pleasant locations, whilst following dampening, emotion-focus amplifying (focusing on how good one feels), self-focus amplifying (focusing on positive self qualities), or control instructions. There was no difference between the two amplifying and control conditions, which all increased PA and reduced NA during the walks. However, the dampening condition significantly differed from all other conditions, reducing PA and increasing NA during the walk. Individual differences in anhedonia symptoms did not significantly moderate the pattern of findings. This evidence supports the view that dampening appraisals may be one mechanism driving anhedonia and may account for why positive activity scheduling can sometimes backfire when utilized in the clinic. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Living Large: Affect Amplification in Visual Perception Predicts Emotional Reactivity to Events in Daily Life

PubMed Central

Palder, Spencer L.; Ode, Scott; Liu, Tianwei; Robinson, Michael D.

2012-01-01

It was hypothesized that affect-amplifying individuals would be more reactive to affective events in daily life. Affect amplification was quantified in terms of overestimating the font size of positive and negative, relative to neutral, words in a basic perception task. Subsequently, the same (N = 70) individuals completed a daily diary protocol in which they reported on levels of daily stressors, provocations, and social support as well as six emotion-related outcomes for 14 consecutive days. Individual differences in affect amplification moderated reactivity to daily affective events in all such analyses. For example, daily stressor levels predicted cognitive failures at high, but not low, levels of affect amplification. Affect amplification, then, appears to have widespread utility in understanding individual differences in emotional reactivity. PMID:22989107

Combined pesticide exposure severely affects individual- and colony-level traits in bees

PubMed Central

Gill, Richard J.; Ramos-Rodriguez, Oscar; Raine, Nigel E.

2012-01-01

Reported widespread declines of wild and managed insect pollinators have serious consequences for global ecosystem services and agricultural production1-3. Bees contribute around 80% of insect pollination, so it is imperative we understand and mitigate the causes of current declines4-6. Recent studies have implicated the role of pesticides as exposure to these chemicals has been associated with changes in bee behaviour7-11 and reductions in colony queen production12. However the key link between changes in individual behaviour and consequent impact at the colony level has not been shown. Social bee colonies depend on the collective performance of numerous individual workers. So whilst field-level pesticide concentrations can have a subtle/sublethal effect at the individual level8, it is not known whether bee societies can buffer such effects or if it results in a severe cumulative effect at the colony level. Furthermore, widespread agricultural intensification means bees are exposed to numerous pesticides when foraging13-15, yet the possible combinatorial effects of pesticide exposure have rarely been investigated16,17. Here we show that chronic exposure of bumblebees to two pesticides (neonicotinoid and pyrethroid) at concentrations that could approximate field-level exposure impairs natural foraging behaviour and increases worker mortality leading to significant reductions in brood development and colony success. We found worker foraging performance, particularly pollen collecting efficiency, was significantly reduced with observed knock-on effects for forager recruitment, worker losses and overall worker productivity. Moreover, we provide evidence that combinatorial exposure to pesticides increases the propensity of colonies to fail. PMID:23086150

Refractive Errors Affect the Vividness of Visual Mental Images

PubMed Central

Palermo, Liana; Nori, Raffaella; Piccardi, Laura; Zeri, Fabrizio; Babino, Antonio; Giusberti, Fiorella; Guariglia, Cecilia

2013-01-01

The hypothesis that visual perception and mental imagery are equivalent has never been explored in individuals with vision defects not preventing the visual perception of the world, such as refractive errors. Refractive error (i.e., myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism) is a condition where the refracting system of the eye fails to focus objects sharply on the retina. As a consequence refractive errors cause blurred vision. We subdivided 84 individuals according to their spherical equivalent refraction into Emmetropes (control individuals without refractive errors) and Ametropes (individuals with refractive errors). Participants performed a vividness task and completed a questionnaire that explored their cognitive style of thinking before their vision was checked by an ophthalmologist. Although results showed that Ametropes had less vivid mental images than Emmetropes this did not affect the development of their cognitive style of thinking; in fact, Ametropes were able to use both verbal and visual strategies to acquire and retrieve information. Present data are consistent with the hypothesis of equivalence between imagery and perception. PMID:23755186

Individual differences in the influence of task-irrelevant Pavlovian cues on human behavior.

PubMed

Garofalo, Sara; di Pellegrino, Giuseppe

2015-01-01

Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) refers to the process of a Pavlovian reward-paired cue acquiring incentive motivational proprieties that drive choices. It represents a crucial phenomenon for understanding cue-controlled behavior, and it has both adaptive and maladaptive implications (i.e., drug-taking). In animals, individual differences in the degree to which such cues bias performance have been identified in two types of individuals that exhibit distinct Conditioned Responses (CR) during Pavlovian conditioning: Sign-Trackers (ST) and Goal-Trackers (GT). Using an appetitive PIT procedure with a monetary reward, the present study investigated, for the first time, the extent to which such individual differences might affect the influence of reward-paired cues in humans. In a first task, participants learned an instrumental response leading to reward; then, in a second task, a visual Pavlovian cue was associated with the same reward; finally, in a third task, PIT was tested by measuring the preference for the reward-paired instrumental response when the task-irrelevant reward-paired cue was presented, in the absence of the reward itself. In ST individuals, but not in GT individuals, reward-related cues biased behavior, resulting in an increased likelihood to perform the instrumental response independently paired with the same reward when presented with the task-irrelevant reward-paired cue, even if the reward itself was no longer available (i.e., stronger PIT effect). This finding has important implications for developing individualized treatment for maladaptive behaviors, such as addiction.

Individual differences in the influence of task-irrelevant Pavlovian cues on human behavior

PubMed Central

Garofalo, Sara; di Pellegrino, Giuseppe

2015-01-01

Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) refers to the process of a Pavlovian reward-paired cue acquiring incentive motivational proprieties that drive choices. It represents a crucial phenomenon for understanding cue-controlled behavior, and it has both adaptive and maladaptive implications (i.e., drug-taking). In animals, individual differences in the degree to which such cues bias performance have been identified in two types of individuals that exhibit distinct Conditioned Responses (CR) during Pavlovian conditioning: Sign-Trackers (ST) and Goal-Trackers (GT). Using an appetitive PIT procedure with a monetary reward, the present study investigated, for the first time, the extent to which such individual differences might affect the influence of reward-paired cues in humans. In a first task, participants learned an instrumental response leading to reward; then, in a second task, a visual Pavlovian cue was associated with the same reward; finally, in a third task, PIT was tested by measuring the preference for the reward-paired instrumental response when the task-irrelevant reward-paired cue was presented, in the absence of the reward itself. In ST individuals, but not in GT individuals, reward-related cues biased behavior, resulting in an increased likelihood to perform the instrumental response independently paired with the same reward when presented with the task-irrelevant reward-paired cue, even if the reward itself was no longer available (i.e., stronger PIT effect). This finding has important implications for developing individualized treatment for maladaptive behaviors, such as addiction. PMID:26157371

Attenuating social affective learning effects with Memory Suppression manipulations.

PubMed

Molet, Mikael; Kosinski, Thierry; Craddock, Paul; Miguez, Gonzalo; Mash, Lisa E; Miller, Ralph R

2016-02-01

People can form opinions of other individuals based on information about their good or bad behavior. The present study investigated whether this affective learning might depend on memory links formed between initially neutral people and valenced information. First, participants viewed neutral faces paired with sentences describing prosocial or antisocial behaviors. Second, memory suppression manipulations with the potential to aid in the forgetting of valenced information were administered. Using the Think/No think paradigm, the effectiveness of four different suppression instructions was compared: Unguided Suppression, Guided Suppression, Distraction, and Thought Substitution. Overall, all the tasks appreciably reduced affective learning based on prosocial information, but only the Guided Suppression and Thought Substitution tasks reduced affective learning based on antisocial information. These results suggest that weakening the putative memory link between initially neutral people and valenced information can decrease the effect of learned associations on the evaluation of other people. We interpreted this as indicative that social affective learning may rely on declarative memories. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social Anxiety, Affect, Cortisol Response and Performance on a Speech Task.

PubMed

Losiak, Wladyslaw; Blaut, Agata; Klosowska, Joanna; Slowik, Natalia

2016-01-01

Social anxiety is characterized by increased emotional reactivity to social stimuli, but results of studies focusing on affective reactions of socially anxious subjects in the situation of social exposition are inconclusive, especially in the case of endocrinological measures of affect. This study was designed to examine individual differences in endocrinological and affective reactions to social exposure as well as in performance on a speech task in a group of students (n = 44) comprising subjects with either high or low levels of social anxiety. Measures of salivary cortisol and positive and negative affect were taken before and after an impromptu speech. Self-ratings and observer ratings of performance were also obtained. Cortisol levels and negative affect increased in both groups after the speech task, and positive affect decreased; however, group × affect interactions were not significant. Assessments conducted after the speech task revealed that highly socially anxious participants had lower observer ratings of performance while cortisol increase and changes in self-reported affect were not related to performance. Socially anxious individuals do not differ from nonanxious individuals in affective reactions to social exposition, but reveal worse performance at a speech task. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Yielding to desire: the durability of affective preferences.

