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Schweizer S, Leung JT, Trender W, Kievit R, Hampshire A, Blakemore SJ. Changes in affective control covary with changes in mental health difficulties following affective control training (AffeCT) in adolescents. Psychol Med 2024; 54:539-547. [PMID: 37609895 PMCID: PMC7615678 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723002167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Everyday affective fluctuations are more extreme and more frequent in adolescence compared to any other time in development. Successful regulation of these affective experiences is important for good mental health and has been proposed to depend on affective control. The present study examined whether improving affective control through a computerised affective control training app (AffeCT) would benefit adolescent mental health. METHODS One-hundred and ninety-nine participants (11-19 years) were assigned to complete 2 weeks of AffeCT or placebo training on an app. Affective control (i.e. affective inhibition, affective updating and affective shifting), mental health and emotion regulation were assessed at pre- and post-training. Mental health and emotion regulation were assessed again one month and one year later. RESULTS Compared with the placebo group, the AffeCT group showed significantly greater improvements in affective control on the trained measure. AffeCT did not, relative to placebo, lead to better performance on untrained measures of affective control. Pre- to post-training change in affective control covaried with pre- to post-training change in mental health problems in the AffeCT but not the placebo group. These mental health benefits of AffeCT were only observed immediately following training and did not extend to 1 month or year post-training. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the study provides preliminary evidence that AffeCT may confer short-term preventative benefits for adolescent mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Schweizer
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England
| | - Jovita T Leung
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, England
| | - William Trender
- Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, England
| | - Rogier Kievit
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Adam Hampshire
- Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, England
| | - Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, England
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McGuire R, Halligan SL, Schweizer S, Leung JT, Hiller RM. Cognitive and affective control for adolescents in care versus their peers: implications for mental health. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 2023; 17:128. [PMID: 37946284 PMCID: PMC10636895 DOI: 10.1186/s13034-023-00668-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many adolescents who have been removed from the care of their biological parent(s) and placed in State or Local Authority care have experienced significant adversity, including high rates of maltreatment and other trauma(s). As a group, these young people experience far higher rates of mental health difficulties compared to their peers. While their mental health outcomes are well-documented, little is known about mechanisms that may drive this. One potential mechanism, linked to both trauma and adversity exposure and mental health, is affective control (the application of cognitive control in affective contexts). METHODS We compared cognitive and affective control in 71 adolescents (65% girls) in care aged 11-18 (M = 14.82, SD = 2.10) and 71 age and gender-matched peers aged 11-19 years (M = 14.75, SD = 1.95). We measured cognitive and affective control using standard experimental tasks, and for those in care, we also examined associations with self-reported emotion regulation, mental health, and school well-being. RESULTS After controlling for IQ, there was a significant group difference in affective control performance, with those in care on average performing worse across all tasks. However, further analyses showed this was driven by deficits in overall cognitive control ability, and was not specific to, or worsened by, affective stimuli. Further, we found no evidence that either cognitive or affective control was associated with emotion regulation abilities or the mental health and well-being of young people in care. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that cognitive and affective control may not underlie mental health for young people in care, though limitations should be considered. We discuss implications for theory and intervention development, and avenues for further research. TRIAL REGISTRATION https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QJVDA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosie McGuire
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah L Halligan
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Susanne Schweizer
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jovita T Leung
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Rachel M Hiller
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, United Kingdom
- Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom
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Leung JT, Piera Pi‐Sunyer B, Ahmed SP, Foulkes L, Griffin C, Sakhardande A, Bennett M, Dunning DL, Griffiths K, Parker J, Kuyken W, Williams JMG, Dalgleish T, Blakemore S. Susceptibility to prosocial and antisocial influence in adolescence following mindfulness training. Infant Child Dev 2023; 32:e2386. [PMID: 37035539 PMCID: PMC10078582 DOI: 10.1002/icd.2386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022]
Abstract
Mindfulness training programmes have shown to encourage prosocial behaviours and reduce antisocial tendencies in adolescents. However, less is known about whether training affects susceptibility to prosocial and antisocial influence. The current study investigated the effect of mindfulness training (compared with an active control) on self-reported prosocial and antisocial tendencies and susceptibility to prosocial and antisocial influence. 465 adolescents aged 11-16 years were randomly allocated to one of two training programmes. Pre- and post-training, participants completed a social influence task. Self-reported likelihood of engaging in prosocial and antisocial behaviours did not change post-training, and regardless of training group, participants showed a higher propensity for prosocial influence than for antisocial influence. Finally, participants were less influenced by antisocial ratings following both training programmes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jovita T. Leung
- Institute of Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | | | - Saz P. Ahmed
