Nuclear worries of Canadian youth: replication and extension

A national survey of Canadian adolescents assessed concern, anxiety, and sources of information about the threat of nuclear war. Results indicated few geographical or gender differences in overall levels of concern, although females were more likely to admit fear and anxiety, and students with activist parents showed more concern. Family ranked below all media as a source of information.     

Task-related EEG asymmetries: a comparison of alpha blocking and beta enhancement

Alpha and beta content of spectrally analyzed EEG were used to assess differential hemispheric engagement during two linguistic tasks (semantic and phonetic) and one acoustic task involving detection of target items embedded within the same stimulus series. Beta content of the EEG increased reliably in the left hemisphere during the linguistic tasks, whereas the expected attenuation or blocking of alpha did not occur reliably. These data suggest that left hemisphere beta enhancement rather than alpha blocking is a more efficient index of differential hemispheric engagement during language processing.     

Cortical excitability in cocaine-dependent patients: a replication and extension of TMS findings

Cortical excitability can be assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Previously we observed that TMS motor threshold (MT) was elevated in abstinent cocaine-dependent subjects. In the current study we aimed at replicating our initial finding, exploring other TMS-based measures of excitability, and examining association with personality characteristics. Nineteen cocaine-dependent and 12 healthy control subjects were examined. Resting and activated motor thresholds (RMT and AMT) and duration of the cortical silent period (CSP) were examined. The Cocaine Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) was administered to assess cocaine-induced psychotic symptoms. The relationship between Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scales and cortical excitability measures was also examined. AMT was significantly elevated in cocaine-dependent subjects on both hemispheres. RMT was also significantly elevated on the right hemisphere. No CSP changes were noted. Patients with cocaine-induced paranoia had longer CSPs on the right hemisphere compared to subjects reporting no paranoid experiences. The patients displayed significantly elevated scores on several MMPI scales, though the scale scores did not correlate with cortical excitability measures. These data support our initial finding of decreased cortical excitability in abstinent cocaine-dependent subjects. We interpret this finding as a compensatory mechanism against the stimulating and epileptogenic effects of cocaine.     

Polysomnographic findings and dexamethasone nonsuppression in unipolar depression: a replication and extension

To evaluate the replicability of our previous findings of increased incidence of biological dysregulation in endogenous depression, we have studied a new series of patients with major depressive disorder, unipolar type (n = 103). The subtypes compared were defined by Research Diagnostic Criteria and were endogenous/nonendogenous, primary/secondary, and Winokur's family history classification. As an extension of the research, we evaluated the endogenous subtype more precisely by distinguishing those patients who met criteria for probable endogenous, comparing them to both endogenous and nonendogenous depressed patients. The findings of the replication study were consistent with our earlier report; the incidence of both dexamethasone nonsuppression and reduced rapid eye movement (REM) latency was higher in those with endogenous depression. Findings for each of the other subtypes revealed no differences. The probable endogenous depressed patients were comparable to the nonendogenous depressed patients in all variables measured.     

Posterior medial frontal cortex and threat-enhanced religious belief: a replication and extension

Research indicates that the posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC) functions as a ‘neural alarm’ complex broadly involved in registering threats and helping to muster relevant responses. Holbrook and colleagues investigated whether pMFC similarly mediates ideological threat responses, finding that downregulating pMFC via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) caused (i) less avowed religious belief despite being reminded of death and (ii) less group bias despite encountering a sharp critique of the national in-group. While suggestive, these findings were limited by the absence of a non-threat comparison condition and reliance on sham rather than control TMS. Here, in a pre-registered replication and extension, we downregulated pMFC or a control region (MT/V5) and then primed participants with either a reminder of death or a threat-neutral topic. As mentioned previously, participants reminded of death reported less religious belief when pMFC was downregulated. No such effect of pMFC downregulation was observed in the neutral condition, consistent with construing pMFC as monitoring for salient threats (e.g. death) and helping to recruit ideological responses (e.g. enhanced religious belief). However, no effect of downregulating pMFC on group bias was observed, possibly due to reliance on a collegiate in-group framing rather than a national framing as in the prior study.     

