Age-moderating effect in prepotent response inhibition in boys with Asperger syndrome: a 2.5 years longitudinal study.

Following our previous cross-sectional analysis, indicating age-related improvements of response inhibition in a random-motor-generation task (MPT) in adolescents with Asperger syndrome (AS), the present study reports data from a 2.5-year follow-up examination in the original sample. We found more marked improvements within the follow-up interval in younger AS children, while older AS boys as well as typically developing (TD) boys remained at a relatively constant level throughout. The current longitudinal study further substantiates the notion that AS children (on average) catch up with TD children when they grow older as regards the basic inhibition of developing routine response patterns.

The propensity to perceive meaningful coincidences is associated with increased posterior alpha power during retention of information in a modified Sternberg paradigm.

There are ample inter-individual differences in the frequency with which people perceive meaningful coincidences. Previous research has identified increased proactive interference, that is a reduced working memory capacity, as one possible mechanism associated with this phenomenon. The present study aimed at extending this finding into the domain of neuroscience, (1) by assessing EEG alpha oscillations during the retention of information, (2) by replicating the behavioral link between meaningful coincidences and proactive interference. In a sample of 52 participants, the behavioral replication was successful. Furthermore, participants who perceived more meaningful coincidences showed higher alpha power increases at parietal-occipital sites, and at the same time, displayed lower alpha power increases at frontal areas, during retention of information. This neurophysiological activation pattern further underlines the assumption that participants who perceive more meaningful coincidences show lower working memory capacities, since increased alpha power at parietal areas reflects a higher load on working memory demands.

Effectiveness of multidisciplinary psychiatric home treatment for elderly patients with mental illness: a systematic review of empirical studies.

BACKGROUND: The vast majority of older people with mental illness prefer to live independently in their own homes. Barriers caused by the health care system often prevent adequate, adapted treatments. With regard to the increasing ageing of the population, the determination of effective, age-appropriate service models for elderly patients with mental illness is clearly required. The aim of this review is to examine and to evaluate multidisciplinary psychogeriatric treatment models that include home visits, particularly with regard to the effects on psychiatric symptoms, social and mental health rehabilitation and quality of life. METHODS: A systematic review was carried out of empirical studies with participants who were diagnosed with a mental illness according to ICD-10, aged 60 years or older, and who were living at home. The inclusion criteria comprised a duration of intervention of at least 12 weeks and a minimum of two interventions and domiciliary visits delivered by a multidisciplinary team. The online databases Medline, PsychInfo, Web of Science, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, and Google Scholar, as well as hand search, were used to search for relevant studies published between 1996 and 2016. An additional search was performed for studies published between 2016 and 2019. After removing duplicates, abstracts were screened and the remaining articles were included for full-text review. RESULTS: Of the 3536 records discovered in total, 260 abstracts appeared to be potentially eligible. Of these, 30 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. For the additional search 415 records and abstracts were screened and 11 articles were read full text. Finally, only three studies fully met the inclusion criteria for this review. The results indicate that psychogeriatric home treatment is associated with significant improvements of psychiatric symptoms and psychosocial problems, fewer admissions to hospital and nursing homes, as well as lower costs of care. CONCLUSIONS: Psychogeriatric home treatment has positive effects on older people with mental illness. However, these findings are based upon a small number of studies. The need for further research, especially to specify the effective factors in psychogeriatric home treatment, is clearly indicated.

Creative ways to well-being: Reappraisal inventiveness in the context of anger-evoking situations.

Neuroscientific studies in the field of creativity mainly focused on tasks drawing on basic verbal divergent thinking demands. This study took a step further by investigating brain mechanisms in response to other types of creative behavior, involving more "real-life" creativity demands in the context of emotion regulation and well-being. Specifically, functional patterns of EEG alpha activity were investigated while participants were required to generate as many and as different ways as possible to reappraise presented anger-eliciting situations in a manner that reduces their anger. Cognitive reappraisal involves some of the same cognitive processes as in conventional verbal creativity tasks, inasmuch as it requires an individual to inhibit or disengage from an emotional event, to shift attention between different perspectives, and to flexibly adopt new solutions. To examine whether alpha oscillations during cognitive reappraisal are different from those during conventional creative ideation, the EEG was also assessed during performance of the Alternative Uses task, requiring individuals to generate as many and as original uses of an object as possible. While cognitive reappraisal was associated with a similar pattern of alpha power as observed in conventional verbal creative ideation, the former yielded significantly stronger alpha power increases at prefrontal sites, along with lower alpha increases at more posterior cortical sites, indicating higher cognitive control and less spontaneous imaginative thought processes in the generation of effective strategies to regulate an ongoing negative emotional state.