- Institute of Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | | | - Cait Griffin
- Institute of Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Ashok Sakhardande
- Institute of Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Marc Bennett
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences UnitUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Darren L. Dunning
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences UnitUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Kirsty Griffiths
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences UnitUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Jenna Parker
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences UnitUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Willem Kuyken
- Department of PsychiatryUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | | | - Tim Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences UnitUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
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Dunning D, Ahmed S, Foulkes L, Griffin C, Griffiths K, Leung JT, Parker J, Piera Pi-Sunyer B, Sakhardande A, Bennett M, Haag C, Montero-Marin J, Packman D, Vainre M, Watson P, Kuyken W, Williams JMG, Ukoumunne OC, Blakemore SJ, Dalgleish T. The impact of mindfulness training in early adolescence on affective executive control, and on later mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a randomised controlled trial. Evid Based Ment Health 2022; 25:ebmental-2022-300460. [PMID: 35820991 PMCID: PMC9340025 DOI: 10.1136/ebmental-2022-300460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous research suggests that mindfulness training (MT) appears effective at improving mental health in young people. MT is proposed to work through improving executive control in affectively laden contexts. However, it is unclear whether MT improves such control in young people. MT appears to mitigate mental health difficulties during periods of stress, but any mitigating effects against COVID-related difficulties remain unexamined. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether MT (intervention) versus psychoeducation (Psy-Ed; control), implemented in after-school classes: (1) Improves affective executive control; and/or (2) Mitigates negative mental health impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS A parallel randomised controlled trial (RCT) was conducted (Registration: https://osf.io/d6y9q/; Funding: Wellcome (WT104908/Z/14/Z, WT107496/Z/15/Z)). 460 students aged 11-16 years were recruited and randomised 1:1 to either MT (N=235) or Psy-Ed (N=225) and assessed preintervention and postintervention on experimental tasks and self-report inventories of affective executive control. The RCT was then extended to evaluate protective functions of MT on mental health assessed after the first UK COVID-19 lockdown. FINDINGS Results provided no evidence that the version of MT used here improved affective executive control after training or mitigated negative consequences on mental health of the COVID-19 pandemic relative to Psy-Ed. No adverse events were reported. CONCLUSIONS There is no evidence that MT improves affective control or downstream mental health of young people during stressful periods. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS We need to identify interventions that can enhance affective control and thereby young people's mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren Dunning
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - S Ahmed
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - L Foulkes
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - C Griffin
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - K Griffiths
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - J T Leung
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - J Parker
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | | | - A Sakhardande
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - M Bennett
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - C Haag
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - Jesus Montero-Marin
- Teaching, Research and Innovation Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - D Packman
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Maris Vainre
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - P Watson
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - Willem Kuyken
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - J Mark G Williams
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - Obioha C Ukoumunne
- NIHR CLAHRC South West Peninsula, University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK
| | - Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Tim Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
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Ahmed S, Foulkes L, Leung JT, Griffin C, Sakhardande A, Bennett M, Dunning DL, Griffiths K, Parker J, Kuyken W, Williams JMG, Dalgleish T, Blakemore SJ. Susceptibility to prosocial and antisocial influence in adolescence. J Adolesc 2020; 84:56-68. [PMID: 32858504 PMCID: PMC7674583 DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Adolescents are particularly susceptible to social influence and previous studies have shown that this susceptibility decreases with age. The current study used a cross-sectional experimental paradigm to investigate the effect of age and puberty on susceptibility to both prosocial and antisocial influence. Methods Participants (N = 520) aged 11–18 from London and Cambridge (United Kingdom) rated how likely they would be to engage in a prosocial (e.g. “help a classmate with their work”) or antisocial (e.g. “make fun of a classmate”) act. They were then shown the average rating (in fact fictitious) that other adolescents had given to the same question, and were then asked to rate the same behaviour again. Results Both prosocial and antisocial influence decreased linearly with age, with younger adolescents being more socially influenced when other adolescents’ ratings were more prosocial and less antisocial than their own initial rating. Both antisocial and prosocial influence significantly decreased across puberty for boys but not girls (independent of age). Conclusions These findings suggest that social influence declines with increasing maturity across adolescence. However, the exact relationship between social influence and maturity is dependent on the nature of the social influence and gender. Understanding when adolescents are most susceptible to different types of social influence, and how this might influence their social behaviour, has important implications for understanding adolescent social development.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Ahmed
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, UK.
