The influence of expertise on brain activation of the action observation network during anticipation of tennis and volleyball serves

In many daily activities, and especially in sport, it is necessary to predict the effects of others' actions in order to initiate appropriate responses. Recently, researchers have suggested that the action-observation network (AON) including the cerebellum plays an essential role during such anticipation, particularly in sport expert performers. In the present study, we examined the influence of task-specific expertise on the AON by investigating differences between two expert groups trained in different sports while anticipating action effects. Altogether, 15 tennis and 16 volleyball experts anticipated the direction of observed tennis and volleyball serves while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The expert group in each sport acted as novice controls in the other sport with which they had only little experience. When contrasting anticipation in both expertise conditions with the corresponding untrained sport, a stronger activation of AON areas (SPL, SMA), and particularly of cerebellar structures, was observed. Furthermore, the neural activation within the cerebellum and the SPL was linearly correlated with participant's anticipation performance, irrespective of the specific expertise. For the SPL, this relationship also holds when an expert performs a domain-specific anticipation task. Notably, the stronger activation of the cerebellum as well as of the SMA and the SPL in the expertise conditions suggests that experts rely on their more fine-tuned perceptual-motor representations that have improved during years of training when anticipating the effects of others' actions in their preferred sport. The association of activation within the SPL and the cerebellum with the task achievement suggests that these areas are the predominant brain sites involved in fast motor predictions. The SPL reflects the processing of domain-specific contextual information and the cerebellum the usage of a predictive internal model to solve the anticipation task. © 2014 Balser, Lorey, Pilgramm, Naumann, Kindermann, Stark, Zentgraf, Williams and Munzert

Mobile Phone Text Message Intervention on Diabetes Self-Care Activities, Cardiovascular Disease Risk Awareness, and Food Choices among Type 2 Diabetes Patients

This study examines the effects of educational text messages on diabetes self-care activities, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk awareness, and home food availabilities related to food choices among patients with type 2 diabetes. Quasi-experimental design was used with 40 patients (58.0 10.6 years) in the intervention group and 39 (55.7 12.2 years) in the control group. In addition to the usual care provided for all participants, the intervention group received three educational text messages weekly for 12 weeks. Pre- and post-intervention measures were collected for both groups. Ninety-four percent of the participants receiving text messages indicated the usefulness of this program. The intervention group either maintained the same level or demonstrated small improvements in diabetes self-care activities after the intervention. Significant increases in scores of CVD risk awareness (57% increase; p = 0.04) and availabilities of fresh fruits (320% increase; p = 0.01) and fresh vegetables (250% increase; p = 0.02) in the home and weekly total (16% increase; p = 0.02) and moderate/vigorous (80% increase; p = 0.006) physical activity levels were observed for the intervention group relative to the control group. The pilot results suggest the feasibility and usefulness of the text message program for diabetes education. The study is registered with Clinical Trials.gov (NCT03039569)

Coparenting support in the context of difficult children: Mother and father differences

While parenting children with difficult behaviors can intensify stress within the entire family system, families may lean on other familial relationships to mitigate that stress. The coparenting relationship is known to play a key role within the family system for child outcomes and familial interactions, but it is not clear whether it eases the stress and challenge of raising a difficult child, nor how that plays out differently for mothers versus fathers. Ninety-six couples (89.7% married) parenting young children (Mean age = 3.22 years) were included in this study. Using cross-sectional and aggregated daily response data, actor–partner interdependence models were used to examine how mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 perceived coparenting support lessened or intensified parenting stress and/or daily problems with their child/children—for themselves or their parenting partner. We found that greater coparenting support reported by mothers coincided with stronger links between the mother\u27s report of child difficulty and daily problems encountered by both mothers and fathers. In contrast, when fathers reported greater coparenting support, the intensity between reported child difficulty and daily problems decreased for mothers, and fathers reported lower parenting stress. Coparenting support also moderated associations between parents\u27 perception of child difficulty and daily problems with their children. These results suggest that mothers incur heightened coparenting support from fathers when experiencing more difficult child behavior and that coparenting support experienced by fathers may alleviate parenting challenges for mothers. These findings further contribute to the literature by emphasizing distinct differences between mothers and fathers in coparenting associations within the family system

