Interparental conflict and adolescents' self-representations: The role of emotional insecurity

Adolescents' signs of emotional insecurity in the context of interparental conflict (IC) – emotional reactivity, internal representations (i.e., constructive/destructive; spillover) and behavioral responses (i.e., withdrawal; inhibition; involvement) – were examined as mediators in the relation between IC and adolescents' self-representations. Self-reported measures were filled out by 221 Portuguese adolescents (59.3% girls; Mage = 12.91), attending public elementary and secondary schools. IC predicted less favorable self-representations. Adolescents' emotional reactivity and withdrawal mediated the relation between IC and emotional and physical appearance self-representations, while conflict spillover representations and constructive family representations mediated associations between IC and instrumental self-representations. This study emphasizes the importance of interparental conflict and adolescent emotional insecurity in the construction of their self-representations, having important theoretical and practical implications. It highlights the value of analyzing the specific role of several emotional insecurity dimensions, and informs practitioners' work aimed at promoting constructive conflict and adaptive emotional regulation skills.     

Soft tissue thickness in young north eastern Brazilian individuals with different skeletal classes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the variation in facial soft tissue thickness in young north eastern Brazilian individuals according to gender and skeletal class. Measurements were obtained from digitized teleradiographs of 300 children, aged from 8 to 12 years, using the Sidexis Xg program. Data of mean, standard deviation, maximum and minimum soft tissue thickness values of the faces of Angle's Class I, II and III individuals, were evaluated. The results demonstrated that there was no difference in soft tissue thickness among the skeletal classes for most of anthropological points. For the Class I, statistical differences were found (P < 0.05) between the genders in the rhinion point, subnasal and upper lip. It was concluded that there was no difference in soft tissue thickness among the skeletal classes, except between Class II and III for the points: Stomion, Bottom lip and Pogonion, allowing definition of parameters of this population for the purpose of facial reconstruction.     

Dissociation between exact and approximate addition in developmental dyslexia

Previous research has suggested that number sense and language are involved in number representation and calculation, in which number sense supports approximate arithmetic, and language permits exact enumeration and calculation. Meanwhile, individuals with dyslexia have a core deficit in phonological processing. Based on these findings, we thus hypothesized that children with dyslexia may exhibit exact calculation impairment while doing mental arithmetic. The reaction time and accuracy while doing exact and approximate addition with symbolic Arabic digits and non-symbolic visual arrays of dots were compared between typically developing children and children with dyslexia. Reaction time analyses did not reveal any differences across two groups of children, the accuracies, interestingly, revealed a distinction of approximation and exact addition across two groups of children. Specifically, two groups of children had no differences in approximation. Children with dyslexia, however, had significantly lower accuracy in exact addition in both symbolic and non-symbolic tasks than that of typically developing children. Moreover, linguistic performances were selectively associated with exact calculation across individuals. These results suggested that children with dyslexia have a mental arithmetic deficit specifically in the realm of exact calculation, while their approximation ability is relatively intact.     

Treatment with the Self-Discovery Camp (SDiC) improves Internet gaming disorder

IntroductionInternet gaming disorder (IGD) is a novel behavioral addiction that influences the physical, mental, and social aspects of health due to excessive Internet gaming. One type of intensive treatment for IGD is the therapeutic residential camp (TRC), which comprises many types of therapies, including psychotherapy, psychoeducational therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy. The TRC was developed in South Korea and has been administered to many patients with IGD; however, its efficacy in other countries remains unknown. We investigated the efficacy of the Self-Discovery Camp (SDiC), a Japanese version of a TRC, and the correlations between individual characteristics and outcome measures.MethodsWe recruited 10 patients with IGD (all male, mean age = 16.2 years, diagnosed using the DSM-5) to spend 8 nights and 9 days at the SDiC. We measured gaming time as well as self-efficacy (using the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale, a measure of therapeutic motivation and problem recognition).ResultsTotal gaming time was significantly lower 3 months after the SDiC. Problem recognition and self-efficacy towards positive change also improved. Furthermore, there was a correlation between age of onset and problem recognition score.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate the effectiveness of the SDiC for IGD, especially regarding gaming time and self-efficacy. Additionally, age of onset may be a useful predictor of IGD prognosis. Further studies with larger sample sizes and control groups, and that target long-term outcomes, are needed to extend our understanding of SDiC efficacy.     