Use of demographic variables to predict full scale IQ: a replication and extension

The evaluation of current level of neuropsychological functioning is handicapped by the lack of validated actuarial methods for estimating premorbid intellectual functioning. The present study cross-validated and attempted to improve the one existing method of using demographic variables in a systematic way to predict WAIS Full Scale IQ (Wilson et al., 1978). A sample of 491 neurologically normal subjects was used. The results generally supported the IQ prediction equation, but did reveal systematic differences in accuracy of prediction and direction of prediction error for IQs in the high and low ranges. Also, a simpler IQ prediction formula that uses only years of education was developed and compared with the 5-variable Wilson et al. formula.     

The Aberrant Behaviour Checklist: a British replication and extension of its psychometric properties

ABSTRACT. The Abberrant Behaviour Checklist was administered to 209 British mentally handicapped adults in two large residential facilities. This sample included a substantial proportion (45%) of non-ambulant people not included in previous studies. The five-factor solution originally reported by Aman et al. (1985a) was replicated using both four-point ratings and dichotomously recoded rating. For both methods of scoring, the five scales derived from Aman et al. 's original factor analysis remained highly internally consistent. Dichotomously coded ratings may offer the advantage over four-point ratings of retaining the same factor structure with better reliability.     

Negative appraisals and cognitive avoidance of intrusive memories in depression: a replication and extension

Recent research has demonstrated that intrusive negative autobiographical memories represent a shared phenomenological feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. A preliminary investigation (Starr and Moulds, 2006) successfully applied a cognitive appraisal model of PTSD to the maintenance of intrusive memories in depression. The current investigation sought to replicate and extend these findings. Two hundred and fifty first-year undergraduate students were interviewed to assess for the presence of a negative autobiographical memory that had spontaneously intruded in the past week. Participants completed self-report inventories assessing trait and situational employment of cognitive avoidance mechanisms in response to these memories. Consistent with Starr and Moulds, intrusion-related distress correlated with dysphoria, irrespective of intrusion frequency. Assigning negative appraisals to one's intrusive memory and attempts to control the memory were positively associated with intrusion-related distress, level of depression, and cognitive avoidance mechanisms. Additionally, negative appraisals and control influenced the employment rumination as an avoidant response to a greater degree than the corresponding trait tendency. Finally, negative appraisals and the use of cognitive mechanisms were predictive of depression concurrently. The results support the validity of borrowing from PTSD models to elucidate the cognitive mechanisms that maintain intrusive memories in depressed samples.     

Unconscious thought reduces intrusion development: A replication and extension

Background and ObjectivesIntrusive images after a traumatic event, a hallmark feature of post-traumatic stress disorder, are suggested to develop because the trauma memory is disorganized and not integrated into autobiographical memory. Unconscious Thought Theory predicts that information can be conceptually organized after a period of unconscious thought (UT), more so than after conscious thought (CT). We aimed to test the hypothesis that UT decreases intrusions and increases conceptual organization in memory.MethodsParticipants were shown a stressful film and were required to perform an UT task, a CT task, or a distraction task. Intrusions of the film, intrusion qualities, and sequence memory were measured afterwards.ResultsWe confirmed our hypothesis that UT (versus CT or mere distraction) leads to fewer intrusions, thereby replicating earlier research. Contrary to prediction, we found no difference between the conditions on sequence memory. In addition, conscious thought appeared to increase intrusion nowness and arousal.LimitationsThe analogue design and healthy participant sample prevent from generalizing results to other populations. Intrusion frequency and qualities were assessed immediately after the film thereby prohibiting us from drawing conclusions about any long-term effects.ConclusionsEngaging in unconscious thought after a stressful film can reduce intrusion frequency. This has potential implications for clinical interventions to prevent initial stress symptoms. The underlying mechanism remains unclear for now and provides an avenue for future research.     

