Cognitive neuroscience: A field with increasing interest to school psychologists.

Reviews the book, Cognitive neuroscience: The biology of the mind by M. Gazzaniga, R. B. Ivry, and G. R. Mangun (1998). This excellent book on cognitive neuroscience provides an exposition of the key areas concerned in cognitive neuroscience for the advanced student in adult neuropsychology and/or biological psychiatry. The authors' aim to balance theory with neuropsychology utilizing neuroscientific evidence to support a theoretical basis is a major contribution of this text. In this book there has been a concerted effort to provide a theoretical basis for cognitive neuroscience in addition to a list of empirical evidence. Such an effort provides a backdrop for future research as well as linking various cognitive functions into an understandable whole. This volume provides an excellent overview of brain anatomy and function. The book is highly readable and provides excellent illustrations of complex material. The main weakness of this volume for school psychologists is the emphasis on adult disorders with no real discussion of the most common childhood disorders. Although the text assumes some familiarity with neuroanatomy, it is useful for practitioners who desire more up-to-date information in this exciting field. This volume would be an excellent textbook for courses in biological bases of behavior for doctoral-level school psychologists, provided there is accompanying information on child neuropsychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A second opinion: Review of Child development: Selected readings.

Reviews the book, Child Development: Selected Readings by L. Brockman, J. Whitely, and J. Zubek (Eds.) (1973). The editors of this volume have assembled the most suitable anthology that is available to the Canadian student of child development. The study of history, theory, early childhood, achievement motivation, second-language acquisition and child rearing practices is accomplished within a Canadian context without rendering the text too narrow in focus since the implications in each of the ten chapters are of general relevance and importance for the universal field of child development. Two emphases stand out. The first is Northway's excellent discussion on a "Casual History of Child Study in Canada", showing the role that the Institute of Child Study in Toronto has played in influencing child study in Canada. The second emphasis which stands out centers around the writings of Lambert regarding socio-cultural factors in a child's development. In addition to the above emphases, the 41 articles appearing in the book adequately cover the major areas in the field of child behaviour and development such that the book would be appropriate as a main text for a one-term course or an excellent supplementary text for a course covering the entire academic year. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Experimental techniques in human neuropsychology.

Reviews the book, Experimental techniques in human neuropsychology by H. J. Hannay (1986). With the growth of the field of neuropsychology during the last few decades, research related to the varied aspects of human neuropsychology has progressed with insufficient attention to the quality of the methods employed. Certainly, the need for this type of book is unquestionable. This edited volume is designed to present a variety of procedures and current technologies at a level which can be beneficial to both the novice and the expert researcher in various areas of neuropsychology. It is, for the most part, successful in explaining techniques in sufficient detail for the new researcher while also presenting recent advances of interest to the more experienced researcher. The volume contains chapters approximately equally divided between behavioral and physiological measures, written by authors who have established reputations in the research areas which they discuss. Although this book addressed a broad range of experimental topics in neuropsychology, it should provide particular appeal to those interested in methods of investigating cerebral dominance and asymmetry. The research populations discussed represent a diverse mix of neurologically impaired adult groups, with a brief mention of child populations in two chapters. The strength of this book lies on the questions raised about the status of current neuropsychological research techniques. The chapters are well written and are structured in a clearly organized manner that provides ready assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. Researchers in almost every area of neuropsychology should find this book a valuable aid in designing studies by avoiding the pitfalls which have beset other projects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anoxic Versus Traumatic Brain Injury: Amount of Tissue Loss, Not Etiology, Alters Cognitive and Emotional Function.

Research in neuropsychology suggests that the etiology of a neurologic injury determines the neuropathological and neuropsychological changes. This study compared neuropsychological outcome in subjects who had traumatic brain injury (TBI) with subjects who had anoxic brain injury (ABI), who were matched for age, gender, and ventricle-to-brain ratio. There were no group differences for morphologic or neuropsychological measures. Both groups exhibited impaired memory, attention, and executive function, as well as slowed mental processing speed. Intelligence correlated with whole brain volume, and measures of memory correlated with hippocampal atrophy. There was no unique contribution of hippocampal atrophy on neuropsychological outcome between the groups. In the absence of localized lesions, the amount of neural tissue loss, rather than etiology, may be the critical factor in neuropsychological outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychology evolving.

