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Social cognition is a neurodynamic process that restructures and regulates a person's social behavior in function of time and space. In recent years, this construct has taken relevance regarding neuropsychological evaluations since it lays the foundations for the approach and forecast of a successful social adaptation in people with autistic condition. This article explores the life of Saya, a three year and ten months old child, whom reflects a slight autist condition. As the main study tool, a neuropsychological evaluation was carried out and focused on psychobiology. This evaluation included the social cognition, which analyzes four different systems: social perception, socio-affective, mental attribution and inferential and executive, in order to start her therapeutic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using games in a classroom setting to help engagement and learning is becoming popular, but controlled investigations into the benefits of games are few. Games are potentially a way to incorporate retrieval practice into a class and garner subsequent benefits to memory. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether a board game assisted students to remember facts from a year one biological psychology module. Forty-seven participants (42 female, 5 male) took part in a seminar to test the hypothesis that playing the board game would enhance memory compared to taking part in a quiz. An experimental design was adopted with a between-subject factor (group: board game versus quiz) and two within-subjects factors: time of test (before the seminar, immediately after the seminar, 7-days after the seminar) and question type (seminar questions, i.e. questions contained in the game or quiz versus control lecture questions, i.e. questions that were not contained in the game or quiz but in a lecture). Contrary to the hypothesis, there were no differences in scores between the board game and quiz groups. We propose this is due to both groups having participated in retrieval practice during the game or the quiz. However, there was a significant main effect of time of test (scores immediately after the seminar increased) and a main effect of question type (scores were higher for seminar questions than control questions). The time of test x question type interaction was significant; post hoc analyses show that both groups scored higher on seminar questions compared to the control lecture questions in the after seminar test, and in the 7 days test. In conclusion, games can engage students and help them to remember complex material, but it is the use of retrieval practice specifically that aids memory. Our data show that retrieval practice can be equally effective in a board game or quiz, but students preferred the board game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative body image often occurs as a result of social evaluation of the physique in men. Social self-preservation theory (SSPT) holds that social-evaluative threats (SETs) elicit consistent psychobiological responses (i.e., salivary cortisol and shame) to protect one's social-esteem, status, and standing. Actual body image SETs have resulted in psychobiological changes consistent with SSPT in men; however, responses in athletes have yet to be examined. These responses may differ as athletes tend to experience fewer body image concerns compared with non-athletes. The purpose of the current study was to examine psychobiological (i.e., body shame and salivary cortisol) responses to an acute laboratory body image SET in 49 male varsity athletes from non-aesthetic sports and 63 male non-athletes from a university community. Participants (age range 18–28 years) were randomized into a high or low body image SET condition, stratified by athlete status; measures of body shame and salivary cortisol were taken across the session (i.e., pre, post, 30-min post, 50-min post-intervention). There were no significant time-by-condition interactions, such that athletes and non-athletes had significant increases in salivary cortisol (F 3,321 = 3.34, p =.02), when controlling for baseline values, and state body shame (F 2.43,262.57 = 4.58, p =.007) following the high-threat condition only. Consistent with SSPT, body image SETs led to increased state body shame and salivary cortisol, although there were no differences in these responses between non-athletes and athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annals of Cultural Studies / Roczniki Kulturoznawcze is the property of John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Institute of Cultural Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Myers worked in Cambridge as a demonstrator, lecturer, and reader in experimental psychology from 1902 until his resignation in 1922. This year marks the sesquicentennial of the birth of Charles Myers (Fig. José Ingenieros in Argentina, Henri Piéron in France, and Myers in England taught psychology as a biological science, freed from the bane of dogmatic theorizing [[2]]. [Extracted from the article]

This document provides various updates and announcements related to the field of behavioral and social sciences. It includes information about new articles, books, conferences, and awards. Some of the topics covered include the relationships among eminent psychologists, the end of Cold War psychology, prehistoric national origins in Europe, a festchrift for William McKinley Runyan, and upcoming conferences and lectures. The document also highlights the work of Dr. Andrew S. Winston on the history of racism and antisemitism in psychology. Additionally, it announces the winner of the Early Career Award from the European Society for the History of the Human Sciences. [Extracted from the article]

