Recent uclapsych items

Coding and Validation for Breadth and Desirability of 1,214 English Adjectives

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Adjectives are essential in how people describe, evaluate, and reason about others. They differ along meaningful semantic dimensions such as desirability (e.g., “friendly” is more positive than “rude”) and breadth (e.g., “punctual” is narrower than “reliable”). Adjectival breadth has received limited empirical attention, partly because existing resources are sparse and outdated. We introduce a new database with subjective ratings from approximately 1,500 Americans for 1,214 adjectives on both breadth and desirability. Unlike existing resources, this updated database is more comprehensive and diverse, allowing for detailed analysis of adjectival use in academic and applied contexts. We validate this database with a large-scale analysis of online product reviews, showing how variation in adjective breadth is a common feature of natural language use. This database should prove valuable for research on semantic representation, social inference, and evaluative communication across...

Predicting relationship quality with itself? A single general factor captures most of the variance across 34 common relationship measures

Wed, 6 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In relationship science, researchers have generated a wide array of constructs and corresponding self-report measures to characterize, explain, and predict relationship quality - the foremost studied outcome in the field. Collectively, however, the boundaries among these variables remain unclear. In the current research, we examined the extent to which measures of relationship quality and other important relationship constructs are empirically separable from one another. Across two studies of US census-matched participants (total N = 3,439), we applied latent variable techniques (e.g., exploratory bifactor analysis) on broad pools of items representing various prominent relationship-specific constructs. Results revealed robust evidence that a single general factor Q (representing global relationship sentiment) accounts for a vast majority of common variance across distinct relationship measures. Thus, respondents appear to draw primarily on their overall global relationship evaluations...

Investigating Language Acquisition Between Children at Low vs. High-Risk of Autism: Parent's Labeling and Description Use During Parent-Child Interactions

Tue, 5 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Evidence shows that parents enhance their child’s word learning abilities by providing labels to novel objects and including descriptions. This evidence has been applied to interventions for parents of children with attentional difficulties and developmental disabilities, urging parents to simplify their language input to increase their child’s attention during parent-child interactions. Using parent-child transcripts from the CHILDES database, this project investigated whether there are any differences in labeling and description use between typical and at-risk infants. This study used data from Quigley and McNally’s (2013) study involving ten typically developing infants with no known developmental risk factors and no family history of autism and nine at-risk infants who had an older sibling diagnosed with autism. We found that when mothers’ total number of utterances (i.e., how talkative the mother was) were controlled, mothers’ labeling between both groups were marginally...

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IMPULSIVITY TRAITS AND CHOICE ON ALCOHOL USE DURING A QUIT ATTEMPT

Tue, 5 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Impulsive personality traits and impulsive choice are indicators of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Research on the relationship between impulsivity and relapse risk among individuals with an AUD is relatively scarce and unclear. The current study is a secondary analysis examining the predictive effect of impulsivity on alcohol use and craving during a 6-day quit attempt. Treatment seeking individuals with an AUD (N=49) were randomized to either oral naltrexone (50 mg QD), varenicline (1 mg BID), or matched placebo. Randomized participants
completed a weeklong medication titration period, followed by a 6-day quit attempt. During the initial screening visit, participants completed the UPPS-P impulsivity scale and the Monetary Choice Questionnaire to assess discounting rates, k. The Timeline Followback assessed quantity and frequency of alcohol use in the past 30-days. During the quit attempt, participants completed daily assessments on previous day alcohol...

Understanding Personality Development Through Genetic and Environmental Contributions

Tue, 5 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Personality development arises from the ongoing interactions between genetic predispositions and environmental experiences throughout a person's life. This literature review synthesizes findings from published behavioral genetic studies, longitudinal twin and adoption research, molecular analyses, and environmental psychology to interpret how genetic, environmental, and gene-environment interaction processes contribute to the stability and transformation of personality traits. Evidence from twin studies and meta-analyses confirms that traits such as Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness are moderately to highly heritable. Regardless, this heritability remains unexplained at the molecular level, a gap known as the missing heritability problem. In contrast, nonshared environments, including unique life events and personal relationships, are shown to be more influential than shared family environments in shaping personality change, particularly during critical developmental...

