Variability in hand surface representations in areas 3b and 1 in adult owl and squirrel monkeys

Detailed microelectrode maps of the hand representation were derived in cortical areas 3b and 1 from a series of normal adult owl and squirrel monkeys. While overlap relationships were maintained, and all maps were internally topographic, many map features varied significantly when examined in detail. Variable features of the hand representations among different monkeys included a) the overall shapes and sizes of hand surface representations; b) the actual and proportional areas of representations of different skin surfaces and the cortical magnifications of representations of specific skin surfaces, which commonly varied severalfold in area 3b and manyfold in area 1; c) the topographic relationships among skin surface representations, with skin surfaces that were represented adjacently in some monkeys represented in locations many hundreds of microns apart in others; d) the internal orderliness of representations; e) the completeness of representations of the dorsal hand surfaces; and f) the skin surfaces represented along the borders of the hand representation. Owl monkey maps were, in general, internally more strictly topographic than squirrel monkey maps. In both species, area 3b was more strictly topographic and less variable than was area 1. The degree of individual variability revealed in these experiments is difficult to reconcile with the hypothesis that details of cortical maps are ontogenetically specified during a period in early life. Instead, we propose that differences in the details of cortical map structure are the consequence of individual differences in lifelong use of the hands. This conclusion is consistent with earlier studies of the consequences of peripheral nerve transection and digital amputation, which revealed that cortical maps are dynamically maintained and are alterable as a function of use or nerve injury in these monkeys (Merzenich et al., '83a,b, '84a; Merzenich, '86; Jenkins et al., '84; Jenkins and Merzenich, '87).     

Multisensory integration mechanisms in haptic space perception

It has been argued that representations of peripersonal space based on haptic input are systematically distorted by egocentric reference frames. Interestingly, a recent study has shown that noninformative vision (i.e., freely viewing the region above the haptic workspace) improves performance on the so-called haptic parallel-setting task, in which participants are instructed to rotate a test bar until it is parallel to a reference bar. In the present study, we made a start at identifying the different sensory integration mechanisms involved in haptic space perception by distinguishing the possible effects of orienting mechanisms from those of noninformative vision. We found that both the orienting direction of head and eyes and the availability of noninformative vision affect parallel-setting performance and that they do so independently: orienting towards a reference bar facilitated the parallel-setting of a test bar in both no-vision and noninformative vision conditions, and noninformative vision improved performance irrespective of orienting direction. These results suggest the effects of orienting and noninformative vision on haptic space perception to depend on distinct neurocognitive mechanisms, likely to be expressed in different modulations of neural activation in the multimodal parietofrontal network, thought to be concerned with multimodal representations of peripersonal space.     

Social Representations of Drinking Water in Schoolchildren and Parents from Two Schools in Zapopan,Mexico

Childhood obesity and children being overweight has increased recently; although they are multi-causal problems, an unhealthy diet is a critical component. In Mexico, drinking water consumption in children from 9 to 18 years only reaches 30% of total fluid consumption. The aim of our study was to describe the social representations (SR) of drinking water in school-children and parents of two schools in Zapopan, Mexico. Associative free listing was used as an information gathering technique. Schoolchildren aged 8 to 12 years (n = 50) and parents (n = 23) from two elementary schools were selected by a convenience sampling from April to June 2015. A similarity analysis was performed using the co-occurrence index; with this, a similarity graph was obtained. Prototypical analysis was performed to explore the structure of the SR. Three dimensions were described in the children’s SR: a functional dimension related to health and nutrition, a practical dimension that describes the instruments used for its consumption, and a theoretical dimension that specifies the characteristics of water and its relationship with nature. In the parents’ SR, a functional dimension was also found; another dimension was described regarding the integral well-being that drinking water provides. A practical dimension describes the features related to its consumption. The investigation describes the structure of the water SR, which help to contextualize and explain the actions of schoolchildren and their parents regarding drinking water consumption.     

YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY

The new sociology of childhood sees children as competent social agents with important contributions to make. And yet the phase of childhood is fraught with tensions and contradictions. Public policies are required, not only to protect children, but also to control them and regulate their behaviour. For children and young people in the UK, youth justice has become increasingly punitive. At the same time, social policies have focused more on children's inclusion and participation. In this interplay of conflict and contradictions, the role the media play is critical in contributing to the moral panic about childhood and youth. In this article, we consider media representations of “antisocial” children and young people and how this belies a moral response to the nature of contemporary childhood. We conclude by considering how a rights‐based approach might help redress the moralised politics of childhood representations in the media.     

The relation of spouse illness representations to patient representations and coping behavior: A study in couples dealing with a newly diagnosed cancer

Abstract

The central role of spouses/partners in patients’ adaptation to cancer is well-established, but few studies have examined how partners facilitate adaptation. The Common Sense Model posits that a representation of illness as more controllable and less threatening promotes adaptive coping, but this has not been examined in a dyadic context. This cross-sectional study examined the relations of spouse illness representations of personal and treatment control, and emotional representations to recently diagnosed cancer patients’ coping behaviors, through patient illness representations. One hundred forty-nine heterosexual couples (39.60% female patients; 77.18% dealing with early stage cancer) participated in the study. Structural Equation Modeling showed that spouse illness representations were related to patient coping directly and indirectly through patient illness representations. Both partners’ representations of control were related to greater patient adaptive coping, and both partners’ emotional representations were related to greater dysfunctional coping. These findings highlight the importance of partner illness representations in patients’ adaptation to cancer. They also suggest that early intervention programs that address both partners’ illness representations may enhance patients’ adaptation to cancer.     

Input and output modes modulate phonological and semantic contributions to immediate serial recall: Evidence from a brain-damaged patient

Psycholinguistic models of short-term retention suggest that performance at verbal short-term memory (STM) tasks relies on the activation of phonological, lexical, and semantic representations, the relative impact of each depending on task variables. This was tested in normal individuals and in I.R., a brain-damaged patient with a phonological deficit. In Experiment 1, the effect of phonological and semantic similarity was assessed under different presentation formats (words, pictures) and recall modes (oral, picture pointing, and picture pointing among distractors). In Experiment 2, effects were compared using reproduction and reconstruction responses. When words were used at input, controls showed robust phonological similarity effects irrespective of response mode. In contrast, I.R. showed a reliable semantic effect. However, both studies indicated that when response mode promoted order recuperation (reconstruction and picture pointing modes), I.R. showed a typical phonological similarity effect with no semantic contribution. The data support current psycholinguistic views suggesting that the short-term retention of verbal items depends on the temporary activation of word representations. In healthy controls, presentation mode appears to modulate the role of those representations but in I.R., it was the output condition—particularly whether order was or was not required—that was found to be crucial with respect to the appearance of semantic or phonological effects. This supports the important role that order information plays in short-term memory tasks.     

Family climate in children living with parents who harmfully consume alcohol

The family climate has notable impact on cognitive, emotional, behavioural, social and physical development of children and adolescents and can be influenced by parents' health status. The present study aimed at evaluating whether living with a parent with alcohol use disorder negatively influences the perceived emotional family climate, parental attitudes and internal representations of family relationships. Forty-five children living with a parent with alcohol use disorder and 45 controls, matched for sex and age, completed the Level of Expressed Emotion Scale and the Family Attitudes Questionnaire. Their significant parent completed the Parental Attitudes Scale. The results suggested that living with a parent with an alcohol use disorder increased the risk of having perceived higher levels of emotional response, attitude towards illness and expectations from their parents; it also increased the probability of being exposed to lower parental pleasure and of having represented worse family relationships. Emotion regulation interventions might be useful to protect children living with a parent with alcohol use disorder from a potential chaotic and unpredictable family environment.     

Understanding the link between maternal adult attachment classifications and thoughts and feelings about emotions

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between maternal representations of attachment, as assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George, Kaplan, & Main, ), and mothers' thoughts and feelings about their own emotions and emotions emerging in their toddlers. Eighty-nine adolescent mothers completed the AAI and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, ) and Katz, Gottman, Shapiro, and Carrere's () meta-emotion interview for parents of toddlers. Autonomous mothers demonstrated the most open and flexible mindset around a variety of emotions in themselves and their toddlers. Dismissing mothers exhibited a tendency to minimize internalizing emotions in themselves and their children, while unresolved mothers described the most emotion regulatory difficulties.