The use of indirect memory tests to assess malingered amnesia: A study of metamemory.

Many techniques have been suggested for identifying criminal suspects who are simulating amnesia for events surrounding a crime. The present research focuses on indirect memory tests as a potential means of discriminating between those who genuinely suffer from amnesia and those who are simulating. Ss studied a list of words and subsequently performed either a word completion or a fragment completion task. Under normal indirect test instructions, typical priming effects were observed. When Ss were motivated to simulate amnesia for the list, target completion rates were consistently, and sometimes reliably, below baseline completion rates. This finding is contrary to the performance of genuine amnesics, whose performance on indirect tests typically mirrors that of normal Ss. Indirect tests may prove useful in discriminating genuine and simulating amnesics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory beliefs as social cognition: A reconceptualization of what memory questionnaires assess.

Few attempts have been made to integrate research on memory beliefs across adulthood with related constructs in social cognition. This article addresses the issue of how respondents formulate answers to memory-beliefs questions from a social–cognitive perspective. We propose that reported memory beliefs represent the outcomes of a process that involves both the retrieval of previously stored information about self and about memory and on-line constructive processes. This article offers a set of assumptions that clarifies existing data on memory beliefs and generates new hypotheses regarding the interactions between beliefs about the aging process, memory, and constructs such as memory self-efficacy and how such variables combine with the on-line constructive processes to produce individual differences in responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of anatomical dolls to assess child sexual abuse: A critical review.

Reviews the empirical literature to investigate the following 2 aspects of the controversial use of anatomical dolls to assess for child sexual abuse: (1) Are anatomical dolls valid tools to assess child sexual abuse? (2) What progress has been made toward the development of an anatomical doll interview that is objective and standardized? 16 empirical studies were located which have assessed children's reactions to anatomical dolls. Criteria used to evaluate the studies are listed. In regard to validity, the empirical data suggest that children who have been referred for sexual abuse respond differently to anatomical dolls than nonabused children. Furthermore, considerable progress has been made toward the development of an objective assessment protocol and reliable scoring criteria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of null mutant mice to study complex learning and memory processes

Fractionation of the rat lung yielded a 54,000 g supernate, and DOC-solubilized 775 g, 3100 g and 54,000 g sediments, each of these preparations displaying an increasing angiotensin-converting enzyme activity with increasing dilution, suggesting the presence of freely reversible angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. The solubilized 775 g sediment was applied to an immobilized captopril column, eluted successively with 20 mM Pi(K+), pH 7.8 buffer, buffer/0.5 M NaCl, and buffer/0.01M cysteine to obtain four major protein bands, two of which appeared with the cysteine eluant. The first two protein peaks were each pooled and subjected to ultrafiltration with 10,000 molecular weight cutoff filters. The pooled peaks, retentates and ultrafiltrates each inhibited the angiotensin-converting enzyme activity, suggesting the presence of large and small molecular weight reversible angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in association with the solubilized (membranous) particulate angiotensin-converting enzyme fraction. These results expand upon earlier observations on the existence of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in mammalian serum by observing an increasing angiotensin-converting enzyme activity with increasing dilution. This activity was eluted in multiple peaks, including elution with the cysteine eluate, suggesting that the angiotensin-converting enzyme, as well as other proteins, may react covalently with the sulfhydryl functional group of the immobilized captopril in a transsulfhydration reaction cleaving the disulfide bonds in proteins. Subsequent elution with cysteine affects an additional transsulfhydration reaction, releasing the proteins from the column. It is further postulated that air oxidation of the proteins permits reformation of disulfide bonds, yielding some active angiotensin-converting enzyme. Having in mind the possibility of lipophilic angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors crossing the blood-brain barrier as a means of treatment of alcohol abuse, the intriguing presence of a naturally occurring angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in the particulate, lipid-rich fraction of the lung cell raises the theory that inhibitors such as these might cross the blood-brain barrier to serve as downregulators of alcohol consumption.     

