Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Preliminary Evidence For Medication Effects On Functional Abnormalities In The Amygdala And Anterior Cingulate In Bipolar Disorder, Hilary P. Blumberg, Nelson H. Donegan, Charles A. Sanislow, Susan Collins, Cheryl Lacadie, Pawel Skudlarski, Ralitza Gueorguieva, Robert K. Fulbright, Thomas H. Mcglashan, John C. Gore, John H. Krystal

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

RATIONALE: Abnormal amygdala and frontocortical responses to emotional stimuli are implicated in bipolar disorder (BD) and have been proposed as potential treatment targets.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate amygdala and frontocortical responses to emotional face stimuli in BD and the influences of mood-stabilizing medications on these responses.

METHODS: Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed while 17 BD participants (5 unmedicated) and 17 healthy comparison (HC) participants viewed faces with happy, sad, fearful, or neutral expressions.

RESULTS: The group by stimulus-condition interaction was significant (p<0.01) for amygdala activation, with the greatest effects in the happy face condition. Relative to HC, amygdala increases were greater in unmedicated BD, but lower in medicated BD. Rostral anterior cingulate (rAC) activation was decreased in unmedicated BD compared to HC; however, BD participants taking medication demonstrated rAC activation similar to HC participants.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the sample sizes were small, these preliminary results suggest that …

Levels Of Consciousness, Archetypal Energies, And Earth Lessons: An Emerging Worldview, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

Worldviews emerge from our individual and collective Levels of Consciousness at given points in time and space and from what we come to “believe” is possible or not. In my own experience, my research on Consciousness, and my study of various cultures, societies, and Consciousness literature, I have identified at least seven Levels of Consciousness, twenty-five Archetypal Energies, and various Earth Lessons, which we seem to commonly experience as human beings, in our own unique personal, societal, and global life spaces.

Using Fmri To Investigate A Component Process Of Reflection: Prefrontal Correlates Of Refreshing A Just-Activated Representation, Marcia K. Johnson, Carol L. Raye, Karen J. Mitchell, Erich J. Greene, William A. Cunningham, Charles A. Sanislow

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Using fMRI, we investigated the functional organization of prefrontal cortex (PFC) as participants briefly thought of a single just-experienced item (i.e., refreshed an active representation). The results of six studies, and a meta-analysis including previous studies, identified regions in left dorsolateral, anterior, and ventrolateral PFC associated in varying degrees with refreshing different types of information (visual and auditory words, drawings, patterns, people, places, or locations). In addition, activity increased in anterior cingulate with selection demands and in orbitofrontal cortex when a nonselected item was emotionally salient, consistent with a role for these areas in cognitive control (e.g., overcoming "mental rubbernecking"). …

Avoidant Personality Disorder And Social Phobia: Distinct Enough To Be Separate Disorders?, Elizabeth Ralevski, Charles A. Sanislow, Carlos M. Grilo, Andrew E. Skodol, John G. Gunderson, M. Tracie Shea, Shirley Yen, Donna S. Bender, Mary C. Zanarini, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Objective: Existing evidence from anxiety disorder research indicates that social phobics (SP) with avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) experience more anxiety and show more impairment than patients with SP alone. The purpose of this study was to examine whether in patients diagnosed with AVPD, the co-occurrence of SP adds to its severity. We hypothesized that the addition of SP will not add to the severity of AVPD alone.

Method: Two groups of patients (AVPD = 224; AVPD/SP = 101) were compared at baseline and 2 years later on multiple demographic and clinical variables.

Results: Patients with AVPD and an additional diagnosis …

Age Makes A Difference, Pennie Seibert, Tiffany Whitmore, Brian Dufty, Nichole Whitener, Fred Grimsley, Janat O'Donnell

Pennie S. Seibert

Considering the numerous adverse effects of sleep disorders, it is important to properly assess sleep problems in all age groups.

Memory Perception And Strategy Use In Parkinson's Disease, Andrew Johnson, Carrie Pollard, Philip Vernon, Jennifer Tomes, Mandar Jog

Andrew M. Johnson

Although there is growing support for the existence of memory deficits within Parkinson's disease (PD), little has been done to evaluate the extent to which PD patients demonstrate differences in their use of metacognitive strategies. In the present study, 79 PD patients (46 men and 33 women) and 49 age-matched healthy participants (19 men and 30 women) were compared on a metamemory questionnaire. PD patients reported significantly less strategy-use than age-matched controls, particularly with regards to external memory strategies (such as making lists). This suggests that auxiliary treatments such as memory strategy training might be effective in this population.

Interaction Between The Dorsal And Ventral Pathways In Mental Rotation: An Fmri Study, Hideya Koshino, Patricia Carpenter, Timothy Keller, Marcel Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Imagining Material Versus Geometric Properties Of Objects: An Fmri Study, Sharlene Newman, Roberta Klatzky, Susan Lederman, Marcel Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Brain Nerve Conduction Velocity Is A Valid And Useful Construct For Studying Human Cognitive Abilities: A Reply To Saint-Amour Et Al, Andrew Johnson, T. Reed, Philip Vernon

Andrew M. Johnson

No abstract provided.

Functional Connectivity In An Fmri Working Memory Task In High-Functioning Autism, Hideya Koshino, Patricia Carpenter, Nancy Minshew, Vladimir Cherkassky, Timothy Keller, Marcel Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

The Framing Effect And Risky Decisions: Examining Cognitive Functions With Fmri, Cleotilde Gonzalez, Jason Dana, Hideya Koshino, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Complex Problem Solving And Intelligence: Empirical Relation And Causal Direction, Dorit Wenke, Peter A. Frensch, Joachim Funke

Joachim Funke

The Role Of Emotions In Complex Problem-Solving, Joachim Funke, Daniel Wagener, Miriam Spering

Joachim Funke