ADD
~~ New research indicates that persons with
Attention Deficit Disorder(ADD) may have a shortened perception of the
time span of temporal events - particularly in working memory. This is
suspected to be the result of an impaired dopamine system involving the
prefrontal cortex. They tested this theory by checking what was the
minimum tempo that rhythmic movement can be sustained in both persons
with and without ADD. It turns out that those with ADD have a rhythm
cut-off that was much sooner than those without. Apparently these
problems with dopamine delivery have recalibrated the internal clock
that sets the time scale for our subjective thought process. Gilden, D.
& Marusich, L. (2009). Neuropsychology. Vol 23(2), 265-269.
ADHD
~~ Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and
oppositional defiant disorder (ODD/CD) can be diagnosed with some
accuracy at age 3. Researchers looked at 168, 3-year-olds with behavior
problems. They assessed them for ADHD and ODD and then followed
them for the next several years. The diagnosis of ADHD in a 3 year old
was accurate in 75% of the children and the diagnosis of ODD was
accurate in 66% of the children. So while many 3 years old with
behavior
problems do grow out of the behaviors, early diagnosis may allow
children
to be watched and perhaps provided with early intervention strategies.
Harvey, E. (2009) Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Vol 77(2), 349-354.
~~
Traditionally, researchers considered that the
brains of
children with ADHD were just developing differently than the brains of
children without ADHD. But new MRI research show the
condition
may actually be a brain delay, rather than just abnormal development.
Normally, a child's cortex thickens slowly up to around age 7, then
thins out. It turns out that the cortex of a brain with ADHD
doesn't reach its peak thickness until around age 10. This
delay,
coupled with an early motor cortex maturity may explain some of the
symptoms of ADHD. Price, M (2008) Monitor on Psychology, Vol
39(2), pg 12.
AGING
BRAIN
~~ As promised, a bit of research on the
"aging brain".....
Many women are aware of the cognitive decline and poor spatial memory
that
correlates with menopause. The research as to whether or not hormone
treatments help prevent the cognitive decline have been mixed. New
research
now indicates that may be due to a short window of opportunity for
hormone
treatment to begin. Tracking the hippocampus and amygdala volume of
women
pre and post menopause, researchers found that women who began hormone
treatment at the time of menopause or shortly thereafter ended up with
larger
hippocampus volumes than those women who began later, after the
so-called
"critical period." The results were independent of age, years of
education and
duration of hormone treatment. However, the larger hippocampal volumes
did
not necessarily translate into improved spatial memory performance.
More
research to come. Erickson, K. et al (2010). "A cross-sectional study
of hormone
treatment and hippocampal volume in postmenopausal women: Evidence for
a
limited window of opportunity." Neuropsychology. Vol 24(1), 68-76.
~~ At last - some positive news from
science
seeking help for spatial learning and working memory problems
associated with aging. While so far, it's only been tested on rats, a
common vascular drug appears to affect a gene called KIBRA which is
involved in learning and memory tasks in the hippocampus of young and
middle-aged brains. The drug dilates blood vessels in the brain and
appears to be a significant cognitive enhancer. At least in rats.
Huentelman, M. et al. (2009) Behavior
Neuroscience. Vol 123(1), 218-223
ALCOHOL
~~ Bond University in Australia
addresses the issue of why alcohol and aggression have such a close
association. In fact, in most mammals, humans included, even moderate
amounts of alcohol tend to increase violent and/or aggressive behavior.
Their explanation is that it creates a two-fold event involving both
the cortex and subcortical areas. First, alcohol disrupts the
performance of the pre-frontal cortex - the region responsible for
making good, sound decisions. The second problem is that alcohol also
tends to disinhibit some subcortical regions, which are responsible for
our more primitive drives (sex, fight/flight, eating). So the
combination of the primitive drive region feeling more "free" to
express itself and the executive controlling function of the brain put
on hold, leads to the problems we see. Lyvers, M. 2000. Experimental
& Clinical Psychopharmacology, vol. 8(4), 607-608. Peter
Giancola at the University of Kentucky has published a similar study in
the same issue, pages 576-59
ALZHEIMER'S
~~ More college students are seeking counseling
and
psychological help at campus centers than at any other time. A national
survey shows that one in 10 college students are now seeking help on
campus for serious problems such as severe depression, anxiety and
suicidal thoughts. Psychologists theorize the increase is due to the
fact
that modern psychiatric medications are now allowing a population of
students to attend college who previously may not and a reduction in
the perceived stigma of seeking psychological help. Munsey, C. (2010).
"More student with more serious psychological issues are showing up
at campus counseling centers." Monitor on Psychology, Vol 41(4), pg 19.
ANXIETY
~~ Can
children have anxiety disorders? The question has created
much debate in recent years in the medical and psychological
community. Researchers at the University of Illinois - Urbana
have used a technique known as "voxel-based morphometry" to compare the
brains of children diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder and a group of
"normal" children. It turns out that the children with Anxiety Disorder
had significantly reduced gray matter volume in their left amygdala (an
area very much involved in emotional response.) Milham, M. et al.
(2005). Biological Psychiatry, Vol 57(9), 961-966.
ARTS
~~
Music appreciation appears to be a skill we
are born with - or apparently most of us are born with it. The ability
to perceive and enjoy music has a real biological basis according to
new studies. "Congenital Amusia" is the name given to the condition
some people are born with, in which all music sounds the same to them.
These people lack the ability to process pitch information. Stewart, L.
& Walsh, V. (2002). Current Biology, Vol. 12(12), 420-421.
AUTISM/ASPERGER'S
~~ Children with autism have 3 areas of
atypical cognitive function
- Theory of Mind (awareness and understanding that other people have a
different
view point and mind perspective),Central Coherence (a local rather than
global
information processing system or a focus on the parts of the system
rather than
the whole) and Executive Function (planning and organization).
Traditionally
these issues have been viewed and studied independent of each other.
New
research however, shows that these functions are actually quite
interwoven. Tests for Executive Function and Central Coherence in young
people with autism,
can positively predict changes in the development of their Theory of
Mind as they
grow older. Thus the 3 areas are in fact dependent and intertwined in
autism. Pellicano, E. (2010). Individual differences in executive
function and central
coherence predict developmental changes in theory of mind in autism.
