Effects of positive personal and non-personal autobiographical stimuli on emotional regulation in older adults.

People can regulate negative emotional states using personal episodic information stored in memory. However, amongst older adults, assistance in retrieving personal memories might be needed. As such, positive personal images might better facilitate the retrieval of positive personal memories, relative to generic positive images. The present study induced older adults (N = 40; Mage = 76.28) into a negative mood state using a validated film clip ("Dead Man Walking"; Robbins et al. in Dead Man Walking [Cinta Cinematográfica]. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Working Title Films, Estados Unidos, 1995). Participants were then shown positive personal images (album photos) or positive non-personal images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and between-group differences in their mood state and their ability to retrieve positive autobiographical memories were measured. Although participants' moods decreased after the negative mood induction, their mood then recovered after picture cuing regardless of whether images were personal or non-personal. Furthermore, the positive mood evoked by non-personal, but not personal, images was significantly positively associated with self-reported feelings of reliving of the memories evoked by those images. These results suggest that, when pictures from personal life are not available, the selection of images able to generate positive autobiographical memories with a sense of reliving, is a feasible tool for older adult's emotional regulation.

Abstract and experiential thinking differentially account for anomalous perception of reality in people with or without schizophrenia.

repetitive thinking is often increased in various psychopathological conditions. However, evidence for its possible contribution to psychotic symptoms relies only on correlational analysis and has not been experimentally tested within the psychotic continuum. This research aims to examine whether repetitive thinking about a negative past experience using concrete versus abstract processing might modify the reporting of anomalous sensory experiences. 89 patients with schizophrenia and 89 matched controls were asked to reflect on their most negative Self-Defining Memory during a thirty-minute period. By means of a written script, half of the participants were instructed to remember thoughts, feelings and sensations associated with the event in an abstract mode, while the other half followed an equivalent script but with concrete questions. After induced concrete-experiential thinking, both controls and patients significantly reduced self-reported anomalous reality perception. However, participants in the induced abstract-analytical thinking condition increased anomalous experience, especially sensory experience from an unexplained source. Multigroup path analyses showed that involvement in abstract-analytical thinking during the task significantly mediated the relationship between pre-test and post-test anomalous perception scores, but only in the patient group. These results suggest that abstract thinking contributes to distorted sensory experiences. In contrast, training in a concrete processing mode of past experiences may be a useful tool to reduce subjective anomalous perceptions.

Mapping autobiographical memory in schizophrenia: Clinical implications.

Increasing evidence suggests that impaired autobiographical memory (AM) mechanisms may be associated with the onset and maintenance of psychopathology. However, there is not yet a comprehensive review of the components of autobiographical memory in schizophrenic patients. The first aim of this review is a synthesis of evidence about the functioning of AM in schizophrenic patients. The main autobiographical elements reviewed in schizophrenic patients include the study of overgeneral memory (form); self-defining memories (contents); consciousness during the process of retrieval (awareness), and the abnormal early reminiscence bump (distribution). AM impairments have been involved in the clinical diagnosis and prognosis of other psychopathologies, especially depression. The second aim is to examine potential parallels between the mechanisms responsible for the onset and maintenance of disturbed AM in other clinical diagnosis and the mechanisms of disturbed autobiographical memory functioning in schizophrenic patients. Cognitive therapies for schizophrenic patients are increasingly demanded. The third aim is the suggestion of key elements for the adaptation of components of autobiographical recall in cognitive therapies for the treatment of symptoms and consequences of schizophrenia.

Rumination and autobiographical memory impairment in patients with schizophrenia.

Although patients with schizophrenia exhibit autobiographical memory impairment, which is considered to be a limiting factor in their daily life, the mechanisms underlying such impairment have been rarely studied. In the current study, we investigate whether rumination and, in particular, brooding, which is a form of maladaptive repetitive thinking, may be linked to the difficulty that patients with schizophrenia experience when attempting to access specific autobiographical memories. Our results indicate that patients reported less specific autobiographical memories compared to control participants. Patients also displayed a higher level of brooding and had more depressive symptoms. According to the CaR-FA-X model (Williams et al., 2007), depression and brooding were associated with memory specificity in control participants. In contrast, neither depression nor brooding was correlated with memory specificity in patients. These results suggest that depression and rumination may not be directly related to patients' difficulty to recall specific memories and that other factors, such as metacognitive deficits, must first be considered when seeking interventions aimed to improve autobiographical memory in patients with schizophrenia.

