Search

We examined the development of phonological processing, naming speed, and visual attention in kindergarten and addressed the question of their contribution to reading and spelling in grade 1. Seventy five French-speaking children were administered seven tasks at the two phases of the study, and reading and spelling were assessed in grade 1. The major findings revealed that syllable awareness and visual attention were the most important predictors of early reading and spelling, and confirm the influence of naming speed and phoneme awareness on specific skills. These observations strongly suggest that written language acquisition relies on linguistic, perceptual and cognitive cross-modal skills and highlight the need for diversifying written language measures and analyzing their specific predictors.

Background: European and US pharmaceutical agencies have recently warned against the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in child and adolescent depression. This came as a surprise to many practitioners, who had made treatment decisions based on data from pharmaceutical trials using adult samples., Method: The author reviews the recent literature relevant to the use of SSRIs in youth depression, including psychiatricclinical trials, pharmacology and drug safety data. Recommendations and rationales for the use of SSRIs in this context are offered., Results: Ten publications, comprising a total of 2,046 patients, evaluated the efficacy of four SSRIs (fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline and citalopram) in child and adolescent depression. It is noted that an additional 6 trials (with a total of 1,234 patients) were not reported by the industry because of a lack of efficacy or problematic side effects, including suicidal behaviors. Meta-analyses revealed no data supporting the use of SSRIs, except for fluoxetine. To formulate recommendations for clinical practice, it is necessary to examine specific issues such as (1) the link between SSRIs, depression and suicidal risk; (2) SSRI age-related specific effects, and (3) the high placebo response in child and adolescent depression., Conclusion: An SSRI prescription is still a second-line option in severe and resistant forms of youth depression. However, in children and adolescents only specialists well trained in child and adolescent psychiatry should prescribe SSRIs., (Copyright 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Information about upcoming saccadic eye movements is used to orient visuo-spatial attention across the visual field. Different eye movement signals (intended or actual) could be used according to the intentionality of the saccade in preparation (Reactive or Volitional), and can be dissociated by saccadic adaptation. Gap 0 and overlap paradigms were contrasted to elicit the two saccade populations with different latencies and an asymmetric transfer of saccadic adaptation. Preparation of both saccade types caused a concomitant shift in the attentional focus (indexed by relative perceptual performance) to the actual, not intended, eye position. The attentional shift emerged progressively, earlier for V-saccades but reaching a maximal level around saccade onset for both saccade types. These results suggest that information about actual eye movements mediates the pre-saccadic shift of attention.

In this study, the authors examined the effects of aging on autobiographical memory in 180 participants by means of a new method designed to assess across 5 lifetime periods the nature of memories-that is, specificity and spontaneity--and the phenomenal experience of remembering--that is, self-perspective and autonoetic consciousness--via the field/observer and remember/know paradigms respectively. Age-related differences were found for the specificity and spontaneity of memories and the phenomenal experience of remembering. There was an increase in observer and know responses with age, but a decrease in field and remember responses and in the ability to justify them by recalling sensory-perceptive, affective, or spatiotemporal specific details. This pattern confirms the existence of a semantic-episodic dissociation in autobiographical memory in aging. Moreover, the data support the view that older participants can subjectively "travel back in time" to relive personal events in the most distant past better than those in the recent past.

One of the most unexpected aspects of our memory is the existence of false memories. This phenomenon concerns the recall or recognition of events that never took place. Since a few years, the study of false memories became a field of research particularly active in psychology and neuropsychology. The objective of this review is to examine the various studies undertaken on false memories, while being interested more specifically by the influence of age and Alzheimer's disease on their production. We discuss then the mechanisms of production of false memories reviewing the assumptions related to the organization of semantic memory and to executive functions.