"Developmental Psychology". Vol 46(2), Mar 2010, 530-544.
~~ A review of the literature on
communication intervention
strategies shows us there is no accepted standard for teaching language
to children with autism. Common practices are widely in place, but they
have rarely been adequately tested and / or show limited effectiveness.
We need methodologically sophisticated research in this field, given
the
prevalence of autism and the history of its study. Dr Connie Kasari,
"Social Communication Interventions for Children with Autism
Spectrum Disorders." APA Conference, Toronto, August 8, 2009.
~~ A diagnosis of autism still comes too
late
for most children. Despite most parent's concern for their child
starting at around 18 months and good established diagnosis techniques
available for children at 24 months, most kids are not diagnosed with
autism until between the ages of 3 and 4.
This is primarily because parents tend to use pediatricians as their
first point
of inquiry and they, as a group, are ill prepared for early detection.
Elmensdorp, S. "Identification of Autism-Specific Impairments Through
Behavioral Observation." Presented at APA National Conference, Boston,
MA Aug. 16, 2008.
BRAIN
REGIONS/FUNCTION
~~ Researchers studying the visuomotor
process development
in preterm babies as they grow, discovered some surprises about non
preterm
children as well. It's been established that preterm children often
have poor
visuomotor and visuospatial skills as they grow. Tracking preterm and
non preterm children for 11 years, researchers found that the
development of
preterm children's skills are not delayed, just different. They also
found that in
non preterm children there is a regression in movement control around 8
years
of age (maybe we should rethink what we introduce to children in school
during
this time period??) This regression was interestingly NOT found in
preterm
children. However they do continue to have less efficient and less
accurate
visuomotor skills throughout childhood (at least until age 11). Van
Braeckel, K. (2010). "Difference rather than delay in development of
elementary visuomotor processes in children born preterm without
cerebral
palsy: A quasi-longitudinal study." Neuropsychology. Vol 24(1), 90-100.
~~ Regular exercise improves
cognitive function, improves blood flow to the prefrontal cortex,
improves attention and reduces depression. Exercise can also
undo much of the damage done to the hippocampus by cortisol as a result
of chronic stress. Bruce McEwen,PhD. Rockefeller University.
"Of Molecules and Mind:Integrating the psychology and biology of stress
and adaptation. Address presented at the APA convention,
August 18, 2007, San Francisco.
DEPRESSION
~~ If you are using the online program
MoodGYM you may be
interested in new research out of Australia. The program is an
online, self-directed cognitive–behavioral therapy program aimed at
reducing
anxiety and depression in adolescents. Comparing nearly 1500
adolescents using the program vs those who were wait-listed, the
researchers found
that the program was effective in reducing anxiety even through a
6-month
follow-up. However it was not very effective in reducing depression,
although male
participants had a slight reduction in depression. Calear, A.; et al.
(2009). The YouthMood Project: A cluster randomized controlled trial of
an online cognitive behavioral
program with adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology. Vol 77(6), 1021-1032.
~~ PTSD -doesn't have to be depressing. In
reality, most
people come out of a trauma with resilience, strength and a new
positive
outlook on life - something now termed "Post Traumatic Optimism".
Post war and inservice armed forces education will now focus on the
positive,
resilient aspects of the experience. This new field of post traumatic
growth,
called resilience training, is now coming to the Armed Forces. A new
comprehensive soldier fitness program will focus on family fitness,
spiritual fitness, emotional fitness and social fitness. Positive
education
prevents depression and anxiety. Dr Martin Seligman, " Positive
Psychology/Education/Health and Neuroscience: A conversation with
Martin E.P. Seligman and Frank H. Farley". APA Conference,
Toronto, August 8, 2009.
DIABETES
~~
The Erasmus University
Medical School in the Netherlands is showing a correlation between type
2 diabetes and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Apparently
persons with diabetes have double the risk of developing dementia.The
risk is especially high if they are insulin users. Ott, et.al.,
Neurology, 1999 Vol 53(9), 1937-1942.
DYSLEXIA
~~ Students with dyslexia understand the
semantics (meaning)
of a word, but struggle with phonological deficits. This is the
conclusion of
new research that used Tip-of-the-tongue responses on a picture naming
task
with upper elementary aged children with and without dyslexia. Children
with
dyslexia made more TOT errors in the phonological portion of word
retrieval
but not the semantic portion. The results indicated that dyslexia is a
text-
independent phonological processing deficit. Hanly, S. &
Vandenberg, B.
(2010). Journal of Learning Disabilities. Vol 43(1), 15-23.
~~ In a related study, new research shows that the phonological
processing weakness found with dyslexia also gives children an uneven
profile
of mathematical skills. Math impairments are seen in children and
adolescents
with dyslexia in terms of slower and less accurate number fact recall,
and slower
counting. They do not seem to show impairment in place value
understanding. Because of their difficulty recalling arithmetic facts,
mental math activities and
assessments can cause them significant disadvantage. Simmons, F.
&
Singleton, C. (2009). Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs.
Vol 9(3),
154-163.
~~ Some children with dyslexia may
find benefit in using colored overlays and glasses for
reading. Researchers at the University of Melbourne have
found that this is due to "attentional gating" problems that may occur
in the primary visual cortex. The processing mechanism known
as the visual magnocellular pathway is designed to perform a sequential
gating of visual information as it comes into the visual cortex for
ordering. Children with impairments in this system may
benefit from the use of colored overlays. V
GANGS
GENDER
DIFFERENCES
~~ While woman have been blaming all sorts
of cognitive
impairments on hormones and cycles, here's some research that may
have us re-thinking that old excuse. Research has long shown that
stress
and the resulting cortisol increase, causes problems in memory
retrieval. However, new research shows that .the gonadal steroids
produced during
a woman's luteal phase (the day after ovulation through the end of the
cycle)
negates the stress-effect on memory. So apparently only men and women
during the pre-ovulation stage of their cycle have stress-related
memory deficits.
Schoofs, D. & Wolf, O. (2009). Behavioral Neuroscience. Vol
123(3),
547-554.
