Impulse Patterns Research Articles

THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER OF ANTONY IN THE DRAMA ANTONY AND CLEOPATRABY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Literature can be analyzed from many perspectives and point of views. By using psychoanalytic approach, this paper attempts to analyze one of the Shakespearean’s characters, Antony in the drama Antony and Cleopatra. The objective is to prove whether Antony truly suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a personality disorder whose essential features are a pattern of marked impulsivity and instability of affects, interpersonal relationships, and self-image. Psychoanalysis theory is a theory developed by Sigmund Freud that enables to analyze whether a person suffers from a certain mental disease. Using those approaches, the characterization of Antony can be analyzed from his words, thoughts and other character’s opinion about him and then compared to the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and then found if they are matched. That Antony suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder can be finally proved.

Type A Behavior Pattern, Impulsiveness, Risk Propensity, and Empathy as Predictors of Dyspnea and Number of Infections in Men with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BackgroundStress and psychological factors can induce dyspnea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this study was to assess selected elements of the clinical presentation of COPD in the context of the severity of type A pattern of behavior, impulsiveness, and tendency for empathy.Material/MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study. The study group consisted of 179 men with COPD and the control group consisted of 31 healthy male smokers. In all patients, the number of infectious exacerbations over the past year, the result on the dyspnea scale (MRC), and the FEV1-to-predicted FEV1 ratio was assessed. The A pattern of behavior was measured using the Type A scale. To measure impulsivity, risk propensity, and empathy, the IVE impulsivity questionnaire was used.ResultsAn increase in the number of infectious exacerbations was associated with an increased score on the Type A scale, an increase in risk propensity, and a decrease in impulsivity score. Increased severity of dyspnea was associated with an increase in Type A behavior pattern score and an increase in the risk propensity score.ConclusionsType A behavior pattern and risk propensity are independent predictors of the number of infections in the last year and of the subjective severity of dyspnea among men with COPD and healthy male smokers.

Novelty-related behavior of young and adult dopamine transporter knockout rats: Implication for cognitive and emotional phenotypic patterns.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by a developmentally inappropriate, pervasive and persistent pattern of severe inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Despite onset in early childhood, ADHD may continue into adulthood with substantial impairment in social, academic and occupational functioning. A new animal model of this disorder was developed in rats with genetic deletion of the dopamine transporter (DAT) gene (dopamine transporter knockout rats; DAT-KO rats). We analyzed the behavior of DAT-KO rats for a deeper phenotypical characterization of this model. We first tested rats of the 3 genotypes at different ages (preadolescent, adolescent and adult), in a novelty-seeking test using a black/white box (Experiment 1). After that, we tested adult rats in a novelty-preference test using a 3-chamber apparatus with different shapes (Experiment 2). Experiment 1: as evidenced by analysis of time spent in the novel environment, adult DAT heterozygous (DAT-HET) rats show an increased curiosity-driven exploration compared with wild-type (WT) controls while DAT-KO rats did not recognize novelty. The locomotor activity data show a minimal difference between genotypes at adolescent age while the preadolescent and adult DAT-KO rats have significantly increased activity rate compared with WT and DAT-HET subjects. Experiment 2: in this case, due to more clearly evident spatial differences, time spent in novel environment was not significantly different among genotypes. During first 10 minutes, DAT-KO rats showed a decreased hyperactivity, apparently related to curiosity and attention to the new environments. In conclusion, DAT-KO rats may show some inattention while more novelty-seeking traits appear in DAT-HET rats.

Cannabinoids induce apathetic and impulsive patterns of choice through CB1 receptors and TRPV1 channels

