Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “MENTAL PROCESSES”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Anticipatory processing in social anxiety: two pilot studies.

Two studies investigating the cognitive processes associated with anticipatory social anxiety are reported. Study 1 used a semi-structured interview to compare high and low socially anxious individuals ( [Formula: see text] per group) in terms of their reported mental processes during periods of anticipatory social anxiety. Study 2 investigated the anxiety inducing effects of the mental processes that were shown to be characteristic of high socially anxious individuals in Study 1. Prior to giving a speech, high and low socially anxious individuals ( [Formula: see text] per group) either engaged in these processes or performed a distraction task. The results of Study 1 were broadly consistent with Clark and Wells' (In: R.G. Heimberg, M. Liebowitz, D.A. Hope, F.R. Schneier (Eds.), Social phobia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Treatment (pp. 69-93). New York: Guilford Press, 1995) hypotheses about the nature of anticipatory processing in social anxiety. Study 2 showed that, compared to distraction, engaging in the mental processes characteristic of high socially anxious individuals was associated with sustained elevations of anticipatory anxiety in both high and low socially anxious individuals, and led to higher levels of peak anxiety during the speech. The findings suggest that high and low socially anxious individuals show systematic differences in their mental processes prior to a stressful social event, and are consistent with the suggestion that these differences play an important role in sustaining anticipatory anxiety.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Motor processes in mental rotation.

Much indirect evidence supports the hypothesis that transformations of mental images are at least in part guided by motor processes, even in the case of images of abstract objects rather than of body parts. For example, rotation may be guided by processes that also prime one to see results of a specific motor action. We directly test the hypothesis by means of a dual-task paradigm in which subjects perform the Cooper-Shepard mental rotation task while executing an unseen motor rotation in a given direction and at a previously-learned speed. Four results support the inference that mental rotation relies on motor processes. First, motor rotation that is compatible with mental rotation results in faster times and fewer errors in the imagery task than when the two rotations are incompatible. Second, the angle through which subjects rotate their mental images, and the angle through which they rotate a joystick handle are correlated, but only if the directions of the two rotations are compatible. Third, motor rotation modifies the classical inverted V-shaped mental rotation response time function, favoring the direction of the motor rotation; indeed, in some cases motor rotation even shifts the location of the minimum of this curve in the direction of the motor rotation. Fourth, the preceding effect is sensitive not only to the direction of the motor rotation, but also to the motor speed. A change in the speed of motor rotation can correspondingly slow down or speed up the mental rotation.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Nonword repetition and language development in 4-year-old children with and without a history of early language delay.

PURPOSE: This study examined the usefulness of the Nonword Repetition Test (NRT; C. Dollaghan & T. F. Campbell, 1998) with 4-year-old children and the relationship among the NRT, language, and other aspects of mental processing. METHOD: The NRT was administered to 64 children at 4 years of age; 44 had a history of typical language development (HTD), and 20 had a history of language delay (HLD) at 16 months of age. Study 1 compared methods of scoring phoneme errors to determine whether the NRT was appropriate for this age group. Study 2 examined whether the NRT differentiated HTD from HLD. Study 3 examined the relations among scores on the NRT and standardized tests of language and mental processing. RESULTS: The NRT was found to be appropriate for 4-year-old children. Although all children had normal language abilities at the time of the study, the NRT (and several aspects of language and mental processing) differentiated between HTD and HLD. Relations among the NRT and other measures of language and mental processing were different from those previously reported, an unexpected finding that is inconsistent with traditional accounts of working memory and its relation to language development. Potential explanations are explored, and some directions for future research are suggested.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1987

Automatic and effortful processing by mentally retarded and nonretarded persons.

Automatic and effortful processing by brain-injured and cultural-familially mentally retarded and nonretarded persons were compared in a letter priming task. Both retarded groups responded considerably slower than did the nonretarded group. Inhibitory effects due to a prime stimulus and facilitative effects following brief presentations of prime stimuli were similar for all groups. Facilitative effects remained at the same level for the nonretarded group but clearly continued to increase for the retarded groups along the longest presentation intervals. The findings were interpreted as showing similar automatic processing effects in all groups. Effortful processing by retarded persons, on the other hand, was slower to develop and possibly greater than that by nonretarded persons.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Controlled and automatic processing during mental rotation.