Interrupting the Pathway From Early Trauma Exposure to Childhood-Onset Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: The Promise of Schema Therapy

Tue, 5 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating condition that often emerges during childhood and adolescence, marked by distressing obsessions and impairing compulsions that disrupt daily function and personal well-being. The current literature suggests a significant relationship between early trauma and the development of OCD in youth, with early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) serving as a key mechanism in this pathway. Taken together, various studies connect the components of childhood trauma, EMSs, and OCD into one tightly-linked trajectory, particularly emphasizing the role of “disconnection/rejection” and “impaired autonomy/performance” schemas in the development of obsessive-compulsive pathology. Despite treatment methods such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure and response prevention (ERP) being considered the gold standard treatments for OCD, schema therapy (ST) shows promise for meaningfully addressing the underlying EMSs that may cause and uphold...

Experiences of Neurodiversity: Belonging, Social Support and Well-Being

Tue, 5 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Given societal barriers that impair overall quality of life for people with disabilities, it is probable that feelings of belonging, perceived social support and well-being might differ between neurodivergent and non-neurodivergent individuals, and in particular, those with intersecting identities of race and ethnicity, immigrant status, and / or sexual and gender identities. The present study builds on previous work by examining these factors through an intersectionality lens. Participants completed an online survey focused on well-being, perceived social support, and feelings of belonging, as well as discrimination and loneliness. Those who identified as neurodivergent reported lower feelings of well-being but similar perceived social support, feelings of belonging, discrimination and loneliness as non-neurodivergent participants. We were unable to examine intersecting identities in any depth given the lack of diversity in our sample. Our findings contribute to the currently...

Being Heard: Communication Difficulties in Co-morbid Autism Spectrum Disorder and Gender Dysphoria

Tue, 5 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

It has been well-established that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Gender Dysphoria (GD)
are frequently Co-morbid. There have been treatments designed to ameliorate the two conditions
and how they interact, but they are not as comprehensive as they could be. These treatments
mainly deal with addressing the executive functioning difficulties exasperated by ASD to help
these patients take the steps necessary to begin or continue the transition process. In order to
transition, transgender youth must be able to understand and communicate abstract concepts like
their own gender identity to the gatekeepers of their gender-affirming treatment which can be
especially challenging to patients with ASD-related alexithymia. Once they do transition they are
also met with adapting to an entirely new set of social rules and expectations. Having ASD is an
often isolating experience and being transgender only adds to that challenge. Social skills
training through...

Norm Deviation as a Key to Understanding Loneliness: A Shift Away from the Collectivism-Individualism Debate

Tue, 5 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Cultural psychology researchers have long been interested in understanding how loneliness is experienced across different cultures, with a focus on identifying which cultures report higher levels of loneliness. This literature proposes a novel approach to conceptualize loneliness by introducing the idea of norm deviation and how deviating from normative standards leads to loneliness. Additionally, we explore the roles of social support and self-determination theory in moderating the relationship between norm deviation and loneliness experience. The discussion section highlights the importance of qualitative study methods in loneliness studies to gain deeper understanding about the cultural and social factors in individual experiences.

From Brain to Ballet: Mapping the Neural Landscape of Dance and Aesthetics

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For too long, the arts and sciences have existed in isolation. To bridge this gap, interdisciplinary research ought to be embraced. Dance, in particular, offers a unique avenue for researchers interested in the intricate connections between cognition, embodiment, and movement expertise. New methodologies in neuroscience have allowed this brain-body connection to be further explored. This review examines the existing literature on exactly how the brain coordinates with the body to produce embodied, aesthetic movement, in addition to the neural mechanisms of how people subjectively process and perceive dance. This emerging field is called “neuroaesthetics,” and aims to explore the neural underpinnings of aesthetic experience, perception, and judgment. The human action-observation network, which underlies our ability to understand and imitate other’s movements, is a key element of this, and is starkly influenced by one’s movement expertise. In the following literature review,...

