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ItemHigher Trait Levels of Guilt may Protect Against Gambling, Whereas Higher State Levels Lead to Riskier Behaviour(Springer Cham, 2021-06-03)Research on the role of affect in problem gambling remains scarce to date, although it has been proposed that trait-levels of negative self-conscious emotions (SCEs) could be potential risk factors. We report two studies investigating the relationship between negative SCEs, gambling, and risky behavior. In the first study, we investigated shame, guilt and self-disgust in a group of problem-gamblers and control non-gamblers. In the second study, we investigated if experimentally manipulating state levels of guilt, using a narration-induction paradigm, in students with different levels of gambling behavior, would influence their behavior in the Balloon Analog Risk Task. We found that problem gamblers had significantly lower trait-levels of guilt when we adjusted for the influence of depression and anxiety symptoms (p = .008). Problem gamblers also exhibited lower levels of shame, but this difference seemed to be driven by guilt. Lower levels of guilt were significantly associated with higher levels of trait impulsivity (p = .004). In the second study, gamblers had higher state levels of guilt than non-gamblers at the outset, and the narration paradigm successfully induced guilt (p = .001). After the guilt induction, the group of gamblers had significantly less risky behaviour (lower number of pumps) than the group of non-gamblers (p = .021). However, this was primarily driven by an increase in risky behaviour in the non-gamblers (p = .006). Thus, overall our findings suggest that higher trait levels of guilt may act as a protective factor for gambling, whereas high state levels of guilt lead to riskier behaviour but only in people who are not gamblers.
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ItemThe moderating effect of bilingualism on lifespan cognitive development(Elsevier, 2020)A growing amount of studies have explored the possible effects of bilingual experience on cognitive processes such executive functions; the early positive findings were followed by recent studies that have failed to replicate the so-called bilingual advantage. So far, evidence remains scarce with regard to developmental cognitive trajectories through the lifespan, as a function of bilingual experience. In the present work, we analyse a relatively large (N = 326) and comprehensive set of data from Albanian-Greek bilingual and Greek monolingual children (N = 119) and adults (N = 207), who were matched on SES level, intelligence and gender. Participants were assessed with the ANT and the Simon task. Results suggest that bilingual experience moderates age-related changes in monitoring in childhood, with overall RTs negatively related to age in both language groups, yet this relationship is weaker among bilingual children. Similar findings were also observed among adults, with age and monitoring correlated among monolinguals, but not in the bilinguals. Finally, only the monolingual participants showed a significant correlation between age and resistance to interference capacity (Simon effect). In conclusion, bilingualism seems to exert a differential influence on the relationship between age, attentional monitoring and resistance to interference capacity depending on the developmental phase studied and the measures obtained.
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ItemEmotional devaluation in ignoring and forgetting as a function of adolescent development(Elsevier, 2021-05-12)We know that emotion and cognition interact to guide goal-directed behavior. Accordingly, it has recently been shown that distracting stimuli (Raymond, Fenske, & Tavassoli, 2003) and instructed to-be-forgotten items (Vivas, Marful, Panagiotidou, & Bajo, 2016) are emotionally devaluated. The devaluation by inhibition hypothesis (Raymond, Fenske, & Tavassoli, 2003) is the main theoretical explanation of these effects. However, we know little about how the cognition-emotion interplay is further modulated by development, and particularly, by changes in inhibitory control and affective processing within the adolescence period. In the present study we combined a selective attention task with faces, and a selective memory (directed forgetting paradigm) task with words, with a pleasantness evaluation task to address this question in three age groups; younger adolescents, older adolescents and young adults. Younger adolescents exhibited worse accuracy in the attention task, lower overall recognition of words in the memory task, and a smaller in magnitude directed forgetting effect in the latter, relative to the two older groups. That is, they showed less efficient inhibitory control in attention and memory selection. Despite this, all groups showed similar devaluation effects of the distractor faces and the to-be-forgotten words. Our findings do not fully support an inhibition account of such effects. Yet, they support the robustness of the forgetting devaluation effect, replicating the findings of Vivas, Marful, Panagiotidou, and Bajo (2016) with a Greek version of the task and in a bigger sample of participants.
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ItemA Neuroimaging Preparation Protocol Tailored for Autism(International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC, 2024-11-04)This paper describes the key basic elements required for a successful multi-parametric MRI data acquisition in awake children with autism. The procedure was designed by taking into account methodological challenges arising from the acquisition of Resting State fMRI (RS fMRI) data, and factors such as cost, time, and staff availability. The ultimate aim was to prepare an imaging preparation protocol with high transferability to the whole autism spectrum, adaptable for use in a multi-site research with multiple time points. As part of a randomized pharmaco-intervention study, 31 children aged 4–10 years with Neurofibromatosis 1 and autism underwent MR imaging at baseline and end of intervention. The protocol consisted of tailored habituation instructions including gradual exposure to scanner noise, a social stories booklet, positive incentive strategies, and Play Therapy support. Success rate for initial acquisition was 71% for GABA+ MR spectroscopy at either location, 87% for perfusion, and 67% for diffusion assessment, and 71% for RS fMRI. Qualitative data indicated that 84% parents found the habituation protocol helpful. Lay Summary Here we describe a protocol for brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tailored for children with ASD to help reduce stress and avoid sedation during scanning. This procedure can make advanced medical imaging more accessible and promote a better MRI experience for families of children with ASD.
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ItemRey Complex Figure Test (RCFT): Norms for the Greek older adult population( 2020-10)Background The Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT) is an integral part of every neuropsychological assessment, measuring visuoconstructional abilities in research and clinical practice. Aims Our goal was to create norms for the Greek older adults over 50 years old since there is no previous relevant study in Greece. Methods The RCFT was administered to 228 cognitively intact individuals aged 50 to 87 years (M = 64.12, SD = 8.69) with education from 3 to 23 years (M = 11.5, SD = 4.45). First, regression analyses explored the impact of demographics on RCFT performance. Afterwards, we calculated normative data using raw scores and transformed to percentile scores for RCFT Copy, Immediate recall, Delayed Recall, and Recognition tasks. Results Age and education were predictors of the Copy and Recall trials, whereas gender was not, having as the only exception the Recognition condition. Greek normative data adjusted for age and education level for the three RCFT conditions and gender for the Recognition trial are presented, as well as the relationship between the RCFT sub tasks. Discussion This is the first study measuring the RCFT norms in cognitively intact Greek older adults. Conclusions Future studies should measure the psychometric properties of RCFT in this population.