Michelle Heron-Delaney

Perceptual Training Prevents the Emergence of the Other Race Effect during Infancy

Experience plays a crucial role in the development of the face processing system. At 6 months of age infants can discriminate individual faces from their own and other races. By 9 months of age this ability to process other-race faces is typically lost, due to minimal experience with other-race faces, and vast exposure to own-race faces, for which infants come to manifest expertise [1]. This is known as the Other Race Effect. In the current study, we demonstrate that exposing Caucasian infants to Chinese faces through perceptual training via picture books for a total of one hour between 6 and 9 months allows Caucasian infants to maintain the ability to discriminate Chinese faces at 9 months of age. The development of the processing of face race can be modified by training, highlighting the importance of early experience in shaping the face representation.

A systematic review of predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for adult road traffic crash survivors

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common psychological consequences for adult road traffic crash (RTC) survivors and can have serious and long-lasting consequences for recovery if left untreated. Prevalence rates of PTSD following a RTC vary from 6% to 45% (based on 51 prevalence estimates across 35 studies). Explanations for this wide variance are explored. A systematic review of published studies found 49 papers (44 unique studies) investigating predictors of later PTSD in RTC survivors. Consistent predictors of PTSD include rumination about the trauma, perceived threat to life, a lack of social support, higher Acute Stress Disorder symptom severity, persistent physical problems, previous emotional problems, previous anxiety disorder and involvement in litigation/compensation. Moderate predictors of PTSD are discussed, as well as factors, which consistently do not predict PTSD in RTC survivors. The results inform future models of post-RTC traumatic stress aetiology.

Developing expertise in human body perception

Adults see the human body shape in all manner of stimuli, including highly abstract stick figures that barely specify the human body configuration and point-light displays (PLDs) that specify only the characteristic motion patterns of the human form. This capacity to quickly and effortlessly perceive the human form reflects our expertise at visually processing human bodies. In this chapter we will argue that expertise in perceiving bodies occurs by virtue of their ubiquity and social significance, not because of any kind of innate representation or privileged learning mechanism. We are claiming this because it is initially stimulus-dependent becoming more and more generalisable over time in a typical learning trajectory.

Effect of Mental Health on Long-Term Disability After a Road Traffic Crash: Results From the UQ SuPPORT Study

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relation between mental health and disability after a road traffic crash (RTC) up to 24 months for claimants with predominantly minor injuries in an Australian sample. DESIGN Longitudinal cohort study with survey and telephone interview data collected at approximately 6, 12, and 24 months post-RTC. SETTING Not applicable. PARTICIPANTS Claimants (N=382) within a common-law, fault-based compulsory third-party motor accident insurance scheme in Queensland, Australia, consented to participate when invited and were approached at each wave. Retention was high (65%) at 2-year follow-up. Disability scores from at least 1 wave were known for 363 participants, with the mean age of participants being 48.4 years and 62% being women. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Self-reported disability (via the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2). RESULTS Participants reported higher disability (mean, 10.9±9.3) compared with the Australian norms (mean, 3.1±5.3). A multilevel regression analysis found that predictors of disability included present diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, or depression, mental health history, perceived threat to life, and pain. PTSD moderated the relation between age and disability such that older age predicted higher disability in the PTSD group only, whereas anxiety moderated the relation between expectation to return to work and disability such that those with low expectations and anxiety reported significantly higher disability. CONCLUSIONS Claimants with predominantly minor physical injuries report high disability, particularly when comorbid psychiatric disorders are present, pain is high, and expectations regarding return to work are low. Developing tools for detecting those at risk of poor recovery after an RTC is necessary for informing policy and practice in injury management and postinjury rehabilitation.

The effect of mental health on long-term health-related quality of life following a road traffic crash: results from the UQ SuPPORT study

BACKGROUND Most research on the consequences of road traffic crashes (RTCs) has focused on serious injury cohorts, yet RTC survivors with minor injury are also affected. This study investigates the relationship between mental health and health-related quality of life (QoL) following an RTC for those with predominately minor injuries. METHODS A longitudinal cohort design with an opt-in consenting procedure was used. A letter of invitation was sent to 3146 claimants within the Compulsory Third Party (CTP) motor vehicle insurance scheme in Queensland, Australia, with a total of 382 (12%) responding to the invitation and consenting to participate in the study. Retention was high (65%) at 24 months. Survey and telephone interview data were collected at approximately 6, 12 and 24 months post-RTC. Health-related QoL (SF-36 v2) data from at least one wave was known for 343 participants. The sample was predominantly female (62%), with an average age of 48.6 years. RESULTS Participants consistently reported physical and mental health-related QoL below Australian norms. A multilevel regression analysis found overall physical health-related QoL improved with higher expectations of returning to work, but was lower with age, increasing pain, expectations of persistent pain, heightened perceived threat to life, and the presence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Major Depressive Episode (MDE). Overall, mental health-related QoL did not improve with time, was higher with increased social support and expectations of returning to work, but was lower with increasing pain and the presence of PTSD, MDE or Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Contrary to expectations, lower injury severity was related to poorer mental health-related QoL. CONCLUSIONS Individuals with predominately minor RTC-related injuries have poor physical and mental health-related QoL, particularly when pain levels are high and comorbid psychiatric disorders are present. Of particular concern is that the low levels of reported health-related QoL do not appear to improve by 2 years post-RTC. The potential risk factors found in this study may be useful indicators for early identification and enhanced rehabilitation of those at risk of poor recovery.