~~ A new study investigated middle school
(grades 6 - 8)
student's perception of the social support they receive in all aspects
of
their lives (teachers, friends, parents). Using various measures,
researchers found significant gender differences. Girls perceive quite
a
bit more support from friends and classmates than boys do. In fact,
while
girls report that friends provide the most social support, boys report
that
they get less support from their friends than any other source. Since
there
is a strong relationship between student's perception of social support
and
student adjustment, schools may want to consider this new research in
planning support systems. Rueger, S. et al. (2008). School Psychology
Quarterly, Vol 23(4), 496-514.
~~ Despite rumors to the contrary, there
does not appear to be any
difference between the way male and female brains process words in
reading. Using over 200 subjects and MRI scans, researchers found no
difference in the
involvement or asymmetry of either Broca's and Wernicke's areas.
Chiarello, C. et al. (2009). Neuropsychology. Vol 23(2), Mar 2009,
210-222.
HEAD/BRAIN
INJURY
~~ Researchers
in New South Wales have investigated the relationship between severe
head trauma and an impairment of theory of mind. (Theory of
Mind is the ability to understand the perspective of other
people. For example one of the big differences between
persons with Autism and Asperger's is that those with Autism really
struggle with theory of mind tasks). These researchers found
that people who had sustained serious brain trauma did struggle with
theory of mind and other tasks that require making
inferences. This, in addition to working memory limitations
associated with TBI and linguistic problems leads to poor performance
on a multitude of tasks. Bibby, H. & McDonald, S.
(2005). Neuropsychologia, Vol 43(1), 99-114.
~~ Ohio State University
released a longitudinal follow-up study on pediatric Traumatic Brain
Injury. They followed children (under the age of 12) with
moderate to severe TBI for several years. Residual problems include
executive functioning issues, pragmatic language, and social problem
solving. Yeates, K. et al. (2004).Journal of the International
Neuropsychological Society. Vol 10(3), 412-426.
HEARING
IMPAIRMENT
~~
A study out of Germany
shows that early detection of hearing impairment is possible by
listening to a baby's cry. "Expert listeners" can detect hearing
impairment and its severity through melody, perceived sound, and rhythm
of the cry. Moller, et. al, (1999). Speech and Communication. vol.
28(3), 175-193.
HOMEWORK
~~
A study out of Ohio
State University shows students do better with more frequent testing.
Weekly spot quizzes tended to have a greater effect on exam improvement
than homework. Kass, S. 1999. APA Monitor, vol. 30(9).
INTELLIGENCE
~~ Music lessons make children
smarter. So says brand new research out this month from the University
of Toronto. Researchers found that children's IQ scores increase an
average of 1 point per 6 months of lessons. So, in theory, a child
taking music lessons from age 7 to age 12 would have an increase of 10
points in their IQ due to the music. We will be watching this research
as details are released. Schellenberg, G. et al (2006) Journal of
Educational Psychology, Vol 98, (2).
LANGUAGE
~~ Children who are bilingual appear to have
better executive
processing skills, stronger problem solving skills and are faster at
switching
between mental tasks. Bialystok, Ellen. (2010). "Global-local and
trail-making
tasks by monolingual and bilingual children: Beyond inhibition".
Developmental Psychology, Vol 46(1), 93-105
~~ Some people acquire partial aphasia due to
head trauma or
other neurological damage. This partial aphasia results in their
inability to
speak certain grammatical categories, such as nouns, or verbs, or
certain
tenses of verbs. Interestingly, when this event happens with persons
who
are bilingual, they lose the ability to speak in both languages. Hence
we
can now see some overlap in lexicon grouping in persons who are
bilingual. Miozzo, M.; Costa, A.; Hernández, M; Rapp, B. (2010).
Lexical processing
in the bilingual brain: Evidence from grammatical/morphological
deficits.
Aphasiology, Vol 24(2), 262-287
~~
If you work with young Spanish speaking
students in an
English speaking school system, you know the difficulty in predicting
English reading problems early-on. But new research out of
the
University of California shows that measuring Spanish Short Term Memory
(STM) and Working Memory (WM) will predict English reading
performance. In grade 1, a test of Working Memory
which
uses both Spanish and English works best at predicting English reading
success, but by the 3rd and 4th grade, a test of WM alone becomes your
best predictor. Swanson, H., Saez, L. & Gerber, M.
(2006).
Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 98(2), 247-264.
~~ While
many
feel that
learning a 2nd language after the age of 12 changes the way the brain
processes that language, new research out of France may show
otherwise. French researchers used fMRI scans on French /
English
bilingual speakers. Half were bilingual from birth and half learned
their second language after age 12. Articulation of both languages
showed little difference in the brain regions involved. The
extent of
the neural networks involved was also similar. This contradicts other
research we've seen so we'll have to watch and see how this develops.
Frenck-Mestre, C. et al. (2005). Neuroreport: For Rapid
Communication
ofNeuroscience Research, Vol 16(7), 761-765.
LEARNING
~~ Children who survive cancer may face
more neurocognitive
challenges than their peers as they grow. In long term studies,
children
recovered from cancer have problems in memory, organization and
emotion. The greatest
problems were reported in those children who had radiation to their
brains or who had
tumors in the cortex region (as opposed to lower brain regions). The
study suggests that our schools may want to help better prepare cancer
survivors for cognitive
challenges in adulthood. Ellenberg, L. et al. (2009). Neurocognitive
status
in long-term survivors of childhood CNS malignancies: A report from the
Childhood Cancer
Survivor Study. Neuropsychology, Vol 23(6), 705-717.
~~ Traditionally, young school children
have been
evaluated for learning problems by measuring reading, calculation
skills, phonological
processing, inhibition, and processing speed. However, one of the
strongest predictors of math problem-solving in children involves a
lack of
cognitive growth in Working Memory (WM). Children in 1st, 2nd and 3rd
grade
who show little or slow growth and low levels of performance in WM, are
at-risk
for serious math difficulties in later grades. Swanson, H.L, Olga, J,
Xinhua,
Z. (2008). Growth in working memory and mathematical problem solving in
children at
risk and not at risk for serious math difficulties. Journal of
Educational Psychology. Vol 100(2), 343-379.
