Shaping Citizenship in the Classroom: Peer Influences on Moral Disengagement, Social Goals, and a Sense of Peer Community.

Despite the important role of peers in the social process of classroom citizenship, the peer influence related to moral disengagement, social goals, and a sense of peer community remain unclear. To this end, it was examined to what extent youth become similar to their friends in moral disengagement, social goals, and a sense of peer community. Participants were 283 South Korean third to sixth graders (Mage = 9.60 years, SD = 0.97; 51.6% girls) who completed an online survey for moral disengagement, social goals, the sense of peer community and friendship network across the beginning (Time 1) and end (Time 2) of the school semester (September to December). Longitudinal social network analyses indicated that youth became more similar to their friends concerning moral disengagement and a sense of peer community, but did not select friends based on these aspects. The strength of these influence effects varied in terms of different levels of these aspects. Specifically, youth were more likely to become similar to their friends at lower levels of moral disengagement. Youth tended to be similar to the friends' level of sense of peer community. This tendency was relatively strong at the lowest and the highest levels of a sense of peer community. Future research should address the role of friendship in shaping classroom citizenship and the importance of classroom daily teaching practice in youth citizenship development.

Peer network in math anxiety: A longitudinal social network approach.

Regardless of age, math anxiety (i.e., adverse affective reactions in situations involving math) is associated with lower math achievement. Previous studies have investigated the role of adult figures (e.g., parents, teachers) in the development of children's math anxiety. However, given the importance of peer relationships during adolescence, we examined friendship selection and social influence on children's math anxiety using longitudinal peer network analyses. Throughout the academic semester, we found that children became more similar to their peers in math anxiety levels but did not form new peer networks based on their levels of math anxiety. These findings highlight the importance of peers' emotional reactions to math, which could influence future academic achievement and career aspirations considerably.

Sex Differences in the Pathways from Exposure to Parental Fighting to Risky Sexual Activities Among Adolescents in Urban Neighborhoods.

OBJECTIVES: Adolescents' exposure to violence between parents acts as a precursor to risky behaviors; however, empirical studies that examined the potential pathways from exposure to violence between parents to risky behaviors are rare. Consequently, the prevention and intervention strategies for risky sexual activities are limited without the identification of malleable mediators. METHODS: Mediators on the association between adolescent exposure to parental fighting and risky sexual activities are examined, which include internalizing behaviors, running away from home, and affiliation with risky peers. Relationships between these variables are examined for males and females separately. The sample consists of 673 adolescents in a neighborhood located in Chicago's Southside who completed a survey. RESULTS: Exposure to parental fighting was not directly associated with risky sexual activities for either males or females. However, among females, exposure to parental fighting was significantly and positively related to internalizing behaviors and running away from home, and internalizing behaviors were also positively associated with running away from home. For males, however, only the association between internalizing behaviors and running away from home was found to be significant. Further, the relationship between exposure to parental fighting and risky sexual activities was mediated by running away from home. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted strategies for prevention are critical for improving sexual health outcomes among adolescents in low-resourced urban neighborhoods.

Posttraumatic Stress, Academic Performance, and Future Orientation as Pathways to Community Violence Exposure and Sexual Risk among African American Youth in Chicago's Southside.

Posttraumatic stress, low academic performance, and future orientation as pathways from community violence exposure to sexual risk-taking behavior were examined among 753 African American youth in a large urban school district, ranging from ages of 13 to 24 years. Youth completed a self-report instrument. Youth completed a self-report instrument of Exposure to Violence Probe, University of California at Los Angeles' PTSD Reaction Index Adolescent Version, and Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Scale. Structural equation modeling was performed to examine relationships among the major study variables. Results indicated that community violence exposure was not directly associated with sexual risk behavior. However, community violence exposure had a significantly positive impact on posttraumatic stress, which was associated with low future orientation and sexual risk behavior. Findings suggest that targeted interventions need to consider variables that mediate the association between violence exposure and sexual risk behavior, which can reduce poor sexual health outcomes among urban youth who are exposed to violence in their community.

Does treadmill walking with near-infrared light applied to the abdominal area reduce local adiposity and body weight?