| | - L Foulkes
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - J T Leung
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - C Griffin
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - A Sakhardande
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - M Bennett
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
| | - D L Dunning
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
| | - K Griffiths
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
| | - J Parker
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
| | - W Kuyken
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
| | - J M G Williams
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
| | - T Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
| | - S J Blakemore
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, UK; Department of Psychology, Downing Street, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
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Schweizer S, Parker J, Leung JT, Griffin C, Blakemore SJ. Age-related differences in affective control and its association with mental health difficulties. Dev Psychopathol 2020; 32:329-341. [PMID: 30907719 PMCID: PMC6982534 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579419000099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Revised: 12/05/2018] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Difficulties in regulating affect are core characteristics of a wide range of mental health conditions and are associated with deficits in cognitive control, particularly in affective contexts, affective control. The current study explored how affective control relates to mental health over the course of adolescence. We developed an Affective Control Task, which was administered to young adolescents (11-14 years; n = 29); mid-adolescents (15-18 years; n = 31), and adults (22-30 years; n = 31). The task required individuals to sort cards according to continuously changing rules: color, number, or item type. There was a neutral condition in which items were shapes, and an affective condition, in which items were emotional facial expressions. Better affective control was associated with fewer mental health difficulties (p < .001, R2 = .15). Affective control partially accounted for the association between age group and mental health problems, z = 2.61, p = .009, Akaike information criterion = 484, with the association being strongest in young adolescents, r (27) = -.44, p = .018. Affective control further accounted for variance in the association between self-reported (but not experimental) emotion regulation and mental health (z = -3.44, p < .001, Akaike information criterion = 440). Poor affective control, especially in young adolescents, is associated with more mental health problems and higher levels of emotion regulation difficulties. Improving affective control therefore may constitute a promising target for prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Schweizer
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jenna Parker
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jovita T. Leung
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Cait Griffin
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
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Schweizer S, Leung JT, Kievit R, Speekenbrink M, Trender W, Hampshire A, Blakemore SJ. Protocol for an app-based affective control training for adolescents: proof-of-principle double-blind randomized controlled trial. Wellcome Open Res 2019; 4:91. [PMID: 31289755 PMCID: PMC6600858 DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15229.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 03/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: 75% of all mental health problems have their onset before the end of adolescence. Therefore, adolescence may be a particularly sensitive time period for preventing mental health problems. Affective control, the capacity to engage with goal relevant and inhibit distracting information in affective contexts, has been proposed as a potential target for prevention. In this study, we will explore the impact of improving adolescents' affective control capacity on their mental health. Methods: The proof-of-principle double-blind randomized controlled trial will compare the effectiveness of an app-based affective control training (AffeCT) to a placebo training (P-Training) app. In total, 200 (~50% females) adolescents (11-19 years) will train for 14 days on their training app. The AffeCT will include three different n-back tasks: visuospatial, auditory and dual (i.e., including both modalities). These tasks require participants to flexibly engage and disengage with affective and neutral stimuli (i.e., faces and words). The P-Training will present participants with a perceptual matching task. The three versions of the P-Training tasks vary in the stimuli included (i.e., shapes, words and faces). The two training groups will be compared on gains in affective control, mental health, emotion regulation and self-regulation, immediately after training, one month and one year after training. Discussion: If, as predicted, the proposed study finds that AffeCT successfully improves affective control in adolescents, there would be significant potential benefits to adolescent mental health. As a free app, the training would also be scalable and easy to disseminate across a wide range of settings. Trial registration: The trial was registered on December 10th 2018 with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (Registration number: ISRCTN17213032).