~~ Watching someone else get tutored in a
subject may be
a very effective way to learn concepts. New research from the
University of Pittsburgh divided Physics students into 3 groups. One
watched
~~ In case you need one more piece of research
to tell you that the cortisol levels associated with acute stress
sabotage a learning environment and hinder memory retrieval - here's
another piece released this month from the neuroscience world. They
subjected people to stress conditions and then had them try to learn
social aspects of people (names, birthdays, favorites, etc). They also
subjected another group to the same learning trials but without the
stress. As predicted, social memory retrieval is significantly impaired
when the items were learned under, or right after acute stress. Merz,
C.; Wolf, O.; Hennig, J. (2010). "Stress Impairs Retrieval of Socially
Relevant Information". Behavioral Neuroscience. Vol 124(2), 288-293.
~~ The search for math and verbally
"gifted" students generally involves traditional scholastic aptitude
tests. Researchers have discovered that tests which measure
visual spatial ability, may in-fact be a better indicator of math
giftedness. Adolescents with high spatial ability are
particularly gifted in nonverbal ideation and should be recognized and
encouraged to pursue higher math studies. Webb, R. et al
(2007). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 99(2), pag
397-420.
~~ Excellent article in Gifted Child Quarterly
this month discussing students referred to as twice-exceptional. These
are gifted students who also have a specific learning disability and
are among the most underserved students in our school system. Students
with very high Verbal IQs (+120) and low or average written language
scores are easily overlooked because their academic performance is not
failing enough to be noticed. The author accused the system of doing
great disservice to these students who are "not only waiting to fail,
but are failing to thrive" and additional efforts should be made to
support gifted students with specific learning disabilities. Assouline,
S. et al. (2010). "Cognitive and psychosocial characteristics of gifted
students with written language disability." Gifted Child Quarterly. Vol
54(2),102-115.
LEARNING DISABILITY
MEMORY
~~ "Serial Order" Short Term Memory (STM)
refers to our
ability to remember a particular sequence of items, such as a phone
number. This skill is different than just "Item" Short Term Memory
which
remembers items irrespective of sequence order. A new study shows a
strong correlation between serial order STM and vocabulary acquisition
in
young children. Children between the ages of 4 and 5 who were provided
tasks which increase serial STM, had a greater vocabulary development
during that time period than did the children who were simply presented
with item STM. Leclercq, A. & Majerus, S. (2010). Serial-order
short-term
memory predicts vocabulary development: Evidence from a longitudinal
study. "Developmental Psychology", Vol 46(2), 417-427.
~~ Every event we experience binds to our
memory
in 3 separate ways. (1) The Context - the event and its surroundings
(2) the series Episode - how the experience unfolds in time (3) a Link
to common elements. Our "Memories" then are all 3 of these networked
together in a recollection. But recollection is separate from
familiarity. In facts they may involve separate brain areas. We know
that the hippocampus is involved in recollection, but also that if the
hippocampus is removed, an animal can still have familiarity. This
networking of the memory systems allows us to associate. For example,
if A is linked to B, and B is linked to C, our brains can associate C
and A. Eichenbaum, H. "Neurobiology of Recollection". Invited Address
presented at APA National Conference, Boston, MA Aug. 16, 2008.
MISCELLANEOUS
Children with Developmental Disabilities
(DD) can exhibit
a variety of behavior problem when they start school which can hamper
their
success. Researchers have found that many of these behavior problems
are
predicted by the number of stressful events experienced within the
child's
family during those few preschool years. Early intervention education
programs need to also address how to create a positive climate for the
families. Mitchell, D. & Hauser-Cram, P. (2009). Early
predictors of behavior
problems: Two years after early intervention. "Journal of Early
Intervention".
Vol 32(1), 3-16.
~~ Be happy and not just because it's
summer, but make it a
habit. Researchers have been studying happiness. Happiness is a
combination
of life satisfaction, coping effectiveness and positive emotions. Happy
people
have more desirable life outcomes in general. And it's not enough to
just have
a general positive view of your life, you need in-the-moment positive
emotions. These build resilience and help you develop resources for an
overall satisfying life.
Cohn, M et al. (2009). Emotion. Vol 9(3), 361-368.
~~ In a new study, just released today,
researchers have found that almost 50 years after Stanley Milgram's
original study, people
are still just as willing to obey an authority figure. You may remember
studying Milgram's famous, "Blind Obedience to Authority" experiment at
Yale, where persons were asked to administer what they thought were
shocks to a stranger in another room. The study has now been replicated
by Jerry Burger and like Milgram, he found people today just as willing
to shock a perfect stranger, simply because a person in authority asks
them to. There was again, no difference in rates between the genders.
Burger, J. (2008). American Psychologist, Vol 63(1).
NEAR-SIGHTEDNESS
~~
New Research is linking
near sightedness to sleeping with some light present. It seems that
children under the age of two who sleep with a night light or regular
room light on have an significantly higher chance of developing
nearsightedness. In fact 55% of children who slept with the light on as
infants are nearsighted and 33% of children with nightlight are
nearsighted. (University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine).
OCD
~~
New studies out of
Australia and the US (New York) are linking obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD) in adolescents as a predictor to other problems such as
eating disorders and suicide. Zaider, T. et.al, (2000) International
Journal of Eating Disorders, Vol 28(1), 58-67. AND Haliburn, J. (2000).
J. of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry,
vol
39(1), 13-14.
ODD
~~
EEG patterns can be
used to diagnose some behavior disorders. In healthy children, after
the age of 4 years, girls and boys begin showing different hemisphere
preferences to problem solving. Girls prefer their left frontal lobe
and boys prefer their right. However, in boys with Oppositional Deviant
Disorder (ODD), their brains show no preference to a hemisphere and in
girls with ODD, you find a preference for the right frontal lobe.
Baving, L. et. al. 2000. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychiatry, vol
28(3), 267-275.
PROBLEM
SOLVING
~~
Problem solving is best
learned in groups. Not only do groups solve problems quicker than
individuals, but when members of the group have to solve subsequent
problems alone, they do better than those individuals without the group
experience. Barron. J. of Ed Psych. 2000 vol. 92(2) 391-398.