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine the effect on local fat deposition and body weight of wearing a near-infrared light belt around the abdomen. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-eight obese female subjects participated in this experiment. For measurement of body composition, an impedance-style body fat analyzer was used. The experimental group performed treadmill walking 3 times per week for 12 weeks while wearing an activated near-infrared belt around the abdomen. The near-infrared belt was composed of light-emitting diodes having wavelengths of 630 nm, 830 nm, 880 nm, and 956 nm. [Results] The analysis of abdominal circumference indicated that the abdominal circumference of the experimental group was reduced in post-test measurements compared to pre-test. [Conclusion] This investigation showed significant reductions in abdominal circumference, abdominal fat percentage, fat mass, and body-mass index for the experimental compared to the control group, suggesting that changes in body composition can be enhanced when near-infrared radiation is applied to the abdomen during walking.

The frontal executive function in exercise addicts, moderate exercisers, and exercise avoiders.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to compare the frontal executive functions of exercise addicts, moderate exercisers, and exercise avoiders. We hypothesized that exercise addicts and avoiders would have poorer executive functions compared to moderate exercisers. METHODS: The Korean Exercise Addiction Scale was administrated to recruit participants. Electroencephalogram was recorded at the frontal scalp sites. RESULTS: The results showed that P3 and N2 latencies were shorter in the exercise addiction group than in the avoidance and moderate groups. Exercise addicts and moderate exercisers showed faster response time than exercise avoiders. DISCUSSION: P3 and N2 latencies and P3 and N2 amplitudes were discussed in terms of executive functions. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: This study showed that exercise addiction did not impair executive functions, but increased cognitive functioning. (Am J Addict 2016;25:466-471).

Differential frontal theta activity during cognitive and motor tasks.

The present study investigated psychophysiological differences between cognitive and motor tasks. Participants were 16 university students (male[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]10, female[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]6) aged between 24 to 31 years (mean[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]27.6 years, SD[Formula: see text][Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] years). They were instructed to perform cognitive and motor tasks while their brain activity was simultaneously recorded using electroencephalography (EEG). A 3(task)[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]8(area)[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]4(bands) analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on theta, alpha and beta frequency bands. The results showed that the cognitive task resulted in a significantly higher spectral power in the theta band at frontal electrodes than did the motor task. This suggests that the frontal lobe might be engaged in problem solving, resulting in increased theta activity. However, there were no differences in alpha and beta activity between the two tasks. The present study provides psychophysiological evidence for classifying cognitive and motor tasks, which has been a controversial issue for task classifications in motor learning research.

Effects of assisted aquatic movement and horseback riding therapies on emotion and brain activation in patients with cerebral palsy.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of assisted aquatic movement and horseback riding therapies on emotion and brain activation in patients with cerebral palsy. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty-two right-handed patients with cerebral palsy (18 male, 14 female) whose ages ranged from 8 to 48 years participated in this experiment. Their cerebral palsy levels ranged from 1 to 3. The participants were assigned to one of three groups according to the experimental conditions: an assisted aquatic movement therapy group, a horseback riding therapy group, or a control group. Electroencephalograms, the Feeling Scale and the Felt Arousal Scale were examined as dependent variables. [Results] Analysis of self-reported data demonstrated a significant positive improvement in the emotions of participants in the assisted aquatic movement therapy group in comparison with the control group. With regard to the electroencephalogram analysis, the results of this study showed increased alpha power in the assisted aquatic movement therapy group compared with the horseback riding and control groups. [Conclusion] The results of this study suggest that professionals can consider assisted aquatic movement therapy as an effective therapeutic intervention for the improvement of mental health and brain activation.

Changes in baseball batters' brain activity with increased pitch choice.

In baseball, one factor necessary for batters to decide whether to swing or not depends on what type of pitch is thrown. Oftentimes batters will look for their pitch (i.e., waiting for a fastball). In general, when a pitcher has many types of pitches in his arsenal, batters will have greater difficulty deciding upon the pitch thrown. Little research has been investigated the psychophysiology of a batters decision-making processes. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to determine how brain activation changes according to an increase in the number of alternatives (NA) available. A total of 15 male college baseball players participated in this study. The stimuli used in this experiment were video clips of a right-handed pitcher throwing fastball, curve, and slider pitches. The task was to press a button after selecting the fastball as the target stimulus from two pitch choices (fastball and curve), and then from three possibilities (fastball, curve, and slider). Functional and anatomic image scanning magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) runs took 4 and 5[Formula: see text]min, respectively. According to our analysis, the right precentral gyrus, left medial frontal gyrus, and right fusiform gyrus were activated when the NA was one. The supplementary motor areas (SMA) and primary motor cortex were activated when there were two alternatives to choose from and the inferior orbitofrontal gyrus was specifically activated with three alternatives. Contrary to our expectations, the NA was not a critical factor influencing the activation of related decision making areas when the NA was compared against one another. These findings highlight that specific brain areas related to decision making were activated as the NA increased.

