Bulletin of NTU "KhPI". Series: Problems of Electrical Machines and Apparatus Perfection. The Theory and Practice / Вісник Національного технічного університету "ХПІ". Серія: Проблеми удосконалювання електричних машин і апаратів. Теорія і практика
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A systematic review of the neurobiological effects of theta-burst stimulation (TBS) as measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
No full textTheta burst stimulation (TBS) is associated with a range of clinical, cognitive, and behavioural outcomes, but specific neurobiological effects remain somewhat unclear. This systematic literature review investigated resting-state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) outcomes post TBS in healthy human adults. Forty-two studies that applied either continuous- or intermittent- (c/i) TBS, and adopted a pretest-posttest and/or sham-controlled design, were included. For resting-state outcomes following stimulation applied to motor, temporal, parietal, occipital, or cerebellar regions, functional connectivity generally decreased in response to cTBS and increased in response to iTBS, though there were some exceptions to this pattern of response. This is mostly consistent with the assumed long-term depression (LTD)/long-term potentiation (LTP)-like plasticity effects of cTBS and iTBS, respectively. Task-related outcomes following TBS were more variable. TBS applied to the frontal cortex, irrespective of task or state, also produced more variable responses, with no consistent patterns emerging. Individual participant and methodological factors are likely to contribute to the variability in responses to TBS. Future studies assessing the effects of TBS via fMRI must account for factors known to affect the response to TBS, both at the level of individual participants and of research methodology
Ensuring Prevention Science Research is Synthesis-Ready for Immediate and Lasting Scientific Impact
No full textSynthesis of evidence from the totality of relevant research is essential to inform and improve prevention efforts and policy. Given the large and usually heterogeneous evidence available,
reaching a thorough understanding of what works, for whom, and in what contexts, can only be achieved through a systematic and comprehensive synthesis of evidence. Many barriers impede comprehensive evidence synthesis, which leads to uncertainty about the generalizability of intervention effectiveness, including: inaccurate terminology titles/abstracts/keywords (hampering literature search efforts); ambiguous reporting of study methods (resulting in
inaccurate assessments of study rigor); and poorly reported participant characteristics, outcomes, and key variables (obstructing the calculation of an overall effect or the examination of effect modifiers). To address these issues and improve the reach of primary studies through their
inclusion in evidence syntheses, we provide a set of practical guidelines to help prevention scientists prepare synthesis-ready research. We use a recent mindfulness trial as an empirical example to ground the discussion and demonstrate ways to ensure: (1) primary studies are discoverable; (2) the types of data needed for synthesis are present; and (3) these data are readily synthesizable. We highlight several tools and practices that can aid authors in these efforts, such as creating a repository for each project to host all study-related data files. We also provide step-by-step guidance and software suggestions for standardizing data design and public archiving to facilitate synthesis-ready research
The case against economic values in the orbitofrontal cortex (or anywhere else in the brain)
No full textMuch of traditional neuroeconomics proceeds from the hypothesis that value is reified in the brain, that is, that there are neurons or brain regions whose responses serve the discrete purpose of encoding value. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that the activity of many neurons covaries with subjective value as estimated in specific tasks and has led to the idea that the primary function of the orbitofrontal cortex is to compute and signal economic value. Here we consider an alternative: that economic value, in the cardinal, common-currency sense, is not represented in the brain and used for choice by default. This idea is motivated by consideration of the economic concept of value, which places important epistemic constraints on our ability to identify its neural basis. It is also motivated by the behavioral economics literature, especially work on heuristics, which proposes value-free process models for much if not all of choice. Finally, it is buoyed by recent neural and behavioral findings regarding how animals and humans learn to choose between options. In light of our hypothesis, we critically reevaluate putative neural evidence for the representation of value and explore an alternative: direct learning of action policies. We delineate how this alternative can provide a robust account of behavior that concords with existing empirical data
Politics of disclosure: Organizational transparency as multi-actor negotiation
