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Anticipating incoming events: an impaired cognitive process in schizophrenia.

Intentions are central to guiding actions to their completion because they generate expectations which precede the realization of a task. This ability to manage time was investigated by using a cognitive task which involves several highly integrated processes: sequential learning, explicit processing, and working memory. In this task, participants are required to explicitly learn a repeating color sequence before receiving an instruction to give an anticipatory motor response concerning the next element. Two types of sequences (temporal and spatial) and three experimental conditions were tested in both a group of normal participants and a group of schizophrenic patients. Schizophrenics were included because their condition is known to alter conscious executive function. Our results showed that schizophrenic patients have a strong deficit in performing anticipation tasks. Although they learned the sequences almost normally, their anticipatory ability was reduced in comparison to normal participants in all the tested conditions. These results expand the notion of a working memory deficit in schizophrenia and bear strong implications for understanding executive disorders observed in such patients.

Adult↗

Naltrexone-induced augmentation of sexual response in men.

BACKGROUND: To ascertain the role of endogenous opioids in sexual response, naltrexone, an opiate receptor antagonist, was administered to men, and its effect on selected self-report measures of sexual response to masturbation was recorded. METHODS: The data are based on results from 20 healthy, sexually active (alone or with a partner) men, aged 20-29 years, who ingested naltrexone (25 mg/day x 3) or placebo in a randomized, double-blind crossover design. There was at least a 14-day interval between drug and placebo treatment. Between 18 and 22 h after the most recent dose of drug or placebo, subjects viewed sexually explicit videos in privacy for 2 h. They were instructed to masturbate and have as many orgasms as desired. The following three different self-report measures of their responses were recorded: number of orgasms; intensity of sexual arousal, and orgasmic intensity. RESULTS: Under the naltrexone condition, the volunteers experienced a significantly greater mean number of orgasms (3.4 +/- 0.2 SEM) than under the placebo condition (2.6 +/- 0.3). The total number of orgasms was 67 under the naltrexone condition and 51 under the placebo condition. At the first orgasm, the measure of intensity of arousal was significantly greater in the naltrexone (3.9 +/- 0.2) than placebo (3.4 +/- 0.2) condition, and the measure of orgasmic intensity was significantly greater in the naltrexone (3.7 +/- 0.2) than in the placebo (3.0 +/- 0.3) condition. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides evidence that endogenous opioids modulate orgasmic response and the perceived intensity of sexual arousal and orgasm in men. The findings suggest that naltrexone could be clinically useful in cases of inhibited sexual desire and erectile dysfunction.

Adult↗

Levels of processing and phonological priming in Chinese character completion tests.

This study investigated the level of processing (LoP) effect in the Chinese character completion task. Stem cues, either graphemically or phonetically related to a target character, were used to generate two different kinds of perceptual tests. By giving participants either direct or indirect instructions, the character completion tests could be either an explicit or an implicit memory test. For the implicit test, LoP effects were not found between Read and Generation conditions, whereas the Physical conditioni did not produce priming. In addition, no priming was found when participants received graphemic cues during the test. For the explicit test, on the other hand, a standard pattern of LoP effects was found between the Physical, Read, and Generation conditions. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of lexical access for character completion tests and the role of phonology in processing Chinese characters.

Cognition↗

Communication through chaotic modeling of languages.

We propose a communication technique that uses modeling of language in the encoding-decoding process of message transmission. A temporal partition (time-delay coarse graining of the phase space based on the symbol sequence statistics) is introduced with little if any intervention required for the targeting of the trajectory. Message transmission is performed by means of codeword, i.e., specific targeting instructions are sent to the receiver rather than the explicit message. This approach yields (i) error correction availability for transmission in the presence of noise or dropouts, (ii) transmission in a compressed format, (iii) a high level of security against undesirable detection, and (iv) language recognition.

Artificial Intelligence↗

Home oxygen therapy under Medicare. A primer.