A modified expectation-maximization algorithm for accelerated item response theory model estimation with large datasets.

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm is widely used for parameter estimation in item response theory (IRT) modeling. However, when applied to datasets with large numbers of individuals and items, the standard EM algorithm can be slow to converge, with computationally expensive E-steps. We propose a modified EM algorithm to accelerate estimation for unidimensional two-parameter logistic IRT models. The modified algorithm uses a two-stage structure with partial-step updating over data subsets to reduce convergence time, while maintaining comparable accuracy and precision. The first two simulation studies evaluated its performance relative to standard EM, focusing on convergence time, parameter recovery, and standard error estimation across varying subset sizes and item counts. The third study demonstrated its scalability and runtime advantage in a large-scale testing scenario involving one million respondents and 100 items. The fourth study evaluated robustness under departures...

Sry-modified laboratory rat lines to study sex-chromosome effects underlying sex differences in physiology and disease: four core genotypes and more

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

BackgroundPrevious research on Four Core Genotypes and XY* mice has been instrumental in establishing important effects of sex-chromosome complement that cause sex differences in physiology and disease. We have generated rat models using similar modifications of the testis-determining gene Sry, to produce XX and XY rats with the same type of gonad, as well as XO, XXY and XYY rats with varying gonads. The models permit discovery of novel sex-chromosome effects (XX vs. XY) that contribute to sex differences in any rat phenotype, and test for effects of different numbers of X or Y chromosomes.MethodsXY rats were created with an autosomal transgene of Sry, producing XX and XY progeny with testes. In other rats, CRISPR-Cas9 technology was used to remove Y chromosome factors that initiate testis differentiation, producing fertile XY gonadal females. Interbreeding of these lines produced rats with interesting combinations of sex chromosomes and gonads: XO, XX, XY, XXY rats with ovaries;...

Adversarial AI reveals mechanisms and treatments for disorders of consciousness

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Understanding disorders of consciousness (DOC) remains one of the most challenging problems in neuroscience, hindered by the lack of experimental models for probing mechanisms or testing interventions. Here, to address this, we introduce a generative adversarial artificial intelligence (AI) framework that pits deep neural networks—trained to detect consciousness across more than 680,000 ten-second neuroelectrophysiology samples and validated on 565 patients, healthy volunteers and animals—against interpretable, machine learning-driven neural field models. This adversarial architecture produces biologically realistic simulations of both conscious and comatose brains that recapitulate empirical neurophysiological features across humans, monkeys, rats and bats. Without explicit programming, the AI model retrodicts known DOC responses to brain stimulation and generates testable predictions about the mechanisms of unconsciousness. Two such predictions are validated here: selective...

What episodic memory reveals about the default mode network

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What episodic memory reveals about the default mode network

Mental Health and ART Adherence in a Multisite International Study: The Mediating Roles of Social Support and Substance Use in People with HIV (jan, 10.1007/s10461-025-04944-z, 2026)

Thu, 9 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mental Health and ART Adherence in a Multisite International Study: The Mediating Roles of Social Support and Substance Use in People with HIV (jan, 10.1007/s10461-025-04944-z, 2026)

Curiosity as a catalyst for conceptual change: A schema-based model of learning and development

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Curiosity is widely recognized as a driver of exploration and learning, yet existing theories often under-specify the mechanisms through which curiosity transforms knowledge over time. This paper introduces the Schema Expansion and Error-driven Knowledge-building (SEEK) model, a novel, process-based framework that positions curiosity as a cognitive engine of long-term knowledge development. Drawing on schema theory, SEEK conceptualizes learning as a dynamic interplay among four mechanisms-accretion, tuning, restructuring, and schema formation-each triggered by prediction error and modulated by automatic or deliberate curiosity. The model accounts for both early, perceptually driven curiosity and later, metacognitively guided inquiry, tracing how curiosity evolves across development and supports increasingly complex forms of knowledge revision. It also clarifies the role of curiosity in creativity, highlighting how moments of schema restructuring can seed novel insights. By integrating...