The use of diagnostic imaging to assess spinal arthrodesis

One way to minimise systemic side effects of drugs is to design molecules, soft drugs, in such a way that they are metabolically inactivated rapidly after having acted on their pharmacological target. Hydrolases (esterases, peptidases, lipases, glycosidases, etc.) are enzymes well suited to use for drug inactivation since they are ubiquitously distributed. Insertion of ester bonds susceptible to enzymatic cleavage may represent one approach to make the action of a drug more restricted to the site of application. The present study describes the chemical synthesis of fourteen model compounds comprising a bicyclic aromatic unit connected by an ester-containing bridge to another aromatic ring. Initial attempts to define a) the tissue selectivity of the hydrolytic metabolism and b) the molecular structural factors affecting the rate of enzymatic ester cleavage are presented. The data show that human and rat liver fractions were more active than human duodenal mucosa and human blood leukocytes at hydrolysing the compounds. The rank order of the compounds was, however, very similar in the different biological systems. Commercially available pig liver carboxyl esterase and cholesterol esterase both reasonably well predict the rank order in the tissue fractions.     

The use of multisite high resolution arterial imaging to assess arteriosclerosis

This article presents a model for the use of multisite, sonographic imaging to assess arteriosclerosis. The arteries of 100 randomly selected patients were scanned in three anatomical areas (carotid, femoral-popliteal, aorta-iliac) in conjunction with measurement of selected risk factors (smoking, cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoproteins, antioxidant levels). Arteries were interrogated for intimal wall hyperplasia, plaque, and ulceration. Multisite scanning (24 sites) detected the presence of pathology in all sites surveyed. The model was developed at the Cardiovascular Wellness Center in Westbury, NY.     

Adults' knowledge about memory: Awareness and use of memory strategies across tasks.

Two studies investigated college students' knowledge about the effectiveness of alternative memory strategies for different tasks and the relationship of this knowledge to strategy use and performance. In Experiment 1 students made paired-comparison judgments of the relative effectiveness of six strategies for increasing performance on one of three memory tasks. For each task some strategies were judged to be significantly more effective than others, whereas across tasks certain strategies were more likely to be judged effective for one task than for another. Experiment 2 examined the relationship of judgments of strategy effectiveness to actual strategy use and memory performance. Results indicated that different strategies were adopted across tasks and students were more likely to adopt strategies subsequently judged effective for that task. Students in Experiment 2 showed clearer discrimination among the strategies and an increased awareness of the efficacy of task-specific strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of source memory to identity one's own episodic confusion errors.

In 4 category cued recall experiments, falsely recalled nonlist common members, a semantic confusion error participants. Errors were more likely if critical nonlist words were presented on an incidental task, causing source memory failures called episodic confusion errors . Participants could better identify the source of falsely recalled words if they had deeply processed the words on the incidental task. For deep but not shallow processing, participants could reliably include or exclude incidentally shown category members in recall. The illusion that critical items actually appeared on categorized lists was diminished but not eradicated when participants identified episodic confusion errors post hoc among their own recalled responses; participants often believed that critical items had been on both the incidental task and the study list. Improved source monitoring can potentially mitigate episodic (but not semantic) confusion errors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analytic study of social desirability distortion in computer-administered questionnaires, traditional questionnaires, and interviews.

A meta-analysis of social desirability distortion compared computer questionnaires with traditional paper-and-pencil questionnaires and face-to-face interviews in 61 studies (1967–1997; 673 effect sizes). Controlling for correlated observations, a near-zero overall effect size was obtained for computer versus paper-and-pencil questionnaires. With moderators, there was less distortion on computerized measures of social desirability responding than on the paper-and-pencil measures, especially when respondents were alone and could backtrack. There was more distortion on the computer on other scales, but distortion was small when respondents were alone, anonymous, and could backtrack. There was less distortion on computerized versions of interviews than on face-to-face interviews. Research is needed on nonlinear patterns of distortion, and on the effects of context and interface on privacy perceptions and on responses to sensitive questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prospective memory: A neuropsychological study.

