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Only a few studies addressed age-related changes from childhood to adolescence in sleep patterns, sleepiness, and attention. Vigilant attention plays a key role in cognitive performance. While its nature and course have been investigated broadly among adults, only limited research has been conducted on its development between childhood and adolescence. The main aim of the current study was to replicate previous findings about the effects of sleep loss on age-related changes in vigilance attention performance and sleepiness in a natural setting. A total of 104 children and adolescents (46 children aged 6–9 and 58 adolescents aged 13–19) wore an actigraph for a continuous five to seven nights, including weekdays and weekends. Subjective sleepiness (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale) and a Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT-B) were measured on two school days and one non-school day. Findings showed that PVT-B performance differed by age group, with adolescents outperforming children in PVT-B measures in spite of their elevated subjective sleepiness. Adolescents demonstrated less sleep time and increased sleepiness. Although PVT-B performance was better among adolescents, a within-subject analysis revealed that adolescents performed better on PVT measures on weekends than on weekdays. The results are discussed in relation to the synaptic elimination model.

The possible effects of stress and neurobiological stress mechanisms on visuospatial abilities remain largely unknown. In the current study, we examined the combined effect of sex hormones and both the hypothalamic&ndash, pituitary&ndash, adrenal axis (HPA-A) and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) on stress-induced changes in visuospatial performance. A total of 107 participants completed a mental rotation task and were subsequently exposed to either to the Trier social stress test (TSST) or to a control condition before completing the mental rotation task again. HPA-A and SNS reactivity of the participants were evaluated by measuring salivary alpha amylase (sAA, an SNS activation marker) and cortisol in four saliva samples. Pre-stress levels of sex hormones (progesterone, estradiol, and testosterone) were also measured. The TSST enhanced mental rotation performance, and this enhancement was negatively correlated with baseline estradiol levels and positively correlated with the level of cortisol reactivity among men. In addition, controlling for baseline levels of testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone diminished this effect of stress. These results imply that the stress-induced facilitation of mental rotation performance is modulated by baseline sex hormones and provide preliminary support to the notion that a complex interaction between sex hormones and neuroendocrine stress mechanisms mediates the influence of stress on visuospatial performance.

Background: The present study investigated the role of temperament and attachment security in predicting individual differences in the five factor personality traits among adults. As previous studies suggested the potential moderating role of attachment in the association between temperament and personality traits, the present study sought to examine an interactionist model combining attachment and temperament in explaining individual differences in personality traits. Methods: A sample of 1871 participants (1151 women and 719 men) completed self-report measures of adult attachment style (the Relationships Questionnaire&mdash, RQ), temperament dimension (the Fisher Temperament Inventory&mdash, FTI), and personality domain (the Five Factor Model&mdash, FFM). Results: Partial correlational analyses revealed associations between attachment security and each of the five domains of the FFM, and few associations between some temperament dimensions and several domains of the FFM. Moderated regression analyses showed that attachment security moderated the associations between temperament dimensions and the Agreeableness domain of the FFM. Among secure individuals, those with higher scores on the Curious/Energetic, Cautious/Social Norm Compliant and Prosocial/Empathetic scales exhibited higher Agreeableness scores, whereas among insecure individuals, those with higher scores on the Analytic/Tough-minded scale exhibited lower scores on the Agreeableness scale. Conclusion: Overall, the current study provides evidence in support of the substantive role of social-environmental factors (Adult Attachment) as a moderating element bridging temperament-related personality elements and a number of their FFM manifestations.

The roles of mating cues and of intrasexual competition in humor production have not yet been assessed. Therefore, the present study explored the influence of implicit mating cues on humor enhancement. In two experiments involving 306 participants, using a priming methodology to examine sex differences and enhancement in humor production ability, participants were exposed to unattractive and attractive opposite-sex photographs, after which their humor production ability was rated. Studies differed in presentation durations of primes, and manipulation of intrasexual competition. The findings of Study 2 showed that, under conditions of intrasexual competition, men were superior to women in humor production ability and exhibited enhancement in humor ability following exposure to attractive women primes. The findings broaden the evolutionary cognitive framework in relation to sexual selection, differential parental investment, and social cognition.

