Albertella, L, Copeland, J, Pearson, D, Watson, P, Wiers, RW & Le Pelley, ME 2017, 'Selective attention moderates the relationship between attentional capture by signals of nondrug reward and illicit drug use', Drug and Alcohol Dependence, vol. 175, pp. 99-105.
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Andrejević, M, Meshi, D, van den Bos, W & Heekeren, HR 2017, 'Individual differences in social desirability are associated with white-matter microstructure of the external capsule', Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 1255-1264.
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Burton, AL & Abbott, MJ 2017, 'Conceptualising Binge Eating: A Review of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature', Behaviour Change, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 168-198.
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Binge eating is a distressing symptom common to bulimia nervosa (BN), anorexia nervosa binge/purge subtype (AN-BP) and binge-eating disorder (BED). Over the last 40 years, many attempts have been made to conceptualise this symptom in terms of its antecedents, function, triggers, consequences, and maintaining factors. Cognitive theories of binge eating have evolved as new evidence has emerged. This literature review summarises the main and most influential cognitive models of binge eating across different eating disorder presentations. Many theories have examined binge eating in the context of restriction or compensatory behaviours, as is often observed in cases of BN. Few theories have examined binge eating as it occurs in BED specifically. The long-term efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) treatment based on these models leaves much to be desired, and indicates that there may be maintaining factors of binge eating not addressed in the typical CBT treatment for eating disorders. More recent cognitive models of binge eating propose possible maintaining beliefs, but further study is required to validate these models. Suggestions for future research are presented.
Burton, AL, Hay, P, Kleitman, S, Smith, E, Raman, J, Swinbourne, J, Touyz, SW & Abbott, MJ 2017, 'Confirmatory factor analysis and examination of the psychometric properties of the eating beliefs questionnaire', BMC Psychiatry, vol. 17, no. 1, p. 237.
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BACKGROUND: The Eating Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ) is a 27-item self-report measure that assesses positive and negative beliefs about binge eating. It has been validated and its factor structure explored in a non-clinical sample. This study tested the psychometric properties of the EBQ in a clinical and a non-clinical sample. METHOD: A sample of 769 participants (573 participants recruited from the university and general community, 76 seeking treatment for an eating disorder and 120 participating in obesity research) completed a battery of questionnaires. A subset of clinical participants with a diagnosis of Bulimia Nervosa or Binge Eating Disorder completed the test-battery before and after receiving a psychological treatment (n = 27) or after allocation to a wait-list period (n = 28), and a subset of 35 community participants completed the test battery again after an interval of two-weeks. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed. RESULTS: CFA found a two-factor structure that provided a good fit to the data, supporting the solution presented in the development paper. Items with poor psychometric properties were removed, resulting in a 16 item measure. EBQ scores were found to correlate with binge eating episode frequency, increases in body mass index (BMI), and measures of eating disorder behaviours and related psychopathology. The EBQ was found to have excellent internal consistency (α = .94), good test-retest reliability (r = .91) and sensitivity to treatment. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that the EBQ is a psychometrically sound and clinically useful measure.
Caruana, N, Spirou, D & Brock, J 2017, 'Human agency beliefs influence behaviour during virtual social interactions', PeerJ, vol. 5, pp. e3819-e3819.
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In recent years, with the emergence of relatively inexpensive and accessible virtual reality technologies, it is now possible to deliver compelling and realistic simulations of human-to-human interaction. Neuroimaging studies have shown that, when participants believe they are interacting via a virtual interface with another human agent, they show different patterns of brain activity compared to when they know that their virtual partner is computer-controlled. The suggestion is that users adopt an “intentional stance” by attributing mental states to their virtual partner. However, it remains unclear how beliefs in the agency of a virtual partner influence participants’ behaviour and subjective experience of the interaction. We investigated this issue in the context of a cooperative “joint attention” game in which participants interacted via an eye tracker with a virtual onscreen partner, directing each other’s eye gaze to different screen locations. Half of the participants were correctly informed that their partner was controlled by a computer algorithm (“Computer” condition). The other half were misled into believing that the virtual character was controlled by a second participant in another room (“Human” condition). Those in the “Human” condition were slower to make eye contact with their partner and more likely to try and guide their partner before they had established mutual eye contact than participants in the “Computer” condition. They also responded more rapidly when their partner was guiding them, although the same effect was also found for a control condition in which they responded to an arrow cue. Results confirm the influence of human agency beliefs on behaviour in this virtual social interaction context. They further suggest that researchers and developers attempting to simulate social interactions should consider the impact of agency beliefs on user experience in other social contexts, and their effect on the achievement of the a...
