Description:
The adapted Autobiographical Interview (AI) is one of the most commonly used and widely cited measures of prospection in adult humans. The use of this instrument requires investigators to make many decisions that can influence the outcomes of studies. Here, we performed a systematic review of studies utilizing the adapted AI. We assessed and characterized the studies on various aspects of methodological quality and reporting. We then investigated and reported on several properties of adapted AI scores that have implications for their interpretation. We conclude by proposing Conduct and Reporting of Autobiographical Interview (CRAI) guidelines to contribute to the improvement of the reporting quality for studies that use the adapted AI, and hope that this will contribute to future efforts to validate this influential measurement instrument of prospection in humans.
Description:
Objective Symptoms and disorders of anxiety are highly prevalent among older adults; however, late-life anxiety disorders remain underdiagnosed. The objective of this study was to (1) estimate the prevalence of late-life threshold and subthreshold generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), (2) examine sociodemographic and health correlates associated with membership in these groups, (3) assess 3-year conversion rates of these groups, and (4) explore characteristics associated with 3-year conversion to GAD. Methods Using Waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions, 13,420 participants aged 55-98 years were included in this study. Results Subthreshold GAD was more highly prevalent than threshold GAD and was interposed between asymptomatic and GAD groups in terms of severity of health characteristics. Although most participants with subthreshold and threshold GAD were asymptomatic by Wave 2, differences in disability persisted. Subthreshold GAD at baseline was not a predictor of threshold GAD at follow-up. Conclusion These findings suggest that late-life GAD should be conceptualized as a dimensional rather than categorical construct. The temporal stability of anxiety-associated disability further suggests that subthreshold GAD bears clinical significance. However, the suitability and efficacy of interventions for minimizing negative sequelae in this group remain to be determined.
Description:
Prospection refers to thinking about the future, a capacity that has become the subject of increasing research in recent years. Here we first distinguish basic prospection, such as associative learning, from more complex prospection commonly observed in humans, such as episodic foresight, the ability to imagine diverse future situations and organize current actions accordingly. We review recent studies on complex prospection in various contexts, such as decision-making, planning, deliberate practice, information gathering, and social coordination. Prospection appears to play many important roles in human survival and reproduction. Foreseeing threats and opportunities before they arise, for instance, drives attempts at avoiding future harm and obtaining future benefits, and recognizing the future utility of a solution turns it into an innovation, motivating refinement and dissemination. Although we do not know about the original contexts in which complex prospection evolved, it is increasingly clear through research on the emergence of these capacities in childhood and on related disorders in various clinical conditions, that limitations in prospection can have profound functional consequences.
Description:
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies that examined the relationship between anxiety disorders, or clinically significant anxiety symptoms, at baseline and all-cause mortality at follow-up relative to control participants without clinically significant anxiety. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycInfo, and CINAHL were searched through July 2015, along with manual searches of published reviews and forward and backward snowball searches of included studies. Studies were excluded if anxiety was not defined with a standardized instrument, or if participants were followed-up for 1 year or less. The initial search yielded 7901 articles after the removal of duplicates, of which 328 underwent full-text screening. RESULTS: Forty-two estimates from 36 articles were included in the meta-analysis with a total sample of 127,552 participants and over 11,573 deaths. The overall hazard ratio (HR) estimate of mortality in clinically anxious participants relative to controls was 1.09 (95 % CI 1.01-1.16); however, this was reduced after adjusting for publication bias (1.03; 95 % CI 0.95-1.13). There was no evidence of increased mortality risk among anxious participants derived from community samples (0.99; 95 % CI 0.96-1.02) and in studies that adjusted for a diagnosis of depression (1.01; 95 % CI 0.96-1.06). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that positive associations in the literature are attributable to studies in smaller samples, comorbid depression (or other psychiatric conditions) among participants, and possible confounding in medical patient samples followed-up for short durations.
Description:
Anxiety and mood disorders in later life are the focus of an increasing amount of intervention research, however basic mechanisms and paradigms explaining etiology and maintenance warrant further exploration. Research on future-oriented thought patterns associated with anxiety and depression in this age group may prove useful, as these disorders are both characterized by a tendency to generate and fixate on threat-related future scenarios that may or may not materialize. Additionally, depression is associated with a reduced expectancy of positive future events. In this paper, we review the literature relevant to future thinking in anxiety and depression in older adults. We focus on the mental construction and anticipation of negative future events, and their underlying neurocognitive mechanisms. We then consider clinical and research implications of anxious and depressive future-oriented thought patterns for older adults. We believe that more research investigating future-oriented thought patterns associated with emotional disorders in later life could improve conceptualization, measurement, and perhaps potential treatments for late-life anxiety and depression.
