Hot Topics from Psychology and Neuroscience

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.

~~ A therapy technique called "Musical  Attention Training Program has been touted as a beneficial treatment for Attention Deficit Disorder. Researchers in Toronto have conducted a study which shows some promise for this therapy when used with attention problems that are often associated with brain injury.  Knox, R. et al. (2003). Music Therapy Perspectives, Vol 21(2), 99-104.

~~ In recent years, problems in the frontal lobe have been blamed for ADD. But new research is now showing that there may be areas more strongly linked. A study at Leiden, Netherlands (Leiden Univ) found that children with ADD have more delay in "orienting to cues" rather than impaired decision making (which was previously thought to be the culprit). Using new imaging techniques, they have found that the children seem to have a problem in a lower region of the brain, the attention system. This means that they are slow to detect the source of new incoming stimuli or cannot separate one source from another. Similar information is coming from the University Clinic for Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in Essen Germany. Their imaging study shows impaired function also in the limbic system of ADD children in what they call "intercortical dialog". Basically, problems with the left side which processes details and the right side which specializes in global processing. A study at the University of Denver, Dept. of Psychology is also showing that ADD involves not only the frontal lobe, but other regions as well, particularly the right parietal lobe.

~~ A study at the University of Pittsbugh, School of Medicine, looked at highly aggressive children diagnosed with ADD. Half the children were given a placebo (sugar pill) and the other half were administered methylphenidate (Ritalin). In their double-blind study, the Ritalin group had significantly reduced their aggressive behavior.

~~ The University of Kentucky Medical Center is defending testing accommodation for persons with ADD. They state that test agencies have been unable to prove that test validity for standardized tests at any level (even the state Bar exam) is altered by accommodation for ADD.

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.

~~ Young children with ADHD who later also develop conduct disorders are at a greater risk for substance abuse and criminal behavior.  However, researchers have found that the parenting of these children has a large effect on their outcome.  Maternal depression poses the greatest risk for these children and positive parenting during the early years with these children offers significant protection again these risk factors. Chronis, A. et al. (2007).  Developmental Psychology, Vol 43(1) 70-82

~~ For years we've associated problems in the prefrontal
cortex as one of the major contributors to ADHD.  Researchers at Queens College in NYC are arguing that model.  They hypothesize that the development of this area actually just correlates with the reduction in ADHD symptoms as the person develops.  They feel that ADHD is due completely to noncortical dysfunction, develops very early in the brain's life and remains constant throughout life despite the fact that some symptoms may lessen with development. Haperin, J. & Schulz, K. (2006). Psychological Bulletin, Vol 132(4), 560 - 581.

~~ A recent article by leading Harvard Medical School
experts summarizes the most up-to-date research and understanding of ADHD(attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder):
The disorder affects about 10% of all children worldwide.  About one-half of the children with ADHD will continue to have some type of impairment from it through adulthood.  Genetic studies have shown it to be highly heritable and while heredity seems to be the leading cause, some pre-natal and even early childhood events can also be linked to ADHD. From a molecular standpoint, research points to catecholaminergic circuits and impaired transmission of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Research in treatments has shown both non-stimulant and long-acting traditional treatments such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) to be safe and effective, especially when coupled with behavioral interventions and treatment.  Biederman, J. & Faraone, S. (2005).  Lancet. Vol 366(9481) 237-248.

~~ From Beijing, China we see an interesting study looking at the different responses to the use of methylphenidate (brand name, Ritalin) for ADHD and a very specific gene.  Some children respond well to Ritalin for inattention, some for impulsivity and some for both.  What these researcher found is that those children who responded well to Ritalin for impulsivity were also children who have a very specific version of the gene responsible for norepinephrine transport.  So the inattention and impulsivity components to ADHD may come from separate genetic factors. Yang, L. et al (2004).  Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.  Vol 43(9), 1154-1158.
 
~~ A recent Greek study looked at verbal memory and recall times for children with and without ADHD.  Their subjects were school children 7 - 11 years old.  They gave them numbers and phrases to be learned for later recall.  While both the children with ADHD and those without scored equally well on accuracy when later tested, the ADHD children took a significantly longer time to recall their answers and a much longer time to articulate them.  Kourakis, L. et al (2004). DevelopmentalNeuropsychology.  Vol 26(2), 565-570.
~~ More research out now on the genetic component to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.  Thought to be a genetic event with many genes involved, UCLA researchers have found additional evidence pointing to one of the culprit genes - named SNAP-25 (for those biology enthusiasts - it's a mutation on the 3' end of an untranslated region which encodes a synaptic vesicle docking protein).  The gene most commonly is associated with paternal transmission.  (sorry Dads....hate to keep blaming you). Kustanovich, V. et. al (2003).  Molecular Psychiatry. Vol 8(3), 309-315.

~~ Diagnosing pre-schoolers with ADHD seems to some to be inaccurate, unneccessary and perhaps even detrimental. A study from Dalhousie University in Halifax shows just the opposite. They observed 50, 3 to 6 year olds in a preschool setting, half diagnosed with ADHD and half not. The ADHD children were off-task significantly more time than the non-ADHD children. They were also much more talkative and active. Their conclusion: early diagnosis of ADHD appears valid and may be useful in establishing behavioral programs at an early age to help these children be successful. DeWolfe, N, et. al. 2000. Journal of Attention Disorders, Vol 4(2), 80-90.

~~ We now have one of the first pieces of research to show an actual physical brain change using biofeedback for ADHD. Researchers in Germany put children (ages 7 - 13) diagnosed with Attention Deficit - Hyperactivity Disorder through a "slow cortical potentials" (SCPs) training program for 3 weeks. They found a fairly significant reduction in impulsivity and improved behavior ratings from parents as well as changes in actual brain potentials. Heinrich, H. et al (2004). Biological Psychiatry, Vol. 55(7), 772-775.

~~ We've long known that people who are not touched and held much as very young infants can have a host of problems as teens and adults, but the biology behind it has been vague. Now researchers in Brazil are finding physical brain changes in handled vs non-handled infants. Their study involved other mammals, but found that infants handled during the first week had a very significant reduction or pruning of cells in a region known as the Locus Coeruleus (LC). This LC area is the region responsible for attention, some memory and sleep/wake cycles. Problems in this region have been linked to both attention deficit and hyperactivity. In their study, the changes in the LC remained very different in the "held and touched" infants even for months afterward indicating a long term effect of early touching of infants versus neglect. Lucion, A. (2003). Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 177(5), 894-903.

~~ The American Journal of Psychiatry reports that the new once-a-day atomoxetine treatment for ADHD seems to be very effective in treating the disorder in both children and adolescents with very few side effects or negative safety issues. Atomoxetine is sold under the name of Strattera. Michelson, D. (2002). American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol159(11), 1896-1901.

~~ Here's more research on the genetic side of ADHD as well as an interesting gender preference for inheriting the disorder. Trinity College, Ireland, has found 3 genetic ties to ADHD, all having to do with dopamine levels. Dopamine receptors, the dopamine transporter genes and genes responsible for synthesis of dopamine are all linked to the disorder. The study also found that the ADHD responsible genes tend to come from the father's genetic make-up more so than the mother's genes. Kirley, A. et al. (2002). Neuropsychopharmacology, vol 27(4), 607-619.

Do you inherit ADHD? Yes, according to the research that continues to support the connection between genes and ADHD. Two new studies point to more than one gene as being involved in the disorder. Research out of Hamilton, Ontario correlates ADHD to the DRD4 dopamine receptor gene. (specifically the gene's exon III coding sequence). Other research shows that the DRD4 may interact with other gene regions such as the serotonin transporter promoter gene. Schmidt, et al. 2001. Psychiatric Genetics, vol 11(1), 25-29. and Auerbach, J. et al. as above pg. 31-35.

~~ Alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, stress - which of these substances/events when used by a pregnant woman is most likely to lead to ADHD in the child? Nicotine! - according to a summary of the research released out of Denmark. Nicotine use during pregnancy showed the greatest risk for Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity problems later in the child's life. Alcohol and caffeine studies could not support any contribution and the research on stress shows that it may contribute slightly to ADHD. Linnet, K., et al. (2003). American Journal of Psychiatry. Vol 160(6), 1028-1040

~~ ADHD children show a very predictable instability in their sleep patterns. The irregularities include: sleep onset, sleep duration, and amount of true sleep received. In fact the pattern is so distinct and severe, that the National Institute of Mental Health feels that sleep pattern could be used as a diagnosis for ADHD. Gruber, Sadeh, & Raviw. 2000. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 39(4), 495-501.

~~ A new study out on medicating ADHD, shows that the best results were obtained when using Ritalin (MPH) mixed with caffeine. The study showed that impulsivity and agression as well as planning skills were most effected by the combination of these two drugs. (When used separately, Ritalin is more effective than caffeine and amphetimines work about as well as Ritalin.) Leon, M. 2000. Journal of Attention Disorders, vol 4(1), 27-47.

~~ According to a study published last year, there appears to be an optimum window of learning opportunity after administering ADD medication. In the study of ADHD boys aged 9 - 11, reading was greatly improved (mastery, fewer errors, higher rate per minute) during the first hour after Ritalin compared to 3-4 hours after medication. Kastner, J., et.al. (2000). Psychology in the Schools, vol. 37(4) 367-377.

~~ The Journal of Psychiatry reports that if you are going to develop manic-depression, the symptoms will show much sooner if you have AD/HD. Sacks, G. et.al. (2000). American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 157(3), 466-468.

~~ Buffalo State College researched the ADHD child's ability to identify emotions. Using pictures, video, and audio tapes, they found that non-ADHD children were quite competent in identifying emotion in others while ADHD children were severely impaired in the skill. Norvilitus, et. al. (2000). Journal of Attention Disorders, vol. 4(1), 15-26.

~~ Several long term studies have been tracking the inattention curve in ADHD children as they grow. Inattention in ADHD children peaks between the age of 7 and 8. After that it tends to stabilize through adolescence and adulthood. Hyperactivity frequently disappears between the ages of 7 and 9. ADD does not. Hart, E. et. al. (2000). Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, vol 28(3), 311. Biederman, J. et.al. (2000). American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 157(5), 816-818.

~~ A Purdue University study of 120 boys, aged 7-13 years shows some typical work patterns in ADHD children. The study compared boys with ADHD to non-ADHD peers in a work/problem solving activity. The study found that ADHD boys were less effective in social interactions, but interestingly, were also less frustrated and less helpless than their non-ADHD peers. Children with ADHD were more likely to attribute any success they had to "luck" or simply the ease of the task. Non-ADHD children in the study tended to blame failures on themselves, in that they didn't "try hard enough." Haza, et. al. (2000)Child Development, vol 71(2) 432-446.

~~ Despite rumor to the contrary, ADHD children are NOT more at-risk for substance abuse than their non- ADHD peers. However, if the ADHD is coupled with a Conduct Disorder, then the ADHD child is more at risk for substance-abuse. Molina, et. al. (1999). Psychology Addictive Behaviors, vol. 13(4) 348 - 358.

~~ High School teachers have a wide range of attitudes toward children with ADHD and LD (learning disabilities). According to a survey of both regular and special educators, 46% thought that ADHD children would carry a multitude of problems into adulthood. 13% thought that learning disabilities resulted from parents "spoiling" their children. 95% thought that LD students are entitled to a more lenient education. Brook, et. al. (2000). Patient Education & Counseling, vol. 40(3), 247-252.

~~ Leroux and Levitt-Perlman write in the Roeper Review that we are focusing on the wrong side of ADHD. They criticize that research and articles always emphasize the negative aspects of the disorder, when in fact, many characteristics of ADHD resemble those of gifted and talented persons as well as resembling creative talents such as divergent thinking. Leroux & Levitt-Perlman (2000). Roeper Review, vol. 22(3) 171-176.

~~ Can children with ADHD comprehend television and video to the same degree as non-ADHD? Apparently not, according to the University of Kentucky. In a study with 7-12 year olds, attention decreased sharply during a video, especially when distractors such as toys were present. This inattention meant that while the ADHD children could recall basic facts of the story afterward, they had a much lower understanding of the relationships among the events in the story. Lorch et.al. (2000). J. of Abnormal Psych., vol 109(2), 321-330.

~~ New findings in EEG patterns may soon give a more valid diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Researchers in Australia have found distinct EEG patterns in the brains of children with ADHD. The unique EEG waves show an immature, hypoaroused central nervous system. Clarke, A. (2002). Clinical Neurophysiology, Vol 113(7), 1036-1044.

~~ Diagnosing pre-schoolers with ADHD seems to some to be inaccurate, unnecessary and perhaps even detrimental. A study from Dalhousie University in Halifax shows just the opposite. They observed 50, 3 to 6 year olds in a preschool setting, half diagnosed with ADHD and half not. The ADHD children were off-task significantly more time than the non-ADHD children. They were also much more talkative and active. Their conclusion: early diagnosis of ADHD appears valid and may be useful in establishing behavioral programs at an early age to help these children be successful. DeWolfe, N, et. al. 2000. Journal of Attention Disorders, Vol 4(2), 80-90.

~~ Children who have ADHD coupled with Conduct Disorder apparently really just have a version of Conduct Disorder rather than an complication of attention deficit. New research out of Toronto shows that the inhibitory control problems seen in ADHD children are not found in ADHD children who also have conduct disorder (ADHD+CD). In lab tasks where children are tested on their ability to stop an ongoing activity, only the "plain" ADHD children are severely impaired. So the ADHD+CD should really just be CD children who have attention problems as well. Schachar, et. al. 2000. J. of Abnormal Child Psychology, vol 28(3), 227-235.

~~ A study at the University of Pittsburgh school of Medicine shows that middle school children with ADHD are no more at risk for substance abuse than their non-ADHD classmates. However, these children are more at risk if the ADHD was coupled with Conduct Disorder. Molina, et.al. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. 1999, vol. 13(4), 348-358.

~~ Persons with bi-polar disorder (manic- depression) have an earlier onset of symptoms if they also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This is according to a study out of Massachusetts General Hospital. Sachs, G. et.al. 2000. Am. Journal of psychiatry. vol. 157(3), 466-468.

~~ Two studies support concern for ADHD individuals into adolescence and adulthood. Curran et. al, (1999) found a high percentage of the prison population has ADHD (9% of prisoners vs. 2.5% of young adults in the general population). Clure, et. l (1999) found that among inpatients for substance use disorder (alcohol and/or cocaine use), 32% met the criteria for ADHD, and that 35% of those inpatients had a childhood diagnosisi of ADHD and continued to have problems with it into adulthood. Clure, et. al, (1999). American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. vol. 25(3), 441-448.

Curran, et. al., (1999). American Journal of Psychiatry. vol. 156(10), 1664-1665.

~~ The University of Wisconsin has published a study tracking students with ADHD into college. They found that college students with ADHD were more likely to be on academic probation and had a higher incidence of academic problems than their peers. The study claimed that the problems experienced by these students were similar to those of a learning disorder.

~~ Oregon Health Sciences University looked at the effect of ADHD on siblings. Their conclusion: the siblings frequently felt victimized and that victimization is often overlooked or discounted by other members of the family. Their recommendation: there is a strong need for increased social and mental health services for all members of families with a member diagnosed with ADHD.

AGING BRAIN

~~ 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

~~ Many of us were excited a few years ago when researchers discovered that it may indeed be possible to regenerate nerve cells in the brain. The research shows that the hippocampus, the area responsible for forming memories, is capable of growing new neurons later in life. Now a study out of Princeton is showing what we can do to increase the liklihood of this growth occuring in our brains. According to this study, new nerve cell growth is started by hormones out of the ovaries and adrenal glands. The new cells will either grow or die depending on the enrichment of our environment, learning and reduction of stress. Gould, E., et. al. 2000. Biological Psychiatry, vol. 48(9), 715-720.

~~ More research is out supporting the shift in memory regions as we age. This time, the University of Illinois has been using fMRI imaging to compare memory probes and working memory issues in young brains and older brains. As we've seen in other studies, the older brain activates frontal lobe areas for working memory and memory retrieval whereas younger brains use the hippocampus regions. This new research continues to support the theory that the brain compensates as we get older, for the decay in our hippocampus areas. Park, D. et al. (2003). Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. Vol 15(8), 1122- 1134.

~~ UCLA's School of Medicine has released some preliminary research indicating that estrogen replacement therapy may help preserve brain tissue in healthy elderly women. Normal aging causes brain tissue lose, specifically cortical atrophy, central atrophy, deep white-matter hyperintensities and periventricular hyperintensities in the brain. Their study tracked post menopausal women over several years and found that the brains of women receiving estrogen had less atrophy in those areas than the brains of the control group not taking the estrogen. Cook, I. et al. (2002). International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Vol 17(7), 610-618.

~~ Feeling the brain effects of aging? Organization and decision making skills may decline as the brain ages due to the deterioration of the frontal lobes. However a study in Scotland shows that not all areas of the frontal lobes decline with age. The researchers looked at the 2 main regions of the frontal lobes - the dorsolateral and ventromedial. One handles social decision making, the other handles organization and working memory. Apparently it is the organization and working memory region that is most affected by aging. Our social decision making remains relatively intact. MacPherson, S. et al. (2002). Psychology & Aging, Vol 17(4), 598-609

~~ Feeling the mental effects of your brain's age? Decisions, memory and word retrieval seems to be slowing down? You may be interested in some of the new research on how our brain ages. Apparently we lose production of dopamine, reduce metabolism in decision making regions, and generally increase thinking time as we rely on greater regions of our brains. These two recent studies have shed more light of the biochemistry of the aging brain. A Duke University study shows that while young brains use memory to retrieve on a recognition task, blood flow increases in the right prefrontal cortex. While retrieving similar recognition memory, older brains (60 - 80 years) increase blood flow in several regions of the cortex as the retrieval process slows down. A separate study out of New York shows that the reduction in dopamine activity in the older brain results from a decrease in the receptors which transmit dopamine signals and consequently this results in a more limited glucose metabolism rate. This effect is strongest in the frontal cortex, although some areas of the temporal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus are involved as well. Madden, et.al. (1999). Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, vol 11(5), 511- 520. Volkow, et.al. (2000). American Journal of Psychiatry. vol 157(1), 75-80

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 576-597.

~~ In the Harvard Mental Health Letter released this week, there is good news for friends and families of problem drinkers. While the FDA recommends 2 alcoholic drinks per day, nearly a third of Americans consume more than that. But many of these drinkers can be encouraged to cut back through informal channels and discussions. In fact 75% of problem drinkers or abuses recover without intense therapy and intervention. Family, school counselors and friends can help with simple suggestions such as setting limits. You can read the suggestions at: www.health.harvard.edu.

~~ Because of the plasticity and period of change experienced by the neurons in the adolescent brain, they may be more susceptible to damage by alcohol than adults. According to a study at the University of California, San Diego, synaptic connections continue to increase and decrease through age 20, indicating the brain may continue its rapid developmental state longer than previous thought. Therefore, alcohol use during teenage years may have a more significant effect and create more damage to the adolescent brain than the adult brain. Tapert, S. et. al. National Institutes of Health News Release Feb. 14, 2000.

ALZHEIMER'S

~~ Memory loss in Alzheimer's disease versus memory loss associated with other aging issues are both found in the hippocampus. However, recent fMRI images show that the hippocampus deterioration in Alzheimer's patients is more pervasive and multi-regional, whereas other memory loss due to age is restricted to only one region of the hippocampus (the subiculum). Small, et. al. Annals of Neurology, 1999, v 45, 4, 466-472.

~~ Florida Atlantic University released a study showing that although memory loss is great, the sense of self or personal identity of an individual persists into late stage of Alzheimer's disease. (AD) J. of Nursing Scholoarship, 1999, v 31,2, 121-125. Tappan et.al.

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.

~~ Columbia University has released a study showing a strong relationship between anxiety and poor memory ability -The relationship is particularly strong in young boys at risk for deliquency. Pine, et al. (1999). Journal of American Academy of child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Vol. 38(3). 1024-1031.

~~ While Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) generally appears soon after a trauma, the full effect may not be felt for years. According to a Yale University study, PTSD can often return, in a more severe form, during dementia. van Acterberg, M. et al. (2001). Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Vol 62(3), 206-207.

~~ Panic attacks often result from problems with the brain pathways that control for the acquisition of conditioned fear. Conditioned fear involves regions of the brain such as the amygdala, the brain stem, the hippocampus and parts of the pre-frontal cortex. This is pretty much all the major brain regions which may account for the confusion and overwhelming emotions during fear and panic. Sinha, S., Laszlo, A. & Gorman, J. (2000). Journal of Affective Disorders. Vol 61(3), 191-200.

~~ According to a Boston study, PTSD results from problems or a disruption in the pre-frontal cortex. This is the region of the brain responsible for decision making. Koenen, K., et al. (2001). Brain & Cognition, Vol 45(1), 64-78.

~~ Most people have a hand preference - we are generally either right handed or left handed. But some people show no preference and are referred to as mixed handed. Adolescents with mixed-handedness are more prone to trauma symptoms and panic disorders. Chemtob, C. et al. (2001). Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, Vol 189(1), 58-60.

~~ Concerned that you or a loved one is suffering from PTSD? A urine test may help determine the diagnosis. Persons with PTSD show increased levels of noradrenaline and dopamine in their urine. Tobin, J. (2001). Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, Vol 18(1), 27-29.

~~ Research continues to show the detrimental effect of stress on the hippocampus and its role in memory. Stress particularly effects short term memory. Take a walk. McEwen, B. & Magarinos, A. (2001). Human Psycho- pharmacology Clinical & Experimental, Vol 16(1), S7-S19.

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

~~ 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.

~~ Treatments and school intervention for persons with autism has changed dramatically in the last 2 decades, primarily because psychologists have broadened the criteria for diagnosis. Two decades ago, 80% of persons with an autism diagnosis were classified with mental retardation. Today less than 50% carry that classification. Two decades ago, more than half of persons with autism had severe language delays or no language. Today only 15 - 20% of persons with autism have that level of language impairment. (some of this is due to a widening of the Autism spectrum, some due to early intervention allowing children various routes to communication which later lead to speech). "Current Issues in Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders: New Measures and Methodology." A presentation by Catherine Lord, PhD, August 15, 2008, Boston, MA: APA National Convention.

~~ Researchers in Toronto have released a study showing that they have found numerous locations on the human genome that are link to autism.  The gene abnormalities are either DNA deletions or total gene duplications and are not necessarily found in the parents - indicating these may be random pre-natal mutations and not genetically inherited predispositions.  These genetic mutations can be tested for. Many can be directly linked to specific behaviors such as a deletion on chromosome 16 which leads to language delays.  Canadian Press (Jan 17, 2008) APA "Psychology in the News". Psychport.com

~~ While genetic contributions to autism have been generally accepted for many years now, finding the exact genetic marker or biological basis has been up for much discussion and search.  By looking for brain anomalies in the brains of unaffected relatives of persons with autism, researchers have found some clues to the puzzle.  Much of this new research continues to point to the genes that code for a serotonin transporter protein. These rare genes relating to serotonin may increase a person's risk for autism. Kuehn, B. (2006).  Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol 295(1), 19-20.