Nine-month-old infants prefer unattractive bodies over attractive bodies

Infant responses to adult-defined unattractive male body shapes versus attractive male body shapes were assessed using visual preference and habituation procedures. Looking behavior indicated that 9-month-olds have a preference for unattractive male body shapes over attractive ones; however, this preference is demonstrated only when head information is obscured. In contrast, 6- and 3.5-month-olds did not show a preference for unattractive or attractive bodies. The 6-month-olds discriminated between the two categories, whereas the 3.5-month-olds did not. Because unattractive body shapes are more common than attractive/athletic body shapes in our everyday environment, a preference for unattractive body shapes at 9 months of age suggests that preferences for particular human body shapes reflect level of exposure and familiarity rather than culturally defined stereotypes of body attractiveness.

An adult face bias in infants that is modulated by face race

The visual preferences of infants for adult versus infant faces were investigated. Caucasian 3.5- and 6-month-olds were presented with Caucasian adult vs. infant face pairs and Asian adult vs. infant face pairs, in both upright and inverted orientations. Both age groups showed a visual preference for upright adult over infant faces when the faces were Caucasian, but not when they were Asian. The preference is unlikely to have arisen because of low-level perceptual features because: (1) no preference was observed for the inverted stimuli, (2) no differences were observed in adult similarity ratings of the upright infant–adult face pairs from the two races, and (3) no differences between the infant and adult faces were observed across races in an image-based analysis of salience. The findings are discussed in terms of the social attributes of faces that are learned from experience and what this implies for developmental accounts of a recognition advantage for adult faces in particular and models of face processing more generally.

The cognitive foundations of early arithmetic skills: It is counting and number judgment, but not finger gnosis, that count.

Following on from ideas developed by Gerstmann, a body of work has suggested that impairments in finger gnosis may be causally related to childrens difficulties in learning arithmetic. We report a study with a large sample of typically developing children (N=197) in which we assessed finger gnosis and arithmetic along with a range of other relevant cognitive predictors of arithmetic skills (vocabulary, counting, and symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude judgments). Contrary to some earlier claims, we found no meaningful association between finger gnosis and arithmetic skills. Counting and symbolic magnitude comparison were, however, powerful predictors of arithmetic skills, replicating a number of earlier findings. Our findings seriously question theories that posit either a simple association or a causal connection between finger gnosis and the development of arithmetic skills.

Development of category formation for faces differing by age in 9‐ to 12‐month‐olds: An effect of experience with infant faces

We examined category formation for faces differing in age in 9- and 12-month-olds, and the influence of exposure to infant faces on such ability. Infants were familiarized with adult or infant faces, and then tested with a novel exemplar from the familiarized category paired with a novel exemplar from a novel category (Experiment 1). Both age groups formed discrete categories of adult and infant faces, but exposure to infant faces in everyday life did not modulate performance. The same task was conducted with child versus infant faces (Experiment 2). Whereas 9-month-olds preferred infant faces after familiarization with child faces, but not child faces after familiarization with infant faces, 12-month-olds formed discrete categories of child and infant faces. Moreover, more exposure to infant faces correlated with higher novel category preference scores when infants were familiarized with infant faces in 12-month-olds, but not 9-month-olds. The 9-month-old asymmetry did not reflect spontaneous preference for infant over child faces (Experiment 3). These findings indicate that 9- and 12-month-olds can form age-based categories of faces. The ability of 12-month-olds to form separate child and infant categories suggests that they have a more exclusive representation of face age, one that may be influenced by prior experience with infant faces.

Changing patterns in the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive episode and generalized anxiety disorder over 24 months following a road traffic crash: Results from the UQ SuPPORT study

OBJECTIVE To examine the prevalence and changing patterns of PTSD, major depressive episode (MDE), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in adult claimants who sustained a non-catastrophic injury in a road traffic crash (RTC) in Queensland, Australia. METHOD Participants (N = 284) were assessed at approximately 6, 12, and 24 months post-RTC using the composite international diagnostic interview (CIDI) modules for PTSD, and CIDI-short form for MDE, and GAD. RESULTS The prevalence of at least one of these disorders was 48.2%, 52.5%, and 49.3%, at 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. Comorbidity was common (20.8% at 6 months, 27.1% at 12 months, and 21.1% at 24 months) and only 33.1% of participants never met PTSD, GAD, or MDE criteria. A substantial proportion of participants (42.3%) had an unstable diagnostic pattern over time. Participants with multiple diagnoses at 6 months were more likely to continue to meet diagnostic criteria for any disorder at 12 and 24 months than participants with a single diagnosis. Participants with PTSD (with or without MDE/GAD) were more likely to meet criteria for any disorder at 24 months than participants with another diagnosis. Preinjury psychiatric history increased the likelihood of any disorder at 24 months post-injury, but did not significantly increase the likelihood of PTSD. CONCLUSIONS People injured in a RTC are at risk of having complex psychological presentations over time. Interventions to prevent mental disorders, especially PTSD, in the early post-injury period are needed to prevent chronic psychological injury, including consideration of comorbidity and dynamic course.