Medicare recently implemented a new, strict, and complex home oxygen policy and a new oxygen prescription form. Unfortunately, the lack of instructions for the form has led to confusion, frustration, and suboptimal treatment. Long-term oxygen therapy prolongs survival, ameliorates hypoxic organ dysfunction, and improves exercise endurance. Indications for therapy include hypoxemia caused by cardiopulmonary diseases, hypoxemia that occurs with sleep or exercise, and hypoxemic organ dysfunction. Patients should be stable and have an arterial blood oxygen tension (PaO2) of 55 mm of mercury (7.3 kPa) or less or arterial blood oxygen saturation (SaO2) of 88% or less. There should be evidence of hypoxic organ dysfunction when the (PaO2) is 56 to 59 mm of mercury (7.4 to 7.8 kPa) or the SaO2 is 89%. A medical review by the insurance carrier is required if oxygen is to be prescribed when hypoxemia is less severe--if the PaO2 is 60 mm of mercury (8.0 kPa) or more or if the SaO2 is 90% or more. The instructions for oxygen flow, duration, and equipment must be explicit to ensure adequate therapy. An oxygen concentrator with a small oxygen cylinder portable system fulfills most needs. Oxygen cylinders may be used at low flows for patients who require therapy only during sleep or where electrical power is unreliable. A liquid oxygen system may be prescribed for active patients. Portable equipment should be provided in addition to stationary equipment when patients have resting hypoxemia. Portable equipment alone is sufficient when there is exercise-related hypoxemia with normal oxygenation at rest. Newly developed oxygen-conserving devices may offer longer ambulatory times and possibly lower operating costs. When home oxygen therapy is started in the hospital, the Certificate of Medical Necessity should be completed and patients should be trained to use the equipment before discharge.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.↗

Input- and output-monitoring in implicit and explicit memory.

Previous experiments have shown that the procedure of questioning subjects retrospectively about the input and output status of information (input and output monitoring) is a useful method for assessing the awareness states of subjects during implicit and explicit memory tasks. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the previous findings could be extended to other implicit and explicit memory tasks. We were especially interested in whether differences in input- and output-monitoring performance can be observed when both the implicit and explicit memory tasks are conceptual ones. In a final tet phase, the target items from the study phase and new distractor items were presented. In a recognition-like situation, subjects had to decide whether an item had been presented in the study phase (input status), as well as whether they had produced the item in the memory-test phase (output status). In all three experiments judgments about the input status-but only for those items that had been produced in the implicit or in the explicit memory test--were more precise after explicit than after implicit memory testings. This finding was not influenced by the distinction between perceptual and conceptual-memory tasks (Exp. 1), and was obtained under conditions in which the implicit and the explicit memory tasks were both conceptual and differed only in test instructions (Exps. 2 and 3). These results suggest that not only subjects performing a perceptual test of implicit memory, but also subjects in a conceptual implicit test were less aware of using information from a previous study episode than subjects who received memory instructions. It is concluded that requiring judgments about the input status of information is a good method for assessing subjects' test awareness and is preferable to the use of a questionnaire (Exp. 3). In contrast, in all three experiments no differences were found with the output-monitoring measure between implicit and explicit test conditions.

Adult↗

Modelling coaching practice: the role of instruction and demonstration.

In this paper, we review the empirical literature pertaining to the effectiveness of instructions and movement demonstrations. Initially, we examine existing theories and approaches that try to explain the process of skill acquisition so as to determine implications of these theories for instructional provision. This is followed by an evaluation of studies in the motor learning literature in which pre-practice information has been manipulated. Explicit learning strategies are contrasted to implicit and discovery learning methods, and current explanations for instructional effects are discussed in terms of such mechanisms as effects-related attentional focus and movement variability. In the final sections, we review data from our own laboratory where pre-practice information has been manipulated during the learning of a novel bimanual coordination task. From these studies, proposals are made to try and explain how pre-practice information works to effect the process of skill acquisition, including the selection and execution of a response and the processing of associated feedback. An important role is given to the existing skills of the learner in understanding the instructions and performing the desired movement. Finally, we suggest some practical implications of this empirical evidence for the teaching of motor skills.

Humans↗

Learning as a function of coordination bias: building upon pre-practice behaviours.

Instructions and demonstrations were manipulated to make pre-practice behaviours explicit and inform participants how to build-upon these to perform a novel bi-manual movement. In Experiment 1, participants who could perform only in- and anti-phase movements were studied, whereas in Experiment 2, individuals who could perform additional movements were tested. Zanone and Kelso (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 23 (1997) 1454) predicted differential learning progressions as a result of initial ability. Instruction promoting gradual adaptation of an existing skill would be more likely to benefit participants in Experiment 2. Irrespective of initial ability, participants did not benefit from instruction. Instructions that built-upon the in-phase pattern were particularly detrimental to acquisition, as compared to withholding instruction and providing only feedback. Instructional effects were related to decreased within-trial variability early in practice due to avoidance of certain movements and a complement bias to another undesirable one. It was suggested that trying to implement instructions, especially for the participants in Experiment 2, caused individuals to exert control over processes better controlled by lower, less cognitive levels of the motor system.