Gendered racial microaggressions, self-silencing, and disordered eating in Black women

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Gendered racial microaggressions are defined as the nuanced expressions of oppression that Black women can encounter at the intersection of their racial and gender identities. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that greater frequency of gendered racial microaggressions will be associated with higher body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and binge eating and examined whether self-silencing mediated this association. Participants were 570 U.S.-based Black women (age M = 37.51 years) who completed an online survey on Prolific. Women completed self-reported measures of disordered eating, self-silencing, and the frequency of four specific dimensions of gendered racial microaggressions: (a) Assumptions of Beauty and Sexual Objectification, (b) Silenced and Marginalized, (c) Strong Black Woman stereotype, and (d) Angry Black Woman stereotype. Results indicated that greater frequency of gendered racial microaggressions in all four domains were associated with greater disordered...

Training the next generation of transdisciplinary leaders for a sustainable future

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Training future leaders for sustainable food systems requires transdisciplinary fluency and collaboration across science, policy, and social systems. This commentary proposes a framework for graduate-level training that is designed to equip future leaders to advance transitions toward equitable and sustainable food systems through systems-level thinking and cross-sector collaboration.

Crossmodal interaction of flashes and beeps across time and number follows Bayesian causal inference.

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Multisensory perception requires the brain to dynamically infer causal relationships between sensory inputs across various dimensions, such as temporal and spatial attributes. Traditionally, Bayesian Causal Inference (BCI) models have generally provided a robust framework for understanding sensory processing in unidimensional settings where stimuli across sensory modalities vary along one dimension such as spatial location, or numerosity (Samad et al., PloS one, 10 (2), e0117178, 2015). However, real-world sensory processing involves multidimensional cues, where the alignment of information across multiple dimensions influences whether the brain perceives a unified or segregated source. In an effort to investigate sensory processing in more realistic conditions, this study introduces an expanded BCI model that incorporates multidimensional information, specifically numerosity and temporal discrepancies. Using a modified sound-induced flash illusion (SiFI) paradigm with manipulated...

Interactive Associations of Youth Executive Function and Negative Emotionality: Prospective Predictions of Adolescent Psychopathology

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To characterize the developmental origins of youth attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), we examined independent and interactive associations of childhood-negative emotionality (NE) and executive functioning (EF; set shifting, inhibitory control, working memory) as predictors of adolescent externalizing and internalizing problems. Participants were children with and without ADHD (N = 230; ages 5-11 at baseline) followed for 6-7 years. Parent-reported NE predicted later psychopathology, and performance-based set shifting moderated this association. Unexpectedly, set shifting predicted internalizing symptoms. Findings highlight NE and EF as key transdiagnostic risk factors informing developmental models of ADHD and underscoring priorities for prevention and intervention.

Examining putamen resting-state connectivity markers of suicide attempt history in depressed adolescents

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction: Suicide is a current leading cause of death in adolescents and young adults. The neurobiological underpinnings of suicide risk in youth, however, remain unclear and a brain-based model is lacking. In adult samples, current models highlight deficient serotonin release as a potential suicide biomarker, and in particular, involvement of serotonergic dysfunction in relation to the putamen and suicidal behavior. Less is known about associations among striatal regions and relative suicidal risk across development. The current study examined putamen connectivity in depressed adolescents with (AT) and without history of a suicide attempt (NAT), specifically using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate patterns in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). We hypothesized the AT group would exhibit lower striatal RSFC compared to the NAT group, and lower striatal RSFC would associate with greater suicidal ideation severity and/or lethality...

