Статьи

Inhibitory control is essential to daily function and is a key factor in numerous psychiatric disorders. One popular measure of inhibitory control is the congruency effect, but recent research has highlighted its low reliability, limiting its use for clinical and basic research questions. Here we asked whether it is possible to obtain precise individual estimates of the congruency effect. We sampled more than 5,000 trials from nine participants across four inhibitory control tasks. This dataset, made public for the community, demonstrates that precise individual estimates are achievable but with higher numbers of trials than typically collected with common tools. Using a combination of datasets and simulations, we show that extensive sampling is necessary to reveal true individual differences and improve observations from alternative modelling approaches. We share our dataset as a resource to further understand sources of variation in inhibitory control, ultimately advancing research in this critical field.

What determines who becomes and stays friends? Many factors are linked to friendship, including physical proximity and interpersonal similarities. Recent work has leveraged neuroimaging to detect similarities among friends by capturing how people process the world around them. However, given the cross-sectional nature of past research, it is unknown if neural similarity precedes friendship or only emerges among friends following social connection. Here we show that similarities in neural responses to movie clips—acquired before participants met one another—predicted proximity in a friendship network eight months later (that is, participants with similar responses were more likely to be friends rather than several degrees of separation apart). We also examined changes in distances between participants in their shared social network, which resulted from the formation, persistence and dissolution of friendships, between two months and eight months after they met each other. Compared with people who drifted further apart, people who grew closer over this six-month period had been more neurally similar as strangers. In addition, analyses controlling for sociodemographic similarities showed that whereas these similarities appeared to drive the differences in pre-existing neural similarities between friends and dyads of a social distance of 3, they did not account for the more extensive links between pre-existing neural similarities and the tendency for people to grow closer together, rather than drift farther apart, over time. Thus, whereas some friendships may initially form due to circumstance and dissolve over time, later-emerging and longer-lasting friendships may be rooted in deeper interpersonal compatibilities that are indexed by pre-existing neural similarities. The localization of these results suggests that pre-existing similarities in how people interpret, attend to and emotionally respond to their surroundings are precursors of future friendship and increased social closeness.

Research on social comparison as a behaviour change technique (SC-BCT) has increased substantially. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials investigating SC-BCTs across the behavioural sciences (PROSPERO: CRD42022343154). We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Web of Science from inception to January 2024. Seventy-nine randomized controlled trials (N = 1,356,521) investigating effects on behaviours related to climate change mitigation, health, performance and service were included. In the short term (mean 3.7 months post-intervention), SC-BCTs produced small effects relative to both passive (Hedges’ g = 0.17; 95% confidence interval, 0.11–0.23; k = 37; P < 0.001) and active control conditions (g = 0.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.15–0.31; k = 42; P < 0.001). A greater number of SC-BCT sessions and emphasis on desired (versus undesired) behaviours were associated with larger effects. Moderation effects were observed in only a few analyses, highlighting the need for further testing. SC-BCTs also produced significant small effects in the long term (mean 6.2 months post-intervention). Small effects should be interpreted in the context of low cost and scalability (for example, sending one or two emails). Certainty of evidence, using GRADE criteria, ranged from low to moderate depending on the analysis. More high-quality research is needed.

Childbirth is a life-changing event in a mother’s life. While the transition to motherhood has recently been recognized as one of the most neuroplastic periods in adulthood, no study has yet explored whether the hippocampus and amygdala change during the peripartum in relation to childbirth experience and perinatal depression symptoms. In this longitudinal neuroimaging study, we assessed 88 first-time gestational mothers in late pregnancy and early postpartum and 30 nulliparous control women. We used optimized high-resolution MRI scans to quantify volumetric changes in the hippocampus and amygdala, along with their substructures. We found that increases in depression symptoms during the peripartum were positively correlated with changes in the right amygdala. A more challenging birth experience was associated with bilateral increases in hippocampal volume. These findings show that studying the neuroanatomical changes during the transition to motherhood can inform not only about adaptive processes but also about potential vulnerabilities, highlighting the importance of tracking perinatal experiences to enhance women’s health.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is clinically heterogeneous, with ongoing debates about phenotypic differences between boys and girls. Understanding these differences, particularly at the age of first symptom onset, is critical for advancing early detection, uncovering aetiological mechanisms and improving interventions. Leveraging the Get SET Early programme, we analysed a cohort of 2,618 toddlers (mean age: ~27 months) through cross-sectional, longitudinal and clustering analyses, performed using statistical and machine learning approaches, to assess sex differences in groups with ASD, developmental delay and typical development across standardized and experimental measures, including eye tracking. The results revealed no significant sex differences in toddlers with ASD across 17 of 18 measures, including symptom severity based on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, receptive and expressive language based on the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and social attention based on the GeoPref eye-tracking test. In contrast, girls with typical development outperformed boys on several measures. Subtyping analyses stratifying toddlers into low, medium and high clusters similarly showed virtually no sex differences in ASD. Overall, our findings suggest that phenotypic sex differences are minimal or non-existent in those with ASD at the time of first symptom onset.