Challinor, KL, Mond, J, Stephen, ID, Mitchison, D, Stevenson, RJ, Hay, P & Brooks, KR 2017, 'Body size and shape misperception and visual adaptation: An overview of an emerging research paradigm', Journal of International Medical Research, vol. 45, no. 6, pp. 2001-2008.
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Although body size and shape misperception (BSSM) is a common feature of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and muscle dysmorphia, little is known about its underlying neural mechanisms. Recently, a new approach has emerged, based on the long-established non-invasive technique of perceptual adaptation, which allows for inferences about the structure of the neural apparatus responsible for alterations in visual appearance. Here, we describe several recent experimental examples of BSSM, wherein exposure to “extreme” body stimuli causes visual aftereffects of biased perception. The implications of these studies for our understanding of the neural and cognitive representation of human bodies, along with their implications for clinical practice are discussed.
Cunningham, ML, Griffiths, S, Mitchison, D, Mond, JM, Castle, D & Murray, SB 2017, 'Muscle Dysmorphia: An Overview of Clinical Features and Treatment Options', Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 255-271.
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An increasing public and empirical focus on male body image indicates that muscularity is a preeminent concern among boys and men. For some, these concerns develop into a complex and disabling psychiatric disorder termedmuscle dysmorphia(MD), the hallmark of which is an intense preoccupation regarding one’s (subjectively) insufficient muscularity. Treatment of MD is critical; however, evidence to inform treatment approaches is sorely lacking. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, we provide an overview of the clinical features of MD, drawing particular attention to the preoccupation, functional impairment and psychiatric comorbidity associated with the disorder. Second, we discuss and recommend potential treatment directions for MD, including techniques that have demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of related disorders, namely, body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders (and anorexia nervosa in particular). Psychotherapeutic techniques, including cognitive restructuring of deleterious perfectionistic and egosyntonic beliefs, and dialectical behavioral techniques to improve the repertoire of emotion regulation skills available to afflicted individuals, are discussed, in addition to psychopharmacological approaches.
da Luz, FQ, Sainsbury, A, Mannan, H, Touyz, S, Mitchison, D & Hay, P 2017, 'Prevalence of obesity and comorbid eating disorder behaviors in South Australia from 1995 to 2015', International Journal of Obesity, vol. 41, no. 7, pp. 1148-1153.
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Dhami, MK, Goodman-Delahunty, J & Connor Desai, S 2017, 'Development of an information sheet providing rapport advice for interpreters in police interviews', Police Practice and Research, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 291-305.
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Hay, P, Mitchison, D, Collado, AEL, González-Chica, DA, Stocks, N & Touyz, S 2017, 'Burden and health-related quality of life of eating disorders, including Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), in the Australian population', Journal of Eating Disorders, vol. 5, no. 1.
