Impairments in Physiological Reactivity to Emotive Stimuli After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review of Skin Conductance and Heart Rate Variability Evidence.

OBJECTIVE: To examine evidence of impairments in physiological reactivity to emotive stimuli following traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: A search of PsychINFO, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Allied Health Literature), Web of Science, EMBASE (Excerpta Medica dataBASE), and Scopus databases was conducted from 1991 to June 24, 2021, for studies comparing changes in skin conductance or heart rate variability to emotive stimuli between adults with TBI and controls. Two reviewers independently assessed eligibility and rated methodological quality. RESULTS: Twelve eligible studies examined physiological reactivity to laboratory-based emotive stimuli, which included nonpersonal pictures/videos, posed emotion, stressful events, and personal event recall. Overall, 9 reported evidence that individuals with TBI experience lower physiological reactivity to emotive stimuli compared with healthy controls, although the findings varied according to the type and valence of emotional stimuli and physiological parameter. Most studies using nonpersonal pictures or videos found evidence of lower physiological reactivity in TBI participants compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: Based on laboratory-based studies, individuals with TBI may experience lower physiological reactivity to emotive stimuli. Further research is needed to investigate physiological responses to personally relevant emotional stimuli in real-world settings and to understand the interplay between physiological reactivity, subjective experiences, and behavior.

How the physical appearance of companions affects females with high or low social physique anxiety: a virtual reality exercise study.

Technologies such as virtual reality (VR), an immersive computer-based environment that induces a feeling of mental and physical presence, are becoming increasingly popular for promoting participation in exercise. The purpose of this study was to explore changes in motivation and other psychological states when the physique of an exercise companion was altered during a VR-based exercise task, and whether trait social physique anxiety (SPA) altered these effects. Using a mixed experimental design, female participants (N = 43) categorised as high or low in SPA participated in two counterbalanced 10-min running tasks within a VR environment where the exercise companion was either overweight or in-shape. Across both running tasks, individuals with high SPA reported higher negative affect, pressure and tension, and lower perceived competencies, than those with low SPA. Pressure and tension were also higher when exercising with an in-shape companion than with an overweight companion for all participants. In addition, participants with high SPA reported a stronger preference to exercise with an overweight companion than those with low SPA in a real exercise setting, but not in a VR setting. The findings suggest that the physique of an exercise companion and the SPA of an exerciser have important, but independent, psychosocial effects during exercise. That an in-shape physique of a virtual exercise companion was not a deterrent among those with high SPA has provided preliminary evidence that VR-based exercise may be helpful among females who worry about their appearance or feel self-conscious while exercising.

The sensitivity of 38 heart rate variability measures to the addition of artifact in human and artificial 24-hr cardiac recordings.

BACKGROUND: Artifact is common in cardiac RR interval data derived from 24-hr recordings and has a significant impact on heart rate variability (HRV) measures. However, the relative impact of progressively added artifact on a large group of commonly used HRV measures has not been assessed. This study compared the relative sensitivity of 38 commonly used HRV measures to artifact to determine which measures show the most change with increasing increments of artifact. A secondary aim was to ascertain whether short-term and long-term HRV measures, as groups, share similarities in their sensitivity to artifact. METHODS: Up to 10% of artifact was added to 20 artificial RR (ARR) files and 20 human cardiac recordings, which had been assessed for artifact by a cardiac technician. The added artifact simulated deletion of RR intervals and insertion of individual short RR intervals. Thirty-eight HRV measures were calculated for each file. Regression analysis was used to rank the HRV measures according to their sensitivity to artifact as determined by the magnitude of slope. RESULTS: RMSSD, SDANN, SDNN, RR triangular index and TINN, normalized power and relative power linear measures, and most nonlinear methods examined are most robust to artifact. CONCLUSION: Short-term time domain HRV measures are more sensitive to added artifact than long-term measures. Absolute power frequency domain measures across all frequency bands are more sensitive than normalized and relative frequency domain measures. Most nonlinear HRV measures assessed were relatively robust to added artifact, with Poincare plot SD1 being most sensitive.