~~ Smart people may have more
efficient brains. An Austrian study used PET scans to watch people
"think." Persons with a higher IQ actually used less area of their
cortex when thinking through a problem and had brains that were more
focused, than persons with lower IQs. The researchers also saw
differences between genders. Females showed greater efficiency on
verbal tasks and males on tasks involving figures. Neubauer, A. et al.
(2002). Intelligence. Vol 30(6), 515-536.
READING
~~ Those of you who support summer home literacy programs
may want to look at a piece of research out in this month's J. or Ed
Psych. The research involved 4th graders from language minority
families. They randomly
divided almost 400 students into 3 groups. Group 1 children each
selected
10 books to read over summer vacation. Group 2 children each selected
10 books
to read and their families were involved in a family literacy program
over the summer
as well. Group 3 children were the control group with no reading
suggestion. While
the first two groups did read more over the summer, the researchers
found no
significant effect on reading comprehension or vocabulary between the
groups. The researchers give suggestion on making summer reading more
beneficial.
Kim, J. & Guryan, J. (2010). The efficacy of a voluntary summer
book reading
intervention for low-income Latino children from language minority
families.
Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol 102(1),20-31.
~~ If you have poor readers in your elementary classrooms,
you may interested in new research out this month. Traditionally we've
thought
that it is best to improve reading by having students read text that
was very
easy for them. This new research shows that in 2nd - 4th grade, poor
readers
can improve reading rates by reading either at their independent
reading level
(92-100% accuracy) or even slightly difficult text (80 - 90% accuracy).
However,
be warned that practice reading alone, in elementary grades, did not
make any
improvements in students' ability to decipher unknown words or on
passage
comprehension. Thus poor readers still need well-rounded reading
interventions.
O"Connor, R., et al (2010). Improvement in reading rate under
independent and
difficult text levels: Influences on word and comprehension skills.
Journal of
Educational Psychology, Vol 102(1), 1-19.
~~ Simply adding 20 additional minutes of
reading to the school
day will not significantly increase reading scores in elementary aged
children.
So says new research out this month. The researchers also found that
the
traditional lesson of reading, followed by teacher directed instruction
involving workbook practice or additional teacher-chosen reading,
individualized
for reading levels, also is rather ineffective in increasing reading
scores. After analysing the most popular types of reading instruction,
the researchers
found that the top 3 in terms of effectiveness were: (1) allowing
student choice
of books for guided independent reading (2) reading of more than 7
pages of
continuous text from classroom books (fiction or non) and (3) 15 -20
min of silent
reading with teacher monitoring, requiring 2 or more books on the same
subject,
reading applied to a global theme and follow-up open ended discussion.
Block, C. et al. (2009). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 101
(2), 262-281
~~ One way to increase the amount of class
time spent on
literacy is to embed reading comprehension training into content area
instruction.
This can be effective even in the primary grades as researchers at
Columbia
University have found. Teachers were trained to include instruction
about
structure, compare / contrast expository text, finding clue words, use
of
graphic organizers and analysis of text in their 2nd grade Science
instruction.
At the end of the study, there was no loss in the amount of science
content
acquired and the students had better performance on reading
assessments.
Williams, J. et al (2009). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 101,
1-20.
~~
Brain-imaging can assist in the detection of
reading
problems in elementary aged children. Stanford University and
Carnegie Mellon University have teamed up to look at how fMRI scans can
assist educators in early detection of reading problems.
Standard
literacy tests can detect reading problems about 68% of the time and
they've found that fMRI scans can find reading problems about 50% of
the time, but when you combine both the tests and the scans, you can
successfully find children at-risk for reading difficulties over 80% of
the time. APA press release, June 10, 2007 available at
apa.org
or through APA Public Affairs.
~~
Some remedial reading programs tout the
benefits of
alternating the presentation of words to a child's left and right
visual field. Research out of the Netherlands set up programs in which
2 groups of children repeatedly practiced reading words presented in
either the left or right visual field, or just to the central visual
field. While both groups improved in speed and accuracy, an improvement
the researchers attributed to simply the reading repetition, the
lateral group's improvement was no better than the central visual
field's improvement. Berends, I. & Reitsma,
P.(2005).
Journal of
Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Vol 27(7), 886-896.
REWARDS
~~ Interested in the psychology of time?
You may want to look at
Phil Zimbardo's new work on how life is all about temptation. Can you
delay gratification
or do you have to have things now? Are you filled with regret or
looking forward? According to Zimbardo, we can all be characterized as
either present-oriented,
past-oriented, or future-oriented people. His new research shows that
whether or
not a child can delay gratification at the age of 4, is the best
predictor of success in life.
The famous "marshmallow experiment" in the 1970's involved offering a
child a
marshmallow now, or if they could wait a few minutes, get 2
marshmallows instead. They tracked those children for 30+ years. Those
that could wait (at the age of 4)
did better in all grades of schooling, were more confident and had an
overall higher
quality of life as adults. Dr Philip Zimbard, "A Conversation with
Philip Zimbardo
and Frank Farley" APA Conference, August 8, 2009, Toronto, ON.
~~ We are all familiar with trying to
decide if something is
worth the effort. The decision of should you work that hard or give up
now and take a smaller reward is based on dopamine levels in the brain.
New research now is going further to dissect which specific dopamine
receptors are involved. Neurons can contain up to 5 variations of
dopamine
receptors (D1,D2, D3, D4,D5) each triggered by different components in
dopamine and each responsible for different proteins and responses. In
training rats to work harder and harder to reach a large reward treat
(vs
a small, easy to get reward), when blocking D1 and D2 receptors, the
rats
gave up much quicker. Simulating D1 and D2 resulted in the rats working
harder for longer periods to reach the reward. The other subtype
receptors
showed no effect. This new research may lead to a new understanding of
how to help people who give up too easily. Bardgett, M. et al. (2009).
Behavioral Neuroscience. Vol 123(2), 242-251
SCHOOL
ISSUES
~~ More college students are seeking counseling
and
psychological help at campus centers than at any other time. A national
survey shows that one in 10 college students are now seeking help on
campus for serious problems such as severe depression, anxiety and
suicidal thoughts. Psychologists theorize the increase is due to the
fact
that modern psychiatric medications are now allowing a population of
students to attend college who previously may not and a reduction in
the perceived stigma of seeking psychological help. Munsey, C. (2010).
