Do deaf adults with limited language have advanced theory of mind?

Previous studies show that deaf children have deficits in false belief understanding due to their language impairment. However, it is not clear whether deaf adults still have problems in advanced theory of mind (TOM). The present study examined deaf adults' performance on three aspects of advanced ToM. All of the deaf groups lacking mental state language tended to perform worse than the hearing group on explicit mental state understanding. Deaf groups with either vocabulary skill or interpersonal experience from early years were similar to the hearing group in implicit mental state reasoning. Individuals frequently using syntactic complements or having interpersonal experience with hearing people from early years tended to use ToM better. Moreover, language ability was the only predictor for explicit rather than implicit mental state understanding. Sufficient language is not necessary for all aspects of advanced ToM. Rich interpersonal experience as a substitute for language may facilitate deaf adults' advanced ToM. (C)2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

应对灵活性的研究进展与展望

应对研究中,常会有以下几个关键的问题:什么应对方式有效?应对过程是怎样的?什么应对方式对身心健康有利?什么应对方式对身心健康有损?对这些问题的回答需包含两个不同因素:首先是应对情境的复杂性,即每个人所处环境不尽相同,应激也不一样,同一种应对在一种情境中有效,在另一种情境中也许就无效;另外个体对情境的认知和对自身的评价是有差异的。对有些人来说是简单的应对,对另一些人也许根本无法做到。要解决这个问题,就必须考虑不同情境中的应对,即了解个体应对灵活性的特点。本文尝试将近年应对灵活性方面的研究进行梳理和探讨,并特别关注应对灵活性与相关变量的关系及对应的应对效果。1应对灵活性基本概念一般认为,应对(c

Behavioral performance of time processing in patients with schizophrenia and individuals with schizotypal personality features

目的:探讨精神分裂症患者与分裂型人格个体的时间加工行为特征。方法:选取59名符合美国精神障碍诊断与统计手册第4版(DSM-IV)精神分裂症诊断标准的门诊或住院患者,62名通过分裂型人格问卷(SPQ)筛查的分裂型人格个体以及60名健康对照人群。通过时间辨别任务、时间产生任务、时间复制任务对3组被试的时间加工能力进行测查。结果:时间产生任务中,分裂型人格组的准确性得分大于健康对照组[(1.03±0.07)vs.(0.99±0.09),P<0.05],精神分裂症组的变异系数大于健康对照组和分裂型人格组[(0.26±0.10)vs.(0.20±0.05),(0.20±0.05);均P<0.01];时间复制任务中,精神分裂症组的变异系数大于健康对照组和分裂型人格组[(0.21±0.11)vs.(0.15±0.07),(0.17±0.12);均P<0.01)。结论:精神分裂症患者和分裂型人格个体都存在时间加工表现上的缺损,其中精神分裂症患者的缺损可能更为严重。Objective： Schizophrenia is associated with time-processing impairments. However, very little is known about this type of problem in at-risk individuals with schizotypal personality disorder （SPD） features. The current study compared time-processing performance in patients with schizophrenia, individuals with SPD features, and healthy controls. Methods： A number of tasks capturing time discrimination, time production and time reproduction as well as other related abilities were administered to 59 schizophrenia patients, 62 individuals with SPD fea- tures, and 60 healthy controls. The diagnosis was made according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, Fourth Edition （DSM-IV） criteria. In analyzing the time-processing data, repeated measures were a- dopted, with group as a between-subjects variable, duration of time as a within-subjects variable, time threshold in time discrimination, accuracy （estimated time/standard time） and coefficient of variation （SD of estimated time/ mean of estimated time） of time production and time reproduction as dependent variables. Results： The result showed that patients with schizophrenia, SPD individuals and healthy controls had similar time discrimination threshold （P 〉 0. 05）. In the time production task, SPD individuals had higher accuracy score than healthy controls [ （ 1.03 ±0. 07） vs. （0. 99± 0. 09）, P 〈 0. 05 ], while patients with schizophrenia had higher coefficient of variation as compared to individuals with SPD features and healthy volunteers[（0. 26 ±0. 10） vs. （0. 20 ±0. 05）, （0. 20 ± 0. 05） ; Ps 〈 0. 01]. In the time reproduction task, patients with schizophrenia also scored higher on the coefficient of variation than SPD individuals and healthy controls[ （0.21 ± 0. 11） vs. （0. 15± 0.07）, （0. 17 ±0. 12）; Ps 〈0. 01]. Conclusion： The current findings suggest that both SPD individuals and patients with schizophrenia may have impairments on time processing. The impairments of patients with schizophrenia may be more severe than that of SPD individuals

Neurological soft signs in non-psychotic first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Neurological soft signs (NSS) have been associated with the neuropsychopathology of schizophrenia, and have been proposed as candidate endophenotypes for this clinical group. However, the prevalence rate of NSS in non-psychotic first-degree relatives is not fully known. The authors systematically and quantitatively reviewed the literature to determine the magnitude of difference between: (1) first-degree non-psychotic relatives of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, and (2) between schizophrenia patients and their non-psychotic relatives

Coping flexibility in college students with depressive symptoms

Background: The current study explored the prevalence of depressed mood among Chinese undergraduate students and examined the coping patterns and degree of flexibility of flexibility of such patterns associated with such mood. Methods: A set of questionnaire assessing coping patterns, coping flexibility, and depressive symptoms were administered to 428 students (234 men and 194 women). Results: A total of 266 participants both completed the entire set of questionnaires and reported a frequency of two or more stressful life events (the criterion needed to calculate variance in perceived controllability). Findings showed that higher levels of depressive symptoms were significantly associated with higher levels of both event frequency (r = .368, p &lt; .001) and event impact (r = .245, p &lt; .001) and lower levels of perceived controllability (r = -.261, p &lt; .001), coping effectiveness (r = -.375, p &lt; .001), and ratio of strategy to situation fit (r = -.108, p &lt; .05). Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with cognitive flexibility (variance of perceived controllability; r = .031, p = .527), Gender was not a significant moderator of any of the reported associations. Conclusions: Findings indicate that Chinese university students with depressive symptoms reported experiencing a greater number of negative events than did non-depressed university students. In addition, undergraduates with depressive symptoms were more likely than other undergraduates to utilize maladaptive coping methods. Such findings highlight the potential importance of interventions aimed at helping undergraduate students with a lower coping flexibility develop skills to cope with stressful life events.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000282298600001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Health Care Sciences &amp; ServicesHealth Policy &amp; ServicesSCI(E)SSCI4ARTICLEnull

精神分裂症的内表型研究

申请人利用多学科的方法研究精神分裂症谱系的病因和神经机制。主要在神经软体征和内表型领域做出了开创性的工作，得到了国际同行的高度关注。在精神病连续体上进行了行为和脑机制的系统研究，取得了杰出的成果。还将基础研究方法与思路贯彻于精神分裂症谱系的临床应用研究中。近五年内在国际刊物发表及被接受论文共49篇，其中第一/通讯作者21篇。其中18篇发表在Neurosci & Biobeh Rev,Schizoph Bull，Brain Res Rev,NeuroImage，Schizoph Res,JNNP等权威杂志。2005年以来收录在SCI/SSCI论文的总引用次数为275次，他引226次。并多次获国际性奖励如Young Investigator Award of the NARSAD，Griffith Health Distinguished Visiting Research Award 等