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AbstractBackgroundLittle is known about the epidemiology and health related quality of life (HRQoL) of the new DSM-5 diagnoses, Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in the Australian population. We aimed to investigate the prevalance and burden of these disorders.MethodsWe conducted two sequential population-based surveys including individuals aged over 15 years who were interviewed in 2014 (n = 2732) and 2015 (n=3005). Demographic information and diagnostic features of DSM-5 eating disorders were asked including the occurrence of regular (at least weekly over the past 3 months) objective binge eating with levels of distress, extreme dietary restriction/fasting for weight/shape control, purging behaviors, overvaluation of shape and/or weight, and the presence of an avoidant/restrictive food intake without overvaluation of shape and/or weight. In 2014 functional impact or role performance was measured with the ‘days out of role’ question and in 2015, Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) was assessed with the Short Form −12 item questionnaire (SF-12v1).ResultsThe 2014 and 2015 3-month prevalence of eating disorders were: anorexia nervosa-broad 0.4% (95% CI 0.2–0.7) and 0.5% (0.3–0.9); bulimia nervosa 1.1% (0.7–1.5) and 1.2% (0.9–1.7); ARFID 0.3% (0.1–0.5) and 0.3% (0.2–0.6). The 2015 3-month prevalence rates were: BED-broad 1.5% (1.1–2.0); Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) 3.2 (2.6–3.9); and Unspecified Feeding or Eating Disorder (UFED) 10.4% (0.9–11.5). Most people with OSFED had atypical anorexia nervosa and majority with UFED were characterised by having recurrent binge eating without marked distress. Eating disorders were represented throughou...
Hing, N, Russell, AMT & Hronis, A 2017, 'What Behaviours and Cognitions Support Responsible Consumption of Gambling? Results from an Expert Survey', International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 1320-1341.
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© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. This study analysed expert views on (1) the adequacy of the current promotion of responsible gambling, (2) the practicality and worth of developing an evidence-based set of responsible gambling consumption behaviours and cognitions and (3) the relative importance of behaviours and cognitions promoted as supporting responsible consumption of gambling. Experts (N = 107) rated the importance of 61 behaviours and cognitions, distilled from a systematic literature review and content analysis of 30 websites, and grouped into seven categories. Behaviours and cognitions considered most important for problem gamblers related to ensuring gambling is affordable, limiting persistence at gambling, and using help and support. Those for at-risk gamblers related to understanding gambling, ensuring gambling expenditure is affordable, and keeping gambling in balance. For non-problem gamblers, important behaviours and cognitions related to understanding gambling, keeping gambling in balance, and positive motivations for gambling. Current promotion of responsible gambling was considered inadequate. Efforts to develop, validate and promote evidence-based responsible gambling consumption behaviours and cognitions can build on those identified in this research.
Hronis, A, Roberts, L & Kneebone, II 2017, 'A review of cognitive impairments in children with intellectual disabilities: Implications for cognitive behaviour therapy', British Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 189-207.
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ObjectiveNearly half of children with intellectual disability (ID) have comorbid affective disorders. These problems are chronic if left untreated and can significantly impact upon future vocational, educational, and social opportunities. Despite this, there is a paucity of research into effective treatments for this population. Notably, one of the most supported of psychological therapies, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), remains largely uninvestigated in children with ID. The current review considers the neuropsychological profile of children and adolescents with mild to moderate ID, with a view to informing how CBT might best be adapted for children and adolescents with ID.MethodNarrative review of literature considering the neuropsychological profiles of children and adolescents with ID, with specific focus upon attention, memory, learning, executive functioning, and communication. Studies were identified through SCOPUS, PsycINFO, and PubMed databases, using combinations of the key words ‘intellectual disability’, ‘learning disability’, ‘neuropsychology’, ‘attention’, ‘learning’, ‘memory’, ‘executive function’, ‘language’, and ‘reading’.ResultsChildren with ID have significant deficits in attention, learning, memory, executive functions, and language. These deficits are likely to have a negative...
Langdon, R, Seymour, K, Williams, T & Ward, PB 2017, 'Automatic attentional orienting to other people's gaze in schizophrenia', Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, vol. 70, no. 8, pp. 1549-1558.