How Racial and Ethnic Discrimination Gets Under the Skin: Inflammatory Outcomes in Adolescents and Young Adults of Color

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How Racial and Ethnic Discrimination Gets Under the Skin: Inflammatory Outcomes in Adolescents and Young Adults of Color

Early life stress, sleep disturbances, and depressive symptoms during adolescence: The role of the cingulum bundle

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Adolescence is often characterized by sleep disturbances that can affect the development of white matter tracts implicated in affective and cognitive regulation, including the cingulate portion of the cingulum bundle (CGC) and the uncinate fasciculus (UF). These effects may be exacerbated in adolescents exposed to early life adversity (ELA). We examined the longitudinal relations between sleep problems and CGC and UF microstructure during adolescence and their relation to depressive symptoms as a function of exposure to ELA. We assessed self-reported sleep disturbances and depressive symptoms and acquired diffusion-weighted MRI scans twice: in early adolescence (9-13 years) and four years later (13-17 years) (N = 72 complete cases). Independent of ELA, higher initial levels and increases in sleep problems were related to increases in depressive symptoms. Further, increases in right CGC fractional anisotropy (FA) mediated the association between sleep problems and depressive...

Use of Technology to Provide Mental Health Care for Racial and Ethnic Minorities: Evidence, Promise, and Challenges

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mental health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities (R&EM) are well documented. Some of the variables driving these disparities are limited care availability, difficulty accessing services, and attitudinal barriers. Although no single approach will eliminate all these obstacles, the use of technology to provide mental health services represents a paradigmatic shift in care delivery that could reduce unmet mental health need. Despite increasing evidence supporting the feasibility and efficacy of behavioral intervention technologies (BITs), such evidence is more limited among R&EM. For BITs to truly reduce disparities in care, these interventions need to overcome common barriers to treatment that disproportionally affect R&EM. This article reviews the empirical support of different BIT modalities with R&EM. We then provide informed clinical recommendations for the use of BITs with these groups, as well as a case example illustrating these guidelines. We...

The impact of COVID-19 on child and adolescent mental health and treatment considerations

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The impact of COVID-19 on child and adolescent mental health and treatment considerations

Discrimination and internalizing symptoms in rural Latinx adolescents: An ecological model of etiology

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction There is a well-documented relationship between perceived discrimination and internalizing symptoms among Latinx adolescents. However, few studies have examined how this psychosocial stressor relates to multiple domains of functioning in rural Latinx adolescents simultaneously. This study tested a spillover model of internalizing symptom development, where the negative effects of perceived discrimination are experienced through peer and family relationships. Methods Rural Latinx adolescents (n = 639; Mage = 15.62, SDage = 1.09; 53% female) provided information on social, familial, and individual risk and resilience factors that affect adolescents’ mental health. A serial mediation model was conducted using structural equation modeling. Exploratory analyses examined whether these effects varied based on adolescents’ age, gender, and acculturation level. Results Perceived discrimination was significantly associated with peer victimization....

Developing a Novel Weight Stigma Curriculum for Pediatric Residents Using Transformative Learning Theory

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Developing a Novel Weight Stigma Curriculum for Pediatric Residents Using Transformative Learning Theory

Striving and thriving: Gender differences in the effects of climbing the socioeconomic ladder on stress and discrimination

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests upward socioeconomic mobility ("striving") may result in worse physical health. It has been hypothesized that striving might result in greater stress and discrimination, but prior observational evidence of this has been mixed. METHODS: We analyzed data from The RISE UP study, a natural experimental study of 1270 low-income students in Los Angeles who were offered entrance to high-performing charter high schools via a random lottery. We compared lottery winners to those waitlisted, enabling objective assessment of striving with less confounding and selection bias. Self-reported stress using the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire and the Perceived Stress Scale and an abbreviated Everyday DiscriminationScale measuring lifetime discrimination were collected prospectively from adolescence into early adulthood. RESULTS: During adolescence, perceived psychologic stress was greater among lottery winners than among the waitlist group but only among the...

