Infants’ understanding of everyday social interactions : a dual process account

Six- and 12-month-old infant’s eye movements were recorded as they observed feedingactions being performed in a rational or non-rational manner. Twelve-month-olds fixatedthe goal of these actions before the food arrived (anticipation); the latency of these gazeshifts being dependent (r = .69) on infants life experience being feed. In addition, 6- and12-month-olds dilated their pupil during observation of non-rational feeding actions. Thiseffect could not be attributed to light differences or differences in familiarity, but wasinterpreted to reflect sympathetic-like activity and arousal caused by a violation of infant’sexpectations about rationality. We argue that evaluation of rationality requires less experiencethan anticipations of action goals, suggesting a dual process account of preverbalinfants’ everyday action understanding

Women’s Conception in Anna’s Brigaderes Prose (until 1915)

Bakalaura darbā „Sievietes koncepcija Annas Brigaderes prozā (līdz 1915. gadam)” raksturota Annas Brigaderes literārās darbības izteikta īpatnība – interese par sievietes garīgo pasauli un viņas vērtību sistēmu. Sieviešu raksturi rakstnieces daiļradē sistematizēti kā mātes, uzticīgas mīlētājas, sievas, māsas un baudītājas tipi, kas darbā raksturoti ar zīmīgiem prozas tekstiem. Rakstnieces ētiskais ideāls vistiešāk orientēts uz māti un viņas garīgo pasauli. Uzmanība pievērsta rakstnieces ētiskuma dominantei, reliģiskā tendējumā uzsverot ticības un lūgšanas nozīmi sievietes morālajā izvēlē un rīcībā. Brigaderiskās sievietes koncepcijas pamatā ciešanas un pārdzīvojumi, kas rodas iemīļotā cilvēka dēļ. Brigaderes daiļrade vispārināta kā īpaša orientācija uz sievietes tēlojuma dominanti, saskatot tieši sievišķajā nozīmīgas vispārcilvēciskas vērtības.Bachelor’s thesis „Women’s conception in Anna’s Brigaderes prose (until 1915)” it is characterized Anna’s Brigadere’s peculiarity of her literar working – interest about woman’s spiritual world and her value system. Characters of women in her literary works are arranged as mother’s, faithful lover’s, wife’s, sister’s and of a woman who likes to enjoy types. All these types are characterized by texts of prose. The moral ideal of writer is oriented to a mother and to her mental world. The attention is turned to moral of a writer, in a mental way making an accent to belief and prayer in life of a woman. In the base of Brigadere’s woman’s conception is pain and suffering caused by a man who this woman loves. Creation of Brigadere is generalized as a special orientation to a woman, specially in feminism it is well to see important global values

In the Best Interest of the Child: the Norwegian Approach to Child Protection

Abstract In the present paper, we discuss three challenges with the Norwegian Child Protective System (CPS) that might have contributed to the recent criticism from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). First, how to balance the rights of the child with those of the parents. Second, the psychological field’s influence on the interpretation of what constitutes the best interest of the child, and third we describe several missing links in the CPS work. Throughout the paper, we find indications of a well-developed Act, but a less optional CPS practice. Likewise, we find evidence for a narrow interpretation of the best interest of the child related to CPS and expert psychologists’ application of attachment theory, and several organizational and educational shortcomings in the area of CPS. We conclude that the child is not fully seen as a legal subject in the eyes of the ECtHR, and that more research into CPS measures and organization are needed to better deliver adequate assistance to vulnerable families

Recruiting Eyewitness Science in Criminal Investigations: The Pocket Man Case

Do surveillance shots and phantom drawings of the perpetrator in child abuse cases, images that are widely published in public media, contaminate the identifications made by young victims? This question was raised in the later phases of the investigations into a Norwegian child abuse case that involved a large number of victims, where a suspect was apprehended, and a photo lineup with the victims was planned. The police sought to answer the question by conducting a simple experiment: Two samples of participants – children in the age range of the real victims but from a different part of the country, and police cadets – were presented with the published photographs and drawings of the suspect; after a short interval, they were asked to pick the man they had seen in a 12-person photo lineup that was planned to be used with the real victims. The results showed that media exposure – surveillance shots and phantom drawings – in this case did not increase the probability of selecting the suspect. It is concluded that criminal investigations in some cases may profit from research evaluations of police procedures and eyewitness performance, supporting the investigative process by sorting out unreliable procedures and increasing the quality of the evidence

Førsamtaler på godt og vondt: Effekter på senere tilrettelagte avhør i lys av vitnepsykologisk forskning

Det er heller praksis enn unntaket at barn forklarer seg om hendelser som kan værestraffbare, til ulike aktører før et tilrettelagt avhør finner sted. Ettersom påvirkning kanvære en betydelig faktor i forbindelse med slike førsamtaler, har det tidligere vært anbe-falt at førsamtaler helst ikke bør forkomme. Ny forskning viser imidlertid at pålitelig-heten kan bevares så lenge disse aktørene tar hensyn til barns sårbarhetsfaktorer oglegger opp samtalene i tråd med anbefalinger. I denne artikkelen vurderer forfatternedagens førsamtale- og avhørspraksis ut fra Lanzarote-konvensjonen og vitnepsykolo-giske anbefalinger