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Schweizer
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jovita T. Leung
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Rogier Kievit
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - William Trender
- Department of Medicine & Centre for Neurotechnology Computational, Cognitive & Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory, Imperial Collge London, London, UK
| | - Adam Hampshire
- Department of Medicine & Centre for Neurotechnology Computational, Cognitive & Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory, Imperial Collge London, London, UK
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Schweizer S, Leung JT, Kievit R, Speekenbrink M, Trender W, Hampshire A, Blakemore SJ. Protocol for an app-based affective control training for adolescents: proof-of-principle double-blind randomized controlled trial. Wellcome Open Res 2019; 4:91. [PMID: 31289755 PMCID: PMC6600858 DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15229.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: 75% of all mental health problems have their onset before the end of adolescence. Therefore, adolescence may be a particularly sensitive time period for preventing mental health problems. Affective control, the capacity to engage with goal relevant and inhibit distracting information in affective contexts, has been proposed as a potential target for prevention. In this study, we will explore the impact of improving adolescents’ affective control capacity on their mental health. Methods: The proof-of-principle double-blind randomized controlled trial will compare the effectiveness of an app-based affective control training (AffeCT) to a placebo training (P-Training) app. In total, 200 (~50% females) adolescents (11-19 years) will train for 14 days on their training app. The AffeCT will include three different
n-back tasks: visuospatial, auditory and dual (i.e., including both modalities). These tasks require participants to flexibly engage and disengage with affective and neutral stimuli (i.e., faces and words). The P-Training will present participants with a perceptual matching task. The three versions of the P-Training tasks vary in the stimuli included (i.e., shapes, words and faces). The two training groups will be compared on gains in affective control, mental health, emotion regulation and self-regulation, immediately after training, one month and one year after training. Discussion: If, as predicted, the proposed study finds that AffeCT successfully improves affective control in adolescents, there would be significant potential benefits to adolescent mental health. As a free app, the training would also be scalable and easy to disseminate across a wide range of settings. Trial registration: The trial was registered on December 10th 2018 with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (Registration number:
ISRCTN17213032).
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Schweizer
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jovita T Leung
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Rogier Kievit
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - William Trender
- Department of Medicine & Centre for Neurotechnology Computational, Cognitive & Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory, Imperial Collge London, London, UK
| | - Adam Hampshire
- Department of Medicine & Centre for Neurotechnology Computational, Cognitive & Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory, Imperial Collge London, London, UK
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Foulkes L, Leung JT, Fuhrmann D, Knoll LJ, Blakemore SJ. Age differences in the prosocial influence effect. Dev Sci 2018; 21:e12666. [PMID: 29658168 PMCID: PMC6221149 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2017] [Accepted: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Social influence occurs when an individual's thoughts or behaviours are affected by other people. There are significant age effects on susceptibility to social influence, typically a decline from childhood to adulthood. Most research has focused on negative aspects of social influence, such as peer influence on risky behaviour, particularly in adolescence. The current study investigated the impact of social influence on the reporting of prosocial behaviour (any act intended to help another person). In this study, 755 participants aged 8–59 completed a computerized task in which they rated how likely they would be to engage in a prosocial behaviour. Afterwards, they were told the average rating (in fact fictitious) that other participants had given to the same question, and then were asked to rate the same behaviour again. We found that participants' age affected the extent to which they were influenced by other people: children (8–11 years), young adolescents (12–14 years) and mid‐adolescents (15–18 years) all significantly changed their ratings, while young adults (19–25 years) and adults (26–59 years) did not. Across the three youngest age groups, children showed the most susceptibility to prosocial influence, changing their reporting of prosocial behaviour the most. The study provides evidence that younger people's increased susceptibility to social influence can have positive outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy Foulkes
- UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, London, UK.,Department of Education, University of York, York, UK
| | | | | | - Lisa J Knoll
- UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, London, UK
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Knoll LJ, Leung JT, Foulkes L, Blakemore SJ. Age-related differences in social influence on risk perception depend on the direction of influence. J Adolesc 2017; 60:53-63. [PMID: 28753485 PMCID: PMC5614112 DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2017] [Revised: 07/08/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Adolescents are particularly susceptible to social influence. Here, we investigated the effect of social influence on risk perception in 590 participants aged eight to fifty-nine-years tested in the United Kingdom. Participants rated the riskiness of everyday situations, were then informed about the rating of these situations from a (fictitious) social-influence group consisting of teenagers or adults, and then re-evaluated the situation. Our first aim was to attempt to replicate our previous finding that young adolescents are influenced more by teenagers than by adults. Second, we investigated the social-influence effect when the social-influence group's rating was more, or less, risky than the participants' own risk rating. Younger participants were more strongly influenced by teenagers than by adults, but only when teenagers rated a situation as more risky than did participants. This suggests that stereotypical characteristics of the social-influence group - risk-prone teenagers - interact with social influence on risk perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa J Knoll
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, WC1N 3AR, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Jovita T Leung
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, WC1N 3AR, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Lucy Foulkes
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, WC1N 3AR, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, WC1N 3AR, London, United Kingdom.
