Too anxious to control : the relation between math anxiety and inhibitory control processes

Based on the attentional control theory, math anxiety has been explained in terms of impaired inhibition, a key cognitive control function associated with the central executive. Inhibition allows us to suppress task-irrelevant interference when needed. Inspired by the Dual Mechanisms of Control theory, the current study aimed to disentangle the effect of math anxiety on two cognitive control aspects that can be identified in inhibition. Reactive control occurs after interference is detected and is mostly used in a context where interference is scarce. Proactive control is used to prevent and anticipate interference before it occurs and is preferred in contexts where interference is frequent. We used an arrow flanker task where the proportion of interference was manipulated to stimulate the use of a reactive or proactive control strategy. The results showed that response times on trials containing interference increased with math anxiety, but only in a reactive task context. In a proactive task context response times were not influenced by math anxiety. Our results suggest that math anxiety impairs reactive control. We hypothesize that this finding can be explained by a higher state of distractibility, triggered both by the reactive context and by math anxiety

The Flexibility of Nonconsciously Deployed Cognitive Processes: Evidence from Masked Congruence Priming

Background: It is well accepted in the subliminal priming literature that task-level properties modulate nonconscious processes. For example, in tasks with a limited number of targets, subliminal priming effects are limited to primes that are physically similar to the targets. In contrast, when a large number of targets are used, subliminal priming effects are observed for primes that share a semantic (but not necessarily physical) relationship with the target. Findings such as these have led researchers to conclude that task-level properties can direct nonconscious processes to be deployed exclusively over central (semantic) or peripheral (physically specified) representations. Principal Findings: We find distinct patterns of masked priming for "novel" and "repeated" primes within a single task context. Novel primes never appear as targets and thus are not seen consciously in the experiment. Repeated primes do appear as targets, thereby lending themselves to the establishment of peripheral stimulus-response mappings. If the source of the masked priming effect were exclusively central or peripheral, then both novel and repeated primes should yield similar patterns of priming. In contrast, we find that both novel and repeated primes produce robust, yet distinct, patterns of priming. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that nonconsciously elicited cognitive processes can be flexibly deployed over both central and peripheral representations within a single task context. While we agree that task-level properties can influence nonconscious processes, our findings sharply constrain the extent of this influence. Specifically, our findings are inconsistent with extant accounts which hold that the influence of task-level properties is strong enough to restrict the deployment of nonconsciously elicited cognitive processes to a single type of representation (i.e. central or peripheral).13 page(s

Standardizing the classification of skin tears: validity and reliability testing of the International Skin Tear Advisory Panel Classification System in 44 countries

Background: Skin tears are acute wounds that are frequently misdiagnosed and under‐reported. A standardized and globally adopted skin tear classification system with supporting evidence for diagnostic validity and reliability is required to allow assessment and reporting in a consistent way. Objectives:To measure the validity and reliability of the International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP) Classification System internationally. Methods: A multicountry study was set up to validate the content of the ISTAP Classification System through expert consultation in a two‐round Delphi procedure involving 17 experts from 11 countries. An online survey including 24 skin tear photographs was conducted in a convenience sample of 1601 healthcare professionals from 44 countries to measure diagnostic accuracy, agreement, inter‐rater reliability and intrarater reliability of the instrument. Results:A definition for the concept of a ‘skin flap’ in the area of skin tears was developed and added to the initial ISTAP Classification System consisting of three skin tear types. The overall agreement with the reference standard was 0·79 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0·79–0·80] and sensitivity ranged from 0·74 (95% CI 0·73–0·75) to 0·88 (95% CI 0·87–0·88). The inter‐rater reliability was 0·57 (95% CI 0·57–0·57). The Cohen's Kappa measuring intrarater reliability was 0·74 (95% CI 0·73–0·75). Conclusions: The ISTAP Classification System is supported by evidence for validity and reliability. The ISTAP Classification System should be used for systematic assessment and reporting of skin tears in clinical practice and research globally.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Flexible Nature of Unconscious Cognition