COMPARISON OF ATHLETES WITH AND WITHOUT BURNOUT USING THE STROOP COLOR AND WORD TEST.

The present study compared brain activity of adolescents with or without burnout during their responses to a computerized version of the Stroop Color and Word Test. The Sport Adaptation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory was administered to 460 Korean high school student athletes. Electroencephalographic data were recorded from frontal, central, parietal, and occipital brain regions while these participants were performing the Stroop Color and Word Test. A 2 (group) × 2 (condition) × 15 (electrodes) three-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that the athletes without burnout exhibited significantly higher accuracy than their counterparts with burnout on the Stroop Color and Word Test. The athletes without burnout also showed higher amplitudes for theta, alpha, and beta power in the frontal areas than the athletes with burnout.

Influence of self-controlled feedback on learning a serial motor skill.

Self-controlled feedback on a variety of tasks are well established as effective means of facilitating motor skill learning. This study assessed the effects of self-controlled feedback on the performance of a serial motor skill. The task was to learn the sequence of 18 movements that make up the Taekwondo Poomsae Taegeuk first, which is the first beginner's practice form learned in this martial art. Twenty-four novice female participants (M age=27.2 yr., SD=1.8) were divided into two groups. All participants performed 16 trials in 4 blocks of the acquisition phase and 20 hr. later, 8 trials in 2 blocks of the retention phase. The self-controlled feedback group had significantly higher performance compared to the yoked-feedback group with regard to acquisition and retention. The results of this study may contribute to the literature regarding feedback by extending the usefulness of self-controlled feedback for learning a serial skill.

Photorealistic ray tracing to visualize automobile side mirror reflective scenes.

We describe an interactive visualization procedure for determining the optimal surface of a special automobile side mirror, thereby removing the blind spot, without the need for feedback from the error-prone manufacturing process. If the horizontally progressive curvature distributions are set to the semi-mathematical expression for a free-form surface, the surface point set can then be derived through numerical integration. This is then converted to a NURBS surface while retaining the surface curvature. Then, reflective scenes from the driving environment can be virtually realized using photorealistic ray tracing, in order to evaluate how these reflected images would appear to drivers.

An fMRI study of differences in brain activity among elite, expert, and novice archers at the moment of optimal aiming.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated brain activity in elite, expert, and novice archers during a simulated archery aiming task to determine whether neural correlates of performance differ by skill level. BACKGROUND: Success in shooting sports depends on complex mental routines just before the shot, when the brain prepares to execute the movement. METHODS: During functional magnetic resonance imaging, 40 elite, expert, or novice archers aimed at a simulated 70-meter-distant target and pushed a button when they mentally released the bowstring. RESULTS: At the moment of optimal aiming, the elite and expert archers relied primarily on a dorsal pathway, with greatest activity in the occipital lobe, temporoparietal lobe, and dorsolateral pre-motor cortex. The elites showed activity in the supplementary motor area, temporoparietal area, and cerebellar dentate, while the experts showed activity only in the superior frontal area. The novices showed concurrent activity in not only the dorsolateral pre-motor cortex but also the ventral pathways linked to the ventrolateral pre-motor cortex. The novices exhibited broad activity in the superior frontal area, inferior frontal area, ventral prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, superior parietal lobule, and primary somatosensory cortex. CONCLUSIONS: The more localized neural activity of elite and expert archers than novices permits greater efficiency in the complex processes subserved by these regions. The elite group's high activity in the cerebellar dentate indicates that the cerebellum is involved in automating simultaneous movements by integrating the sensorimotor memory enabled by greater expertise in self-paced aiming tasks. A companion article comments on and generalizes our findings.

Noise distraction and mental practice in closed and open motor skills.