Reviews the book, From neuropsychology to mental structure by Tim Shallice (see record 1989-97122-000). The basic question that the book addresses is "what can be learned about normal function from impaired behaviour?" The author approaches this question in two ways. First, he assumes that cognitive processing is organized into basic processing elements, much like Fodor's modules. The goal is to determine how the modules function together to underlie cognitive processes. Second, Shallice asks how neuropsychological data provide inferences about the nature of the modules. Overall, I liked this book, even if I cannot easily identify with the top-down approach to studying brain function. Nonetheless, this is a volume that will force psychologists of all stripes to think about questions surrounding the study of cognition and brain function. Indeed, one can seriously ask the question of whether cognitive neuropsychology is a natural evolution of Hebb's neuropsychology as opposed to a new and divergent species that will fill a different niche. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Developmental Origins of Aggression.

Reviews the book, Developmental Origins of Aggression by Richard E. Tremblay, William W. Hartup, and John Archer (Eds.) (see record 2005-09268-000). Violence has become a "hot" topic. Omnipresent in the daily media, the subject of numerous national initiatives and investigations, we like our animal kin seem preoccupied with the subject. Despite this, however, and in the face of a rapidly progressing research literature, there is a paucity of good review material on the subject. It has been 30 years (de Wit & Hartup, 1974) since such an overview has been published. Edited by (including chapters by) three of the field's most productive investigators, this book fills a much needed gap. The aim of this book is to provide an "overview of the state of knowledge on the developmental origins of aggressive behavior" (p. xiii). Framed by introductory and concluding chapters (subtitled "Where do we stand today?" and "Where are we going?", respectively), the volume is composed of two parts. Chapters 2-10 describe different types of aggression and carefully detail the developmental change in aggression that occurs with age. Chapters 11-20 examine proximal and distal determinants of aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Memory, consciousness, and the brain: The Tallinn conference; and The Oxford handbook of memory.

Reviews the books, Memory, consciousness, and the brain: The Tallinn conference edited by Endel Tulving (see record 2000-07362-000) and The Oxford handbook of memory edited by Endel Tulving and Fergus M. Craik (see record 2000-00111-000). Memory, consciousness, and the brain (MCB) is an outgrowth of a conference organized by the editor and his wife, and held in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The organization of the book, accurately described by the editor as "largely illusory" (p. xv), blocks the 25 topic chapters into sections labeled Memory (11 chapters), Consciousness (7 chapters), and The Brain (7 chapters). The editor's hope is that the book will be useful as an introduction to representative research currently being conducted at the boundaries of memory, consciousness, and the brain. To what extent has this objective been achieved? The book certainly serves up a broad menu of topics. The reader looking for something intriguing in the way of research on memory and consciousness in the brain is likely to find it in this volume. What are MCB's weaknesses? The main sin is something that comes with the territory of all conference volumes: uneveness in quality, readability, and organizations, and uncertainty about the audience to be reached by each of the chapters. Regarding The Oxford handbook of memory (OHM), this book describes the growth of memory research from its nadir in the 1950s to the present, and presents summaries of contemporary scientific knowledge about a variety of memory topics. The focus is human memory (although the discussion of brain-memory relations is sometimes based on research with nonhuman primates) as studied from the perspectives of experimental cognitive psychology, cognitive neuropsychology, neuroscience, developmental psychology, theory and modeling, and the ecology of memory. Within this compass, the editors have attempted to ensure coverage of the current major theories, findings, and methods of memory. In the editors' words, the volume is intended to be "a major reference source for people who want to get started in the field, or who wish to check things outside their own regional area" (p. vii). Not only does the book hit its target, we expect that even specialists will benefit from the coverage of subjects in which they have expertise. For now, the OHM is the gold standard and all memory professionals are in the debt of the editors and authors for its existence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Gender dysphoria: Development, research, management.