Dichotomous thinking about food as an understudied subclinical disordered eating cognition

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dichotomous thinking about food involves sorting foods into strict categories such as “good” and “bad” or “healthy” and “unhealthy,” and is an understudied cognition in the context of disordered eating. Although this way of thinking is an established symptom in orthorexia nervosa, there is a dearth of research on dichotomous thinking about food and its correlates and consequences. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the lack of research on dichotomous thinking about food, as well as to understand previously unknown associations between dichotomous thinking about food and other subclinical disordered eating behaviors and cognitions. In a racially diverse sample of 630 women ages 18–44, dichotomous thinking about food was positively and significantly (at p < .01) associated with body dissatisfaction, binge eating, cognitive restraint, restriction, excessive exercise, purging, drive for thinness, and anti-fat attitudes. Results suggest that dichotomous thinking about food...

Weight stigma and mental health symptoms: mediation by perceived stress

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Prior research has established that weight stigma, or social devaluation based on an individual's body size or weight, is directly related to greater depressive and anxiety symptoms. In this investigation, we apply the Cyclic Obesity/Weight-Based Stigma model to investigate if the association between weight stigma and poor mental health is mediated by greater perceived stress. We analyzed data from a census-matched sample (N=1,993) of the U.S. on age, race/ethnicity, gender, income, and census-region. Issues with missing data and mediation models were addressed using a Bayesian multiple imputation approach. Analyses controlled for Body Mass Index and sociodemographic variables as covariates. Weight stigma was directly associated with greater depressive and anxiety symptoms. Moreover, the relationship between weight stigma and greater depressive and anxiety symptoms was mediated by greater perceived stress. Perceived stress explained 37% of the relationship between weight stigma...

Trajectories of Change in Parent–Child Interaction Therapy Outcomes in Latinx Families: Implications for Cultural Adaptation

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

OBJECTIVE: Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is a parenting program in which caregivers must achieve "skill criteria" in using Do Skills and avoiding Don't Skills to complete treatment. Despite PCIT's emphasis on these skills, little is known about how Latinx caregivers acquire these Western-based parenting practices and whether cultural mismatches lead to inequities in outcomes. This study compared the trajectories of change in PCIT skills and treatment outcomes of Latinx and non-Latinx White families. METHOD: We analyzed weekly treatment data from 64 families (20.3% Spanish-speaking Latinx, 51.6% English-speaking Latinx, 28.1% non-Latinx White) served in community clinics. Caregivers were mostly females (95.3%), on average 35.13 years old, and lived in poverty (77.6%). PCIT skills were coded using the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System, and child behavior problems were reported using the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory. RESULTS: Latinx and non-Latinx...

Social class stigma and poorer health behaviors: Evidence from the eating in America study

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Although the association between objective markers of low socioeconomic status (SES) and poor health is well established, one underexamined possibility is that over and above objective SES, social class stigma-experiences and anticipation of discrimination based on social class-might undermine people's ability to engage in healthy behaviors. Participants (N = 2022) were recruited between December 2019 and January 2020 via a national Qualtrics panel that was census-matched to the U.S. population in age, gender, income, race/ethnicity, and census region. Participants completed measures of class stigma, alcohol use, disordered eating, comfort eating, sleep disturbance, physical activity, and demographics. Controlling for objective SES and demographics, generalized linear regression models indicated that class stigma was associated with significantly greater alcohol use, disordered eating, greater comfort eating, and sleep disturbance but not less physical activity. Class...