~~ Serotonin levels and autism have been linked for many years now.  The fact that many persons with autism are found to have very high levels of serotonin and that many symptoms of autism are successfully treated with SSRIs, has led researchers to assume the problem may be with the serotonin transporter gene, 5-HHT. However researchers at Mt Sinai School of Medicine have examined the most likely areas of this gene and have found no relationship between autism and the more common 5HHT variants.  Ramoz, N. et al.(2006). Biological Psychiatry. vol 60(2), 186-191

~~ Children's Hospital in Seattle has been studying the
volume of the corpus callosum compared to total cerebral volume in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) versus typically developing children. Children with ASD had a disproportionately smaller corpus callosum than typical children.  This could mean that there is a decrease in interhemisperic connectivity (and communication) in persons with ASD or that the larger cerebral volume seen in ASD is due to an increase in tissues that are simply not represented in the corpus callosum.  Boger-Megiddo, I., et al(2006). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol 36(6), 733-739.

~~ Children with autism struggle not so much with facts and
information, but with the source of that information.  Source memory, as it is called, often involves the social aspects of context.   Researchers in Connecticut have compared the memory of children with autism to those without and found that factual memory remains fairly equal.  But the source memory in children with autism functions at significantly lower levels. O'Shea, A et al. (2005). Developmental Neuropsychology, Vol 27(3), 337-360.

~~ Asperger Syndrome:  nature vs nurture?  Asperger syndrome (one of the autism spectrum disorders) can be caused by chromosome abnormalities, prenatal events, or genetics. Most of the time Asperger syndrome has a genetic component (55% of all cases).  It tends to follow paternal blood lines as about half of all people with Asperger syndrome have some type of autism spectrum disorder in their father's family line.  About 25% of Asperger syndrome cases result from some prenatal or birth event. Gillberg, C. & Cederlund, M. (2005).  Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, Vol 35(2), 159-166.

~~ One of the most common questions I get asked is "What is the difference between high-functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome?" I've even known many to use the two terms interchangeably.  They are not the same thing at all.  This month's issue of APA's monitor has an excellent article demarcating the two.
While as adults, persons with Asperger's and persons with high functioning autism may look very similar, the differences stand out strongly in children. The key can be found in language development.  Children with Asperger's syndrome have rather typical language development or even advanced language development. While they don't use language well for social interaction as in give-and-take, they do tend to drone on about their favorite subject.  Children with autism struggle greatly with language.  They tend to have strengths in motor skills and manipulating objects. A new study just released compared children with Asperger's and children with autism who had very similar IQ's (in the normal and above normal range only). The difference?  The autistic children performed well on visual spatial perception tasks, like puzzles and on motor skills.  The children with Asperger's syndrome showed deficits in these sub-tests but did very well on vocabulary, verbal memory and auditory perception. So, if you are trying to determine whether a child has Asperger's syndrome or high functioning autism, look into the history of their language development.  Dingfelder, S. (2004).  Monitor on Psychology.  Vol 35(11), 48 - 49.

~~ Since we're on the topic of autism, another new study jumped out at me this week out of Columbia University.  They did a complete review of all the brain imaging, neurological and biochemistry research that's been done to date on autism.  They drew 4 definitive conclusions about what is now known about this disorder.  (1).  It is a heterogeneous disorder with most likely many causes.  (2) brain imaging has shown a wide range of anatomical differences all of which reflect problems early in the brains development having to do with neuron growth and pruning.  (3) The neurochemical differences occur early and are pervasive rather than localized to any one area.  (4)  we don't have enough research yet to say exactly in what way the autistic brain functions differently than the non autistic brain, but there is a huge number of current research projects going on in this area. Eigsti, I. & Shapiro, T. (2003).  Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews.  Vol 9(3), 205-215.

~~ Trying to figure out the difference between autism, Asperger's syndrome and atypical autism? So is the medical and psychological community. Traditionally, children with relatively normal language development, but severely maladaptive social skills have carried the label of Asperger's syndrome. Autism has been reserved for children who exhibit BOTH social and language deficits. However, that view is changing. Leekam, S., et. al. (2000) Autism, vol 4(1) 11-28. AND Volkmar, F. et. al, (2000) American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol 157(2) 262-267.

~~ More research on the relationship between serotonin levels and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). PDD includes persons with autism, Asperger's syndrome and PDD - not otherwise specified. Researchers in the Netherlands have compared platelet serotonin levels in children with PDD, mental retardation, and normal control children. They found platelet serotonin levels were much higher in children with PDD. The children with non-PDD mental retardation did not show this condition, which is referred to as "hyperserotonemia" (isn't that a great term). It's exciting to watch science get closer and closer to a way of earlier diagnosis of PDD. Mulder, E. et al (2004). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Vol 43(4), 491-499.

~~ New research and discussion has emerged linking autism to serotonin levels and the cerebellum. Two separate groups of researchers - one in California and the other in Pisa, Italy have found the serotonin system to malfunction in the brains of autistic individuals. The problem is located in the cerebellum and results in an inability to coordinate the functions of cognition and emotion. 1. Marazziti, D. (2002). Psychiatry, Vol 52(2), 143. 2. Pierce, K & Courchesne, E. (2002). Biological Psychiatry, Vol 52(2), 143.

~~ Texas Tech University has also released new research on autism. They found significant deficits in the prefrontal areas of the brain responsible for word identification and language formation skills. When compared to "normal" brains, the autistic brain shows serious hypoperfusion. Wilcox, J. et.al. (2002). Neuropsychobiology, Vo 46(1), 13-16.

~~ St. George's Hospital in London is releasing new research on the biochemical differences found in persons with Asperger's Syndrome (AS). According to their research, persons with AS show significant increase in choline, creatine and N-acetylaspartate in the PreFrontal lobe which is associated with obsessive behavior and problems in social function. Murphy, D. et al. (2002). Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol 59(10), 885-892.

~~ Dr James Mulick, Ohio State University, reported on a very impressive study they've conducted with young autistic children using Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI). After full-time EIBI for 3 years, nearly all the children in their study went from moderate mental retardation to at least an average IQ and most saw a very significant loss of autistic symptoms.

~~ Using fMRI techniques, Yale University has found an interesting brain abnormality in persons with autism and autism spectrum disorder. In most brains (yours and mine) we use one area to discriminate or identify objects and a different area to identify faces. In the brains of persons with autism, they use only the first region (inferior Temporal gyri) to identify both objects and faces. Schultz, et.al. (2000). Archives of General Psychiatry, vol 57(4), 331-340.

Asperger's Disorder or Autism? The debate on how to separate these disorders continues. And research continues to show the line is fuzzy. In a current study, they tracked pre-school (age 4-6) children through their early elementary years to see which group improved more, those diagnosed with Asperger's or those diagnosed with autism. The children with Asperger's syndrome developed better social skills with age and showed fewer stereotypic autistic symptoms. However, if the autistic children developed verbal fluency, they were quite difficult to separate from the children with Asperger's by the time they reached middle elementary grades. Szatmari, P. et al. 2000. Am. Journal of Psychiatry. Vol 157(12) 1980-1987 .

~~ Emory University has linked abnormal oxytocin and vasopressin neurotransmitter levels with several behaviors and features of autism. (oxytocin is the neurotransmitter mentioned in this newsletter earlier this year as being associated with monogamy and parent-child bonding). This study is pointing to faulty genes and the expression of peptides for the abnormal levels.

~~ Many children with late-onset autism are actually experiencing epileptic-like brain activity in their sleep. The research project, started about 2 years ago, has found that autism may in fact be related to epilepsy. The children in the study were found to be having small seizure activity in the temporal region of their brains during sleep. This previously undetected activity is thought to be interfering with the brain's natural process of pruning out unused dendrites during sleep. Apparently, dendrites, or pathways, that should have been removed, remain, because the brain mistakenly believes they are still in use. The study is being conducted at research park at the University of Utah.

BRAIN REGIONS/FUNCTION

~~ 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.

~~ If you are a person who uses both your left and right hand for various tasks (an attribute called mixed-handedness) you probably have a brain whose left and right hemispheres are more strongly connected than someone who has a strong hand preference. This can give you some bonuses other than just the convenience of having 2 hands to use! Researchers are finding that mixed-handed people have stronger episodic memory systems (the ability to remember personal life events, like your 2nd grade school year) and are able to remember earlier childhood experiences. Episodic memory uses both left and right hemispheres and develops around age 4 with the corpus callosum connecting the two sides. A strong corpus callosum also gives one the ability to do some tasks with either hand. Winerman, L. (2006) Monitor on Psychology, Vol 37(6), 18 - 19.

~~ Most of us have seen prenatal pictures of a fetus sucking its thumb. If the fetus is sucking his or her right thumb, he or she is most certainly going to be right handed. If the fetus is sucking the left thumb, there's about a 66 % chance they will be left handed. So handedness appears determined before birth - especially for right handers. Hepper, P. et al. (2005). Neuropsychologia, vol 43(3), 313-315.

~~ Hearing one's own name in everyday situation is an attention grabber as it causes a sudden rise in our self-awareness. Researchers used PET scans to see what happens in the brain when we hear our first name. They found a significant cerebral blood flow change in the right superior temporal sulcus and an even stronger change in the medial prefrontal cortex, suggesting that this region plays a big role in our processing of "self". Perrin, F. et al. (2005). Neuropsychologia, Vol 43(1), 12-19.

~~ Cognitive psychologists, neuroscientists and muscians will be teaming up this weekend for a rather unique research project out of McGill University (Montreal). They will be measuring a host of physiological and neurological responses at the Boston Symphony. They will measure responses from the conductor, musicians and audience members as well as audience members at a taped viewing. Researchers seek to find the differences in the way we respond to music, both as performers and listeners and as live versus recorded. You can watch for the results here in this newsletter or at: http://www.mcgill.ca

~~ Neurotrophins are a group of growth factors responsible for neuron growth and development.  Some researchers are linking 3 of them, NGF, BDNF and NT-3 with the development of schizophrenia.  If dysfunctional, these 3 could play a crucial role in the neurodevelopmental problems that lead to schizophrenia.  Shoval, F. & Weizman, A. (2005).  European Neuropsychopharmacology, Vol 15(3), 319-329.

~~ If you are watching a classroom demonstration or a video, your brain is receiving information from more than one sense or modality (your eyes, your ears, etc.).  Each of these sensory signals is processed in a separate region of the cortex (a unimodal area) and then, because they come from the same place and time, are integrated in a multisensory brain region (a heteromodal region). Neuroimaging studies are showing that this process is actually a 2-way street.  Not only do the unimodal areas affect the heteromodal regions, but the interactions in the heteromodal areas can affect the specific unimodal regions as well.  This new view complicates our traditional views of multisensory integration in the brain. Macaluso, E. & Driver, J. (2005).  Trends in Neurosciences, Vol. 28(5), 264-271.

~~ The brain uses separate cortex regions to interpret both the syntax and semantics of music.  This discovery is showing a large overlap between music and language in the human brain.  When listening to music, we process its syntax with the inferior frontolateral cortex, ventrolateral premotor cortex and the superior temporal gyrus- the same regions we use to process linguistic syntax.  We process musical semantics with the posterior temporal regions which also overlaps with our interpretation of language.  Koelsch, S. (2005).  Current Opinion in Neurobiology, Vol. 15(2), 207-212.

~~ For those of you who collect research on gender differences in the brain, here's another study for your collection.  German researchers used a fMRI to image male and female brains while they looked at fear-inducing pictures. While the self-reports of "fear" where stronger from the women, the brain's activation or involvement (activation of the bilateral amygdala and the left fusiform gyrus) was greater in men. The researchers theorize that men's brains are wired to pay more attention to aggression cues in their environment.  Schienle, A. et al. (2005).  Neuroreport:  For Rapid Communication of Neuroscience Research. Vol 16(3), 277-280.

~~ While educators may label students as “visual learner”, “auditory learner” etc., in reality many brain regions process information in “modality-neutral” fashion. Researchers at the University of Iowa used PET scans to watch brains of people having to name pictures and sounds of objects.  If someone shows you a picture of a rooster and asks you to name it, or if they play the sound of a rooster crowing and have you name it, you will use the exact same left brain region for both tasks (inferotemporal). You do separate the naming task into different regions of this area for inanimate versus animate objects, but not for auditory or visual input modes.  Tranel, D. et al (2005).  Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Vol 17(8), 1293-1305.

~~ Neuroscience has shed a lot of light on the brain processing of bilingual speakers.  For the most part a bilingual speaker will use the same neural pathways for both languages. The only time you will see different brain regions involved is if the second language was acquired later in life, or the speaker struggles with mastery of the second language or if there has been very limited exposure to the second language.  Perani, D. & Abutalebi, J. (2005).  Current Opinion in Neurobiology, Vol 15(2), 202-206. 

~~ Those familiar with conformity studies (I summarize the hallmark Soloman Asch study in my new book) know that when a person finds themselves the lone thinker in a group, they usually will change their opinion and conform to the group even if they are confident in their view.  Emory University is using fMRI scans to find the brain regions involved with conformity and independent thinking.   When someone “conforms” in a group, regions of the occipital-parietal network are activated in their brain.  When a person remains “independent” of the group, the amygdala and caudate systems are activated.  Berns, G. et al. (2005). Biological Psychiatry, Vol 58(3), 245-253.

~~ Head trauma or brain damage to the frontal lobes does
not necessarily guarantee memory problems.  While researchers and neurologists have long associated the frontal lobes with short term memory function, it appears that there are many subdivisions to the frontal lobe region, and each area may or may not be involved with a different memory function.  So while we can continue to expect short term memory impairment with frontal lobe injury, it is possible for that not to occur.  Stuss, D. & Alexander, M. (2005).  Current Direction in Psychological Science, Vol 14(2), 84-88.

~~ Ever struggle to determine whether something is a true statement or a deception?  If you listen with your left ear, you may do a better job in making the determination.  Apparently deception detection is easiest and most accurate when processed through the right brain hemisphere with information coming in via the left ear.  Malcolm, S. & Keenan, J. (2005).  Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain & Cognition, Vol 10(2), 103-110.

~~ Use hand gestures when you lecture.  Research supports more emotional involvement on the part of the students to a lecture with hand gestures and more cognitive understanding of the material as well. However, only the right hemisphere apparently gains more "learning" from hand gestures.  If the right hemisphere is otherwise engaged during listening, the gestures make no difference.  Jaspers-Fayer, et al (2005). Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain & Cognition, Vol 10(2), 183-191.

~~ A couple of issues back, I mentioned some of the earlier research on mirror neurons, primarily in monkeys.  The research continues it's hot track - now more often in humans. Italian researchers use fMRI scans to show that when a person listens to another person explain an action they were about to do (such as put together parts or walk across the room) the neurons in the listener's brain that are responsible for those exact muscle movements are activated.  Tettamanti, M. et al (2005).  Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Vol 17(2), 273-281.

~~ As many of us suspected, physical exercise, does indeed make the brain stronger.  In his presentation at the recent APA convention in Washington DC, Tim Schallert, a researcher in Texas summarized all the recent research that shows regular physical activity can reduce your chances of getting Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and even stroke.  Schallert's own research is looking at how and why this happens.  Using rats, the researchers find that exercise prevents the brain's dopamine neurons from degenerating. This normal aging degeneration of dopamine neurons is what is responsible for so many of these aging diseases.  Schallert, T. (2005). Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 21(12), 4427-4435.

~~ Mirror neurons.  Since their discovery was revealed in the early 1990's, they have taken the neurology and psychology world by storm!   These neurons are apparently responsible for our human ability to imitate and empathize.  With their discovery we now can begin to understand how watching a football game excites us almost as much as playing the game. Or how watching your child sled gives us similar emotions to sledding ourselves.The research, of course, has great implications for educators.  The current issue of APA's Monitor summarizes the major areas of research on the implications for mirror neurons. I'll summarize each of their articles for this issue's Hot Topics:
1. The first article summarized the discovery and research on mirror neurons done in the late 1980s by Giacomo Rizolatti at the University of Parma.  They were first discovered in monkeys when researchers noticed that the brain responses in a particular area of the brain that are active when monkeys reach for a peanut were also active when monkeys simply watched a researcher pick up a peanut.  Further research showed that many of the same neurons that activate for a particular task are just as active when we simply watch someone else do the same activity.  Eureka - our first major insight into empathy, mimicry and learning. Winerman, L.  (2005)  Monitor on Psychology (APA), Vol 35(5) pg. 48-50.
 2. The second article in this issue deals with one of the first big educational arenas to run with this research on mirror neurons, and that is the field of autism.  Could a faulty mirror neuron system be the major cause of autism?  It made sense that the system that allows us to learn through mimicry and empathy, both major factors of autism, may be responsible for the disability.  There are many researchers and theorist working on this topic.  Brain imaging studies are showing that autistic people's mirror system is different than others, but there are still issues to be addressed such as repetitive movements and self-injury. Dingfelder, S.  (2005)  Monitor on Psychology (APA), Vol 35(5).  pg 52-53.
3. The third and final article on mirror neurons in this issue deals with their relationship to language development and other issues in human evolution.  In particular, theorist are looking at the relationship between mirror neurons and language development.  Several researchers theorize that it may have been these mirror neurons that made language and social communication possible in our earliest ancestors, and that there is a strong relationship in the brain between manual dexterity and language and social world - that we may have first communicated with hand movements, then spoken language. Azar, B. (2005) Monitor on Psychology (APA), Vol 35(5) pg 54 - 56.

~~ Most people are fairly comfortable doing simple arithmetic (add / subtract) problems.  However, once math problems become more complex, many people start to complain about the difficulty. As researchers at Harvard have found, it may be because complex problems involve a great deal more brain regions.  A functional MRI shows that we use 3 brain areas for simple addition or subtraction (Right inferior parietal lobule, Left precuneus, and Left superior parietal gyrus) .  However when faced with a complex math problem, another more involved network is called upon to join in. Now we use a network involving those original 3 regions PLUS the left inferior intraparietal sulcus, the left inferior frontal gyrus and the bilateral cingulate.  So complex math problems really do involve a great deal more brain power and brain regions. Kong, J. et al (2005). Cognitive Brain Research, Vol22(3), 397-405.

~~ When it comes to spatial competence, children's brains
see striking developmental growth between the ages of 18 and 24 months. Their ability to mentally "view" multiple locations, see relations among objects and mentally recall a location long after being there, all come into maturity during this time period.  All this is primarily due to major developmental maturation in the brain's hippocampus at this age. Sluzenski, J. et al. (2004).  Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.  Vol 16(8), 1443-1451.

~~ When we are in a noisy room or environment, we use a speaker's body language to assist us in understanding what is being said. Lip reading and hand gestures both give us clues to speech comprehension. Researchers in Australia are using fMRI imaging to find how these cues arehandled by the brain.  While the left hemisphere processes both of thesenon-verbal aids, the regions do differ.  Lip reading is handled in the area called the left posterior superior temporal sulcus whereas hand gestures are interpreted by the intraparietal region.  Obviously one's dependence on one of these non-verbal aids would vary from person to person. Thompson, J. et al. (2004).  Cognitive Brain Research, Vol 21(3), 412-417.

~~ Most of us are intrigued by the Deja Vu experience - the
feeling you get that you have been in a situation or place previously when in fact you know it to be novel.  Alan Brown at SMU in Dallas shares how current neuro-research has presented 3 possible theories for this interesting mental phenomenon.  1) Identical messages are processed by two separate regions of the brain and get separated briefly due to a change in neural transmission speed.  2) One perceptual experience is briefly separated into two due to some internal distraction.  3)  Our implicit familiarity is mistakenly activated without the normally present conscious recollection.   Brown, A. (2004). Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol 13(6), 256-259.

~~ Where is our internal clock?  We may be tempted to think  that our ability to judge brief time intervals is a sophisticated process delegated to our cortex. But studies show that estimated time passage is information that is available to both hemispheres even in people with a severed corpus callosum which connects the two hemispheres.  This means that our internal clock is probably subcortical and that those time estimates can easily be transferred to either hemisphere.  Marzi, C. (2004). Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Vol 8(1), 1-3.   

~~ Brain differences between the genders?  While it makes for great dinner discussion, research continues to find more brain differences attributed to handedness than to gender. Researchers in Turkey have used MRI scans to measure volumes of cerebral ventricles. The lateral ventricle in the left hemisphere has a greater volume for left handers.  The lateral ventricle in the right hemisphere has a greater volume in the brains of right handed people.  In general, left handed people have reduced volume in all brain ventricles.  Ventricle volume differences between male and female brains?  These researchers found none.   Erdogan, A. et al. (2004).  Vol. 114, (1), 67-73.
 
~~ For the most part, we process speech in the auditory area of our left temporal lobe and process music in the auditory area of our right temporal lobe.  While most of us are pretty determined to keep speech and informational sound processing isolated to the left auditory cortex region, we are not so stubborn about music processing.  Research has shown that we occasionally will also process music on the left side too - it just depends on how familiar the tune is.  Tervaniemi, M. & Hugdahl, K. (2003).  Brain Research Reviews, Vol 42(3), 231-246.

~~ Not only is the amygdala of the brain responsible for many of our emotions, it also is what allows us to interpret emotions in others by looking at their facial expressions. According to a study out of Iowa, people with damage in the amygdala region (paired also with damage to the front of the temporal lobe) can't "read" the emotion of a person's face. Schmolck, H & Squire, L. 2001. Neuropsychology, vol. 15(1), 30 - 38.

~~ Autobiographical memory or "episodic" memory has long been considered strongest and easiest recalled when attached to emotion. Researchers in Germany were trying to find out if these "affect-laden" memories used different neural networks and if there was a difference between happy or sad memories in terms of which brain areas were involved in the retrieval. While there were some differences in other brain regions, the area known as the orbitofrontal cortex was common to both types of affect-laden information processing. Happy memories involved more of the hippocampus regions, while sad memories used regions of the right lateral temporal area as well as the left cerebellum. Markowitsch, H. et al. (2003). Cortex. Vol. 39(4-5), 643-665.

