Do trauma cue exposure and/or PTSD symptom severity intensify selective approach bias toward cannabis cues in regular cannabis users with trauma histories?

Trauma cue-elicited activation of automatic cannabis-related cognitive biases are theorized to contribute to comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder and cannabis use disorder. This phenomenon can be studied experimentally by combining the trauma cue reactivity paradigm (CRP) with cannabis-related cognitive processing tasks. In this study, we used a computerized cannabis approach-avoidance task (AAT) to assess automatic cannabis (vs. neutral) approach bias following personalized trauma (vs. neutral) CRP exposure. We hypothesized that selective cannabis (vs. neutral) approach biases on the AAT would be larger among participants with higher PTSD symptom severity, particularly following trauma (vs. neutral) cue exposure. We used a within-subjects experimental design with a continuous between-subjects moderator (PTSD symptom severity). Participants were exposed to both a trauma and neutral CRP in random order, completing a cannabis AAT (cannabis vs. neutral stimuli) following each cue exposure. Current cannabis users with histories of psychological trauma (n = 50; 34% male; mean age = 37.8 years) described their most traumatic lifetime event, and a similarly-detailed neutral event, according to an established interview protocol that served as the CRP. As hypothesized, an AAT stimulus type x PTSD symptom severity interaction emerged (p = .042) with approach bias greater to cannabis than neutral stimuli for participants with higher (p = .006), but not lower (p = .36), PTSD symptom severity. Contrasting expectations, the stimulus type x PTSD symptoms effect was not intensified by trauma cue exposure (p = .19). Selective cannabis approach bias may be chronically activated in cannabis users with higher PTSD symptom severity and may serve as an automatic cognitive mechanism to help explain PTSD-CUD co-morbidity.</p

Digital transformations and the archival nature of surrogates

Large-scale digitization is generating extraordinary collections of visual and textual surrogates, potentially endowed with transcendent long-term cultural and research values. Understanding the nature of digital surrogacy is a substantial intellectual opportunity for archival science and the digital humanities, because of the increasing independence of surrogate collections from their archival sources. The paper presents an argument that one of the most significant requirements for the long-term access to collections of digital surrogates is to treat digital surrogates as archival records that embody traces of their fluid lifecycles and therefore are worthy of management and preservation as archives. It advances a theory of the archival nature of surrogacy founded on longstanding notions of archival quality, the traces of their source and the conditions of their creation, and the functional ‘‘work of the archive.’’ The paper presents evidence supporting a ‘‘secondary provenance’’ derived from re-digitization, re-ingestion of multiple versions, and de facto replacement of the original sources. The design of the underlying research that motivates the paper and summary findings are reported separately. The research has been supported generously by the US Institute of Museum and Library Services.Institute for Museum and Library ServicesPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111825/1/J26 Conway Digital Transformations 2014-pers.pdfDescription of J26 Conway Digital Transformations 2014-pers.pdf : Main articl

Thought Problems from Adolescence to Adulthood: Measurement Invariance and Longitudinal Heritability

This study investigates the longitudinal heritability in Thought Problems (TP) as measured with ten items from the Adult Self Report (ASR). There were ~9,000 twins, ~2,000 siblings and ~3,000 additional family members who participated in the study and who are registered at the Netherlands Twin Register. First an exploratory factor analysis was conducted to examine the underlying factor structure of the TP-scale. Then the TP-scale was tested for measurement invariance (MI) across age and sex. Next, genetic and environmental influences were modeled on the longitudinal development of TP across three age groups (12–18, 19–27 and 28–59 year olds) based on the twin and sibling relationships in the data. An exploratory factor analysis yielded a one-factor solution, and MI analyses indicated that the same TP-construct is assessed across age and sex. Two additive genetic components influenced TP across age: the first influencing TP throughout all age groups, while the second arises during young adulthood and stays significant throughout adulthood. The additive genetic components explained 37% of the variation across all age groups. The remaining variance (63%) was explained by unique environmental influences. The longitudinal phenotypic correlation between these age groups was entirely explained by the additive genetic components. We conclude that the TP-scale measures a single underlying construct across sex and different ages. These symptoms are significantly influenced by additive genetic factors from adolescence to late adulthood

Collaboration Services in a Participatory Digital Library: An Emerging Design

Digital libraries need to provide and extend traditional library services in the digital environment. This paper presents a project that will provide and extend library services through the development of a sharium-a workspace with rich content and powerful tools where people can collaborate with others or work independently to explore information resources, learn, and solve their information problems. A sharium is a learning environment that combines the features of a collaboratory, where people collectively engage in research by sharing rich information resources, and a local library, where people come to meet, find information resources, and discuss common interests. To achieve this, collaboration services that build on synchronous and asynchronous communication technology should be integrated with other digital library services, including searching, browsing, and information management and authoring services. This paper presents our motivation for providing collaboration services and describes the types of collaboration services that will be included in the digital library

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in the community : 12-month prevalence, comorbidity and impairment

Although subthreshold conditions are associated with impairment in numerous disorders, research on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) below the diagnostic threshold of DSM-IV in the general population is limited. Estimate the DSM-IV 12-month prevalence, comorbidity and impairment of OCD, subthreshold OCD (i.e., fulfilling some but not all core DSM-IV criteria), and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) (i.e., endorsement of OCS without fulfilling any core DSM-IV criteria) in a general population sample. Data from the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey - Mental Health Supplement (N = 4181, age 18-65 years), based on the standardized diagnostic interview Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The 12-month prevalence of OCD was 0.7%, subthreshold OCD was 4.5%, and OCS was 8.3%. Subjects in all three groups showed higher comorbidity (odds ratios [ORs] € ≥ 3.3), compared to those without OCS. OCD, subthreshold OCD and OCS were all associated with increased odds of substance abuse/dependence-, mood-, anxiety- and somatoform disorders, with especially strong associations with possible psychotic disorder (ORs € ≥ 4.1) and bipolar disorders (ORs € ≥ 4.7). Participants in all three groups showed higher impairment (ORs € ≥ 3.1) and health-care utilization (ORs € ≥ 2.4), compared to those without OCS, even after controlling for covariates. Individuals with subthreshold OCD and OCS, not currently captured by DSM-IV OCD criteria, nevertheless show substantial comorbidity, impairment and health-care utilization

Collaboration Services in a Participatory Digital Library: An Emerging Design

Digital libraries need to provide and extend traditional library services in the digital environment. This paper presents a project that will provide and extend library services through the development of a sharium-a workspace with rich content and powerful tools where people can collaborate with others or work independently to explore information resources, learn, and solve their information problems. A sharium is a learning environment that combines the features of a collaboratory, where people collectively engage in research by sharing rich information resources, and a local library, where people come to meet, find information resources, and discuss common interests. To achieve this, collaboration services that build on synchronous and asynchronous communication technology should be integrated with other digital library services, including searching, browsing, and information management and authoring services. This paper presents our motivation for providing collaboration services and describes the types of collaboration services that will be included in the digital library