PubMed

Rapp, David N; Jacovina, Matthew E; Slaten, Daniel G; Krause, Elise

2014-09-01

People's expectations about the future are guided not just by the contingencies of situations but also by what they hope or wish will happen next. These preferences can inform predictions that run counter to what should or must occur based on the logic of unfolding events. Effects of this type have been regularly identified in studies of judgment and decision making, with individuals' choices often reflecting emotional rather than rational influences. Encouraging individuals to rely less on their emotional considerations has proven a challenge as affective responses are generated quickly and are seemingly informative for decisions. In 6 experiments we examined whether individuals could be encouraged to rely less on their affective preferences when making judgments about future events. Participants read stories in which contexts informed the likelihood of events in ways that might run counter to their preferential investments in particular outcomes. While being less than relevant given the logic of events, participants' affective considerations remained influential despite time allotted for predictive reflection. In contrast, instructional warnings helped attenuate the influence of affective considerations, even under conditions previously shown to encourage preferential biases. The findings are discussed with respect to factors that mediate preference effects, and highlight challenges for overcoming people's reliance on affective contributors to everyday judgments and comprehension.

Negative affectivity: moderator or confound in emotional dissonance-outcome relationships?

PubMed

Abraham, R

1999-01-01

This study was an examination of the impact of negative affectivity on relationships between emotional dissonance, job satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion. Negative affectivity is the predisposition to view life in negative terms. Emotional dissonance originates from the conflict between expressed and experienced emotions. In organizations that require the expression of positive emotions, high negative affectivity individuals may experience conflict between expressed, positive emotions and felt, negative emotions. A moderator effect exists when high negative affectivity individuals experience greater job dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Alternatively, negative affectivity may exert a confounding effect through its relationship to both emotional dissonance and its outcomes. Empirical tests showed that negative affectivity moderated the emotional dissonance-job satisfaction relationship and confounded the emotional dissonance-emotional exhaustion relationship.

Positive affect, intuition, and feelings of meaning.

PubMed

Hicks, Joshua A; Cicero, David C; Trent, Jason; Burton, Chad M; King, Laura A

2010-06-01

Subjective rationality, or the feeling of meaning, was identified by William James (1893) as a central aspect of the non-sensory fringe of consciousness. Three studies examined the interaction of positive affect (PA) and individual differences in intuitive information processing in predicting feelings of meaning for various stimuli and life events. In Study 1 (N = 352), PA and intuition interacted to predict understanding for ambiguous quotes and abstract artwork. In Study 2 (N = 211), similar interactions were found for feelings of meaning for fans after their football team lost a conference championship game and for individuals not directly affected by Hurricane Katrina in events surrounding the hurricane. In Study 3 (N = 41), induced PA interacted with individual differences in intuition in predicting accuracy for coherence judgments for loosely related linguistic triads. Intuitive individuals in the positive mood condition recognized coherent triads more accurately than did other participants. Results are discussed in terms of the role of individual differences in intuitive information processing in the relationship of PA to cognition. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Deletions and epimutations affecting the human 14q32.2 imprinted region in individuals with paternal and maternal upd(14)-like phenotypes.

PubMed

Kagami, Masayo; Sekita, Yoichi; Nishimura, Gen; Irie, Masahito; Kato, Fumiko; Okada, Michiyo; Yamamori, Shunji; Kishimoto, Hiroshi; Nakayama, Masahiro; Tanaka, Yukichi; Matsuoka, Kentarou; Takahashi, Tsutomu; Noguchi, Mika; Tanaka, Yoko; Masumoto, Kouji; Utsunomiya, Takeshi; Kouzan, Hiroko; Komatsu, Yumiko; Ohashi, Hirofumi; Kurosawa, Kenji; Kosaki, Kenjirou; Ferguson-Smith, Anne C; Ishino, Fumitoshi; Ogata, Tsutomu

2008-02-01

Human chromosome 14q32.2 carries a cluster of imprinted genes including paternally expressed genes (PEGs) such as DLK1 and RTL1 and maternally expressed genes (MEGs) such as MEG3 (also known as GTL2), RTL1as (RTL1 antisense) and MEG8 (refs. 1,2), together with the intergenic differentially methylated region (IG-DMR) and the MEG3-DMR. Consistent with this, paternal and maternal uniparental disomy for chromosome 14 (upd(14)pat and upd(14)mat) cause distinct phenotypes. We studied eight individuals (cases 1-8) with a upd(14)pat-like phenotype and three individuals (cases 9-11) with a upd(14)mat-like phenotype in the absence of upd(14) and identified various deletions and epimutations affecting the imprinted region. The results, together with recent mouse data, imply that the IG-DMR has an important cis-acting regulatory function on the maternally inherited chromosome and that excessive RTL1 expression and decreased DLK1 and RTL1 expression are relevant to upd(14)pat-like and upd(14)mat-like phenotypes, respectively.

Organizations, Individuals, and Families in a Technological Society.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quilling, Joan

1990-01-01

Individuals, families, and organizations create an interactive network within society and are affected by technological developments. Economic productivity depends on technical expertise within a supportive human environment. When worker health and well-being are neglected, individuals fail to operate at their maximum potential and organizations…

Unilateral Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy: Chromatic Pupillometry in Affected, Fellow Non-Affected and Healthy Control Eyes

PubMed Central

Herbst, Kristina; Sander, Birgit; Lund-Andersen, Henrik; Wegener, Marianne; Hannibal, Jens; Milea, Dan

2013-01-01

The intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) express the photopigment melanopsin, which is sensitive to blue light. Previous chromatic pupillometry studies have shown that the post-illumination response is considered an indicator of the melanopsin activation. The aim of this study was to investigate the ipRGC mediated pupil response in patients with a unilateral non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). Consensual pupil responses during and after exposure to continuous 20 s blue (470 nm) or red (660 nm) light of high intensity (300 cd/m2) were recorded in each eye for 10 patients. Comparisons were performed both intra-individually (affected versus non-affected eyes) and inter-individually (compared with healthy controls). The pupil response was calculated both during the illumination and during the post-illumination phase. The pupil responses to blue and red colors were significantly reduced in the NAION-affected eyes, compared with the fellow non-affected eyes. When comparing the affected eyes with the healthy control eyes, the post-illumination responses were not significantly different. In addition, the post-illumination pupil responses after blue light exposure were increased in the fellow non-affected patients’ eyes, compared with the healthy controls. However, significance was only reached for the late post-illumination response. In conclusion, chromatic pupillometry disclosed reduced post-illumination pupil responses in the NAION-affected eyes, compared with the non-affected fellow eyes, suggesting dysfunction of the ipRGCs. Compared with the responses of the healthy controls, the blue light post-illumination pupil responses were similar in the affected eyes and increased in the fellow non-affected eyes. This suggests a possible adaptive phenomenon, involving the ipRGCs of both eyes after unilateral NAION. PMID:23717301

Upregulating the positive affect system in anxiety and depression: Outcomes of a positive activity intervention.

PubMed

Taylor, Charles T; Lyubomirsky, Sonja; Stein, Murray B

2017-03-01

Research suggests that the positive affect system may be an important yet underexplored treatment target in anxiety and depression. Existing interventions primarily target the negative affect system, yielding modest effects on measures of positive emotions and associated outcomes (e.g., psychological well-being). The objective of the present pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy of a new transdiagnostic positive activity intervention (PAI) for anxiety and depression. Twenty-nine treatment-seeking individuals presenting with clinically impairing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression were randomly allocated to a 10-session protocol comprised of PAIs previously shown in nonclinical samples to improve positive thinking, emotions, and behaviors (e.g., gratitude, acts of kindness, optimism; n = 16) or a waitlist (WL) condition (n = 13). Participants were assessed at pre- and posttreatment, as well as 3- and 6-month follow-up, on measures of positive and negative affect, symptoms, and psychological well-being. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02330627 RESULTS: The PAI group displayed significantly larger improvements in positive affect and psychological well-being from pre- to posttreatment compared to WL. Posttreatment and follow-up scores in the PAI group were comparable to general population norms. The PAI regimen also resulted in significantly larger reductions in negative affect, as well as anxiety and depression symptoms, compared to WL. Improvements across all outcomes were large in magnitude and maintained over a 6-month follow-up period. Targeting the positive affect system through a multicomponent PAI regimen may be beneficial for generating improvements in positive emotions and well-being, as well as reducing negative affect and symptoms, in individuals with clinically impairing anxiety or depression. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Ataxia telangiectasia presenting as dopa-responsive cervical dystonia

PubMed Central

Mohire, Mahavir D.; Schneider, Susanne A.; Stamelou, Maria; Wood, Nicholas W.; Bhatia, Kailash P.