No full textTransparency is in vogue, yet oftentimes used as an umbrella concept for a wide array of phenomena. More focused concepts are needed to understand the form and function of different phenomena of visibility. In this article, we develop a definition of organizational transparency as systematic disclosure programs that meet the information needs of other actors. Organizational transparency, we argue, is best studied as an inter-organizational negotiation process on the field- level. To evaluate its merit, we apply this framework to a case study on the introduction of open data in the Berlin city administration. Analyzing the politics of disclosure, we learn about the similarities and differences between phenomena of visibility (e.g. open data, freedom of information), explore the transformative power of negotiating transparency, and deduce recommendations for managing transparency
Employing Social Networking Sites in migration research: Preliminary findings of the German Emigrants Overseas Online Survey
No full textMigration research faces many methodological challenges. This is already true when the focus is on newcomers (immigrants) in a single or a small number of countries. A major difficulty in this regard is finding, contacting, and convincing members of the target population to participate. But what if we would even want to go further and beyond a hand full of countries to survey emigrants (say, from Germany) on a near global scale? In this project, Steffen Pötzschke and Bernd Weiß explored whether social networking sites might be of any help in this regard
Development and validation of the Beliefs about Revenge Pornography Questionnaire
No full textRevenge pornography has become an increasingly prominent topic in social and legislative discussions about sexual crime, but has received relatively little attention within psychological research. Here, we leveraged existing theorizing in the area of sexual offending proclivity to systematically develop and validate of a measure of beliefs about revenge pornography. Using a large international community sample (N = 511) we found our ‘Beliefs about Revenge Pornography Questionnaire (BRPQ)’ to be comprised of three underpinning domains: ‘Victims as Responsible’, ‘Sociological Explanations’, and ‘Revenge Pornography as a Sexual Offense’. Concurrent validity is demonstrated through relationships with trait empathy, belief in a just world, dark personality traits, and rape myth acceptance. Randomly dividing the sample, we also show that the BRPQ predicts both revenge pornography proclivity (n = 227) and social judgements of this type of offending (n = 233). Implications and future directions are discussed
The effects of a novel, transdiagnostic, hybrid ecological momentary intervention for improving resilience in youth (EMIcompass): study protocol for an exploratory randomized controlled trial
No full textBackground: Most mental disorders first emerge in youth and, in their early stages, surface as subthreshold expressions of symptoms comprising a transdiagnostic phenotype of psychosis, mania, depression and anxiety. Elevated stress reactivity is one of the most widely studied mechanisms underlying psychotic and affective mental health problems. Thus, targeting stress reactivity in youth is a promising indicated and translational preventive strategy for adverse mental health outcomes later in life and for improving resilience. Compassion-focused interventions (CFIs) offer a wide range of innovative therapeutic techniques particularly amenable to being implemented as Ecological Momentary Interventions (EMIs), a specific type of mHealth intervention, to enable youth to access interventions in a given moment and context in daily life. This approach may bridge a gap in current youth mental health care.
Objectives: The aim of this study will be to investigate the clinical feasibility, candidate underlying mechanisms and initial signals of efficacy of a novel, transdiagnostic, hybrid EMI for improving resilience to stress in youth (EMIcompass).
Methods: In an exploratory randomized controlled trial (RCT), youth aged 14-25 with current distress, a broad Clinical High At-Risk Mental State (CHARMS) or a first episode of a severe mental disorder will be randomly allocated to the EMIcompass intervention (EMI plus face-to-face training sessions) in addition to treatment as usual (TAU) or a control condition of TAU only. Primary (stress reactivity) and secondary candidate mechanisms (resilience, interpersonal sensitivity, threat anticipation, negative affective appraisals, momentary physiological markers of stress reactivity) as well as primary (psychological distress) and secondary outcomes (primary psychiatric symptoms, general psychopathology) will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention and 4-week follow-up.
Results: The first enrolment was in August 2019 and as of May 2021, enrolment and randomization has been completed (n = 92 participants). We expect the end of data collection in August 2021.
Conclusions: The current study is the first to establish feasibility, evidence on underlying mechanisms, and preliminary signals of efficacy of a compassion-focused EMI in youth. If successful, a confirmatory RCT will be warranted. Overall, our approach has the potential to significantly advance preventive interventions in youth mental health provision.
Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), DRKS00017265; Date of registration: 31.07.2019
Analytic racecraft: Race-based averages create illusory group differences in perceptions of racism
No full textResearch practices used by social scientists to understand and dismantle the psychological
foundations that uphold racist hierarchies can backfire when they rely on racecraft. Racecraft
ideology assumes the reality of race(s), an assumption that shapes study designs and inferences to
the detriment of theoretical and practical goals. I showcase how racecraft manifests in studies
seeking to quantify how perceptions of sociopolitical stimuli differ across racialized perceivers
(e.g., black, white, latinx). The typical analysis for quantifying perceptions focuses on comparing
group averages, which assumes the existence of discrete “races” whose perceptions can be
sufficiently summarized by averages. Across three studies, I used variance component analyses on
racism ratings of anti-immigrant tweets from differently-racialized perceivers (N=1,211) to show
there was much larger disagreement than agreement within race categories, even when there were
average differences in perceptions across race categories. This analysis shows how analytic
practices can bolster different assumptions about the nature of race, some which reify the illusion
that race categories are stable cohesive groups. Researchers can improve their analytic inferences
and avoid producing race-reifying caricatures of peoples’ perceptions by adding variance mapping
to their toolkits and attending to racialization as a dynamic process - needed improvements within
the psychological study of race and racism, group-based beliefs, and anti-racist research endeavors
Psychometric properties of an observation instrument to assess ADHD symptoms in the classroom using a continuous sampling approach
No full textObjective: This study investigates the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Ghent University Classroom Coding Inventory (GUCCI-NL) by comparing children with (subthreshold) ADHD to typically developing peers. The advantage of the GUCCI is that it measures the proportion of time ADHD behavior was displayed and length of such intervals in a continuous manner that allows for more detailed assessment of behavior, such as on-task span, compared to traditional time sampling methods.
Method: We coded the scales Attention Problems, Motor and Verbal Hyperactivity, and Oppositional Behavior in a sample of 57 children with (subthreshold) ADHD and 34 controls (aged 6–12). Construct validity (i.e., group differences, convergent and divergent validity), predictive validity (including ROC curves), and inter-observer reliability were investigated. Outcome measures were percentage of time and interval span.
Results: The GUCCI-NL discriminated between the ADHD and control group for all scales (small to very large effects), with largest effects on percentage of time. Convergent validity against questionnaire and interview scores was confirmed for Verbal Hyperactivity and Oppositional Behavior, although divergent validity was weak. The Attention Problems scale was most sensitive to group membership (AUC = .79). Inter-observer reliability was sufficient (r >.82). Group differences on span length were found for Attention Problems but not for Hyperactivity, confirming the additional value of continuous coding.
Conclusion: The GUCCI-NL is a valid objective measure for ADHD symptoms in the classroom, which may be of added value in scientific practice, although for diagnostic purposes additional instruments should be used
Morpho-syntactico-semantic parafoveal processing: Eye-tracking evidence from word n+1 and word n in Russian
No full textTwo experiments compared morpho-syntactico-semantic parafoveal processing of 5-letter-words n+1 (Experiment 1) with 5-letter-regions at the end of longer words n (Experiment 2), understudied cross-linguistically. Earlier boundary-change studies showed that subject/object case assignment in Russian can be extracted from a parafoveally presented but never directly fixated letter when the related preview is the most expected continuation (Stoops & Christianson, 2017; 2019). This study reversed the syntactic expectations for the identical and related previews (Cloze ratings: 94% grammatical identical object versus 0% ungrammatical related subject). The related preview was read more slowly than the no change preview in the later measures: go-past for the words n+1 and n, according to both frequentist and Bayesian analyses. Additionally, the study clarifies the augmented allocation of attention hypothesis - skilled readers process parafoveally visible parts of a longer word faster than length-controlled upcoming word n+1, yet the message-level contextual linguistic information affected the target words n and n+1 similarly. The most intriguing finding is the delayed morpho-syntactico-semantic effect: even though the morphologically ungrammatical marking was parafoveally available, the syntactic fit only affected delayed processing, manifested as increased reading of previous text. More cross-linguistic work is needed to understand the role of higher-level linguistic information beyond the predictability of individual lexical items on parafoveal processing during reading