Coparenting support in the context of difficult children: Mother and father differences

While parenting children with difficult behaviors can intensify stress within the entire family system, families may lean on other familial relationships to mitigate that stress. The coparenting relationship is known to play a key role within the family system for child outcomes and familial interactions, but it is not clear whether it eases the stress and challenge of raising a difficult child, nor how that plays out differently for mothers versus fathers. Ninety-six couples (89.7% married) parenting young children (Mean age = 3.22 years) were included in this study. Using cross-sectional and aggregated daily response data, actor–partner interdependence models were used to examine how mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 perceived coparenting support lessened or intensified parenting stress and/or daily problems with their child/children—for themselves or their parenting partner. We found that greater coparenting support reported by mothers coincided with stronger links between the mother\u27s report of child difficulty and daily problems encountered by both mothers and fathers. In contrast, when fathers reported greater coparenting support, the intensity between reported child difficulty and daily problems decreased for mothers, and fathers reported lower parenting stress. Coparenting support also moderated associations between parents\u27 perception of child difficulty and daily problems with their children. These results suggest that mothers incur heightened coparenting support from fathers when experiencing more difficult child behavior and that coparenting support experienced by fathers may alleviate parenting challenges for mothers. These findings further contribute to the literature by emphasizing distinct differences between mothers and fathers in coparenting associations within the family system

Mexican-American Adolescents’ Gender-Typed Characteristics: The Role of Sibling and Friend Characteristics

This study examined the role of sibling and friend characteristics in Mexican-American youth’s gender-typed characteristics (i.e., attitudes, interests, and leisure activities) in early versus middle adolescence using a sibling design. Mexican-American 7th graders (M = 12.51 years; SD = .58) and their older siblings (M = 15.48 years; SD = 1.57) from 246 families participated in home interviews and a series of seven nightly phone calls. Results revealed that younger/early adolescent siblings reported more traditional gender role attitudes than their older/middle adolescent siblings and older brothers were more traditional in their attitudes than older sisters. When comparing siblings’ gender-typed interests and leisure activities, boys reported more masculine orientations than girls and girls reported more feminine orientations than boys. Older brothers’ gender-typed characteristics were associated with the amount of time spent with and gender characteristics of their friendship group, but for younger brothers, sibling characteristics were associated with their gender-typed characteristics. In contrast, both sibling and friendship characteristics were significantly associated with older and younger sisters’ gender-typed characteristics. The discussion addressed the different correlates of older and younger sisters’ and brothers’ gender-typed characteristics

Thyroid Function and Perchlorate in Drinking Water: An Evaluation among California Newborns, 1998

Perchlorate (ClO(4)(−)) has been detected in groundwater sources in numerous communities in California and other parts of the United States, raising concerns about potential impacts on health. For California communities where ClO(4)(−) was tested in 1997 and 1998, we evaluated the prevalence of primary congenital hypothyroidism (PCH) and high thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels among the 342,257 California newborns screened in 1998. We compared thyroid function results among newborns from 24 communities with average ClO(4)(−) concentrations in drinking water > 5 μg/L (n = 50,326) to newborns from 287 communities with average concentrations ≤5 μg/L (n = 291,931). ClO(4)(−) concentrations obtained from the California Drinking Water Program provided source-specific data for estimating weighted average concentrations in community water. Fifteen cases of PCH from communities with average concentration > 5 μg/L were observed, with 20.4 expected [adjusted prevalence odds ratio (POR) = 0.71; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.40–1.19]. Although only 36% of all California newborns were screened before 24 hr of age in 1998, nearly 80% of newborns with high TSH were screened before 24 hr of age. Because of the physiologic postnatal surge of TSH, the results for newborns screened before 24 hr were uninformative for assessing an environmental impact. For newborns screened ≥24 hr, the adjusted POR for high TSH was 0.73 (95% CI, 0.40–1.23). All adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were controlled for sex, ethnicity, birth weight, and multiple birth status. Using an assessment of ClO(4)(−) in drinking water based on available data, we did not observe an association between estimated average ClO(4)(−) concentrations > 5 μg/L in drinking water supplies and the prevalence of clinically diagnosed PCH or high TSH concentrations