Age-related differences in inhibitory control and memory updating in boys with Asperger syndrome.

Deficits in specific executive domains are highly prevalent in autism spectrum disorder; however, age-related improvements in executive functions (reflecting prefrontal maturational changes) have been reported even in individuals diagnosed with autism. The current study examined two components of cognitive flexibility (inhibition of prepotent responses and memory monitoring/updating) by using a random-motor-generation task (MPT) in a group of 23 boys with Asperger syndrome (AS) and 23 matched healthy controls. We found poorer inhibition and more repetitive responses in younger AS children solely, but comparable memory monitoring/updating skills across groups. Overall, our findings correspond well with previous studies and reveal that even in AS specific EFs may improve with age and, thus, call for a more differentiated view of executive (dys) function profiles in children diagnosed with AS. Tests such as the random-motor-generation task may help to disentangle more specific processes of executive deficits in autism spectrum disorder as compared to the more classical tests.

Affective processing in positive schizotypy: Loose control of social-emotional information.

Behavioral studies suggested heightened impact of emotionally laden perceptual input in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, in particular in patients with prominent positive symptoms. De-coupling of prefrontal and posterior cortices during stimulus processing, which is related to loosening of control of the prefrontal cortex over incoming affectively laden information, may underlie this abnormality. Pre-selected groups of individuals with low versus high positive schizotypy (lower and upper quartile of a large screening sample) were tested. During exposure to auditory displays of strong emotions (anger, sadness, cheerfulness), individuals with elevated levels of positive schizotypal symptoms showed lesser prefrontal-posterior coupling (EEG coherence) than their symptom-free counterparts (right hemisphere). This applied to negative emotions in particular and was most pronounced during confrontation with anger. The findings indicate a link between positive symptoms and a heightened impact particularly of threatening emotionally laden stimuli which might lead to exacerbation of positive symptoms and inappropriate behavior in interpersonal situations.

State-dependent changes of prefrontal-posterior coupling in the context of affective processing: susceptibility to humor.

The aim of the present study was to examine whether interindividual differences in the coupling or decoupling of prefrontal and posterior cortices during the exposure to social-emotional information may predict an individual's positive emotional responsiveness. Susceptibility to humor was assessed in a behavioral paradigm several weeks after the EEG recordings. State-dependent changes of prefrontal-posterior EEG beta coherence were recorded during stimulation with other people's auditory expressions of cheerfulness and sadness. Greater decreases of coherence during the stimulation with positive affect expressions prospectively predicted greater positive emotional responsiveness, indicated by higher amusement ratings in response to cartoons and higher scores in a questionnaire measure of exhilarability. Greater increases of coherence during the stimulation with negative affect expressions did not predict perceived funniness but were related to shorter response latencies to the amusement ratings. The results further support the notion that a more loose prefrontal-posterior coupling may be related to loosening of control of the prefrontal cortex over incoming emotional information and, thus, to a propensity to deeper emotional involvement and a greater impact of perceptual input, whereas increased prefrontal-posterior coupling may be related to strong control and the propensity to protect oneself from becoming emotionally affected.

Diagnosing callous-unemotional personality traits by heart rate orienting responses to images inducing threat and distress.

The present study aimed at developing a rather easily applicable method of testing physiological reactions to images of threats and misery. To this end, rapid-changing, transient heart rate orienting responses were used for gaining physiologically based, objective responses to the images. Additionally, subjective ratings were obtained. A significant insensitivity to other's welfare and well-being was already demonstrated as a core feature of callous-unemotional personalities. Thus, physiologically based methods may supplement and possibly improve existing assessments and, in particular, may contribute to a multimodal assessment of psychopathic traits. Out of a non-forensic community sample of 122 men, we selected two extreme groups of 30 participants with the lowest and highest callous-unemotional traits respectively, ascertained by questionnaires. As expected, participants with higher scores of callous-unemotional traits showed smaller responses to distress cues in both heart rate responses and subjective ratings. Moreover, within the group with high callous-unemotional traits heart rate responses to threatening as well as distress cues did not significantly differ from responses to neutral pictures. The study provides further evidence for the idea that a lack of responsiveness to distress cues may be seen as a central feature of callous-unemotional personalities.