Two experiments were conducted to investigate whether mental practice can serve as an effective intervention strategy for decreasing interference effects of distracting noise at the time of executing open (badminton service return) and closed (badminton serve) skills. In Experiment 1, 44 male students participated and in Experiment 2, 36 students participated. In both experiments, students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (a) mental practice, (b) mental practice plus noise distraction (MPD), and (c) control. All participants performed 40 trials in the acquisition phase and 20 trials in the retention phase. Absolute error and adjusted variable error were recorded to measure performance. Experiment 1 showed that for a closed skill, the MPD group served with greater accuracy than did the control group in both acquisition and retention phases. Experiment 2 showed that for the open skill, the MP group performed with less error than did the control group, but only in the acquisition trials. Results indicate that mental practice may function to block out noise disturbances and that mental practice may work differently with different skill sets.

Examining reciprocal relations between disgust proneness and OCD symptoms: A four-wave longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although disgust proneness has been implicated in the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), available studies have largely employed cross-sectional designs and the prospective and potentially reciprocal association between disgust proneness and OCD symptoms remains unclear. The present study employs cross lagged panel analysis to examine the prospective and reciprocal association between disgust proneness and OCD symptoms. METHOD: A community sample of adults (N = 307) completed symptom measures of disgust proneness and OCD symptoms at four time points with 1 month intervals. RESULTS: The results showed that the cross-lagged paths from disgust proneness to OCD symptoms were significant (average ß = 0.07, p's < 0.001) when controlling for depression. However, the paths from total OCD symptoms to disgust proneness were not significant. In contrast, the cross-lagged paths from disgust proneness to washing OCD symptoms were not significant. However, the paths from washing OCD symptoms to disgust proneness were significant (average ß = 0.05, p's < 0.01) when controlling for depression. LIMITATIONS: The study is limited is limited by exclusive reliance on self-report in a nonclinical sample. CONCLUSIONS: The findings offer preliminary evidence suggesting that disgust proneness may be a cause and consequence of OCD depending on the nature of the symptoms. Thus, the longitudinal relation between disgust proneness and OCD may be transactional where one influences the effect of the other.

Basic moral sensitivity, moral disengagement, and defender self-efficacy as predictors of students' self-reported bystander behaviors over a school year: a growth curve analysis.

Though school children tend to view peer victimization as morally wrong most do not to intervene on the victim's behalf and some instead choose to aid the victimizer. The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate how students' defending and pro-aggressive bystander behaviors evolved over the course of one school year and their association to basic moral sensitivity, moral disengagement, and defender self-efficacy. Three-hundred-fifty-three upper elementary school students (55% girls; 9.9-12.9 years of age) each completed self-report surveys at three points during one school year. Results from latent growth curve models showed that pro-aggressive bystander behavior remained stable over the year, whereas defending behavior decreased. Moreover, students who exhibited greater basic moral sensitivity were both less likely to be pro-aggressive and simultaneously more likely to defend. Students with defender self-efficacy were not only associated with more defending behavior at baseline but also were also less likely to decrease in defender behavior over time. Conversely, students reporting a higher degree of moral disengagement were linked to more pro-aggressive behavior, particularly when also reporting lower basic moral sensitivity. These short-term longitudinal results add important insight into the change in bystander behavior over time and how it relates to students' sense of morality. The results also highlight the practical necessity for schools to nurture students' sense of morality and prosocial behavior in their efforts to curb peer victimization.

Neuropsychological Activations and Networks While Performing Visual and Kinesthetic Motor Imagery.

This study aimed to answer the questions 'What are the neural networks and mechanisms involved in visual and kinesthetic motor imagery?', and 'Is part of cognitive processing included during visual and kinesthetic motor imagery?' by investigating the neurophysiological networks and activations during visual and kinesthetic motor imagery using motor imagery tasks (golf putting). The experiment was conducted with 19 healthy adults. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine neural activations and networks during visual and kinesthetic motor imagery using golf putting tasks. The findings of the analysis on cerebral activation patterns based on the two distinct types of motor imagery indicate that the posterior lobe, occipital lobe, and limbic lobe exhibited activation, and the right hemisphere was activated during the process of visual motor imagery. The activation of the temporal lobe and the parietal lobe were observed during the process of kinesthetic motor imagery. This study revealed that visual motor imagery elicited stronger activation in the right frontal lobe, whereas kinesthetic motor imagery resulted in greater activation in the left frontal lobe. It seems that kinesthetic motor imagery activates the primary somatosensory cortex (BA 2), the secondary somatosensory cortex (BA 5 and 7), and the temporal lobe areas and induces human sensibility. The present investigation evinced that the neural network and the regions of the brain that are activated exhibit variability contingent on the category of motor imagery.