The general facilitation effect of implementation intentions on prospective memory performance in patients with schizophrenia.

INTRODUCTION: Prospective memory (PM) refers to remembering to execute a planned intention in the future. It can be divided into event- and time-based, according to the nature of the PM cue. Event-based PM cues can be classified as focal or non-focal. Patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) have been found to be impaired in both event- and time-based PM. PM has been found to be improved by implementation intentions, which is an encoding strategy in the format of "if X then Y". This study examined the effect of implementation intentions on a non-focal event-based and a time-based PM task in patients with SCZ. METHODS: Forty-two patients with SCZ and 42 healthy controls were allocated to either an implementation intention or a control PM instruction condition and were asked to complete two PM tasks. RESULTS: Implementation intentions was found to improve performance in both the non-focal event-based and time-based PM tasks in patients with SCZ and healthy controls, with no costs to the ongoing task. The improvement in time-based PM performance in the implementation intentions condition was partially mediated by the frequency of clock checking behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation intentions can facilitate PM performance in patients with SCZ and has the potential to be used as a clinical intervention tool.

Validation of the Empathy Quotient in Mainland China.

This research aimed to validate a simplified Chinese version of the Empathy Quotient (EQ; 60 items) for use with Mainland Chinese people. The original English version of the EQ was translated into simplified Chinese. Through an online survey, 588 Mainland Chinese participants completed the EQ and 3 other questionnaires: the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Thirty-five participants completed retesting of the EQ 3 to 4 weeks later. Sex differences on the EQ scores and psychometric properties of the EQ items were examined. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that an EQ 15-item structural model fitted the data quite well. Self-report empathy, as assessed by the current simplified Chinese version of the EQ, appeared to relate to participants' autistic and alexithymic traits but not sex.

The heartbreak of depression: 'Psycho-cardiac' coupling in myocardial infarction.

Ample evidence identifies strong links between major depressive disorder (MDD) and both risk of ischemic or coronary heart disease (CHD) and resultant morbidity and mortality. The molecular mechanistic bases of these linkages are poorly defined. Systemic factors linked to MDD, including vascular dysfunction, atherosclerosis, obesity and diabetes, together with associated behavioral changes, all elevate CHD risk. Nonetheless, experimental evidence indicates the myocardium is also directly modified in depression, independently of these factors, impairing infarct tolerance and cardioprotection. It may be that MDD effectively breaks the heart's intrinsic defense mechanisms. Four extrinsic processes are implicated in this psycho-cardiac coupling, presenting potential targets for therapeutic intervention if causally involved: sympathetic over-activity vs. vagal under-activity, together with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and immuno-inflammatory dysfunctions. However, direct evidence of their involvement remains limited, and whether targeting these upstream mediators is effective (or practical) in limiting the cardiac consequences of MDD is unknown. Detailing myocardial phenotype in MDD can also inform approaches to cardioprotection, yet cardiac molecular changes are similarly ill defined. Studies support myocardial sensitization to ischemic insult in models of MDD, including worsened oxidative and nitrosative damage, apoptosis (with altered Bcl-2 family expression) and infarction. Moreover, depression may de-sensitize hearts to protective conditioning stimuli. The mechanistic underpinnings of these changes await delineation. Such information not only advances our fundamental understanding of psychological determinants of health, but also better informs management of the cardiac consequences of MDD and implementing cardioprotection in this cohort.

Developmental differences in aversive conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement: A study with children, adolescents, and adults.

This study investigated developmental differences in aversive conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement (i.e., the recovery of conditioned aversive associations following reexposure to the unconditioned stimulus [US] post-extinction). This study examined these mechanisms in children (Mage=8.8years), adolescents (Mage=16.1years), and adults (Mage=32.3years) using differential aversive conditioning with a geometric shape conditional stimulus (CS+) paired with an aversive sound US and another shape (CS-) presented alone. Following an extinction phase in which both CSs were presented alone, half of the participants in each age group received three US exposures (reinstatement condition) and the other half did not (control condition), followed by all participants completing an extinction retest phase on the same day. Findings indicated (a) significant differences in generalizing aversive expectancies to safe stimuli during conditioning and extinction that persisted during retest in children relative to adults and adolescents, (b) significantly less positive CS reevaluations during extinction that persisted during retest in adolescents relative to adults and children, and (c) reinstatement of US expectancies to the CS+ relative to the CS- in all age groups. Results suggest important differences in stimulus safety learning in children and stimulus valence reevaluation in adolescents relative to adults.