Soldiers regularly participate in missions abroad and subjectively adapt to this situation. However, they have an increased lifetime cardiovascular risk compared to other occupational groups. To test the hypothesis that foreign deployment results in different stress habituation patterns, we investigated long-term psychological and bio-physiological stress responses to a repeated social stress task in healthy soldiers with and without foreign deployment. Ninety-one female and male soldiers from the BEST study (German armed forces deployment and stress) participated three times in the Trier Social Stress Test for groups (TSST-G) prior to, 6-8 weeks after and 1 year after the mission abroad and were compared to a control group without foreign deployment during the study period. They completed the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory scale (STAI), the Primary Appraisal Secondary Appraisal questionnaire (PASA) and the Multidimensional Mood State Questionnaire (MDBF). Salivary cortisol and a-amylase, blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability were determined. Soldiers showed mental habituation over the three times with a significant decrease after the TSST-G in anxiousness (STAI) and cognitive stress appraisal (PASA), they were calmer and reported better mood (MDBF). Prior to the social stress part, the mood (MDBF) declined significantly. None of the biological and physiological markers showed any adaptation to the TSST-G. Mission abroad did not significantly influence any measured psychobiological marker when compared to soldiers without foreign deployment. Foreign deployment does not result in alterations in psychobiological social stress response patterns over 1 year after mission abroad which indicates that adaptation to acute social stress is highly maintained in healthy soldiers. The discrepancy between subjective perception and objective stress response has numerous clinical implications and should receive more attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between gut microbiota (GM) and mental health is one of the focuses of psychobiology research. In recent years, the microbialgut-brain axis (MGBA) concept has gradually formed about this bidirectional communication between gut and brain. But how the GM is involved in regulating brain function and how they affect emotional disorders these mechanisms are tenuous and limited to animal research, and often controversial. Therefore, in this review, we attempt to summarize and categorize the latest advances in current research on the mechanisms of GM and depression to provide valid information for future diagnoses and therapy of mental disorders. Finally, we introduced some antidepressant regimens that can help restore gut dysbiosis, including classic antidepressants, Chinese materia medica (CMM), diet, and exogenous strains. These studies provide further insight into GM's role and potential pathways in emotion-related diseases, which holds essential possible clinical outcomes for people with depression or related psychiatric disorders. Future research should focus on clarifying the causal role of GM in disease and developing microbial targets, applying these findings to the prevention and treatment of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Memory deficits are core features of schizophrenia, and a central aim in biological psychiatry is to identify the etiology of these deficits. Scrutiny is naturally focused on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the hippocampal cortices, given these structures' roles in memory and learning. The fronto-hippocampal framework is valuable but restrictive. Network-based underpinnings of learning and memory are substantially diverse and include interactions between hetero-modal and early sensory networks. Thus, a loss of fidelity in sensory information may impact memorial and cognitive processing in higher-order brain sub-networks, becoming a sensory source for learning and memory deficits. In this overview, we suggest that impairments in magno- and parvo-cellular visual pathways result in degraded inputs to core learning and memory networks. The ascending cascade of aberrant neural events significantly contributes to learning and memory deficits in schizophrenia. We outline the network bases of these effects, and suggest that any network perspectives of dysfunction in schizophrenia must assess the impact of impaired perceptual contributions. Finally, we speculate on how this framework enriches the space of biomarkers and expands intervention strategies to ameliorate this prototypical disconnection syndrome. • The fidelity of unimodal inputs impacts learning and memory. • Schizophrenia is characterized by deficits in magno- and parvocellular pathways. • These deficits will impact frontal-hippocampal network function. • Models of frontal-hippocampal impairment must consider the role of visual pathways. • Thus, dys-connection in schizophrenia is global and not local. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia experience high physical comorbidity, leading to a 15– 20-year mortality gap compared with the general population. Lifestyle behaviours such as physical activity (PA) play important roles in the quest to bridge this gap. Interventions to increase PA engagement in this population have potential to be efficacious; however, their effectiveness can be hindered by low participant engagement, including low adherence and high drop-out, and by implementation of interventions that are not designed to compensate for the cognitive and motivational impairments characteristic for this group. Moreover, and importantly, the negative symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with neurobiological changes in the brain, which—based on principles of biopsychology—can contribute to poor motivation and impaired decision-making processes and behavioural maintenance. To increase PA levels in people with schizophrenia, better understanding of these neurological changes that impact PA engagement is needed. This has the potential to inform the design of interventions that, through enhancement of motivation, could effectively increase PA levels in this specific population. Incorporating strategies that address the dopamine dysregulation associated with schizophrenia, such as boosting the role of reward and self-determined motivation, may improve long-term PA maintenance, leading to habitual PA. Consideration of motivation and behavioural maintenance is also needed to impart health benefits such as prevention of chronic disease, which is associated with currently low PA levels in this high metabolic risk population. Taking a biopsychological perspective, we outline the neural pathways involved in motivation that are impacted by schizophrenia and propose strategies for promoting motivation for and PA engagement from adoption to habit formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The placebo effect is a powerful psychobiological phenomenon whereby a positive outcome follows the administration of an inert treatment thought to be effective. Growing evidence shows that the placebo effect extends beyond the healing context, affecting also motor performance. Here we explored the placebo effect on the control of goal-directed movement, a fundamental function in many daily activities. Twenty-four healthy volunteers performed upper-limb movements toward a target at different indexes of difficulty in two conditions: in the placebo condition, an electrical device (inert) was applied to the right forearm together with verbal information about its positive effects in improving movement precision; in the control condition, the same device was applied along with verbal information about its neutral effects on performance. Interestingly, we found shorter movement time in the placebo compared to the control condition. Moreover, subjective perception of fatigability was reduced in the placebo compared to the control condition. These findings indicate that the placebo effect can improve the execution of goal-directed movements, thus adding new evidence to the placebo effect in the motor domain. This study could inspire future applications to improve upper-limb movements or in clinical settings for patients with motor deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperament and character dimensions of personality appear to be networking structures that interact nonlinearly. Previous studies have attempted to classify temperament and character subtypes using a person-centered approach but have been unable to explore the relationship between the combination of temperament and character and psychopathology patterns in a transdiagnostic sample. The purpose of this study was to examine how symptomatology patterns differ according to individuals' personality profiles, employing a psychobiological model in a transdiagnostic psychiatric sample. Participants were 1881 patients who visited the psychiatry department of a major medical hospital in Seoul, Korea, and completed both the Temperament Character Inventory (TCI) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructed Form (MMPI-2-RF) as part of their psychological evaluation. We performed two separate latent profile analyses using four temperament and four character indicators of the TCI to identify personality profiles and nine restructured clinical scales of the MMPI-2-RF to identify symptom patterns. Five personality classes emerged: "vulnerable-maladaptive," "stable-adaptive," "average," "inhibited-neurotic," and "impulsive-irrational." Moreover, six symptom classes emerged: "non-distressed," "depressed," "emotionally-distressed," "average," "dysfunctional thoughts," and "confused." The personality profiles comprising a combination of rigid temperament and immature character were related to patterns of more severe subjective pain and symptoms. However, profiles with less rigid temperament and less immature character exhibited more diverse symptom patterns. This study examined the relationship between personality profiles and symptomatology patterns, suggesting that understanding patients' personality profiles may be helpful in predicting symptom manifestation and establishing treatment plans. • Personality develops through nonlinear interaction of temperament and character. • Heterogeneous personality profiles exist within a given psychiatric sample. • Symptomatology patterns vary depending on personality profiles. • Understanding individuals' personality profiles is helpful in establishing treatment plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is about Marsha Norman’s “Night, Mother”, and “Traveler in the Dark” are two of her best-known plays and often criticized. Norman uses grotesque images in the portrayal of the plays’ incidents