Advances in Cognitive Sciences
Year:2014 | Volume:15 | Issue:4 (60)|Papers Count:9

Introduction: numerous studies have examined the facial emotion recognition in patients with schizophrenia with the majority reporting impaired ability to recognize emotions, however the question whether this reflects distinct functional deficits or is secondary to a global cognitive impairment, has not been well explored. The purpose of our study was to explain such inconsistent findings in a new perspective. We hypothesized that facial affect recognition is a distinct function since the accurate facial emotion recognition requires several cognitive performance to support the ability of identifying the affects correctly.Method: the study was implemented on 55 patients with schizophrenia (19 male and 36 female). The ‘verbal paired associates’ subtest of Wechsler Memory Scale Revised (WMS_R), ‘picture arrangement subtest’ of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the continuous performance test (CPT) were used to assess the participants’ cognitive functions. Facial emotion recognition was examined following the presentation of images of facial emotions according to Ekman and Friesen (1976).Results: while findings suggested a significant correlation for all variables (p<0.001), t-test results failed to show any significant difference between the two groups of patients (impaired and unimpaired in facial emotion recognition) in terms of their cognitive performance.Conclusion: facial emotion recognition appears to be a distinct cognitive feature which contributes to the heterogeneity of the disorder. These results may have implications for psychological rehabilitation to increase facial emotion recognition as distinct cognitive function.

Introduction: the goal of the present study was to investigate the impact of the attention training on vigilance and visual search in normal adults and children Method: in this study, using purposive random sampling, 60 subjects (30 adult and 30 children) were selected according to the research criteria. The ‘continuous performance test’ (CPT), concentration and diffuse attention test, mini mental status scale and the scholar-made direction control variables were used as the cognitive assessment tool pack. The continuous performance test as well as concentration and diffuse attention test were primarily administered to subjects during the pretest. Later, the adult group underwent three weeks of training (five 35-minute training sessions) while the children group received ten 45-minute training sessions over 5 weeks. Eventually, post-tests were administered to the subjects in both groups.Results: Analysis of the data revealed that the attention training leaves a significant positive impact on the correct response rate, reaction time vigilance and visual search.Conclusion: Given the potential impact of attention training on vigilance and visual search, the importance of such trainings in fostering accurate cognitive processing as well as attention and proper timely response to the target stimuli, is becoming clearer than ever.

Introduction: The present research aims to compare the cognitive performance of the people suffering from washing compulsion, checking compulsion and generalized anxiety disorder in the realm of working and prospective memories.Method: the selected sample in this causal-comparative study included 14 subjects suffering from checking compulsion, 14 from washing compulsion, 17 from generalized stress and 15 normal people who were matched for age, level of education, as well as social and economic status variables. The tool package employed in this investigation comprised Yale-brown obsessive-compulsive scale, Beck's depression and anxiety inventories, the prospective memory test, the letter-numbering sequencing subtest, Wechsler's memory test, and the information processing index test. Findings were analyzed using the ANOVA, MANOVA analysis statistical methods.Results: as indicated by our results, the average overall score of the healthy group was higher than that of the washing compulsion group in the visual section while the average scores of the groups suffering from general anxiety and checking compulsion were significantly higher than that of the normal group showing a suboptimal performance in checking compulsion and general anxiety groups compared to the normal subjects. The present findings could be interpretable within the framework of the cognitive theories of anxiety disorders.