Description:
Humans frequently create mental models of the future, allowing outcomes to be inferred in advance of their occurrence. Recent evidence suggests that imagining positive future events reduces delay discounting (the devaluation of reward with time until its receipt), while imagining negative future events may increase it. Here, using a sample of 297 participants, we experimentally assess the effects of cued episodic simulation of positive and negative future scenarios on decision-making in the context of both delay discounting (monetary choice questionnaire) and risk-taking (balloon-analogue risk task). Participants discounted the future less when cued to imagine positive and negative future scenarios than they did when cued to engage in control neutral imagery. There were no effects of experimental condition on risk-taking. Thus, although these results replicate previous findings suggesting episodic future simulation can reduce delay discounting, they indicate that this effect is not dependent on the valence of the thoughts, and does not generalise to all other forms of impulsive decision-making. We discuss various interpretations of these results, and suggest avenues for further research on the role of prospection in decision-making.
Description:
Humans frequently create mental models of the future, allowing outcomes to be inferred in advance of their occurrence. Recent evidence suggests that imagining positive future events reduces delay discounting (the devaluation of reward with time until its receipt), while imagining negative future events may increase it. Here, using a sample of 297 participants, we experimentally assess the effects of cued episodic simulation of positive and negative future scenarios on decision-making in the context of both delay discounting (monetary choice questionnaire) and risk-taking (balloon-analogue risk task). Participants discounted the future less when cued to imagine positive and negative future scenarios than they did when cued to engage in control neutral imagery. There were no effects of experimental condition on risk-taking. Thus, although these results replicate previous findings suggesting episodic future simulation can reduce delay discounting, they indicate that this effect is not dependent on the valence of the thoughts, and does not generalise to all other forms of impulsive decision-making. We discuss various interpretations of these results, and suggest avenues for further research on the role of prospection in decision-making.
Description:
This study assessed the association between subclinical social fears and a 12-month diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) at baseline and the risk of incident Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) at follow-up, compared to those without subclinical social fears and a 12-month diagnosis of SAD. We performed an individual participant meta-analysis based on data from two national longitudinal surveys. Wave 1 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) was conducted in 2001–2002 in a sample of 43,093 adults and Wave 2 was conducted in 2004–2005 in 34,653 of the original respondents. Wave 1 of the National Comorbidity Survey was conducted in 1990–1992 in a sample of 8098 respondents and Wave 2 was conducted in 2001–2002 in 5001 of the original respondents. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed independently in each study and then the effect estimates were combined using random-effects meta-analysis. Neither subclinical social fears nor 12-month SAD at baseline were associated with incident AUD at follow-up. These findings conflict with reports of previous studies that a diagnosis of SAD is a risk factor for AUD in adults, and suggest that subclinical social fears are not associated with differential risk of incident AUD.
Description:
The degree to which changes in caregiver burden over a one-year period can be predicted by functioning of dementia patients and caregiver psychological stress was examined. The Direct Assessment of Functional Status (DAFS) was administered to 44 patients and the Caregiver Burden Inventory and the Brief Symptom Inventory were administered to their next-of-kin caregivers. All patients and caregivers were assessed at baseline and again in approximately one year with the same measures. Hierarchical regression revealed that baseline patient functioning predicted overall changes in caregiver burden, but that increases in psychological symptoms of caregivers such as depression, anxiety, and hostility were the best predictors for specific types of increased caregiver burden, such as social, developmental, or physical burden. These results suggest that interventions should target reduction of particular psychological symptoms in order to reduce caregiver burden over time.
Description:
The future harbours the potential for myriad threats to the fitness of organisms, and many species prepare accordingly based on indicators of hazards. Here, we distinguish between defensive responses on the basis of sensed cues and those based on autocues generated by mental simulations of the future in humans. Whereas sensed threat cues usually induce specific responses with reference to particular features of the environment or generalized responses to protect against diffuse threats, autocues generated by mental simulations of the future enable strategic preparation for hazards that may not require an immediate response. The overlap of these mechanisms makes defence effective and versatile, yet can manifest as contemporary anxiety disorders in humans.