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Explicit tests of social cognition have revealed pervasive deficits in schizophrenia. Less is known of automatic social cognition in schizophrenia. We used a spatial orienting task to investigate automatic shifts of attention cued by another person's eye gaze in 29 patients and 28 controls. Central photographic images of a face with eyes shifted left or right, or looking straight ahead, preceded targets that appeared left or right of the cue. To examine automatic effects, cue direction was non-predictive of target location. Cue–target intervals were 100, 300, and 800 ms. In non-social control trials, arrows replaced eye-gaze cues. Both groups showed automatic attentional orienting indexed by faster reaction times (RTs) when arrows were congruent with target location across all cue–target intervals. Similar congruency effects were seen for eye-shift cues at 300 and 800 ms intervals, but patients showed significantly larger congruency effects at 800 ms, which were driven by delayed responses to incongruent target locations. At short 100-ms cue–target intervals, neither group showed faster RTs for congruent than for incongruent eye-shift cues, but patients were significantly slower to detect targets after direct-gaze cues. These findings conflict with previous studies using schematic line drawings of eye-shifts that have found automatic attentional orienting to be reduced in schizophrenia. Instead, our data indicate that patients display abnormalities in responding to gaze direction at various stages of gaze processing—reflected by a stronger preferential capture of attention by another person's direct eye contact at initial stages of gaze processing and difficulties disengaging from a gazed-at location once shared attention is established.
Liu, L & Kager, R 2017, 'Enhanced music sensitivity in 9-month-old bilingual infants', Cognitive Processing, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 55-65.
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Liu, L & Kager, R 2017, 'Is mommy talking to daddy or to me? Exploring parental estimates of child language exposure using the Multilingual Infant Language Questionnaire', International Journal of Multilingualism, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 366-377.
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LIU, L & KAGER, R 2017, 'Perception of tones by bilingual infants learning non-tone languages', Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 561-575.
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This paper examines the ability of bilingual infants who were learning Dutch and another non-tone language to discriminate tonal contrasts. All infants from 5 to 18 months of age succeeded in discriminating a tonal contrast of Mandarin Chinese (Tone 1 versus Tone 4) and showed a U-shaped pattern when facing a less acoustically salient manipulated version (contracted) of the aforementioned contrast. Specifically, infants showed initial sensitivity to the contracted contrast during their early months, followed by a loss of sensitivity at the stage where tonal perceptual reorganization typically occurs, and a sensitivity rebound by the end of the first year after birth. Compared to a previous studying of ours testing monolingual Dutch infants (Liu & Kager, 2014), the discrimination patterns of bilingual infants revealed both similarities and differences. On one hand, as with monolinguals, non-tone-learning bilingual infants’ tonal perception presented plasticity influenced by contrast acoustic salience along the trajectory of perceptual reorganization; as well as a general U-shaped perceptual pattern when discriminating non-native tones. On the other hand, bilingual infants appeared to regain sensitivity to the contracted tonal contrast at an earlier age (11–12 months) in comparison with monolinguals infants (17–18 months). We provide several explanations, stemming from the simultaneous exposure to two languages, to account for the 6-month bilingual perceptual plasticity from linguistic and cognitive perspectives. The overall outcomes of the study offer insights into the infant perceptual reorganization and language development trajectory, expand on the differences between monolingual and bilingual language development, and broaden our understanding of the influence of bilingual exposure to the perception of non-native contrasts in infancy from linguistic and cognitive perspectives.
Liu, L & Kager, R 2017, 'Statistical learning of speech sounds is most robust during the period of perceptual attunement', Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, vol. 164, pp. 192-208.
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Liu, L, Han, M & Kager, R 2017, 'Keeping up with the monolinguals', Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 41-64.
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AbstractPrevious studies investigating possible differences between monolingual and bilingual infants’ vocabulary development have produced mixed results. The current study examines the size of the total receptive and expressive vocabulary, total conceptual vocabulary, and specific Dutch vocabulary of two hundred 8- to 18-month-old monolingual and bilingual infants born and living in the Netherlands. Families completed a Dutch version of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Developmental Inventories. Results illustrate that bilingual infants keep up with monolinguals even in Dutch receptive and expressive vocabulary sizes, showing no trace of delay in the development of the socially dominant language. The overall findings constitute an extension of work on vocabulary acquisition and challenge existing theories that suggest a developmental delay among bilingual learners. The equal pace of development between the monolingual and bilingual groups provides new insights into the influence and perhaps advantages of early bilingual language acquisition.