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Abstract
PURPOSE In Chinese societies, primary and secondary schoolchildren perform large amounts of reading and homework and thus spend long periods performing near work during their growth years. Progressive lenses, which can permit a focused retinal image at distance, intermediate, and near, without accommodation, may slow the development of myopia. This paper reports results of a 2-year longitudinal study to examine the effects of progressive lenses on myopia progression in myopic Chinese children; these children were aged between 9 and 12 years at the beginning of the study. METHODS Prestudy vision screening tests and five examinations, which included noncycloplegic refraction, were conducted at half-yearly intervals. Of those who completed the study, 32 children wore single vision (SV) lenses (the SV group) and 36 wore progressive lenses; of the latter, 22 wore a +1.50 D addition (the P1 group) and 14 wore a +2.00 D addition (the P2 group). Refractive error, corneal curvature, axial length, vitreous depth, and intraocular pressure were measured at every examination. Height was measured as an index of general growth. RESULTS Progressive lenses significantly retarded the progression of the myopia in these children. Initially, the mean refractive error of the SV group was -3.67 D, of the P1 group was -3.73 D, and of the P2 group was -3.67 D. The mean myopic progressions over the 2 years of the study were -1.23, -0.76, and -0.66 D for the SV, P1, and P2 groups, respectively. CONCLUSION Progressive lenses reduce the progression of myopia. It may be that the interaction of the progressive lenses with the accommodation system is the cause of this reduction in myopia progression because the +2.00 D addition appeared more effective than the +1.50 D addition in slowing the progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Leung
- Department of Optometry and Radiography, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom
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Abstract
Patients with carcinoma of the biliary tract have a poor prognosis because the disease is often unresectable at diagnosis. Intraluminal brachytherapy has been reported as an effective treatment for localized cholangiocarcinoma of the biliary tract. The purpose of our study was to analyse the survival of patients treated with brachytherapy and make some recommendations regarding its use. Fifteen patients underwent brachytherapy via a trans-hepatic approach at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital from 1983 to 1993. Eleven patients had low-dose rate brachytherapy and four patients had high-dose rate treatment. There were nine males and six females. The median age was 64 years. Other treatment included bypass procedures in two patients, endoscopic stents in 14 patients and external beam irradiation in one patient. The median survival was 12.5 months and 47% of the patients survived 1 year. The only complication reported was cholangitis which was seen in one patient. There did not seem to be any difference in survival or complications between low- and high-dose rate brachytherapy. We conclude that the addition of intraluminal brachytherapy after biliary drainage prolongs survival and is a safe and effective treatment, but patients still have a high rate of local failure, and further studies will be needed to address this problem.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Leung
- Adelaide Radiotherapy Centre, Australia
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Leung JT. Postoperative radiotherapy for Duke's B and C rectal cancer: Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute experience. Australas Radiol 1997; 41:223. [PMID: 9153832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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Abstract
Superficial extensive basal cell carcinoma of the head and neck region can be difficult to treat because of the large area of skin involved, and the changing contour of the head and neck region. A patient with basal cell carcinoma involving the upper chest and neck treated with mould radiotherapy is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Leung
- Adelaide Radiotherapy Centre, South Australia, Australia
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Abstract