Despite evidence from psychiatry and psychology clinics pointing to altered cognition and decision making following the consumption of cannabis, the effects of cannabis derivatives are still under dispute and the mechanisms of cannabinoid effects on cognition are not known. In this study, we used effort-based and delay-based decision tasks and showed that ACEA, a potent cannabinoid agonist induced apathetic and impulsive patterns of choice in rats in a dose-dependent manner when locally injected into the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), respectively. Pre-treatment with AM251, a selective cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor antagonist, reversed ACEA-induced impulsive and apathetic patterns of choice in doses higher than a minimally effective dose. Unlike CB1 receptor antagonist, pretreatment with capsazepine, a transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) channel antagonist, was effective only at an intermediary dose. Furthermore, capsazepine per se induced impulsivity and apathy at a high dose suggesting a basal tonic activation of TRPV1 channels that exist in the ACC and OFC to support cost-benefit decision making and to help avoid apathetic and impulsive patterns of decision making. Taken together, unlike previous reports supporting opposing roles for the CB1 receptors and TRPV1 channels in anxiety and panic behavior, our findings demonstrate a different sort of interaction between endocannabinoid and endovanilloid systems and suggest that both systems contribute to the cognitive disrupting effects of cannabinoids. Given prevalent occurrence of apathy and particularly impulsivity in psychiatric disorders, these results have significant implications for pharmacotherapy research targeting these receptors.

Reduction of frontal plane knee load caused by lateral trunk lean depends on step width

The internal knee abduction moment (KAM) in osteoarthritis is reduced by increased lateral trunk lean (TL). Mechanistically, this occurs as the Centre of Mass (COM) moves further over the stance leg. Since the size of the base of support constrains the COM, an associated increase in step width (SW) would be expected to maintain stability. This study tested the effects of TL on SW and KAM in healthy participants (n = 21) who performed normal and 6° TL walks. The latter was controlled via audio-visual biofeedback. We found two distinct gait strategies in TL walk: widening the step width substantially (>50%) to permit an increase in the COM displacement (WSW, n = 13), or maintaining a baseline SW and minimally displacing the COM by moving the hip/pelvic complex in the opposite direction (NSW, n = 8). WSW doubled SW (11.3 ± 2.4 v. 24.7 ± 5.5 cm, p < .0001), NSW did not change SW (12.2 ± 2.8 v. 13.7 ± 4.7 cm, p > .05). These two distinct gait strategies resulted in unique patterns of KAM reduction across the stance phase. NSW reduced KAM impulse significantly in the initial half (0.08 ± 0.02 v. 0.06 ± 0.02, p = .04) but not in the later stance phase (0.07 ± 0.02 v. 0.07 ± 0.04, p > .05). WSW reduced KAM significantly in both initial (0.11 ± 0.03 v. 0.08 ± 0.04, p < .001) and later stance phase (0.09 ± 0.02 v. 0.06 ± 0.03, p < .001). KAM peak results followed the pattern of impulse. This study has revealed two distinct mechanisms for increasing lateral trunk lean which can be used to explain discrepancies in past research and in the future could be used to individualise gait re-training strategies.

A cross-sectional study of the relationship between blood lead levels and reported attention deficit disorder: an assessment of the economic impact on the United States.

Attention deficit disorder (ADD) is characterized by a pattern of inattention and/or impulsivity that is inconsistent with developmental level and interferes with normal functioning in at least two settings. A recent meta-analysis suggested a significant relationship between lead (Pb) exposure and attention deficit symptoms. This study evaluated the potential relationship between increasing blood Pb levels and the risk of a reported ADD diagnosis. This cross-sectional study examined a sample of 2109 persons (32,762,158 weighted-persons) between 10 and 19years-old from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES). This study analyzed demographic, socioeconomic, health related-questions, and laboratory tests using survey logistic and frequency modeling in SAS. On a microgram (μg)/deciliter (dL) basis, a significant dose-response relationship between increasing blood Pb levels and the risk of a reported ADD outcome was confirmed (odds ratio (OR) = 1.237, p = 0.0227). The relationship between increasing blood Pb levels and the risk of a reported ADD remained consistent when examining covariates such as gender, race, and socioeconomic status (OR = 1.292, p = 0.0301). Control outcomes selected on an a priori basis to not be biologically plausibly linked to blood Pb levels showed no relationship with increasing blood Pb levels. This NHANES analysis revealed an estimated 380,000 persons born in the United States (US) from 1984 to 1993 were reported to have an ADD outcome as a consequence of elevated blood Pb levels and the excess lifetime costs of these persons would be about US $100 billion. Every effort should be made to eliminate childhood Pb exposure.

Relationships of Impulsivity and Subjective Response to Alcohol Use and Related Problems.