Mitchison, D, Basten, C, Griffiths, S & Murray, SB 2017, 'Beneath the tip of the iceberg: Why so many people with eating disorders are not referred for treatment', Australian Family Physician, vol. 46, no. 7, pp. 539-540.
Mitchison, D, Hay, P, Griffiths, S, Murray, SB, Bentley, C, Gratwick‐Sarll, K, Harrison, C & Mond, J 2017, 'Disentangling body image: The relative associations of overvaluation, dissatisfaction, and preoccupation with psychological distress and eating disorder behaviors in male and female adolescents', International Journal of Eating Disorders, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 118-126.
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ABSTRACTObjectiveThe distinctiveness and relative clinical significance of overvaluation, dissatisfaction, and preoccupation with body weight/shape remains inconclusive. This study sought to add to the evidence by testing associations between these three body image constructs and indicators of clinical significance.MethodMale and female secondary students (N = 1,666) aged 12–18 years completed a survey that included measures of dissatisfaction with, overvaluation of, and preoccupation with weight/shape, psychological distress, eating disorder behaviors, and basic demographic information. Conditional process analysis was employed to test the independent and mediating effects of overvaluation, dissatisfaction, and preoccupation on distress, dietary restraint, and objective binge eating.ResultsOvervaluation, dissatisfaction, and preoccupation were highly correlated (r = 0.47–0.84). In girls, preoccupation demonstrated the strongest independent and mediating effects on distress, dietary restraint, and binge eating; whereas neither the direct or indirect effects of dissatisfaction on distress and overvaluation on binge eating were significant. Among boys however, the direct and indirect effects of overvaluation, dissatisfaction, and preoccupation on distress and eating disorder behaviors were relatively equal.DiscussionPreoccupation with weight/shape may be particularly clinically significant in girls, whereas all constructs of body image disturbance may be equally clinically significant in boys. The findings are consistent with the view that these constructs, while closely related, are distinct. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.(Int J Eat Disord 2017; 50:...
Mitchison, D, Touyz, S, González‐Chica, DA, Stocks, N & Hay, P 2017, 'How abnormal is binge eating? 18‐Year time trends in population prevalence and burden', Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, vol. 136, no. 2, pp. 147-155.
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ObjectiveAlthough findings suggest that binge eating is becoming increasingly normative, the ‘clinical significance’ of this behaviour at a population level remains uncertain. We aimed to assess the time trends in binge‐eating prevalence and burden over 18 years.MethodSix cross‐sectional face‐to‐face surveys of the Australian adult population were conducted in 1998, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2014, and 2015 (Ntotal = 15 126). Data were collected on demographics, 3‐month prevalence of objective binge eating (OBE), health‐related quality of life, days out of role, and distress related to OBE.ResultsThe prevalence of OBE increased six‐fold from 1998 (2.7%) to 2015 (13.0%). Health‐related quality of life associated with OBE improved from 1998 to 2015, where it more closely approximated population norms. Days out of role remained higher among participants who reported OBE, although decreased over time. Half of participants who reported weekly (56.6%) and twice‐weekly (47.1%) OBE reported that they were not distressed by this behaviour. However, the presence of distress related to OBE in 2015 was associated with greater health‐related quality‐of‐life impairment.ConclusionAs the prevalence of binge eating increases over time, associated disability has been decreasing. ...
Morgan, C, Mason, E, Newby, JM, Mahoney, AEJ, Hobbs, MJ, McAloon, J & Andrews, G 2017, 'The effectiveness of unguided internet cognitive behavioural therapy for mixed anxiety and depression', Internet Interventions, vol. 10, pp. 47-53.