The cognitive signature of unconscious processes is hotly debated recently. Generally, consciousness is thought to mediate flexible, adaptive and goal-directed behavior, but in the last decade unconscious processing has rapidly gained ground on traditional conscious territory. In this study we demonstrate that the scope and impact of unconscious information on behavior and brain activity can be modulated dynamically on a trial-by-trial basis. Participants performed a Go/No-Go experiment in which an unconscious (masked) stimulus preceding a conscious target could be associated with either a Go or No-Go response. Importantly, the mapping of stimuli onto these actions varied on a trial-by-trial basis, preventing the formation of stable associations and hence the possibility that unconscious stimuli automatically activate these control actions. By eliminating stimulus-response associations established through practice we demonstrate that unconscious information can be processed in a flexible and adaptive manner. In this experiment we show that the same unconscious stimulus can have a substantially different effect on behavior and (prefrontal) brain activity depending on the rapidly changing task context in which it is presented. This work suggests that unconscious information processing shares many sophisticated characteristics (including flexibility and context-specificity) with its conscious counterpart

Multimorbidity Patterns in the Elderly: A New Approach of Disease Clustering Identifies Complex Interrelations between Chronic Conditions

Objective: Multimorbidity is a common problem in the elderly that is significantly associated with higher mortality, increased disability and functional decline. Information about interactions of chronic diseases can help to facilitate diagnosis, amend prevention and enhance the patients ’ quality of life. The aim of this study was to increase the knowledge of specific processes of multimorbidity in an unselected elderly population by identifying patterns of statistically significantly associated comorbidity. Methods: Multimorbidity patterns were identified by exploratory tetrachoric factor analysis based on claims data of 63,104 males and 86,176 females in the age group 65+. Analyses were based on 46 diagnosis groups incorporating all ICD-10 diagnoses of chronic diseases with a prevalence $ 1%. Both genders were analyzed separately. Persons were assigned to multimorbidity patterns if they had at least three diagnosis groups with a factor loading of 0.25 on the corresponding pattern. Results: Three multimorbidity patterns were found: 1) cardiovascular/metabolic disorders [prevalence female: 30%; male: 39%], 2) anxiety/depression/somatoform disorders and pain [34%; 22%], and 3) neuropsychiatric disorders [6%; 0.8%]. The sampling adequacy was meritorious (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure: 0.85 and 0.84, respectively) and the factors explained a large part of the variance (cumulative percent: 78 % and 75%, respectively). The patterns were largely age-dependent an

The influence of age, gender and socio-economic status on multimorbidity patterns in primary care. first results from the multicare cohort study

Background: Multimorbidity is a phenomenon with high burden and high prevalence in the elderly. Our previous research has shown that multimorbidity can be divided into the multimorbidity patterns of 1) anxiety, depression, somatoform disorders (ADS) and pain, and 2) cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. However, it is not yet known, how these patterns are influenced by patient characteristics. The objective of this paper is to analyze the association of socio-demographic variables, and especially socio-economic status with multimorbidity in general and with each multimorbidity pattern. Methods: The MultiCare Cohort Study is a multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study of 3.189 multimorbid patients aged 65+ randomly selected from 158 GP practices. Data were collected in GP interviews and comprehensive patient interviews. Missing values have been imputed by hot deck imputation based on Gower distance in morbidity and other variables. The association of patient characteristics with the number of chronic conditions is analysed by multilevel mixed-effects linear regression analyses. Results: Multimorbidity in general is associated with age (+0.07 chronic conditions per year), gender (-0.27 conditions for female), education (-0.26 conditions for medium and -0.29 conditions for high level vs. low level) and income (-0.27 conditions per logarithmic unit). The pattern of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders shows comparable associations with a higher coefficient for gender (-1.29 conditions for female), while multimorbidity within the pattern of ADS and pain correlates with gender (+0.79 conditions for female), but not with age or socioeconomic status. Conclusions: Our study confirms that the morbidity load of multimorbid patients is associated with age, gender and the socioeconomic status of the patients, but there were no effects of living arrangements and marital status. We could also show that the influence of patient characteristics is dependent on the multimorbidity pattern concerned, i.e. there seem to be at least two types of elderly multimorbid patients. First, there are patients with mainly cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, who are more often male, have an older age and a lower socio-economic status. Second, there are patients mainly with ADS and pain-related morbidity, who are more often female and equally distributed across age and socio-economic groups