The role of attention allocation in object-location memory has been widely studied through incidental and intentional encoding conditions. However, the relation between sustained attention and memory encoding processes has scarcely been studied. The present study aimed to investigate performance differences across incidental and intentional encoding conditions using a divided attention paradigm. Furthermore, the study aimed to examine the relation between sustained attention and incidental and intentional object-location memory performance. Based on previous findings, an all women sample was recruited in order to best illuminate the potential effects of interest. Forty-nine women participated in the study and completed the psychomotor vigilance test, as well as object-location memory tests, under both incidental and intentional encoding divided attention conditions. Performance was higher in the incidental encoding condition than in the intentional encoding condition. Furthermore, sustained attention correlated with incidental, but not with intentional memory performance. These findings are discussed in light of the automaticity hypothesis, specifically as it regards the role of attention allocation in encoding object-location memory. Furthermore, the role of sustained attention in incidental memory performance is discussed in light of previous animal and human studies that have examined the brain regions involved in these cognitive processes. We conclude that under conditions of increased mental demand, executive attention is associated with incidental, but not with intentional encoding, thus identifying the exact conditions under which executive attention influence memory performance.

In order to explore the developmental patterns of sex differences in verbal and visuospatial abilities, the present study investigated sex differences in various cognitive abilities among children and adults. Three hundred and twenty-six children and adults completed a battery of six cognitive tasks testing two sets of abilities: The verbal cognitive battery tested verbal fluency and short-term memory tasks. The visuospatial battery tested mental rotation, localization, and form-completion tasks. Results showed a significant Sex × Age interaction on the mental rotation task, with men outperforming women in the 3D task, but with no sex differences shown in childhood in the 2D task. Sex differences in verbal fluency were found, with girls and women outperforming boys and men in this task. Findings are discussed within an integrative approach of biological as well as environmental factors.

Exposure to stress activates both the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). A growing body of research points to the contribution of sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone), the end products of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, in modulating stress reactivity. The present study aimed at investigating the potential modulating role of sex hormones on HPA and SNS reactivity to psychosocial stress. The reactivity, induced by the Trier Social Stress Test, was analyzed by measuring the levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase (markers for SNS activity) in four saliva samples each of 21 men and 37 women (17 not using oral contraceptives and in their luteal phase, and 20 women using oral contraceptives). In addition, basal sex hormones were sampled prior to the psychosocial stress exposure. Results revealed that controlling for testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone diminished the impact of stress on cortisol reactivity and on alpha-amylase reactivity. Moreover, controlling for sex hormones also diminished the differential pattern of cortisol reactivity in each experimental group among responders. Furthermore, correlation analyses revealed differences between groups in the association between sex hormones and alpha-amylase. The present findings indicate a modulatory role for sex hormones in HPA and SNS reactivity and emphasize the need for control of sex hormone fluctuations when examining cortisol and alpha-amylase reactivity to stress.

Accurate recognition of the emotions of other people is essential for successful human interactions. Previous studies showed inconsistent results of the impact of acute psychosocial stress on emotion recognition. Thus, the present study aimed at investigating the influence of psychosocial stress on the recognition of facial emotional expressions of different valance. Eighty-eight participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups: stress (exposure to the Trier Social Stress Test) and control. Participants of both groups completed a facial emotion recognition test before and after the manipulation. The results demonstrated an enhancement in emotion recognition in the stress group but not in controls. Further analyses revealed that while stress enhanced the accurate recognition of anger, happiness, surprise, and neutral/calmness, it impaired the recognition of fear and had no effect on the recognition of sadness and disgust. The findings are discussed in light of evolutionary assumptions regarding differential processing mechanisms of emotion expressions.