~~ We've long known that people who are not touched and held much as very young infants can have a host of problems as teens and adults, but the biology behind it has been vague. Now researchers in Brazil are finding physical brain changes in handled vs non-handled infants. Their study involved other mammals, but found that infants handled during the first week had a very significant reduction or pruning of cells in a region known as the Locus Coeruleus (LC). This LC area is the region responsible for attention, some memory and sleep/wake cycles. Problems in this region have been linked to both attention deficit and hyperactivity. In their study, the changes in the LC remained very different in the "held and touched" infants even for months afterward indicating a long term effect of early touching of infants versus neglect. Lucion, A. (2003). Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 177(5), 894-903.

~~ In a recent newsletter edition I mentioned a study about how most of us, being right handed, concentrate dopamine more in the right hemisphere of our brains (we spin away from that side). We also mis-judge the midline of our bodies slightly to the left due to that as well. If you don't have this "normal" one-sided distribution of dopamine it can cause an array of schizophrenia related problems. Researchers in Switzerland have found another way to check for this. Fold your arms. Undo them and now fold your hands. Did you match? Left arm on top, left thumb on top? Or right arm on top, right thumb on top? Most people do. The researchers found that in people that have incongruous preferences, it was an indication of an irregular dopamine distribution which could lead to some personality difficulties. Mohr, C. et al. (2003). Journal of Clinical & Experimental Neuropsychology, Vol 25(7), 1000-1010.

~~ An article in the Journal, "Cortex" suggests that current research may indicate many other regions of the brain are involved in working memory and executive function besides the pre-frontal cortex. For the last several years, we've blamed poor working memory on that area exclusively. The article shows research that may point to a more complex picture. While the frontal cortex may be one of the biggest areas involved, working memory may involve links between many brain regions which need further study. Andres, Pilar. (2003). Cortex, Vol 39(4-5), 871-895.

~~ If you've read much on the brain, you're probably familiar with the region known as Broca's area and how it is responsible for expressive language. However, you may not know that the region is subdivided into distinct regions - BA44 and BA45. Researchers in Bethesda, MD have found that area BA45 is activated by both speech and signing with American Sign Language. BA 44 is responsible for the actual articulation of muscles for verbal speech. BA45 then is apparently responsible for the basic part of language use regardless of the modality of expression. Horwitz, B. et al. (2003). Neuropsychologia. Vol 41(14), 1868-1876.

~~ Stand up, close your eyes, extend your arms out. Now turn in a circle. Which way did you turn? Chances are if you are right-handed you turned left and vice versa. Researchers in Switzerland noticed that turning behavior in animals correlated with hemispheric dopamine asymmetries (DA). Animals tend to turn toward the side with less DA. Apparently handedness in humans is similar, and may help explain the strong right handed preference in humans. (on a side note, other studies have shown that pre-natal stress can cause changes in DA which can change directional bias in animals and reduce the offspring's ability to handle stress). Mohr, C. et al. (2003). Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 117(6), 1448 - 1452.

~~ Researchers in London have released research which they suggest shows that there are NO regions of the cortex specifically dedicated to "word form processing" - either visual or auditory. Their research involved looking at the regions of the cortex activated with auditory word repetition, reading, picture naming, and environmental sound naming. While predictable areas were activated (Broca's Wernicke's, and other regions) no areas were unique to the processing of word forms. Ahhh, the plot thickens..... Price, C.J. et al (2003). Brain & Language, Vol 86(2), 272-286.

~~ Math giftedness may be the result of better left - right hemisphere communication in the brain. A study of middle school students was undertaken as a join US - Australian research project. The "average" math middle schoolers used the expected left hemisphere for processing "parts" and the right hemisphere for processing "wholes" in analyzing and reasoning. But math-gifted middle schoolers did not show this difference. These students used both hemispheres equally for processing both "parts" and "wholes." The study also went on to elaborate on the gender difference in math giftedness. Testosterone acts prenatally in the development of the right hemisphere leading to math giftedness being found 13 times more often in males. Singh & O'Boyle (2004)Neuropsychology, Vol. 18(2), 371-377.

~~ Certain reading problems have often been blamed on dysfunction in the right occipital lobe which is designed for visual priming - or implicit memory of past visual experience with words (sight words). However a study at UC Davis indicates that in fact both hemispheres may be responsible. What they found is that problems with word-fragment completion involves both hemispheres whereas word stem completion is fairly isolated to the right occipital lobe. Kroll, N et al. (2003). Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Vol 15(60< 833- 842.

~~ 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.

~~ I have covered lots of research in the past two years regarding the pre-frontal cortex. The region is responsible for so many things including decision making and reward processing. Now York University in Toronto has linked it to one more process - humor. Whether you are processing a pun or a complex semantic joke, you are involving the prefrontal cortex. So now we have one more reason to use humor in the classroom - it forces brain activity up to the higher regions of the brain. Goel, V & Dolan, R. (2001). Nature Neuroscience, vol 4(3), 237-238.

~~ Many of us were excited a few years ago when researchers discovered that it may indeed be possible to regenerate nerve cells in the brain. The research shows that the hippocampus, the area responsible for forming memories, is capable of growing new neurons later in life. Now a study out of Princeton is showing what we can do to increase the likelihood of this growth occurring in our brains. According to this study, new nerve cell growth is started by hormones out of the ovaries and adrenal glands. The new cells will either grow or die depending on the enrichment of our environment, learning and reduction of stress. Gould, E., et. al. 2000. Biological Psychiatry, vol. 48(9), 715-720.

~~ I was intrigued by a study out of Germany which noted that often people with right hemisphere brain damage cannot mark the center of a horizontal line yet have no problems marking the center of a square. They used MRI to discover that line judgement activates only the right cortex (parietal region) while finding the center of a square actives the lingual gyrus in both brain hemispheres. Their conclusion: the more 'object-like' gestalt you can make a visual stimulus, the greater the brain regions responsible for interpretation. The morale of the story: Use manipulatives and diagrams whenever possible for simple abstract concepts and to involve more of the brain. Fink, G. et al. 2000 Neuropsychologia, Vol. 38(13), 1741-1748.

~~ The University of Calf. medical school used PET scans to examine brain regions of people while speaking. They looked at the brain while they (1)made nonsense syllables, (2)recited the months of the year, and (3)reciting a briefly memorized prose passage. While both the "mindless" recitation of the months and the prose passage used Wernicke's area (the top back part of the temporal lobe) ONLY the prose showed activity in Broca's area. The conclusion: rote memorized verbal tasks require little thought or sophisticated cortical activity (e.g.: "do you want fries with that?). Bookheimer, S., et al. 2000. Neurology, Vol 55(8), 1151-1157.

~~ The University of Colorado sheds some light on the relationship between the hippocampus and the neocortex in learning. Both areas are involved in learning new tasks. The neocortex processes slower, overlaps categories and attempts to find the patterns and structure of the material. The hippocampus processes faster, uses completely separate representations to code facts and details of specific events and is less prone to interference. In other words, the hippocampus memorizes, the neocortex learns. O'Reilly, R. & Rudy, J. 2000. Hippocampus, Vol 10(4), 389-397.

~~ A study out of Duke University shows that, if at all possible, our brain will solve tasks by processing information in only one hemisphere. We see this on simple problem solving tasks. However, as the tasks get more complex, the brain will always choose to process by coordinating information between the two hemispheres. I suppose if we want to give our brains a good well-balanced work-out, we need to do complex tasks once in a while. Weissman and Banich (2000). Neuropsychology, vol 14(1), 41-59.

~~ Planning involves maintaining one main goal while working on subgoals for that main goal. This is apparently one of the unique human brain functions. The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland has published findings which show that that particular task is performed in the most anterior part of the frontal lobes called the fronto- polar prefrontal cortex. Koechlin et. al, Nature 1999, vol 399(6732) 148-151.

~~ MRI, PET SPECT scans all support major mental disabilities result from adnormalities in the frontal lobes. Major depression and schizophrenia are associated with problems in the left frontal lobe. Impulsiveness and mania in the right frontal lobe. Obsessive-compulsive behaviors tend to result from problems in the orbital frontal lobes. Joseph. Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 1999, v 62, 2, 138-172.

DEPRESSION

~~ Children who struggle academically in the first grade are significantly more prone to depression and other mental health problems during middle school years. This according to researchers who tested 1st graders for basic academic skills and then tracked them through junior high. The effect was greatest for black female students. Mental health problems can be lessened however by teaching young children how to deal with the stress and anxiety associated with their academic struggles. Herman, K. et al (2008). Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol 55(3), 400 - 410.

~~ College counseling centers may want to join others in offering a "National Depression Screening Day". Results from last year's screening on Oct 11th showed a large increase in the number of students who came to counseling centers for screening and those who were detected showed greater improvement with treatment. The day also was effective with attracting more males for depression screening than normal. Chamberlin, J. (2007). Monitor on Psychology, Vol 38(9), 68

~~ A substantial number of adolescents with epilepsy and seizures have clinical depression as well, so says the Journal of Epilepsy & Behavior.  The prevalence of depression among these teens has not been widely known and many are not being treated.  Researcher Benjamin Hankin writes on how the role of stressors in a young person's life interact with genetic, biological, cognitive and interpersonal factors to predict depression. Hankin, B. (2006). Epilepsy & Behavior, Vol .8(1), 102-114.

~~ Depression affects about 2% of pre-adolescent children and about 5% of adolescents.  It's concerning because it is often associated with many at-risk behaviors, poor relationships and academic problems plus it tends to pre-dispose adolescents to depression as adults. Schools have attempted to lessen the problem with 2 types of programs - universal prevention programs addressed to the student body at-large and selective interventions specifically targeted to students at risk for depression. A project designed to evaluate the effectiveness of all these programs has found that the targeted programs are more effective than universal programs and that programs which viewed themselves more as "treatments" as opposed to "preventions" were also most effective.  The length of the treatment or length of follow-up did not seem to cause a difference in effectiveness between programs. Horowitz, J. & Garber, J. (2006).  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychiatry, Vol. 74(3), 401-415.

~~ Most of us know that January is one of the peak months for Seasonal Affective Depression (SAD) due to light shortage.  Currently, the most effective treatment for SAD seems to be spending 30 minutes in front of a 10,000 lux diffused white fluorescent light in the morning.  But some new research is showing that this "light therapy" may actually be a very effective treatment for other types of depression as well.  In fact some research indicates it may be as effective as drug therapy in many people.  Golden, R. et al (2005).  American Journal of Psyciatry, Vol 162(4), 656-662.

~~ Depressed people have a smaller left side to their hippocampus, according to researchers in West Haven, Connecticut. A study show a 20% size difference in this region of the brain whose main job is memory. The smaller size is thought to be due to the increase in glucocorticoids which come with depression. Glucorticoids can damage the hippocampus. Bremner, et.al. American Journal of Psychiatry, 2000. vol. 157(1), 115-117.

~~ The recreational drug Ecstasy is linked to long term reduction in brain serotonin levels leading to depression and Obsessive -Compulsive Disorder. But researchers in Germany find that the drug doesn't actually deplete the brain's serotonin supply but rather changes the physical structure of the neurons in the brains so that they are unable to receive the serotonin. Quednow,B. et al. (2004). Neuro- psychopharmacology, Vol29(5), 982-990.

~~ Loneliness can make you sick. So say researchers in London. A study released this summer shows that lonely people have difficulty with blood pressure, increased natural killer cells produced under stress and higher cortisol levels in the brain in the first half hour after waking. All of these are associated with things that can influence your health. Make it a point to help children and adults who may feel socially isolated and alone. Steptoe, A. et al. (2004). Psychoneuroendocriology. Vol 29(5), 593-611.

~~ If you are working with someone with bi-polar disorder, or just have an interest in it, you may want to look at some research out of the University of Texas Medical Branch regarding new treatments. The research is showing some promise in expanding the treatment options for acute mania, depression and bipolar disorder. The research looks at the traditional clozapine, olanzapine, and risperidone as well as some newer "atypical" treatments such as quetiapine, ziprasidone, and aripiprazole. Hirschfeld, R. (2003). Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Vol 64(suppl18), 15-21.

~~ Yale University is looking at the chemical and biological workings of antidepressant medications. Depression has long been known to cause structural impairments to the cells in the hippocampus of the brain. Antidepressants have been found to undue much of this damage and actually help stimulate cell growth in the region. According to a new study out of Yale's School of Medicine, these drugs work by manipulating 2 of the body's own chemicals - cyclic AMP which turns on genes responsible for making cell chemicals, and BDNF a common neurotrophin responsible for cell growth and the development of dendrites. D"Sa, C. & Duman, R. (2002). Bipolar Disorders, Vol 4(3), 183-194.

~~ Two studies out of the University of Texas found two significant issues which correlate to depression in adolescent girls. The first study showed that body-image dissatisfaction such as dieting, pressure to be thin and bulimia can all predict depression in adolescent girls. The other study shows that an early age for menarche (sooner than 11.6 years) also can predict depression in adolescent girls. Stice, E. & Bearman, S. 2001. Develop- mental Psychology, Vol. 37(5), 597-607. Stice, E. et al. 2001. Developmental Psychology, Vol 37(5), 608-619.

~~ Left-handed people are over-represented in the depressed population. This is particularly true with males. One group of researchers is suspecting this may be due to the difference in hormone levels in the brain between left and right handed men. Elias, L. et al. 2001. Brain & Cognition. Vol 46(1-2), 125-129.

~~ An interesting study out of Manchester College shows that pregnant women who exhibit depression in their last trimester (high cortisol, high norepinephrine, low dopamine levels) gave birth to infants who also exhibit atypical norepinephrine and dopamine levels. The infants born to depressed mothers also showed inferior performance on infant tests for orientation, reflex and excitability. Lundy, et. al. Infant Behavior & Development, 1999, vol 22(1), 119-129.

~~ The brain area responsible for circadian rhythms (suprachiasmatic nuclei) is analyzed in a new study out of the University Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. The study also describes the strong relationship between depression and sleep disturbances, especially REM deprevation. Emilien, et.al. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 1999,vo16(1), 18-23.

~~ The University of Helsinki has shown that depressed people exhibit not only cognitive slowing but impairment in visual memory. In their study, verbal memory was not as affected. Kalska, et. al. Applied Neuropsychology, 1999vol. 6(2), 96-107.

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

~~ 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.  Vidyasagar, T. (2005). Perception. Vol 34(8), 903-911.

~~ Until recently, most researchers agreed that dyslexia,
regardless of the person's language, originates from a dysfunction of the left posterior temporal brain region. Some new research begins to question that universal source.  Dyslexia in the Chinese seems to come from a different region altogether (left middle frontal gyrus).  However most of the people looking at this issue still agree that regardless of your language, dyslexia results from an inability to process the phonological features of your language.  Ziegler, J. (2006). Brain and Language, Vol 98(3), 341-343.

~~ Carleton University in Ottawa has been looking at dyslexia and the possibility that some dyslexia may stem from inefficient inter-hemispheric communication, as has been suggested by many researchers. They found however, no real difference between children with and without dyslexia in their ability to communicate efficiently between brain hemispheres.  Instead they found significant delays in word retrieval processing from long term memory.  Sotozaki, H. & Parlow, S. (2006). Brain and Language, Vol 98(1), 89-101.  

~~ Researchers at the University of Colorado are suggesting that schools could better serve children with dyslexia, by adopting a strength-based ecological approach to working with these students as opposed to the current deficit-method of conceptualizing dyslexia. Rather than viewing the condition as a weakness within the child, an ecological approach considers the child along with the systems within which he/she interacts when making assessments. Actions center on identifying systems that impact the child's ability to be successful. D'Amato, R et al (2005). Neuropsychology Review, Vol 15(2), 97-103. ~~ The pathology or physical cause of dyslexia continues to be debated. One of the suspected causes is being investigated by the University of Louisville (KY). Using MRI brain images of dyslexic people, this study found that persons with dyslexia have a significantly smaller cerebral volume but no difference in cortical thickness.  They also found defects in the brain's minicolumns which can affect information processing ability, especially since the study found no difference in white / gray matter ratios.  So while the physical thickness of the cortex remains the same, the volume is less.  Apparently the difference lies in the gyrification or lay out of the foldings.  Casanova, M. et al. (2004). Journal of Child Neurology, Vol 19(4), 275-281.

~~ Yale University is using neuroimaging to identify the area of dysfunction in dyslexia. It appears to be the angular gyrus in the left hemisphere. This region sits right behind Wernicke's area and is thought to be involved in language-related visual input. Their study also shows compensatory behaviors for the deficit to occur in the same general region in the right hemisphere. Pugh, et. al. (2000). Psychological Science, vol. 11(1), 51-56.

~~ Benita Blachman at Syracuse University and his team, including Sally Shaywiitz at Yale released a study comparing daily systematic reading tutoring with traditional school remedial programs for struggling 2nd and 3rd graders. Poor readers were randomly assigned to either their school's remedial reading help - Chapter 1 or resource pull out - or to a treatment group which consisted of 50 minute one-on-one reading tutoring using a 5 skill lesson program based on the current research of the reading process. They used the Woodcock Reading Test to measure progress. Not only was the end of the year testing very different between the two groups, but very significant differences could be seen even a year later after all students had returned to their home based school program. For example, measures of "word reading" after only one month was 9.11 for the treatment group and 7.66 for the control group. At the end of the year, the treatment group's mean score was 26.14 compared to 18.44 for the control. And a year later the treatment group's mean score was 33.05 compared to 26.78 for controls. The research is fairly strong on this topic now. Systematic reading instruction needs to include: sound-symbol associations, phoneme analysis, fluency building, oral reading practice, spelling instruction. We need all the components, taught explicitly and systematically. Blachman, B.et al. (2004). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 96(3), 444-461.

~~ Another study has been released supporting processing difficulties in the left hemisphere in dyslexic children. A researcher used a finger tapping / line orientation test on 3 groups of adolescents: good readers/poor spellers (dysgraphia), poor readers/poor spellers (dyslexia) and good readers/good spellers. When the children tapped their left-hand during the spatial task, all groups performed similarly. But during the right hand tapping (which would involve the left hemisphere) the 2 poor spelling groups had much more interruption of tapping than the good spellers. The dysgraphia and dyslexia groups did not differ from each other in the results. The researcher concludes that these conditions are the result of a left-hemisphere processing limitation which affects much more than just written language. These children have problems disembedding and converting spatial patterns (such as spelling patterns) into a useable temporal form. Mather, D. (2003). Journal of Learning Disabilities. Vol 36(4), 307-317.

~~ The University of Texas is using MEG to shed light on dyslexia. When children without any reading problems have to distinguish between similar spoken syllables, the speech area in the left brain hemisphere work very hard, with the same area on the right side doing very little. When children with dyslexia do the same task, the corresponding area in the right hemisphere actually worked harder than the left. Their research supports the idea that children with dyslexia have a specific neurological deficit in a very isolated brain area dealing with speech. Dyslexia has more to do with sound than with sight. The researchers also support the disuse of IQ in defining reading disabilities - but to look instead at poor reading. And fortunately, with intense intervention, brain patterns can be changed and reading can improve. Breier et.al (2003). Neuropsychology, Vol17 (4), 610-621.

~~ In recent years some researchers have hinted that dyslexia may have cerebellum origins. This idea of blaming the cerebellum was shot down recently by a U.K. research team. Using a variety of tests the researchers did find significant motor control performance problems associated with children with dyslexia but found no impairment in their ability to estimate time - a central cerebellar function. They conclude that phonological and reading problems are probably not caused by cerebellar dysfunction. Ramus, F. et al. (2003). Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry & Allied Disceplines, Vol 44(5), 712-722.

~~ On the same topic of dyslexia, researchers in Norway have found new brain physical differences associated with dyslexia. Using magnetic resonance images, the researchers found that brains of persons with dyslexia have smaller planum temporale areas (posterior superior temporal regions). In addition to being involved in a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders, this area is sometimes referred to as the brain region where "written and spoken language meet" because the area is activated by both reading and listening. Hugdahl, K. et al. (2003). Neuropsychologia, Vol 41(6), 666-675.

~~ New brain research on dyslexia - a fMRI study by Sally Shaywitz at Yale (if you follow dyslexia research, you are familiar with her team) shows that children with dyslexia can move along two separate brain tracks as adult readers: 1)"Persistently poor readers" (ppr) are those adults who continue to have poor fluency and poor accuracy in their reading and 2) "compensated readers (cr) who are very accurate readers but lack fluency. The first group (ppr) use the same brain area for reading as non- dyslexic readers but use the region differently and rely more on memory based strategies than word analysis strategies. The compensated readers (cr) rely primarily on a different region altogether and use the "traditional" reading brain region very little. (the traditional being the posterior brain region located in the left parietotemporal and occipitotemporal regions). Shaywitz, S. (2003). Biological Psychiatry. Vol 54(1), 25-33.

~~ Another study published also by Yale University by Sally & Bennett Shaywitz, shows dyslexia to result from the inability to comprehend that words can be broken down into smaller units. This dysfunction occurs in both written and spoken language. This is the function of the angular gyrus mentioned in the topic above. Shaywitz. (1999). Developmental Neuropsychology. Vol 16(3), 383-384.

~~ In a "chicken or egg"debate, a study by Rush University in Chicago proposes that deep dyslexia and it's corresponding damaged left hemisphere function actually results from problems with the right hemisphere. The study proposes that the problem arises because the right hemisphere involves itself in the reading process, rather than the other way around. Beeman, et.al. (2000), vol. 71(2), 299-309.

~~ National Institute of Health, Bethesda Maryland is shedding more light on the biology of dyslexia. They blame lower blood flow in the temporal and inferior parietal regions of the brain as a problem in dyslexia. In addition, they have found a reverse problem in a region known as the left angular gyrus. Increased blood flow in this area improves reading skill in non-dyslexia persons, but causes worse reading skills in people with dyslexia. Rumsey, et.al., 1999. Brain & Language vol. 70(2), 187-204.

~~ The University of Wurzberg conducted a study showing that early training in knowledge of letters and sound structure of spoken language can reduce the risk of dyslexia. Schneider, Roth, Ennemaser. J. of Ed Psych 2000 vol 92,(2) 284-295.

~~ Dartmouth medical school is using MRI imaging to show that there is a structural difference in the brains of people with dyslexia. In particular, they've found an area of the perisylvian region (associated with language) called the caudal infrasylvian surface (CIS) which is significantly larger in the brains of persons with dyslexia. Green, et. al, (1999). Neurology. vol. 53(5), 974-981

~~ The Irlen lenses are being tested using magnetoencephalography - the most current and sophisticated brain imaging technique. Erlen lenses are often called "ROSE-COLORED" lenses and have recently been used with varied success for the treatment of some types of dyslexia. The good news: there appears to be significant evidence that these colored filters do reduce or eliminate the conflicting brain pathway firings in some children and enable them to make sense out of what they are reading. The bad news: they don't work for everyone with dyslexia, different colors work for different kids (they need to be "fitted") and like everything - more research needs to be done and funding is limited.