"More student with more serious psychological issues are showing up
at campus counseling centers." Monitor on Psychology, Vol 41(4), pg 19.
~~ High School students' academic
self-concept is influenced not only by
the achievement levels of other students in their class (so called,
"frame of reference"
effect) but also by the prestige or standings of the school they attend
(so called,
"reflected glory" effect). In a large study, researchers found that
among equally
achieving students, those placed in high-achieving learning groups had
lower
academic self-concepts than their peers. But, the negative effects of
being placed
in high-achieving learning groups were weaker for high-achieving
students. For both
groups, academic self-concept was positively influenced by their
perceived school
standings in the community. Trautwein, U., et al. (2009). Within-school
social
comparison: How students perceive the standing of their class predicts
academic
self-concept. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(4), 853-866.
~~ As students transition through middle
school, they may be
greatly influenced by what until recently has not been studied - the
older sibling.
Can an older brother or sister have a strong positive effect on a
middle schooler?
Absolutely, says new research in this month's J or Ed Psych. But the
influence is
complex. If the sibling is of the same gender, then a high achieving
older sibling
is a strong positive role model. However, with mixed gender siblings, a
high achieving older sibling may be a negative role model as the
younger
sibling tries to be "not like" their older brother or sister. The
research
suggests schools may want to gather information on siblings in making
a complete picture of the middle school student. Bouchey, H., et al
(2010).
Longitudinal links between older sibling features and younger siblings'
academic adjustment during early adolescence. Journal of Educational
Psychology, 102(1), 197-211.
~~ A fascinating, yet alarming study on
school bullying was
released last month showing us that "witnessing" bullying events is
more
damaging that actually being the victim. In a large study of 12-16 year
olds,
the researchers found that those who witness bullying events report
more
depression, anxiety, hostility and feelings of inferiority than both
the victims
and the bullies themselves. Rivers, I. et. al (2009). Observing
bullying at
school: The mental health implications of witness status. School
Psychology
Quarterly. Vol 24(4), 211-223.
~~ A study started in 1993 with
1st-graders in Baltimore compared 2 preventive intervention programs
and tracked the children
through their high school graduation. One set of 1st graders
were
exposed to a classroom-centered (CC) intervention which used
a
combination of teacher instruction and curriculum improvements along
with the Good Behavior Game to reduce aggressive behaviors and improve
academic performance. The second group used a Family-School
Partnership program promoting parent involvement based on the work of
Canter & Canter. After tracking the students through
all
their school years, the CC intervention was associated with higher
scores on achievement tests, increased high school graduation and
college attendance, and reduced odds of special education service use.
Bradshaw, C. et al (2009). Longitudinal impact of two
universal
preventive interventions in first grade on educational outcomes in high
school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 926-937.
~~ Pre-K students who have more play time
do better in both academic
outcomes and performance throughout their later school years.
Why
is play, particularly social pretend play, so important? It
helps
to develop "Executive Function" (EF). Current research has
found
that EF is more important for school readiness than vocabulary and
IQ. In fact, EF is the most predictive factor of school
success. Leading researcher, Adele Diamond says "Improving EF
skills in preschool would actual reduce the academic disparity seen now
between SES classes, by improving both reading and math." EF
skill can be improved in pre-K programs by using social pretend play to
increase a child's ability to inhibit internal and external
distractions. Play and story telling can also be used to develop strong
working memory, which will be used for things that unfold over time,
such as reading and mental math. Working memory and inhibition
strategies work together to become "Executive Function". Dr
Adele
Diamond, "Strategies and Programs that Help to Improve Executive
Functions in Young Children. APA conference, August 7,
2009
Toronto
~~ Middle schoolers who feel victimized by
their
peers, perform poorly academically. Researchers found a similar
relationship between perceived victimization and poor academic
achievement across all ethnic races of children. The poor academics
results from the child's lower global self-esteem and their perception
of themselves as less competent. Thijs, J. & Verkuyten, M.
(2008).
Journal of Educational Psychology.
Vol 100(4), 754-764.
SLEEP
~~ Ever heard of orexin neurons? These
neurons, found only
in the hypothalamus of the brain, secrete a unique protein called
orexin. These
proteins regulate, sleep, wakefulness, and food seeking. Problems with
orexins
can lead to things like narcolepsy and obesity. (for more info on this
see the
article by Denis Burdakov in the June 1, 2006 issue of "Neuron.")
Psychologists
though now have found these neurons also play a major role in reward
processing
and alcohol, nicotine and cocaine addiction. All 3 of these drugs
activate these
unique neurons and a better understanding of how they are regulated
should lead
to improved help for persons with substance abuse issues. Dr Gary
Aston-Jones,
"Orexin Neurons, Reward SEeking and Addiction." APA Conference,
August 8, 2009, Toronto, ON.
~~ By now, most of us are familiar with
the
relationship between neural plasticity, memory consolidation and sleep.
New research shows that the effectiveness of sleep's role in these may
in part be determined by prenatal influences - in particular a mother's
diet and alcohol consumption. These influence how much and when the
mother's system delivers choline to the developing child. High choline
delivery equals brains that run more efficient during sleep (high gamma
waves). Lower choline levels equals slower memory, particularly spatial
memory. Meck, W.. "Prenatal Choline Supplementation Facilitates
Hippocampal Activity During Adult REM Sleep". Symposium:
Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation and Neural Plasticity. Presented
at APA National Conference, Boston, MA Aug. 16, 2008.
~~ Most of us know that sleep is a vital
part of
the learning process. Humans and other primates are unique in that we
have 4 stages of non-REM
sleep allowing a more detailed process. Stage 1 sleep is a
"consolidation" period where the brain sorts through the events from
the day and weeds out those that it deems not important enough for long
term storage. Stage 2 sleep is a time for "pruning". Most memory
systems remain silent while the brain prunes out unneeded dendrites.
Our REM period is for synaptic strengthening. By far, the biggest
beneficiary of sleep is our brain. Datta, S. "Common Switch
for Dreaming and Memory Processing During Sleep": Symposium:
Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation and Neural Plasticity. Presented
at APA National Conference, Boston, MA Aug. 16, 2008.
