Suppressing disgust related thoughts and performance on a subsequent behavioural avoidance task: implications for OCD.

We tested whether suppressing disgust related thoughts, compared with no suppression, differentially affected target thought frequency and emotional responses, and whether this was related to participants' cognitive inhibition abilities. We also tested whether different control instructions during a thought control task would affect performance on a subsequent behavioural avoidance task involving disgust related stimuli. Sixty university students, pre-selected on their level of disgust propensity/sensitivity, were instructed to either suppress or not to suppress all target-related thoughts following viewing of a disgust-related film fragment. Thought suppression immediately reduced target thought frequency, but only for participants with good inhibitory control. Thought suppression led to sustained thought frequency and levels of disgust after suppression was lifted, whereas a significant drop was observed for these measures in the no-suppression group. Thought control instructions did not affect performance on the behavioural avoidance task at the group level. However, regression analyses showed that changes in thought frequency during thought suppression interacted with beliefs concerning importance of thoughts and thought control when predicting fear and disgust reactions during the behavioural task.

Cognitive profile in young Icelandic children with cerebral palsy.

We describe the cognitive profile in a complete national cohort of children with cerebral palsy (CP). One hundred and twenty-seven Icelandic children (67 females, 60 males) with CP, born between 1985 and 2000 and assessed between the ages of 4 and 6 years 6 months (mean age 5y 5mo, SD 6mo), were included in the study. IQ was measured using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) and developmental quotient (DQ) was obtained using various developmental scales. Physiological classification of CP in the children was: spasticity, n=104 (82%); dyskinesia, n=14 (11%); ataxia, n=six (4.7%), and unclassified CP, n=3 (2.3%). Spastic diplegia was the most prevalent subtype (35%) followed by hemiplegia and quadriplegia. Forty-five per cent of the group were at Level I of the Gross Motor Function Classification System, 32% were at Levels II and III, and 23% were at Levels IV and V. Sixty per cent of the children had an IQ or DQ >70. Median scores on the WPPSI were Full-scale IQ 84, Verbal IQ (VIQ) 92, and Performance IQ (PIQ) 77. Children with spastic diplegia and quadriplegia had a significantly lower PIQ than VIQ. Of the children who failed to complete the WPPSI, 20% had DQ >85. Thus, cognitive skills can be masked by limitations of movement and motor control in children with CP.