Decrease of prefrontal-posterior EEG coherence: loose control during social-emotional stimulation.

In two experiments we aimed to investigate if individual differences in state-dependent decreases or increases of EEG coherence between prefrontal and posterior cortical regions may be indicative of a mechanism modulating the impact social-emotional information has on an individual. Two independent samples were exposed to an emotional stimulation paradigm in which the participants were invited to get involved and sympathize with the persons they were watching (study 1) or listening to (study 2), and who were expressing sadness or anxiety. The two studies yielded consistent results. Higher scores in trait absorption and in the propensity to ruminate were associated with decreased EEG beta coherence during the stimulation, whereas coherence increased in individuals low in absorption or rumination. Coherence changes did not predict to which degree the participants felt infected by the displayed emotions, but in individuals showing decreased prefrontal-posterior coupling during the stimulation, feelings of sadness and anxiety had a greater tendency to persist. The findings suggest that more loose prefrontal-posterior coupling may be related to loosening of control of the prefrontal cortex over incoming social-emotional information and, consequently, to deeper emotional involvement and absorption, whereas increased prefrontal-posterior coupling may be related to strong control, dampening of emotional experience, and not letting oneself become emotionally affected.

Prenatal programming of adult mineral metabolism: relevance to blood pressure, dietary prevention strategies, and cardiovascular disease.

OBJECTIVES: Mounting evidence indicates that adult health outcomes such as the development of cardiovascular disease or diabetes can trace some of their roots back to prenatal development. This study investigated the epigenetic impact of a particular prenatal hormonal condition on specific health-related consequences, i.e., on concentrations of minerals and mineral metabolism in adults. METHODS: In 70 university students, the second-to-fourth digit length (2D:4D) was measured as a proxy of prenatal sex steroid action, and the concentrations of sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and calcium (Ca) were determined in hair samples by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Mineral concentrations and the mineral ratios Na/K, Na/Mg, and Na/Ca were analyzed in multivariate analyses of variance, with digit ratios and sex of participants as grouping variables. The results were validated in a replication cohort from the general population, and with a wider age-range. In addition, the correlation of mineral concentrations and mineral ratios with blood pressure was examined. RESULTS: Men with relatively lower (i.e., more masculine) and women with relatively higher (i.e., more feminine) digit ratios had higher Na/K, Na/Mg, and Na/Ca ratios than their counterparts. Virtually identical results were obtained in the replication study. Moreover, Na concentrations and Na/K ratios were significantly correlated with systolic blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the individual variation in mineral metabolism can be predicted by 2D:4D, indicating that prenatal sex steroid action may be involved in the epigenetic programming of specific metabolic conditions which are highly relevant to adult health and disease.

Psychometric evaluation and experimental validation of the statistics anxiety rating scale.

The Statistics Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS) was adapted into German to examine its psychometric properties (n = 400). Two validation studies (n = 66, n = 96) were conducted to examine its criterion-related validity. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were very similar to those previously reported for the original English version in various countries and other language versions. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated 2 second-order factors: One was more closely related to anxiety and the other was more closely related to negative attitudes toward statistics. Predictive validity of the STARS was shown both in an experimental exam-like situation in the laboratory and during a real examination situation. Taken together, the findings indicate that statistics anxiety as assessed by the STARS is a useful construct that is more than just an expression of a more general disposition to anxiety.

Creative, yet not unique? Paranormal belief, but not self-rated creative ideation behavior is associated with a higher propensity to perceive unique meanings in randomness.