~~
More fMRI research on how the sleepy brain
works (or
doesn't). Researchers at the Univ of PA had subjects take
various
visual tests while scanning their brains with a fMRI. Half
the
subjects were well rested, half were sleep deprived. In the sleepy
brains, regions in the frontal, parietal, visual sensory and thalamic
cortices all showed reduced activity. Occasionally though,
the
sleepy brains looked and functioned just like the well rested
brains. Apparently a sleepy brain alternates between normal
activity and an involuntary sleep impulse - a sort of "zoning
out" sensation when trying to complete a task while sleepy. Dinges, D.
(2008). Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 28, (21), 5519-5528.
SMOKING
~~
Nicotine degenerates
certain neurons in the central regions of the brain. As with other
drugs, grey matter neurons appear to degenerate faster than white
matter. (Apparently the "white" fatty cover offers some protection).
Carlson, J. Neuropharmacology. 2000. vol 39(13), 2792-2798.
STRESS
~~ New research on treating trauma in children
is starting to surface
now that psychologists have had 5 years to follow thousands of children
affected by Hurricane Katrina. There is now better understanding of how
to deal with children after any traumatic event. The majority
of children are resilient, but some do need a long time to
recover. Keys to helping children after a trauma:
- Acknowledge the distress - something parents
tend to underestimate.
- Different ages need different
intervention. Adolescents, in particular are often ignored,
when this is a time to focus on their strength and involve them in
community recovery.
- Turn your local school into a community and
family resource center.
- Be aware and prepared for ancillary
consequences such as lack of a safe place for regular play and
recreation.
- Be aware of cultural differences and prepare
to have a variety of cultural intervention strategies. Clay, R.
(2010). Treating traumatized children." Monitor on
Psychology, Vol. 41(7), 36-39.
~~In case you need one more piece of
research to tell you
that the cortisol levels associated with acute stress sabotage a
learning
environment and hinder memory retrieval - here's another piece released
this month from the neuroscience world. They subjected people to stress
conditions and then had them try to learn social aspects of people
(names,
birthdays, favorites, etc). They also subjected another group to the
same
learning trials but without the stress. As predicted, social memory
retrieval
is significantly impaired when the items were learned under, or right
after
acute stress. Merz, C.; Wolf, O.; Hennig, J. (2010). "Stress Impairs
Retrieval
of Socially Relevant Information". Behavioral Neuroscience. Vol 124(2),
288-293.
STUDENT-CENTERED
CLASSROOMS
~~
Teachers are constantly warned against using
sarcasm with
students due to the ease with which it can be misinterpreted.
New
research on how the brain processes sarcasm shows just how complex it
is. While the left hemisphere is primarily responsible for
the
literal interpretation of what you hear, the right hemisphere, along
with areas of the frontal lobes interpret the social and emotional
aspects of what you hear. A specific region in the right
ventromedial area of the prefrontal cortex puts these two pieces
together. Damage to any of these areas affects a person's
ability
to understand sarcasm. Shamay-Tsoory, S. & Tomer,
R.(2005). Neuropsychology, Vol 19(3)
~~ A team of psychologists has
compiled the data on
cooperative vs individual classroom models from the last several
decades. The culmination included research involving more than 17,000
adolescents aged 12 - 15 years from 11 countries. Their
findings: students in classrooms that supported cooperative
learning (group projects, group study, group prep for exams) not only
had better peer relationships, they scored higher on academic tests and
scored higher on tests for problem-solving, reasoning and critical
thinking. Students from classrooms that supported individual and / or
competitive work, still maintained their social friendships but their
academic scores were lower and scores on problem solving and
critical-thinking were poorer. Roseth, C., et al. (2008) Psychological
Bulletin, Vol 134(2).
STUTTERING
~~
A new medication has
been shown to help adolescents who stutter. The University of
California at Irvine, in a study of 10 - 14 year olds, found that the
drug olanzapine was able to help children manage their stuttering.
Lavid, et. al. (1991). Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, vol 11(4),
233-236.
~~
If you are looking for
medical treatments for stuttering you may want to check a new study out
of the University of California at Irvine Medical center. Although in
the past, medications have had limited effect on stuttering, they have
found some success with Haloperidol and Risperidone. Lavid, Franklin
& Maguire. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 1999. Vol 11(4),
233-236.
SUBSTANCE
ABUSE
~~ Marijuana use among African American
males has been
linked to poor relationships, conduct problems and problems lingering
into
adulthood. Data collected regarding African American males who have
been
suspended or expelled from school indicate that only 7% of non-users
fall into
this category, whereas 23% of users are among those who have been
suspended
or expelled. Dr April Harris-Britt, "Pathways to Chronic Substance Use
for African
American Adolescent Males". APA conference, August 8, 2009 Toronto.
~~ African American girls report less
substance use than other
girl counterparts. Positive youth development including "the 5 C's" -
competence,
confidence, connections, character, caring have been successful in
reducing
substance use with this population. The most significant factor is a
good
relationship with their father, though having an available mentor and
positive
school climate were also associated with less substance use in girls.
Shauna Cooper, PhD. "Positive Youth Development Among African American
Girls: Implications for Prevention". APA conference, August 8, 2009
Toronto
~~
The National Institutes of Health has funded a
couple of
studies through SUNY showing a possible cause for the high risk of
substance abuse during adolescence by those children whose mothers used
alcohol during pregnancy. Apparently, the brain of a
developing
child learns what is "good to consume" based significantly on what
flavors and chemicals it finds in the amniotic fluid and breast
milk. The learned taste fades somewhat as the person ages,
but is
still fairly strong in adolescence. The good news is that if these
teens are steered away from alcohol use during teen years, they may not
be so at risk for abuse as adults. Chamberlin, J. (2008).
Monitor
on Psychology, Vol 39(3), 12.
~~
More than half of all 8th graders have
experience with
alcohol. Studies show that children who drink prior to age
13,
increase their chances of having an alcohol dependence as adults by
38%. Alcohol use in adolescence is a serious
problem.
Besides contributing to thousands of deaths each year, alcohol use is
blamed for an increase in other at-risk behaviors. Prevention
is
tricky due to the differences in the way adolescents' brains
operate. Successful prevention comes from parent- school
cooperative projects which monitor behavior and provide alternative
activities. Meyers, L (2008). Monitor on
Psychology, Vol
39(1), 14.