Mexican-origin Youths’ Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms: The Role of Familism Values

Purpose—To describe Mexican-origin youths’ trajectories of depressive symptoms from early to late adolescence and examine the role of three aspects of familism values: supportive, obligation, and referent familism. Methods—Mexican-origin adolescents (N = 492) participated in home interviews and provided self-reports of depressive symptoms and cultural values at four assessments across an 8-year span. Using a cohort sequential design and accounting for the nesting within the 246 families (2 youth per family), we examined depressive symptoms from ages 12 to 22 years and the within-person, between-sibling, and between-family effects of familism values. Results—Mexican-origin males’ depressive symptoms decreased across adolescence, while females’ symptoms exhibited a cubic pattern of change. Results revealed that increases in supportive and referent familism values within individuals and across families related to lower levels of depressive symptoms. Findings were most pronounced for referent familism values, as a between-sibling effect also emerged. Obligation familism values were not associated with depressive symptoms. Conclusions—Our findings provide important descriptive information about Mexican-origin youths’ depressive symptoms and highlight the promotive role of familism values

Mexican-Origin Youth\u27s Risk Behavior from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Role of Familism Values

Engagement in risk behavior has implications for individuals\u27 academic achievement, health, and well-being, yet there is a paucity of developmental research on the role of culturally-relevant strengths in individual and family differences in risk behavior involvement among ethnic minority youth. In this study, we used a longitudinal cohort-sequential design to chart intraindividual trajectories of risk behavior and test variation by gender and familism values in 492 youth from 12 to 22 years of age. Participants were older and younger siblings from 246 Mexican-origin families who reported on their risk behaviors in interviews spaced over eight years. Multilevel cohort-sequential growth models revealed that youth reported an increase in risk behavior from 12 to 18 years of age, and then a decline to age 22. Male youth reported greater overall levels and a steeper increase in risk behavior from ages 12 to 18, compared to female youth. For familism values, on occasions when youth reported higher levels, they also reported lower levels of risk behavior (i.e., within-person effect). For sibling dyads characterized by higher average levels of familism values, youth reported lower average levels of risk behavior (i.e., between-family effect). Findings provide unique insights into risk behavior from adolescence to young adulthood among Mexican-origin youth

Romantic Relationship Experiences from Late Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Role of Older Siblings in Mexican-Origin Families

Youth\u27s experiences with romantic relationships during adolescence and young adulthood have far reaching implications for future relationships, health, and well-being; yet, although scholars have examined potential peer and parent influences, we know little about the role of siblings in youth\u27s romantic relationships. Accordingly, this study examined the prospective longitudinal links between Mexican-origin older and younger siblings\u27 romantic relationship experiences and variation by sibling structural and relationship characteristics (i.e., sibling age and gender similarity, younger siblings\u27 modeling) and cultural values (i.e., younger siblings\u27 familism values). Data from 246 Mexican-origin families with older (M = 20.65 years; SD = 1.57; 50% female) and younger (M = 17.72 years; SD = .57; 51% female) siblings were used to examine the likelihood of younger siblings\u27 involvement in dating relationships, sexual relations, cohabitation, and engagement/marriage with probit path analyses. Findings revealed older siblings\u27 reports of involvement in a dating relationship, cohabitation, and engagement/marriage predicted younger siblings\u27 relationship experiences over a two-year period. These links were moderated by sibling age spacing, younger siblings\u27 reports of modeling and familism values. Our findings suggest the significance of social learning dynamics as well as relational and cultural contexts in understanding the links between older and younger siblings\u27 romantic relationship experiences among Mexican-origin youth