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© 2017 The Authors Clinician-guided internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) is an effective treatment for depression and anxiety disorders. However, few studies have examined the effectiveness of completely unguided iCBT. The current research investigated adherence to, and the effects of two brief unguided iCBT programs on depression and anxiety symptom severity, and psychological distress. Study 1 evaluated a four-lesson transdiagnostic iCBT program for anxiety and depression (N = 927). Study 2 then evaluated a three-lesson version of the same program (N = 5107) in order to determine whether reducing the duration of treatment would influence adherence and treatment effects. Cross-tabulations and independent t-tests were used to examine the extent to which users adhered and remitted with treatment. Linear mixed models were used to evaluate the effects of treatment in the entire sample, and stratified by gender and completer-type (e.g., users who completed some but not all lessons vs. those who completed all lessons of treatment). Among those who began treatment, 13.83% completed all four lessons in Study 1. Shortening the course to three lessons did not improve adherence (e.g., 13.11% in Study 2). In both studies, users, on average, experienced moderate to large effect size reductions in anxiety and depressive symptom severity, as well as psychological distress. This pattern of results was robust across gender and for those who did and did not complete treatment. Approximately two-thirds of those who completed treatment experienced remission. These data show that unguided iCBT programs, which have the capacity to attract large numbers of individuals with clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety, and psychological distress, can produce significant improvements in wellbeing.
Murray, SB, Griffiths, S, Mitchison, D & Mond, JM 2017, 'The Transition From Thinness-Oriented to Muscularity-Oriented Disordered Eating in Adolescent Males: A Clinical Observation', Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 353-355.
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Murray, SB, Nagata, JM, Griffiths, S, Calzo, JP, Brown, TA, Mitchison, D, Blashill, AJ & Mond, JM 2017, 'The enigma of male eating disorders: A critical review and synthesis', Clinical Psychology Review, vol. 57, pp. 1-11.
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Nicholson perry, K, Donovan, M, Knight, R & Shires, A 2017, 'Addressing Professional Competency Problems in Clinical Psychology Trainees', Australian Psychologist, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 121-129.
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© 2017 The Australian Psychological Society Objective: Clinical psychology trainees with problems of professional competence (PPC) continue to be a challenge for courses. Despite the rapid development of competency-based training models, the impact of this shift to the identification and management of professional competency problems is unclear. This project aims to describe how clinical psychology trainees with PPC are identified and managed within the Australian and New Zealand context. Method: An online survey was distributed through Australian and New Zealand universities offering clinical psychology training programmes. Questions addressed approaches to monitoring progress on placements, identification and management of trainees determined to be underperforming on placements, and the perceived usefulness of a range of strategies such as the use of standardised-rating tools. Results: Thirty one responses were received, representing 40 clinical psychology training courses in 22 institutions across Australia and New Zealand. In all cases, at least one trainee with a PPC had been detected in the previous 5 years, most commonly attributed to psychological, behavioural, and developmental issues. Respondents reported the use of a range of preventive and remedial strategies, including the use of psychometrically validated competency evaluation rating forms to assist in the grading of placements. Conclusion: Trainees with PPC occur on a fairly regular basis in clinical psychology training courses in Australian and New Zealand. While some processes involved in the identification and management of these students have been refined and systematised, some opportunities to facilitate early identification and remediation may yet need further enhancement.
Pila, E, Mond, JM, Griffiths, S, Mitchison, D & Murray, SB 2017, 'A thematic content analysis of #cheatmeal images on social media: Characterizing an emerging dietary trend', International Journal of Eating Disorders, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 698-706.
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AbstractDespite the pervasive social endorsement of “cheat meals” within pro‐muscularity online communities, there is an absence of empirical work examining this dietary phenomenon. The present study aimed to characterize cheat meals, and explore the meaning ascribed to engagement in this practice. Thematic content analysis was employed to code the photographic and textual elements of a sample (n = 600) that was extracted from over 1.6 million images marked with the #cheatmeal tag on the social networking site, Instagram. Analysis of the volume and type of food revealed the presence of very large quantities (54.5%) of calorie‐dense foods (71.3%) that was rated to qualify as an objective binge episode. Photographic content of people commonly portrayed highly‐muscular bodies (60.7%) in the act of intentional body exposure (40.0%). Meanwhile, textual content exemplified the idealization of overconsumption, a strict commitment to fitness, and a reward‐based framework around diet and fitness. Collectively, these findings position cheat meals as goal‐oriented dietary practices in the pursuit of physique‐ideals, thus underscoring the potential clinical repercussions of this socially‐endorsed dietary phenomenon.