SUICIDE
~~ Both adolescents and their parents
recognize that teen
suicide is a major problem, but most don't acknowledge that it's a
problem
in their own community. In a survey carried out by a research group for
pediatricians, adolescents reported that certain behaviors such as drug
and
alcohol use would predict teen suicide. Interestingly, the parents
reported
that they saw drug and alcohol use as normal adolescent behavior. The
researchers concluded that adolescents and their parents need help
in understanding the true risks and prevalence of teen suicide in their
own
community. Schwartz, K. et al. (2010). Attitudes and Beliefs of
Adolescent
and Parents Regarding Adolescent Suicide. Pediatrics, Vol.125 (2) pp.
221-227.
~~ Teen suicide among American Indians is three
times the national average. If you look at American Indians in remote
regions the picture is worse - ten times the national average! In fact,
the Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota has the highest suicide
rate in the world. Fortunately this has caught the attention of native
and non-native mental health professionals. They have teamed up to
blend both traditional Native spiritual teachings with modern
psychological practice to try to address the poverty, isolation and
years of oppressive conditions which all lead to the high incidence of
depression in these areas. DeAngelis, T. (2009). "Natural Healing"
Monitor on Psychology, Vol 40(10), pag 48 - 50.
TEENAGERS
Middle school students who engage in physical
activity, can
increase their overall feelings of self-efficacy. In a new study,
researchers
outfitted 6th grade girls with accelerometers which measured their
physical
activity over the course of a couple of years. By 8th grade,
self-efficacy and
perceived social support were both positively correlated with physical
activity.
Dishman, R., et al. (2010). Social-cognitive correlates of physical
activity
in a multi-ethnic cohort of middle-school girls: Two-year prospective
study.
Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Vol 35(2), 188-198.
~~ Students during early adolescence often
struggle academically due
to help avoidance and diminished interaction with the classroom
teachers. Help avoidance varies for both gender and race. A
recent study compared boys and girls of European American and African
American race. All groups increased in help avoidance as they
transitioned to middle school. European American girls were
less
likely to avoid help than E. A. boys. Researchers found no
difference in help avoidance between genders of African American
students. Ryan, A. et al. (2009) Developmental
Psychology.
Vol 45(4), 1152-1163.
~~ Social stress during adolescence has
long been associated
with psychopathology in adults. Researchers are using rats to try to
link specific
types of stress (in this case "social defeat" stress) during
mid-adolescence to adult
behavior problems in males. Rats who experienced social defeat in
adolescence
were more anxious as adults, more excitable in novelty situation and
had significant
altered monoamine levels in the limbic areas of their brains -
dopamine,
norepinephrine and serotonin levels were all changed compared to the
rats in the
control group. Watt, M. et al (2009). Behavioral Neuroscience. Vol
123(3), 564-576.
~~ Academic performance often begins to
decline during
middle school - a most critical time of adolescent development.
Parental
involvement has long been studied as a major factor in middle school
student achievement. New research now looks to see specifically, what
factors of parent involvement make the biggest difference on
achievement.
Of the many factors examined, "Academic socialization" (emotional
support
and parents view of academic study) had the greatest effect on
achievement.
Nearly all types of parental involvement had a positive effect. The
lone factor
that did NOT positively effect achievement? - parental help with
homework.
Hill, N. & Tyson, D. (2009). Developmental Psychology. Vol
45(3), 740-763.
~~ Girls born to teenage mothers are at greater risk for
becoming teenage mothers themselves. A new study tracked 1500
young adolescent girls (some born to teenage mothers and some to older
mothers) for 6 years. The results - girls born to teenage mothers were
66%
more likely to also become a teenage mother, even after factoring out
other influences such as school performance, family status, and race.
The risk factors associated with teenage mothers include deviant peer
norms, low parental monitoring, Hispanic race and poverty. Meade, C. et
al (2008). Health Psychology. Vol 27(4), 419-429.
TOURETTE'S
~~
Gordon Millichap at
Northwestern U Medical school has published documentation which accues
methylphenidate as a possible cause of tourettes syndrome. Among other
studies, Millichap shows the strong correlation between Methyphenidate
(ritalin) and the increase in tourettes. Developmental Medicine
&
Child Neurology, 1999,vol 41(5), 356.
VIOLENCE
~~ While serious school violence in this
country
is rare, its
presence is frightening to students, teachers and community. Unsettling
are
the statistics that show in 81% of school shooting events, the attacker
told
someone about his plans - usually a friend, peer or sibling. Yet these
confidants chose not to disclose the information. Researchers at Penn
State
and Missouri State have given adolescents various hypothetical
situations
about a peer's plan to "do something dangerous" at school to see what
factors
influence this so-called "code of silence". Most students were more
likely to
take action on their own over confiding in a teacher or principal. High
school
students were less likely than middle schoolers to say they would
report the
information to someone. Students from schools with positive
relationships
between teachers and students and fellow classmates were more likely to
take
some action (their perception of a democratic school structure). The
study
shows how important it is for schools to take serious the relationships
between
all the people in the building as one of the strongest preventions of
school violence. Syvertsen, A., Flanagan, C., Stout, M. (2009). Journal
of Educational Psychology,
Vol 101(1), 219-232.
~~ Lead exposure in childhood continues to
be a
social problem in many arenas. New research indicates that lead
exposure prenatally as well as in early childhood can lead to a
significant decrease
in the brain's gray matter in early adulthood. Lead exposure, in males
in particular caused reduced volume in the prefrontal cortex. Other
research links early lead exposure to antisocial behavior in adulthood
as well. Exposure to lead before age 6 increases a person's chance of
being arrested for a violent crime in adulthood. Bellinger, D. (2008).
Neurological and Behavioral Consequences of Childhood Lead Exposure.
PLoS Med, 5(5), e115.
~~ One little-known expectation of our
Global
Warming is an increase in violent crime. Every 2 degree (F) increase in
global temperature equals an increase of 30,000 more victims of violent
crime, per year in the
US alone. Anderson, C. "Global Warming and Violence." Presented at APA
National Conference, Boston, MA Aug. 16, 2008.
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