The propositional nature of human associative learning

The past 50 years have seen an accumulation of evidence suggesting that associative learning depends oil high-level cognitive processes that give rise to propositional knowledge. Yet, many learning theorists maintain a belief in a learning mechanism in which links between mental representations are formed automatically. We characterize and highlight the differences between the propositional and link approaches, and review the relevant empirical evidence. We conclude that learning is the consequence of propositional reasoning processes that cooperate with the unconscious processes involved in memory retrieval and perception. We argue that this new conceptual framework allows many of the important recent advances in associative learning research to be retained, but recast in a model that provides a firmer foundation for both immediate application and future research

Imagery rescripting for the treatment of trauma in voice hearers: a case series

Background: High rates of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are reported in people who hear voices (auditory hallucinations). A recent metanalysis of trauma interventions in psychosis showed only small improvements in PSTD symptoms and voices. Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) may be a therapy that is more effective in this population because it generalizes over memories, which is ideal in this population with typically repeated traumas. The primary aims of this study were to investigate whether ImR reduces (1) PTSD symptoms and (2) voice frequency and distress in voice hearers. Methods: A single arm open trial study, case-series design. Twelve voice hearers with previous traumas that were thematically related to their voices participated. Brief weekly assessments (administered sessions 1-8, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up) and longer measures (administered pre-, mid-, and post-intervention) were administered. Mixed regression analysis was used to analyze the results. Results: There was one treatment dropout. Results of the weekly measure showed significant linear reductions over time in all three primary variables - Voice Distress, Voice Frequency, and Trauma Intrusions - all with large effect sizes. These effects were maintained (and continued to improve for Trauma Intrusions) at 3-month follow-up. On the full assessment tools, all measures showed improvement over time, with five outcomes showing significant time effects: trauma, voice frequency, voice distress, voice malevolence and stress. Conclusion: The findings of the current study suggest that ImRs for PTSD symptoms is generally well tolerated and can be therapeutically beneficial among individuals who hear voices

Increased plasticity of the bodily self in eating disorders

Background: The rubber hand illusion (RHI) has been widely used to investigate the bodily self in healthy individuals. The aim of the present study was to extend the use of the RHI to examine the bodily self in eating disorders. Methods: The RHI and self-report measures of eating disorder psychopathology (EDI-3 subscales of Drive for Thinness, Bulimia, Body Dissatisfaction, Interoceptive Deficits, and Emotional Dysregulation; DASS-21; and the Self-Objectification Questionnaire) were administered to 78 individuals with an eating disorder and 61 healthy controls. Results: Individuals with an eating disorder experienced the RHI significantly more strongly than healthy controls on both perceptual (i.e., proprioceptive drift) and subjective (self-report questionnaire) measures. Furthermore, both the subjective experience of the RHI and associated proprioceptive biases were correlated with eating disorder psychopathology. Approximately 20% of the variance for embodiment of the fake hand was accounted for by eating disorder psychopathology, with interoceptive deficits and self-objectification significant predictors of embodiment. Conclusions: These results indicate that the bodily self is more plastic in people with an eating disorder. These findings may shed light on both aetiological and maintenance factors involved in eating disorders, particularly visual processing of the body, interoceptive deficits, and self-objectification

Transforming growth factor-beta enables NFATc1 expression during osteoclastogenesis.

Osteoclastogenesis is dependent on distinct stimuli that prime and activate osteoclast differentiation. One cytokine needed to prime monocytes for osteoclastogenesis is TGF-beta, which enables and augments RANKL and TNF-alpha-induced osteoclast differentiation. However, the precise time-period during which this occurs and the molecular mechanism mediating this action are unknown. We report here TGF-beta prime monocytes for osteoclast formation within 24h by regulating expression of NFATc1, a key osteoclastic transcription factor. TGF-beta directly induces cytoplasmic NFATc1 expression within 24h, but is unable to stimulate NFATc1 nuclear translocation. Furthermore, RANKL-induced NFATc1 expression is dependent on the presence of TGF-beta during the early stages of osteoclastogenesis. Similarly, TNF-alpha activates osteoclastogenesis by stimulating translocation of TGF-beta-induced NFATc1. In light of these findings, it is apparent that osteoclast formation is dependent on coordinated interactions between TGF-beta and RANKL/TNF-alpha that regulate the expression and intracellular distribution of NFATc1 during early stages of osteoclast differentiation

Outcome predictability biases learning.

Much of contemporary associative learning research is focused on understanding how and when the associative history of cues affects later learning about those cues. Very little work has investigated the effects of the associative history of outcomes on human learning. Three experiments extended the "learned irrelevance" paradigm from the animal conditioning literature to examine the influence of an outcome's prior predictability on subsequent learning of relationships between cues and that outcome. All 3 experiments found evidence for the idea that learning is biased by the prior predictability of the outcome. Previously predictable outcomes were readily associated with novel predictive cues, whereas previously unpredictable outcomes were more readily associated with novel nonpredictive cues. This finding highlights the importance of considering the associative history of outcomes, as well as cues, when interpreting multistage designs. Associative and cognitive explanations of this certainty matching effect are discussed

The effects of early years' childcare on child emotional and behavioural difficulties in lone and co-parent family situations

With targeted childcare initiatives and welfare-to-work programmes policy-makers have sought to address employment activation of lone mothers and negative outcomes for children in lone parent households. The present study examines non-parental childcare use and maternal employment among children living in lone and co-parent family situations at ages three and four and emotional and behavioural difficulties at ages four and five. The results demonstrate that negative outcomes associated with lone motherhood are explained largely by mother's age, education, material circumstances and area deprivation; and that maternal employment does not relieve lone mothers’ disadvantages in a way that alleviates the risks of difficulties to their children. However, in any family constellation, mainly group-based formal pre-school childcare does have a positive impact on child difficulties compared to drawing on informal childcare arrangements as main provider. In addition, and specifically for the difficulties of children in lone mother family situations, any non-parental childcare – formal or informal − for at least twenty-five hours per week is beneficial. Study findings support policy agendas which tackle families’ material hardship beyond promoting mothers’ employment, and through investment in formal childcare provision, and also through arrangements allowing lone mothers to divide their weekly load of childcare with another main provider

Home Blood Pressure Monitoring: New Evidence for an Expanded Role

In a Perspective, Mark Caulfield discusses potential implications of using home blood pressure monitoring for diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summar