A neurophysiological approach to the distinction between motor and cognitive skills: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

This study investigated the neurophysiological differences underpinning motor and cognitive skills by measuring the brain activity via functional magnetic resonance imaging. Twenty-five healthy adults (11 women, 25.8 ± 3.5 years of age) participated in the study. We developed three types of tasks, namely, simple motor task (SMT), complex motor task (CMT), and cognitive task (CT), using two-dimensional images of Gomoku, a traditional game known as five in a row. When shown the stimulus, participants were instructed to identify the best spot to win the game and to perform motor imagery of placing the stone for the SMT and CMT but not for the CT. Accordingly, we found significant activation from the CMT minus SMT contrast in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex, precentral gyrus, and superior frontal cortex, which reflected increased visuospatial attention, working memory, and motor planning. From the CT minus SMT contrast, we observed significant activation in the left caudate nucleus, right medial prefrontal cortex, and right primary somatosensory cortex, responsible for visuospatial working memory, error detection, and cognitive imagery, respectively. The present findings indicate that adopting a conventional classification of cognitive and motor tasks focused on the extent of decision making and motor control involved in task performance might not be ideal.

Neuropsychological Evidence Underlying Counterclockwise Bias in Running: Electroencephalography and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies of Motor Imagery.

We aimed to answer the question "why do people run the track counterclockwise (CCW)?" by investigating the neurophysiological differences in clockwise (CW) versus CCW direction using motor imagery. Three experiments were conducted with healthy adults. Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to examine hemispheric asymmetries in the prefrontal, frontal, and central regions during CW and CCW running imagery (n = 40). We also evaluated event-related potential (ERP) N200 and P300 amplitudes and latencies (n = 66) and conducted another experiment using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) (n = 30). EEG data indicated greater left frontal cortical activation during CCW imagery, whereas right frontal activation was more dominant during CW imagery. The prefrontal and central asymmetries demonstrated greater left prefrontal activation during both CW and CCW imagery, with CCW rotation exhibiting higher, though statistically insignificant, asymmetry scores than CW rotation. As a result of the fMRI experiment, greater activation was found during CW than during CCW running imagery in the brain regions of the left insula, Brodmann area 18, right caudate nucleus, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left superior parietal cortex, and supplementary motor area. In the ERP experiment, no significant differences were found depending on direction. These findings suggest that CCW rotation might be associated with the motivational approach system, behavioral activation, or positive affect. However, CW rotation reflects withdrawal motivation, behavioral inhibition, or negative affect. Furthermore, CW rotation is understood to be associated with neural inefficiency, increased task difficulty, or unfamiliarity.

Changes in inhibitory control, craving and affect after yoga vs. aerobic exercise among smokers with nicotine dependence.

Objectives: This study investigated the acute effects of yoga and aerobic exercise on response inhibition and the underlying neural mechanisms in individuals with nicotine dependence, along with changes in craving and affect. Materials and methods: Study participants included 30 yoga-naïve adult smokers with moderate-to-high nicotine dependence. Based on a within-subjects design, all participants participated in three experimental sessions: baseline, 30-min yoga, and 30-min aerobic exercise; one session was conducted per day. The pre- and post-exercise Questionnaire of Smoking Urges and the Visual Analogue Scale were used to measure cigarette craving, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule was used to assess affective change. For cognitive measurement of inhibition, participants performed a Go/Nogo task consisting of Smoking-Go, Smoking-Nogo, Neutral-Go, and Neutral-Nogo stimulus conditions. Neuroelectric data were collected and the event-related potential (ERP) N2 and P3 amplitudes and latencies were analyzed. Results: Both yoga and aerobic exercise significantly reduced negative affect, whereas a reduction in craving was only observed after yoga. ERP results indicated that the P3 amplitudes after yoga were lower than those after aerobic exercise, suggesting increased neural efficiency after yoga, with reduced neural activity while maintaining the same level of cognitive performance as aerobic exercise. Conclusion: As yoga and aerobic exercise were equally effective in attenuating negative affect, smokers may expect greater benefits from yoga in craving reduction and inhibitory control with less physical and cognitive effort. We also believe that video-based yoga practice may provide additional benefits to these effects, reaching a large number of smokers in a non-face-to-face manner.