Impulsivity and subjective response to alcohol are predictors of alcohol use disorder. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend prior research examining relationships between impulsivity and subjective response patterns. In addition, impulsivity and initial subjective response patterns were examined in relation to current heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related problems. Data were cross-sectional, retrospective self-reports, obtained from baseline assessments from five studies affiliated with the Yale Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism. Analyses were conducted in a sample restricted to nondependent, young adults (n = 186) and in a larger, more heterogeneous sample (n = 363). Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression in three separate types of models. In the young adult, nondependent sample, impulsivity was a statistically significant predictor of lower recent sedative subjective response. Impulsivity and initial sedative subjective response patterns were statistically significant predictors of past-year heavy drinking. Impulsivity, but not initial subjective response patterns, was a statistically significant predictor of past-year alcohol-related problems. Findings in the larger sample were similar. More-impulsive individuals may perceive less sedation from alcohol, which is associated with increased heavy drinking. However, higher levels of impulsivity may be more responsible than diminished subjective response for poor decision making that results in negative drinking consequences. These results suggest that high impulsivity and certain subjective response patterns are worthy intervention targets.

Periodicity induced by state feedback controls and driven by disparate dynamics of a herbivore–plankton model with cannibalism

Plankton and herbivore in aquatic ecosystems are often deeply disturbed by human exploitations in impulsive patterns. In this paper, for a herbivore–plankton interaction model with cannibalism, firstly, the complex dynamic behaviors including the number, the existence and stability of internal equilibriums, the limit and homoclinic cycles, Hopf, saddle node, Pitchfork and Bogdanov–Takens bifurcations are investigated roughly. Furthermore, multiple state feedback controls are implemented so that three order-one periodic solutions (OOPSs) and heteroclinic bifurcation driven by disparate dynamics are induced, respectively. By the method of Bendixson theorem and successor function, the existences of OOPSs are proved. Finally, for the corresponding small parameter-perturbed system, B-convergent of OOPS and homoclinic bifurcation are investigated by the variational equation and the rotated vector, respectively.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Historical Neuropsychological Perspective.

The behavior patterns of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention that would ultimately become recognized as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have been described for centuries. Nevertheless, in the past 35 years, advances in diagnostic methods, identification of biomarkers, and treatments have advanced at an exponential rate. ADHD is now recognized as the most common behavioral disorder of childhood, with risks extending well into adulthood for both males and females, leading to its identification as a significant public health issue. This historical neuropsychological review of ADHD emphasizes scientific highlights in the past 35 years related to ADHD, including the evolution of the diagnosis (from Hyperkinetic Reaction of Childhood to ADHD), influential theories (executive functions, cognitive-energetic, delay aversion), landmark treatment studies (Multimodal Treatment of ADHD [MTA] and Preschool ADHD Treatment Study [PATS]), and advances in brain mapping techniques (anatomic, functional, and resting state magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion tensor imaging). The review concludes by highlighting the challenges of studying and treating a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder like ADHD, with emphasis on associated disorders and conditions (learning disabilities, sluggish cognitive tempo), special populations (girls, preschoolers, adults), and recommendations for scientific inquiry in the next 35 years. Neuropsychologists are well positioned to address the clinical and research challenges of the next generation of studies, especially involving advances in understanding the sexual dimor.phism, full developmental course, and dynamic risks associated with ADHD. (JINS, 2017, 23, 916-929).

The Patterns of Rapid Response and Choice Impulsivity in Young Adults with Smart-Phone Addiction Tendencies

The Patterns of Rapid Response and Choice Impulsivity in Young Adults with Smart-Phone Addiction Tendencies

Predicting clinical symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder based on temporal patterns between and within intrinsic connectivity networks