and characters, and the implications of gender roles found therein. Norman’s works are well known for her attention to violence committed by men upon women. This study aims to explore Norman’s treatment of gender and violence using elements of the grotesque from the psychobiological side. While much criticism of Norman’s works suggests that she uses grotesque violence to bemoan the victimization of women. My point of view is that Norman's handling of gender discloses that, irrespective of sex, individuals who fight to adapt to the prescribed roles of gender presented by society to them are grotesque and problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One pathway by which environments of socioeconomic risk are thought to affect cognitive development is through stress physiology. The biological systems underpinning stress and attention undergo a sensitive period of development during infancy. Psychobiological theory emphasizes a dynamic pattern of context-dependent development, however, research has yet to examine how basal cortisol and attention dynamically covary across infancy in ecologically valid contexts. Thus, to address these gaps, we leveraged longitudinal, multilevel analytic methods to disentangle between- from within-person associations of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity and executive attention behaviors across infancy. We use data from a large longitudinal sample (N = 1,292) of infants in predominantly low-income, nonurban communities at 7-, 15-, and 24-months of age. Using multilevel models, we investigated longitudinal associations of infant attention and basal cortisol levels and examined caregiving behaviors as moderators of this relationship. Results indicated a negative between- and within-person association between attention and cortisol across infancy and a within-person moderation by caregiver responsiveness. In other words, on the within-person level, higher levels of cortisol were concomitantly associated with lower infant attention across the first 2 years of life. However, variation in the caregiver's level of responsiveness either buffered or sensitized the executive attention system to the negative effects of physiological stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent risk for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (STBs) involves disturbance across multiple systems (e.g., affective valence, arousal regulatory, cognitive and social processes). However, research integrating information across these systems is lacking. Utilizing a multiple-levels-of-analysis approach, this person-centered study identified psychobiological stress response profiles and linked them to cognitive processes, interpersonal behaviors, and STBs. At baseline, adolescent girls (N = 241, Mage = 14.68 years, Range = 12–17) at risk for STBs completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), questionnaires, and STB interviews. Positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and salivary cortisol (SC) were assessed before and after the TSST. STBs were assessed again during 3, 6, and 9 month follow-up interviews. Multitrajectory modeling of girls' PA, NA, and SC revealed four profiles, which were compared on cognitive and behavioral correlates as well as STB outcomes. Relative to normative, girls in the affective distress, hyperresponsive, and hyporesponsive subgroups were more likely to report negative cognitive style (all three groups) and excessive reassurance seeking (hyporesponsive only) at baseline, as well as nonsuicidal self-injury (all three groups) and suicidal ideation and attempt (hyporesponsive only) at follow-up. Girls' close friendship characteristics moderated several profile–STB links. A synthesis of the findings is presented alongside implications for person-centered tailoring of intervention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The relevance of studying behavioral disorders in children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities is determined by the fact that this problem is at the intersection of different disciplines (psychiatry, psychology, pedagogy, sociology, criminology), the fact that it is widespread, and the difficulties of analyzing the relationship between biological and social factors in the etiology of these disorders. This review discusses various aspects of behavioral disorders in children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities – prevalence, background, etiopathogenesis, and clinical features. The authors identify the need for a new approach to the classification of behavioral disorders in intellectual disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As teachers of psychology, we have unique opportunities to promote anti-ableism in our classes.Disability is a relatively common experience. Unfortunately, so is ableism. While psychology courses often cover topics that can be used to promote anti-ableism, this is not often done.I discuss literature on prejudice-reducing interventions (e.g., education, awareness of implicit bias, contact, and training in bias-reducing strategies) to support recommended teaching methods and aid in the creation of predictions that may be tested in future research.Based on my experience teaching a range of undergraduate psychology courses, and my own experience as a disabled person, I offer recommendations to engage students in anti-ableism across a variety of courses (e.g., Social Psychology, Introduction to Psychology, and Biopsychology).Topics that many psychology