Evaluation of a newly developed measure of theory of mind: The virtual assessment of mentalising ability.

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Virtual Assessment of Mentalising Ability (VAMA). The VAMA consists of 12 video clips depicting a social drama imposed within an interactive virtual environment with questions assessing the mental states of virtual friends. Response options capture the continuum of ability (i.e., impaired, reduced, accurate, and hypermentalising) within first- and second-order cognitive and affective theory of mind (ToM). Sixty-two healthy participants were administered the VAMA, three other ToM measures, and additional measures of neurocognitive abilities and social functioning. The VAMA had sound internal consistency and high test-retest reliability. Significant correlations between performance on the VAMA and other ToM measures provided preliminary evidence of convergent validity. Small to moderate correlations were observed between performance on the VAMA and neurocognitive tasks. Further, the VAMA was found to correlate significantly with indices of social functioning and was rated as more immersive, more reflective of everyday ToM processes, and was afforded a higher recommendation than an existing computer-based ToM task. These results provide potential evidence that the VAMA is an ecologically valid tool that is sensitive to the spread of ability that can occur in ToM subprocesses and may be a valuable addition to existing ToM measures. Future research should explore the validity and utility of the VAMA in larger, more diverse samples of healthy adult and clinical populations.

Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to Physical Activity: The Moderating Role of Mental Toughness.

This study explored whether mental toughness, the capacity to maintain performance under pressure, moderated the relation between physical activity intentions and subsequent behavior. Participants (N = 117) completed the Mental Toughness Index and a theory of planned behavior questionnaire. Seven days later, physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control explained substantial variance (63.1%) in physical activity intentions. Intentions also significantly predicted physical activity behavior. The simple slopes analyses for the moderation effect revealed a nonsignificant intention-behavior relation at low levels of mental toughness. However, intentions were significantly and positively related to physical activity when mental toughness was moderate or high, suggesting that the development of a mentally tough mindset may reduce the gap between behavior and physical activity intention. Future research is needed to confirm these findings and apply them in the design of mental toughness interventions to facilitate physical activity engagement.

Developmental trajectories of schizotypal personality disorder-like behavioural manifestations: a two-year longitudinal prospective study of college students.

BACKGROUND: Previous evidence has shown that schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is part of the schizophrenia spectrum. Few studies have examined latent classes in the developmental trajectories of SPD features over time in individuals with SPD features. METHODS: We adopted a longitudinal prospective study design to follow up a cohort of 660 college students during a two-year period. Participants' SPD-like symptoms and psychosocial function were measured by a comprehensive set of questionnaires that covered SPD features and cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial functions. Latent class growth analysis was used to examine the trajectory classes. RESULTS: Three trajectory classes were identified: a low, a medium, and a high SPD features group. Participants in the low group reported few SPD features and their symptoms declined over time. The medium group students had more SPD features than the low group and these symptoms stabilized during the follow up period. Participants in the high group reported the most SPD features and their symptoms increased over time. The three groups differed in paranoid thoughts, psychological distress, neurocognition function, and emotional expression over time. Results of multivariate regression analysis suggested that paranoid thoughts, emotional experience and prospective memory were predictors of social functioning in the high SPD feature group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that individuals with SPD features may be delineated into different developmental subgroups and these subgroups differ significantly in psychosocial function. Delusions, emotion, and prospective memory may be important features to consider in early diagnosis and interventions for individuals predisposed to SPD and schizophrenia.

'My mind pretty much went to mush': A qualitative exploration of trenbolone in the performance and image enhancing drug community.