Apophenia, patternicity, and the experience of meaningful coincidences describe the propensity to perceive meaning in random arrangements, which is known to be linked with paranormal beliefs. Additionally, this trait of combining unrelated elements to create new meanings suggests an association with creativity. However, studies indicating a relationship between creativity and apophenia are scarce. To gain empirical evidence, the present study (n = 77) assessed the propensity to experience meaningful patterns in random arrangements by means of a questionnaire (coincidence questionnaire) and a behavioral measure. The applied figural association task allows to reliably differentiate between the perception of idiosyncratic/unique and intersubjective meaningful/non-unique patterns. Self-rated creative ideation behavior and paranormal beliefs were positively associated with the subjectively rated frequency of meaningful coincidences. Furthermore, participants high in both creative ideation behavior and paranormal beliefs perceived a higher number of non-unique meanings in the figural association task. Yet, participants high in paranormal beliefs additionally perceived a higher number of unique meanings. This divergence in findings suggests that creative ideation behavior and paranormal belief are associated with the perception of partly different meanings in random arrangements. In paranormal believers, this pattern of findings may indicate a lower threshold to detect meaning in meaninglessness, leading to more idiosyncratic/unique perceptions. Altogether, slight reductions of this threshold to detect meaningfulness may increase a persons' creativity; however, excessive pattern recognition may facilitate paranormal beliefs.

Intra- and interindividual differences in lateralized cognitive performance and asymmetrical EEG activity in the frontal cortex.

The study shows that changes in relative verbal vs. figural working memory and fluency performance from one session to a second session two to 3 weeks apart covary with spontaneously occurring changes of cortical asymmetry in the lateral frontal and central cortex, measured by electroencephalography (EEG) in resting conditions before the execution of tasks. That is, it was examined whether the current state of cortical asymmetry predicts verbal vs. figural performance. The findings complete the circle from studies showing correlations between changes of EEG asymmetry in the lateral frontal cortex and changes of mood to studies showing correlations between changes of mood and changes of relative verbal vs. figural working memory and fluency performance. The study suggests that state-dependent changes of lateralized cortical activity may underlie certain cognitive-emotional interactions observed in previous studies, and supports the assumption of reciprocal influences of specific emotional and specific cognitive processes.

Clinical and Dermoscopic Features of Melanocytic Lesions on the Face Versus the External Ear.

INTRODUCTION: Melanoma of the external ear is a rare condition accounting for 7-20% of all melanomas of the head and neck region. They present classical features of extra-facial melanomas clinically and dermoscopically. In contrast, facial melanomas show peculiar patterns in dermoscopy. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether there are clinical and/or dermoscopic differences in melanocytic lesions located either at the external ear or on the face. METHODS: In this retrospective study we reviewed an image database for clinical and dermoscopic images of melanomas and nevi located either on the face or at the level of the external ear. RESULTS: 65 patients (37 men; 63.8%) with 65 lesions were included. We found no significant differences in comparing face melanomas with melanomas at the level of the external ear, neither clinically nor dermoscopically. However, we provided evidence for differences in some clinical and dermoscopic features of melanomas and nevi of the external ear. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we reported no significant differences in comparing melanomas on the face with melanomas of the external ear, both clinically and dermoscopically. Furthermore, we provided data on clinical and dermoscopic differences comparing nevi and melanoma of the external ear.

A computer program for testing and analyzing random generation behavior in normal and clinical samples: the Mittenecker Pointing Test.

Random sequence generation tests have proved to be a useful diagnostic tool for the identification of clinically relevant impairments of executive functions and for the study of cognitive functioning in healthy individuals. The most prevalent variety, random number generation, involves several limitations, however. In the original Mittenecker Pointing Test (MPT; Mittenecker, 1958), subjects were instructed to point successively and as randomly as possible at nine unlabeled circles irregularly arranged on a cardboard. With the computer program presented here, Mittenecker's classical test has been transferred to a contemporary format. The MPT can be applied using a standard PC keyboard and computes a series of sophisticated measures of deviations from randomness on the basis of information theory analysis. Because of its easy and well-controlled administration and reduced demands on memory and attention, the automatized MPT offers a wide range of application possibilities in normal but also in severely impaired clinical samples.

Effects of emotionally contagious films on changes in hemisphere-specific cognitive performance.

In the framework of models on the lateralized involvement of the cortical hemispheres in affect and psychopathology, the authors examined whether cognitive processes associated with the left and the right prefrontal cortex varied as a function of valence, motivational direction, or intensity of induced mood. Affective states (cheerfulness, anxiety, sadness, anger, and neutral mood) were experimentally induced by short "emotionally contagious films." Findings confirmed that the newly developed films were suitable to effectively elicit the expected affective states and to differentially change the dimensions of interest. Changes in verbal versus figural fluency performance were examined as a function of positive versus negative valence, approach versus withdrawal motivation, and low versus high emotional arousal. Level of interest was evaluated as a control. Both the tendency to withdraw and emotional arousal seemed to produce relative advantages for cognitive processes that are more strongly represented in the right than left prefrontal cortex. Findings suggest that changes in cognitive performance might be best explained by an additive combination of motivational direction and arousal.