Puckett, AM, Bollmann, S, Barth, M & Cunnington, R 2017, 'Measuring the effects of attention to individual fingertips in somatosensory cortex using ultra-high field (7T) fMRI', NeuroImage, vol. 161, pp. 179-187.
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Seymour, K & Wardle, S 2017, 'Differential orientation tuning of near and far surround suppression in human V1', Journal of Vision, vol. 17, no. 10, pp. 797-797.
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Seymour, K, Rhodes, G, McGuire, J, Williams, N, Jeffery, L & Langdon, R 2017, 'Assessing early processing of eye gaze in schizophrenia: measuring the cone of direct gaze and reflexive orienting of attention', Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 122-136.
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Shires, A, Vrklevski, L, Hyde, J, Bliokas, V & Simmons, A 2017, 'Barriers to Provision of External Clinical Psychology Student Placements', Australian Psychologist, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 140-148.
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© 2016 The Australian Psychological Society Objective: With increasing focus on the treatment of mental health problems the need for clinical psychologists is expanding, driving strong demand for postgraduate clinical psychology training programs. Although the number of training places in Australia has increased, the availability of external placements appears to have lagged behind, causing significant challenges to students. Using a survey of clinical psychologists in New South Wales, Australia, this study evaluated the capacity for placements and explored issues that may impact on field placement capacity. Method: A survey was developed in order to identify potential student placement capacity and factors that may prevent potential supervisors from offering placements to students. The survey was distributed electronically through clinical psychology networks targeting those employed in NSW. Results: One hundred and forty endorsed clinical psychologists completed the survey. Of these, 42% stated they felt unable to offer field placements to students within the next 12 months. The most commonly cited barriers to offering a placement included a lack of time (21%); not being a PsyBA supervisor (18%); being employed part-time (18%) and the concern that clinical supervision time did not attract funding under the current public health funding model (16%). Conclusion: The study provides an estimate of clinical field placement capacity in NSW. The results suggest that the capacity in the existing clinical psychology workforce could meet clinical field placement demand. The authors discuss reasons why anecdotally, this does not appear to reflect the reality of field placement coordinators and students. The authors provide possible strategies for addressing the issues raised.
Stevens, B, Hyde, J, Knight, R, Shires, A & Alexander, R 2017, 'Competency‐based training and assessment in Australian postgraduate clinical psychology education', Clinical Psychologist, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 174-185.
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© 2015 The Australian Psychological Society Background: Competency-based training and assessment is considered the best practice internationally in postgraduate clinical psychology education. In Australia, there are still some ways to go as programmes begin to integrate competency-based pedagogical models into clinical training and assessment. Further understanding of the strengths and challenges of these models will be useful to educators interested in developing a competency-based approach. Methods: A structured literature review was carried out using the databases PsychInfo, PubMed, and PsychArticles. Keywords were: competency, and “training” or “assessment” or “model” or “clinical” or “psychology” or “medicine” or “allied health.” Articles had to be written in the English language and published in peer-reviewed journals. Relevant book chapters and web references from professional accreditation bodies were also assessed for inclusion. A total of 54 references were utilised in the review. Results: The review supports the relevance of competency-based learning and teaching. It draws on seminal benchmarking work from the international literature and considers the strengths and limitations of competency-based approaches to clinical health training and assessment. The review provides support for the ongoing progression towards competency-based training models in Australian postgraduate clinical psychology. Conclusions: Competency-based training and assessment methods offer educators sophisticated mechanisms for ensuring that clinical psychology graduates are prepared to meet the demands of professional practice and public accountability. Further efforts at integrating competency-based training models into Australian postgraduate curriculum, and associated research into the outcomes, are necessary to ensure a pedagogical culture of best practice in this country.
van Steenbergen, H, Watson, P, Wiers, RW, Hommel, B & de Wit, S 2017, 'Dissociable corticostriatal circuits underlie goal‐directed vs. cue‐elicited habitual food seeking after satiation: evidence from a multimodal MRI study', European Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 1815-1827.