INTRODUCTION: There are a variety of harms associated with anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), with some AAS associated with an increased risk profile for users. Despite potentially different risk profiles, these harms are seldom discussed with respect to specific compounds although recent ethnographic research has identified a need to do so. Specifically, myth has developed among users with trenbolone reportedly having more dramatic effects on individuals, with reports of aggression, violent behaviour and extreme mood disturbances, and this is reflected in extant literature. This paper aims to report on the narrative surrounding the use of trenbolone among AAS users. METHOD: As part of a larger qualitative study, a number of AAS users were interviewed regarding their usage practices. A narrative emerged regarding the physical and psychological harms which accompanied their AAS use of which trenbolone played a central role (N = 16). RESULTS: Of all the AAS, trenbolone was viewed as having the most deleterious consequences for those who used it. Users reported an extreme shift in risk profile for psychosocial harms, particularly increased aggression and violent behaviour, as well as impulsivity regulation issues. AAS-using peers and family members of users reported the readily observable effect of trenbolone. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Users should be cognisant of the potential for significant harms and health-care providers working with this group may consider more focused screening strategies. Future policy decisions regarding AAS may wish to consider the pivotal role trenbolone plays in adverse outcomes for this unique group of substance users.

Coping, wellbeing, and psychopathology during high-risk pregnancy: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Complications during pregnancy can negatively impact the physical and psychological wellbeing of mothers. This systematic review aimed to synthesise evidence which has examined the impact of high-risk conditions developed during pregnancy on women's coping, wellbeing, and symptoms of psychopathology. DATA SOURCES: Medline (Ovid), PsycINFO (ProQuest), Scopus, Web of science, AMED (Ebsco), CINAHL (Ebsco) and ProQuest databases were searched in May 2021 with no restrictions on publication date. STUDY SELECTION: English-language literature was reviewed to identify 31 articles. DATA EXTRACTION: Fifteen articles examined Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM: 48%), nine examined multiple high-risk pregnancy conditions (29%), four examined Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, Preeclampsia (PE: 13%), two did not specify the condition examined (7%), and one examined Pregnancy-Related Acute Kidney Injury (PR-AKI: 3%). The most common study design was quantitative, non-randomised, and survey-based. DATA SYNTHESIS: Twenty-seven articles (87%) reported a high-risk pregnancy resulted in decreased wellbeing and ability to cope, and increased symptoms of psychopathology. The remaining four articles (13%) reported no difference in wellbeing or psychopathology outcomes for women experiencing high-risk compared to healthy pregnancies. Moreover, hypertensive disorders and GDM were associated with ineffective submissive or avoidant coping, reduced wellbeing, and quality-of-life, and exacerbated symptoms of anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION: High-risk pregnancy negatively impacts coping, wellbeing, and psychopathology, and preventive and supportive interventions to mitigate this should focus on empowering women to feel optimistic and in control of their pregnancy. A holistic and culturally sensitive approach is recommended, where pregnant women (and their partners or support people) are involved in healthcare decisions, thus promoting wellbeing, coping, satisfaction, and improved treatment outcome.

Culture-sex interaction in self-report empathy: The theory and meta-analyses.

Empathy is sharing and understanding others' emotions. Recently, researchers identified larger Western-Asian cultural differences in self-report empathy with females relative to males (i.e., the culture-sex interaction theory). Neglecting this phenomenon, previous researchers focused on identifying the cultural impact on empathy per se and reported divergent results. This meta-analysis aims to reveal the heterogeneity of the earlier publications and decode the heterogeneity as per the culture-sex interaction. The current results suggested the following: First, the cultural impact on empathy increased along with three sex stratification categories (male-only, mixed-sex, and female-only, in that order). Second, the effect size statistically differed between the binary classifications of sex (female-only > male-only). Third, the mixed-sex samples' effect size was positively regressed on the samples' sex ratio (i.e., percentage of females). The current results revealed the heterogeneity of previous publications and highlighted the significance of the culture-sex interaction effect on empathy for future investigations.

Mind and heart: heart rate variability in major depressive disorder and coronary heart disease - a review and recommendations.