To examine the neuropsychology of prospective remembering, older adults were divided preexperimentally into 4 groups on the basis of their scores on 2 composite measures: one assessing frontal lobe function and the other assessing medial temporal lobe function. The groups reflected the factorial combination of high and low functioning for each neuropsychological system, and they were tested on an event-based laboratory prospective memory task. High-functioning frontal participants showed better prospective remembering than low-functioning frontal participants. There was no significant difference in prospective memory performance attributable to medial temporal functioning. The results support the theoretical notion that frontal lobe processes play a key role in prospective remembering. Discussion focuses on the particular components of prospective memory performance that frontal lobes might mediate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of integral activity to assess scheduled radioactive source changes for brachytherapy

The development of afterloading brachytherapy devices using radioactive sources with relatively short half-lives has meant that several source changes are required per year. We present here a simple method to evaluate the ability of the supplier to deliver the scheduled amount of activity. Using the integrated activity of the source during the period of its clinical use, a comparison between the scheduled and delivered activity can be quantified.     

Relations of delinquency to adolescent substance use and problem use: A prospective study.

Although studies have indicated that delinquency predicts adolescent substance use, little research has examined whether it predicts problem use or has explored the mechanisms by which it relates to problem use. Accordingly, this study tested the nature of the relations between delinquency and problem use over a 1-year interval in adolescents who had been treated for substance abuse. Results show that delinquency moderated the relation between consumption and problem use, with high-delinquent teens showing consistently elevated levels of use-related problems across all levels of substance use and nondelinquent teens showing a stronger correspondence between use levels and problems. Results support the assertion that antisocial pathology fosters problem substance use. Implications for treatment and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging and everyday memory: A cross-cultural study.

Performance on computer-simulated, everyday memory tasks was found to deteriorate with age in 434 Belgian (aged 14–88 yrs) and 434 American Ss matched on gender and age. This age-related memory decline was reasonably consistent across samples. Difficulties in cross-cultural research and the advantages of ecologically valid measurement instruments are discussed. Instruments included a grocery list selective reminding test, the Wechsler Memory Scale, the Benton Visual Retention Test, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The ability to distinguish between comprehension and memory: Failing to succeed.

The authors investigated 1st graders' ability to select the appropriate strategy for constructing a building from memory versus constructing a building while listening to instructions that included an unfamiliar word. In 2 experiments, children's strategy selections (a) preceded any construction attempts, (b) followed failed construction attempts, or (c) followed verbal feedback about construction failures. Long-term strategy maintenance also was assessed. First graders who selected strategies after concrete failure experiences were more likely to select appropriate strategies than children whose strategy selections preceded construction attempts. Failure experiences may help children recognize task goals, assess their inability to achieve these goals, and identify the source of this inability. However, concrete failure experiences did not result in long-term strategy maintenance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trade-offs between gaze and working memory use.

Eye movements during natural tasks suggest that observers do not use working memory to capacity but instead use eye movements to acquire relevant information immediately before needed. Results here however, show that this strategy is sensitive to memory load and to observers' expectations about what information will be relevant. Depending upon the predictability of what object features would be needed in a brick sorting task, subjects spontaneously modulated the order in which they sampled and stored visual information using working memory more when the task was predictable and reverting to a just-in-time strategy when the task was unpredictable and the memory load was higher. This self organization was evidenced by subjects' sequence of eye movements and also their sorting decisions following missed feature changes. These results reveal that attentional selection, fixations, and use of working memory reflect a dynamic optimization with respect to a set of constraints, such as task predictablity and memory load. They also reveal that change blindness depends critically on the local task context, by virtue of its influence on the information selected for storage in working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Staff nurses' ability to assess community patients: a study

This article describes a project to evaluate the effectiveness of staff nurses undertaking patients' first assessment, within the community setting. District nurses selected appropriate groups of patients to delegate to the staff nurses and remained accountable for care throughout the project. Patient documentation, patient satisfaction, and GP, district nurse and staff nurse satisfaction were all audited at the end of the study period. The authors found that while the district nurses remained essential to the management of care, some work could be delegated appropriately to selected staff nurses. The standard of care was not adversely affected by the alteration in working practice.