Thymoma is a rare disorder and the treatment of invasive disease is controversial. Seventeen patients with pathologically confirmed thymoma were treated at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital between 1982 and 1993. There were two stage 1 patients, four stage 2 patients and 11 stage 3 patients. Five patients had total resection, eight patients had subtotal resection and four patients had biopsy only. All patients received radiotherapy, with the median dose being 50 Gy. The median survival was 117 months and the 5-year survival was 69%. This was influenced by stage of disease and extent of surgical resection. The local control was 76%. Three patients developed distant metastatic disease. There were insufficient numbers to determine a dose response to radiotherapy. Patients with invasive disease should continue to have postoperative radiotherapy. A brief review of the literature is made.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Leung
- Adelaide Radiotherapy Centre, South Australia, Australia
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Abstract
Splenic irradiation has been used in patients with HIV-related thrombocytopenia. This retrospective review deals with four patients treated with low dose splenic irradiation. All patients had an increase in platelet count and tolerated the treatment without side effects. However, the treatment response lasted for several months only.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Leung
- Adelaide Radiotherapy Centre, South Australia, Australia
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Abstract
Hodgkin's disease diagnosed during pregnancy poses a dilemma as there are risks of abortion and fetal malformation with the use of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. A patient with Hodgkin's disease during pregnancy treated with radiotherapy is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Leung
- Adelaide Radiotherapy Centre, South Australia
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Abstract
Patients with recurrent or locally advanced oesophageal carcinoma have a poor prognosis. Relief of dysphagia is often the goal of any further treatment. Several methods, including laser re-canalization, prosthetic intubation, dilatation, external beam irradiation (EBI) and intraluminal brachytherapy (IBT) can be used to alleviate dysphagia. In this retrospective review of 11 patients, eight with recurrent tumour and three newly diagnosed patients were treated with low dose rate IBT. Relief of dysphagia was achieved in nine patients, all of whom were able to maintain swallowing of at least a semi-solid diet until death or last follow-up. Toxicity was minimal, but survival was poor, with a median survival of only 3 months. IBT presents several advantages over other palliative methods, especially in recurrent tumours where re-treatment with EBI is often difficult because of normal tissue tolerance. Low dose rate IBT takes only 1-2 days to deliver, is highly effective, has little morbidity and the palliation achieved is relatively durable.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Leung
- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology, Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Ostlund RE, Tucker RW, Leung JT, Okun N, Williamson JR. The cytoskeleton in Chediak-Higashi syndrome fibroblasts. Blood 1980; 56:806-11. [PMID: 7426748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) trait is expressed in cultured human skin fibroblasts as an abnormal perinuclear concentration of moderately enlarged lysosomes. The cytoskeleton of CHS fibroblasts appears intact. Microtubules are normal in number and morphology, as assessed by colchicine binding studies, antitubulin immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy. Deformability by shear force is unaltered and microfilaments are abundant. However, CHS lysosomes appear to interact abnormally with the cytoskeleton, since the perinculear aggregation partially disperses after depolymerization of cell microtubules with colchicine. These results suggest that CHS is associated with a defect of either the lysosomal membrane itself or of lysosomal membrane-microtubule interaction.
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Abstract
Microtubule assembly in diploid human skin fibroblasts was studied by [3H]colchicine binding to disaggregated microtubule subunits and to total cell tubulin. Microtubule content per milligram of cell protein was critically dependent upon cell density. As cultures neared confluence, microtubules increased and total cell tubulin decreased; the percent of tubulin assembled into microtubules increased from 5.3 in spare cultures to 58.3 in confluent cultures. Microtubules disappeared with a half-time of 2 min in response to 0 degree C incubation and reformed upon rewarming. Brief treatment of intact cells with concanavalin A or cytochalasin A depolymerized microtubules to 55 or 56% of control levels. The effect of concanavalin A was prevented by alpha-methylmannoside. Fibroblast microtubule assembly was not significantly altered by cyclic nucleotides, ascorbate, glucose, insulin, medium calcium concentration, or calcium ionophore A23187.