Female↗

Structure of communication and reports of involuntariness by hypnotic and nonhypnotic subjects.

We hypothesized that phrasing a communication to move the arm as either a suggestion, a directive, or an instruction would differentially affect subjects' interpretations of the movement. 45 hypnotic and 45 nonhypnotic subjects who responded positively to a suggestion tended to describe the movement as involuntary both on open-ended questionnaires and later on an explicit involuntariness scale. Subjects given a directive to move the arm, or an instruction to reach for a pencil, rarely described their experience as involuntary on the open-ended questionnaires but sometimes rated it as involuntary on the scale. The ratings of involuntariness by subjects given suggestions seem likely to reflect interpretations made concurrently with the movement suggested. However, such ratings by subjects given directives or instructions are likely to reflect retrospective interpretations cued by the instrument used to assess subjects' experiences.

Adolescent↗

Implicit and explicit dialogue structuring in virtual learning groups.

BACKGROUND: The promotion of virtual learning groups by instructional means is gaining importance with the spread of telematic learning. In virtual learning groups, students discuss certain learning materials or cooperate in problem solving by means of computer-mediated communication. Due to the specific features of electronic communication, supportive means appear to be necessary for such learning situations. AIMS: The investigation focuses on testing two different forms of dialogue structuring in virtual learning groups, in which students discuss a given subject matter together and clarify problems in understanding by means of synchronous computer-mediated communication. SAMPLE: Forty-five students from various disciplines at the University of Tübingen, except students of physics, participated in the investigation. METHOD: An experiment was conducted involving three-person groups in a telematic setting with two different kinds of dialogue structuring: implicit structuring induced group discussion on the subject matter by working on key questions in a preceding learning phase, whilst explicit structuring provided additional rules for discussion. These rules prompted group members to argue and aimed at directing them to equal participation. RESULTS: Compared to a control group, both implicit and explicit structuring showed greater orientation on the subject matter and showed less off-task talk. Moreover, explicit structuring led to more coherence in subject matter discussion with regard to the completion of topics. However, post-test performance showed no significant difference in knowledge over that of the control group. CONCLUSION: The results of the investigation show that dialogue structuring can be an adequate pedagogical approach for virtual learning groups.

Humans↗

"Spontaneous" transfer of stimulus control from tact to mand contingencies.

An important issue in teaching verbal behavior to persons with severe handicaps is the transfer of stimulus control from tact (e.g., naming) to mand (e.g., requesting) relationships. Previous research has shown that topographies taught as tacts frequently fail to appear as mands unless transfer between these two response classes is explicitly programmed. Procedures promoting this transfer would provide a necessary instructional tool. Transfer from tact to mand contingencies was investigated in two adults with severe mental retardation. Correct pointing responses to line drawing symbols depicting the utensils required to access previously requested food (beverage) items were assessed prior to and following tact intervention. Mands for two of three utensils emerged following tact intervention. The results suggest transfer from tact variables to the conditioned establishing operation may be facilitated by the prior development of a minimal mand repertoire.

Adult↗

What colour is the car? Implicit memory for colour information in children.

Three experiments were conducted to examine age-related differences in colour memory. In Experiment 1, preschool age and elementary school age children were given a conceptual test of implicit colour memory (a colour-choice task). They were presented with the names or achromatic versions of previously studied coloured line drawings and asked to select an appropriate colour. Significant priming could be demonstrated: The children chose the previously seen colours more often than was expected by chance. Equivalent priming was found for both versions (pictorial and verbal) suggesting that colour priming may be conceptually mediated. Moreover, colour priming proved to be age invariant. Experiment 2 replicated and extended this finding by using a wider age group (preschool, elementary school, and young adults) and by giving a perceptual implicit task (picture identification) in addition to a verbal colour-choice task. Colour did not affect priming in the perceptual task. Whereas priming showed no developmental change, age-related improvements were observed on an explicit colour memory task that differed only in the test instructions from the implicit colour-choice task (Experiments 2 and 3). Taken together, the results suggest that implicit colour memory may be mediated by conceptual processes that are age invariant.

Age Factors↗

[Changes in the spatial organization of cortical electrical activity during increasing working memory load].