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common brain disorder with high prevalence in school-age children. Previously developed machine learning-based methods have discriminated patients with ADHD from normal controls by providing label information of the disease for individuals. Inattention and impulsivity are the two most significant clinical symptoms of ADHD. However, predicting clinical symptoms (i.e., inattention and impulsivity) is a challenging task based on neuroimaging data. The goal of this study is twofold: to build predictive models for clinical symptoms of ADHD based on resting-state fMRI and to mine brain networks for predictive patterns of inattention and impulsivity. To achieve this goal, a cohort of 74 boys with ADHD and a cohort of 69 age-matched normal controls were recruited from the ADHD-200 Consortium. Both structural and resting-state fMRI images were obtained for each participant. Temporal patterns between and within intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) were applied as raw features in the predictive models. Specifically, sample entropy was taken asan intra-ICN feature, and phase synchronization (PS) was used asan inter-ICN feature. The predictive models were based on the least absolute shrinkage and selectionator operator (LASSO) algorithm. The performance of the predictive model for inattention is r=0.79 (p<10−8), and the performance of the predictive model for impulsivity is r=0.48 (p<10−8). The ICN-related predictive patterns may provide valuable information for investigating the brain network mechanisms of ADHD. In summary, the predictive models for clinical symptoms could be beneficial for personalizing ADHD medications.

Antecedentes de juego y evaluación del sistema familiar de una muestra de jóvenes jugadores patológicos

a) Fundamentación: La presencia de problemas de juego entre los adolescentes y jóvenes es un dato preocupante en distintos países. La mayoría de los estudios se han centrado en analizar características individuales, factores de personalidad y comorbilidad con otros trastornos, echándose en falta investigaciones que describan las características familiares de los jóvenes jugadores. b) Objetivos: Este estudio analiza el perfil y los antecedentes de juego de una muestra de jóvenes jugadores patológicos y compara las características del funcionamiento familiar de éstos con una muestra control. c) Metodología: diseño cuasi-experimental con contraste de medias mediante t de Student entre una submuestra de 47 jóvenes jugadores y 47 sujetos de una submuestra control; d) Resultados: Los resultados sugieren un perfil de juego con inicio adolescente a las máquinas tragaperras y juego impulsivo altamente sensible a la recompensa así como percepciones familiares con un buen nivel de funcionamiento pero en las que la adaptabilidad y la delimitación entre subsistemas parental y filial están deterioradas. Las familias de los jóvenes jugadores con antecedentes son percibidas como más creativas que las que no los tienen. e) Conclusiones: Se sugieren importantes implicaciones prácticas a partir de los recursos familiares y el cambio de juego entre los miembros.

Optimal Hybrid Magnetic Attitude Control: Disturbance Accommodation and Impulse Timing

A recently proposed hybrid attitude control scheme, which optimally combines magnetic torques with impulsive thrusting using a continuous/discrete linear quadratic regulator, is modified to accommodate disturbances. Accounting for the presence of disturbances in the design procedure, previous results on necessary conditions for optimality of impulse application times are modified accordingly. In addition, the special case of a multiorbit mission with repeating impulse patterns is considered, showing that an elegant extension of the optimality conditions would significantly reduce the computational cost by limiting the design space to only the first orbit: this extended condition is obtained by summing over all orbits within the control interval, the original conditions being computed at each repeating impulse time. Finally, numerical examples are presented, confirming the superiority of the proposed disturbance-accommodating controller in terms of steady-state performance (even when the disturbance estimates are partly incorrect) and the validity of the extended optimal timing theory in the linear region.

Encoding and presentation of surface textures using a mechanotactile display

Tactile displays can present virtual tactile sensations to the user by stimulating tactile receptors, which are distributed spatially within the skin and are classified into four types based on their characteristic temporal pattern of impulses. The mechanotactile displays can stimulate different types of the receptors selectively by changing the displacement and frequency of the skin deformation. In our previous work, we developed an array of large-displacement microactuators composed of hydraulic amplification mechanism (HDAM) and piezoelectric actuators, which is capable of stimulating all the four types of the tactile receptors. We controlled the driving parameters that were the driving voltage, vibration frequency, and actuation patterns of the actuators, and successfully presented various surface textures. However, in practical applications, the control parameters are to be tuned according to the surface textures that we want to present. In addition, the input signals to the piezoelectric actuators would consist of multiple frequency components and are difficult to create through trial and errors. To solve this inverse problem, in this work, we encoded the sample surface textures to voltage signals by sliding the sample over the HDAM and using the piezoelectric actuators as sensors. First, we attempted to reproduce the surface textures. The encoded signals were amplified to drive the mechanotactile display. The perception tests indicated that this approach was effective. Secondly, we attempted to correlate the encoded signals with hardness of the samples. The encoded signals were investigated among the samples of different hardness. In addition, we fabricated moicropatterned tactile samples that have the same physical properties except Young’s modulus to isolate hardness from other parameters. The encoded signals were compared to extract the characteristic signals to determine the hardness. These signals were used to drive the tactile display in the perception tests, which verified the effectiveness of the approach. These two approaches that were proposed and experimentally verified in this paper are readily applicable to solve the inverse problem in tactile display applications.