GANGS

~~ Another University of Chicago study found the following as predictors of gang activity:

--young age onset of conduct disorder

--having friends who engage in agressive deliquency.

--family income and parental supervision.

Lahey, et. al, (1999). Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. vol. 27(4). 261-276.

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.

~~ If you still subscribe to the stereotype that boys are better at math, please note that the research doesn't support it. Looking at standardized math scores from over 7 million children in early elementary through high school, researchers at the University of Wisconsin found no differences between the genders. Hyde, J. et al. (2008). Science, Vol 321(5888), 494-495.

~~ Boys with higher brain serotonin levels as children have less risk of being aggressive adolescents.  Researchers at Queens College in New York recently finished a longitudinal study where they tracked boys with various disruptive disorders from their childhood through adolescence.  While not all boys with low serotonin levels became aggressive during adolescence, it was a contributing factor and no boys with high serotonin levels in childhood displayed aggressive behaviors during their adolescence.  Halperin, J. et al, (2006). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Vol 56(7), 833-840. 

~~ For those of you collecting gender differences in the brain, you may want to read a new study out of Tulane University in New Orleans.  Researchers there are studying brain gender differences for auditory processing.  The Perisylvian region of the brain is heavily involved in processing the information we hear.  There are 4 subunits of this region and the study found significant volume differences in 2 of these areas in female brains.  They found organizational differences as well. So women and men do listen differently.  (I know many of you are thinking, "for THIS we need research?") Knaus, T. et al (2004).  Neuropsychology, Vol 18(4), 738-747.

~~ The Journal of Youth and Adolescence released a study showing female adolescents involved in athletics were much less likely to engage in sexual risk-taking behaviors than non-athletes. The study found 50% of adolescents not in athletics were sexually active, compared to 21% of adolescents in sports activities. Savage & Holcomb (1999). Journal of Youth and Adolescence. vol. 28(5), 595-602.

~~ Men and women think differently. (Did you need research to tell you that?) In case you do need the research, apparently researcher in Georgia used EEGs to record brain activities while male and female students attempted to mentally rotate both 2 and 3 dimensional models. In the simpler 2 dimensional models, men used their left parietal lobe for the most part while women used their right parietal lobe primarily. On the more complex 3-D models, both men and woman used their right parietal area the most. While men and women performed equally well on the 2-D models, the men performed better on rotating and manipulating the 3-D models. Roberts, J. & Bell, M. (2003). International Journal of Psychophysiology. Vol 50(3), 235-246.

~~ You may not need me to tell you that women are better at locating lost objects than men. Traditionally, female brains have done better on tests for spatial location memory. Researchers in Saskatchewan have looked at the issue in more detail by adding a more complex "dynamic" component to the memory test. And again, in dynamic, real world situations, the female brain has an advantage for spatial location memory. Tottenham, L. et al. 2003. Brain & Cognition. Vol 53(2), 381-383.

~~ A baby's cry. A laughing infant. Your response to both of these events is related to 2 factors - your gender and your parenting experience (or lack of). Researchers at the University of Basel used fMRI scans to view brain reaction to infant crying and laughing. They compared male and female brains and parent / non parent brains. Their findings: a region called the anterior cingulate cortex was involved in a women's brain for both infant laughing and crying in both parent and non parent women. Not so for men. However, men and women's brains showed increased amygdala / limbic region activity based on parenting experience. Those who are parents increased this activity to the sound of an infant's cry. Those who have never been parents increased the activity to the sound of the laugh. Apparently "maternal behavior" is not limited to Mom. Seifritz, E. et al. (2003). Biological Psychiatry, Vol 54(12), 1367-1375.

~~ : Another gender difference in the brain was studied in Amsterdam. A half male, half female group was shown slides of cartoon faces expressing a wide range of emotions. The participants had to rate the expressions as either positive or negative. Some slides were shown only to the right eye (processed in the left brain hemisphere) and some to the left eye (processed in the right hemisphere). The results: women rated faces more positively overall. And woman gave more positive emotion votes to the neutral faces when viewed through their right eye. Men appeared to have no difference between hemispheres on their emotional interpretation. Van Strien, J. & Van Beek. 2000. Brain & Cognition. Vol 44(3), 645-652.

~~ Men and women think differently! So says the Univ. of California school of medicine. They studied working memory (what you have access to right now)in both genders. Working memory utilizes both the prefrontal cortex and the parietal regions. However, men have a right side preference or use both hemispheres, while woman have a strong preference for using their left hemisphere to work on a task at hand. Also, though women had slower reaction times to the task, they were more accurate in their performance. Speck, O. et al. 2000. Neuroreport, Vol 11(11), 2581-2585.

~~ On the other side of that sports coin - The University of Vermont did a study showing that female athletes were more at risk of developing eating disorders. The risk increases with the level of competition involved in the sports activity. Picard (1999). Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol 28(5), 585-594.

~~ In addition to racial equity, colleges need to be aware of the gender balance in faculty as well, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina. Apparently, female graduate students have a greater academic self-concept and greater career commitment when studying in a program with a gender-balanced faculty as compared to a male-dominated faculty. Ulku-Steiner, et. al. J. of Ed Psych. 2000 vol.92(2) 296-307.

~~ When 6th graders solve applied math problems, girls are more persistent than boys. But, girls report lower self-confidence and were more apt to blame errors on the difficulty. Vermeer, et. al. J. of Ed. Psych. 2000 vol.92(2) 308-315.

~~ The University of Pennsylvania has exposed another gender difference in human brains. They show that women have a greater percentage of gray matter whereas men have a higher percentage of white matter. Men have equal percentages of white matter in both hemispheres, but a greater amount of gray matter in the left hemisphere than right. There was no difference in hemispheres in women. (White matter is made white by myelination which speeds up electrical flow.) The higher percentage of grey matter in womens'' brains is thought to allow more area available for computation to make up for the overall smaller cranial space in the skull. (white matter is thought to allow transfer of information across distance). Gur, et. al. J. of Neuroscience, 1999 (May), vol. 19(10), 4065 - 4072.

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. 

~~ Adolescents who have experienced a closed head injury (CHI) may encounter problems in written communication in addition to other forms of communication. An Eastern Illinois University study compared the written work of adolescents with and without a history of closed head injury. Adolescents with CHI used fewer words to express their ideas and were less elaborate in explaining the relationship between their ideas. Wilson, B. (2002). Brain Injury, Vol 16(11), 1011-1024.

~~ Do you talk to yourself while working on a task? Many of us do. A Hong Kong study shows that talking to oneself while performing a task is a particularly useful strategy for persons with closed head injuries who can be easily distracted. It may actually be useful to anyone who is having trouble paying attention in a complex or distracting environment. Chan, R. et al. (2002). Journal of Clinical & Experimental Neuropsychology, Vol 24(5), 695 - 704.

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).

~~ Homework or no homework? That's a difficult question. According to research, student achievement has little relationship to whether or not the class has assigned homework. In elementary grades, teacher assigned homework actually correlated to students' poor attitude toward school. Achievement DOES relate positively to how much time the parents spend assisting with homework - which should come as no surprise to anyone. Cooper, et.al. 2001. Journal of Experimental Education. vol 69(2) 181-199 and Journal of Educational Psychology (1998), vol 90(1),70-83.

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).

~~ Children with the fewest numbers of siblings perform the best on tests of intellectual skills and educational achievement. The reason for this appears to be that additional children dilute parental resources. These resources would include time, money and interactions. Downey (2001). American Psychologist, vol 56(6/7), 497-504.

~~ Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) can affect the cognitive functioning in children. A study out of the University of South Carolina shows a relationship between SCD and lower IQ scores. Schatz, J. et al. (2002). Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Vol 27(8), 739-748.

~~ Children born with very-low-birthweight, can attain normal cognitive functioning by school-age. Researchers in Sweden studied large groups of 5 and 6 year olds who had very low weights at birth and compared their IQ and task performance with a control group of children. While there was a much wider variety in IQs among the low birthweight children, and many were low on the performance subscale, most fell well within the normal range of intelligence. Bohm, B. et al. (2002). Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, Vol 44(8), 508-516

~~ Looking for a quick way to estimate verbal intellectual ability with adult learners? The North American Adult Reading Test (NAART) has recently been shown to be a reliable and valid predictor of verbal ability and correlates well with the more time consuming WAIS-R. Uttl, B. (2002). Journal of Clinical & Experimental Neuropsychology, Vol 24(8), 1123-1137.

~~ What correlates with giftedness in children? According to Ellen Winner at Boston college, here are the qualities and features that tend to be exhibited by gifted children: strong right-hemisphere development, language-related difficulties, autoimmune disorders, high levels of motivation, and social and emotional difficulties. American Psychologist, January 2000 Vol. 55, No. 1, 159-169.

~~ Just so you have a little variety in the hot topics - A study out of the University of Denver finds a positive correlation between IQ and brain size. This was an aside from their study comparing brain sizes in identical twins to discuss whether brain size results more from genetics or environmental factors. It should be no surprise that they found genetics to play a big role. Pennington, et.al. (2000). Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. Vol 12(1), 223-232.

LANGUAGE

~~ 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.

~~ A more recent study, related to the one above comes from Harvard. Researchers there had bilingual Spanish/ English kindergarten students watch either "Between the Lions" or "Arthur" periodically throughout the school year. Their finding show that actually "Arthur" was a better aide for the development of English skills than "Between the Lions" for these bilingual kindergartners. Uchikoshi, Y. (2005). Developmental Psychology, Vol 41(3), 464-478.

~~ Many bi-lingual children who have difficulty learning English also have difficulty learning to read.  Researchers at the University of California looked at the common underlying cognitive processes to see if difficulties in one could predict difficulties in the other.  Their study found that while somewhat related, the two problems have different underlying problems.  Children who struggle to learn English generally have problems with a language-independent working memory system.  Children who struggle with reading tend to have trouble with a language-specific phonological area of short term memory. Swanson, H. et al. (2004).  Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol 96(1), 3-18.

~~ Following more research in reading, this same issue covers a study out of England on reading comprehension problems with middle grade children.  They were looking at the relationship and importance of working memory deficits on reading comprehension. Much research has been dedicated lately to the role of working memory and reading. This study supports earlier theories that there is a hierarchy of skills involved in reading and that problems may occur at any level.  We need to look for problems at the lowest point of difficulty ( word attack skills) and move up through the more complex chain (inference making, comprehension monitoring) and finally the processing capacity in working memory. This study concluded that while working memory is a big factor in reading comprehension it is not the sole culprit of comprehension problems.  The study concludes with several suggestions for working with middle grade struggling readers and would certainly be worth reading for many educators who work with grade 3 - grade 7 students. Cain, K., Bryant, P. & Oakhill, J.  (2004).  Journal of Educational Psychology.  Vol 96(1)31-42.

~~ Two more studies (one out of Stanford Univ. and the other out of McGill Univ. in Montreal) are supporting the idea that bi-lingual speakers use a common area of the brain for language. The first study used a functional MRI to show a shared region of semantic analysis in the frontal lobes of Spanish/English speakers. The other study used PET scans of Chinese/English speakers and verb generation. In both of these studies, the second language was acquired later in life, but apparently the second language uses the same regions as the first. Illes, et.al. (1999). Brain & Language, vol 70(3), 347-363. Klein, et.al. (1999). Neuroreport, vol 10(13), 2841-2846.

~~ Words and their meaning are generally processed by the left brain hemisphere. But a new study shows that very familiar nouns (famous names, personally relevant nouns) are processed by the right hemisphere as well. This gives support to attaching new, foreign information to students' relevant personal knowledge base in order to better utilize both brain hemispheres. Ohnesorge, C. & Van Lancker, D. 2001. Brain & Language, Vol 77(2), 135-165.

~~ Complete the following 2 tasks: 1. The dog ran around the ___________. 2. The dog ran around the tree / car. (circle one) You use a different brain region for task one than you use for task two. You will use regions of your frontal lobes for both tasks, but only in task #1, which asks you to generate a word, involves a major use of your right lateral temporal cortex. This is according to a German study which hypothesizes that we use that right temporal region to process linguistic context and evaluate multiple meanings of words. This is one more study showing us the complexity of reading, writing and decision making and all the different regions which can be involved in reading problems. Kircher, T. et al. 2001. Neuropsychologica, vol 39(8), 798-809.

~~ Our language shapes our thinking process. Stanford University published a study comparing the concept of time between English speaking and Mandarin speaking people. English speakers tend to talk and think about time as if it were a horizontal concept. Mandarin speakers think about time in a vertical model. Bi-lingual speakers' mental model depends upon which language they learned first and the age at which they were exposed to their second language. Boroditsky, L. 1001. Cognitive Psychology, Vol. 43(1), 1-22.

LEARNING

~~ When teaching early elementary classes containing students who are English-language learners (ELLs), the teacher may want to enhance vocabulary instruction with multimedia. So say researchers looking at this instructional method. In settings with both ELLs and non-ELLs, the researchers found that using multimedia significantly improved ELLs' knowledge of instructional words to the point where the gap between ELLS and non-ELLs was nearly closed. The effects for the non-ELLs, while not detrimental, were not significant. Silverman, R. & Hines, S. (2009). Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol 101(2), 305-314.

~~ Researchers at Vanderbilt University conducted a large random survey of 1st grade teachers around the US regarding classroom writing instruction. Based on their results,they make the following recommendations: 1. increase the amount of time students write. 2. Increase time spent writing expository text. 3. provide better balance between time spent writing, learning writing strategies, and teaching writing skills 4. more emphasis on fostering students' motivation for writing 5. develop stronger connections for writing between home and school 6. make computers a more integral part of the writing program . Cutler, L. & Graham, S. (2008). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 100 (4), 907-919.

~~ Parents and educators frequently debate the value of retaining a first grader. A 4-year longitudinal study looked at the effects of retention on subsequent math and reading achievement comparing age-related and grade-related scores. While retaining first graders led to a short term increase in math and reading achievement, in the long term, the promoted children scored higher in both reading and math. Wu, W., West, S., & Hughes, J. (2008). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 100(4), 727-740.

~~ If you're a teacher, no doubt you occasionally have to offer students assignments which they perceive as uninteresting. However, you can support and help maintain students' motivation, engagement, and learning during these lessons simply by providing a rationale for the assignment. Researchers found that when provided with external rationales for perceived uninteresting assignments, students can generate enough motivation to engage constructively and learn from the lesson. Hyungshim J. (2008). Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol 100(4), 798-811.

~~ In elementary grades, reading and spelling curricula should be coordinated to overlap as much as possible. Canadian researchers have found that young readers can transfer familiarity from reading to spelling and from spelling to reading. In other words, children were better able to spell words they had repeated practice reading and could better read words they had repeated practice spelling. Conrad, N. (2008). Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol 100(4), 869-878.

~~ 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.

~~ Middle and High School students frequently are unaware that history is a subjective interpretation of reality. Students frequently see history as a series of stories to be memorized and later recalled, primarily because it has traditionally been taught with authoritative textbooks which present a single view.  Professional historians, however, use a combination of primary and other accounts and then reason between the conflicting views.  Students can be taught to reason just as historians do.  An interesting study out of Santa Clara University did just that.  Using middle grade students, they taught them how to read and use sets of primary and secondary documents, collaborate and write good argumentative essays. Students at all levels of academic functioning wrote longer and more persuasive papers with more accurate historical content. De La Paz, S.  (2005).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 97(2), 139-156.

~~ Why do you teach?  Apparently, teachers who are motivated mainly by intrinsic factors, so called "autonomous motivation", have a greater sense of personal accomplishment and fewer feelings of exhaustion.  Perhaps more importantly, they promote autonomy-supported teaching which offers students choice and greater clarification of subject relevance. This type of teaching then is reflected in students' more positive feelings for the task at hand and greater behavioral engagement.  The researchers for this study concluded with concern that the increase in high stakes testing would have a detrimental effect on these highly effective teachers  by making them feel "less autonomous and consequently act in more controlling ways toward their students."    Roth, G. et al. (2007).  Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol 99(4), 761-774.

~~ Researcher at UC-Santa Barbara compared students retention of information when they were asked to construct their own graphic organizers on information read in a text and compared that to the use of teacher-provided graphic organizers.  While you might think that students later recalled more information from those organizers they constructed themselves, in fact the researchers found no difference at all in recall success.    Stull, A. & Mayer, R. (2007).  Journal of Educational Psychology.  Vol 99(4), 808-820.

~~ Children entering kindergarten with a knowledge of numbers, order of numbers, knowledge of letters and basic phonics, are most likely to be doing well in school by the middle grades.  A paper presented in this month's Developmental Psychology pooled research from a variety of sources and studies to find that basic math and reading skills at school entry do predict later school success.  Surprisingly, there was no correlation with social and emotional skills and later school success.  The paper emphasized skills for this age group should be taught through "play" tasks and other events perceived as fun for the preschooler rather than direct instruction.  Duncan, G. et al (2007) Developmental Psychology, Vol 43(6).

~~ Educational Psychologists are beginning to see some significant and positive research on Internet use and children.  The pluses: home Internet use improves standardized test scores in reading (the biggest effect is with low SES populations), children develop complex academic performance skills in what they perceive as a more "fun" environment, online reading enhances skills that traditional book reading does not, children with Internet access at home are more proactive in getting help for themselves and reinforcing what is taught at school. The downside:  the lower SES children, who benefit most from Internet, have the least access to it; children need a lot of help in critically evaluating legitimate websites and using effective search techniques. The general feeling among researchers is that American teachers are lagging behind in professional development training to help students effectively use the Internet. Other countries are putting a lot of time and money into training teachers in this area.   Packard, E. (2007).  Monitor on Psychology, Vol. 38(10), 44-46.

~~ Much has been written on the relationship between how well children do in math and their mother's perception of how well they think their child will do in math.  Mothers who have high expectations for their child's math performance, will in fact have children who tend to do well.  While the effect tends to peak in 10th grade, the effect is long-term. A mother's early perception of math will correlate with the child's personal self-efficacy feelings for several years past high school and even influences the child's career choice.  Bleeker, M. & Jacobs, J. (2004).  Journal of Educational Psychology.  Vol 96(1), 97-109.

~~ Upper elementary students frequently struggle with composition skills, particularly those students with learning disabilities. Research shows us that writing competence can be improved by including explicit instruction in self-regulation strategies in addition to composition strategies.  Students who were taught a self-regulatory routine  involving the self-reflective practices of (1) self-assessment, (2) goal setting, and (3) strategy monitoring in addition to basic writing strategies improved writing performance.  Glaser, C. & Brunstein, J. (2007).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 99(2), 297-310.

~~ While much research is conducted on how to improve reading and writing in low SES, at-risk populations, very little has been published on what it takes to really be outstanding with middle-class, advantaged populations.  Michigan State University set out to discover just what it takes to really excel with relatively advantaged students. The ingredients?  A Reading-and-Writing focused curriculum that included exposure to many books and explicit instruction in both reading and writing, teachers' use of a multitude of motivational mechanisms, a school-wide pro-social attitude, the use of individualized or differentiated instruction, and an administration with a clear academic focus and an awareness of each individual teacher and classroom.  Pressley, M. et al (2007).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 99 (2), 221-240.

~~ The development of writing skills in the early grades is a very complex process.  Researchers in Delaware looked at the factors influencing the development of descriptive writing in urban schoolchildren, grades 1 - 3.  They found several factors of influence:  the student's basic literacy skills, the breadth of reading materials in the classroom (a greater number of genres equated with steeper writing improvement), whether or not the classroom had a designated "writing center" in the room, whether writing materials were easily available in the room, and the individual teacher's instructional model.  Coker, D. (2006). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 98(3), 471-488.

~~ Elementary schools which serve low-income families and communities should aim to increase parent involvement as a way of increasing literacy.  So says research released this month out of Harvard University and Boston College.  Students in grades K- 5 in ethnically diverse, low-income areas showed significantly improved literacy rates when parental involvement increased.  Dearing, E et al. (2006).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 98(4), 653-664.

~~ Preschool teachers of at-risk children can have a very positive effect on language and the literacy skills. Researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Michigan taught language and literacy intervention strategies to 10 Head Start teachers. The focus was on vocabulary and conversation development. At the end of the year, the children in these language and literacy classrooms scored significantly higher on tests for Vocabulary and expressive language. Wasik, B. et al (2006). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 98(1), 63-74.

~~ Hofstra University conducted a study where they asked 250 principals of secondary schools to rate their views on the causes of ineffective teachers. Half the principals were from high performing schools and half from low performing schools. Interestingly both groups of principals identified pedagogical issues over content knowledge issues. Their top 3 culprits: classroom-management skills, lesson-implementation skills and rapport with students. The least problematic issue they found to cause teacher ineffectiveness: content knowledge! This certainly contradicts many political agendas nationwide. Torff, B. & Sessions, D. (2005). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 97(4), 530-537.

~~ Educators have spent a great deal of time trying to measure student learning styles and some time trying to match instructional style to learning style. Researchers at the University of Regina have shown that students' perceived learning styles (as measured by paper/pencil tests) do not correlate to real objective measures of learning success using visual, auditory and kinesthetic instructional methods. Further investigation shows that paper/pencil learning styles tests may simply measure a student's preference for learning and a general belief about how they learn. Other factors such as interest in the subject, engaging method of delivery and other motivational issues play a bigger role in successful learning. Learning styles vary, in fact, within one student for various subjects and task difficulty. Kratzig, G. & Arbuthnott, K. (2006). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 98(1), 238-246

~~ Two of my favorite researchers, Lynn & Douglas Fuchs teamed up with other researchers to look at 3rd graders' cognitive skills and how various ones correlated to the 3 areas of 3rd grade math - arithmetic, algorithmic computation, and word problems. They looked at how each influenced the other and how, language, problem solving, working memory, processing speed, phonological decoding, attention and sight word efficiency also correlated to them. A few surprises: While arithmetic influence the other two, algorithmic computation did not correlate to word problems (you can do one without the other). Attention strongly correlated to all 3, and interestingly, short term memory did not correlate (which goes against previous research). Educators involved with mathematics may want to take a look at this study in detail. Fuchs, L., et al (2006). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 98(1), 29 - 43.

~~ Preschool teachers and parents take note:  Adding more numbers to your vocabulary when speaking to preschoolers helps boost their math skills.  Researchers at the University of Chicago found that when teachers of 3-5 year olds used more numbers in their everyday conversations and instruction, their students' math skills improved.  Simple things like, "This group of 3 can line up now" is better than "This group here can line up now."  Klibanoff, R. et al.(2006)Developmental Psychology, Vol 42(1).