2013-01-01

Objective: To identify the cause of cervical dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD) in a Muslim Indian family inherited in an apparently autosomal recessive fashion, as previously described in this journal. Methods: Previous testing for mutations in the genes known to cause DRD (GCH1, TH, and SPR) had been negative. Whole exome sequencing was performed on all 3 affected individuals for whom DNA was available to identify potentially pathogenic shared variants. Genotyping data obtained for all 3 affected individuals using the OmniExpress single nucleotide polymorphism chip (Illumina, San Diego, CA) were used to perform linkage analysis, autozygosity mapping, and copy number variation analysis. Sanger sequencing was used to confirm all variants. Results: After filtering of the variants, exome sequencing revealed 2 genes harboring potentially pathogenic compound heterozygous variants (ATM and LRRC16A). Of these, the variants in ATM segregated perfectly with the cervical DRD. Both mutations detected in ATM have been shown to be pathogenic, and α-fetoprotein, a marker of ataxia telangiectasia, was increased in all affected individuals. Conclusion: Biallelic mutations in ATM can cause DRD, and mutations in this gene should be considered in the differential diagnosis of unexplained DRD, particularly if the dystonia is cervical and if there is a recessive family history. ATM has previously been reported to cause isolated cervical dystonia, but never, to our knowledge, DRD. Individuals with dystonia related to ataxia telangiectasia may benefit from a trial of levodopa. PMID:23946315

Positive affect and psychobiological processes

PubMed Central

Dockray, Samantha; Steptoe, Andrew

2010-01-01

Positive affect has been associated with favourable health outcomes, and it is likely that several biological processes mediate the effects of positive mood on physical health. There is converging evidence that positive affect activates the neuroendocrine, autonomic and immune systems in distinct and functionally meaningful ways. Cortisol, both total output and the awakening response, has consistently been shown to be lower among individuals with higher levels of positive affect. The beneficial effects of positive mood on cardiovascular function, including heart rate and blood pressure, and the immune system have also been described. The influence of positive affect on these psychobiological processes are independent of negative affect, suggesting that positive affect may have characteristic biological correlates. The duration and conceptualisation of positive affect may be important considerations in understanding how different biological systems are activated in association with positive affect. The association of positive affect and psychobiological processes has been established, and these biological correlates may be partly responsible for the protective effects of positive affect on health outcomes. PMID:20097225

Residential Mobility, Self-Concept, and Positive Affect in Social Interactions

PubMed Central

Oishi, Shigehiro; Lun, Janetta; Sherman, Gary D.

2008-01-01

The present research examined (a) the link between personal history of residential mobility and the self-concept and (b) the implications of such a link for positive affect in social interactions. Study 1 showed that the personal self was more central to the self-definition of frequent movers than to that of nonmovers, whereas the collective self was more central to the self-definition of nonmovers than to that of frequent movers. Results from a laboratory and a 2-week event sampling study (Studies 2 and 3) demonstrated that frequent movers felt happier when an interaction partner accurately perceived their personal selves, whereas nonmovers felt happier when a partner accurately perceived their collective selves. These findings present the first direct evidence on how personal history of residential mobility is linked to important individual differences in the self and positive affect in social interactions. PMID:17605594

Residential mobility, self-concept, and positive affect in social interactions.

PubMed

Oishi, Shigehiro; Lun, Janetta; Sherman, Gary D

2007-07-01

The present research examined (a) the link between personal history of residential mobility and the self-concept and (b) the implications of such a link for positive affect in social interactions. Study 1 showed that the personal self was more central to the self-definition of frequent movers than to that of nonmovers, whereas the collective self was more central to the self-definition of nonmovers than to that of frequent movers. Results from a laboratory and a 2-week event sampling study (Studies 2 and 3) demonstrated that frequent movers felt happier when an interaction partner accurately perceived their personal selves, whereas nonmovers felt happier when a partner accurately perceived their collective selves. These findings present the first direct evidence on how personal history of residential mobility is linked to important individual differences in the self and positive affect in social interactions. Copyright 2007 APA, all rights reserved.

One (rating) from many (observations): Factors affecting the individual assessment of voice behavior in groups.

PubMed

Podsakoff, Nathan P; Maynes, Timothy D; Whiting, Steven W; Podsakoff, Philip M

2015-07-01

This article reports an investigation into how individuals form perceptions of overall voice behavior in group contexts. More specifically, the authors examine the effect of the proportion of group members exhibiting voice behavior in the group, the frequency of voice events in the group, and the measurement item referent (group vs. individual) on an individual's ratings of group voice behavior. In addition, the authors examine the effect that measurement item referent has on the magnitude of the relationship observed between an individual's ratings of group voice behavior and perceptions of group performance. Consistent with hypotheses, the results from 1 field study (N = 220) and 1 laboratory experiment (N = 366) indicate that: (a) When group referents were used, raters relied on the frequency of voice events (and not the proportion of group members exhibiting voice) to inform their ratings of voice behavior, whereas the opposite was true when individual-referent items were used, and (b) the magnitude of the relationship between observers' ratings of group voice behavior and their perceptions of group performance was higher when raters used group-referent, as opposed to an individual-referent, items. The authors discuss the implications of their findings for scholars interested in studying behavioral phenomena occurring in teams, groups, and work units in organizational behavior research. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Individual species affect plant traits structure in their surroundings: evidence of functional mechanisms of assembly.

PubMed

Chacón-Labella, Julia; de la Cruz, Marcelino; Pescador, David S; Escudero, Adrián

2016-04-01

Evaluating community assembly through the use of functional traits is a promising tool for testing predictions arising from Niche and Coexistence theories. Although interactions among neighboring species and their inter-specific differences are known drivers of coexistence with a strong spatial signal, assessing the role of individual species on the functional structure of the community at different spatial scales remains a challenge. Here, we ask whether individual species exert a measurable effect on the spatial organization of different functional traits in local assemblages. We first propose and compute two functions that describe different aspects of functional trait organization around individual species at multiple scales: individual weighted mean area relationship and individual functional diversity area relationship. Secondly, we develop a conceptual model on the relationship and simultaneous variation of these two metrics, providing five alternative scenarios in response to the ability of some target species to modify its neighbor environment and the possible assembly mechanisms involved. Our results show that some species influence the spatial structure of specific functional traits, but their effects were always restricted to the finest spatial scales. In the basis of our conceptual model, the observed patterns point to two main mechanisms driving the functional structure of the community at the fine scale, "biotic" filtering meditated by individual species and resource partitioning driven by indirect facilitation rather than by competitive mechanisms.

Diversity in action: exchange of perspectives and reflections on taxonomies of individual differences.

PubMed

Uher, Jana; Trofimova, Irina; Sulis, William; Netter, Petra; Pessoa, Luiz; Posner, Michael I; Rothbart, Mary K; Rusalov, Vladimir; Peterson, Isaac T; Schmidt, Louis A

2018-04-19

Throughout the last 2500 years, the classification of individual differences in healthy people and their extreme expressions in mental disorders has remained one of the most difficult challenges in science that affects our ability to explore individuals' functioning, underlying psychobiological processes and pathways of development. To facilitate analyses of the principles required for studying individual differences, this theme issue brought together prominent scholars from diverse backgrounds of which many bring unique combinations of cross-disciplinary experiences and perspectives that help establish connections and promote exchange across disciplines. This final paper presents brief commentaries of some of our authors and further scholars exchanging perspectives and reflecting on the contributions of this theme issue.This article is part of the theme issue 'Diverse perspectives on diversity: multi-disciplinary approaches to taxonomies of individual differences'. © 2018 The Author(s).

Risk factors of compliance with self-harm command hallucinations in individuals with affective and non-affective psychosis.

PubMed

Dugré, Jules R; Guay, Jean-Pierre; Dumais, Alexandre

2018-05-01

Clinicians are often left with the difficult task of assessing and managing the risk of violent behaviors in individuals having command hallucinations, which may result in substantial rates of false positive or false negative. Moreover, findings on the association between command hallucinations and suicidal behaviors are limited. In an attempt to better understand compliance to this hallucinatory phenomenon, our objective was to identify the risk factors of compliance with self-harm command hallucinations. Secondary analyses from the MacArthur Study were performed on 82 participants with psychosis reporting such commands. Univariate logistic regression was used to examine the classification value of each characteristic associated with compliance with such commands. Seriousness and frequency of childhood physical abuse, a current comorbid substance use disorder, emotional distress, general symptomatology, history of compliance, and belief about compliance in the future were found to be significant risk factors of compliance with self-harm commands in the week preceding psychiatric inpatient. Multivariate analyses revealed that severity of childhood physical abuse, belief about compliance in the future, and a current comorbid substance use disorder were independent risk factors. The final model showed excellent classification accuracy as suggest by the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC=0.84, 95% CI: 0.75-0.92, p<0.001). Our results suggest considerable clinical implications in regard to the assessment of risk of compliance to self-harm command hallucinations in individuals with psychosis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bimanual proprioceptive performance differs for right- and left-handed individuals.