Reviews the book, Gender dysphoria: Development, research, management edited by Betty W. Steiner (1985). Dr. Steiner and her colleagues at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry have presented a very valuable resource for those interested in gaining a solid, current perspective of gender dysphoria issues. Drs. Steiner, Blanchard, and Zucker have provided an excellent introductory chapter which provides a very brief historical overview followed by a useful section on terminology. Having read and digested this book I am left wondering about several minor issues. One is the title of the book. In many respects it would seem that Gender Identity Issues rather than Gender Dysphoria would be more appropriate. The inclusion of transvestite issues in Chapters 10 and 11 may for some readers blur some relevant distinctions. Definitions remain consistent throughout this text but as might be expected are not always in agreement with the views of other writers. I would very much like to have seen more attention given to the psychological management of gender identity concerns--perhaps in another volume. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent-child interactions during the initial weeks following brain injury in young children.

Objective: To understand how traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects parent-child interactions acutely following injury. Participants: Young children hospitalized for TBI (n = 80) and orthopedic injuries (OI; n = 113). Method: Raters coded videotaped interactions during free play and structured tasks for parental warmth/responsiveness and negativity and child warmth, behavior regulation, and cooperation. Raters also counted parental directives, critical/restricting statements, and scaffolds. Results: Parents of children with TBI exhibited less warm responsiveness and made more directive statements during a structured task than parents in the OI group. Children with TBI displayed less behavior regulation than children with OI. Parental warm responsiveness was more strongly related to child cooperativeness in the OI group than in the TBI group. Child behavior also mediated group differences in parental responsiveness and directiveness. TBI accounted for as much variance in parental behaviors as or more than did sociodemographic factors. Conclusion: TBI-related changes in child behavior may negatively influence parent-child interactions and disrupt the reciprocity between parent and child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Basic approaches used in American and Soviet clinical neuropsychology.

Among that rapidly developing group of sciences of the nervous system that are now called the neurosciences, a special place is occupied by neuropsychology. Clinical neuropsychology differs from the other members of the group of neurological disciplines in that its concern lies with the role of individual brain systems in the organization of human psychological activity and how these systems are altered upon brain–behavior disturbance. Two current but differing approaches, one American and one Soviet, are used in clinical neuropsychology for assessment of brain–behavior disturbance. The Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery, quantitative in approach, is presented and contrasted with the qualitative syndrome-analysis scheme of clinical investigation used by Soviet neuropsychologists. Both approaches are considered in terms of their merits, clinical assets and limitations, influence on generating further scientific research questions, and contributions to the understanding of the functional organization of brain–behavior activity. Fundamental differences in the approaches—principles of work, theoretical differences, practical importance for psychology and medicine, and prospects for clinical neuropsychology's future—are summarized. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

G. Stanley Hall's Contribution to Science, Practice and Policy: The Child Study, Parent Education, and Child Welfare Movements.

G. Stanley Hall influenced several social movements that had great implications for child wellbeing: the Child Study, Parent Education, and Child Welfare Movements. However, while Hall laid much of the foundation for the field of scientific child study and policy-relevant research, his legacy is virtually nonexistent. The current article reviews the life and contributions of G. Stanley Hall, and the dual role Hall played in history as a revered leader of the Child Study Movement and a controversial figure in the landscape of early child psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The handbook of neuropsychological assessment.

Reviews the book, The handbook of neuropsychological assessment by A. Gilandas, S. Touyz, P. J. Beumont, and H. P. Greenberg (1984). This book was written as a clinical/actuarial guide for developing a neuropsychological examination that assesses a broad band of abilities yet is efficient and effective. According to the authors, this 10-chapter handbook was designed for practitioners and students of clinical neuropsychology and is applicable to fields such as school psychology, rehabilitation, psychiatry, and neurology. The authors consider issues central to the practice of clinical neuropsychology, including an overview of theoretical implications, client populations, and issues in neuropsychological assessment. The authors cite delirium, dementia, epilepsy, and organic delusion as some of the major manifestations of brain damage. This volume appropriately details the symptoms, etiology, duration, and treatment of these disorders. It is obvious that school psychologists beginning study in neuropsychology will find a great deal of this volume worthwhile. Of particular interest to school psychologists is the section concerning theoretical implications, which stresses the impact that clinical neuropsychology could have on other applied psychological specialties. Although the majority of the book deals with adults, it seems time to broaden school psychology to such a lifelong focus. So too, after considering the fact that almost 10% of the positions in applied psychology call for neuropsychology-related skills, it appears that such a neuropsychology text could be seen as a necessity when training applied psychologists. Indeed, this book may be an appropriate addition to advanced school psychology assessment courses. Perhaps most impressive are the strategies for revising established neuropsychological test batteries to become comprehensive yet effective tools for understanding brain-behavior relations. However, only time and data will indicate if the revised instruments will prove successful in diagnosing and intervening with cerebrally impaired patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Childhood mental health disorders: Evidence base and contextual factors for psychosocial, psychopharmacological, and combined interventions.