Is cloninger type 1 and type 2 alcoholism differ in terms of emotion regulation?

IntroductionEmotional disturbances are a central characteristic of many mental disorders, including alcohol addiction.ObjectivesIn this study we aimed to investigate the emotion disregulation among alcohol use disorders and to compare the emotion regulation difficulties with type 1 and type 2 alcoholism.MethodsThirty-three treatment-seeking AUD individuals were recruited from addiction division of psychiatry department of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University. Patients who agreed to participate in the study and completed detoxification treatment were enrolled to the study. After describing the study and obtaining informed consent, participants were assessed with demographic questionnaires (including questions such as age, gender, income status, duration of alcohol use, amount of alcohol use, duration of abstinence were given to participants) followed by the semi-structured interview. Emotion regulation was assessed with the difficulties in emotion regulation scale.ResultOf the patients, 93.9% were male. The average age of participants was 41.21 ± 12.8 years. Of the participants, 60.6% were type 1 and 39.4% of type 2. There was statistically significant difference between type 1 and type 2 alcoholism in terms of emotion regulation. Type 2 alcoholism has more emotional regulation difficulties than type 1 alcoholism. This finding may be consistent with earlier onset of having more impulsive drinking pattern in type 2.ConclusionsIn conclusion alcohol use disorders are thought to be associated with emotion dysregulation. Emotion regulation difficulties, was higher in type 2 than type 1. Emotional regulation strategies should be considered in the interventions and may be evaluated as a new prognostic criteria.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Effects of a food-specific inhibition training in individuals with binge eating disorder-findings from a randomized controlled proof-of-concept study.

Impulsivity might contribute to the development and maintenance of obesity and eating disorders. Patients suffering from binge eating disorder (BED) show an impulsive eating pattern characterized by regular binge eating episodes. Novel behavioral interventions increasing inhibitory control could improve eating behavior in BED. We piloted a novel food-specific inhibition training in individuals with BED. N = 22 BED patients according to SCID-I were randomly assigned to three sessions of a training or control condition. In both conditions, pictures of high-caloric food items were presented in peripheral vision on a computer screen while assessing gaze behavior. The training group had to suppress the urge to turn their gaze towards these pictures (i.e., to perform antisaccades). The control group was allowed to freely explore the pictures. We assessed self-reported food craving, food addiction, and wanting/liking of food pictures pre- and post-intervention. Twenty participants completed the study. The training proved to be feasible and acceptable. Patients of the training group significantly improved inhibitory control towards high-caloric food stimuli. Both groups reported a significantly lower number of binge eating episodes in the last four weeks after termination of the study. No changes were found in food craving, food addiction, liking, and wanting ratings. A food-specific inhibition training could be a useful element in the treatment of BED and other eating disorders; however, larger efficacy studies in patient samples are needed to investigate the efficacy of this and similar training approaches.

A working memory task reveals different patterns of impulsivity in male and female college students

Impulsivity is an important personality trait that affects people’s lives every day. Because of the complicated structures and various measurements of impulsivity, the conclusion that whether there were gender differences on impulsivity remained controversial. In our study, we used delay discounting and probability discounting to measure impulsive choice and employed stop signal reaction time task (SSRT) to measure impulsive action within the same subjects. No inherent gender differences were found, either on impulsive choice or on impulsive action. However, after adding a working memory (WM) task, we found an interaction between gender and WM: males made more impulsive choices in the delay discounting task, but females remained no change, and this only occurred when the reward amount was large; in the SSRT, the males showed better inhibitory control under the WM load condition, but females did not. These results demonstrate that gender difference does not exist on impulsivity biologically, but the increased working memory load could affect the gender’s sense of delay gratification and the ability of inhibitory control differently. These findings can contribute to the studies of gender differences on impulsivity and draw attention to the need for further research that gender factors should be considered more carefully when exploring the effects of working memory.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (Val66Met) and Serotonin Transporter (5-HTTLPR) Polymorphisms Modulate Plasticity in Inhibitory Control Performance Over Time but Independent of Inhibitory Control Training.