Specialist involvement and referral patterns in ambulatory medical care for patients with dementia in Germany: results of a claims data based case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To analyze the referral processes from general practitioners to specialists and among specialists for dementia patients in the time periods before, during and after the diagnosis in Germany.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this case-control study claims data from 1,848 insurants with incident dementia aged 65 years and more and 7,392 matched controls were compared over a two-year period covering the pre-incidence, incidence and post-incidence time periods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found an increase in referrals of 30% in the incidence quarter, mainly from general practice to neuropsychiatry and from there to radiology. Referrals to clinical chemistry and other disciplines for dementia-specific reasons were negligible in amount. 34% of incident cases had at least one contact with a neuropsychiatrist during the year of incidence, and the majority of them visited this specialist repeatedly during that year. Only a minority (13.5%) of patients was referred to radiology for imaging. Referrals to other specialists declined whereas self-referrals did not increase.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The referral rates to relevant specialists (neuropsychiatry, radiology and clinical chemistry) are far less frequent than proposed in German guidelines. More research is needed to explain the gape between guidelines and daily care and to find ways for a better implementation of guidelines in ambulatory care. Guidelines should not only deal with diagnostic procedures and therapeutic options but also consider questions of applicability in daily clinical practice and propose effective organizational models of care provision.</p

Towards an international language for incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD): design and evaluation of psychometric properties of the Ghent Global IAD Categorization Tool (GLOBIAD) in 30 countries

Background Incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) is a specific type of irritant contact dermatitis with different severity levels. An internationally accepted instrument to assess the severity of IAD in adults, with established diagnostic accuracy, agreement and reliability, is needed to support clinical practice and research. Objectives To design the Ghent Global IAD Categorization Tool (GLOBIAD) and evaluate its psychometric properties. Methods The design was based on expert consultation using a three-round Delphi procedure with 34 experts from 13 countries. The instrument was tested using IAD photographs, which reflected different severity levels, in a sample of 823 healthcare professionals from 30 countries. Measures for diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity and specificity), agreement, interrater reliability (multirater Fleiss kappa) and intrarater reliability (Cohen’s kappa) were assessed. Results The GLOBIAD consists of two categories based on the presence of persistent redness (category 1) and skin loss (category 2), both of which are subdivided based on the presence of clinical signs of infection. The agreement for differentiating between category 1 and category 2 was 0 86 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0 86–0 87], with a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 84%. The overall agreement was 0 55 (95% CI 0 55–0 56). The Fleiss kappa for differentiating between category 1 and category 2 was 0 65 (95% CI 0 65–0 65). The overall Fleiss kappa was 0 41 (95% CI 0 41–0 41). The Cohen’s kappa for differentiating between category 1 and category 2 was 0 76 (95% CI 0 75–0 77). The overall Cohen’s kappa was 0 61 (95% CI 0 59–0 62). Conclusions The development of the GLOBIAD is a major step towards a better systematic assessment of IAD in clinical practice and research worldwide. However, further validation is needed.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A genome-wide survey of human short-term memory

Recent advances in the development of high-throughput genotyping platforms allow for the unbiased identification of genes and genomic sequences related to heritable traits. In this study, we analyzed human short-term memory, which refers to the ability to remember information over a brief period of time and which has been found disturbed in many neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia and depression. We performed a genome-wide survey at 909 622 polymorphic loci and report six genetic variations significantly associated with human short-term memory performance after genome-wide correction for multiple comparisons. A polymorphism within SCN1A (encoding the α subunit of the type I voltage-gated sodium channel) was replicated in three independent populations of 1699 individuals. Functional magnetic resonance imaging during an n-back working memory task detected SCN1A allele-dependent activation differences in brain regions typically involved in working memory processes. These results suggest an important role for SCN1A in human short-term memory