Testosterone has been associated with a wide range of behaviors. Digit ratio (2D:4D), a somatic marker of prenatal testosterone, has been associated with risk taking, but the findings are inconsistent. The present study sought to investigate an interactionist model combining biological and personality factors in explaining risk taking. Power has been previously found to moderate the relationship between 2D:4D and risk taking. It has also been suggested that optimism plays a mediating role in the relationship between power and risk taking. In light of these interconnections, the present study explored the interaction between 2D:4D and optimism as a predictor of self-reported risk taking. Two hundred and eleven participants (102 men and 109 women) completed self-report measures of optimism and risk taking, and their prenatal testosterone was estimated by left and right 2D:4D ratios. Moderated regression analysis showed that optimism moderated the association between left 2D:4D and general risk taking, with men and women taking more risk with lower 2D:4D and lower optimism levels. Further moderated regression analysis, including participants’ sex, revealed that optimism moderated the association between right 2D:4D and financial risk taking, but only in women, exhibiting more financial risk taking with lower 2D:4D but higher optimism levels.

The present study aimed at investigating the role of sex hormones in individual differences in cognitive abilities. This was achieved by a combination of two methods, reflecting 2 critical periods of hormonal secretion: prenatal, based on the 2D:4D ratio, and postnatal, based on circulating hormone levels. Both methods were tested in 39 men and 41 women, who completed a battery of 6 cognitive tasks. Results showed significant sex differences on the mental rotation task, with men outperforming women. A positive correlation was found between testosterone and performance on the mental rotation task for the combined sample (men and women). A significant interaction was found between sex and estrogen on mental rotation task. Findings also revealed a significant interaction between sex and right hand 2D:4D ratio on different memory tasks. Findings regarding between- and within-sex differences in cognition are discussed in light of the organisational and activational effects of sex hormones.

Sex differences in object location memory have been widely studied, with mixed results. The role of attention in mediating the female advantage in object location memory has not been clearly understood yet. Two experiments, involving 181 participants and using an actual object array, were conducted in the present study to examine two learning conditions: incidental and intentional. In each experiment, participants were randomly assigned to divided versus full attention conditions. The study also examined memorizing location-maintained and location-exchanged objects. In both experiments, in both incidental and intentional learning conditions, women outperformed men in memorizing location-exchanged objects in the full but not in the divided attention condition. These findings confirm and extend previous ones concerning the conditions under which the female advantage in the detection of change in an array of objects occurs. The findings are discussed within an evolutionary conceptual framework.

Attention plays a key role in memory processes and has been widely studied in various memory tasks. The role of attention in sex differences in object location memory is not clearly understood. In the present study, two experiments involving 186 participants and using an object array presented on paper were conducted to examine two encoding conditions: incidental and intentional. In each experiment, the participants were randomly assigned to divided versus full attention conditions. In the first experiment, which involved incidental encoding, women outperformed men in memorising location-exchanged objects in both the full and in the divided attention condition. In the second experiment, which involved intentional encoding, women outperformed men in memorising location-exchanged objects in the full attention condition, but not the divided attention condition. These findings deepen our knowledge regarding the role of attention in object location memory, specifically in terms of the conditions under which females have an advantage for detecting changes in an array of objects.

The current set of meta-analyses elucidates the long-term psychiatric, psychosocial, and physical consequences of the Holocaust for survivors. In 71 samples with 12,746 participants Holocaust survivors were compared with their counterparts (with no Holocaust background) on physical health, psychological well-being, posttraumatic stress symptoms, psychopathological symptomatology, cognitive functioning, and stress-related physiology. Holocaust survivors were less well adjusted, as apparent from studies on nonselected samples (trimmed combined effect size d = 0.22, 95% CI [0.13, 0.31], N = 9,803) and from studies on selected samples (d = 0.45, 95% CI [0.32, 0.59], N = 2,943). In particular, they showed substantially more posttraumatic stress symptoms (nonselect studies: d = 0.72, 95% CI [0.46, 0.98], N = 1,763). They did not lag, however, much behind their comparisons in several other domains of functioning (i.e., physical health, stress-related physical measures, and cognitive functioning) and showed remarkable resilience. The coexistence of stress-related symptoms and good adaptation in some other areas of functioning may be explained by the unique characteristics of the symptoms of Holocaust survivors, who combine resilience with the use of defensive mechanisms. In most domains of functioning no differences were found between Israeli samples and samples from other countries. The exception was psychological well-being: For this domain it was found that living in Israel rather than elsewhere can serve as a protective factor. A biopsychological stress-diathesis model is used to interpret the findings, and future directions for research and social policy are discussed.