Neural Effects of the Social Environment

Epidemiological studies have suggested that the association between city upbringing and minority status with risk for schizophrenia can be explained by social mechanisms. Neuroimaging approaches hold promise for investigating this claim. Recent studies have shown that in healthy individuals, city upbringing and minority status are associated with increased activity in brain circuits involved in emotion regulation during social evaluative processing. These findings support the hypothesis that changes in the ability to regulate social stress contribute to the mechanism of risk. This is in accordance with a body of evidence demonstrating the sensitivity of the human brain to social stress, based on observational studies investigating the neurological sequelae of interpersonal trauma and experimental studies manipulating exposure to interpersonal distress. In this report, we summarize these initial findings, discuss methodological and conceptual challenges of pursuing this line of inquiry in schizophrenia, and suggest an outline for future research

First-Year Progression and Retention of Autistic Students in Higher Education:A Propensity Score-Weighted Population Study

Background: Autistic individuals’ enrollment in universities is increasing, but we know little about their study progress over time. Many of them have poor degree completion in comparison to students with other disabilities. However, longitudinal studies on study progression over time of autistic students (AS) in comparison to their peers are absent. It is essential to study AS outcomes during the first year, controlling against the results of students without disabilities. Methods: This preregistered population study examined first-year progression and retention within the same area of study of autistic bachelor students (n = 96; age M = 20.0 years, 95% confidence interval [CI] 18.0–21.0) in comparison to students without disabilities (n = 25,001; age M = 19.0 years, 95% CI 18.0–20.0), enrolled in the same area of study at a major Dutch university. To control for substantial differences in sample sizes and differences in demographics or prior education, we applied propensity score weighting to balance outcomes. We analyzed progression and retention, examining the average grades, the number of examinations, resits, no shows, the credit accumulation in each period, and the average retention after the first year. Results: Over the course of the first bachelor year, AS received grades similar to students with no disabilities. We found no statistical differences in the number of examinations, resits, and no shows. Credit accumulation was generally similar during the academic year except for one of seven periods, and retention within the same area of study revealed no differences. Conclusions: This study shows that AS have similar success rates compared with students with no disabilities but could benefit from additional support on test-taking. Improved insights can enable universities to develop appro- priate and timely support for often-talented students, improve first-year retention, and advance degree completion

The relation between executive functions and school performance in healthy adolescents

Boschloo, A., Krabbendam, L., De Groot, R., & Jolles, J. (2012, April). The relation between executive functions and school performance in healthy adolescents. Poster presented at the Development of executive functions workshop, Utrecht, The Netherlands.How well do executive function tests and questionnaires predict school performance in healthy adolescents? This was investigated in 173 healthy adolescents aged 12-­18 years who study at pre-university education level (in Dutch: vwo). Executive functions were measured with the D-­KEFS subtests Sorting Test and Tower Test, and with the BRIEF-­SR. School performance was measured with end of term grades for Dutch, English and mathematics

Brief Report:Gender Identity Differences in Autistic Adults: Associations with Perceptual and Socio-cognitive Profiles

Prior research has shown an elevation in autism traits and diagnoses in individuals seen for gender related consultation and in participants self-identifying as transgender. To investigate this relationship between autism and gender identity from a new angle, we compared the self-reported autism traits and sensory differences between participants with autism who did or did not identify with their assigned sex (i.e. cisgender or trans and non-binary, respectively). We found broad elevation of most cognitive autism traits in the trans and non-binary group (those who identified with a gender other than their assigned gender), and lower visual and auditory hypersensitivity. We contrast these data to existing hypotheses and propose a role for autistic resistance to social conditioning

Do You Approach Positive Events or Do They Approach You? Linking Event Valence and Time Representations in a Dutch Sample

In order to think and talk about time, people often use the ego- or time-moving representation. In the ego-moving representation, the self travels through a temporal landscape, leaving past events behind and approaching future events; in the time-moving representation, the self is stationary and temporal events pass by. Several studies contest to the psychological ramifications of these two representations by, inter alia, demonstrating a link between them and event valence. These studies have, however, been limited to English speakers, even though language has been found to affect time representation. The present study therefore replicated Margolies and Crawford’s (2008) experiment on event valence and time representation amongst speakers of Dutch. Unlike Margolies and Crawford (2008), we do not find that positive valence leads to the endorsement of an ego-moving statement. Future studies will need to determine the ways through which language might moderate the relation between event valence and time representation