Aberrant Resting-State Functional Connectivity in the Salience Network of Adolescent Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Neural network investigations are currently absent in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). In this study, we examine whether the core intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) are altered in adolescent CFS patients. Eighteen adolescent patients with CFS and 18 aged matched healthy adolescent control subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rfMRI). Data was analyzed using dual-regression independent components analysis, which is a data-driven approach for the identification of independent brain networks. Intrinsic connectivity was evaluated in the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and central executive network (CEN). Associations between network characteristics and symptoms of CFS were also explored. Adolescent CFS patients displayed a significant decrease in SN functional connectivity to the right posterior insula compared to healthy comparison participants, which was related to fatigue symptoms. Additionally, there was an association between pain intensity and SN functional connectivity to the left middle insula and caudate that differed between adolescent patients and healthy comparison participants. Our findings of insula dysfunction and its association with fatigue severity and pain intensity in adolescent CFS demonstrate an aberration of the salience network which might play a role in CFS pathophysiology

Emotional conflict processing in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome: A pilot study using functional magnetic resonance imaging

Introduction: Studies of neurocognition suggest that abnormalities in cognitive control contribute to the pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in adolescents, yet these abnormalities remain poorly understood at the neurobiological level. Reports indicate that adolescents with CFS are significantly impaired in conflict processing, a primary element of cognitive control. Method: In this study, we examine whether emotional conflict processing is altered on behavioral and neural levels in adolescents with CFS and a healthy comparison group. Fifteen adolescent patients with CFS and 24 healthy adolescent participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing an emotional conflict task that involved categorizing facial affect while ignoring overlaid affect labeled words. Results: Adolescent CFS patients were less able to engage the left amygdala and left midposterior insula (mpINS) in response to conflict than the healthy comparison group. An association between accuracy interference and conflict-related reactivity in the amygdala was observed in CFS patients. A relationship between response time interference and conflict-related reactivity in the mpINS was also reported. Neural responses in the amygdala and mpINS were specific to fatigue severity. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that adolescent CFS patients displayed deficits in emotional conflict processing. Our results suggest abnormalities in affective and cognitive functioning of the salience network, which might underlie the pathophysiology of adolescent CFS

Emotional conflict processing in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome: A pilot study using functional magnetic resonance imaging

Introduction: Studies of neurocognition suggest that abnormalities in cognitive control contribute to the pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in adolescents, yet these abnormalities remain poorly understood at the neurobiological level. Reports indicate that adolescents with CFS are significantly impaired in conflict processing, a primary element of cognitive control. Method: In this study, we examine whether emotional conflict processing is altered on behavioral and neural levels in adolescents with CFS and a healthy comparison group. Fifteen adolescent patients with CFS and 24 healthy adolescent participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing an emotional conflict task that involved categorizing facial affect while ignoring overlaid affect labeled words. Results: Adolescent CFS patients were less able to engage the left amygdala and left midposterior insula (mpINS) in response to conflict than the healthy comparison group. An association between accuracy interference and conflict-related reactivity in the amygdala was observed in CFS patients. A relationship between response time interference and conflict-related reactivity in the mpINS was also reported. Neural responses in the amygdala and mpINS were specific to fatigue severity. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that adolescent CFS patients displayed deficits in emotional conflict processing. Our results suggest abnormalities in affective and cognitive functioning of the salience network, which might underlie the pathophysiology of adolescent CFS. The final version of this research has been published in Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology. © 2017 Taylor & Franci

The association of PTSD symptom severity with amygdala nuclei volumes in traumatized youths

The amygdala is a core component in neurobiological models of stress and stress-related pathologies, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While numerous studies have reported increased amygdala activity following traumatic stress exposure and in PTSD, the findings regarding amygdala volume have been mixed. One reason for these mixed findings may be that the amygdala has been considered as a homogenous entity, while it in fact consists of several nuclei with unique cellular and connectivity profiles. Here, we investigated amygdala nuclei volumes of the basolateral and the centrocorticomedial complex in relation to PTSD symptom severity in 47 young survivors from the 2011 Norwegian terror attack 24–36 months post-trauma. PTSD symptoms were assessed 4–5, 14–15 and 24–36 months following the trauma. We found that increased PTSD symptom severity 24–36 months post-trauma was associated with volumetric reductions of all basolateral as well as the central and the medial nuclei. However, only the lateral nucleus was associated with longitudinal symptom development, and mediated the association between 4–5 months and 24–36 months post-trauma symptoms. The results suggest that the amygdala nuclei may be differentially associated with cross-sectional and longitudinal measures of PTSD symptom severity. As such, investigations of amygdala total volume may not provide an adequate index of the association between amygdala and stress-related mental illness

The association of PTSD symptom severity with amygdala nuclei volumes in traumatized youths

The amygdala is a core component in neurobiological models of stress and stress-related pathologies, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While numerous studies have reported increased amygdala activity following traumatic stress exposure and in PTSD, the findings regarding amygdala volume have been mixed. One reason for these mixed findings may be that the amygdala has been considered as a homogenous entity, while it in fact consists of several nuclei with unique cellular and connectivity profiles. Here, we investigated amygdala nuclei volumes of the basolateral and the centrocorticomedial complex in relation to PTSD symptom severity in 47 young survivors from the 2011 Norwegian terror attack 24–36 months post-trauma. PTSD symptoms were assessed 4–5, 14–15 and 24–36 months following the trauma. We found that increased PTSD symptom severity 24–36 months post-trauma was associated with volumetric reductions of all basolateral as well as the central and the medial nuclei. However, only the lateral nucleus was associated with longitudinal symptom development, and mediated the association between 4–5 months and 24–36 months post-trauma symptoms. The results suggest that the amygdala nuclei may be differentially associated with cross-sectional and longitudinal measures of PTSD symptom severity. As such, investigations of amygdala total volume may not provide an adequate index of the association between amygdala and stress-related mental illness