Fifty years ago, in a trenchant analysis that challenged applied lie detection theory and science, David Lykken (1974) brought polygraphic interrogation methods to the attention of academia with the ...hope that these techniques would come under the purview of psychology and psychophysiology. In this perspective, I examine how this application of psychophysiology has evolved over the last half century and how its status has changed for 1) the comparison (control) question test (CQT), used in forensic applications; 2) polygraph screening tests, used to evaluate examinee integrity; and 3) the concealed information technique (CIT), used to assess recognition memory of crime details. The criticisms of the CQT and screening tests advanced by Lykken have been amplified and focused by the academic community over the last half century. However, this has had little effect on how these methods are practiced and has not curtailed their use. Although most private sector employee screening tests are now prohibited, personnel screening of government employees has increased, and screening tests of sex offenders are now commonplace. Even though the CIT has captured the interest of psychophysiologists as a scientifically defensible technique, its field use is negligible. A primary purpose of polygraphic interrogations continues to be the extraction of admissions and confessions. The lack of change in the polygraph testing status quo stems in large part from unwavering government support for the use of these methods. As a result, polygraph theory and research support continues to rest on shaky ground while practice continues unfettered by valid criticism.
•Fifty years of research has not significantly improved lie detection practices.•Concerns persist that the comparison question test has a high false positive rate.•Despite their promise, concealed information tests are seldom used.•Polygraph screening of government employees and sex offenders has increased.•Government promotion of the lie detector industry helps to insulate it from criticism.
Endophenotypes, quantitative neurobehavioral traits that index genetic susceptibility for a psychiatric disorder, have been examined in thousands of studies. Nevertheless, they have underexploited ...potential to provide etiological insights into prognosis, how psychopathology develops, the etiology of comorbidity, and the mechanisms of gene function.
Impact of adolescent marijuana use on intelligence Jackson, Nicholas J.; Isen, Joshua D.; Khoddam, Rubin ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
02/2016, Letnik:
113, Številka:
5
Journal Article
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Marijuana is one of the most commonly used drugs in the United States, and use during adolescence—when the brain is still developing—has been proposed as a cause of poorer neurocognitive outcome. ...Nonetheless, research on this topic is scarce and often shows conflicting results, with some studies showing detrimental effects of marijuana use on cognitive functioning and others showing no significant long-term effects. The purpose of the present study was to examine the associations of marijuana use with changes in intellectual performance in two longitudinal studies of adolescent twins (n = 789 and n = 2,277). We used a quasiexperimental approach to adjust for participants’ family background characteristics and genetic propensities, helping us to assess the causal nature of any potential associations. Standardized measures of intelligence were administered at ages 9–12 y, before marijuana involvement, and again at ages 17–20 y. Marijuana use was self-reported at the time of each cognitive assessment as well as during the intervening period. Marijuana users had lower test scores relative to nonusers and showed a significant decline in crystallized intelligence between preadolescence and late adolescence. However, there was no evidence of a dose–response relationship between frequency of use and intelligence quotient (IQ) change. Furthermore, marijuana-using twins failed to show significantly greater IQ decline relative to their abstinent siblings. Evidence from these two samples suggests that observed declines in measured IQ may not be a direct result of marijuana exposure but rather attributable to familial factors that underlie both marijuana initiation and low intellectual attainment
Risk for recurrence in depression Burcusa, Stephanie L.; Iacono, William G.
Clinical psychology review,
12/2007, Letnik:
27, Številka:
8
Journal Article
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Depression is a highly recurrent disorder with significant personal and public health consequences. Prevention of recurrence would be extremely desirable, and thus researchers have begun to identify ...risk factors that are specific to recurrence, which may be different from risk factors for first onset of depression. Methodological issues in this area of research are briefly reviewed (e.g., the various definitions of “recurrence” and “depression”), followed by a review of studies on specific risk factors, including demographic variables (gender, socio-economic status, and marital status), clinical variables (age at first onset, number of prior episodes, severity of first/index episode, and comorbid psychopathology), family history of psychopathology, and psychosocial and psychological variables (level of psychosocial functioning, cognitions, personality, social support, and stressful life events). In addition, scar theories are evaluated for their potential to explain how these variables and recurrent depression are linked. Our review suggests that recurrent depression reflects an underlying vulnerability that is largely genetic in nature and that may predispose those high in the vulnerability not only to recurrent depressive episodes, but also to the significant psychosocial risk factors that often accompany recurrent depression.