~~ Children's mental models of numbers, number lines
and number relationships greatly affect math achievement.  In young children (grades K / 1) most children struggle with linear conceptions of the numbers 1 -100.  If presented a line labeled only at 1 and 100, and asked place random numbers in their estimated position, children tend to put great space between lower number and clump the higher numbers close together near 100.  By grade 2, children can handle estimating the positions of numbers between 1 - 100 fairly accurately, but make similar mistakes on number lines of 1 - 1000.  Children with better visualization of the linear relationship of numbers tend to score better in math.  Some evidence exists that teaching young children number games and giving more exposure to number lines and relationships can improve math.  Siegler, R. & Booth, J. (2005)  Child Development, Vol 75(2), 428-444.

~~ Unlike reading, little research has been done on the genetic component to math disabilities and poor math performance.  A new study from the U.K. is changing that.  Researchers tracked several thousand twin pairs in the UK from birth to 7 years of age.  Mixing the environments and teachers, but not instruction (UK has a national curriculum), they compared math performance between twin pairs, both identical and fraternal.  The results - genetics make a significant contribution to math struggles and math disabilities. The researchers caution however that although there is this apparent genetic influence on math performance, it does not imply at all that there is nothing that can be done about math performance.  In fact there is much research to support that good teaching and the home environment play a big role in math performance in children.  Oliver, B. et al. (2004).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 96(3), 504 - 517.

~~ Many students enjoy learning math from multimedia computer games.  Research shows that those games which use multiple representations are better than those using only one, but research has now been released showingthat the discovery learning opportunities alone with these programs is not enough. Children need verbal assistance or guidance when using multimedia programs for learning to really get the best long term understanding.  And for many students, multimedia programs are very ineffective for learning math processes.  Students with very limited understanding of computer use and students with poor working memory both would benefit more from alternative instructional methods.  So, this current research shows that verbal guidance given along with discovery based computer programs gives the best results for learning complex arithmetic procedures in many, but not all children.  Moreno,R. & Duran, R. (2004).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 96(3), 492-503.

~~ Practice not only makes perfect, it makes the brain efficient. What has previously been seen with monkey brains now has been seen on humans. Using functional MRI, a German University has shown that when learning a motor movement (in this case learning to play the piano), a great deal of the motor region of the brain is used. With experience, smaller and smaller regions of the brain are used. In professional musicians, only very tiny regions of the motor cortex are involved in their playing. Thus practice makes neural networks efficient and frees up regions of the cortex again to be used for other things. Jancke, L., et.al. 2000. Cognitive Brain Research. Vol.10(1-2), 177-183.

~~ There's an article in the most recent edition of APA's Monitor outlining new research by David Klahr at Carnegie Mellon University. The research shows that frequently "direct whole-class instruction" is far superior to the "discovery method" of learning, especially in lower elementary classrooms. The researchers found that direct instruction is not only superior on tasks like math, which children find hard to discover on their own, but also for elementary science processing. Children need teacher directed lessons in how to set up good critical thinking science labs and experiments. Adelson, R. (2004). Monitor on Psychology. Vol 35(6), 34-36.

~~ A study out of the University of Colorado showing that once you are an expert in an area you are able to learn and recall huge quantities of new information in that area. In fact, when compared to novices in your special field, you are the superior learner. The reason has to do with the tremendous number of associations you can make to the new information. So here's one more study showing that recall is greatly dependent on the number of connections one can make in their memory system. Help students find connections! Van Overschelde, J. & Healy, A. 2001. Journal of Exp. Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. Vol 27(5), 1160-1171

~~ According to a study out of New York's Columbia University, praise students more for their effort than for their intelligence. The study showed that in 5th graders, praising intelligence actually caused them to work less, experience less enjoyment and less persistance in tasks. Praising effort had just the opposite effect. Mueller & Dweck (1998). Journal of Personality & Social Psychology. Vol 75(1) 33-52.

~~ Smaller class size doesn't seem to make a difference in quantity of material taught, but certainly does effect quality. A study out of UC-San Diego, shows that in smaller classes, teachers covered the same amount of material during the year, but the time spent on individual assistance, tutoring, and one-on-one help increased. Betts, J. & Shkolnik, J. 1999. Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis.Vol 21(2), 193-213.

~~ The University of Illinois has been studying children's tendency to ask for help. Children who have lower academic expectations for themselves tend to ask for help less often. The study found that classrooms that emphasize self-improvement rather than relative ability encourage students to ask for help. In other words, let your students focus on how well they personally have improved rather than on comparing themselves to others in the room.

~~ A study at the University of California helps shed new light on the problem of seductive details in text. Seductive details are illustrations or funny stories which are designed to catch and keep student attention, but generally end up shifting their focus so that they do not grasp and retain the main intent of the text. Many studies have shown that students have lower test scores on information presented in text with seductive details than in straight texts which simply lay out the information. According to this study, the placement of the seductive details in important. These extraneous stories and pictures do the most "damage" when placed at the beginning or dispersed throughout the passage. They do the least "damage" when placed at the end. Does this mean we need to get rid of textbooks with interesting stories, funny tales and exciting illustrations? Probably not, as we know students are more likely to read when the text holds their attention, but we need to make sure that the stories and illustrations are not irrelevant in providing content ideas, otherwise they become distracting. Too often the students remember only the dramatic, irrelevant pictures and not the main idea being presented. Harp & Mayer, J. of Ed. Psychology, 1998,v.90,3, 414-434.

~~ Willamette University shows that music therapy is effective in improving emotional and cognitive skills in individual with dementia. Koger, et.al Journal of Music Therapy, 1999, v 36, 1, 2-15.

~~ A University of Michigan study found a postive correlation between help-seeking behavior and student's perception of classrooms which address their social and emotional needs. A longitudinal study of middle schoolers shows that children tend to ask for help in classrooms where the emphasis was on trying hard, making self improvment, and had an environment where risk-taking was allowed. In classrooms where relative ability and criteria goal setting was emphasized, students were less likely to seek help. It should also be pointed out that this help-seeking behavior was unrelated to the teacher's view of the classroom, only the students' view. Ryan, et.al, J. of Ed. Psychology, 1998,v.90,3,528-535.

LEARNING DISABILITIES

~~ Florida Atlantic University made a comparison study of student adjustment problems during the transition between elementary and middle school. The study compared learning disabled students with students without learning disabilities. Interestingly, the study found no difference in school adjustment problems during the transition. Good or bad, students with learning disabilities tend to fare just as well as students without learning disabilities. Forgan, and Vaughn (2000). Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol.33(1), 33-43.

~~ Children with visuospatial learning disability (VLD) often have problems in arithmetic. Their difficulties stem not from problems with calculations or arithmetic knowledge, but with the writing component. Researchers in the U.K. studied arithmetic and calculation ability in children with and without VLD. While both groups could do oral calculations at similar proficiency, the VLD group showed significant problems when the operation had to be put in writing. They especially struggled with borrowing and carrying particularly with subtraction. Venneri, A. et al. (2003). Child Neuropsychology, Vol 9(3), 175-183.

~~ The American Psychological Association is taking an active role in the IDEA legislation seeking to re-define how we identify students as learning disabled. Their criticism comes from 3 areas - First, there is too much variation between states in how much difference must be found between IQ and achievement. They feel the criteria should be standardized nationwide. Their second complaint is that the tests and formulas used to determine learning disabilities are prone to error and statistical inaccuracies. Their recommendation is that schools use a more continual assessment. Their third complaint is that the system now has what they call a "wait and fail" approach in that the average child is not recognized as learning disabled until the age of 11. One alternative they are looking at is the "response to intervention" model where a system of intervention steps are used to see what types of progress can be made before the special ed system takes over. (Bailey, page 58)

~~ It is often difficult to tell if a child's academic impairments stem from brain and neurological problems or from simply a lack of environmental opportunities. Researchers in Tucson have shown that when evaluating such children, if you couple traditional tests with a test for sensory-motor function, it makes it easier to distinguish between the two causes. Reitan, R. & Wolfson, D. (2003). Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, Vol 18(1), 11-18.

~~ Indiana University completed a study of students with Learning Disabilities(LD) Half the LD students were included in the regular classroom for reading and math. Half the LD students received reading and math instruction in a resource classroom. The LD students in the regular classroom made significantly more progress in reading and comparable progress in math when compared to the students in resource classes.

MEMORY

~~ 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.

~~ Feel like your memory just isn't what it used to be? Most of us know that memory is affected by age and one of the earliest signs of mental decline that we notice.  But learning and memory can be improved at any age.  According to experiments done on other animals, young brains can improve learning and memory by physical exercise alone.  Middle-aged brains can improve by combining physical exercise with mental exercises. Older brains can improve through either physical or mental exercise alone. Harburger, L, et al.  (2007).  Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 121(4).

~~ Semantic memory failure is of particular interest to both educators and persons who work with Alzheimer's patients.  New research is showing us the complexity of semantic memory problems.  If a student "can't remember" something, it is due to either  a problem with storage of long term information, or just a problem in the process of accessing it. We're now seeing that the processing problems may be bigger contributors to memory problems than storage issues are.  Actual loss of knowledge is associated with trouble in the left temporal lobe.  The inability to retrieve or process the information appropriately is associated with frontal lobe problems. Persons with Alzheimer's apparently lose some of their ability to make rule-base judgements which can cause retrieval processing problems. Azar, B. (2007).  Monitor on Psychology, Vol. 38(5), 16-17

~~ Working memory and working memory problems are a hot topic in education.  "Working Memory" is a temporary, limited capacity system which balances items retrieved from long term memory along with processing events.  In other words, you are holding some items for the purpose of doing something with them.  Cognitive load is then divided between the need to hold the information and circuits required for the processing.  The more difficult the processing, the less resource is available for the holding of information.  So problems for students can stem from too much time and circuitry needs for processing which leads to a loss of the information stored or interference which disrupts the processing.  The more similar the interference is to the items being stored, the less likely the children will later retrieve the results correctly. Barrouillet, P. et al, (1007). Jour. of Experimental Psych:  Learning, Memory and Cognition, Vol 33(3), 570-585.

~~ Many educators are aware of the academic challenges for students with poor working memory.  Researchers are dissecting working memory into its 2 main components - primary memory, which is the dynamic attention component and secondary memory, which is the search component sector.  Individual differences in working memory effectiveness may be due to both the ability to maintain information in the primary memory and the ability to search for information simultaneously with the secondary memory. Unsworth, N. & Engle, R. (2007).  Psychological Review. Vol 114(1), 104-132

~~ Working Memory(WM) is a complicated system.  It
involves the 2 types of Short Term Memory (STM) (speech-based loop and visual-spatial sketch pad), an executive function which accesses Long Term Memory (LTM), and a monitoring component which manipulates and recombines information from both LTM and STM.  While WM problems are frequently blamed for math and reading struggles, researchers are finding that each piece or component plays a unique role in learning problems.  In particular, the executive function appears the biggest influence in mathematical problem-solving deficits.  Swanson, H. (2006).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 98(2), 265-281

~~ The size of one's working memory can often be frustrating for adults and cause learning problems in children. Long considered one of the things we cannot change, short term, or working memory can generally hold 7 bits, or 4 items of information. A more narrow component of working memory is focal attention which can only hold one item at a time. Problems in both working memory and focal attention are blamed for ADHD problems in children. New research is showing that some of the tests used to measure focal attention can sometimes be used as practice activities for persons with ADHD and that these activities can improved those individuals' ability to focus. Dingfelder, S. (2005). Monitor on Psychology, Vol. 36(8), 48 - 50.

~~ Recent research out of Massachusetts further supports the idea that episodic memories (remembering) involve more inter-hemispheric brain processing while semantic memories (knowing) involve heavy intrahemispheric processing.  This new research correlated handedness to the whole affair.  Given that a mixed-hand preference (someone who can use their right or left hand to some extent on various tasks) usually indicates strong interhemispheric communication in the brain, the researchers did find that mixed-handed people tend to have a greater reliance on their episodic memories. Those of us with a strong hand preference (can do very little if anything with our non-dominant hand) would have less emphasis on interhemispheric communication and indeed the researchers found this group to have a greater strength or reliance on semantic memory. Propper, R & Christman, S. (2004).  Memory.  Vol 12(6), 707-714.

~~ Persons who use vivid imagining to remember things may be more susceptible to false memories.  According to researchers at Northwestern University, if people are asked to try to use vivid mental images to help remember stories, words or tasks, these people are more likely to create false memories on future recall and believe that they are actually remembering a real event they witnessed rather than just something they were told to learn. The vivid imagining creates an erroneous memory. Gonsalves, B. et al. (2004).  Psychological Science.  Vol 15(10), 655-660.

~~ As you may be aware, the prefrontal cortex is associated with working memory - your ability to "hold" items while working on them and associated tasks.  Researchers  in London have found that different perceptual conditions may involve different regions of the prefrontal cortex.  The researchers were watching the activity in the left and right rostral prefrontal cortex (RPFC) while people had to listen to speech and make decisions about the semantics and syllabic construction of the words they heard. If the speech they heard was very clear, the left RPFC was very active.  If the speech was degraded, or muffled, then the activity lessened in the left RPFC and increased in the right RPFC.  So working memory may be strengthened or weakened based on the monitoring demands we put on it.  Sharp, D, Scott, S, & Wise, R. (2004). Cerebral Cortex, Vol 14(1), 1-10.

~~ Another interesting piece of research on working memory, this time from Boston.  Researchers used fMRI scans to examine which neural circuits were involved in processing visual information in working memory versus auditory information versus both.  No surprise to find that working memory is not as efficient in processing dual modes (auditory and visual together) as it is when handling just one.  But, while most of the neural regions involved for the individual tasks were also involved in the dual processing task, there were actually NEW neural regions involved in the dual task that were not seen in either of the individual tasks.  At least 4 regions were additionally involved when a person has to process both visual and auditory information at the same time.  These new areas then could cause some of the cross modal working memory problems we see in students.  Yoo, S Paralkar, G & Panych, L. (2004) Journal of Neuroscience.   Vol 24(6), 613-631.

~~ Here's more research that may be distressing to those of us with aging brains -  Researchers at the University of New Mexico used MRI and SPECT imaging to show that there are structural and chemical changes in the hippocampus as part of the normal aging process.  Those learning and memory challenges so many of us encounter as we age are probably due to the apparent loss of neurons in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is largely responsible for memory.  Driscoll, H. et al (2003). Cerebral Cortex.  Vol 13(12), 1344-1351.

~~ Researchers from California and Montana teamed up to look at the relationship between working memory (WM) and struggles with math problem solving in the early elementary grades.  Their research pointed out that while Short Term Memory (STM) and WM are often considered the same, they are in fact different. STM deals more with sequential phonological items whereas WM deals with the integration of related items from Long Term Memory.  So while children with serious math difficulties often have both STM and WM deficits, they are not the same culprit. Serious math difficulties in children of normal intelligence is a combination of phonological processing, processing speed, inability to ignore the unimportant information while maintaining the important ideas in the background, and general problems with integrating information from long-term memory - all of these are relative to overall executive function.  Swanson, H. & Beebe-Frankenberger, M. (2004).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 96(3), 471-491.

~~ Remember how we were always taught that that little cerebellum thing hanging off the back of our brains was only good for balance and motor control? Well, guess what? New evidence is showing it may also coordinate some of the activity involved in retrieving information from our episodic memory. According to a new study out of the University of Iowa, the cerebellum shows PET scan activity during conscious episodic memory retrieval. I guess we'll have to pay more attention to that cerebellum now. Andreasen, et. al. (1999) Human Brain Mapping, vol 8(4), 226-234.

~~ Autobiographical memory or "episodic" memory has long been considered strongest and easiest recalled when attached to emotion. Researchers in Germany were trying to find out if these "affect-laden" memories used different neural networks and if there was a difference between happy or sad memories in terms of which brain areas were involved in the retrieval. While there were some differences in other brain regions, the area known as the orbitofrontal cortex was common to both types of affect-laden information processing. Happy memories involved more of the hippocampus regions, while sad memories used regions of the right lateral temporal area as well as the left cerebellum. Markowitsch, H. et al. (2003). Cortex. Vol. 39(4-5), 643-665.

~~ Looking for more support for musical training and music education with children? Researchers in China have recently released a study tracking children with and without music training. Those children with music training had significant improvements in verbal memory. One group of children stared with music training but then discontinued for a year and their verbal memory was much less than those children who had continued music training. Visual memories show no such changes with music. Apparently music training makes significant modifications to neurons in the left temporal lobe in children which affects memory processing. Ho, Y. et al (2003). Neuropsychology, Vol 17(3), 439-450.

~~ Children have pretty good memories when it comes to content information, but "source" memories are poor compared to adults. Researchers in New York measured brain electrical activity in both children and adults as they retrieved various information from their memory system. Because the frontal lobes structures in children's brains are immature, they have great difficulty remembering the source of knowledge, especially if the sources are very similar. Source memory improves with age. The researchers advise caution when using children as reliable witnesses. Cycowicz, Y. et al. (2003). Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Vol 15(5), 759-768.

~~ Retrieving episodic memories uses a great deal of the attentional areas of the brain according to a Duke University study. Episodic memories are those involving a personal experience such as recalling an event you participated in. Researchers found that this episodic retrieval involves the same complex network we use with visual attention tasks (the fronto-parietal-cingulate-thalamic network). But to their surprise, the retrieval also involves regions of the temporal lobes suggesting that episodic retrieval involves more general cognitive involvement than previously thought. Cabeza, R. et al. (2003). Neuropsychologia, Vol 41(3), 390-399.

~~ Some of the memory problems we encounter with age may be the result of frontal lobe deterioration. According to a University of Arizona study, older persons tend to have more "source memory" problems as opposed to "item memory". In other words, you may remember the item, but not where you learned it or who told it to you. This is a problem with the frontal lobes and can be corrected if the person is reminded or cued to notice the source of the information as they hear or view it. Glisky, E. et al. 2001. Journal of Exp. Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. Vol 27(5), 1131-1146

~~ Research continues to show how emotions can really separate and accentuate memory. A study out of Ohio, looked at whether emotion influenced false memories and recall. The researchers demonstrated that we are much less likely to misremember items that have emotional ties. Emotional attachment makes our memories are clearer and less confused. (Teachers should try to make learning an emotional event. Humor is great for that.) Pesta, B., Murphy, M., & Sanders, R. 2001. J. of Exper. Psy.: Learning, Memory & Cognition. Vol 27(2), 328-338.

~~ Another insight to learning and processing information comes out of New York's Columbia University. Researchers looked at the exact location of where new memories are processed in the brain's hippocampus. We process someone's face in one area and their name in another area. But to hook the face with the name, we use a separate, 3rd area of the hippocampus with a unique processing pattern. So we can recall a face or a name, but may struggle with putting the two together. Small, S. et al. 2001. Nature Neuroscience, Vol. 4(4), 442-449.

~~ A PET scan study in Toronto shows that our visual memory re-organizes itself as the brain ages. In this study, young and older persons did equally well on short-term memory tests, but the two groups used very different neural network pathways for the task. So as we age, the brain may re-arrange a few networks. Bennett, P. et al. 2001. Act Psychologica, vol 107(1-3), 249-273.

~~ On a completely different subject, I frequently get email questions concerning herbs and their benefits to brain biology. I ran across a recent study out of the Netherlands which looked at the effectiveness of ginkgo in helping memory impairment in aging brains. In their double blind study, it apparently had absolutely no effect. Sorry...maybe your money would be better spent on mentally stimulating books. vanDongen, M. et al. 2000. Vol. 48(10), 1183-1194.

~~ By examining "tip of the tongue" experiences in normal subjects, the University of Wisconsin was able to break down the memory retrieval process into two steps. They studied what properties of a word are available when the word itself is out of reach. They concluded that step one of retrieval is the word's abstract representation (meaning and syntax). The second step involves retrieving the sound of the word. Vigliocco, et. al. Journal of Memory and Language, 1999, v40, 4, 534-558.

MISCELLANEOUS

~~ 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).

~~ There's new research linking milk consumption to muscle building and weight loss. If you have students who still prefer sugary drinks to milk, you may want to share the new study which used young men in weight training programs. They divided them into 3 groups. After exercise, one group drink a glass of milk, one group drank a sugary "sports drink" and one consumed nothing in particular. After 12 weeks, the group that drank milk developed more muscle mass and lost more weight than the other 2 groups. (2007). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 86(2), 373-381.

~~ The ability to detect emotion develops at a very young age. BYU researcher, Ross Flom, has discovered that babies can detect the emotion elicited from music as young as 5 months of age. Using dis-habituation techniques, Flom found that babies can pick out the "happy" song from others at 5 months of age, and can pick out the "sad" song from others at 9 months of age. (2008) Oct 7. "Babies and Beethoven: Infants can tell happy songs from sad, BYU study shows". BYU News Release.

~~ Standardized achievement tests correlate little to success in adult life. By continuing our educational system's emphasis on standardized and high stakes test, we in are selecting kids for things that later in life won't do any good. We need to be selecting for and encouraging leadership skills. "The world needs great leaders but has few who are even good." In today's world you have to be creative or you won't survive. Leadership means making a positive and meaningful difference in the world - Robert Sternberg, (Dean at Tufts Univ - best known for his "triarchic theory of intelligence"). Wisdom, Intelligence and Creativity. Presented at APA National Conference, Boston, MA Aug. 16, 2008.

~~ Teachers have always been told to be careful in using sarcasm with their students. Researchers are looking at the brain regions involved with sarcasm. Understanding and interpreting sarcasm is a complex cognitive skill involving primarily regions of the prefrontal cortex. It uses brain areas that are also involved in pragmatic language and various social cognition skills. This explains why young children and older children with prefrontal cortex challenges are particularly prone to misinterpret sarcasm. Shamay-Tsoory, S & Tomer, R. (2005) Neropsychology,Vol 19(3), 288-300.

~~ Dr Sonja Lyubomirsky is one of my favorite researchers.
She's the leading researcher on the topic of happiness, what makes us happy and how to control happiness.  According to her newest work, perhaps 40% of our happiness is actually under our control.  With just a few minutes of mental work, you can sustain happiness for weeks.  According to Lyubomisrsky, just spend 5 - 10 minutes on a daily basis "counting your blessings" - remembering and thinking of happy life events.  Her other research has pointed to performing good deeds as another significant factor in maintaining happiness.  Novotney, A. (2008). Monitor on Psychology, Vol 39(4), 24.

~~ If your school is trying to fight childhood obesity by replacing sugary sodas with artificially sweetened drinks - you may want to rethink the situation.  New research shows that artificial sweetners may actually slow down metabolism and encourage overeating.  While the studies thus far use only lab animals, apparently having a sweet-taste in the mouth is linked in the brain to the thought that calories and energy are on their way.  When those calories do not appear, the metabolism is confused and activity level decreases and the desire to eat increases.  Swithers, S. & Davidson, T. (2008) Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol. 122, No. 1.

