Attitudes of Black Socioeconomic Classes In The Greater Kansas City Area Relative To Black Psychology

Four hundred and twenty-nine questionnaires developed by the investigator were distributed to Black white collar, blue collar, farm, and service workers in the Metropolitan Kansas City Area. The questionnaires, of which 383 were returned, were designed to determine whether the subjects perceived themselves as being different from the dominant society, to assess their attitudes about the need for a Black Psychology which concerns itself with the unique behavioral characteristics of Black Americans, and to see whether those assessments differed according to socioeconomic status. The subjects who comprised the convenience sample were contacted through several agencies including the U.S. Department of Labor, nursing homes, hospitals, construction companies, and business unions. Findings were: 1.) Blacks perceived themselves as equal to other people, yet acknowledged the presence of measurable differences in the Black social structure and family life; 2.) the degree of perceived differences in heritage, need for psychology, priorities, etc. varied according to socioeconomic status; and 3.) the need for a Black Psychology or a change in the prevailing psychological framework was overdue. All results were significant at the .01 or .001 levels

Aging and Network Properties: Stability Over Time and Links with Learning during Working Memory Training

Growing evidence suggests that healthy aging affects the configuration of large-scale functional brain networks. This includes reducing network modularity and local efficiency. However, the stability of these effects over time and their potential role in learning remain poorly understood. The goal of the present study was to further clarify previously reported age effects on “resting-state” networks, to test their reliability over time, and to assess their relation to subsequent learning during training. Resting-state fMRI data from 23 young (YA) and 20 older adults (OA) were acquired in 2 sessions 2 weeks apart. Graph-theoretic analyses identified both consistencies in network structure and differences in module composition between YA and OA, suggesting topological changes and less stability of functional network configuration with aging. Brain-wide, OA showed lower modularity and local efficiency compared to YA, consistent with the idea of age-related functional dedifferentiation, and these effects were replicable over time. At the level of individual networks, OA consistently showed greater participation and lower local efficiency and within-network connectivity in the cingulo-opercular network, as well as lower intra-network connectivity in the default-mode network and greater participation of the somato-sensorimotor network, suggesting age-related differential effects at the level of specialized brain modules. Finally, brain-wide network properties showed associations, albeit limited, with learning rates, as assessed with 10 days of computerized working memory training administered after the resting-state sessions, suggesting that baseline network configuration may influence subsequent learning outcomes. Identification of neural mechanisms associated with learning-induced plasticity is important for further clarifying whether and how such changes predict the magnitude and maintenance of training gains, as well as the extent and limits of cognitive transfer in both younger and older adults

Age differences in functional network reconfiguration with working memory training

Demanding cognitive functions like working memory (WM) depend on functional brain networks being able to communicate efficiently while also maintaining some degree of modularity. Evidence suggests that aging can disrupt this balance between integration and modularity. In this study, we examined how cognitive training affects the integration and modularity of functional networks in older and younger adults. Twenty three younger and 23 older adults participated in 10- days of verbal WM training, leading to performance gains in both age groups. Older adults exhibited lower modularity overall and a greater decrement when switching from rest to task, compared to younger adults. Interestingly, younger but not older adults showed increased task- related modularity with training. Furthermore, whereas training increased efficiency within, and decreased participation of, the default- mode network for younger adults, it enhanced efficiency within a task- specific salience/sensorimotor network for older adults. Finally, training increased segregation of the default- mode from frontoparietal/salience and visual networks in younger adults, while it diffusely increased between- network connectivity in older adults. Thus, while younger adults increase network segregation with training, suggesting more automated processing, older adults persist in, and potentially amplify, a more integrated and costly global workspace, suggesting different age- related trajectories in functional network reorganization with WM training.We examined how working memory (WM) training affects the integration and modularity of functional networks in older and younger adults. Younger adults increase network segregation with training, suggesting more automated processing. Older adults persist in, and potentially amplify, a more integrated and costly global workspace, suggesting different age- related trajectories in functional network reorganization with WM training.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167029/1/hbm25337.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167029/2/hbm25337-sup-0001-supinfo.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167029/3/hbm25337_am.pd