While the P3 component during target detection and novelty processing has been widely studied, less is known about its underlying network dynamics. A recent cognitive model suggests that ...frontal‐parietal and frontal‐temporal interregional connectivity are related to attention/action selection and target‐related memory updating during the P3, respectively, but empirical work testing this model is lacking. Other work suggests the importance of theta‐ and delta‐band connectivity between the medial frontal cortex and distributed cortical regions during attention, stimulus detection, and response selection processes, and similar dynamics may underlie P3‐related network connectivity. The present study evaluated the functional connectivity elicited during a visual task, which combined oddball target and novelty stimuli, in a sample of 231 same‐sex twins. It was hypothesized that both target and novel conditions would involve theta frontoparietal connectivity and medial frontal theta power, but that target stimuli would elicit the strongest frontotemporal connectivity. EEG time‐frequency analysis revealed greater theta‐band frontoparietal connectivity and medial frontal power during both target and novel conditions compared to standards, which may index conflict/uncertainty resolution processes. Theta‐band frontotemporal connectivity was maximal during the target condition, potentially reflecting context updating or stimulus‐response activation. Delta‐band frontocentral‐parietal connectivity was also strongest following targets, which may be sensitive to response‐related demands. These results suggest the existence of functional networks related to P3 that are differentially engaged by target oddballs and novel distractors. Compared to simple P3 amplitude, network measures may provide a more nuanced view of the neural dynamics during target detection/novelty processing in normative and pathological populations.
Fifteen years have elapsed since a report was released by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on the scientific status of polygraph testing. The NAS report concluded that the scientific basis of ...the comparison question technique (CQT) was weak, the extant research was of low quality, the polygraph profession's claims for the high accuracy of the CQT were unfounded, and, although the CQT has greater than chance accuracy, its error rate is unknown. Polygraph proponents argue that current research indicates that the CQT has 90% or better accuracy, the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences' (2003) analysis supports this accuracy claim, and the CQT qualifies as legally admissible scientific evidence. We review the scientific literature that has appeared since the appearance of the NAS publication, including a new method for estimating polygraph accuracy. We show that the NAS report has been misrepresented and misinterpreted by those who support use of the CQT in forensic settings. We conclude that the quality of research has changed little in the years elapsing since the release of the NAS report, and that the report's landmark conclusions still stand.
Public Significance Statement
Lie detection tests have profound life-altering consequences ranging from public perceptions of an examinee's credibility and integrity to effects on job security and possible incarceration. In 2003, the National Academy of Sciences concluded that polygraph testing had a weak scientific basis and unknown error rate. Analysis of research conducted over the last 15 years indicates that these conclusions remain valid. As polygraph tests are routinely used by law enforcement agencies in North America and other countries, it is vital that the public be aware of their shortcomings.
The authors used an adoption study design to investigate environmental influences on risk for psychopathology in adolescents with depressed parents.
Participants were 568 adopted adolescents ...ascertained through large adoption agencies, 416 nonadopted adolescents ascertained through birth records, and their parents. Clinical interviews with parents and adolescents were used to determine lifetime DSM-IV-TR diagnoses of major depressive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and substance use disorders in adolescents and major depression in mothers and fathers. Effects of parental depression (either parent with major depression, maternal major depression, and paternal major depression) on adolescent psychopathology were tested in nonadopted and adopted adolescents separately, and interactive effects of parental depression and adoption status were tested.