Trait positive affect and students' prefrontal EEG alpha asymmetry responses during a simulated exam situation.

Affective dispositions may shape students' typical ways of coping when faced with demanding performance situations in their educational lives. We recorded frontal EEG alpha asymmetry responses in psychology students (n = 62) during the course of a scenario designed to simulate a real examination, which required oral explanation of statistical concepts. While students with lower levels of trait positive affect (PANAS) showed relative right hemispheric activation, sustained relative left hemispheric activation was observed in students with higher levels of trait positive affect. In line with relevant models of frontal brain asymmetry, the findings suggest that students' coping behaviors in the context of academic performance situations are in part instantaneously initiated, which is reflected in spontaneous activation of relative approach versus avoidance motivation. Independently of negative affect and momentary affective states, trait positive affectivity seems to be linked to recruitment of brain processes supporting a more adaptive response in that matter.

Believing in paranormal phenomena: relations to asymmetry of body and brain.

The goal of this study was to investigate the possible relationship between established measures of body and brain asymmetries and individual differences in paranormal beliefs. In addition to behavioural measures of cerebral laterality, measures of facial features and finger length were taken to calculate body asymmetry scores and indicators of fluctuating asymmetry (average absolute differences between left and right body features). Both the direction and degree of laterality measures were used. In addition to that, quantitative measures of inconsistency of cerebral lateralization were obtained. Results indicated that a stronger belief in paranormal phenomena was associated with fluctuating asymmetry of finger length, and that this aspect of body asymmetry may be related to greater intraindividual variability in the degree of 'atypical' functional lateralization. This intraindividual variability index, in turn, significantly predicted strength of belief in the paranormal. Belief in the paranormal was also higher in women than men and it was negatively correlated with the education level. In sum, these findings suggest that a part of the variance of strength of belief in paranormal phenomena can be explained by patterns of functional hemispheric asymmetry that may be related to perturbations during fetal development.

Effects of a mood-enhancing intervention on subjective well-being and cardiovascular parameters.

BACKGROUND: In spite of extensive evidence indicating that affective traits can influence health, conclusive studies on a potential preventive value of systematical mood improvement have been relatively sparse. In part, this may be due to the lack of appropriate and proven behavioral intervention methods. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test a newly developed intervention method for its effectiveness to enhance cheerfulness and to improve aspects of psychological well-being and subjective health that may be advanced by increased levels of cheerfulness. METHOD: The key element of the "Cheerfulness Training," which follows a behavioral therapy approach, is that imaginations of personal shortcomings, annoyances, and unpleasant situations are coupled with a self-induced positive affective state by conditioning processes. RESULTS: Experimental findings demonstrated a pronounced enhancement of cheerfulness that was accompanied by reduced feelings of stress and improved psychological well-being and subjective health. Effects were stronger in participants with lower levels of trait seriousness. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that the training is effective in enhancing cheerfulness and that successfully enhancing cheerfulness also promotes more general improvement of well-being.

Meaning in meaninglessness: The propensity to perceive meaningful patterns in coincident events and randomly arranged stimuli is linked to enhanced attention in early sensory processing.

Perception of objectively independent events or stimuli as being significantly connected and the associated proneness to perceive meaningful patterns constitute part of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, which are associated with altered attentional processes in lateralized speech perception. Since perceiving meaningful patterns is to some extent already prevalent in the general population, the aim of the study was to investigate whether the propensity to experience meaningful patterns in co-occurring events and random stimuli may be associated with similar altered attentional processes in lateralized speech perception. Self-reported and behavioral indicators of the perception of meaningful patterns were assessed in non-clinical individuals, along with EEG auditory evoked potentials during the performance of an attention related lateralized speech perception task (Dichotic Listening Test). A greater propensity to perceive meaningful patterns was associated with higher N1 amplitudes of the evoked potentials to the onset of the dichotically presented consonant-vowel syllables, indicating enhanced automatic attention in early sensory processing. The study suggests that more basic mechanisms in how people associate events may play a greater role in the cognitive biases that are manifest in personality expressions such as positive schizotypy, rather than that positive schizotypy moderates these cognitive biases directly.