Does the cognitive interview promote the coherence of narrative accounts in children with and without an intellectual disability?

We examined whether the cognitive interview (CI) procedure enhanced the coherence of narrative accounts provided by children with and without intellectual disabilities (ID), matched on chronological age. Children watched a videotaped magic show; one day later, they were interviewed using the CI or a structured interview (SI). Children interviewed using the CI reported more correct details than those interviewed using the SI. Additionally, children interviewed using the CI reported more contextual background details, more logically ordered sequences, more temporal markers, and fewer inconsistencies in their stories than those interviewed using the SI. However, the CI did not increase the number of story grammar elements compared with the SI. Overall children interviewed with the CI told better stories than those interviewed with the SI. This finding provided further support for the effectiveness of the CI with vulnerable witnesses, particularly children with ID.

Assessing the effectiveness of the cognitive interview for children with severe intellectual disabilities

We examined whether the cognitive interview (CI) procedure increased event recall in children with severe intellectual disabilities (ID) compared with children with no ID. Forty-six children with and without ID watched a videotaped event; they were aged between eight and 11 years. The next day they were individually interviewed using the CI or a structured interview (SI). Interviews consisted of free recall and specific questions, some of which contained leading or misleading information. The leading and misleading questions determined children’s susceptibility to information presented after the event. Overall, children without ID reported more correct information than children with ID. For all children, the CI led to more correct recall than the SI without increases in incorrect details or confabulations. Although the CI did not decrease children’s susceptibility to the misleading questions compared with the SI, children without ID disagreed with more of the misleading suggestions than children with ID. These results suggest that the CI may indeed be a valuable tool to elicit information from very vulnerable witnesses.

Effects of N-acetyl cysteine on cognitive function in bipolar disorder

Aims

Bipolar disorder is characterized by progressive changes in cognition with declines in executive functioning, memory and sustained attention. Current pharmacotherapies for bipolar disorder target mood symptoms but have not addressed these cognitive changes resulting in euthymic individuals who still experience cognitive deficits. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) has been shown to have effects on antioxidant status, glutamate transmission, inflammation and neurogenesis. Adjunctive treatment with NAC improves the symptoms experienced by those with bipolar disorder, particularly depression, and it was hypothesized that cognition may also be improved following NAC treatment.
Methods

As part of a larger randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, participants in the current report were tested at baseline and 6 months to assess changes in cognitive function following either 2000 mg of NAC daily or placebo.
Results

This study failed to find changes in cognitive function following treatment with NAC compared to placebo.
Conclusions

While an important pilot study, this study had a small sample size and included a limited battery of cognitive tests. Further investigations on the effects of NAC on cognitive performance in bipolar disorder are required.

Treatment acceptability and psychosocial outcomes of a randomised controlled trial of a cognitive behavioural lifestyle intervention for overweight and obese adolescents

This study explores the impact of a cognitive behavioural lifestyle program, the CHOOSE HEALTH Program, on psychosocial wellbeing in overweight and obese adolescents. The sample comprised 29 male and 34 female adolescents aged 11.5 to 18.9 years (M = 14.3, SD = 1.9) and classified as overweight (n = 15) or obese (n=48). Participantswere randomly allocated to treatment or wait-list control conditions; participants allocated the wait-list condition were offered treatment after 6 months. Adolescents and parents completed self-report measures of psychopathology, psychosocial and family functioning. Treatment did not have detrimental effects on the psychosocial factors assessed. It resulted in significant improvements in weight control behaviour, impulse regulation, social support from family and parent–adolescent problem communication (p<.05). Similar results were obtained with completer and intention-to-treat analyses. Treatment acceptability was high, with all respondents indicating that they made progress. Combined, results indicate that treatment did not have detrimental effects on psychopathology, psychosocial functioning, or family functioning. Treatment resulted in significant improvements in impulse regulation, social support from family and parent–adolescent communication. Thus, parents and professionals can be assured that a comprehensive, multifaceted, parent-supported, cognitive behavioural intervention for overweight and obese adolescents does not cause psychological harm.

A cognitive behavioural intervention for overweight and obese adolescents illustrated by four case studies

This article reports four case studies illustrating the implementation of the CHOOSE HEALTH Program, a cognitive behavioural lifestyle intervention for overweight and obese adolescents. Participants were an overweight (12 years) and obese (15 years) female, and an overweight (14 years) and obese (12 years) male. The program was delivered by provisional psychologists with program specific training and supervision. All participants demonstrated improvements in body composition, and maintained or improved dietary quality and psychosocial wellbeing. The program had variable effects on physical activity and minimal effect on cardiovascular fitness for three of the four participants. While parents and adolescents required considerable assistance to develop and monitor long term program goals, these goals were a useful clinical tool to support the adolescent and parent to recognise the improvements they had made. Identification and monitoring of specific, measurable, and realistic behaviour change strategies was particularly important in assisting adolescents and their parents to translate session information into improved health behaviours. Results indicate that an adolescent overweight and obesity treatment program that promotes adolescent responsibility and autonomy, and emphasises the importance of parent support and family change is both effective and highly acceptable to both adolescents and parents.