Reviews the book, Childhood mental health disorders: Evidence base and contextual factors for psychosocial, psychopharmacological, and combined interventions by Ronald T. Brown, David O. Antonuccio, George J. Dupaul, Mary A. Fristad, Cheryl A. King, Laurel K. Leslie, Gabriele S. McCormick, William E. Pelham Jr., John C. Piacentini, and Benedetto Vitiello (see record 2007-15067-000). This volume stands as a significant contribution to the current state of affairs in child and adolescent mental health. Unassuming in size (a total of 207 pages including references and author and subject indexes), this compilation is not only of value to researchers and clinicians within the professions of psychology and psychiatry but holds significance across other professions (e.g., social work, occupational therapy, nursing) that serve and support the mental health care of children. This book consists of 13 chapters, of which 11 address common child and adolescent mental health disorders. The authors offer readers a concise summary of the status of support for psychosocial, pharmacological, and combined interventions balanced in the context of safety and potential harm. Recommendations are offered on the most appropriate first-line treatment for a particular disorder (which predominantly favours psychosocial interventions over psychoactive medications). This is a book that will be a significant resource for those seeking evidence-based guideposts to intervention with children, adolescents, and their families. It is a timely, accessible, well-organised text, giving fair consideration to pharmaceutical, psychosocial, and combined interventions. As the authors allude, this compilation represents a "snapshot in time" but sets forth a strong foundation for practise and an agenda to further clinical and research attention to children's mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The human brain age 7-11 years: a volumetric analysis based on magnetic resonance images

Volumetric magnetic resonance image (MRI)-based morphometry was performed on the brains of 30 normal children (15 males and 15 males) with a mean age of 9 years (range 7-11 years). This age range lies in a late but critical phase of brain growth where not volumetric increment will be small but when the details of brain circuity are being fine-tuned to support the operations of the adult brain. The brain at this age is 95% the volume of the adult brain. The brain of the female child is 93% the volume of the male child. For more than 95% of brain structures, the volumetric differences in male and female child brain are uniformly scaled to the volume difference of the total brain in the two sexes. Exceptions to this pattern of uniform scaling are the caudate, hippocampus and pallidum, which are disproportionately larger in female than male child brain, and the amygdala, which is disproportionately smaller in the female child brain. The patterns of uniform scaling are generally sustained during the final volumetric increment in overall brain size between age 7-11 and adulthood. There are exceptions to this uniform scaling of child to adult brain, and certain of these exceptions are sexually dimorphic. Thus, with respect to major brain regions, the cerebellum in the female but not the male child is already at adult volume while the brainstem in both sexes must enlarge more than the brain as a whole. The collective subcortical gray matter structures of the forebrain of the female child are already at their adult volumes. The volumes of these same structures in the male child, by contrast, are greater than their adult volumes and, by implication, must regress in volume before adulthood. The volume of the central white matter, on the other hand, is disproportionately smaller in female than male child brain with respect to the adult volumes of cerebral central white matter. By implication, relative volumetric increase of cerebral central white matter by adulthood must be greater in the female than male brain. The juxtaposed progressive and regressive patterns of growth of brain structures implied by these observations in the human brain have a soundly established precedent in the developing rhesus brain. There is emerging evidence that sexually dimorphic abnormal regulation of these terminal patterns of brain development are associated with gravely disabling human disorders of obscure etiology.     