Editorial: The legacy of Dr. Roger W. Sperry: current advances in brain lateralization and interhemispheric transfer

Fri, 9 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Editorial: The legacy of Dr. Roger W. Sperry: current advances in brain lateralization and interhemispheric transfer

An Exploratory Investigation of Undergraduate Students' Values and Experiences with Breaks, Leisure, and Rest

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract: In the face of worsening college student mental health, calls for greater rest and leisure are abundant. However, without an understanding of student attitudes and experiences with rest, improved mental health through rest are limited. The current study surveyed this critical context in 280 college students across two institutions by examining their attitudes, challenges, and experiences with rest. Results showed students report valuing rest as important to their productivity as students but also report feeling guilty when resting and not working. Students reported that the most common way to recognize it is time to take a break was because of physiological symptoms, including headache, eye fatigue, stomachaches, racing heart, headaches, and exhaustion. Despite students reporting a range of leisure and rest activities, including socializing, watching TV, creative hobbies, and walking, they also reported multiple barriers to resting. This included schoolwork, employment,...

A Consensus Statement for Ecological Medicine: Moving Toward Connection-Based Medicine

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Mounting evidence across multiple disciplines supports the health benefits of connection to nature. Although this trend suggests that the human-nature relationship is integral to health, its importance is often overlooked in clinical practice due, in part, to lack of consensus on its scope, limits, and terminology. To fill a needed gap, we developed a consensus statement on an inter-connectivity based view of health termed Ecological Medicine. The study recruited an expert working group and used modified Delphi technique and focus groups. The Ecological Medicine Working Group was directed toward Ecological Medicine consensus goals that included: (1) a consensus definition and framework, (2) priorities for practice, research, education, and policy, and (3) Ecological Medicine’s implications. A consensus definition and framework for Ecological Medicine was reached, focusing on the importance of human inter-connections (to self, others, non-human species, and natural environment)...

A Common Stay-on-Goal Mechanism in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex for Information and Effort Choices

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Humans and nonhumans alike often make choices to gain information, even when the information cannot be used to change the outcome. Prior research has shown that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is important for evaluating options involving reward-predictive information. Here we studied the role of ACC in information choices using optical inhibition to evaluate the contribution of this region during specific epochs of decision-making. Rats could choose between an uninformative option followed by a cue that predicted reward 50% of the time versus a fully informative option that signaled outcomes with certainty but was rewarded only 20% of the time. Reward seeking during the informative S+ cue decreased following ACC inhibition, indicating a causal contribution of this region in supporting reward expectation to a cue signaling reward with certainty. Separately in a positive control experiment and in support of a known role for this region in sustaining high-effort behavior for...

Inflammation and dimensions of fatigue in women with early stage breast cancer: A longitudinal examination

Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

BACKGROUND: Fatigue is a common and long-lasting side effect of cancer. Although fatigue is a multidimensional symptom, biologic mechanisms of fatigue dimensions have not been identified. METHODS: Women recently diagnosed with early stage breast cancer (n = 192) completed assessments before and after adjuvant therapy and at 6-month, 12-month, and 18-month posttreatment follow-up visits. At each assessment, women completed the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory and provided blood for protein markers of inflammation (tumor necrosis factor [TNF] alpha [TNF-α], soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type II [sTNF-RII], interleukin 6 [IL-6], and C-reactive protein [CRP]). Mixed-effect linear models examined within-person and between-person associations between inflammatory markers and dimensions of fatigue. RESULTS: Analyses demonstrated a positive within-person association between general fatigue and TNF-α (b = 1.67; p = .037), sTNF-RII (b = 2.77;...

Shift in sex and age of individuals at a clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis: relation to differences in recruitment methods and effect on sample characteristics

Thu, 9 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Historically, large samples of individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis have mirrored overt psychotic disorders in both sex (predominantly male) and age representation (adolescent to early adulthood onset). We report on a recent CHR sample suggesting a shift in these distributions and explore contributing factors and clinical implications. We hypothesized that demographic differences would be related to recruitment sources and that age, sex, and recruitment sources would be related to baseline clinical profiles. Baseline data were included from the recent computerized assessment of psychosis risk (CAPR) study and the second and third waves of the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS-2 and 3). Hierarchical regression was used to examine differences in sex, age, and recruitment sources between samples and relationships with clinical characteristics. Univariate analyses revealed a significant shift to female predominance, older age, and a change in recruitment...