Cocaine increases medial prefrontal cortical glutamate overflow in cocaine-sensitized rats: a time course study

Excitatory amino acid transmission within mesocorticolimbic brain pathways is thought to play an important role in behavioural sensitization to psychomotor stimulants. The current studies evaluated a time course of the effects of cocaine on extracellular glutamate levels within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) following increasing periods of withdrawal from repeated cocaine exposure. Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent stereotaxic surgeries and were pretreated daily with saline (1 mL/kg/day x 4 days, i.p.) or cocaine (15 mg/kg/day x 4 days, i.p.) and withdrawn for 1, 7 or 30 days. After withdrawal rats were challenged with the same dose of saline or cocaine and in vivo microdialysis of the mPFC was conducted with concurrent analysis of locomotor activity. Animals that were withdrawn from repeated daily cocaine for 1 day and 7 days displayed an augmentation in cocaine-induced mPFC glutamate levels compared to saline and acute control subjects, which were similarly unaffected by cocaine challenge. At the 7 day time point, a subset of animals that received repeated cocaine did not express behavioural sensitization, nor did these animals exhibit the enhancement in mPFC glutamate in response to cocaine challenge. In contrast to these early effects, 30 days of withdrawal resulted in no significant changes in cocaine-induced mPFC glutamate levels regardless of the pretreatment or behavioural response. These data suggest that repeated cocaine administration transiently increases cocaine-induced glutamate levels in the mPFC during the first week of withdrawal, which may play an important role in the development of behavioural sensitization to cocaine.     

The therapist's therapist: A replication and extension 20 years later

How do mental health professionals choose their own psychotherapists? This study replicates and extends a 1987 national survey of psychotherapists regarding the selection criteria and sociodemographic characteristics of their personal therapists; 608 psychologists, counselors, and social workers participated. Therapists' therapists tended to be middle aged and White (94%) but equally female and male. Their most frequent theoretical orientations were integrative, eclectic, cognitive, and psychodynamic (but rarely behavioral or systemic). Psychology was their most prevalent profession, followed by social work, counseling, and psychiatry. Topping the list of therapist selection criteria were competence, warmth, experience, openness, and reputation. The prototypical positive features of personal treatment that therapists repeated with their own patients all concerned cultivation of the therapeutic relationship. The 2007 results are tentatively compared with those obtained in 1987, thus chronicling the evolution of therapists' therapists over the years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).     

Biofeedback-assisted relaxation in insulin-dependent diabetes: A replication and extension study

The effects of twelve sessions of biofeedback-assisted relaxation on blood glucose were tested in a controlled trial of 16 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Treatment consisted of electromyograph biofeedback, thermal biofeedback, relaxation therapy, and diabetes education. The controls received only diabetes education. All patients monitored blood glucose daily. The treated group improved on average blood glucose, percent of values above 200 mg/dl, and number of values at target. Two biologic indicators of blood glucose were used as correlates of self-reported blood glucose. Fructosamine and glycosylated hemoglobin were significantly correlated with values determined by self-monitoring of blood glucose at pretest. Fructosamine was a better index of short-term change than glycosylated hemoglobin. These results, though limited by size of population and reliance on self-reported blood glucose, support our earlier study and are promising for biofeedback-assisted relaxation as an adjunct to conventional therapy of insulin-dependent diabetes. St. Vincent Medical Center This research was supported in part by a grant from the Ohio Lions Eye Research Foundation. We thank Eli Lilly for providing the educational video. We thank Lifescan for the use of the One Touch II glucometers.     

Sociocultural adjustment among sojourning Malaysian students in Britain: a replication and path analytic extension

The present study examined the sociocultural adjustment of 249 sojourning Malaysian undergraduates in Britain. One-hundred and ten Malay and 139 Chinese students enrolled in various courses answered a self-report questionnaire that examined various aspects of sociocultural adjustment and socio-demographics. Overall, Malay students reported significantly poorer sociocultural adjustment than Chinese students, as well as more negative outcomes on a range of predictors. Path analysis for the total sample showed that higher family income led to greater sociocultural adjustment, but partially because it led to more contact with host and conationals, better language proficiency, lower perceived cultural differences and less perceived discrimination. Moreover, participants with higher English proficiency were better adapted, but partially because they perceived less cultural differences as well as having more contact with host nationals. Additionally, individuals reporting better sociocultural adjustment also reported better health statuses. The same model was equally useful at predicting sociocultural adjustment for both Malay and Chinese participants. These results are discussed in terms of the role played by income in buffering against the negative aspects of sociocultural adjustment.     