Several studies reported training-induced improvements in executive function tasks and also observed transfer to untrained tasks. However, the results are mixed and there is a large interindividual variability within and across studies. Given that training-related performance changes would require modification, growth or differentiation at the cellular and synaptic level in the brain, research on critical moderators of brain plasticity potentially explaining such changes is needed. In the present study, a pre-post-follow-up design (N = 122) and a 3-weeks training of two response inhibition tasks (Go/NoGo and Stop-Signal) was employed and genetic variation (Val66Met) in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promoting differentiation and activity-dependent synaptic plasticity was examined. Because Serotonin (5-HT) signaling and the interplay of BDNF and 5-HT are known to critically mediate brain plasticity, genetic variation in the 5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) was also addressed. The overall results show that the kind of training (i.e., adaptive vs. non-adaptive) did not evoke genotype-dependent differences. However, in the Go/NoGo task, better inhibition performance (lower commission errors) were observed for BDNF Val/Val genotype carriers compared to Met-allele ones supporting similar findings from other cognitive tasks. Additionally, a gene-gene interaction suggests a more impulsive response pattern (faster responses accompanied by higher commission error rates) in homozygous l-allele carriers relative to those with the s-allele of 5-HTTLPR. This, however, is true only in the presence of the Met-allele of BDNF, while the Val/Val genotype seems to compensate for such non-adaptive responding. Intriguingly, similar results were obtained for the Stop-Signal task. Here, differences emerged at post-testing, while no differences were observed at T1. In sum, although no genotype-dependent differences between the relevant training groups emerged suggesting no changes in the trained inhibition function, the observed genotype-dependent performance changes from pre- to post measurement may reflect rapid learning or memory effects linked to BDNF and 5-HTTLPR. In line with ample evidence on BDNF and BDNF-5-HT system interactions to induce (rapid) plasticity especially in hippocampal regions and in response to environmental demands, the findings may reflect genotype-dependent differences in the acquisition and consolidation of task-relevant information, thereby facilitating a more adaptive responding to task-specific requirements.

Impulsivity is relevant for trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms in a non-clinical population

Impulsivity is a relevant construct for explaining both normal individual differences in personality and more extreme personality disorder, and is often investigated within clinical populations. This study aims to explore the college students’ impulsivity patterns and to investigate the association across levels of impulsivity with trauma exposure and PTSD development in a non-clinical population. A one-phase census survey of seven college institutions assessed 2213 students in three metropolitan regions of Northeastern Brazil. All subjects anonymously completed a self-applied protocol consisting of: a socio-demographic questionnaire, Trauma History Questionnaire (THQ), PTSD Checklist (PCL-C), and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). The median for frequency of trauma exposure was 4 events for people with low and normal impulsivity, and 6 for highly impulsive ones. Individuals with higher impulsivity presented earlier exposition than non-impulsive ones, and worst outcome: 12.4% with PTSD, against 8.4% and 2.3% (normal and low impulsivity). Of the three factors of impulsivity, the Attentional factor conferred the strongest association with PTSD development. Results suggest that impulsivity is also a relevant trait in a non-clinical population and is associated with trauma exposure and PTSD. Strategies to promote mental health in adolescents may be pertinent, especially with the aim of managing impulsivity.

Delay and probability discounting among payday and title loan recipients

Payday and title loans are short-term loans associated with significant economic impact. Behavioral theories of impulsive choice may provide insight into behavioral processes that underlie the propensity to take out payday and title loans. Adults between the ages of 18 and 30 recruited from the community completed delay and probability discounting tasks for hypothetical money as well as measures of substance use. Patterns of discounting were characterized using a hyperbolic decay model and area under the curve. Participants who took out a payday and/or title loan in the past (n=41) exhibited more impulsive choice patterns on the delay discounting task than did those who did not (n=255). Substance use mediated this relationship between payday and title loan retention and delay discounting. These findings suggest potentially important relationships between payday/title loan borrowing, substance use, and delay discounting.