 
Ari Ne’eman, President of The Autistic Self Advocacy Network, ASAN, will be speaking on the growing presence in the disability rights movement of Autistic adults and those with other disabilities not frequently involved in activism. Discussion will include what priorities the Autistic Self-Advocacy community has for the realization of that community’s civil rights, non-traditional access issues and how to think about making a world that is accessible for an even more diverse disability community, concerns over potential eugenic directions in autism research and the broader idea of “neurodiversity” and how it connects with the disability rights agenda for all people with disabilities. There will be opportunity afterwards for questions and discussion.
Read in Full:Â http://rochester.indymedia.org/newswire/display/26506/index.php
 
We trawl the world’s journals so you don’t have to:
William James memorial issue (Journal of Humanistic Psychology).
Imaging genetics (NeuroImage). From the editorial: ‘Imaging genetics can be defined as research strategy that applies anatomical or functional imaging technologies as phenotypic assays to evaluate genetic variation with the potential to understand their impact on behavior … Imaging genetics has become tremendously popular over the past years and many hundreds of studies have utilized genetics and neuroimaging techniques so far in order to investigate the subtle relationship between genes and their neural correlates.’
Implicit measures of consumer response (Psychology and Marketing).
Mental health courts and diversion programs (International Journal of Law and Psychiatry).
Collaboration, coordination, and adaptation in complex sociotechnical systems (Human Factors). From the preface: ‘Sociotechnical systems comprise integrated human and machine entities that, when functioning as an integrated, coordinated unit, can address a wide range of problems that are too complex to be addressed by individuals or machines working alone. However, the design and implementation of modern work systems tends to place primary emphasis on technological innovation without equal consideration for the social component—the teams and groups of humans—that uses that technology.’
Self, other and memory, memory and self-understanding: Self-concept – self-image – self-deception (Consciousness and Cognition).Â
 
We talk a lot about the different types of research conducted in psychology that measure the effectiveness of various treatment methods. In fact, we publish daily news stories that cover a lot of new research findings every week. Some of the treatment research has to do with medications, some with psychotherapy, and some with other methods of treatment.
But it’s all confusing and can be more than a little overwhelming. Take, for instance, the contradictory findings and results surrounding antidepressant medications. Some research says they are no better than sugar pills — placebos. Other research says they can be effective, but you just need to find the right one at the right dose. It’s hard to know what the research really says as a whole.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a central database or clearinghouse where you could find such information?
Well, at least in the world of psychotherapy and interventions for children and teenagers, now there is.
The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies got together with the Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (Division 53 of the American Psychological Association) and published a great website recently — Evidence-Based Mental Health Treatment for Children and Adolescents.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/09/26/evidence-based-treatments-for-children-teens/
 
Article Date: 25 Sep 2010 – 1:00 PDT
Playing video games for hours on end may prepare your child to become a laparoscopic surgeon one day, a new study has shown. Reorganisation of the brain’s cortical network in young men with significant experience playing video games gives them an advantage not only in playing the games but also in performing other tasks requiring visuomotor skills. The findings are published in the October 2010 issue of Elsevier’s Cortex.
Read in Full: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/202474.php
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Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on September 25, 2010
Impulsivity is often considered a part of someone’s personality, perhaps a trait that can’t be changed. However, scientists at Queen’s university have discovered that impulsive behavior can be helped with training and that when these behaviors improve, a mechanism change occurs in the frontal lobe.
Everyone deals with controlling impulses every day, such as not eating that second piece of chocolate cake. However, some people struggle far more with impulsivity and on a much broader scale than the typical person.
Professor Cella Olmstead, the lead investigator in the study, notes that impulsivity is a major feature in many disorders, including ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder, addiction and gambling. Children who have a hard time controlling their impulses often continue having behavioral problems into adulthood.
“In the classroom, kids often blurt out answers before they raise their hand. With time, they learn to hold their tongue and put up their hand until the teacher calls them. We wanted to know how this type of learning occurs in the brain,†says Mr. Hayton, a PhD student at the Centre for Neuroscience Studies at Queen’s.
“Our research basically told us where the memory for this type of inhibition is in the brain, and how it is encoded.â€
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/09/25/impulse-control-findings-may-lead-to-adhd-addiction-treatments/18586.html
 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on September 25, 2010
Scientists have long wondered why people with anxiety often seem paralyzed when it comes to decision-making. Â Â A new study reveals that people with anxiety have decreased neural inhibition in their brain, a process in which one nerve cell suppresses activity in another.
For the study, researchers wanted to test the theory that neural inhibition in the brain plays a big role in decision-making. So they developed a computer model of the brain called a “neural network simulation.â€
“We found that if we increased the amount of inhibition in this simulated brain, our system got much better at making hard choices,†said Hannah Snyder, a psychology graduate student who worked with the researchers on the study.
“If we decreased inhibition in the brain, then the simulation had much more trouble making choices.â€
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/09/25/why-anxious-minds-cant-think-right/18743.html
 