PubMed

Han, Jia; Waddington, Gordon; Adams, Roger; Anson, Judith

2013-05-10

It has been proposed that asymmetry between the upper limbs in the utilization of proprioceptive feedback arises from functional differences in the roles of the preferred and non-preferred hands during bimanual tasks. The present study investigated unimanual and bimanual proprioceptive performance in right- and left-handed young adults with an active finger pinch movement discrimination task. With visual information removed, participants were required to make absolute judgments about the extent of pinch movements made to physical stops, either by one hand, or by both hands concurrently, with the sequence of presented movement extents varied randomly. Discrimination accuracy scores were derived from participants' responses using non-parametric signal detection analysis. Consistent with previous findings, a non-dominant hand/hemisphere superiority effect was observed, where the non-dominant hands of right- and left-handed individuals performed overall significantly better than their dominant hands. For all participants, bimanual movement discrimination scores were significantly lower than scores obtained in the unimanual task. However, the magnitude of the performance reduction, from the unimanual to the bimanual task, was significantly greater for left-handed individuals. The effect whereby bimanual proprioception was disproportionately affected in left-handed individuals could be due to enhanced neural communication between hemispheres in left-handed individuals leading to less distinctive separation of information obtained from the two hands in the cerebral cortex. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of 15q11-q13, 16p11.2 and 22q13 CNVs in Autism Spectrum Disorder Brazilian Individuals with and without Epilepsy

PubMed Central

Moreira, Danielle P.; Griesi-Oliveira, Karina; Bossolani-Martins, Ana L.; Lourenço, Naila C. V.; Takahashi, Vanessa N. O.; da Rocha, Kátia M.; Moreira, Eloisa S.; Vadasz, Estevão; Meira, Joanna Goes Castro; Bertola, Debora; Halloran, Eoghan O’; Magalhães, Tiago R.; Fett-Conte, Agnes C.; Passos-Bueno, Maria Rita

2014-01-01

Copy number variations (CNVs) are an important cause of ASD and those located at 15q11-q13, 16p11.2 and 22q13 have been reported as the most frequent. These CNVs exhibit variable clinical expressivity and those at 15q11-q13 and 16p11.2 also show incomplete penetrance. In the present work, through multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analysis of 531 ethnically admixed ASD-affected Brazilian individuals, we found that the combined prevalence of the 15q11-q13, 16p11.2 and 22q13 CNVs is 2.1% (11/531). Parental origin could be determined in 8 of the affected individuals, and revealed that 4 of the CNVs represent de novo events. Based on CNV prediction analysis from genome-wide SNP arrays, the size of those CNVs ranged from 206 kb to 2.27 Mb and those at 15q11-q13 were limited to the 15q13.3 region. In addition, this analysis also revealed 6 additional CNVs in 5 out of 11 affected individuals. Finally, we observed that the combined prevalence of CNVs at 15q13.3 and 22q13 in ASD-affected individuals with epilepsy (6.4%) was higher than that in ASD-affected individuals without epilepsy (1.3%; p<0.014). Therefore, our data show that the prevalence of CNVs at 15q13.3, 16p11.2 and 22q13 in Brazilian ASD-affected individuals is comparable to that estimated for ASD-affected individuals of pure or predominant European ancestry. Also, it suggests that the likelihood of a greater number of positive MLPA results might be found for the 15q13.3 and 22q13 regions by prioritizing ASD-affected individuals with epilepsy. PMID:25255310

Investigation of 15q11-q13, 16p11.2 and 22q13 CNVs in autism spectrum disorder Brazilian individuals with and without epilepsy.

PubMed

Moreira, Danielle P; Griesi-Oliveira, Karina; Bossolani-Martins, Ana L; Lourenço, Naila C V; Takahashi, Vanessa N O; da Rocha, Kátia M; Moreira, Eloisa S; Vadasz, Estevão; Meira, Joanna Goes Castro; Bertola, Debora; O'Halloran, Eoghan; Magalhães, Tiago R; Fett-Conte, Agnes C; Passos-Bueno, Maria Rita

2014-01-01

Copy number variations (CNVs) are an important cause of ASD and those located at 15q11-q13, 16p11.2 and 22q13 have been reported as the most frequent. These CNVs exhibit variable clinical expressivity and those at 15q11-q13 and 16p11.2 also show incomplete penetrance. In the present work, through multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analysis of 531 ethnically admixed ASD-affected Brazilian individuals, we found that the combined prevalence of the 15q11-q13, 16p11.2 and 22q13 CNVs is 2.1% (11/531). Parental origin could be determined in 8 of the affected individuals, and revealed that 4 of the CNVs represent de novo events. Based on CNV prediction analysis from genome-wide SNP arrays, the size of those CNVs ranged from 206 kb to 2.27 Mb and those at 15q11-q13 were limited to the 15q13.3 region. In addition, this analysis also revealed 6 additional CNVs in 5 out of 11 affected individuals. Finally, we observed that the combined prevalence of CNVs at 15q13.3 and 22q13 in ASD-affected individuals with epilepsy (6.4%) was higher than that in ASD-affected individuals without epilepsy (1.3%; p<0.014). Therefore, our data show that the prevalence of CNVs at 15q13.3, 16p11.2 and 22q13 in Brazilian ASD-affected individuals is comparable to that estimated for ASD-affected individuals of pure or predominant European ancestry. Also, it suggests that the likelihood of a greater number of positive MLPA results might be found for the 15q13.3 and 22q13 regions by prioritizing ASD-affected individuals with epilepsy.

Adolescent risk-taking is predicted by individual differences in cognitive control over emotional, but not non-emotional, response conflict.

PubMed

Botdorf, Morgan; Rosenbaum, Gail M; Patrianakos, Jamie; Steinberg, Laurence; Chein, Jason M

2017-08-01

While much research on adolescent risk behaviour has focused on the development of prefrontal self-regulatory mechanisms, prior studies have elicited mixed evidence of a relationship between individual differences in the capacity for self-regulation and individual differences in risk taking. To explain these inconsistent findings, it has been suggested that the capacity for self-regulation may be, for most adolescents, adequately mature to produce adaptive behaviour in non-affective, "cold" circumstances, but that adolescents have a more difficult time exerting control in affective, "hot" contexts. To further explore this claim, the present study examined individual differences in self-control in the face of affective and non-affective response conflict, and examined whether differences in the functioning of cognitive control processes under these different conditions was related to risk taking. Participants completed a cognitive Stroop task, an emotional Stroop task, and a risky driving task known as the Stoplight game. Regression analyses showed that performance on the emotional Stroop task predicted laboratory risk-taking in the driving task, whereas performance on the cognitive Stroop task did not exhibit the same trend. This pattern of results is consistent with theories of adolescent risk-taking that emphasise the impacts of affective contextual influences on the ability to enact effective cognitive control.

Does context matter in evaluations of stigmatized individuals? An fMRI study.

PubMed

Krendl, Anne C; Moran, Joseph M; Ambady, Nalini

2013-06-01

The manner in which disparate affective responses shape attitudes toward other individuals has received a great deal of attention in neuroscience research. However, the malleability of these affective responses remains largely unexplored. The perceived controllability of a stigma (whether or not the bearer of the stigma is perceived as being responsible for his or her condition) has been found to polarize behavioral affective responses to that stigma. The current study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the neural correlates underlying the evaluation of stigmatized individuals (people who are homeless) when perceptions of the controllability of their condition are altered. Results demonstrated that perceivers engaged neural networks implicated in inferring intentionality (e.g. the medial prefrontal cortex) when they evaluated a homeless individual who was described as being responsible for becoming homeless. Conversely, neural networks associated with resolving strong affective responses (e.g. insula) were engaged when evaluating a homeless individual who was described as not being responsible for becoming homeless.

Differences in individual susceptibility affect the development of trigeminal neuralgia☆

PubMed Central

Duransoy, Yusuf Kurtuluş; Mete, Mesut; Akçay, Emrah; Selçuki, Mehmet

2013-01-01

Trigeminal neuralgia is a syndrome due to dysfunctional hyperactivity of the trigeminal nerve, and is characterized by a sudden, usually unilateral, recurrent lancinating pain arising from one or more divisions of the nerve. The most accepted pathogenetic mechanism for trigeminal neuralgia is compression of the nerve at its dorsal root entry zone or in its distal course. In this paper, we report four cases with trigeminal neuralgia due to an unknown mechanism after an intracranial intervention. The onset of trigeminal neuralgia after surgical interventions that are unrelated to the trigeminal nerve suggests that in patients with greater individual susceptibility, nerve contact with the vascular structure due to postoperative pressure and changes in cerebrospinal fluid flow may cause the onset of pain. PMID:25206428

Heritability of Intraindividual Mean and Variability of Positive and Negative Affect.