In two experiments, 9- and 10-year-olds and adults were tested on a mental rotation task in which they judged whether stimuli presented in different orientations were letters or mirror-images of letters. The mental rotation task was performed alone on 48 trials and concurrently with a memory task on 48 additional trials. The concurrent memory task in Experiment 1 was recalling digits; in Experiment 2, recalling positions in a matrix. The key result was that the slope of the function relating response time to stimulus orientation was the same when the mental rotation task was performed alone and when performed concurrently with the memory task. This result is interpreted as showing that mental rotation is an automatic process for both children and adults.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Cortical distribution of EEG activity for component processes during mental rotation.

Alpha power (8-12 Hz) was monitored over the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes of the left and right cerebral hemispheres while participants mentally rotated three-dimensional shapes to match a specified target. By comparing the activational patterns generated during three experimental conditions, each designed to systematically isolate the involvement of the various subcomponents comprising this mental rotation task, it was suggested that the right frontal lobe mediates encoding and comparison/decision processes, while the left parietal and the left temporal region appear most involved in the generation of images and their mental rotation. A preliminary model describing the cooperative interaction of these cortical regions during mental rotation tasks is proposed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Shared decision making and medication management in the recovery process.

Mental health professionals commonly conceptualize medication management for people with severe mental illness in terms of strategies to increase compliance or adherence. The authors argue that compliance is an inadequate construct because it fails to capture the dynamic complexity of autonomous clients who must navigate decisional conflicts in learning to manage disorders over the course of years or decades. Compliance is rooted in medical paternalism and is at odds with principles of person-centered care and evidence-based medicine. Using medication is an active process that involves complex decision making and a chance to work through decisional conflicts. It requires a partnership between two experts: the client and the practitioner. Shared decision making provides a model for them to assess a treatment's advantages and disadvantages within the context of recovering a life after a diagnosis of a major mental disorder.

Convalescence↗
PubMed2002

Neural implementation of response selection in humans as revealed by localized effects of stimulus-response compatibility on brain activation.

Response selection, which involves choosing representations for appropriate motor behaviors given one's current situation, is a fundamental mental process central to a wide variety of human performance, yet the neural mechanisms underlying this mental process remain unclear. Research using nonhuman primates implicates ventral prefrontal and lateral premotor cortices in this process. In contrast, human neuroimaging research also highlights the role of dorsal prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and superior parietal cortices in response selection. This inconsistency may stem from the difficulty of isolating response selection within the constraints of cognitive subtraction methodology utilized in neuroimaging. We overcome this limitation by using an experimental procedure designed to selectively influence discrete mental processing stages and analyses that are less reliant on the assumptions of cognitive subtraction. We varied stimulus contrast to affect stimulus encoding and stimulus-response compatibility to affect response selection. Brain activation data suggest processing specific to response selection in superior parietal and dorsal prefrontal cortices, and not ventral prefrontal cortex. Anterior cingulate and lateral premotor cortices may also be involved in response selection, or these regions may mediate other response processes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Improvement in specific aspects of neurocognitive performance in children after renal transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Chronic renal failure in childhood is considered to affect neurocognitive function adversely, and kidney transplantation may ameliorate the deficits. However, previous studies have suffered from the use of poorly matched control groups, comparison of transplant with uncorrected uremia, lack of standardization of dialysis, and insufficiently sensitive neuropsychological tests. METHODS: We studied nine medically stable children and adolescents age 14.2 +/- 3.5 years with end-stage renal disease prior to and again one year after successful renal transplant. At baseline, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) or the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) was performed. Repeatable tests used before and after transplant included the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) or the Children's Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (CHIPASAT), the Stroop Color-Word Naming Test, the Buschke Selective Reminding Test, the Meier Visual Discrimination Test, the Grooved Pegboard Test, the WISC-III or the WAIS-R Coding subtests and the Trailmaking Test. Computer-based measures of mental processing speed, reaction time, and discrimination sensitivity included the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) and the Connors Continuous Performance Test (CPT). Formal kinetic modeling of dialysis delivery ensured adequate renal replacement therapy. Transplant function was good on stable doses of immunosuppressives, without recent rejections at the time of testing. RESULTS: Within-subject comparison showed statistically significant improvement in mental processing speed by CAT, reaction time and discrimination sensitivity by CPT, and working memory by PASAT/CHIPASAT after renal transplant. Other measures were unchanged. CONCLUSION: Mental processing speed and sustained attention improved in children after renal transplantation in a carefully controlled prospective cross-over study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Mental mobilization processes in critical incident stress situations.