Effects of event-specific memory training on autobiographical memory retrieval and depressive symptoms in schizophrenic patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This report describes the effects of a specific event group-based training programme on autobiographical memory, self-consciousness of memory retrieval, and depression symptoms in a sample of 24 schizophrenic patients (experimental group). METHODS: Twenty-six matched schizophrenic patients who participated in social skills and occupational therapy group sessions constituted the active control group. Participants in the experimental group were trained to complete a diary with specific daily memories, followed by patients' ratings of the associated emotional arousal of those entries. During training, significant specific events from childhood, adolescence, adulthood and the previous year were also reviewed. RESULTS: After 10 weeks of group-based sessions, the experimental group demonstrated an increase in their degree of specificity for autobiographical retrievals, had a higher level of consciousness of their memories and showed a decrease in their depression scores. Significant changes in measurements of retrieval specificity and autonoetic awareness were maintained when changes in emotional symptomatology were statistically controlled. LIMITATIONS: The present study did not assess the impact of autobiographical memory training on the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that cognitive training strategies based on event-specific autobiographical memory training should be considered for inclusion in intervention programs for schizophrenic patients.

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D) in older populations with and without cognitive impairment.

The CES-D is widely used for the assessment of depressive symptoms in the adult population. However, few studies have been performed to assess the utility of this scale in an older population with cognitive impairment. The factor structure of the Spanish version of the CES-D was examined in an observational, cross sectional study in 623 older adults (M = 72.74 years; SD = 7.7). The validity of the scale was determined in two samples of older adults, one comprising 162 participants with cognitive impairment (M = 76.73 years; SD = 8.1) and one with 58 participants without cognitive impairment (M = 74.64 years; SD = 9.0). The results confirm previous results of a four factor structure. With regard to the validity of the scale, in the group with cognitive impairment the area under the ROC curve is 0.84 (95% CI: 0.77-0.89) and the cut-off point for possible depression is 13, while in the group without cognitive impairment the area is 0.90 (95% CI: 0.79-0.96) and the optimal cut-off point is 28. These results show that the Spanish version of the CES-D is a valid instrument for the identification of depression in older adults with and without cognitive impairment.

Usefulness of simulated cases for assessing pandemic influenza preparedness plans.

To evaluate compliance with preparedness plans, actors simulating avian influenza attended various hospital emergency departments and public health centres during the last quarter of 2007. Most centres (89%) did not respond correctly. The useful information obtained was sent to the medical and administrative staff who were responsible for the preparedness plans. Awareness of these errors and their rectification can lead to improvements in the response to any case of influenza with pandemic potential and in the capacity to combat any other emergent or re-emergent community infection.

Efectos moduladores de la personalidad y la valoración subjetiva en la respuesta autonómica ante una tarea de hablar en público en mujeres sanas / Modulating effects of personality and situational appraisal on the autonomic response to a public speaking task in healthy women