OBJECTIVE: There is a reciprocal association between major depressive disorder (MDD) and coronary heart disease (CHD). These conditions are linked by a causal network of mechanisms. This causal network should be quantitatively studied and it is hypothesised that the investigation of vagal function represents a promising starting point. Heart rate variability (HRV) has been used to investigate cardiac vagal control in the context of MDD and CHD. This review aims to examine the relationship of HRV to both MDD and CHD in the context of vagal function and to make recommendations for clinical practice and research. METHODS: The search terms 'heart rate variability', 'depression' and 'heart disease' were entered into an electronic multiple database search engine. Abstracts were screened for their relevance and articles were individually selected and collated. RESULTS: Decreased HRV is found in both MDD and CHD. Both diseases are theorized to disrupt autonomic control feedback loops on the heart and are linked to vagal function. Existing theories link vagal function to both mood and emotion as well as cardiac function. However, several factors can potentially confound HRV measures and would thus impact on a complete understanding of vagal mechanisms in the link between MDD and CHD. CONCLUSIONS: The quantitative investigation of vagal function using HRV represents a reasonable starting point in the study of the relationship between MDD and CHD. Many psychotropic and cardiac medications have effects on HRV, which may have clinical importance. Future studies of HRV in MDD and CHD should consider antidepressant medication, as well as anxiety, as potential confounders.

Effect of affective feedback and competitiveness on performance and the psychological experience of exercise within a virtual reality environment.

Exercise is beneficial for physical and psychological health, yet the majority of Australian adults are not sufficiently active to gain health benefits. Novel methods are needed to enhance the experience of exercise and ultimately exercise participation. The present study examined performance and psychological experiences during a (non-immersive) virtual reality cycling task that incorporated affective feedback. Female participants (N = 137, university students) received either positive, negative, or neutral virtual feedback while cycling on a stationary bicycle in a virtual reality laboratory environment under the instruction to maintain at least 70% of their maximal heart rate for as long as possible (or up to 30 minutes). Participants also responded to measures of affect, motivation, enjoyment, and competitiveness. Data were analysed with ANOVA's performed with feedback groups and trait competitiveness for the psychological and performance dependent measures. Results showed that positive feedback elicited greater interest and enjoyment during the task than neutral and negative feedback. In addition, perceived competence was greater with positive feedback than for neutral and negative feedback in low competitive participants. The type of feedback did not affect performance (cycling persistence, perceived exertion, and effort). The findings indicate the potential importance of providing positive virtual feedback and considering the interaction of individual difference factors, specifically competitiveness, to enhance virtual exercise experiences.

Gender Differences in Self-Estimated Intelligence: Exploring the Male Hubris, Female Humility Problem.

Despite evidence from cognitive psychology that men and women are equal in measured intelligence, gender differences in self-estimated intelligence (SEI) are widely reported with males providing systematically higher estimates than females. This has been termed the male hubris, female humility effect. The present study explored personality factors that might explain this. Participants (N = 228; 103 male, 125 female) provided self-estimates of their general IQ and for Gardner's multiple intelligences, before completing the Cattell Culture Fair IQ test as an objective measure of intelligence. They also completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) as a measure of sex-role identification, and measures of general and academic self-esteem. Both gender and sex-role differences were observed for SEI, with males and participants of both genders who scored high in masculinity offering higher self-estimates. By comparing estimated and observed IQ, we were able to rule out gender differences in overall accuracy but observed a pattern of systematic underestimation in females. An hierarchical multiple regression showed significant independent effects of gender, masculinity, and self-esteem. Mixed evidence was observed for gender differences in the estimation of multiple intelligences, though moderately sized sex-role differences were observed. The results offer a far more nuanced explanation for the male hubris, female humility effect that includes the contribution of sex role identification to individual and group differences.

The effects of implementation intentions on prospective memory in young and older adults.