In this article, the psychological emergency mobilization process that takes place in threat situations is postulated. Mental mobilization is the increased mental capability of the mind in critical situations to process incoming and stored information to enable adaptive survival responses. The processes that are mobilized in the service of survival are enhanced sensory awareness, focused attention, rapid processing of incoming data, and use of previous experience, enhanced memory, altered time perception, and temporary deactivation of emotional reactions. From a clinical standpoint, it is important that the survival value of these processes is understood, as survivors can be helped to feel a sense of accomplishment and empowerment when they are taken through a critical situation in a detailed way and discover that they have been able to function well and survive by use of their stored "experience," rapid processing of information or other aspects of their mental mobilization.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1983

Decision-time measures of sequential processing by mentally retarded and nonretarded adolescents and MA-matched children.

To eliminate the operation of organizational factors during crossmodal information processing, we compared mentally retarded adolescents, CA-matched nonretarded adolescents, and MA-matched children in a same-different decision task in which dyadic sequences were presented within and across the visual and auditory modalities. Decision times for correct "different" responses were greater for the CA-matched group than for the EMR and MA-matched groups, with all groups showing longest times for the visual-auditory dyads and shortest times for dyads in which both stimuli were visual. Differences between the auditory-auditory and auditory-visual dyads were negligible, and increments from visual-visual to visual-auditory dyads were significantly greater than from auditory-auditory to auditory-visual dyads in the EMR and MA groups. Results support a concept of greater visual dominance by the retarded and MA-matched groups rather than slower crossmodal attention switching, per se.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Residual effects of flurazepam and brotizolam on psychomotor performance.

Residual effects of brotizolam (0.25 mg) and flurazepam (30 mg) were studied in healthy young adults. Performance and subjective assessments were observed from 7 to 8 h after overnight ingestion, and effects were compared with that of placebo. Visuo-motor coordination, visuo-mental processing time, visuo-motor reaction time and reading errors were not impaired with brotizolam. There were residual effects with 30 mg flurazepam. Visuo-motor coordination, visuo-mental processing time, visuo-motor reaction time, and reading errors were impaired compared with placebo and 0.25 mg brotizolam. Subjective assessments of performance correlated with measured performance. There was a decrease with flurazepam (visuo-motor coordination and visuo-mental processing time) compared with placebo.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Neonatal bilirubin exposure and psychoeducational outcome.

The association between neonatal bilirubin exposure and psychoeducational outcome was investigated in a group of grade school children 9 to 11 years old who required neonatal intensive care between 1977 and 1980. Seventy-four children were evaluated with four measures of psychoeducational outcome, including the Kaufman Mental Processing and Achievement Scales, the Beery Visual Motor Integration Test, and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. A measure of bilirubin binding calculated directly from the albumin concentration correlated significantly with the Kaufman Mental Processing Composite, although other more direct measures of bilirubin exposure (such as maximum serum bilirubin, direct measures of binding, and cumulative bilirubin exposure) did not. Thus, it is possible that the impact on psychoeducational outcome is the result of some other effect of low serum albumin itself, in addition to its ability to bind bilirubin. The correlation of the calculated albumin-determined binding value with the Kaufman Mental Processing Composite suggests that this level, rather than total serum bilirubin, may be more appropriate in determining clinical management.

Aptitude↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Disturbances of mental image processing in post-stroke patients with left and right hemisphere damage.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this article is to point out significant differences in how mental images are processed by post-stroke patients with left and right hemisphere damage. The issues involved are of theoretical importance because of the light shed on the modularity of cerebral functions, especially the imagination, and of clinical importance due to the better understanding of the underlying pathomechanism. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research involved 82 right-handed patients with a lesion in the left hemisphere (Group L), 82 right-handed patients with a lesion in the right hemisphere (Group R), and, as a control group, 82 patients with musculo-skeletal disorders not affecting the central nervous system (Group C), matched by age and sex. Image processing of complex notions was examined by using selected items from the Simple Neurolinguistic Test. RESULTS: In the control group, the majority of the patients responded to most of the prompts with polymodal associations of various types. In Group L, responses were dominated by isolated elements of the complex situation, while in Group R the associations were mostly verbal (lexical) and highly restricted in scope. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the loss of LH functions interferes with the ability to assemble pieces of polymodal image information into sensible strings, while the loss of RH functions leaves strings to which little information is attached.