The Mediating Role of Social Support in the Relationship Between Parenting Stress and Resilience Among Chinese Parents of Children with Disability

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Few studies have examined the relationships among parents’ resilience, parenting stress, and social support. This study surveyed 486 parents of...     

Electrophysiological evidence of facial inversion with rapid serial visual presentation

Using measurements of event-related potentials (ERPs) during a facial recognition task, we aimed to investigate the facial inversion effect and the role of time-based attention in processing upright and inverted faces. We presented upright and inverted faces at the T2 (target 2) position using a rapid serial visual presentation paradigm. Our results indicate that the N170 component shows the usual face inversion effect (FIE), in which inverted faces elicit larger N170 amplitudes and a longer elicit N170 latency. We also found that upright faces elicit larger P1 amplitudes than inverted faces over the left hemisphere. This study indicates that the N170 and P3, but not the P1, components are modulated by time-based attention. In addition, we found that the N170 amplitude was modulated by an attentional blink (AB) based on behavioral data. These results suggest that the disruption of facial configuration processing caused by inverted faces is relatively independent of attentional resources.     

运动疲劳导致大鼠焦虑并伴有海马CA1区θ节律活动增强

目的:研究运动疲劳对大鼠焦虑情绪的影响,观测海马CA1区场电位θ节律震荡的变化,揭示运动疲劳引发不良情绪效应的可能神经电生理机制。方法:雄性Wistar大鼠随机分为对照组(control)和运动疲劳组(exercise training,ET),采用反复7 d力竭跑台训练方式建立疲劳模型。行为学实验采用高架十字迷宫观察大鼠焦虑行为的改变。随后,利用在体电生理记录方法,比较两组大鼠海马局部场电位θ节律活动的差异。结果:高架十字迷宫检测发现,ET组大鼠进入高架十字迷宫开放臂次数较对照组大鼠明显减少(P<0.05),并且在其中停留的时间也显著性缩短(P<0.01);同时,在闭合臂的活动时间大幅延长(P<0.01)。在体海马CA1区θ节律电信号记录显示,ET组大鼠功率峰值显著高于对照组大鼠(P<0.05),而功率峰值对应的θ节律频率值不存在组间差异(P>0.05)。结论:运动疲劳后大鼠探索行为减少,焦虑样行为增多,并伴有海马CA1区θ节律活动增强。这种焦虑情绪与θ节律震荡活动的改变相关,提示θ节律场电位信号活动的增强,可能是运动疲劳导致焦虑等不良情绪产生的电生理机制之一。     

融合多特征脑电评估孤独症儿童

孤独症是一种复杂的神经发育性脑疾病,其早期发现和精确诊断非常重要。从54名孤独症和50名正常儿童的脑电信号中提取功率谱、熵、双谱相干性以及相干性等多特征进行分析研究,并对每组特征进行独立样本t检验分析组间差异;为提高分类性能,提出融合多特征脑电进行分析,进一步采用最大相关最小冗余算法进行特征选择,最后利用支持向量机建立分类模型。结果显示,用单一特征分类,得到的分类准确率为72%,灵敏度为73.94%,特异性为67.74%,F1分数为69.74%,因此单一特征所建立的分类模型性能较差;在融合多特征进行分类时,选择前25个特征建立模型,具有较高的分类精度(93.45%±0.79%),此时灵敏度为91.73%±0.42%,特异性为94.01%±0.36%,F1分数为92.54%±0.31%,且AUC达到0.96,相比单一特征分类模型具有良好的性能。研究结果可以为孤独症的辅助诊断提供科学客观依据,为孤独症儿童后期康复提供可靠参考。