Discrimination and Misconceptions About Human Immunodeficiency Virus Among Gay and Bisexual Men

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

OBJECTIVE: Despite improvements in structural and biomedical interventions to stop the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), gay and bisexual men continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV. One potential barrier to the uptake of HIV health care services is misconception about HIV prevention. Given high levels of societal stigma related to HIV and homophobia, we grounded the current study in the Health Stigma and Discrimination Framework and proposed that experiences of everyday discrimination would be associated with the endorsement of stigmatizing misconceptions about HIV prevention among gay and bisexual men. We also examined whether comfort with health care providers would mediate such association and whether differences by race and ethnicity existed. METHOD: Gay and bisexual men in New York (N = 293) completed a survey between 2017 and 2018 assessing everyday experiences of discrimination, comfort with health care providers, misconceptions about HIV prevention,...

Correction: A novel weight suppression score associates with distinct eating disorder and ultra-processed food addiction symptoms compared to the traditional weight suppression measure among adults seeking outpatient nutrition counseling

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Correction: A novel weight suppression score associates with distinct eating disorder and ultra-processed food addiction symptoms compared to the traditional weight suppression measure among adults seeking outpatient nutrition counseling

Volume 12

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Volume 12 - The Undergraduate Research Journal of Psychology at UCLA

Chronic pain selectively reduces the motivation to work for remifentanil but not food reward

Mon, 8 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

ABSTRACT: Currently, preclinical research has reported conflicting evidence as to whether chronic pain imparts resilience or vulnerability to opioid drug seeking. Here, we investigated the impact of chronic pain on the intravenous self-administration (IVSA) profile of the short-acting opioid analgesic remifentanil in a mouse model. Using a chronic constriction injury model of chronic neuropathic pain, 7 days after injury, male and female C57Bl/6J mice began remifentanil IVSA. During the acquisition phase, there were no differences in the total number of reinforcers earned but an increase in the number of active nose pokes in pain mice. An increase in the rate of acquisition within sessions was observed in male but not female mice. When work effort increased (fixed ratio 3 and progressive ratio), pain mice unexpectedly showed a reduction in the number of reinforcers earned and their breakpoint. This change in motivational state was specific to the willingness to work for remifentanil,...

Lasso and Group Lasso with Categorical Predictors: Impact of Coding Strategy on Variable Selection and Prediction

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Machine learning methods are being increasingly adopted in behavioral research. Lasso regression performs variable selection and regularization, and is particularly appealing to behavioral researchers because of its connection to linear regression. Researchers may expect properties of linear regression to translate to lasso, but we demonstrate that this assumption is problematic for models with categorical predictors. Specifically, we demonstrate that while the coding strategy used for categorical predictors does not impact the performance of linear regression, it does impact lasso’s performance. Group lasso is an alternative to lasso for models with categorical predictors. We investigate the discrepancy between lasso and group lasso models using a real data set: lasso performs different variable selection and has different prediction accuracy depending on the coding strategy, while group lasso performs consistent variable selection but has different prediction accuracy. Using...

Mechanisms of adjustments to different types of uncertainty in the reward environment across mice and monkeys

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Despite being unpredictable and uncertain, reward environments often exhibit certain regularities, and animals navigating these environments try to detect and utilize such regularities to adapt their behavior. However, successful learning requires that animals also adjust to uncertainty associated with those regularities. Here, we analyzed choice data from two comparable dynamic foraging tasks in mice and monkeys to investigate mechanisms underlying adjustments to different types of uncertainty. In these tasks, animals selected between two choice options that delivered reward probabilistically, while baseline reward probabilities changed after a variable number (block) of trials without any cues to the animals. To measure adjustments in behavior, we applied multiple metrics based on information theory that quantify consistency in behavior, and fit choice data using reinforcement learning models. We found that in both species, learning and choice were affected by uncertainty about...

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