Description:
The Pepsi Paradox refers to the observation that Pepsi is preferred to Coke in blind taste tests, despite Coke being regarded as the more successful brand. We begin by describing the origins of the Pepsi Paradox. We then outline a neural hypothesis for why it occurs. Next, we carefully assess the published behavioural studies related to the Pepsi Paradox, and on people's ability to distinguish colas by taste. We conclude that the existing research has failed to provide sufficient evidence for the existence of the Pepsi Paradox. In fact, there does not even seem to be a consistent taste preference for either beverage in the reviewed studies.
The association of Social Anxiety Disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder and reproduction: Results from four nationally representative samples of adults in the USA
Description:
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) are highly prevalent and frequently co-occur. The results of population studies suggest that SAD tends to precede AUD, and the results of laboratory studies suggest that alcohol use facilitates social behaviors in socially anxious individuals. Therefore, we posited that, in a modern context, a tendency to consume alcohol may be positively selected for among socially anxious individuals by its effect on the likelihood of finding a partner and reproducing. We tested the hypothesis that a higher proportion of individuals with a lifetime diagnosis of SAD and AUD reproduce (i.e., have at least one child) relative to individuals with SAD absent AUD in an individual participant meta-analysis based on over 65,000 adults derived from four nationally representative cross-sectional samples. We then cross-validated these findings against the results of a 10-year follow up of one of these surveys. Lifetime history of SAD was not associated with reproduction whereas lifetime history of AUD was positively associated with reproduction. There was no statistically detectable difference in the proportion of individuals with a lifetime history of SAD with or without AUD who reproduced. There was considerable heterogeneity in all of the analyses involving SAD, suggesting that there are likely to be other pertinent variables relating to SAD and reproduction that should be delineated.
Description:
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) are highly prevalent and frequently co-occur. The results of population studies suggest that SAD tends to precede AUD, and the results of laboratory studies suggest that alcohol use facilitates social behaviors in socially anxious individuals. Therefore, we posited that, in a modern context, a tendency to consume alcohol may be positively selected for among socially anxious individuals by its effect on the likelihood of finding a partner and reproducing. We tested the hypothesis that a higher proportion of individuals with a lifetime diagnosis of SAD and AUD reproduce (i.e., have at least one child) relative to individuals with SAD absent AUD in an individual participant meta-analysis based on over 65,000 adults derived from four nationally representative cross-sectional samples. We then cross-validated these findings against the results of a 10-year follow up of one of these surveys. Lifetime history of SAD was not associated with reproduction whereas lifetime history of AUD was positively associated with reproduction. There was no statistically detectable difference in the proportion of individuals with a lifetime history of SAD with or without AUD who reproduced. There was considerable heterogeneity in all of the analyses involving SAD, suggesting that there are likely to be other pertinent variables relating to SAD and reproduction that should be delineated.
Description:
Cognitive models of anxiety and depression have long suggested a central role for future-oriented thinking in these disorders. Experimental studies suggest that anxiety and depression are characterised by distinct future-oriented thinking profiles, and that these profiles are markedly different from those of asymptomatic adults. In this paper, we review these profiles and propose two explanatory models marked by two different neurocognitive systems. The Reconstructive Memory Model emphasises a role for emotionally driven learning and retrieval in episodic foresight (i.e., the construction of future-oriented scenarios), and the Valuation Model proposes that an overweighing of risk and uncertainty estimates can be invoked to explain the future-oriented thought patterns. We consider the effectiveness of interventions aimed at altering such thought patterns. We suggest that future research aimed at elucidating the neurobiological underpinnings of future-oriented thinking in anxiety and depression can play an important role in advancing development of effective biological and psychosocial interventions for these disorders.
Description:
Affective forecasting refers to the capacity to predict future feelings. Humans have been found to exhibit systematic affective forecasting biases that involve overestimation of the intensity and duration of future feelings. Although recent research has elucidated the proximate mechanisms underlying our ability to predict future feelings, explanations concerning the potential adaptive significance of these biases have attracted little attention. Here we consider the function of affective forecasts as signals of biological value, drivers of goal pursuit, and tools for eliciting collaboration. Although affective forecasting biases can have significant costs, for instance in terms of one's pursuit of happiness, they may ultimately serve adaptive functions.