The relative importance of identity status interview components: replication and extension

The present study partially replicates and extends the work of Rogow et al. (1983) in probing the relative importance of Ego Identity Status Interview components for both sexes. Eighty female and sixty male students attending a New Zealand university were given the Ego Identity Status Interview with identity components of occupation, religion, politics, and sex role beliefs presented in counterbalanced order. Subjects were then asked to rank components in order of importance to their sense of identity and additional identity contents were explored through open-ended questions. This investigation revealed few sex differences in terms of number of content areas having a common rating, hit rates between single or paired content areas and overall identity ratings, rank order for importance of identity contents, or reported areas of additional identity concerns. In support of Rogow findings, this study suggests that identity not be viewed as a unitary structure and encourages the reporting of both component and overall identity status ratings to allow a more comprehensive means of researching the identity formation process. In general, the identity status approach provides a useful model for clinical research of ego synthesis in late adolescence.     

Working memory and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance in schizotypic individuals: a replication and extension

The present study examined spatial working memory and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) performance in psychosis-prone individuals, either those with extremely high scores on the Social Anhedonia Scale (SocAnh; n = 49) or deviant scores on the Perceptual Aberration-Magical Ideation Scales (Per-Mag; n = 66). Sixty-three individuals with normal scores on the Chapman Psychosis-Proneness Scales served as control subjects. In order to evaluate working memory performance, participants were administered three tasks, namely, sensorimotor, degraded stimulus, and delayed-response tasks. Although the SocAnh and Per-Mag groups displayed poorer performance than control subjects on the working memory task, they did not differ significantly from each other. The SocAnh group exhibited slower reaction times on the working memory task compared to the control group. The groups did not differ in their performance on sensorimotor or degraded stimulus control tasks. Both psychosis-prone groups differed significantly from control subjects in terms of their WCST performance. Working memory performance was inversely associated with the number of perseverative errors (r = -0.17) and the number of trials to complete the first category on the WCST (r= -0.15). These findings extend the literature by indicating that some psychosis-prone individuals with social-interpersonal schizotypal deficits also display subtle spatial working memory impairments.     

Cocaine treatment increases expression of a 40 kDa catecholamine-regulated protein in discrete brain regions

Previous reports from our laboratory have described brain-specific catecholamine-regulated proteins, which bind dopamine and related catecholamines. Evidence from the molecular cloning of a 40 kDa catecholamine-regulated protein (CRP40) revealed that CRP40 is dopamine-inducible and has properties similar to those of the 70 kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) family. The present study investigates the effects of acute and chronic cocaine treatment on CRP40 expression in the striatum, nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, and medulla. Acute treatment with cocaine increased CRP40 expression in the nucleus accumbens and striatum, whereas chronic treatment with cocaine increased CRP40 expression in the nucleus accumbens only. Neither of these treatments affected CRP40 levels in the prefrontal cortex or medulla. In addition, pretreatment with the spin-trapping agent alpha-phenyl-tert-butylnitrone did not attenuate cocaine-induced expression of CRP40, suggesting that the observed increases in CRP40 levels were not caused by free radicals. On the other hand, pretreatment with anisomycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor, blocked the cocaine-induced expression of CRP40. Thus, protein synthesis may be involved in the observed CRP40 level increases. Furthermore, neither acute nor chronic cocaine treatment affected levels of inducible or constitutively expressed HSP70, which indicates a specificity of cocaine's effects on CRP40. Since cocaine has been shown to increase extracellular dopamine levels, these findings suggest that increased expression of CRP40 is associated with high extracellular levels of dopamine (or its metabolites). Elevated levels of CRP40 could play a protective role for dopamine neurons in response to increased oxidative stress that has been shown to be induced by cocaine and that can lead to apoptosis and neurodegeneration.