Introduction: Categorization of concepts is one of the most basic productive functions of human language and cognition. The present research intended to explore whether cognitive categorization methods in blind and semi- blind students differs from their sighted peers.Method: Two groups of blind, semi-blind as well as sighted students were recruited in the current research. Subjects were chosen from the two provinces of Qom and Yazd. The sampling method from the mentioned population was purposive and specifically matched. Based on the matched pair sampling method, subjects of the blind students group were selected before the sighted students group. Students from the sighted group were matched with the blind and semi-blind groups for social factors, educational status, parents’ occupation and education, residence and economic status. All hundred and sixty students were studying in primary school (preschool to the fifth grade). Ninety six, twenty four and forty of these students were sighted, semi- blind and blind, respectively.Results: Results were analyzed via quantitatively and qualitatively methods. Analysis of the results revealeda higher mean rank of sighted student group in cognitive categorization methods compared to their blind peers. Results showed that the sighted children were significantly different with regard to their applied cognitive concepts-categorization methods based on defining features, prototypes (characteristic features) and theory-based view of meanings compared to their blind peers. These results highlight the fact that sighted students pointed to the main and the most distinctive features of categories.Features mentioned by the sighted group had a higher cue validity compared to that of the blind group.Moreover, results from the qualitative analysis declared that features mentioned by the sighted groups were of a more diverse type as compared to those by of blind groups. Students of the sighted group considered the main and most distinctive features of categories as well as their subsidiary features.Conclusion: the type of diverse replies from the sighted group demonstrated that while the blind and semiblind group students predominantly used a stereotyped speech, their sighted peers were more aware of the features of different categories. It seems that their knowledge of different categories is based on what they learned from their school lessons or what they perceived by other perceptual systems. Above findings may be also attributed to determinant factors such as limited cognitive map data, weakness in recalling more than one pattern at a time, and the lack of direct experience.

Introduction: The goal of this study was to identify gender and age differences in Time-Based Prospective Memory (TBPM).Method: With expost facto method, one hundred participants were selected. Fifty participants were over 65 years old (25 males and 25 females) having BA degree and fifty participants were graduate students (25 males and 25 females). The DMDX software was employed to evaluate TBPM. The prospective memory (PM) task of this experiment required participants to click one of two buttons at 5-min intervals while responding to multiple-choice general information questions.Result: Male and younger subjects outperformed the females and old adults during the PM tasks, respectively. A significant interaction between age and gender in PM tasks was noted as male participants demonstrated a poorer performance in PM tasks by age. Females committed more PM errors. Similarly in this group, older subjects had more PM errors.Conclusion: Gender and age variables appear to have significant effect on TBPM function.This might be possibly originated from or directly attributed to other cognition functions. Frontal and temporal lobe functions, IQ and especially the processing speed are expected to have tremendous effects on TBPM. Meanwhile, these functions are significantly influenced by aging. The marginally better working memory, perceptual organization factor and processing speed in men vs. women may partly explain gender differences in TBPM. Further studies are required to investigate the above notion in real-life setting.

Introduction: Emotion regulation plays a determinant role in psychological health and related disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the potential effects of cognitive emotion regulation strategies on the relationship between alexithymia and interpersonal problems in a sample of Iranian students.Method: Four hundred and forty three high school students (213 boys, 230 girls) from the city of Tehran schools participated in this study. All participants were asked to complete Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), Farsi version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (FTAS-20), and Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-60).Results: Results revealed a significant negative correlation between adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and interpersonal problems. Maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and alexithymia demonstrated a significant positive association with interpersonal problems. As substantiated through data analysis, the relationship between alexithymia and interpersonal problems was moderated by cognitive emotion regulation strategies.Conclusion: It can be concluded that the relationship between alexithymia and interpersonal problems is not simply linear and potentially influenced by both adaptive and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies.

Introduction: The aim of the current study was to examine effectiveness of parent training program, working memory training and the combination of these two interventions on the improvement of working memory in children with ADHD.Method: 36 children with ADHD (aged between 6 to 12 years) were selected according to a convenience sampling method. SNAP–IV, CBCL and clinical interviews were employed to diagnose ADHD. The WISC-IV intelligence test was conducted to control of participant's intelligence. The participants were randomly assigned to the three intervention groups. The data were analyzed using MANCOVA.Result: The performance of the children of the combined group regarding spatial-visual memory assessed via A and B forms of the Rey test as well as A and D forms of the Benton test showed significant difference compared with the other two groups (p<0.05). It was also found that there was a significant difference between the combined treatment group and working memory training group in the Wechsler's visual test (p<0.01). Nevertheless, the results of the reverse visual memory of the test demonstrated significant difference only between the combined treatment group and the parent training group (p<0.01). A significant difference was observed between the combined treatment group and the other two groups concerning the Wechsler's forward auditory memory assessing auditory component of the working memory (p<0.001). In reverse auditory memory component, a significant different was also shown between the combined treatment group and the other two groups (p<0.01).Conclusion: The combined treatment (Barkley's parent training program, working memory training) with a new approach can resulted in further improvement of working memory as one of the main impaired components of this disorder.