~~ When counting, gestures help.  Researchers discovered that when students have to count things, those that could point, nod or otherwise make body gestures, were faster and more accurate than those who were not allowed to gesture.  The gesture apparently adds rhythm which makes counting more accurate and also aids the brain in maintaining place.  Carlson, R. et al. (2007).  Journal of Experimental Psychology:  Learning, Memory & Cognition, Vol 33, 4.

~~ Over the past few decades, advertisers have moved from showing males as individuals engaged in various activities, to using the male body as simply a decorative object.  This move toward objectifying men has psychologists concerned. Researchers have found that grade school boys are particularly influenced by this shift.  Ads showing males active and engaged (such as bicycling, golfing, etc) boost boys' self image, while ads using isolated male body parts (part of an upper torso for example to sell cologne) diminished self esteem. Dingfelder, S. (2007). "Good for sales, bad for boys?"  Monitor on Psychology, Vol 38(8), pg 11. 

~~ Bad deeds are not necessarily performed by bad people. Bad deeds can be performed by anyone, given the right specific situation. In fact, it is argued that most horrific deeds are done by basically good people who have been put in a specific situation.  This "Lucifer Effect", is a new, hot theory put forth by Dr Phil Zimbardo (you may remember him as the researcher responsible for the Stanford Prison Experiment).  Zimbardo proposes that there are no "bad apples" but rather "bad apple barrels.". Philip Zimbardo, PhD. Stanford University.  "Psychology of Evil:  The Lucifer Effect in action."  Address presented at the APA convention August 18, 2007, San Francisco.

~~ Having a hard time keeping up with "alphabet soup" of
childhood mental health disorders?  If you're overwhelmed already with OCD, ADD, ADHD, ODD, PDD, and the like, then get ready for a new one - DTD.  "Developmental Trauma Disorder" may be the new diagnosis for many of the reported 3 million children who are subjected to repeated and serious trauma and neglect.  The American Psychiatric Association is looking to add DTD as a new diagnosis to their next edition manual (DSM-5) when it comes out in 2011.  They feel that PTSD works well as an adult diagnosis, but children have different responses to chronic and severe stress given their developmental period.  DTD will help direct services to a child's more specific needs.  DeAngelis, T. (2007). Monitor on Psychology, Vol 38(3), pg. 32.

~~ In women, ovarian hormones can influence the effect of some psychomotor stimulant drugs such as amphetamine and cocaine. Women in the "follicular" stage of their menstrual cycle will be more affected by these drugs than when used in the luteal phase of their cycle. Terner, J. & DeWit, H., (2006).  Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Vol 84(1), 1-13.

~~ At least 70% of obese adolescents will remain significantly overweight as adults. Preventions and programs aimed at preventing obesity in children need to come early. In a review of intervention programs offered over the last 25 years, researchers found the most effective were programs that targeted weight control alone (as opposed to programs that discussed a variety of health issues such as weight, smoking, heart disease, etc) and programs delivered by professionals rather than school teachers. Even so, nearly 80% of programs were ineffective. Those few that made a difference were very intense and regimented. Males and pre-adolescents were unaffected by any program. Shaw, H. & Marti, C. (2006). Psychological Bulletin, Vol 132(5).

~~ Happiness - the "holy grail" of our society.  One of the
problems with happiness however is that it tends to be short-lived.  We habituate to events that bring happiness very quickly.  Happiness researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky reported on her finding about creating sustained feelings of happiness.  Her research finds there are two avenues which give long-term feelings of happiness:  the first is a daily accounting (on paper or reported to others) of the things we feel appreciative of - sort of a "count your blessings" activity.  The second avenue to sustained happiness is doing good deeds for others on a regular basis.  "Is It Possible to Become Lastingly happier?  Experimental Inductions of Gratitude, Kindness, Optimism and Reflection." Sonja Lyubomirsky, University of Calf - Riverside on August 12, 2006,APA National Conference, New Orleans.

~~ The NICHD is releasing their findings from a longitudinal study they've conducted on early child care and its effect on the cognitive and social development of children throughout childhood.  The study tracked over 1200 children from birth until 5 years of age.  As other studies have shown, high quality daycare, found with children from both SES extremes (upper income families and  impoverished families eligible for government sponsored child care) correlates with higher cognitive and language scores.  Children from middle class and "the working poor" tend to have the lowest quality day care. But "Mom care only" versus day care in early childhood does not appear to make a difference in cognitive or language scores.  Parenting skills, mother's education and income levels still are the strongest predictor of higher cognitive scores during early childhood, and far outweigh child care vs. stay-at-home issues. But, the quality of child care does play a role.  And interestingly, the quantity of child care does too.  Children who spend a lot of time during early childhood in child care centers tend to have more social and behavioral problems in early elementary school.  NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (2006). American Psychologist, Vol 61(2), 99-116.

~~ And finally, a hot topic we can file in the "fun facts to know and share with students."  Most of us know humans have a dominant hand, a dominant foot, and even a dominant eye. But did you know that you also have a dominant nostril?  Apparently nasal airflow varies between our nostrils and the dominant nostril correlates with handedness.  In other words, right handed people have a greater airflow through their right nostril and left handed people through their left nostril. Searleman, A. et al (2005).  Asymmetries of Body, Brain& Cognition, Vol 10(2), 111-120.

~~ Columbia University has released new information showing that there are peak seasons for some disorders. ADHD behaviors peak in August, Oppositional Deviant Disorder and Marijuana use peaks August through September. Anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and major depression peaks August through October. Interestedly, alcohol use shows no particular season. Kovalenko, et. al. 2000. Psychiatry Research, vol. 94(2), 103-119.

~~ Stand to your right teachers. That's according to an interesting study out of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. They used cinemas to study a person's preference for seating and their resulting "directional bias" for watching a performance. Regardless of whether a person is right or left handed, people tend to prefer to sit on the right so that they are looking to their left. Right handed people prefer to sit further right than the lefties, but most all of us have a "look left" preference. Karev, G. (2000). Cortex, Vol 36(5), 747-752

~~ A Cornell University study shows growing evidence of a link between auto-immune system issues and some psychiatric disorders, particularly Tourette's syndrome and Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder. Researchers have found very specific cell antigens in the blood of some of these children. There continues to be a suspicion that some types of Tourettes my follow a childhood streptococcus infection. Trifiletti & Packard. Child & Adol. Psych. Clinics of N. America. 1999, vol. 8(4), 767-775.

~~ A Bouldin and Pratt study out of Bundoora Australia shows that children with imaginary companions between the ages of 3 and 9 years of age tend to be 1)first-born children; 2)very imaginative; 3) incorporate myth in their play: 4) explain events as magical. Journal of Genetic Psychology, (1999). vol 160(4), 397-410.

~~ Another interesting article for summer reading is found right before the Pellegrini article in the June issue of the Journal of Educational psychology. The article is titled "Adding Legs to a Snake: A Reanalysis of Motivation and the Pursuit of Happiness from a Zen Buddhist Perspective" by Robert Gaskins. Gaskins provides an interesting alternative view of the sense of self. He includes some classroom suggestions for helping students with "the realization that every moment is fresh, unique, and brimming with possibilities and should be the complete focus of our attention." Gaskins, Journal of Educational Psychology. 1999. 91(2) 204-215.

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.

~~ Researchers in Mexico are looking further into the genetic component of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). They have found that not only do you apparently inherit a specific gene for OCD, but even the severity of your symptoms is genetically determined (by a receptor gene called 5-HT-1Dbeta). Camarena, B,et al. (2004). International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, Vol7(1), 49-53.

~~ People with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) generally have accompanying disabilities In fact, 69% of people with OCD also have additional disorders such as anxiety disorders, depression, or tic disorders. Haliburn, J. (2000). J. of the Am. 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.

~~ The Journal of Educational Psychology published a study showing how teacher gestures can improve student problem-solving strategies, particularly in math. If teachers did not gesture at all or gestured differently than the strategy conveyed by speech in explaining a problem, students later showed less understanding than students whose teachers used hand gestures which matched and supported the verbal explanation. Goldin-Meadow, et.al. (1999) vol 91(4), 720-730.

~~ 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

~~ 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.

~~ While in recent years there has been much pressure to screen pre-K children for reading difficulties, the challenge has been to find exactly what constructs to measure.  What exactly will predict reading difficulties?  A new study from Texas and Florida researchers took a look at what measures done in kindergarten will actually predict reading problems in 1st and 2nd grade.  They found that letter naming, letter sound knowledge, naming speed, and phonological awareness are pretty good measures for predicting reading success for a kindergarten when they reach grades 1 and 2.  On the other hand, perceptual skills, oral language and vocabulary were not good predictors. Schatschneider, C. et al. (2004).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 96, (2), 265-282.

~~ The educational television program, "Between the Lions" is designed to improve the literacy skills of young children. A group of researchers found that in fact, the show does help the emerging literacy skills for at-risk kindergarten children.  Those at-risk kindergartners who viewed the program had a great increase in literacy skills than those who did not view the program.  The show had no effect on first graders. Linebarger, D. et al. (2004).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 96(2), 297-308.

~~ The University of Copenhagen has achieved very positive results with a program that provides early intervention for children at-risk for dyslexia. They used a program, implemented by the regular kindergarten teacher, that focused heavily on phoneme awareness training particularly on initial consonants, with children whose parents had dyslexia. Their results found long-lasting (7 years) and significant reading improvement over those at-risk students who did not have the program.  While children not at risk for dyslexia remained better readers in grade 7 from the treatment group, the treatment group was still significantly ahead of those at-risk children who were not in the treatment kindergarten classrooms. Elbro, C. & Petersen, D. (2004).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol96(4), 660-670.

~~  It is generally thought that children have a cognitive advantage if their brain neurons can myelinate and thicken at a fairly rapid rate.  New research out of Sweden shows us exactly what kind of advantage this can bring.  They used diffusion tensor MR imaging to determine the extent of myelination and thickness of axons in children's (age 8 - 18) brains.  Children with thick neuronal axons and extensive myelination in two regions of the left frontal lobe showed a greater working memory than those children with a lesser degree of myelination.  Reading ability in children correlated with heavy myelination in the left temporal lobe. Nagy, Z, et al. (2004).  Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Vol 16(7), 1227-1233.

~~ What makes a poor reader? A variety of factors including: phonemic awareness, ability to attend, word retrieval skills, capacity of short- term memory, parental involvement, and inability to process syntax. One factor that does NOT correlate to poor reading is IQ. Applied Psycholinguistics. 2000 Jun Vol 21(2) 229-241 . Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2000 Jul Vol 39(7) 859-867. Reading & Writing. 2000 Mar Vol 12(1-2) 129-142 Reading Psychology. 2000 Jul-Sep Vol 21(3) 195-215 Reading & Writing. 2000 Sep Vol 13(1-2) 81-103 Learning & Individual Differences. 1999 Vol 11(4) 377-400.

~~ A research team from the University of Maryland has studied what would happen in a classroom if you mixed 2 known reading strategies for large groups - "strategy instruction" with "motivation support". The researchers created a paradigm they call Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI). The program helped students establish content goals for reading, allowed student choice of texts, used interesting texts, and encouraged social collaboration during reading. These were combined with the cognitive strategies of generating related questions, activating background knowledge, summarizing text, searching for information, organizing information graphically, learning the structure of stories and monitoring comprehension. These two big reading components were combined and used by whole classrooms of upper elementary students. Using a variety of tests to measure understanding and reading strategies and motivation, those classrooms who used the combined CORI formula did much better on standardized tests than those classrooms who simply used "Strategy Instruction" alone. So the researchers found that teaching reading strategies is effective for improving reading but not near as effective as coupling those strategies with motivational strategies and support too. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate reading improvement with large whole-class approaches in regular classrooms. Guthrie, J. et. al.(2004). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 96(3), 403-423.

~~ An interesting study in the same journal, looked at the differences a reader goes through in processing ambiguous verbs versus ambiguous nouns. When a person reads a sentence containing an ambiguous noun (e.g., The ball....) the mind tends to assume the most common use of that term and continue on. (In this case you would picture a spherical toy object rather than a fancy dance). When a reader comes across an ambiguous verb however, the mind does not tend to assume the most common use, but rather postpones any interpretation until the end of the sentence or clause which defines the meaning. (e.g. We had disarmed....). This difference could explain some of the problems struggling readers have in comprehension. Ambiguous nouns could lead them astray if the usage was not the most common use, and ambiguous verbs could lead them astray if they are unable to capture the entire sentence. Pickering, M. & Frisson, S. 2001. J. of Exp. Psy.: Learning, Memory and Cognition. Vol 27(2), 556-573.

~~ Along the same lines of the left brain/right brain issue, a study out of New Zealand confirms what we've been told for years: the left side of the brain is involved in reading. However, their study shows that the right side is also very active in the reading process. It's just not as efficient in the process as the left side. The study was conducted using an interesting finger-tapping while reading exercise. Waldie, K. & Mosley, J. 2000. Brain & Language. Vol 75(1), 108-122.

REWARDS

~~ 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

~~ Edward Deci and colleagues wrote a nice analysis of 128 recent studies on the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. As expected, all the studies point to external, tangible rewards as something which significantly reduces intrinsic motivation. On the other hand, positive feedback for tasks increases both the likelihood of an individual's free-choice of that task and self-reported interest. Tangible rewards were found to be more damaging to the motivation of young children as opposed to college-aged students. Verbal rewards were also less effective on younger children.

Deci, et. al. 1999 (Nov) Psychological Bulletin, Vol 125(6), 627-668.

SCHOOL ISSUES

~~ 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.

~~ Parents and educators frequently debate the value of retaining a first grader. A 4-year longitudinal study looked at the effects of retention on subsequent math and reading achievement comparing age-related and grade-related scores. While retaining first graders led to a short term increase in math and reading achievement, in the long term, the promoted children scored higher in both reading and math. Wu, W., West, S., & Hughes, J. (2008). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 100(4), 727-740.

~~ Bullying and the subsequent victimization is a topic of keen interest in US education.  Approximately 14% of adolescent school children are considered "bullies" - a percentage that is similar to other countries.  About 18% of this age group are considered passive victims - a percentage higher than many other countries, and about 5% are considered aggressive victims.  Both bullies and aggressive victims tend to be highly emotional and lack self-control.  This often leads to alienation among peers.  Bullies tend to befriend other bullies whereas aggressive victims tend to have few or no friends.  Having friends and being well-liked by peers protects victims from continued bullying.  Boys tend to use more physical aggression and will bully both boys and girls.  Girls tend to use more relational aggression.  Pellegrini, A. et al. (1999).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 91(2), 216-224.

~~ Students show a gradual, but significant decline in both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation between grades 8 and grades 10.  Researchers looked particularly at the transitional year between junior and senior high school. Students who showed the greatest decrease in external regulation during the transition year, were most at-risk for later educational problems such as absenteeism, intentions of dropping out, and homework frequency problems.  Otis, N. et al (2005).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 97, (2), 170 - 183.

~~ Due to a unique period of brain development, adolescents are prone to intense emotions that override all logic and reason.  This is a prime period for emotional - motivational learning.

~~ Despite the peak of physical health found in adolescence, mortality rates for this age group increases 200% solely due to behavior and emotion issues.  They have an inconsistent ability to regulate their behavior.

~~ Have a child heading off to college this year?  Researchers say that drop out rates at colleges could be significantly reduced if colleges provided a more secure, almost family-like environment for students in their freshman year.  Students in single room dorms are more likely to drop out than those with roommates.  Students attending classes in tiered classroom where they can see each other have  a more positive learning experience.  Packard, E.  (2007).  Monitor on Psychology, Vol 38,(7), 54.

~~ Upper elementary students frequently struggle with
composition skills, particularly those students with learning disabilities. Research shows us that writing competence can be improved by including explicit instruction in self-regulation strategies in addition to composition strategies.  Students who were taught a self-regulatory routine  involving the self-reflective practices of (1) self-assessment, (2) goal setting, and (3) strategy monitoring in addition to basic writing strategies improved writing performance.  Glaser, C. & Brunstein, J. (2007).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 99(2), 297-310.

~~ While the topic of "bullying" at school has been a hot issue for quite some time, "electronic bullying" is a new branch which has come about since the prevalence of cell phones and internet use by teens. Researchers are looking a how electronic bullying compares to traditional school bullying.  They found that traditional school bullies are often the victims of electronic bullying but apparently by other traditional school bullies because traditional victims were not generally found to be electronic bullies.  Basically, the kids who are the traditional school bullies are also responsible for being electronic bullies.  Raskauskas,J & Stoltz,A. (2007) Developmental Psychology, Vol 43(3), 564-575.

~~ Social networking websites are a concern for parents and teachers. Educational psychologists have been studying this issue for the past several years and share the concern.  Sites such as MySpace and FaceBook do have positive aspects in that they allow for social contact for otherwise isolated teens.  However, the concern is that the sites are also "normalizing" and even encouraging some self-injurious behaviors among this age group.   Whitlock, J. et al. (2006). Developmental Psychology, Vol.42(3), 407-417.

~~ More than 2 decades ago educational researchers found that teachers hold different expectations for their students based on race and ethnicity. Have things changed?  Apparently not so much according to new research released this year. Teachers still have the highest expectations for Asian American students. Teachers also hold more positive expectations and provided more positive speech for European American students than Latino/a students and African American students. Interestingly though, teachers aimed negative speech equally to students regardless of race.  Tenenbaum, H. & Ruck, M. (2007). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 99(2), 253-273.

~~ The current issue of the Journal of Educational Psychology has an interesting study on the relationship between motivation and emotion in students.  Based heavily on previous research showing that students show positive emotions in classes where they perceive they have some control over activities and achievement, the researcher found that students who set "achievement goals" for themselves, experience pride in their work, but students who set "mastery goals" show more enjoyment of learning and hope as well as pride in their work.  Pekrun, R.; Elliot, A.; & Maier, M. (2006). Journal of Educ. Psychology, Vol 98(3), 583-597.

~~ "Tracking" students, based on academic performance is the source of much political debate here in the US and other industrialized countries. Australian researchers looked at the issue around the globe using 9th grade student's math self-concept as a guide.  Their findings:  overall students in "upper level" tracks were more negatively effected by tracking than students in "lower level" tracks as students tend to compare themselves in their own immediate surroundings as opposed to across age-group.  Trautwein, U., et al (2006) Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 98(4), 788-806.

~~ School violence is a hot topic across the US in
public schools.  The American Psychological Association has
finished its task force examination of the issue.  They have found first, that violence has NOT been on the increase in America's schools in the last 2 decades, despite the media portrayal of that. And secondly, that helping students understand and realize the difference between "snitching" and "seeing help" by reporting what they know about planned school violence can help administration and authorities intervene and prevent many violent events.  "Snitching Versus Seeking Help:  Barriers to Preventing School Violence" a report by Dewy G. Cornell, PhD, August 11, 2006, APA National Conference, New Orleans.

~~ There have been 75 formal research studies on school-based interventions for ADHD in over the last 25 years.  The studies have focused primarily on contingency / behavioral management interventions to improve behavior and school success.  The results however show that academic interventions (changing curriculum and teaching methodology) has been just as effective as contingency management schemes in helping students with ADHD.  "School-Based Interventions for Children with ADHD:  Twenty-Five Years of Innovation." a report by George J DuPaul, PhD, Lehigh University on August 11, 2006, APA National Conference, New Orleans.
(additional information on either of these hot topics can be searched at the APA's website:  apa.org)

~~ Choice and control, choice and control. These are mantras I've been singing for years when it comes to student-centered classroom designs. New research supports this again in both classrooms and the workplace. People who get some choice in the order in which they do things, and the time they can spend on the tasks experience much less mental fatigue AND they make a lot fewer errors in their work. Hockey, R. et. al (2006). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied., Vol 12(1), 50 - 65.

~~ Gossip is all around us. It's an integral part of our social culture and has become a hot topic of research as theories arise about the importance of gossip in our evolution as a social creature. Gossip helps form bonds, improves our self image and helps defines group norms. Children, especially in middle grades, use gossip to improve their social status and be popular. But that popularity comes at a great cost as you move into high school. Popular girls in 5th grade as well liked by their peers and they continue to use gossip to maintain their status. But starting around 10th grade, popular girls tend to be disliked by most of their classmates who find the malicious gossip and other social aggressive behaviors quite unpleasant. Dingfelder, S. (2006). Monitor on Psychology, Vol 37(4), 62-63.

~~ DePaul University shared a study on school belonging and
middle schools at the recent APA convention in Washington, DC.  Their study looked at various school environments and programs that were designed to reduce at-risk behavior and increase a sense of belonging.  Their premise is that the increased chaos and stress that frequently accompanies middle school is in itself, a developmentally damaging environment for this age group. While many stand alone projects such as DARE have not led to the results anticipated, many schools are making big progress with drug prevention, depression, and academic failure simply by creating more healthy school environments.   These environments are created primarily by actively making middle schools more accepting, increase a student's sense of belonging by ensuring a sense of acceptance, inclusion and respect from teachers and peers as well as strong encouragement for participation. McMahon, S. et al (2005).  School Belonging - Social, Psychological and Academic Implications.  A symposium presented August 20th at the annual American Psychological Association convention, Washington, DC.

~~ Living in a world with no choice is awful.  It's worse than awful - it's absolute misery.  A little choice is nice.  A little more choice is nicer still.  A moderate amount of choice may even be better.  But at some point in this process, the tables turn.  At some point, we enter into a situation where there is too much choice.  So much choice in fact, that we become paralyzed and unable to make any decision whatsoever. Too much choice can in fact be overwhelming.  While many see a link between this abundance of choice in our modern society and an increase in mental illnesses such as depression, we can also relate this to the classroom.  While choice is one of the key components to successful classroom instruction, be careful not to pass your students' threshold and enter into the realm of paralysis.  And of course different students have different thresholds for choice tolerance. Schwartz, B.  (2005). Paradox of Choice:  Why more is less. Invited address, August 29th at the annual American Psychological Association convention, Washington, DC

~~ If you are teaching, working or involved with high school populations, particularly at-risk and high free-lunch populations, it's time to look at the new wave of research coming out on the STAR project.

If you are not familiar with the name, the STAR project was started by the state of Tennessee in 1985 and involved their entire state school population.  They randomly divided all incoming kindergarten students into 3 groups:  Group A would belong to small class groupings (13 - 17 students), Group B would belong to regular full size classes (22-26 students), Group C would belong to regular full size classes which included a second adult (teacher aide).  The program ran through 3rd grade. All students went to regular full sized classes in the 4th grade.   The study involved nearly 12, 000 children and the study continues to track the students who were involved.  The results have been published and analyzed periodically since the preliminary data was collected in the early 1990's.