PubMed

Zheng, Yao; Plomin, Robert; von Stumm, Sophie

2016-12-01

Positive affect (e.g., attentiveness) and negative affect (e.g., upset) fluctuate over time. We examined genetic influences on interindividual differences in the day-to-day variability of affect (i.e., ups and downs) and in average affect over the duration of a month. Once a day, 17-year-old twins in the United Kingdom ( N = 447) rated their positive and negative affect online. The mean and standard deviation of each individual's daily ratings across the month were used as the measures of that individual's average affect and variability of affect. Analyses revealed that the average of negative affect was significantly heritable (.53), but the average of positive affect was not; instead, the latter showed significant shared environmental influences (.42). Fluctuations across the month were significantly heritable for both negative affect (.54) and positive affect (.34). The findings support the two-factor theory of affect, which posits that positive affect is more situational and negative affect is more dispositional.

Study of individual and group affective processes in the crew of a simulated mission to Mars: Positive affectivity as a valuable indicator of changes in the crew affectivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poláčková Šolcová, Iva; Lačev, Alek; Šolcová, Iva

2014-07-01

The success of a long-duration space mission depends on various technical demands as well as on the psychological (cognitive, affective, and motivational) adaptation of crewmembers and the quality of interactions within the crew. We examined the ways crewmembers of a 520-day simulated spaceflight to Mars (held in the Institute for Biomedical Problems, in Moscow) experienced and regulated their moods and emotions. Results show that crewmembers experienced predominantly positive emotions throughout their 520-day isolation and the changes in mood of the crewmembers were asynchronous and balanced. The study suggests that during the simulation, crewmembers experienced and regulated their emotions differently than they usually do in their everyday life. In isolation, crewmembers preferred to suppress and neutralize their negative emotions and express overtly only emotions with positive valence. Although the affective processes were almost invariable throughout the simulation, two periods of time when the level of positive emotions declined were identified. Regarding the findings, the paper suggests that changes in positive affectivity could be a more valuable indicator of human experience in demanding but professional environments than changes in negative affectivity. Finally, the paper discusses the phenomenology of emotions during a real space mission.

Early prediction of student goals and affect in narrative-centered learning environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sunyoung

Recent years have seen a growing recognition of the role of goal and affect recognition in intelligent tutoring systems. Goal recognition is the task of inferring users' goals from a sequence of observations of their actions. Because of the uncertainty inherent in every facet of human computer interaction, goal recognition is challenging, particularly in contexts in which users can perform many actions in any order, as is the case with intelligent tutoring systems. Affect recognition is the task of identifying the emotional state of a user from a variety of physical cues, which are produced in response to affective changes in the individual. Accurately recognizing student goals and affect states could contribute to more effective and motivating interactions in intelligent tutoring systems. By exploiting knowledge of student goals and affect states, intelligent tutoring systems can dynamically modify their behavior to better support individual students. To create effective interactions in intelligent tutoring systems, goal and affect recognition models should satisfy two key requirements. First, because incorrectly predicted goals and affect states could significantly diminish the effectiveness of interactive systems, goal and affect recognition models should provide accurate predictions of user goals and affect states. When observations of users' activities become available, recognizers should make accurate early" predictions. Second, goal and affect recognition models should be highly efficient so they can operate in real time. To address key issues, we present an inductive approach to recognizing student goals and affect states in intelligent tutoring systems by learning goals and affect recognition models. Our work focuses on goal and affect recognition in an important new class of intelligent tutoring systems, narrative-centered learning environments. We report the results of empirical studies of induced recognition models from observations of students

Trait Affect, Emotion Regulation, and the Generation of Negative and Positive Interpersonal Events.

PubMed

Hamilton, Jessica L; Burke, Taylor A; Stange, Jonathan P; Kleiman, Evan M; Rubenstein, Liza M; Scopelliti, Kate A; Abramson, Lyn Y; Alloy, Lauren B

2017-07-01

Positive and negative trait affect and emotion regulatory strategies have received considerable attention in the literature as predictors of psychopathology. However, it remains unclear whether individuals' trait affect is associated with responses to state positive affect (positive rumination and dampening) or negative affect (ruminative brooding), or whether these affective experiences contribute to negative or positive interpersonal event generation. Among 304 late adolescents, path analyses indicated that individuals with higher trait negative affect utilized dampening and brooding rumination responses, whereas those with higher trait positive affect engaged in rumination on positive affect. Further, there were indirect relationships between trait negative affect and fewer positive and negative interpersonal events via dampening, and between trait positive affect and greater positive and negative interpersonal events via positive rumination. These findings suggest that individuals' trait negative and positive affect may be associated with increased utilization of emotion regulation strategies for managing these affects, which may contribute to the occurrence of positive and negative events in interpersonal relationships. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Autosomal Dominant Tubulointerstitial Kidney Disease: Clinical Presentation of Patients With ADTKD-UMOD and ADTKD-MUC1.

PubMed

Ayasreh, Nadia; Bullich, Gemma; Miquel, Rosa; Furlano, Mónica; Ruiz, Patricia; Lorente, Laura; Valero, Oliver; García-González, Miguel Angel; Arhda, Nisrine; Garin, Intza; Martínez, Víctor; Pérez-Gómez, Vanessa; Fulladosa, Xavier; Arroyo, David; Martínez-Vea, Alberto; Espinosa, Mario; Ballarín, Jose; Ars, Elisabet; Torra, Roser

2018-05-18

Autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney disease (ADTKD) is a rare underdiagnosed cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). ADTKD is caused by mutations in at least 4 different genes: MUC1, UMOD, HNF1B, and REN. Retrospective cohort study. 56 families (131 affected individuals) with ADTKD referred from different Spanish hospitals. Clinical, laboratory, radiologic, and pathologic data were collected, and genetic testing for UMOD, MUC1, REN, and HNF1B was performed. Hyperuricemia, ultrasound findings, renal histology, genetic mutations. Age at ESRD, rate of decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate. ADTKD was diagnosed in 25 families (45%), 9 carried UMOD pathogenic variants (41 affected members), and 16 carried the MUC1 pathogenic mutation c.(428)dupC (90 affected members). No pathogenic variants were identified in REN or HNF1B. Among the 77 individuals who developed ESRD, median age at onset of ESRD was 51 years for those with ADTKD-MUC1 versus 56 years (P=0.1) for those with ADTKD-UMOD. Individuals with the MUC1 duplication presented higher risk for developing ESRD (HR, 2.24; P=0.03). The slope of decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate showed no significant difference between groups (-3.0mL/min/1.73m 2 per year in the ADTKD-UMOD group versus -3.9mL/min/1.73m 2 per year in the ADTKD-MUC1 group; P=0.2). The prevalence of hyperuricemia was significantly higher in individuals with ADTKD-UMOD (87% vs 54%; P=0.006). Although gout occurred more frequently in this group, the difference was not statistically significant (24% vs 7%; P=0.07). Relatively small Spanish cohort. MUC1 analysis limited to cytosine duplication. The main genetic cause of ADTKD in our Spanish cohort is the MUC1 pathogenic mutation c.(428)dupC. Renal survival may be worse in individuals with the MUC1 mutation than in those with UMOD mutations. Clinical presentation does not permit distinguishing between these variants. However, hyperuricemia and gout are more frequent in individuals

The BDNF Val66Met polymorphism: relation to familiar risk of affective disorder, BDNF levels and salivary cortisol.

PubMed

Vinberg, Maj; Trajkovska, Viktorija; Bennike, Bente; Knorr, Ulla; Knudsen, Gitte M; Kessing, Lars V

2009-10-01

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are considered to play an important role in the pathophysiology of affective disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is associated with a familiar risk of affective disorder and whether these genotypes affect whole blood BDNF level and salivary cortisol. In a high-risk study, healthy monozygotic and dizygotic twins with and without a co-twin (high- and low-risk twins, respectively) history of affective disorder were identified through nationwide registers. Familiar predisposition to unipolar and bipolar disorder was not associated with any specific genotype pattern of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism, not in this sample of 124 val/val, 58 val/met and 8 met/met individuals. However, the combination of having a high familiar risk of affective disorder and the met allele was associated with a higher whole blood BDNF (p=0.02) and a higher evening cortisol level (p=0.01), but not with awakening cortisol. Individuals at high risk of affective disorders and who are carriers of the met allele of the Val66Met polymorphism may present with an enhanced stress response. The presence of a specific genotype alone may not enhance the risk of developing an affective episode. Rather, the altered stress response may be expressed only in combination with other risk variants through interactions with the environment.

