فصلنامه تازه های علوم شناختی
سال دهم شماره 4 (پیاپی 40، زمستان 1387)

The goal of current research is the assessment of cognitive emotion regulation strategies according to neuroticism and extraversion personality dimensions. To do so, 725 university male students completed the Persian version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire- Revised (EPQ-R). Then, on the basis of extreme scores in extraversion and neuroticism dimensions from the main sample, 4 groups including introvert, extravert, neurotic and emotional stable (each with 35 Ss) were selected and assessed by Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). Results indicated that neurotics in confrontation with negative experience use more self-blame, acceptance, rumination, putting into perspective, catastrophizing and other-blame strategies. Whereas, emotional stables utilize more positive refocusing and refocus on planning strategies. Prevalent strategies in extraverts were positive refocusing, putting into perspective and positive reappraisal. Whilst, introverts use more self-blame, acceptance, rumination, refocus on planning, catastrophizing and other-blame strategies. On the basis of this findings, we could claim that personality traits play an important role in choosing emotion regulation strategies and the type of emotion regulation strategies is in accordance with one dominant personality trait.

We investigated the role of children’s temperament, appraisals of interparental conflict and cognitive coping on their physical and psychosocial health. Also we examined the relationship between temperament and children’s appraisals of interparental conflict and cognitive coping. We used relatively stratified random sampling with 413 fifth-grade school children in Tehran (220 girls and 193 boys). Mothers responded to the Child Health Questionnaire-Parent report form (CHQ-28PF), and Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised (EATQ-R) and children responded to the Children’s Perception of Interparental Conflict (CPIC) scale. The findings indicate that children’s temperament, appraisals of interparental conflict and self-blame are predictors of their physical and psychosocial health. In addition, temperament is predictor of children’s appraisals and coping. The results in the form of models of the relation between temperament and adjustment, Cognitive-Contextual Framework and risk and protective factors in developmental psychopathology, signify that children’s positive temperament as protective factor and negative appraisals, cognitive coping and negative temperament as risk factors can affect children’s physical and psychosocial health. In addition, temperament as a contextual factor can affect children’s appraisals and coping with interparental conflicts.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of perception of classroom on mathematics self-regulation through the mediation of achievement goals and mathematics self-efficacy. For this reason، 800 eleventh students (400 male, 400 female) were chosen randomly and completed a questionnaire which consists 7 sub scales. The structural modeling analysis indicated that motivational tasks and mastery evaluation had a direct and significant impact on self-regulation; and autonomy perceived had an indirect impact on self-regulation via mastery goals and self-efficacy. The mastery goals had a direct impact on self-efficacy but the relationship between performance goals and self-efficacy was not significant. The mastery goals had a direct impact on self-regulation. In general، the results indicated the direct and indirect impact of perception of classroom (through mediation of goals achievement and self-efficacy) on self –regulation.

In this research we investigated the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on enhancing student's quality of life and reducing their depression. A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design including an experimental group and a control group was used. The experimental group took part in an eight-session mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) procedure and the control group did not receive the treatment. Each MBCT session took about 1.5 – 2 hours. 150 students randomly were selected from 1000 students living in the dormitories of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Then, they all filled in BDI. Among those who scored 15 or above on BDI, 30 students were randomly selected and randomized in two groups. Both groups filled in World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL – BREF), before and after the therapy. The data were analyzed by using SPSS 11.5 for Windows and the research hypotheses were tested conducting a series of two-way ANOVAs, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation tests and an independent t-test to investigate the effect of the therapy. The results indicated that a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy enhances student's quality of life and reduces their depression. The results are in line with previous studies. Furthermore, the findings will be theoretically and methodologically discussed.

The purpose of the current study was to compare the schema content of suicidal depressed patients, non-suicidal depressed patients, and non-clinical samples. Based on schema theory (Young, Klosko & Weishaar, 2002), it was expected that schema content differences would likely be obtained on variables including defectiveness/ shame, social isolation/ alienation, vulnerability and failure. In order to evaluate these hypothese, the Young Schema Questionnaire was distributed among three different groups of participants.A total of 63 participants took part in this study, including 16 patients with Major Depressive Disorder who had recently (in the past 3 weeks) attempted suicide, 22 non-suicidal patients with Major Depressive Disorder, and 25 non-clinical participants. Group status was confirmed using the SCID and scores on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Sampling was arranged so that there was no significant difference among groups according to age, education, gender or marital status. All participants completed the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) 232-item version, and the BDI-II. The YSQ is a comprehensive measure of dysfunctional schemas, and generate scores on 18 schema dimensions in 5 domains. Data were analyzed using MANOVA and MANCOVA, with Tukey post-hoc comparisons and Bonferroni corrections, as appropriate. Findings of the current study indicated overall significant differences among groups on the YSQ schemas. Post hoc analyses indicated that the YSQ differentiated the two depressed groups from the non-clinical participants in all schemas. The two depressed groups were differentiated, however, only on dimensions of “emotional deprivation “dependence/ incompetence”, “vulnerability to harm and illness. The results of the current study are congruent with schema theory of depression, in that a number of predicted differences between suicidal and non-suicidal depressed patients were observed. The vulnerability schema appears to be a critical aspect of suicide risk in depressed patients. Results of the current study support differences in schematic cognitive structures of suicidal depressed, non-suicidal-depressed, and non-clinical sample. Further studies are necessary to confirm these findings, but the results imply that schema-focused interventions may be relevant to reducing risk of suicidal behavior in depressed patients.