Early results of course showed us that children attending small classes had a significant advantage in state assessment scores.  The advantage was particularly impressive with free-lunch and minority populations. Another wave of results came out in the late 1990's showing us that small class size in the early years had enduring effects as the children who came from Group A (small K-3 classes) continued to have higher achievement scores in middle school and high school and were much more likely to take college admissions tests.

The latest research, out this year, now also shows us that apparently those children who came from the small K-3 classes also were the ones most likely to graduate high school and aspire to attend some type of post-secondary school.  The effects though were only seen for those students who attended AT LEAST 3 years of elementary school in small classes. (This means that having only small kindergarten and first grade classrooms has no enduring effects on increasing achievement, graduation rates or postsecondary attempts.) Those who attended all 4 of their first 4 years had a huge advantage. In fact, having had this experience ended up being an even greater factor in high school graduation than the child's academic achievement.  To summarize the research, "Attending small classes for 3 or 4 years in the early grades had a positive effect on high school graduation above and beyond the effect on early academic performance." (pg. 219)

This is very significant research for those of us in secondary education. The effect of small (less than 17 students) classes in elementary school is a major factor in how our students do in high school. Apparently it is one of the biggest factors. Significant enough that perhaps we need to be going to our school boards and community with this data. Finn, J., Gerber, S., & Boyd-Zaharias, J. (2005).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 97(2), 214-223

~~ Mothers greatly influence children's attitude about subjects in school.  But it is your actions Mom, not your words that play the strongest role. A German study, using 5th graders and their parents, shows that it is the student's perception of their mother's values, not necessarily the mother's reported beliefs that influence the children.  Kids base their assumption on things like mother-child joint activities and the mother's involvement in the school. Noack, P. (2004).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 96(4), 714-722.

~~ Middle and high school educators may want to take a hard look at a study out by Walls & Little on school adjustment, success and well being among young adolescents. Their study looked at the factors influencing school success which comes from a strong personal belief system involving motivation and personal agency (one's willingness to put forth effort and confidence in one's ability). One of the strongest predictors of school well-being was personal effort resulting from an internal motivation and an understanding of the purpose for the learning. Of serious issue is the strong data here showing once again that extrinsic rewards-based instructional systems are extremely detrimental to the learning process.  In fact the more extrinsic rewards are used, the lower the school grades, the more negative student affect, and the less the sense of well-being.  Administrators may want to use the chart on page 28 of this study for staff development consideration.  The chart graphically shows the relationships between school well-being, affect, school grades and the source of motivation as well as personal agency issues.  It is certainly a point for discussion!   Walls, T. & Little, T. (2005). J. of Ed Psych. Vol 97(1),23-31.

~~ Preservice teachers start out with a very favorable view of critical thinking activities for both high and low-ability students.  After finishing their teacher education programs, these new teachers have lost support for the use of critical thinking assignments and this low level of support continues fairly unchanged through inservice and many years of teaching experience. This, from research conducted by Bruce Torff at Hofstra University.  His study of over 400 teachers from early in their education through 10 years of teaching experience shows that support for the use of critical thinking erodes quickly through teacher education programs and never regains strength.  While most pre and inservice teachers find critical thinking activities valuable for both high and low-ability students, inservice teachers tend to use critical thinking activities less for low ability students and view them as more beneficial for high-ability students.  Torff, B. (2005).  J. of Ed Psych. Vol 97(1), 13-22.

~~ Many have criticized schools for not modeling life in that learning and problem solving tasks are too structured whereas in real life, problem-solving is rather ill-structured and ambiguous requiring a dependance on one's ability to infer, make decisions and identify reliable sources of information. But a new study compared student's self-efficacy for learning and problem solving on both ill-structured and well-structured learning activities. They found that many high-ability students found well-structured tasks difficult and that gifted students may need a lot of support in the early stages of well-structured (think basic, C layer) tasks.  On the other hand, lower ability students found the ill-structured (think B and A layer) tasks more difficult in the beginning, but as they gained confidence in their skills, they gained in their feelings of both performance and learning self-efficacy.   Lodewyk, K. & Winne,P. (2005). J. of Ed Psych.  Vol 97(1), 3 - 12.

~~ The same issue of the Psych Bulletin (Nov 1999) has an article from Ray Nickerson giving suggestions on ways to help students with social communication difficulties. The article reviews how effective communication requires that people have an accurate understanding about what the other person already knows. Underestimating or overestimating another person's knowledge leads to inept social conversation. This information may be taught to children who are struggling with social interaction. Nickerson, Raymond 1999 (Nov), Vol 125 (6),737-759.

~~ Jacquelynne Eccles at the University of Michigan is researching why students lose so much of their motivation when they move from the sixth grade to the seventh grade. Traditionally it's been blamed on hormones and an adolescent detachment from adults. But Eccles research found that much of this change is due to developmentally inappropriate teaching techniques. Her study showed that teachers at any secondary level who used controlling disciplinary techniques, had less emotional involvement with the students and did not focus on challenging cognitive tasks created student populations lacking in motivation. (Clay, page 52)

~~ APA President Robert Sternberg continues his long running research on effective teachers which shows that students do better when they are expected to do better by their teachers. Sternberg has done a great deal of classroom research on the self-fulfilling prophecy. (Clay, page 50).

~~ Why the disproportionate number of black children in special education for mental retardation? The cause could be the assessment tool. According to a study out of Ohio State University, the standard, WISC-III (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children- 3rd ed), tends to classify a disproportionate number of Black children when compared to other instruments such as the Cognitive Assessment System. Naglieri, J. & Rohahn, J. 2001. Am. Journal on Mental Retardation, Vol 106(4), 359-367.

~~ Anthony Pellegrini at the University of Minnesota has a new article in the current issue of the Journal of Educational Psychology on school bullies and victims. The study of 5th graders shows 14% of them are bullies, 18% are victims. Bullying was negatively correlated to peer popularity. Being liked by classmates was found to be a protective factor against being a victim of bullying. Journal of Educational Psychology. 1999 vol. 91 (2), 216-224.

~~ Research from the State University of New York - Pottsdam shows that child mistreatment is discovered by elementary teachers much more often than adolescent mistreatment (in the home) by secondary teachers.

SLEEP

~~ 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.

~~ A new study out this month links childhood obesity to another source - sleep deprivation.  Third graders who sleep less than about 10 hours a night, increase their risk of being obese by the 6th grade.  - a 40% risk increase for each hour. Researchers say the study is one more reason for parents to restrict caffeine use in children and remove televisions from bedrooms. While certainly not the only factor leading to child obesity, ensuring proper sleep is one way to control weight. Lumeng, J, et al. (2007). Pediatrics, Vol.120 (5), 1020-1029.

~~ Why aren't children getting enough sleep?  Researchers had thousands of children and adolescents keep diaries of their day activities. Some interesting patterns were found.  African American adolescents and Hispanic children got the least amount of sleep.  More time spent on meals and stricter household rules predicted the most amount of sleep for both children and adolescents.  The diaries showed that children don't get enough sleep as they move into adolescence, due to (in order of impact): earlier school start times, more hours of homework, jobs outside the home, less time spent on family meals and fewer household rules.  Adam, E.; Snell, E; Pendry, P. (2007).  Journal of Family Psychology, Vol 21(1) 4-19.

~~ Researchers are linking sleep apnea to minor brain damage and stuttering in childhood.  Researchers in California have found that 38% of adults with sleep apnea had problems with stuttering during childhood and that nearly all adults with sleep apnea have less gray matter in brain areas associated with attention and memory.  They hypothesize that the stuttering in childhood could lead to problems in muscle development in the throat which leads to breathing problems during sleep.  Benson, (2003).  Monitor on Psychology, Vol.24, (2), 15.

~~ How long and how well you sleep is greatly determined by the hypothalamus area of your brain.  A variety of chemicals or neurotransmitters are involved in the process.  Neurons in that area inhibit or prevent the firing of brain cells involved in wakefulness.  One of the earliest discovered chemicals involved in sleep is one known as GABA.  UCLA is doing research showing us that  a great deal more chemicals are actually involved in this process of sleep.  In fact you can induce sleep by inhibiting groups of neurons that may contain either histamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, hypocretin or glutamate. Hypocretin is one of the more recent discovered chemicals involved in narcolepsy. Siegel, J.  (2004).  Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.  Vol 65 (6), 4-7.

~~ Are television and video games to blame for bad dreams and nightmares in children and teens?  Not according to a large study in Belgium involving over 2500 adolescents.  They found that while 33% of adolescents have nightmares involving things they saw on television, 60% of them reported pleasant dreams involving television programs.  Video games were associated with nightmares in some teens, but the majority associate pleasant dreams with video games. Van den Buick, J. (2004).  Dreaming, Vol 14(1), 43-49.

~~ Research continues to be published showing the importance of sleep to "cement" new knowledge into the brain. One study out of Harvard Medical School shows that certain types of learning (discrimination) were hindered when students were sleep-deprived right after learning. Even when later allowed to catch up on the deprived sleep, their test performance did not improve. Learning and sleep go hand in hand. Stickgold, R., et. al. 2000. Nature Neuroscience, Vol 3(12) 1237-1238.

~~ "Good sleep is the best predictor of life span and quality of life" says James Maas at Cornell University. Pretty strong words from this month's issue of APA's Monitor. The article is about one of the nation's leading sleep researcher's giving a presentation in Washington DC for congress. The presentation was given not by Maas, but by Dr. David Dinges who has been studying the field for years. He is trying to advise legislators on the seriousness of the relationship between sleep and public health. The research has been plentiful for the last several years. Sleep deprived people can't think, remember, learn or react. Winerman, L. (2004). Monitor on Psychology, Vol 35(7), 61.

~~ Snoring in children may be cause for concern. At least that's the conclusion in a new study out of the University of South Australia. When they studied over 2,000 children who snored versus those who did not, they found significant cognitive differences. Compared to non-snorers, children who snored showed significantly impaired attention and lower memory and IQ scores. Blunden, S., et.al, 2000. Journal of Clinical & Experimental Neuropsychology, Vol 22(5) 554-568.

~~ Remember back in college when you debated whether to stay up late and study for tomorrow's test, or go to sleep now and wake up early to study? Well, in a related study in the same publication as above, a German researcher shows that the "slow wave sleep" we get in the early part of the evening is really important for initiating memory storage. The later REM periods only help cement in the memory. In an interesting study, they taught one group of students new material before bed, then let them sleep for 3 hours, woke them and tested them. They did great. The second group slept first, then were woken during the night for the training, then allowed to sleep 3 more hours, then tested. They did not learn the material. Apparently that beginning stage of the night's sleep is what really sets the brain up for storing new information. Born, J. 2000. Nature Neuroscience, Vol. 3, 1335-39.

~~ In a study out of the Italy, researchers looked at whether the amount of sleep was more important than uninterrupted sleep for memory. They tested verbal memory storage by presenting information before sleep then letting students either sleep through the night, sleep with interruptions frequent enough to disrupt the cycles of sleep, or sleep with interruptions spaced between the natural flow of their sleep cycle. The memory retrieval the next morning was only a problem for the students whose cycles were disturbed. Their conclusion: the cycling of REM and Non-REM together is more important than just sleep amounts for memory formation of verbal information. Ficca, G., et al. 2000. Behavioural Brain Research. Vol 112(1-2), 159-163.

~~ Depriving people of sleep impedes their ability to form memories. So says researchers at Boston's Harvard Medical School. Their research shows that in order to improve performance on a new task learned, you must have sleep the first night after learning the material. If students do not get sleep until 21 hours after learning the material, their performance on the task is severely impaired, even if allowed to catch up for lost sleep. In fact, even after two full nights of catch-up sleep, the students could not perform as well. Apparently, the first day after learning is a critical period for wiring the new information into the brain. Stickgold, R. 2000. Nature Neuroscience, Vol. 3, 1237-38.

~~ Sleep deprivation and sleep habits do correlate with academic grades. A study out of Worcester, MA, shows that students who received low grades (C's, D's, F's), obtained about 25 minutes less sleep and went to bed an average of 40 minutes later on school nights than students with high grades (A's and B's). Adolescents who slept less than 7 hours reported increased daytime sleepiness, depressed mood, and behavior problems. Wolfson, A. 1998. Child Development, Vol 69(4) 875-887.

~~ Good news from the Washoe Sleep Disorders Clinic in Reno, Nevada (a good place for a sleep disorders clinic if you ask me:>). Short-term sleep deprivation does not impair cortical function. While it has been shown many times that long term sleep deprivation interferes with test taking, attention and task completion, apparently sleep deprivation for shorter periods of time do not. Binks, et.al, Sleep, 1999(May), V. 22(3), 328-334.

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.

~~ Researchers are looking for clues that may predict smoking and alcohol risk in early adolescents. It appears that the clues vary by gender. Girls who show negative moods such as anger and anxiety or reported (through electronic diaries) feelings of being hassled or sad are at a greater risk for smoking and using alcohol. For boys, depression and sadness tended to lessen the likelihood of smoking. Whalen, C. et al. (2001). Health Psychology. Vol 20(2), 99-111.

~~ Many people who smoke believe it increases their memory performance. What is really happening is that smokers' brains become dependent on the nicotine for memory function. During times of abstinence (between cigarettes), smokers actually lose memory function. This function resumes with the nicotine use, thereby giving them a false feeling that smoking improves memory. Tait, R. et. al. 2000. Addiction. Vol95(3) 437-446.

~~ Adolescents who smoke are at a much higher risk for anxiety disorders. Heavy smoking is associated with agoraphobia, anxiety and panic disorders. Johnson, J. et. al. 2000. J. of the American Medical Association, Vol 284(18) 2348-2351.

~~ Cigarette smoking during pregnancy may lead to hyperactivity in the child. In rat studies, nicotine exposure during the pre-natal period led to significant overactivity after birth. Thomas, J. et.al. 2000. Neurotoxicology & Teratology, Vol 22(5) 695-701.

~~ Heavy smoking is rare in persons with no history of mental illness. (There's a bumper sticker for your classroom!) Lewinsohn, P. 2000. Nicotine & Tobacco research, Vol 2(2) 121-131.

STRESS

~~ Acute (short term) stress increases memory and learning. Chronic (long term) stress shrinks regions of the pre-frontal cortex and the hippocampus.  Chronic stress also suppresses neurogenesis (the repair/rebuilding of neurons) in the hippocampus - the region associated with memory storage and retrieval. "Fear and Anxiety:  Breaking News from Neuroscience" - presented by Michael Davis, PhD, Emory University, August 11, 2006, New Orleans, APA Conference.

~~ Stress causes neurons to atrophy and die. A study out of Yale University shows the death of neurons, particularly in the hippocampus region, as a result of stress. The same study shows that antidepressant medications may increase the chances of these cells survival. Duman, et.al., 1999. Biological Psychiatry, vol 46(9), 1181-1191.

~~ Traumatic events can sometimes leave a person with long term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). But sometimes not. Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School have found one possible link for that difference. Following a trauma, those persons whose brains secreted an increased amount of noradrenaline (norepinephrine) during their REM sleep are more likely to develop long term PTSD than those persons whose brains did not show this increase during sleep. Mellman, T, et al. (2004). Biological Psychology, Vol 55(9), 953-956.

~~ Loneliness can make you sick. So say researchers in London. A study released this summer shows that lonely people have difficulty with blood pressure, increased natural killer cells produced under stress and higher cortisol levels in the brain in the first half hour after waking. All of these are associated with things that can influence your health. Make it a point to help children and adults who may feel socially isolated and alone. Steptoe, A. et al. (2004). Psychoneuroendocriology. Vol 29(5), 593-611.

~~ Another study out of Yale University fuels the effort to reduce stress in life. They have found atrophy and death of cells in the hippocampus and the pre-frontal cortex in response to stress. Antidepressant treatments have been found to slow or even reverse the atrophy in these regions. Duman, Malberg & Thome. Biological Psychiatry. 1999. vol 46(9), 1181-1191.

~~ There is a relationship between your stress coping skills and immune system. According to the Trimbos Institute in the Netherlands, acute stress (sudden, short-lived) actually improves our immune system temporarily. But chronic stress (long term) decreases the effectiveness of our immune system. They point out that depression is particularily detrimental to our immune system. Chronic stress occurs when problems outweigh our coping skills. Stress reduction and coping skills may need to be an integral part of our curriculum, especially with today's increasing appearance of adolescent depression. Olff, Psychiatry Research, 1999, v.85,1, 7-15.

~~ The Rockefeller University released interesting findings on hippocampus damage due to stress. Apparently stress, both acute and chronic, suppress growth of dendrites and neuron maintainance in the hippocampus region specific to episodic and semantic memory. It is not clear whether the cell loss is permanant or a "reversible atrophy". McEwen. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 1999, v22, 105-122.

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).

~~ A study at Yale University with 3rd through 8th graders, has shown again that instruction involving analytical, creative and practical methods of instruction combined, beats the traditional rote, memory-based teaching technique. Students were divided into two groups, one given a traditional memory based approach and one with the three above mentioned techniques blended. In performance-based and memory based multiple choice tests, the blended method was superior. Let's hear it again for student-centered classrooms.

~~ The Journal of Educational Psychology (Sept. 1999) includes a great study by Reeve and Bolt (Sept 1999) on student-centered classrooms and the teaching styles they exhibit. The teachers who use these teaching methods effectively are what the researchers call "Autonomy-supportive" teachers as opposed to "relatively controlling" teachers.

The study documented exactly what these autonomy-supportive teachers do in their classrooms THEIR RESULTS-- these teachers:

**listened more

**held the instructional materials less,

**resisted giving solutions,

**supported the student's intrinsic motivation

**verbalize fewer directives

**ask more questions about what the students wanted to do

**respond more to student-generated questions

**volunteer more perspective-taking statements.

In addition, this study substantiated previous studies' claims on the ADVANTAGES OF STUDENT-CENTERED INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS. Research shows that students in these types of classes are:

** more likely to stay in school

** more likely to show greater perceived academic competence

** show enhanced creativity

** show a preference for optimal challenge

** show greater conceptual understanding

**show more positive emotion

**have higher academic intrinsic motivation

** better academic performance

** higher academic achievement

~~ Lehigh University in Pennsylvania demonstrated that behavior problems in the classroom are reduced when students are given a choice in the sequence of tasks. In other words, if you are hesitant or unsure of how to offer choice of activities, try just giving students a choice in the order in which they do something. Kern, L. et al. (2001). Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, Vol 3(1), 3-10.

Are you looking for hard research to support the idea of student-centered classrooms? Here are a few:

Benware & Deci 1984. The quality of learning with an active versus passie motivational set. American Educational Research Journal, 21, 755-765.

Boggiano et al., 1993. Use of techniques promoting students' self-determination: Effects on students' analytic problem-solving skills. Motivation and Emotion, 17, 319-336.

Deci, Schwartz, et al., 1981. An instrument to assess adults' orientations toward control versus autonomy with children: Reflections on intrinsic motivation and perceived competence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 642-650.

Deci & Ryan, 1987. The support of autonomy and the control of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53,1024-1037.

Deci, Nezlek, & Sheinman, 1981. Characteristics of the rewarder and intrinsic motivation of the rewardee. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 1-10.

Flink, et al, 1992. Children's achievement-related behaviors: The role of extrinsic and intrinsic motivational orientations. In A. K. Boggiano & T.S. Pittman (Eds.), Achievement and motivation: a social-developmental perspective (pp. 189-214). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Grolnick & Ryan, 1987. Autonomy in children's learning: An experimental and individual difference investigation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52,890-898.

Koestner, Ryan, Bernieri, & Holt, 1984. Setting limits on children's behavior: The differential effects of controling versus informaitonal styles on intrinsic motivation and creativity. Journal of Personality, 52, 233-248.

Patrick, Skinner, & Connell, 1993. What motivates children's behavior and emotion? Joint effects of perceived control and autonomy in the academic domain. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 781-791.

Reeve, 1996. The interest-enjoyment distinction in intrinsic motivation. Motivation and Emotion, 13, 83-103.

Rigby et al., 1992. Beyond the intrinsic-extrinsic dichotomy: Self-determination in motivation and learning. Motivation and Emotion, 16, 165-185.

Shapira, 1976. Expectancy determinants of intrinsically motivated behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 1235-1244.

Valleran, Fortier, & Guay, 1997. Self-determination and persistence in a real-life setting: Toward a motivational model of high school dropout. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 1161-1176.

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

~~ 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.

~~ One of the biggest reasons many heroin addicts drop out of treatment is the side effects of the methadone treatment that's traditionally been used in treatment centers.  The National Institute on Drug Abuse announced promising results in early trials of a new drug called buprenorphine.  The drug has much milder side effects and patients are more likely to complete treatment. Munsey, C. (2007).  Monitor on Psychology, Vol. 38(5), 14.

~~ New research out of London shows that the drug marijuana, does in fact damage the brain.  MRI brain scans conducted during administration of various components of the drug show that the component, THC, produced some psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and paranoid delusions. The THC suppressed activity in the inferior frontal cortex, which normally holds fear at bay.  In persons with some mental health problems such as schizophrenia, marijuana use could make their symptoms worse.  AP press release (Apr. 2007) at psycport.com "New findings back evidence of marijuana's damaging effect on brain."

~~ New research is showing a promising way to identify adolescents with a strong genetic predisposition to substance abuse.  Research has indicated for quite some time that a so called "p300 amplitude reduction" seen in a brain scan can indicate a person at risk for alcohol dependence.  Now researchers are using this in adolescents, before any substance use begins and find that it does indeed seem to indicate, especially in boys, an inherited predisposition to substance abuse. Yoon, H. et al, (2006).  Addictive Behaviors, Vol 31(6), 1067-1087.

~~ Cannabis (marijuana) and MDMA (Ecstasy) are two of the most widely used recreational drugs.  Italian researchers are now studying the long term effects of using both of these drugs simultaneously.  They have found that prolonged use of marijuana and ecstasy used together are associated with elevated impulsiveness, anxiety, obsessive compulsive behavior, and psychotic behavior.  Sala, M. & Braudam D. (2005).  Pharmacology, Biochemistry, & Behavior.  Vol 81(2), 407-416.

~~ Researchers are now theorizing that enough evidence exists to link aggressive tendencies to brain serotonin anomalies that result from cocaine use during adolescence. Teens who use cocaine during this critical brain development period risk perhaps permanent damage to the serotonin system in their brain which can lead to aggression.  Cunningham, K.  (2004). Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 118(5), 1143-1144.

~~ A study in London, UK is tracking long term, residual problems in former Ecstasy (MDMA) drug users.  They are finding that the psychological problems associated with that drug, such as deficits in verbal recall, moderately impaired memory function, depression and phobic anxiety - can continue for years even after the individual has stopped using the drug.  Soar, K, Parrott, A, & Fox, H.  (2004). Psychological Reports, Vol 95(1), 192-196.