Modeling of Individual and Organizational Factors Affecting Traumatic Occupational Injuries Based on the Structural Equation Modeling: A Case Study in Large Construction Industries

PubMed Central

Mohammadfam, Iraj; Soltanzadeh, Ahmad; Moghimbeigi, Abbas; Akbarzadeh, Mehdi

2016-01-01

Background Individual and organizational factors are the factors influencing traumatic occupational injuries. Objectives The aim of the present study was the short path analysis of the severity of occupational injuries based on individual and organizational factors. Materials and Methods The present cross-sectional analytical study was implemented on traumatic occupational injuries within a ten-year timeframe in 13 large Iranian construction industries. Modeling and data analysis were done using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach and the IBM SPSS AMOS statistical software version 22.0, respectively. Results The mean age and working experience of the injured workers were 28.03 ± 5.33 and 4.53 ± 3.82 years, respectively. The portions of construction and installation activities of traumatic occupational injuries were 64.4% and 18.1%, respectively. The SEM findings showed that the individual, organizational and accident type factors significantly were considered as effective factors on occupational injuries’ severity (P < 0.05). Conclusions Path analysis of occupational injuries based on the SEM reveals that individual and organizational factors and their indicator variables are very influential on the severity of traumatic occupational injuries. So, these should be considered to reduce occupational accidents’ severity in large construction industries. PMID:27800465

Characterizations of individual human red blood cells from patients with diabetes mellitus (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, SangYun; Jang, Seongsoo; Park, HyunJoo; Park, YongKeun

2016-03-01

We systematically measure the morphological, biochemical, and biomechanical properties of individual human red blood cells (RBCs) from patients with diabetes mellitus using quantitative phase imaging technique to characterize the diabetic red cells with respect to those of the healthy. The 3-D refractive index tomograms and 2-D dynamic membrane fluctuation maps of individual RBCs are reconstructed from a set of the retrieved complex optical fields at various laser incidence angles using the Common-path diffraction optical tomography, from which volume, surface area, sphericity, hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, Hb content, and membrane fluctuation are obtained simultaneously. The correlative relations among the retrieved red cell indices of diabetic and healthy RBCs are also investigated with capabilities of individual cell measurement. As expected, there are no significant alterations in morphologies (cellular volumes, surface area, and sphericity) between diabetic and healthy RBCs. However, despite the minute mean corpuscular Hb differences in cell blood count datasheet, the measured Hb concentrations and Hb contents of diabetic RBCs are statistically higher than those of healthy RBCs, which might be related to the glycation of Hb molecules by hyperglycemia. Meanwhile, the membrane fluctuations of diabetic RBCs are clearly diminished compared to healthy red cells, implying the significantly decreased RBC deformability. In particular, it seems that the membrane fluctuations have mild negative relationships with the reported HbA1c levels.

The effect of hand movements on numerical bisection judgments in early blind and sighted individuals

PubMed Central

Rinaldi, Luca; Vecchi, Tomaso; Fantino, Micaela; Merabet, Lotfi B.; Cattaneo, Zaira

2017-01-01

Recent evidence suggests that in representing numbers blind individuals might be affected differently by proprioceptive cues (e.g., hand positions, head turns) than are sighted individuals. In this study, we asked a group of early blind and sighted individuals to perform a numerical bisection task while executing hand movements in left or right peripersonal space and with either hand. We found that in bisecting ascending numerical intervals, the hemi-space in which the hand was moved (but not the moved hand itself) influenced the bisection bias similarly in both early blind and sighted participants. However, when numerical intervals were presented in descending order, the moved hand (and not the hemi-space in which it was moved) affected the bisection bias in all participants. Overall, our data show that the operation to be performed on the mental number line affects the activated spatial reference frame, regardless of participants’ previous visual experience. In particular, both sighted and early blind individuals’ representation of numerical magnitude is mainly rooted in world-centered coordinates when numerical information is given in canonical orientation (i.e. from small to large), whereas hand-centered coordinates become more relevant when the scanning of the mental number line proceeds in non-canonical direction. PMID:26184675

Categorical perception of facial expressions in individuals with non-clinical social anxiety.

PubMed

Qiu, Fanghui; Han, Mingxiu; Zhai, Yu; Jia, Shiwei

2018-03-01

According to the well-established categorical perception (CP) of facial expressions, we decode complicated expression signals into simplified categories to facilitate expression processing. Expression processing deficits have been widely described in social anxiety (SA), but it remains to be investigated whether CP of expressions are affected by SA. The present study examined whether individuals with SA had an interpretation bias when processing ambiguous expressions and whether the sensitivity of their CP was affected by their SA. Sixty-four participants (high SA, 30; low SA, 34) were selected from 658 undergraduates using the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS). With the CP paradigm, specifically with the analysis method of the logistic function model, we derived the categorical boundaries (reflecting interpretation bias) and slopes (reflecting sensitivity of CP) of both high- and low-SA groups while recognizing angry-fearful, happy-angry, and happy-fearful expression continua. Based on a comparison of the categorical boundaries and slopes between the high- and low-SA groups, the results showed that the categorical boundaries between the two groups were not different for any of the three continua, which means that the SA does not affect the interpretation bias for any of the three continua. The slopes for the high-SA group were flatter than those for the low-SA group for both the angry-fearful and happy-angry continua, indicating that the high-SA group is insensitive to the subtle changes that occur from angry to fearful faces and from happy to angry faces. Since participants were selected from a sample of undergraduates based on their IAS scores, the results cannot be directly generalized to individuals with clinical SA disorder. The study indicates that SA does not affect interpretation biases in the processing of anger, fear, and happiness, but does modulate the sensitivity of individuals' CP when anger appears. High-SA individuals perceive angry expressions

Chromosomal microarray analysis of consecutive individuals with autism spectrum disorders or learning disability presenting for genetic services.

PubMed

Roberts, Jennifer L; Hovanes, Karine; Dasouki, Majed; Manzardo, Ann M; Butler, Merlin G

2014-02-01

Chromosomal microarray analysis is now commonly used in clinical practice to identify copy number variants (CNVs) in the human genome. We report our experience with the use of the 105 K and 180K oligonucleotide microarrays in 215 consecutive patients referred with either autism or autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or developmental delay/learning disability for genetic services at the University of Kansas Medical Center during the past 4 years (2009-2012). Of the 215 patients [140 males and 75 females (male/female ratio=1.87); 65 with ASD and 150 with learning disability], abnormal microarray results were seen in 45 individuals (21%) with a total of 49 CNVs. Of these findings, 32 represented a known diagnostic CNV contributing to the clinical presentation and 17 represented non-diagnostic CNVs (variants of unknown significance). Thirteen patients with ASD had a total of 14 CNVs, 6 CNVs recognized as diagnostic and 8 as non-diagnostic. The most common chromosome involved in the ASD group was chromosome 15. For those with a learning disability, 32 patients had a total of 35 CNVs. Twenty-six of the 35 CNVs were classified as a known diagnostic CNV, usually a deletion (n=20). Nine CNVs were classified as an unknown non-diagnostic CNV, usually a duplication (n=8). For the learning disability subgroup, chromosomes 2 and 22 were most involved. Thirteen out of 65 patients (20%) with ASD had a CNV compared with 32 out of 150 patients (21%) with a learning disability. The frequency of chromosomal microarray abnormalities compared by subject group or gender was not statistically different. A higher percentage of individuals with a learning disability had clinical findings of seizures, dysmorphic features and microcephaly, but not statistically significant. While both groups contained more males than females, a significantly higher percentage of males were present in the ASD group. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Resting blood lactate in individuals with sickle cell disease

PubMed Central

Petto, Jefferson; de Jesus, Jaqueline Brito; Vasques, Leila Monique Reis; Pinheiro, Renata Leão Silva; Oliveira, Aila Mascarenhas; Spinola, Kelly Aparecida Borges; Silva, Wellington dos Santos

2011-01-01

Background The most common hereditary hemoglobin disorder, affecting 20 million individuals worldwide, is sickle cell disease. The vascular obstruction resulting from the sickling of cells in this disease can produce local hypoxemia, pain crises and infarction in several tissues, including the bones, spleen, kidneys and lungs. Objective To determine red blood group genes in a Brazilian populations. Methods The present study is characterized as a case control study, with the aim of identifying the baseline blood lactate concentration in individuals with hemoglobin SS and SC diseases. One-way ANOVA with the Tukey post-test was used to analyze the results and a p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Calculations were made using the INSTAT statistical program. The graphs were generated using the ORING program. The study sample was composed of 31 men and women residing in the city of Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia, Brazil. The individuals were divided into two groups: Group GC of 16 subjects who did not present with any type of structural hemoglobinopathy; and Group GE composed of 15 individuals with ages between 2 and 35 years old, who had the SS and SC genotypes. Sample analyses were performed with 3 mL of blood during fasting. Results The baseline blood lactate concentration of the SS and SC individuals was higher than that of the control group (p<0.001) with means of 4.86 ± 0.95; 3.30 ± 0.33; 1.31 ± 0.08 IU/L for SS, SC and controls, respectively. This corroborates the initial research hypothesis. Conclusion The baseline blood lactate of SS and SC individuals is 3 to 4 times higher than that of healthy subjects, probably due to the fact that these patients have a metabolic deviation to the anaerobic pathway. PMID:23284239

Affective Pictures and the Open Library of Affective Foods (OLAF): Tools to Investigate Emotions toward Food in Adults.