Cognitive impairment and vitamin B12 : a review

Background: This review examines the associations between low vitamin B12 levels, neurodegenerative disease, and cognitive impairment. The potential impact of comorbidities and medications associated with vitamin B12 derangements were also investigated. In addition, we reviewed the evidence as to whether vitamin B12 therapy is efficacious for cognitive impairment and dementia.

Methods: A systematic literature search identified 43 studies investigating the association of vitamin B12 and cognitive impairment or dementia. Seventeen studies reported on the efficacy of vitamin B12 therapy for these conditions.

Results: Vitamin B12 levels in the subclinical low-normal range (<250 ρmol/L) are associated with Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and Parkinson's disease. Vegetarianism and metformin use contribute to depressed vitamin B12 levels and may independently increase the risk for cognitive impairment. Vitamin B12 deficiency (<150 ρmol/L) is associated with cognitive impairment. Vitamin B12 supplements administered orally or parenterally at high dose (1 mg daily) were effective in correcting biochemical deficiency, but improved cognition only in patients with pre-existing vitamin B12 deficiency (serum vitamin B12 levels <150 ρmol/L or serum homocysteine levels >19.9 μmol/L).

Conclusion: Low serum vitamin B12 levels are associated with neurodegenerative disease and cognitive impairment. There is a small subset of dementias that are reversible with vitamin B12 therapy and this treatment is inexpensive and safe. Vitamin B12 therapy does not improve cognition in patients without pre-existing deficiency. There is a need for large, well-resourced clinical trials to close the gaps in our current understanding of the nature of the associations of vitamin B12 insufficiency and neurodegenerative disease.

Dissemination of therapist-assisted internet cognitive behaviour therapy : development and open pilot study of a workshop

There is considerable research suggesting that therapist-assisted Internet cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) is efficacious in the treatment of depression and anxiety. Given this research, there is a growing interest in training students in therapist-assisted ICBT in order to assist with the dissemination of this emerging modality into routine clinical practice. In this study, we developed, delivered, and evaluated a therapist-assisted ICBT workshop for clinical psychology graduate students (n = 20). The workshop provided both research evidence and practical information related to the delivery of therapist-assisted ICBT. The workshop also incorporated an experiential component with students working on and discussing responses to client e-mails. Before and after the workshop, we measured knowledge of therapist-assisted ICBT research and professional practice issues, as well as attitudes towards and confidence in delivering therapist-assisted ICBT. Statistically significant changes were observed in all areas. Eighty-five per cent of students are now offering therapist-assisted ICBT under supervision. We conclude by discussing future research directions related to disseminating therapist-assisted ICBT.

Internet cognitive behavioural therapy for panic disorder : does the inclusion of stress management information improve end-state functioning?

Previous research has established Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for panic disorder (PD) as effective in reducing panic severity and frequency. There is evidence, however, that such programs are less effective at improving overall end-state functioning, defined by a PD clinician severity rating of ≤2 and panic free. In order to test the effect on end-state functioning of the incorporation of stress management material within a CBT program for PD, 32 people with PD were randomised to either Internet-based CBT (PO1), Internet-based CBT plus stress management (PO2) or an Internet-based information-only control condition (IC). Both CBT treatments were more effective at posttreatment assessment than the control condition in reducing PD severity, panic and agoraphobia-related cognition, negative affect and self-ratings of health. PO2 was more effective than PO1 at posttreatment assessment on PD severity and general anxiety, although at 3-month follow-up these differences were no longer apparent. This study provides further support for the efficacy of Internet-based CBT for PD and suggests that although the incorporation of stress management material confers short-term advantages over a standard program, it is not associated with any longer term improvements on panic severity and related cognitions, negative affect, general wellbeing and end-state functioning.

Adaptation of LEACH routing protocol to cognitive radio sensor networks

One of the drawbacks of LEACH protocol is the uncontrolled selection of cluster heads which, in some rounds, leads to the concentration of them in a limited area due to the randomness of the selection procedure. LEACH-C is a variant of LEACH that uses a centralized clustering algorithm and forms good clusters through sink control. According to experimental results, the IEEE 802.15.4 packets are damaged by WLAN interferences in ISM band. It seems that, sensor nodes equipped with cognitive radio capabilities can overcome this problem. In cognitive radio sensor networks (CRSN), routing must be accompanied by channel allocation. This requires spectrum management which can be devolved to cluster heads. For this networks, new duty cycle mechanisms must be designed that jointly consider neighbor discovery, and spectrum sensing/allocation. Cluster-based network architecture is a good choice for effective dynamic spectrum management. In such architecture, cluster heads have a proper spatial distribution and are optimally located all over the network. In this paper, using the physical layer information and preserving the feature of random cluster head selection in LEACH, it has been tried to both move the position of cluster heads to appropriate locations and make their quantity optimal. The simulation results show that the transferal of cluster heads to appropriate locations increases the network lifetime significantly though this comes at the price of early instability appearance. By considering the energy level in cluster head election algorithm, one can overcome the network stability issues too. However, this will move the cluster heads away from their appropriate locations. © 2012 IEEE.