~~ Researchers at Wake Forest University in North Carolina have recently published an article discussing glue sniffing behavior in teens and the risk of nerve damage.  Glue sniffing remains popular with teens as a recreational drug, probably because it is cheap and easy to obtain.  However one of the under recognized risks of this is the potential to develop serious degeneration of neurons in the peripheral nervous system.  The chemical N-hexane, a component in these glues, can cause leg weakness and pain and with continued exposure, can cause permanent disability. Becker, C. et al (2004).  Journal of Adolescent Health. Vol. 34(1), 94-96. 

~~ As has been covered here before, the popular recreational drug 3,4-MDMA known as Ecstasy disturbs both the serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain and has been linked to long term reduction in serotonin brain levels which can lead to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (among other things). Researchers have also suspected that the chronic low levels of serotonin may decrease gray matter volume in the brain as well.   Because most Ecstasy users are polydrug users research has been difficult, but researchers at Harvard Medical School have now used MRI scans to compare polydrug Ecstasy users to polydrug non Ecstasy users.  They found that indeed, reduction in neocortical gray matter correlates with Ecstasy use. Cowan, R. et al. (2003). Drug & Alcohol Dependence.  Vol 72(3), 225-235.

~~ Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)  is now seen in 1% of live births. FAS is associated with growth impairment, facial distortions and serious problems with central nervous system function.  Children with FAS have a high rate of other problems as well.  In fact 40% of FAS children also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Mental retardation occurs in 20% of FAS children and 30% of them have speech and language disorders.  Learning disabilities occur in one in four and epilepsy is found in one in 10. The disorder is very costly to treat as most of these children have life long problems. Early treatment programs are needed and prevention programs need to be strengthened. Burd., L. (2003).  Neurotoxicology & Teratology, Vol. 25 (6), 681-688.

~~ Want to age your brain quickly? Use cocaine and/or amphetamines. Older brains lose gray matter in the frontal lobes as do brains whose owners use cocaine and amphetamines (and they lose it much faster). Older brains lose gray matter and volume in the temporal lobe. Cocaine users do it faster. In fact, cocaine users lose brain volume at record speed. Bartzokis, G. et.al. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. 2000. vol. 98(2), 93-102.

~~ The recreational drug Ecstasy is linked to long term reduction in brain serotonin levels leading to depression and Obsessive -Compulsive Disorder. But researchers in Germany find that the drug doesn't actually deplete the brain's serotonin supply but rather changes the physical structure of the neurons in the brains so that they are unable to receive the serotonin. Quednow, B. et al. (2004). Neuro- psychopharmacology, Vol29(5), 982-990.

~~ Caffeine dependence in teenagers is becoming a school and community concern. The Minnesota Medical School has been researching the issue. They looked at teens who used caffeine on a daily basis. A large percentage (78%) reported withdrawal symptoms when they reduced their consumption. Forty percent of the teens in the study had tried, unsuccessfully, to reduce or control their use, and 17% were unable to reduce their caffeine use despite physical problems that it was causing them. Teens who have a dependence on caffeine also have a higher rate of anxiety and a slightly higher risk of depression. Bernstein, G. (2002). Drug & Alcohol Dependence. Vol 66(1) 1-6.

~~ Addiction can cause serious brain damage to decision making regions of the brain. A new study shows that persons who are addicted to substances (and even gambling addicts) appear to have damage to the ventromedial region of the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is associated with decision making. Persons with damage specifically to the ventromedial regions all show similar behaviors - they deny or are unaware that they have a problem, and when faced with a choice between immediate reward at the risk of future negative consequences, tend to choose the immediate reward. So people with substance addiction exhibit similar behaviors as people with damage to this brain region. Bechara, A. (2003). Journal of Gambling Studies, Vol 19(1), 23-51.

~~ William Latimer, Johns Hopkins University is leading promising research in adolescent substance abuse treatment. The key to preventing relapse? - include parents in the therapy and intervention. Adding a family-based component to traditional cognitive-behavioral treatments makes a big difference in the long term success rate of recovery. Watch for the study to be published this year in "Drug & Alcohol Dependence."

~~ Apparently the effects of cocaine varies with your gender - or at least it does if you're a rat. In rats, though both genders showed an increase in activity under the influence of cocaine, females rats had a much greater increase. Walker, Q. et al. 2001. Neuropsychopharmacology. Vol 25(1) 118-130 .

~~ The drug MDMA, better known as "Ecstasy," continues to be researched. This time, a medical center in the Netherlands shows even moderate use of this drug effects memory, cognitive performance and serotonin production/distribution in the brain. The more heavy the drug usage, the greater the damage. Verkes, R. et al. (2001). Psychopharmacology, Vol 153(2), 196-202.

~~ In a related study, we find that though it may cause women to be more active than men, cocaine apparently does less physical damage to neurons and brain regions. When comparing men and women's brains who have had comparable drug usage, there was significantly more damage to the cells of male brains than female from cocaine use. Kaufman, M., et al. 2001. Biological Psychiatry. Vol 49(9) 774-781 . ~~

~~ The drug known as "Ecstasy" can interfere with memory. The drug alters the serotonin receptors in various regions of the brain associated with memory. Reneman, L. Psychopharmacology. 2000. Vol. 148(3) 322-324.

~~ Rumor has it (among teens mostly) that the drug "Ecstasy" has only minor, short-term negative effects. Nothing could be further from the truth. Research shows this drug causes many long term effects including: persistent changes in brain function, hostility, memory deficits, altered amygdala and hippocampus function, cognitive impairments, serotonergic neurotoxicity, cardiac arrhythmia, hyperthermia, depression, and limited blood flow in the frontal and occipital cortex. Just to name a few......(sources for these are

1. Burgess, Ciara, et. al. European Psychiatry. 2000 Aug Vol 15(5) 287-294 .

2. Barrionuevo, M., et. al. Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior. 2000 Feb Vol 65(2) 233-240.

3. Gerra, Gilberto, et.al. Biological Psychiatry. 2000 Jan Vol 47(2) 127-136.

4. Shankaran, Mahalakshmi; Gudelsky, Gary A. Psychopharmacology. 1999 Nov Vol 147(1) 66-72.

5. Marston, Hugh, et. al. Psychopharmacology. 1999 May Vol 144(1) 67-76.

6. Obrocki, Jost, et. al. British Journal of Psychiatry. 1999 Aug Vol 175 186-188.

7. Morgan, Michael John. Psychopharmacology. 1999 Jan Vol 141(1) 30-36.

8. O-Shea, E., et.al. Neuropharmacology. 1998 Jul Vol 37(7) 919-926.

9. Liechti, Matthias E., et. al. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2001 Mar Vol 24(3) 240-252.

10. Taffe, Michael A., et. al. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2001 Mar Vol 24(3) 230-239.

11. Gamma, Alex, et. al. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2001 Feb Vol 21(1) 66-71.

12. Verkes, Robbert, et. al. Psychopharmacology. 2001 Jan Vol 153(2) 196-202.

13. Byrne, Tom; Baker, Lisa E.; Poling, Alan. Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior. 2000 Jul Vol 66(3) 501-508.

14. Slotkin, T. A.; Seidler, F. J.; Ali, S. F. Brain Research. 2000 Oct Vol 879(1-2) 163-173.

15. Morgan, Michael John. Psychopharmacology. 2000 Oct Vol 152(3) 230-248.

16. Gamma, Alex, et. al. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2000 Oct Vol 23(4) 388-395.

17. Parrott, A. C.; Sisk, E.; Turner, J. Drug & Alcohol Dependence. 2000 Jul Vol 60(1) 105-110.

18. Tuchtenhagen, Frank, et. al. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2000 Jun Vol 22(6) 608-617.

~~ Although "crack babies" often resemble children with ADHD, their behaviors and disabilities differ. In a recent study, ADHD children were compared to children who had tested positive for cocaine and amphetamines at birth (called PSE for pre-natal stimulant exposure). The study involved testing accuracy and reaction times. Children with ADHD as well as PSE children had more errors than "normal" children. However, only the PSE children actually had a slower reaction time. The ADHD children's errors were due to the unpredictability of the task and wandering of attention, whereas the PSE children's errors were completely random. Eghbalieh, B. et.al. 2000. J. of Attention Disorders, vol 4(1), 5-13.

~~ Rockville, Maryland has found many biological similarities between violent persons and persons with drug abuse. Deficits in the functioning of the prefrontal cortex are found in both substance abusers and in violent behavior. Predictors of both behaviors are: impulsivity, poor decision-making ability, disinhibition, and inability to assess consequences. Fishbein, D. 2000. Criminal Justice & Behavior, vol 27(2), 139-159.

SUICIDE

~~ Columbia University has released an amazing study showing the neurobiology differences between depressed, non-suicidal people and depressed, suicidal people. According to the study, serotonin levels are responsible for setting the threshold which triggers suicidal behavior. In suicide attempters, serotonin metabolites are low in cerebrospinal fluid and there is low serotonin activity in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. What makes this study amazing is that the researchers point out that serotonin levels can be seen and measured through current PET scan technique. This implies there may be a way to actually "see" if a depressed person is a strong candidate for suicide in time for drastic intervention.

~~ Oxford University is in search of the suicide gene. Realizing that there is some genetic factor in suicide and other self harm behavior, researchers looked for the gene or genes associated with the risk. They were able to isolate one of the genes related to serotonin production, the TPH A779C allele as being more common in the genome of "deliberate self-harm persons". Pooley, E et al. (2003). Psychological Medicine, Vol. 33(5), 775-783.

~~ Researchers at Columbia University have teamed with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to look at how media coverage of adolescent suicide influences copycat suicides. They found that media coverage played a role in about 10% of teen suicides. Persons working with adolescents need to team with the media for responsible coverage when these tragedies occur. Coverage that should be avoided: details of the method of suicide, indicating suicide in the headline, using photos of the suicide victim, or glorifying the act. (presented by Daniel Romer, director Adolescent Risk Communication Institute, U of PA).

TEENAGERS

~~ 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.

~~ While no one wishes poverty on their children, the other end of the spectrum is not much fun either. New research from across the psychology spectrum show that children from affluent (incomes over $120,000) families are more likely to be depressed and abuse substances. Affluent families tend to overemphasize children's accomplishments, grades and ivy-league chances. These factors increase anxiety and depression in adolescents. Novotany, A. (2009). Monitor on Psychology, Vol 40(1),pg 50.

~~ Students tend to lose self-confidence in their ability to manage their own academic activities as they move through the educational system. Particularly as they move from junior to senior high school, the increasing academic demands, complexity of topics, and increasing social activities can overwhelm and confuse may adolescents. New research shows that those students who have high self-efficacy in their ability to regulate their own thoughts, motivation, affect and action, tend to make better grades, and are less likely to drop out of school. So while much research has been done on student's self-efficacy for academic achievement, this is the first study to look at student's self-efficacy for self-regulation. Caprara, G., et al. (2008). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 100(3), 525-534.

~~ While most of us appreciate having a friend or co-worker we can complain to, this so called "co-rumination" comes with risks particularly for teenage girls. Extensive and excessive conversations with friends about problems leads to increased good feelings about the friendship, but it also leads to anxiety and depression.  Teenage girls are much more susceptible to this than teenage boys.   Rose, A. Carlson, W. & Waller, E. (2007).  Developmental Psychology, Vol. 43(4), 1019-1031.

~~ The University of NH"s Crimes Against Children Center has released quite interesting and perhaps surprising research results on stereotypic on-line predators.  Despite how they may be depicted in media, most on-line predators are adults, soliciting teens, and are quite up-front with their intentions.  They spend a great deal of time developing a relationship with the young person who then truly begins to feel that it is a valid romantic relationship.  Having information or pages posted at social networking sites does NOT appear to increase the risk of being a victim.  The researchers suggest that rather than our current focus of warning young kids not to post personal information on-line, our focus should be with teens and warning them of the dangers of developing romantic relationships via internet chat rooms and instant messaging.  Wolak, J. et al. (2008)  American Psychologist, Vol. 63, No.2 .

~~ The American Psychological Association's task force on the "Sexualization of Girls" has released it's report. Their report finds that emphasis on an unattainable body image damages the health and self-image of girls and young women, resulting in an increase in eating disorders, anxiety and depression. They are most concerned with the objectification of pre-teen girls. The task force recommends stronger programs to encourage sports participation, artistic expression and meditation which can all help to improve girls' healthier self image. Munsy, C & Meyers, L. (2007). Monitor on Psychology, Vol 38(9), 58-59. 

~~ In the past century, the period termed "adolescence" has stretched from what had been a 3 or 4 year period to a 10 - 15 year period.  This is due to earlier onset of puberty and a shift to delay young people assuming adult responsibilities.  This has left people and institutions who work with adolescents struggling to deal with this new longer developmental time period.

~~ Due to a unique period of brain development, adolescents are prone to intense emotions that override all logic and reason.  This is a prime period for emotional - motivational learning.

~~ Despite the peak of physical health found in adolescence, mortality rates for this age group increases 200% solely due to behavior and emotion issues.  They have an inconsistent ability to regulate their behavior.

~~ Also out of Ottawa - researchers are looking at the factors of "amotivation" in high school students.  What factors are involved in students lacking academic motivation, what are the social antecedents and what can be done to improve the situation?  New research indicates there are four different reasons (or categories) for academic amotivation:  (1)a student's belief about their ability, (2)beliefs about their ability to sustain sufficient effort, (3)value places on the academic task, and (4)the specific characteristics of the task. (I'll be covering this study in detail on the website in the near future.) Legault, L., Green-Demers, I. & Pelletier, L (2006). Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 98(3), 567-582.

~~ Researchers in Russia have been studying bullying behavior in junior high school students.  Specifically they wondered if bullies and victims of bullying could be predicted by looking for underlying psychological pathology.  They looked at hundreds of adolescents aged 12 -15 and looked for correlations between bully-victim problems and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and  Conduct Disorder (CD). They found that teens who were bullies tended to have CD symptoms and low self-esteem.  Teens who were victims tended to have ODD and low self-esteem, and teens who were both bullies and victims, tended to have CD symptomology. Constantinos, M. & Panayiotou, G.  (2004).  Aggressive Behavior, Vol 30(6), 520-534.

~~ Now that summer is under-way, it always appears that new teen-age drivers are hitting the city streets in wild abandonment. A new study out of Monash University in Victoria, Australia shows that indeed, young drivers have problems detecting and reacting to hazardous situations. The study shows that new drivers are slow to recognize hazards, inefficient at the detection and perceive them less holistically. In addition, young drivers underestimate the risk posed by hazards and overestimate their ability to deal with the hazard. Deery, Hamish (1999) Journal of Safety Research, Vol 30 (4) 225-236.

~~ Teen pregnancy is an issue of concern to most people in education. But what effect does teen pregnancy have on the younger siblings of the teen mothers? Researchers tracked the younger brothers and sisters of teen mothers and found that younger sisters in particular are at a very high risk for early pregnancy themselves. On average, siblings of teen parents spent 10 hours a week caring for their sister's child and again in girls this was associated with a sharp increase in drug and alcohol use as well. East, P. et al. (2001). Developmental Psychology. Vol 37(2), 254-264.

~~ The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has been using MRI brain imaging to show that adolescents exhibit less brain response to the prospect of earning rewards than adults do. Their research shows that while both adults and teens show similar brain activity when actually receiving a reward, adolescents apparently are not as "brain excited" about the prospect of earning a reward. This is further research supporting the poor decision making characteristics of the adolescent brain. Bjork, J. et al (2004 - Feb 25). Journal of Neuroscience, vol 24(7).

~~ Adolescent puberty changes more than just their bodies - the frontal lobes of the brain also undergo rapid change. There is a synaptic explosion in this region beginning at about 11 years of age. This sudden brain activity also affects cognitive function. Researchers at San Diego State University studied response time in children, adolescents, and adults on a variety of tasks. Beginning at age 11 or 12 and continuing for 3 years, they found a gradual but steady decline in cognitive function and processing time. By age 15 things had stabilized, with females maintaining slower reaction times to process both faces and words compared to males. McGivern, R. et al. (2002). Brain & Cognition, Vol 50(1), 73-89.

~~ Those of us who work with adolescents know the problems they tend to have with decision making. The University of Cambridge has shown that there are numerous regions of the brain involved in the decision making process. These areas include the orbitofrontal cortex (just below your eyes, behind the forehead), regions of the limbic system (the striatum and amygdala) as well as the brain chemical, dopamine. This research adds to the previous studies showing involvement of the pre-frontal cortex as well. Problems in any of these areas can result in poor decision making skills. It certainly is a complicated process. Rahman, S. et al. 2001. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Vol 5(6), 271- 277.

~~ The University of New York shows again that direct or indirect, mom's attitude about pre-marital sex influences adolescent behavior. The study of 751 inner-city African American 14-17 year olds, found that whether the mother expressed her feelings through direct communication or indirect message, adolescents' attitudes toward sex behavior tended to match their mothers' attitude. Dittus, Jaccard & Gordon. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 1999 (Sept), vol.29(9), 1927-1963.

~~ A University of Chicago study shows that the younger a child is when he shows conduct problems, the more likely he/she is to show physical aggression, theft, and vandalism during the teen-age years. Lahey, et. al, (1999). Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, vol. 27(4), 247-260.

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.

~~ People unhappy with current medical treatments of Tourettes (haloperidol, pimozide, fluphenazine, and clonidine) due to the side effects, may want to look at a new study out of Wayne State University. The study shows much success in treating Tourettes with Baclofen/botolinum toxin type A with few, if any side effects. The drug works by inhibiting release of acetylcholine. Awaad, Yasser, Journal of Child Neurology, 1999, vol 14(5), 316-319.

~~ National Institute of Health released information that new PET scan studies are showing abnormal dopamine (a brain neurotransmitter) activity for persons with Tourette's disorder. The problem tends to center in the frontal cortex and midbrain. Ernst,et.al., J. of Am. Academy of Child & Adolescent Psy., 1999, v.38, 1, 86-94.

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.

~~No one argues the immense popularity of video games among middle-schoolers. However, as some 89% of all video games include violence of some sort, concern is growing among parents and educators as exposure increases. Much of this concern has been fueled by recent research indicating that playing violent games increases aggressive behaviors, emotions and thoughts, increases physiological arousal and decreases prosocial behavior. There are some variables that can provide a bit of a buffer. For example, parental limits help reduce the effect. And multiple player, on-line games where the child belongs to a "clan" can have a pro-social effect. Gentile, D. and Anderson, C. "Violent Videogame Effects: An Overview." Presented at APA National Conference, Boston, MA Aug. 16, 2008.

~~ According to Dr Rodney Hammond, director of the Division of Violence Prevention at the CDC, youth violence is now considered a public health issue as the CDC believes it is preventable. Homicide / suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in the US for persons aged 15 - 35 (20,000 annual deaths). Rates are not stable through US history, but rather run in peaks and valleys. While our last "peak" period was in the mid 1990's, it was still lower than our highest peak in the 1920s. "Violence Prevention: What Can We Assume from a Public Health Perspective?" Address delivered August 15, 2008, Boston, MA: APA National Convention.

~~ By middle school, the majority of children living in inner-cities in America have had first-hand experience with murders, stabbings and other violent crimes.  It's no surprise that this exposure has a significant effect on school performance and social adjustment. Children who are exposed to community violence do have lower GPA's, lower achievement test scores and a lower motivation for academic performance.  Swartz, D. & Gorman, A. (2003).  Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 95(1), 163-173.

~~ Violent video games may cause more violent behaviors in children than watching violent television and movies.  Researchers have been studying the thoughts, emotions and behavior of young people who regularly play violent video games.  Even brief exposure can increase feelings of aggression. Students who spend significant time with violent video games in junior / senior high school do exhibit more aggressive behavior.  The interactive component to the games gives them a greater impact than watching violence on television. Anderson, C & Dill, K. (2007).  Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, Vol 78(4).

~~ Researchers have known about the strong correlation (and causative influence) between television / video violence and violent actions in boys since early tv research in the 1960's.  But the last decade has added girls to the mix.  Now there is very strong research linking violent television and video games with violent behavior in BOTH girls and boys.  "Ecological Perspective on the Origins of Violence in Boys and Girls" - talk presented by James Garbarino, PhD, Loyola University, August 12, 2006, New Orleans, APA Conference.

~~ The APA task force on "Zero Tolerance" policies in public school has released its findings.  Zero Tolerance policies are correlated with increased behavior problems, lessened student-teacher relationships, lower standardized assessment scores and an increase in at-risk behavior in schools that use it.  "Does Zero Tolerance Positively or Negatively EffectStudent-Teacher Relations?"  A report presented by task force member Russell Skiba, PhD, Indiana University at Bloomington, August 11, 2006, New Orleans, APA Conference.

~~ The average elementary school child in the US watches 28 hours of television a week and will witness over 8,000 murders before they finish elementary school.  Wow!  Psychologists and the American Psychological Association are becoming concerned over the resulting "desensitization to violence" and have concluded that this bombardment of violence does lead to an increase in aggression in children.  You can read their recent article at: http://www.psychologymatters.org/mediaviolence.html

~~ This month's American Psychologist has an excellent article exposing the increasing evidence found in the scientific community regarding violence in the media and violence in society while the media itself ignores, denies or plays down the blinding evidence. The relationship is a strong one. There is overwhelming evidence that violence in the media does in fact cause violence in children and violence in our society. However, due to a variety of reasons (not the least of which is economic) the news media, both tv news and news periodicals continue to deny the evidence and sway public opinion to allow it to continue unregulated. Buhmand & Anderson (2001). American Psychologist, vol 56(6/7), 477-489.

~~ Children who watch violence on television are more likely to be violent as adults. These results hold true for both girls and boys, without regard to socio-economic class, parental education or intelligence. The influence is particularly strong when the children identify with a character and perceive the violent act to be an event that could happen in real life. The longitudinal study conducted by the University of Michigan shows that women who watched violent programs (as children) are four times as likely to have thrown something at a spouse, responded to someone who made them mad with hitting, choking or punching. Men who had watched violent programs are 3 times more likely to have shoved, grabbed or hit a spouse, or committed a violent crime. Huesmann, L. et al (2003). Developmental Psychology. Vol 39(2), 201- 221

~~ According to several studies out recently, violent and aggressive behaviors are not caused by low self-esteem, but rather from a narcissistic personality (extreme self-love) coupled with a threat to the ego. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 2000 Feb Vol 9(1) 26-29. Aggressive Behavior. 1998 Vol 24(6) 421-438. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology. 1998 Jul Vol 75(1) 219-229.