Implementation of a neuropsychological intervention in secondary school: Targeting executive problems in young adolescent boys

Dekker, S. J., Krabbendam, L., Gemmink, M. M., De Groot, R. H. M., & Jolles, J. (2011, June). Implementation of a neuropsychological intervention in secondary school: Targeting executive problems in young adolescent boy. Poster presented at the 3rd Biennial Conference of the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society, San Diego, United States.The aim of our research is to implement and evaluate a recently developed neuropsychological intervention in a school setting

The behavioural assessment of the dysexecutive syndrome as a tool to assess executive functions in schizophrenia

Recent research into the cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia has focused on executive deficits. This study investigates performance of patients with schizophrenia on the recently developed Behavourial Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS). Matched groups of 24 patients with schizophrenia and 17 healthy volunteers were administered the BADS, the Modified Card Sorting Test (MCST), the Tower of London (TOL), a test of general intelligence, and measures of daily functioning. Performance of the schizophrenic group was significantly below that of the control group on the BADS and the MCST, but not on the TOL. The BADS correlated weakly with the MCST. Both tests showed a modest correlation with daily functioning. The BADS appears to offer a useful contribution to the assessment of executive deficits in schizophrenia

Students' Beliefs About the Nature of Intelligence (Mindset)

Important adolescents’ career-related decisions might be influenced by their beliefs about malleability of intelligence and learning (mindset). We combined quantitative and qualitative data to provide in-depth insights in the beliefs that 13- and 14-year olds hold about learning and intelligence, the factors influencing these beliefs, and the consequences of these beliefs in relation to classroom behavior and study choices. To establish students’ mindsets quantitatively, we categorized theory of intelligence (TOI) questionnaire averaged scores into three levels: entity, intermediate, or incremental mindsets, to provide insight into the distribution of the different mindset types in our sample (N = 492). The results of this quantitative study show that more than half of the students believed intelligence is “fixed” (entity mindset), these data showed no effect of gender. To gain more in-depth insight in the views of these students, focus groups about mindset and its influences and consequences were held in a subsample (n = 176). The qualitative data provide more nuanced insights, for example, they reveal subtle gender differences regarding effort beliefs and motivation. Integrated discussion of the quantitative and qualitative results demonstrates that this multimethod approach reflects the complexity of the concept mindset better than only the widely used TOI questionnaire

Social Mindfulness and Psychosis: Neural response to socially mindful behavior in first-episode psychosis and patients at clinical high-risk

Background: Psychosis is characterized by problems in social functioning and trust, the assumed glue to positive social relations. But what helps building trust? A prime candidate could be social mindfulness: The ability and willingness to see and consider another person’s needs and wishes during social decision making. We investigated whether first-episode psychosis patients (FEP) and patients at clinical high-risk (CHR) show reduced social mindfulness, and examined the underlying neural mechanisms. Methods: Twenty FEP, 17 CHR and 46 healthy controls, aged 16-31, performed the social mindfulness task (SoMi) during fMRI scanning, spontaneously and after the instruction “to keep the other’s best interest in mind”. As first of two people, participants had to choose one out of four products, of which three were identical and one was unique, differing in a single aspect (e.g., color). Results: FEP tended to choose the unique item (unmindful choice) more often than controls. After instruction, all groups significantly increased the number of mindful choices compared to the spontaneous condition. FEP showed reduced activation of the caudate and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during mindful, and of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), mPFC, and left dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during unmindful decisions. CHR showed reduced activation of the ACC compared to controls. Discussion: FEP showed a trend towards more unmindful choices. A similar increase of mindful choices after instruction indicated the ability for social mindfulness when prompted. Results suggested reduced sensitivity to the rewarding aspects of social mindfulness in FEP, and reduced consideration for the other player. FEP (and CHR to a lesser extent) might perceive unmindful choices as less incongruent with the automatic mindful responses than controls. Reduced socially mindful behavior in FEP may hinder the building of trust and cooperative interactions