Brain↗
PubMed1986

Comparison of the effect of flurazepam, brotizolam and alcohol on psychomotor performance.

The effect of equal doses of brotizolam (2-bromo-4-(2-chlorophenyl)-9-methyl-6H-thieno [3,2-f]-1,2,4-triazolo [4,3-a]-1,4-diazepine, We 941, Lendormin) (0.25 mg) and flurazepam (30 mg) was studied in double-blind technique in a continuous performance test. Experiments were done 7 h after the last of a three-day ingestion. The task was composed of a compensatory tracking one and additional visual ones in the central visual field (visuo-motor processing time) and in the peripheral visual field (visuo-motor reaction time). The effects were compared with that of different concentrations of alcohol. The starting point of all parameters was similar in spite of the drug used. The drug influenced the values during the running of the single experiment. Visuo-motor coordination in a compensatory tracking task, visuo-mental processing time, visuo-motor reaction time and reading errors were not impaired with brotizolam. In contrast there were observed residual effects with 30 mg flurazepam. As well visuo-motor coordination (p1 less than 0.01, p2 less than 0.01), visuo-mental processing time (p1 less than 0.025), p2 less than 0.05), visuo-motor reaction time (p1 less than 0.05, p2 less than 0.01) and reading errors (p1 less than 0.10, p2 less than 0.05) were impaired compared to placebo (p1) and 0.25 mg brotizolam (p2). Moreover, events in the peripheral visual field were not detected. Subjective assessments of performance correlated with measured performance only for flurazepam was performance in comparison with placebo assessed as significantly worse both for visuo-motor coordination (p less than 0.01) as well as visuo-mental processing time (p less than 0.02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Categorization processes in mental comparisons.

Five experiments explore categorization and category-based congruity effects in mental comparisons. The first 4 experiments concentrate on categorization of infinite-set small items. The experiments vary the additional items presented and whether those items appear once (Experiments 1-2) or repeatedly (Experiments 3-4). Additional items include other small items (Experiment 1), relatively large items (Experiments 2-4), and items involving nonsize dimensions (Experiment 4). The critical small items show a complete congruity effect only in Experiments 1 and 3. Results suggest that categorization of infinite-set items may be based on range information alone (Experiment 1) but that multiple categorizations based on multiple ranges (Experiment 2) may require attentional effort. Results implicate categorization as a central process in mental comparison, despite differences in ease of categorization across paradigm.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Anxiety, signal anxiety, and unconscious anticipation: neuroscientific evidence for an unconscious signal function in humans.

A central tenet of psychoanalysis, and arguably of any comprehensive theory of mind, is the existence of a psychological unconscious. Years of clinical investigation into the nature of unconscious processes have facilitated the development of psychoanalysis as a clinical method. Empirical investigations of unconscious mental processes, however, have lagged behind clinical inquiry. With few exceptions, attempts to understand unconscious processes using rigorous experimental controls have remained sequestered in scientific domains other than psychoanalysis, where they have proliferated recently. In view of this recent upsurge of research on unconscious processes outside of psychoanalysis, efforts to integrate such knowledge into general theories of psychopathology and clinical investigation are critical. In this paper, an interdisciplinary approach is taken to the study of one aspect of unconscious mental functioning--what Freud originally termed signal anxiety. Signal anxiety is examined using information from cognitive psychology and learning theory, psychophysiology, behavioral neuroscience, and psychoanalytic theory. Though the original concept of signal anxiety is supported by recent research, it is concluded that signal anxiety is probably best thought of not as the affect of anxiety but as a subset of unconscious mental processes that have a signal function of anticipating danger. Such unconscious anticipatory processes are a general feature of the mind that includes responses to both real and imagined (neurotic) appraisals of a situation. The neurophysiological structures and processes associated with unconscious anticipation in humans are just beginning to be understood.

Anxiety↗