PubMed

Miccoli, Laura; Delgado, Rafael; Guerra, Pedro; Versace, Francesco; Rodríguez-Ruiz, Sonia; Fernández-Santaella, M Carmen

2016-01-01

Recently, several sets of standardized food pictures have been created, supplying both food images and their subjective evaluations. However, to date only the OLAF (Open Library of Affective Foods), a set of food images and ratings we developed in adolescents, has the specific purpose of studying emotions toward food. Moreover, some researchers have argued that food evaluations are not valid across individuals and groups, unless feelings toward food cues are compared with feelings toward intense experiences unrelated to food, that serve as benchmarks. Therefore the OLAF presented here, comprising a set of original food images and a group of standardized highly emotional pictures, is intended to provide valid between-group judgments in adults. Emotional images (erotica, mutilations, and neutrals from the International Affective Picture System/IAPS) additionally ensure that the affective ratings are consistent with emotion research. The OLAF depicts high-calorie sweet and savory foods and low-calorie fruits and vegetables, portraying foods within natural scenes matching the IAPS features. An adult sample evaluated both food and affective pictures in terms of pleasure, arousal, dominance, and food craving, following standardized affective rating procedures. The affective ratings for the emotional pictures corroborated previous findings, thus confirming the reliability of evaluations for the food images. Among the OLAF images, high-calorie sweet and savory foods elicited the greatest pleasure, although they elicited, as expected, less arousal than erotica. The observed patterns were consistent with research on emotions and confirmed the reliability of OLAF evaluations. The OLAF and affective pictures constitute a sound methodology to investigate emotions toward food within a wider motivational framework. The OLAF is freely accessible at digibug.ugr.es.

Affective Pictures and the Open Library of Affective Foods (OLAF): Tools to Investigate Emotions toward Food in Adults

PubMed Central

Guerra, Pedro; Versace, Francesco; Rodríguez-Ruiz, Sonia; Fernández-Santaella, M. Carmen

2016-01-01

Recently, several sets of standardized food pictures have been created, supplying both food images and their subjective evaluations. However, to date only the OLAF (Open Library of Affective Foods), a set of food images and ratings we developed in adolescents, has the specific purpose of studying emotions toward food. Moreover, some researchers have argued that food evaluations are not valid across individuals and groups, unless feelings toward food cues are compared with feelings toward intense experiences unrelated to food, that serve as benchmarks. Therefore the OLAF presented here, comprising a set of original food images and a group of standardized highly emotional pictures, is intended to provide valid between-group judgments in adults. Emotional images (erotica, mutilations, and neutrals from the International Affective Picture System/IAPS) additionally ensure that the affective ratings are consistent with emotion research. The OLAF depicts high-calorie sweet and savory foods and low-calorie fruits and vegetables, portraying foods within natural scenes matching the IAPS features. An adult sample evaluated both food and affective pictures in terms of pleasure, arousal, dominance, and food craving, following standardized affective rating procedures. The affective ratings for the emotional pictures corroborated previous findings, thus confirming the reliability of evaluations for the food images. Among the OLAF images, high-calorie sweet and savory foods elicited the greatest pleasure, although they elicited, as expected, less arousal than erotica. The observed patterns were consistent with research on emotions and confirmed the reliability of OLAF evaluations. The OLAF and affective pictures constitute a sound methodology to investigate emotions toward food within a wider motivational framework. The OLAF is freely accessible at digibug.ugr.es. PMID:27513636

Modulation of dental anxiety--the role of past experiences, psychopathologic traits and individual attachment patterns.

PubMed

Eli, I; Uziel, N; Blumensohn, R; Baht, R

2004-06-12

To evaluate factors affecting modulation of dental anxiety among adults. A total of 183 adult members of a closed communal society (Kibbutz), who have been treated since childhood only by the dentists employed in their community, were investigated concerning their past and present dental anxiety, evaluation of their past and present dentists, psychopathologic symptoms and individual pattern of attachment. The best predictor of subjects' evaluation of their present dental anxiety was the scale of anxiety as recorded by the SCL-90R questionnaire. The best predictors of the decrease in subjects' dental anxiety over time were the evaluation of their past and present dentists and the secure and avoidant patterns of attachment. Patterns of attachment (avoidant and ambivalent) were the best predictors of subjects' evaluation of their present dentist. While psychopathologic traits are involved in subjects' present dental anxiety, pattern of attachment may have a dominant affect as to whether anxiety persists throughout life or can be modulated through a corrective emotional experience.

Affect, Race, and White Discomfort in Schooling: Decolonial Strategies for 'Pedagogies of Discomfort'

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zembylas, Michalinos

2018-01-01

The present paper theorises white discomfort as not an individual psychologised emotion, but rather as a social and political affect that is part of the production and maintenance of white colonial structures and practices. Therefore, it is suggested that white discomfort cannot be critically addressed merely in pedagogic terms and conditions…

Comorbid LD and ADHD in Childhood: Socioemotional and Behavioural Adjustment and Parents' Positive and Negative Affect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Yagon, Michal

2009-01-01

The present study examined how vulnerability and protective factors at the individual level (child's disabilities; patterns of attachment), and at the family level (fathers'/mothers' affect), help explain differences in socioemotional and behavioural adjustment among children aged 8-12 years with comorbid learning disability (LD) and attention…

Seroprevalence of IgA anti Epstein-Barr virus is high among family members of nasopharyngeal cancer patients and individuals presenting with chronic complaints in head and neck area

PubMed Central

Argy, Gabriella; Indrasari, Sagung Rai; Indrawati, Luh Putu Lusy; Paramita, Dewi Kartikawati; Jati, Theodola Baning Rahayu; Middeldorp, Jaap M.

2017-01-01

Epstein-Barr (EBV) infection and presence of a nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) case in the family increases the risk of developing NPC. Aberrant anti-EBV immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies (EBV-IgA) may be present in the sera of non-cancer individuals and predict NPC. Limited studies report the presence of EBV-IgA antibodies within non-cancer individuals in Indonesia where the disease is prevalent. This study aimed at exploring whether EBV-IgA was found more frequently among first degree relatives of NPC patients and individuals presenting with chronic symptoms in the head and neck area compared to healthy controls. A total of 967 non-cancer subjects were recruited, including 509 family members of NPC cases, 196 individuals having chronic complaints in the head and neck region, and 262 healthy donors of the local blood bank. Sera were analyzed using a standardized peptide-based EBV-IgA ELISA. Overall, 61.6% of all individuals had anti-EBV IgA reactivity equal to or below cut off value (CoV). Seroreactivity above CoV was significantly higher in females (38.7%) compared to males (28.7%) (p = 0.001). Older individuals had more seroreactivity above CoV (42.5%) than the younger ones (26.4%) (p< 0.001). Seroprevalence was significantly higher in family members of NPC patients (41.7%), compared to 32.7% of individuals with chronic head and neck problems (p = 0.028) and 16.4% healthy blood donors (p< 0.001). As conclusion, this study showed a significant higher seroprevalence in healthy family members of NPC cases and subjects presenting with chronic symptoms in the head and neck area compared to healthy individuals from the general community. This finding indicates that both groups have elevated risk of developing NPC and may serve as targets for a regional NPC screening program. PMID:28800616

Seroprevalence of IgA anti Epstein-Barr virus is high among family members of nasopharyngeal cancer patients and individuals presenting with chronic complaints in head and neck area.