El objetivo de este estudio fue examinar en una muestra de 16 mujeres, el efecto los de rasgos de personalidad y la valoración subjetiva ante un estresor social de laboratorio (hablar en público) en la respuesta cardiovascular y electrodérmica. Se midieron las respuestas de conductancia de la piel, la frecuencia cardiaca (FC) y el volumen del pulso periférico (VPP) durante un periodo de descanso, preparación, tarea y recuperación ante un discurso académico. Los sujetos fueron clasificados según sus puntuaciones altas o bajas en el cuestionario de personalidad EPQ, el STAI y en las medidas subjetivas. Los sujetos mostraron un aumento de la activación fisiológica significativo durante las fases de preparación y ejecución del discurso, esta activación estuvo modulada por las variables de personalidad y la valoración subjetiva. Los sujetos más extrovertidos mostraron mayor frecuencia de respuestas electrodérmicas (RED) a lo largo de todo el registro. Los sujetos que percibieron la tarea como más difícil mostraron los valores más altos en frecuencia cardiaca. Por último, aquéllos que percibieron un mayor estrés y esfuerzo mostraron un porcentaje de cambio mayor en volumen de pulso. Estos resultados apoyan el uso de la tarea de hablar en público como un buen estresor de laboratorio y la importancia de la experiencia subjetiva y los rasgos de personalidad del individuo como variables que modulan dicha respuesta. (AU)

Psychophysiological responses to the Stroop Task after a maximal cycle ergometry in elite sportsmen and physically active subjects.

Physical fitness moderates the psychophysiological responses to stress. This study attempts to determine whether the degree of fitness could affect the response to physical and psychological stress after comparing two groups of men with good physical fitness. Saliva samples from 18 elite sportsmen, and 11 physically active subjects were collected to determine hormonal levels after carrying out a maximal cycle ergometry. Heart rate and skin conductance level were continuously recorded before, during, and after a modified version of the Stroop Color-Word Task. With similar scores in trait anxiety and mood, elite sportsmen had lower basal salivary testosterone, testosterone/cortisol ratio, and HR before an ergometric session than physically active subjects, but no differences were found in salivary cortisol and blood pressure. Salivary testosterone and cortisol responses were lower and testosterone/cortisol ratio responses higher in elite sportsmen. During the Stroop Task, elite subjects showed lower heart rate and skin conductance level over the entire measurement period, and greater heart rate recovery with respect to the baseline values than physically active subjects. The effects of two standardised laboratory stressors on a set of psychophysiological variables were different when elite sportsmen and physically active subjects were compared.

Gender differences in cardiovascular and electrodermal responses to public speaking task: the role of anxiety and mood states.

Gender moderates psychophysiological responses to stress. In addition to the hormonal background, different psychological states related to social stressors, such as anxiety and mood, could affect this response. The purpose of this study was to examine the existence of gender differences in the cardiovascular and electrodermal responses to a speech task and their relationship with anxiety and the mood variations experienced. For this, non-specific skin conductance responses (NSRs), heart rate (HR), and finger pulse volume (FPV) were measured at rest, and during preparation, task and recovery periods of an academic career speech in undergraduate men (n=15) and women (n=23), with assessment of changes in the state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) and in the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaires. Men and women did not differ in trait anxiety, hostility/aggressiveness, or in the appraisal of the task, which were evaluated with the trait version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), the Buss and Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), and a self-report elaborated by ourselves, respectively. Women had higher FPV in all periods except during the task, and were more reactive to the stressor in state anxiety, and in the amplitude of NSRs. No gender differences for HR and for the frequency of NSRs were found. Anxiety and mood states were differently related to cardiovascular and electrodermal measurements in men and women. Further studies should consider the hormonal variations in addition to the psychological dimensions, in order to offer a more integrative perspective of the complex responses to stress.

Testosterone, cortisol, and mood in a sports team competition.

In humans, hormonal responses to winning/losing and their relationships to mood and status change have mostly been examined in individual athletic competitions. In this study, the salivary testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) and mood responses to a real match between two professional basketball teams were investigated. Data about individuals' contributions to outcome, performance appraisal, and attribution of outcome to internal/external factors were also collected. Results did not show statistically significant different T and C responses depending on the outcome. Negative mood was significantly enhanced, especially in the losers, while winners showed a better appraisal of team performance and a more internal attribution. T response did not show a significant relationship with mood changes, but it correlated positively with the "score/time playing" ratio, an indicator of individual participation in the outcome. Furthermore, T response correlated negatively with external attribution in winners and positively in losers. These results indicate that in a real, highly competitive situation, T changes are not directly a response to the outcome, but rather to the contribution the individual makes to it and to the causes he attributes.