It is well known that morphine influence learning and memory processes. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) which involves in rewarding, also has an important role in morphine-induced impairment of memory retention. Knowing that the cholinergic system is involved in the effects of morphine on memory, in the present study, the effects of intra-VTA injections of muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic receptor antagonists on morphine-induced memory has been investigated in rats.

A step-through passive avoidance task was used for the assessment of memory retention in male Wistar rats. Animals were bilaterally cannulated in the ventral tegmental area by stereotaxic instrument, and were recovered 1-week before behavioral testing.

Post-training subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of different doses of morphine dose dependently decreased the learning and induced amnesia. The administration of the same dose of morphine as pre-test treatment induced state-dependent learning. Pre-test intra-VTA administration of atropine (1, 2 and 3 µg/rat) alone could not affect memory retention; While, pretest intra-VTA injection of atropine 5 min before the administration of morphine (5 mg/kg) dose dependently inhibited morphine state-dependent learning. Pre-test intra-VTA microinjection of mecamylamine (1, 2 and 3 µg/rat) significantly decreased morphine state-dependent learning. Moreover, Pre-test intra-VTA administration of the higher dose of mecamylamine significantly decreased the step-through latencies, showing an amnestic effect.

The present findings indicate that the processes of learning in animals can be affected by morphine and the opioid produces state-dependent learning. Moreover, it can be concluded that inactivation of the muscarinic and nicotinic acethylcoline receptors in the VTA are involved in mediating morphine state-dependent learning.

In present study, the effects of intra-dorsal hippocampal (intra-CA1) injection of cannabinoid receptor agents on memory retrieval have been investigated in 3-days apomorphine-treated rats. Passive avoidance task of memory has been used to examine the memory retrieval, 24 h after training. Apomorphine was injected subcutaneously (S.C.), once daily for 3-days followed by 5 days free of the apomorphine before training. Post-training intra-CA1 infusions of the non-selective CB1-CB2 receptor agonist, WIN55, 212-2 (0.1, 0.25 and 0.5 µg/rat), dose-dependently shortened the step-through latency, suggesting impaired memory retrieval, whereas post-training intra-CA1 micro-injections of the selective CB1 receptor antagonist, AM251 (25, 50 and 100 ng/rat) did not affect memory retrieval. Intra-CA1 infusions of AM251 and WIN55, 212-2, two min apart, did not modify the WIN55, 212-2-induced reduction of step-through latency. However, the deleterious effect of WIN55, 212-2 (0.25 µg/rat) was completely abolished in rats previously given apomorphine (0.5 and 1 mg/kg/day, S.C.) for 3 days. This reversal of WIN55, 212-2-induced amnestic-like effect was counteracted by the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, sulpiride (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg/day×3-days, S.C.), administered 30 min before each injection of apomorphine (0.5 mg/kg/day×3-days, S.C.). The D1 receptor antagonist, SCH 23390 (0.01, 0.02, 0.07 and 0.1 mg/kg/day×3-days, S.C.), was ineffective in this respect. The results suggest that subchronic apomorphine treatement may induce dopamine D2 receptor sensitization, which in turn reversed amnesia induced by WIN55, 212-2

This study aimed to compare episodic and semantic memory in deaf and hearing students. In total, 72 deaf and hearing students from first and second grade of high school, male and female, randomly selected to be tested in this study. The tests contained verbal, subject-performed, imaginary tasks, free recall and cued recall adopted for evaluating episodic memory. The semantic memory measured by word fluency (alphabet words and semantic categories) test. Strict and lenient scoring method was used for evaluating remembrance ratio of nouns, verbs and complete sentences. The results of cued recall (verb) (P=0/0171) and alphabet words test (P=0/001) showed memory deficiency in deaf students. Surprisingly, the hearing and deaf students gained equal scores in cued recall(noun) test, semantic categories and free recall test; and, even later they showed better ability in this respect. the results indicated that the girl population showed better performance for episodic memory (P=0/0332 &P=0/001) and equal performance for semantic memory comparing with boys. Based on the results of this study, deaf people's memory deficiency is mainly in remembrance phase and if they are given contexual support (i.e. cue), they may show better performance.