MONDAY BRIEFS: Quick mussing on child related research.
Editor’s note: Monday’s briefs are usually brief posts, but the topic today resulted in a longer than usual philosophical discussion of corporal punishment.
The most recent issue of the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics included a report on the use of physical violence as a form of discipline (aka “spankingâ€) and its relation to intimate partner violence. The study examined a large sample of close to 2,000 families participating in a nationally representative study of families across the USA. The authors were interested in examining whether the use of spanking in 3 year old children was associated with physical violence between the parents.
The results were not surprising:
1. 65% of 3-year-old children are spanked at least once by their parents during the previous month.
2. The odds of using physical punishment doubled in households where parents used aggression against each other. This is not surprising, since physical punishment is a form of interpersonal aggression.
3. Maternal stress significantly increased the odds of using physical punishment. This is also not surprising since physical punishment is more likely to be used by parents who are angry.
4. Maternal depression significantly increased the odds of using physical punishment.
5. The odds using of physical punishment were not associated with maternal education, but when the father had a college degree, both the father and the mother were significantly less likely to use physical punishment. I am curious to hear my readers thoughts on this interesting finding.
The authors concluded (CP = Corporal Punishment; IPAV = Intimate Partner Violence):
Despite American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations against the use of CP, CP use remains common in the United States. CP prevention efforts should carefully consider assumptions made about patterns of co-occurring aggression in families, given that adult victims of IPAV, including even minor, non physical aggression between parents, have increased odds of using CP with their children.
Yes, the American Academy of Pediatrics unequivocally recommends against the use of aggression as a discipline method. Why? Because the research on physical punishment is clear: It is unnecessary and is associated with a long list of NEGATIVE consequences. For example, although proponents of “spanking†argue that if you don’t spank, the child will not learn to behave properly, the research actually suggests the opposite. Children who are spanked, when compared to their non-spanked peers, are, among many others:
1. more likely to use aggression against their peers
2. less likely to internalize rules
3. more likely to engage in criminal activity during adolescence
4. more likely to engage in domestic abuse as adults
5. more likely to suffer from depression
and on and on and on.
For those who want to read more about the science behind the negative effects of corporal punishment, visit the research library of Project No Spank; http://nospank.net/resrch.htm
 
In the Parents Magazine article, “Mommy Isn’t Feeling Well Today,†Sarah Mahoney interviews many experts: professionals, parents who have chronic illness and sometimes, as in my case, people who are both. I was honored to be among them.
The article is impressive in how it covers many of the challenges parents face every day rearing their children while their health is seriously compromised.
Below, I summarize the article’s most salient points and add my comments:
1. “Handling chronic illness is about learning to live in balance,†said Rosalind Doran, Psy.D.
Many of us learn the hard way that if we don’t pay attention to what and how much we do in all spheres of our lives we can quickly over-do. The result is the same as when the tires on our car are out of balance. We’re in for a very bumpy ride.
2. “You can’t dwell on questions like. ‘Why is this happening to me?’ or ‘What if it gets worse?’ It’s important to focus on feeling well and to maintain a positive outlook.â€
Yes, this is more easily said then done but this is an important point and one I’ve made before. If you have a chronic illness, and I do, there is a danger that we will over-identify with being a sick person. We are not our illness and it really does matter that we make the effort to see the cup half full.
3. The first hurdle is revising expectations of family life.
“Of course, you can still be a loving parent, but some adjustments will have to be made. Your family will not look the way you imagined it would. That’s a loss, and it hurts a lot.â€
In order to move on, down a new path, we need to let go of what may have happened if we had gone down another. If we hold on to, “What would my life have been like if I wasn’t sick?†we deny ourselves the opportunity to create a real and satisfying present.
4. A chronic illness may change your plans about having more children.
That may mean imagining a life with fewer kids, considering adoption or even remaining childless. I had to accept the very real possibility that I would not be able to have kids. As anyone who has been through such an agonizing reality, there is a mourning process, a grieving that takes place. For many women there is also a feeling of guilt (could I have done something to avoid this?) that must be let go.
5. Fighting fatigue and dealing with the cycle of ‘good days’ and ‘bad days’.
For many, this is one of the most difficult stresses when coping with chronic illness. When my illness was active, I woke up thinking, “What kind of day will this be?†Simultaneously, I mentally did a full body check. If everything ached so much I didn’t want to move, I moved anyway, knowing that, like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, if I didn’t move I would be stuck there forever.
6. Learning to put your needs ahead of your child and husband.
Another tough one but absolutely necessary. We are here, committed to the long haul, therefore we need to be cognizant of how we care and maintain ourselves to last.
7. Ask for help. Re-create a sense of extended family. Support groups.
There’s a man in the article who developed a group of Dad substitutes for his children in case he died before they were grown. That took guts and true friends.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/09/27/10-challenges-for-parents-with-chronic-illness/
 
Article Date: 28 Sep 2010 – 0:00 PDT
Healthcare professionals are still not receiving the appropriate training and support they need to help people who self-harm and this can result in negative attitudes and inadequate levels of care.
Those are the key findings of a research review carried out by mental health specialists from the University of Nottingham, UK, and published in the October issue of the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.
Staff nurse Jo McHale and lecturer Anne Felton studied 19 papers from the UK, Australia, Sweden and Ireland, dating from 1998 to 2009 and covering the views of 1,300 nurses, other healthcare professionals and service users. These included all aspects of self-harm, from patients who cut themselves to those that try to commit suicide.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/202628.php
by Jonathan Rottenberg, Ph.D.
Nothing could be more American than the pursuit of happiness. Along with life and liberty, the pursuit of happiness is written into the Declaration of Independence as a fundamental right. Everyone I know wants to be alive, free, and happy. So what could ever be wrong with pursuing happiness to the fullest extent possible? The more you value your happiness, the happier you will be, right?
Wrong, says compelling new research.
In two studies to be published in the journal Emotion, the authors, led by Iris Mauss of the University of Denver found evidence for an alternative hypothesis: People who value happiness more are less likely to achieve their goal of feeling happy.
In the first study, the authors administered a questionnaire designed to measure the extent to which people valued the experience of happiness as a fundamental goal. Women who valued happiness more were less happy in life than women who valued happiness less. Women who valued happiness more reported that they were less satisfied with the overall course of their lives and were more bothered by symptoms of depression. Strangely enough, valuing happiness seemed most problematic for women whose lives were low in stress–the people for whom happiness should have been within easiest reach.
Read in Full:Â http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/charting-the-depths/201009/the-pitfalls-seeking-happiness