Review of The competent child.

Reviews the book, The competent child by Joseph M. Strayhorn (see record 1988-97840-000). The Competent Child is an outline of Strayhorn's approach to psychotherapy. The value of this text rests in its ability to present a clear and practical guide to therapy with children, while respecting the individuality of the therapist and client. In developing his approach to psychotherapy, Strayhorn was guided by two concepts: 1) all psychotherapy can be subsumed under a competence-based approach and 2) psychotherapy is essentially a learning-based intervention which involves the acquisition of skills. The first five chapters of the book provide the background for understanding the skills X method approach and instruct the reader as to how to assess a child's skills. The next three chapters are devoted to the application of the approach to children, adolescents and parents. In chapter nine Strayhorn discusses the difficulties one can have in producing positive results in therapy and attempts to deal with some of the difficulties one might run in to. The final two chapters propose ways of expanding the competence approach into preventive mental health and raise research questions. The book can be recommended to seasoned child practitioners looking to expand their repertoire of skills and to novices seeking to go beyond theory to practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituaries: Magda B. Arnold (1903-2002).

Presents an obituary for Magda B. Arnold (1903-2002). Arnold's work on emotion, motivation, and the brain and cognition is a cornerstone of contemporary research on the neuropsychology of personality. She exemplified the melding of European studies in experimental sensation-perception and psychodynamics with North American theory, practice, and behavioral measurement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of parents in the socialization of children: An historical overview.

The history of research on childhood socialization in the context of the family is traced through the present century. The 2 major early theories (behaviorism and psychoanalytic theory) are described. These theories declined in mid-century, under the impact of failures to find empirical support. Simple reinforcement theory was seriously weakened by work on developmental psycholinguistics, attachment, modeling, and altruism. The field turned to more domain-specific mini-theories. The advent of microanalytic analyses of parent–child interaction focused attention on bidirectional processes. Views about the nature of identification and its role in socialization underwent profound change. The role of "parent as teacher" was reconceptualized (with strong influence from Vygotskian thinking). There has been increasing emphasis on the role of emotions and mutual cognitions in establishing the meaning of parent–child exchanges. The enormous asymmetry in power and competence between adults and children implies that the parent–child relationship must have a unique role in childhood socialization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Control-related beliefs and self-reported depressive symptoms in late childhood

Research thus far links depressive symptoms in children to one type of control-related belief: low levels of perceived personal competence. However, child research, unlike adult research, has not supported a linkage between depressive symptoms and another theoretically important control-related belief: perceived noncontingency of outcomes. Here we reexamined the issue, adjusting for limitations in previous methodology by using (a) psychometrically stronger measures of control beliefs, and (b) a general population sample rather than children being treated in mental health clinics. In contrast to previous results, we found that both perceived incompetence and perceived noncontingency were strongly related to children's depression, together accounting for 40% of the variance in Child Depression Inventory scores. We also found, as in previous research, that depressive symptoms were correlated with uncertainty as to the causes of outcomes, especially successes. The findings suggest that children may be susceptible to both "personal helplessness" and "universal helplessness" forms of depression.     

Review of Neuropsychological validation of learning disability subtypes.

Rourke's present edited work, a welcome sequel or "companion volume" to his 1985 book, focuses primarily on evaluating the internal and external validity of existing learning disabilities (LD) typologies within a "confirmatory hypothesistesting framework" initially described by Skinner (1981). Within this framework, studies examining the internal validity of typologies are concerned with issues relating to their reliability and replicability (i.e., the degree to which the typologies' derivation is independent of specific statistical or sampling techniques). External validation studies, on the other hand, attempt to demonstrate that reliably-derived subtypes differ in a meaningful and predictable manner on variables (i.e., external criteria) not initially used to develop the typology. This edited volume will be of interest to research scientists, both within and outside the realm of neuropsychology, interested in classification theory and methods; to clinicians faced with the dual tasks of assessing disabled learners and facilitating rational and productive instructional decisions; and to academics, especially at the college and university level, entrusted with the education of learning-disabled adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)