Introduction. This study explores the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intentions among expatriate non-native English-speaking teachers in China. With the increasing demand for international educators, particularly in China, improving teacher retention is essential. While turnover in international schools has been studied extensively, research on expatriate non-native English-speaking teachers in China remains limited. Methods. A mixed-methods approach was used to survey 158 expatriate non-native English-speaking teachers in China, employing the Job Satisfaction Survey and Turnover Intention Scale for quantitative data, alongside an open-ended question for qualitative insights. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlations, multiple regression, and thematic coding. Results. A significant negative correlation was found between job satisfaction and turnover intentions (r = -0.712, p < 0.001). Both extrinsic factors (e.g., pay, working conditions) and intrinsic factors (e.g., relationships with coworkers, communication) were identified as key drivers of turnover intentions. The regression model revealed that job satisfaction accounted for 50.7% of the variance in turnover intentions, emphasizing its substantial role in teachers' decisions to leave. Discussion. These findings highlight the importance of improving both extrinsic and intrinsic factors to reduce turnover intentions among expatriate non-native English-speaking teachers. Strategies such as stay interviews and enhanced career development opportunities can help retain teachers and boost job satisfaction. By addressing both intrinsic and extrinsic factors of job satisfaction, schools can reduce teacher turnover intentions, ensuring stability and continuity in education.

Background. This study is based on the idea of unity between affect and intelligence. It explores how different types of intelligence (fluid, verbal, self-assessed, and emotional) contribute to emotional creativity and implicit theories of creativity and emotion. Objective. To identify the contributions of various types of intelligence to emotional creativity and the implicit theories of creativity and emotion. Design. Linear regression and mediation analyses were conducted on a sample of 244 students. These analyses aimed to uncover the relationships between different types of intelligence, emotional creativity, and related components of self-awareness (at the levels of self-assessment and implicit theories). Results. The findings demonstrated the intricate connections between various forms of intelligence – fluid, crystallized, emotional, emotional creativity, and self-awareness components such as self-assessment of intelligence and creativity. Specifically, the impact of intelligence on emotional intelligence traits and emotional creativity was mediated by measures of self-esteem in intelligence and creativity. To test specific hypotheses, we conducted a series of regression analyses and developed two structural models. The first model included linear regression equations with each emotional creativity (EC) scale as the dependent variable and both types of intelligence, as well as self-assessments—SAI and SAC—as predictors. The second model demonstrated the mediation effect of implicit theories of emotions (ITE) in the influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on emotional creativity. Conclusion. This study highlights the complexity of the interplay between different types of intelligence and emotional creativity. It reveals the mediating role of self-esteem in these relationships and underscores the distinct nature of emotional creativity domains. Additionally, it establishes the link between implicit theories of emotions and creativity, with emotional intelligence and self-esteem, offering valuable insights for further research.

Voluntary, flexible stopping of speech output is an essential aspect of speech motor control, especially during natural conversations. The cognitive and neural mechanisms of speech inhibition are not well understood. Here we have recorded direct high-density cortical activity while participants engaged in continuous speech production and were visually cued to stop speaking. Neural recordings revealed distinct activity in the premotor frontal cortex correlated with stopping speech. This activity was found in largely separate cortical sites from regions encoding vocal tract articulatory movements. Moreover, this activity primarily occurred with abrupt stopping in the middle of an utterance, rather than naturally completing a phrase. Electrocortical stimulation at many premotor sites with inhibitory stop activity caused involuntary speech arrest, which contradicts previous clinical interpretations of this effect as evidence for critical centres of speech production. Together, these results suggest a previously unknown premotor cortical network that supports the inhibitory control of speech, providing implications for understanding both natural and altered speech production.

Humans lack memories for specific events from the first few years of life. We investigated the mechanistic basis of this infantile amnesia by scanning the brains of awake infants with functional magnetic resonance imaging while they performed a subsequent memory task. Greater activity in the hippocampus during the viewing of previously unseen photographs was related to later memory-based looking behavior beginning around 1 year of age, suggesting that the capacity to encode individual memories comes online during infancy. The availability of encoding mechanisms for episodic memory during a period of human life that is later lost from our autobiographical record implies that postencoding mechanisms, whereby memories from infancy become inaccessible for retrieval, may be more responsible for infantile amnesia.

Background. Fluid intelligence is an integral cognitive ability that involves solving new non-standard problems. It strongly predicts academic and professional achievement, whereas a low level of fluid intelligence is an important predictor of learning problems. Clinical studies of fluid intelligence are of interest for the development of training programs in various groups of children with special needs. This article presents a study on fluid intelligence in children with learning disabilities. Objective. This study aimed to investigate characteristics of fluid intelligence and its relationships with other cognitive characteristics in children with learning disabilities. Design. This study involved 93 children, divided into two groups: 55 typically developing children (control group) and 38 children with learning disabilities (clinical group). To assess intelligence characteristics, this study employed the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC-II) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fifth Edition (WISC-V). Results. A reduction was found in fluid intelligence, working memory, short-term memory, long-term memory, processing speed, visual-spatial abilities, and verbal abilities in the group of children with learning disabilities compared to the control group. In the clinical group, fluid intelligence was strongly associated with a greater number of cognitive parameters compared to the control group. Conclusions. It is possible to assume that a close connection of fluid intelligence with the assessed cognitive characteristics in the group of children with learning disabilities may be due to general challenges in cognitive development.