Bailey, PE & Henry, JD 2010, 'Separating component processes of theory of mind in schizophrenia', British Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 43-52.
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Objective. It has been argued that in order to take the perspective of another the ‘default’ self‐perspective must first be inhibited. Thus, executive function failures (and specifically, reduced inhibitory control of the self‐perspective) may contribute to the theory of mind (ToM) difficulties that have been observed in schizophrenia.Method. Participants with schizophrenia (N=28) and demographically matched controls (N=30) were administered a behavioural measure of ToM that directly manipulates inhibitory demands by involving either high‐ or low‐levels of self‐perspective inhibition.Results. Relative to controls, participants with schizophrenia demonstrated impaired ToM, but did not have particular difficulty on the task that placed high demands on self‐perspective inhibition.Conclusion. Disruption of other‐perspective taking, rather than self‐perspective inhibition, appears to be the more important determinant of ToM impairment in schizophrenia. This finding is discussed in relation to competing perspectives of ToM.
Bailey, PE, Henry, JD, Rendell, PG, Phillips, LH & Kliegel, M 2010, 'Dismantling the “age–prospective memory paradox”: The classic laboratory paradigm simulated in a naturalistic setting', Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 646-652.
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Previous research has identified “the age–prospective memory paradox”—that adult ageing results in reliably poorer performance on laboratory-based tasks of prospective memory (PM), but improved performance on such tasks carried out in real-life settings. We hypothesized that even in their everyday environment, older adults might be worse at PM tasks that are triggered during an experimenter-generated ongoing activity. The present study used a task that captured the key features of the classic laboratory paradigm, but which was completed in a setting that met key criteria to be considered naturalistic. In their everyday setting, participants’ PM was assessed, with the cue to remember occurring either (a) during their day-to-day activities, or (b) during an experimenter-generated ongoing task. The results confirmed previous naturalistic findings, in showing that older adults ( n = 28) exhibited better PM than their younger counterparts ( n = 65) when prompted during their everyday activities. However, older adults were also then subsequently less likely to show effective PM during experimenter-generated ongoing activity. Reproducing the paradox within a single dataset, these data indicate that older adults can effectively act on intentions during everyday activities, but have difficulty in prospective remembering during experimenter-generated ongoing tasks.
Grisham, JR, Henry, JD, Williams, AD & Bailey, PE 2010, 'Socioemotional deficits associated with obsessive–compulsive symptomatology', Psychiatry Research, vol. 175, no. 3, pp. 256-259.
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Henry, JD, Bailey, PE, von Hippel, C, Rendell, PG & Lane, A 2010, 'Alexithymia in schizophrenia', Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, vol. 32, no. 8, pp. 890-897.
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Seymour, K, Clifford, CWG, Logothetis, NK & Bartels, A 2010, 'Coding and Binding of Color and Form in Visual Cortex', Cerebral Cortex, vol. 20, no. 8, pp. 1946-1954.
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Vaccaro, LD, Jones, MK, Menzies, RG & Wootton, BM 2010, 'Danger Ideation Reduction Therapy for Obsessive–Compulsive Checking: Preliminary Findings', Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 293-301.
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Danger Ideation Reduction Therapy (DIRT) is a cognitive treatment package developed in the mid-1990s to treat obsessive-compulsive (OC) washing. DIRT is solely directed at decreasing threat expectancies and does not involve direct or indirect exposure. The effectiveness of the DIRT package for OC washers has been examined, and to date a number of publications, including two randomised controlled trials, support its efficacy. Recently, the DIRT package was modified to treat people with the OC checking subtype. In the current study, three adult OC checkers received DIRT in 12 to 14 individual 1-hr sessions conducted by a clinical psychologist. At posttreatment, substantial and clinically significant reductions in scores on a range of standardized outcome measures of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptom severity were apparent for all three participants. Crucially, these improvements were maintained at 4-month follow-up. Although further research is clearly warranted, these preliminary findings suggest that DIRT for checkers may prove as effective as DIRT for OC washers. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.
VARCIN, KJ, BAILEY, PE & HENRY, JD 2010, 'Empathic deficits in schizophrenia: The potential role of rapid facial mimicry', Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 621-629.
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AbstractEmotional facial expressions evoke rapid, involuntary, and covert facial reactions in the perceiver that are consistent with the emotional valence of the observed expression. These responses are believed to be an important low-level mechanism contributing to the experience of empathy, which some have argued rely on a simulation mechanism subserved by the human mirror neuron system (MNS). Because schizophrenia is associated with pervasive social cognitive difficulties which have been linked to structural abnormalities in the MNS network, the aim of the present study was to provide the first assessment of how rapid facial mimicry reactions (within 1000 ms poststimulus onset) are affected in schizophrenia. Activity in thecorrugator superciliiandzygomaticus majormuscle regions was quantified using electromyography while individuals with schizophrenia (n= 25) and controls (n= 25) viewed images of happy and angry facial expressions. In contrast to controls, individuals with schizophrenia demonstrated atypical facial mimicry reactions which were not associated with any clinical features of the disorder. These data provide evidence for a low-level disruption that may be contributing to empathizing deficits in schizophrenia and are discussed in relation to neuropsychological models of empathy and schizophrenia. (JINS, 2010,16, 621–629.)
Wootton, BM & Titov, N 2010, 'Distance Treatment of Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder', Behaviour Change, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 112-118.
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AbstractObsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is an important mental health problem. The Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing estimates the 12-month prevalence of OCD is 1.9% (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007). Individuals with OCD experience considerable impairment in daily functioning. Cognitive and behavioural therapy for OCD has been shown to be effective, however, accessibility to evidence based treatments is limited in Australia, especially for those living in rural and remote communities. Treatment delivered in a remote fashion may improve accessibility to such treatments. The present review aimed to evaluate the current status of evidence based treatments for OCD delivered remotely.