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to perform a planned action at a future time, while carrying on with other unrelated tasks. Implementation Intentions (II) is a promising metacognitive strategy for improving PM in older adults, though its generalization and longer-term effects are not well-understood. We examined the effects of II on PM in 48 community-dwelling older adults (77% female, M age = 71.52) and 59 young adults (75% female, M age = 19.86). Participants were randomly allocated to a conventional instruction or II group and administered a laboratory-based PM task in the first session. In the second session, participants returned to complete a similar but new laboratory-based PM task and an ecological PM task without prompts to use a strategy. We found strong age effects on PM performance whereby older adults performed worse than young adults across all PM tasks. While the overall facilitation effect of II was not statistically significant, there was a trend that this strategy facilitated PM performance on the laboratory-based PM task in the first session for older adults with a medium sized effect (d = 0.37). The generalization and longer-term effect of II were not significant for either the similar laboratory-based or the ecological PM task. These results suggest that a single-session II intervention may not be sufficient to elicit transfer to other similar new PM tasks in healthy populations.

Understanding the Neural Basis of Prospective Memory Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to perform a planned action at an intended future time. This study examined the neural correlates of PM using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). This study employed a within-participants design. A laboratory PM task was adapted for use with fNIRS to investigate regions of interest and levels of brain activation during task performance in 32 participants (63% female, Mage = 21.31 years, SDage = 4.62 years). Participants first completed a working memory (WM) task (N-back ongoing task) followed by a WM plus PM task while neural activity was measured using fNIRS. Behavioral results revealed an interference effect for reaction time on the WM task, whereby participants were significantly slower to respond in the WM plus PM task compared to the WM task. Ongoing task accuracies did not differ between the two conditions. fNIRS results revealed a higher level of neural activity in the fronto-polar prefrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the WM plus PM task compared to the WM Condition. These findings highlight that fNIRS is a suitable tool for studying and understanding the neural basis of PM.

A topographical map of the causal network of mechanisms underlying the relationship between major depressive disorder and coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: Major depressive disorder (MDD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) are both clinically important public health problems. Depression is linked with a higher incidence of ischaemic cardiac events and MDD is more prevalent in patients with CHD. No single comprehensive model has yet described the causal mechanisms linking MDD to CHD. Several key mechanisms have been put forward, comprising behavioural mechanisms, genetic mechanisms, dysregulation of immune mechanisms, coagulation abnormalities and vascular endothelial dysfunction, polyunsaturated omega-3 free fatty acid deficiency, and autonomic mechanisms. It has been suggested that these mechanisms form a network, which links MDD and CHD. The aim of this review is to examine the causal mechanisms underlying the relationship between MDD and CHD, with the aim of constructing a topological map of the causal network which describes the relationship between MDD and CHD. METHODS: The search term 'depression and heart disease' was entered into an electronic multiple database search engine. Abstracts were screened for relevance and individually selected articles were collated. RESULTS: This review introduces the first topological map of the causal network which describes the relationship between MDD and CHD. CONCLUSIONS: Viewing the causal pathways as an interdependent network presents a new paradigm in this field and provides fertile ground for further research. The causal network can be studied using the methodology of systems biology, which is briefly introduced. Future research should focus on the creation of a more comprehensive topological map of the causal network and the quantification of the activity between each node of the causal network.

Associative Learning Processes in the Formation of Intergroup Anxiety and Avoidance in Society.

Laboratory-based aversive conditioning studies have reliably induced fear toward an image of an outgroup member by pairing the image with a fear-inducing, aversive stimulus. However, laboratory-based studies have been criticized for being simplistic in comparison to the complexities of the real world. The current study is the first to apply an aversive conditioning framework to explain the formation of intergroup fear and subsequent anxiety toward, and avoidance of, the outgroup outside the laboratory. Two samples recalled details of their first negative encounter with an African American (N = 554) or Muslim (N = 613) individual, respectively. Congruent with learning theory, participants who reported an unpleasant event with an outgroup member reported more fear during the encounter than did those who did not report experiencing an unpleasant event. Additionally, the intensity of unpleasantness during the first encounter indirectly predicted outgroup avoidance, via retrospectively recalled fear and current levels of intergroup anxiety.