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AbstractThe present multimodal MRI study advances our understanding of the corticostriatal circuits underlying goal‐directed vs. cue‐driven, habitual food seeking. To this end, we employed a computerized Pavlovian‐instrumental transfer paradigm. During the test phase, participants were free to perform learned instrumental responses (left and right key presses) for popcorn and Smarties outcomes. Importantly, prior to this test half of the participants had been sated on popcorn and the other half on Smarties – resulting in a reduced desirability of those outcomes. Furthermore, during a proportion of the test trials, food‐associated Pavlovian cues were presented in the background. In line with previous studies, we found that participants were able to perform in a goal‐directed manner in the absence of Pavlovian cues, meaning that specific satiation selectively reduced responding for that food. However, presentation of Pavlovian cues biased choice toward the associated food reward regardless of satiation. Functional MRI analyses revealed that, in the absence of Pavlovian cues, posterior ventromedial prefrontal cortex tracked outcome value. In contrast, during cued trials, the BOLD signal in the posterior putamen differentiated between responses compatible and incompatible with the cue‐associated outcome. Furthermore, we identified a region in ventral amygdala showing relatively strong functional connectivity with posterior putamen during the cued trials. Structural MRI analyses provided converging evidence for the involvement of corticostriatal circuits: diffusion tensor imaging data revealed that connectivity of caudate‐seeded white‐matter tracts to the ventromedial prefrontal cor...
Veldre, A & Andrews, S 2017, 'Parafoveal preview benefit in sentence reading: Independent effects of plausibility and orthographic relatedness', Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 519-528.
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Wardle, S, Seymour, K & Taubert, J 2017, 'Decoding face pareidolia in the human brain with fMRI', Journal of Vision, vol. 17, no. 10, pp. 294-294.
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Wardle, SG, Ritchie, JB, Seymour, K & Carlson, TA 2017, 'Edge-Related Activity Is Not Necessary to Explain Orientation Decoding in Human Visual Cortex', The Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 1187-1196.
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Multivariate pattern analysis is a powerful technique; however, a significant theoretical limitation in neuroscience is the ambiguity in interpreting the source of decodable information used by classifiers. This is exemplified by the continued controversy over the source of orientation decoding from fMRI responses in human V1. Recently Carlson (2014) identified a potential source of decodable information by modeling voxel responses based on the Hubel and Wiesel (1972) ice-cube model of visual cortex. The model revealed that activity associated with the edges of gratings covaries with orientation and could potentially be used to discriminate orientation. Here we empirically evaluate whether “edge-related activity” underlies orientation decoding from patterns of BOLD response in human V1. First, we systematically mapped classifier performance as a function of stimulus location using population receptive field modeling to isolate each voxel's overlap with a large annular grating stimulus. Orientation was decodable across the stimulus; however, peak decoding performance occurred for voxels with receptive fields closer to the fovea and overlapping with the inner edge. Critically, we did not observe the expected second peak in decoding performance at the outer stimulus edge as predicted by the edge account. Second, we evaluated whether voxels that contribute most to classifier performance have receptive fields that cluster in cortical regions corresponding to the retinotopic location of the stimulus edge. Instead, we find the distribution of highly weighted voxels to be approximately random, with a modest bias toward more foveal voxels. Our results demonstrate that edge-related activity is likely not necessary for orientation decoding.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTA significant theoretical limitation of multivariate pattern analysis in neuroscience is the ambiguity in interpreting the source of decodable information use...