Analysis of EEG coherence performed in 60 healthy adult subjects revealed some changes in the spatial organization of cortical electrical activity produced by complication of the context of cognitive performance (increasing the working memory load). Changes in the degree of coherence of cortical potentials within the local areas were observed already at the stage of the "operative readiness" immediately after the instruction, i.e., representation of the cognitive task sequence in the explicit working memory. The observed changes were different in the anterior (decrease in the degree of coherence) and posterior (increase in coherence) areas of the cortex. Context-related increase in the local coherence was more pronounced in the temporal, parietal, and occipital areas of the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere.

Adolescent↗

Predictive validity of an Implicit Association Test for assessing anxiety.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) was adapted to measure anxiety by assessing associations of self (vs. other) with anxiety-related (vs. calmness-related) words. Study 1 showed that the IAT-Anxiety exhibited good internal consistency and adequate stability. Study 2 revealed that the IAT-Anxiety was unaffected by a faking instruction. Study 3 examined the predictive validity of implicit and explicit measures and showed that the IAT-Anxiety was related to changes in experimenter-rated anxiety and performance decrements after failure. Study 4 found that several behavioral indicators of anxiety during a stressful speech were predicted by the IAT. Taken together, these studies show that the IAT-Anxiety is a reliable measure that is able to predict criterion variables above questionnaire measures of anxiety and social desirability.

Adult↗

The nurse's role as investigation coordinator in a drug research study.

In summary, for a smooth running investigational study, the following are essential: 1) clear and concise understanding of the protocol and its criteria, 2) methods for subject recruitment and screening, 3) meetings with all involved ancillary departments and professional staff, 4) development and utilization of time-saving checklists, patient instruction sheets, and other forms, and 5) careful assessment and explicit documentation.

Clinical Protocols↗

Directed forgetting between, but not within, dissociative personality states.

To investigate amnesia between identities in dissociative identity disorder (DID), the authors assessed explicit and implicit memory performance on a directed-forgetting task in 12 DID patients who switched from one state to an "amnesic" state between presentation and memory testing. DID patients were instructed either to remember or to forget neutral and emotional words. Besides an overall decrease in explicit memory, patients demonstrated selective forgetting of to-be-forgotten, but not of to-be-remembered words in the amnesic state. Patients did not exhibit any directed forgetting within the same state. Implicit memory was fully preserved across states. Independent of state, patients recalled more emotional than neutral information. These results may extend the conceptualization of memory processes in DID, suggesting an important role for retrieval inhibition.

Adult↗

Decision support and safety of clinical environments.

Safety in the clinical environment is based on structures that reduce the probability of harm, on evidence that enhances the likelihood of actions that increase favourable outcomes, and on explicit directions that lead to decisions to implement the actions dictated by this evidence. A clinical decision error rate of only 1% threatens patient safety at a distressing frequency. Explicit computerised decision support tools standardise clinical decision making and lead different clinicians to the same set of diagnostic or therapeutic instructions. They have favourable impacts on patient outcome. Simple computerised algorithms that generate reminders, alerts, or other information, and protocols that incorporate more complex rules reduce the clinical decision error rate. Decision support tools are not new; it is the new attributes of explicit computerised decision support tools that deserve identification. When explicit computerised protocols are driven by patient data, the protocol output (instructions) is patient specific, thus preserving individualized treatment while standardising clinical decisions. The expected decrease in variation and increase in compliance with evidence-based recommendations should decrease the error rate and enhance patient safety.

Decision Support Systems, Clinical↗

An examination of phonological awareness treatment outcomes for seventh-grade poor readers from a bilingual community.

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to examine posttreatment outcomes following direct, systematic phonological awareness instruction for seventh-grade poor readers, most of whom had English as their second language. METHOD: The treatment group (n = 35) participated in small-group instruction sessions that emphasized phonological awareness at the phoneme level and incorporated explicit linkages to literacy. The treatment, which was administered in the participants' school setting over a 12-week period, involved approximately 45 hr of contact with a trained instructor. Postintervention performance of the treatment group was compared to performance of students from the same school and grade level who were waiting to receive phonological awareness treatment (nontreatment group, n= 33). RESULTS: ANCOVA results for total reading scores and MANCOVA results for Phonological Awarenes, Word Attack, Word Identification, Word Comprehension, and Passage Comprehension subtests indicated that group differences were significant. The posttreatment scores of the treatment group were higher for all measures. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Seventh-grade poor readers, including bilingual students who have English as their second language, can benefit from direct, systematic instruction that emphasizes phonological awareness and is linked to literacy.

Awareness↗