Either parent having major depression and a mother having major depression were associated with a significantly greater risk for major depression and disruptive behavior disorders in both nonadopted and adopted adolescents. Paternal depression did not have a main effect on any psychiatric disorder in adolescents and, with one exception (ADHD in adopted adolescents), did not predict significantly greater likelihoods of disorders in either nonadopted or adopted adolescents.
Maternal depression was an environmental liability for lifetime diagnoses of major depression and disruptive disorders in adolescents. Paternal depression was not associated with an increased risk for psychopathology in adolescents.
Genotype imputation is a key component of genetic association studies, where it increases power, facilitates meta-analysis, and aids interpretation of signals. Genotype imputation is computationally ...demanding and, with current tools, typically requires access to a high-performance computing cluster and to a reference panel of sequenced genomes. Here we describe improvements to imputation machinery that reduce computational requirements by more than an order of magnitude with no loss of accuracy in comparison to standard imputation tools. We also describe a new web-based service for imputation that facilitates access to new reference panels and greatly improves user experience and productivity.
Recent scientific initiatives have called for increased use of neurobiological variables in clinical and other applied assessments. However, the task of incorporating neural measures into ...psychological assessments entails significant methodological challenges that have not been effectively addressed to date. As a result, neurophysiological measures remain underutilized in clinical and applied assessments, and formal procedures for integrating such measures with report-based measures are lacking. In this article, we discuss major methodological issues that have impeded progress in this direction, and propose a systematic research strategy for integrating neurophysiological measures into psychological assessment protocols. The strategy we propose is an iterative psychoneurometric approach that provides a means to establish multimethod (MM) measurement models for core biobehavioral traits that influence functioning across diverse areas of life. We provide a detailed illustration of a MM model for one such trait, inhibitory control (inhibition-disinhibition), and highlight work being done to develop counterpart models for other biobehavioral traits (i.e., threat sensitivity, reward sensitivity, affiliative capacity). We discuss how these measurement models can be refined and extended through use of already existing data sets, and outline steps that can be taken to establish norms for MM assessments and optimize the feasibility of their use in everyday practice. We believe this model-oriented strategy can provide a viable pathway toward effective use of neurophysiological measures in routine clinical assessments.
Public Significance Statement
Neurobiological factors are important for understanding mental health problems, but neural measures remain underused in clinical assessments. We discuss methodological issues contributing to this lack of use, and propose a systematic research strategy for integrating neurophysiological measures into psychological assessment protocols.
Subclinical adolescent alcohol use is highly prevalent and may have deleterious effects on important psychosocial and brain outcomes. Prior research has focused on identifying endophenotypes of ...pathological drinking, and the predictors of normative drinking remain understudied. This study investigated the incremental predictive value of two potential psychophysiological endophenotypes, P3 amplitude (an index of decision making) and midfrontal theta power (a correlate of attentional control), for prospectively predicting the expression and initiation of alcohol use emerging in adolescence.
A large (N = 594) epidemiological sample was prospectively assessed at ages 11/14/17. Alcohol/substance use was assessed at all ages via a computerized self-report inventory. EEG was recorded at age-14 during a visual oddball task to elicit P3 and theta.
Reduced target-related P3 and theta at age-14 prospectively predicted drinking at age-17 independent of one another. Among alcohol-naive individuals at age-14, attenuated P3 and theta increased the odds of new-onset alcohol behaviors 3 years later. Importantly, the endophenotypes provided significant incremental predictive power of future non-clinical alcohol use beyond relevant risk factors (prior alcohol use; tobacco/illicit drug initiation; parental alcohol use disorder).
The current report is the first of our knowledge to demonstrate that deviations in parietal P3 and midfrontal theta prospectively predict the emergence of normative/non-pathological drinking. P3 and theta provide modest yet significant explanatory variance beyond prominent self-report and familial risk measures. Findings offer strong evidence supporting the predictive utility of P3 and theta as candidate endophenotypes for adolescent drinking.
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