PubMed

Hutajulu, Susanna Hilda; Fachiroh, Jajah; Argy, Gabriella; Indrasari, Sagung Rai; Indrawati, Luh Putu Lusy; Paramita, Dewi Kartikawati; Jati, Theodola Baning Rahayu; Middeldorp, Jaap M

2017-01-01

Epstein-Barr (EBV) infection and presence of a nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) case in the family increases the risk of developing NPC. Aberrant anti-EBV immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies (EBV-IgA) may be present in the sera of non-cancer individuals and predict NPC. Limited studies report the presence of EBV-IgA antibodies within non-cancer individuals in Indonesia where the disease is prevalent. This study aimed at exploring whether EBV-IgA was found more frequently among first degree relatives of NPC patients and individuals presenting with chronic symptoms in the head and neck area compared to healthy controls. A total of 967 non-cancer subjects were recruited, including 509 family members of NPC cases, 196 individuals having chronic complaints in the head and neck region, and 262 healthy donors of the local blood bank. Sera were analyzed using a standardized peptide-based EBV-IgA ELISA. Overall, 61.6% of all individuals had anti-EBV IgA reactivity equal to or below cut off value (CoV). Seroreactivity above CoV was significantly higher in females (38.7%) compared to males (28.7%) (p = 0.001). Older individuals had more seroreactivity above CoV (42.5%) than the younger ones (26.4%) (p< 0.001). Seroprevalence was significantly higher in family members of NPC patients (41.7%), compared to 32.7% of individuals with chronic head and neck problems (p = 0.028) and 16.4% healthy blood donors (p< 0.001). As conclusion, this study showed a significant higher seroprevalence in healthy family members of NPC cases and subjects presenting with chronic symptoms in the head and neck area compared to healthy individuals from the general community. This finding indicates that both groups have elevated risk of developing NPC and may serve as targets for a regional NPC screening program.

[Influence of Nurses' Self-leadership on Individual and Team Members' Work Role Performance].

PubMed

Kim, Se Young; Kim, Eun Kyung; Kim, Byungsoo; Lee, Eunpyo

2016-06-01

The purpose of this study was to examine correlations between nurses' self-leadership and individual work role performance and correlations between self-leadership in nursing units and team members' work role performance. Participants were 202 conveniently selected general nurses from 5 general hospitals in Korea. The study was carried out on 35 nursing units. Data were collected during February 2015 with self-report questionnaires. For factors affecting individual work role performance, self-expectation, self-goal setting, constructive thought, clinical career in the present nursing unit and marital status accounted for 44.0% of proficiency, while self-expectation, self-goal setting, constructive thought, and marital status accounted for 42.3% of adaptivity. Self-expectation, self-goal setting, constructive thought, self-reward, clinical career in the present nursing unit and position accounted for 26.4% of proactivity. In terms of team members' work role performance, self-reward and self-expectation in nursing units explained 29.0% of team members' proficiency. Self-reward and self-expectation in nursing units explained 31.6% of team members' adaptivity, and self-reward in nursing units explained 16.8% of team members' proactivity. The results confirm that nurses' self-leadership affects not only individual self-leadership but also team members' work role performance. Accordingly, to improve nurses' work role performance in nursing units of nursing organizations, improvement in nursing environment based on self-leadership education is necessary and nurses' tasks rearranged so they can appreciate work-autonomy and challenges of work.

Individual and School Factors Affecting Students' Participation and Success in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shulruf, Boaz; Hattie, John; Tumen, Sarah

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study is to identify school factors that affect students' achievements at the secondary and tertiary levels of education. The analysis included data of 9,894 students who studied in Auckland regional secondary schools in 2004. The results indicate that, although student demographic characteristics are associated with students'…

Analysis of sensitivity and uncertainty in an individual-based model of a threatened wildlife species

Treesearch

Bruce G. Marcot; Peter H. Singleton; Nathan H. Schumaker

2015-01-01

Sensitivity analysis—determination of how prediction variables affect response variables—of individual-based models (IBMs) are few but important to the interpretation of model output. We present sensitivity analysis of a spatially explicit IBM (HexSim) of a threatened species, the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO; Strix occidentalis caurina) in Washington...

Intuition, Affect, and Peculiar Beliefs

PubMed Central

Boden, Matthew Tyler; Berenbaum, Howard; Topper, Maurice

2012-01-01

Research with college students has found that intuitive thinking (e.g., using hunches to ascribe meaning to experiences) and positive affect interactively predict ideas of reference and odd/magical beliefs. We investigated whether these results would generalize to a diverse community sample of adults that included individuals with elevated levels of peculiar perceptions and beliefs. We measured positive and negative affect and intuitive thinking through questionnaires, and peculiar beliefs (i.e., ideas of reference and odd/magical beliefs) through structured clinical interviews. We found that peculiar beliefs were associated with intuitive thinking and negative affect, but not positive affect. Furthermore, in no instance did the interaction of affect and intuitive thinking predict peculiar beliefs. These results suggest that there are important differences in the factors that contribute to peculiar beliefs between college students and clinically meaningful samples. PMID:22707815

Present Vision--Future Vision.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitterman, L. Jeffrey

This paper addresses issues of current and future technology use for and by individuals with visual impairments and blindness in Florida. Present technology applications used in vision programs in Florida are individually described, including video enlarging, speech output, large inkprint, braille print, paperless braille, and tactual output…

Attachment affects social information processing: Specific electrophysiological effects of maternal stimuli.

PubMed

Wu, Lili; Gu, Ruolei; Zhang, Jianxin

2016-01-01

Attachment is critical to each individual. It affects the cognitive-affective processing of social information. The present study examines how attachment affects the processing of social information, specifically maternal information. We assessed the behavioral and electrophysiological responses to maternal information (compared to non-specific others) in a Go/No-go Association Task (GNAT) with 22 participants. The results illustrated that attachment affected maternal information processing during three sequential stages of information processing. First, attachment affected visual perception, reflected by enhanced P100 and N170 elicited by maternal information as compared to others information. Second, compared to others, mother obtained more attentional resources, reflected by faster behavioral response to maternal information and larger P200 and P300. Finally, mother was evaluated positively, reflected by shorter P300 latency in a mother + good condition as compared to a mother + bad condition. These findings indicated that the processing of attachment-relevant information is neurologically differentiated from other types of social information from an early stage of perceptual processing to late high-level processing.

Individual differences in the interoceptive states of hunger, fullness and thirst.

PubMed

Stevenson, Richard J; Mahmut, Mehmet; Rooney, Kieron

2015-12-01

Interoception is the ability to perceive internal bodily states. This involves the detection and awareness of static and changing afferent signals from the viscera, motivational states, affective reactions, and associated cognitions. We examined whether there are individual differences in any or all of these aspects of ingestion-related interoception and their possible causes. Individual variation in almost all aspects of interoception was documented for hunger, fullness and thirst - including how participants use, prioritise and integrate visceral, motivational, affective and cognitive information. Individual differences may arise from multiple causes, including genetic influences, developmental changes hypothesised to result from child feeding practices, and from conditions such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders and certain subtypes of obesity. A nutritionally poor diet, and dietary restraint, may also affect ingestion-related interoception. Finally, certain forms of brain injury, notably to the medial temporal lobes are associated with impaired ingestion-related interoception. We conclude by examining the practical and theoretical consequences of these individual differences. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Survey of Literature Pertaining to Decision Making Styles and Individual Factors

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-10-01

facilitation Rules of engagement (ROE) Deductive reasoning Heuristic(s) Emotion/ Affect Consensus Time pressure Rational decision making Recognition...managers are more likely to use an intuitive decision making style, while Sensing/ Feeling types use more of a rational style. These results were also...performance of the individual, team and organization. Research has indicated that a variety of individual factors affect the way in which people make

Associations between maternal negative affect and adolescent's neural response to peer evaluation

PubMed Central

Tan, Patricia Z.; Lee, Kyung Hwa; Dahl, Ronald E.; Nelson, Eric E.; Stroud, Laura J.; Siegle, Greg J.; Morgan, Judith K.; Silk, Jennifer S.

2016-01-01

Parenting is often implicated as a potential source of individual differences in youths’ emotional information processing. The present study examined whether parental affect is related to an important aspect of adolescent emotional development, response to peer evaluation. Specifically, we examined relations between maternal negative affect, observed during parent–adolescent discussion of an adolescent-nominated concern with which s/he wants parental support, and adolescent neural responses to peer evaluation in 40 emotionally healthy and depressed adolescents. We focused on a network of ventral brain regions involved in affective processing of social information: the amygdala, anterior insula, nucleus accumbens, and subgenual anterior cingulate, as well as the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Maternal negative affect was not associated with adolescent neural response to peer rejection. However, longer durations of maternal negative affect were associated with decreased responsivity to peer acceptance in the amygdala, left anterior insula, subgenual anterior cingulate, and left nucleus accumbens. These findings provide some of the first evidence that maternal negative affect is associated with adolescents’ neural processing of social rewards. Findings also suggest that maternal negative affect could contribute to alterations in affective processing, specifically, dampening the saliency and/or reward of peer interactions during adolescence. PMID:24613174

Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in NF1: Evidence for a More Severe Phenotype Associated with Missense Mutations Affecting NF1 Codons 844-848.

PubMed