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Abstract
Treatment of cultured rat pituitary GH3 cells with 50 mM KCl in growth medium released 33% of cell PRL and 18% of cell GH with a half-time of 5 min. Hormone in the culture medium was increased 2- to 4-fold over unstimulated levels. The response required calcium; barium and strontium, but not magnesium, could substitute for calcium. Low temperature completely inhibited hormone release, which was also reduced significantly by inhibitors of energy metabolism and by nitrogen. This acute response was similar in ionic requirements, hormones released, and time course to the acute effect of TRH. Like potassium stimulation, TRH resulted in acute release of both PRL and GH. This contrasts with the finding that chronic TRH treatment reduced GH synthesis in GH3 cells. After a 10-min preincubation with potassium, subsequent short incubations with potassium released little hormone unless the cells were allowed to recover by incubation in normal medium for at least 2 h. This acutely releasable hormone pool seems to be located in a membrane-bound subcellular fraction, since GH3 cells did not discharge the cytoplasmic marker enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase, during potassium-stimulated hormone release.
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Abstract
Myosin has been purified from the principal pancreatic islet of catfish, hog salivary gland, and hog pituitary. Use of the protease inhibitor Trasylol (FBA Pharmaceuticals, New York) was essential in the isolation of pituitary myosin. Secretory tissue myosins were very similar to smooth muscle myosin, having a heavy chain of 200,000 daltons and light chains of 14,000 and 19,000 daltons. Salivary gland myosin cross-reacted with antibodies directed toward both smooth muscle myosin and fibroblast myosin, but not with antiskeletal muscel myosin serum. The specific myosin ATPase activity measured in 0.6 M KCl was present. Tissues associated with secretion of hormone granules contained substantial amounts of this ATPase, rat pancreatic islets having 4.5 times that of rat liver. Activation of low ionic strength myosin ATPase by actin could not be demonstrated despite adequate binding of the myosin to muscle actin and elution by MgATP. The myosins were located primarily in the cytoplasm as determined by cell fractionation and were quite soluble in buffers of low ionic strength.
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Abstract
Hog anterior pituitary secretory granules sediment at 3,000 g. When rat or rabbit skeletal muscle actin filaments are present with the granules, the sedimentation decreases markedly. Depolymerized actin or viscous solutions of Ficoll and collagen have no effect on granule sedimentation. With this assay, actin filaments bind secretory granules (consisting of the proteinaceous core plus limiting membrane), secretory granule membranes, mitochondria, artificial lecithin liposomes, and styrene-butadiene microspheres, but have little or no interaction with membrane-free secretory granule cores and albumin microspheres. A secretory granule-actin complex sedimentable between 3,000 g and 25,000 g can be isolated. Metal ions, nucleotides, salts, dithiothreitol, or pretreatment of the granules with trypsin do not destroy the binding, which appears to be a lipophilic interaction.
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Sherline P, Leung JT, Kipnis DM. Binding of colchicine to purified microtubule protein. J Biol Chem 1975; 250:5481-6. [PMID: 1141240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The binding of colchicine to tubulin, purified by two cycles of assembly-disassembly, has been studied. Equilibrium studies indicated a dissociation constant which declined during incubation approaching a minimum value of approximately 0.30 times 10- minus 6 M after 13 hours of incubation. Because tubulin is unstable during prolonged incubation (t1/2 of 5.2 hours for free tubulin, t1/2 of 12.5 hours for tubulin bound to colchicine), the equilibrium Kd was felt to be an overestimation of the true Kd. The rate constant of dissociation (k-1 equal to 0.009 hour- minus 1 hour- minus 1) and the rate constant of association (k1 equal to 0.37 times 10-6 M-minus 1) were measured under conditions designed to circumvent or correct for tubulin instability. The dissociation constant determined by the ratio k-1/k1 was 0.024 times -minus 6 M. To determine whether the discrepancy between the "equilibrium" and "kinetic" determined dissociation constants could be accounted for on the basis of tubulin instability, the binding reaction was computer-simulated using the measured association and dissociation rate constants and the rate constants for decay of bound and free tubulin. Computer simulation was in close agreement with the experimentally determined behavior of the reaction during a 13-hour incubation. It is concluded that the Kd determined by equilibrium methodology results in a considerable overestimation due to the instability of tubulin, and that the best estimate for the Kd of the colchicine-tubulin equilibrium is the value determined by the ratio of the rate constants.
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