courses already include can be adapted, with an awareness of the literature on prejudice reduction, to promote anti-ableism and further research on such teaching methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review article was awarded the Dirk Hellhammer award from ISPNE in 2023. It explores the dynamic relationship between stressors and stress from a historical view as well as a vision towards the future of stress research via virtual reality (VR). We introduce the concept of a "syncytium," a permeable boundary that blurs the distinction between stress and stressor, in order to understand why the field of stress biology continues to inadequately measure stress alone as a proxy for the force of external stressors. Using Virtual Reality (VR) as an illustrative example to explicate the black box of stressors, we examine the distinction between 'immersion' and 'presence' as analogous terms for stressor and stress, respectively. We argue that the conventional psychological approaches to stress measurement and appraisal theory unfortunately fall short in quantifying the force of the stressor, leading to reverse causality fallacies. Further, the concept of affordances is introduced as an ecological or holistic tool to measure and design a stressor's force, bridging the gap between the external environment and an individual's physiological response to stress. Affordances also serve to ameliorate shortcomings in stress appraisal by integrating ecological interdependencies. By combining VR and psychobiological measures, this paper aims to unravel the complexity of the stressor-stress syncytium, highlighting the necessity of assessing both the internal and external facets to gain a holistic understanding of stress physiology and shift away from reverse causality reasoning. We find that the utility of VR extends beyond presence to include affordance-based measures of immersion, which can effectively model stressor force. Future research should prioritize the development of tools that can measure both immersion and presence, thereby providing a more comprehensive understanding of how external stressors interact with individual psychological states. • Stress Research has excelled in cataloging the impact of stress, but the amount of force of a stressor is often unmeasured. • Virtual Reality has utility for creating, shaping, and measuring stressors in human research. • Stress biomarkers consistently reflect the impact of VR-based stressors as well as real-world stressors. • There is a blurred boundary, or syncytium, between a stressor and its impact on stress biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision-making requires a bidirectional flow of information from perception, emotion, and bodily behaviour. Heart rate variability (HRV) provides a non-invasive, cost-effective way to assess this connection. 112 healthy participants completed two established decision tasks under ambiguity and risk. Heart rate was continuously recorded at rest, during, and after task performance. To account for differences in cardiac modulation the sample was stratified by sex. Time, frequency, and non-linear HRV domains were selected to assess vagal modulation and sympatho-vagal balance. Vagally meditated HRV showed a pattern corresponding to a replenishment effect by increasing during decision-making in both tasks compared to rest, and then gradually returning to initial levels during recovery. This effect may indicate successful self-regulation, such as enhanced concentration, or emotional regulation. Regarding decision-making, women and men making disadvantageous decisions under ambiguity had higher vagally mediated HRV than those making advantageous decisions. Consistent with this finding are the results for decisions under risk for women. Contrary, men making disadvantageous decisions under risk, showed lower vagally mediated HRV than those making advantageous decisions. The results suggest that there are sex-specific differences to be investigated in the future. HRV analysis is an effective approach for differentiating somatic characteristics associated with decision-making performance. • HRV reveals sex-specific differences in the type of decision and task performance. • HRV differentiates between good and poor performers in decision-making tasks. • Cardiac vagal control increases in decision-making, showing effective self-regulation. • HRV analysis is valuable for understanding decision-making under ambiguity and risk. Rebecca Prell is PhD Student at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany. She currently investigates decision making in different contexts and environments. In particular, she focuses on the relationship between decision making and physiological reactions. Katrin Starcke is professor of Biological Media Psychology at the SRH Berlin School of Applied Sciences in Berlin, Germany. She is the Director of the Berlin Institute of Biomusicology and Empirical Research (BIBER). She has published widely on various topics, including decision-making under stress. Martina A. Maggioni is senior research associate at the Charité University of Medicine Berlin, and assistant Professor of Physiology at the University of Milan. She has widely published in the field of human physiology, especially exercise physiology, cardiovascular autonomic control, and human adaptation to extreme environments. She recently focused also on climate change, heat stress, and their impact on health and labour capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]