This experimental study investigated whether the trait factors of world assumptions and cognitive flexibility were predictive of levels of attentional bias to threat stimuli, memory integration, and data-driven processing.

An opportunity sample of 74 participants took part in the investigation. Participants viewed a virtual reality film to induce mild distress to mimic processes that can occur in individuals when experiencing a traumatic event. A prospective experimental design was conducted involving measurements at pre-trauma exposure (Time 1), post-exposure (Time 2) and one-week follow-up (Time 3). Self-report measures of world assumptions, cognitive flexibility, and cognitive processing were administered. Eye-tracking equipment was used to assess attentional bias towards threat images, and a free recall task to assess memory integration.

A mixed effects linear model found increased cognitive bias towards trauma-related threat images pre/post-exposure, specifically for a maintenance attentional bias. Significantly greater data-driven processing was observed post-exposure, with greater conceptually driven processing observed at one-week follow-up. No significant findings were observed for memory integration. World assumptions were predictive of increased data-driven processing; the relative use of data-driven to conceptually driven processing; and trait anxiety. Cognitive flexibility was predictive of state anxiety.

These results provide additional support for the role of maintained attention, data-driven processing, and conceptually driven processing in post-trauma reactions as per established cognitive theories of post-traumatic stress disorder. More research is required to fully explore the roles of core beliefs, assumptions and cognitive flexibility in this area.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) emerge in a significant proportion of clozapine-treated schizophrenia patients, affecting social functioning and increasing depressive symptoms. This study investigates the underexplored cognitive mechanisms of clozapine-induced OCS, particularly focusing on dysfunctional checking behavior.

Clinical and cognitive profiles of OCS and their relationship to dysfunctional checking were investigated using a novel checking paradigm (image verification task or IVT) in four groups: clozapine-treated schizophrenia patients with clozapine-induced OCS (SCZ-OCS, n = 21) and without (SCZ-only, n = 15), patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, n = 32) and IQ-matched healthy volunteers (HV, n = 30).

Only SCZ-OCS patients showed a distinctive pattern of dysfunctional checking on the IVT. Compared with SCZ-OCS, SCZ-only patients exhibited functional checking while having equivalent deficits in executive cognition, clozapine dose, and treatment duration, though with less severe positive and depressive symptoms. In SCZ-OCS, dysfunctional checking was positively correlated with clozapine dose and working memory performance. By contrast, OCD patients’ checking was positively related to intolerance of uncertainty. Checking in the OCD and SCZ-OCS groups was positively correlated with YBOCS-compulsion.

This study is the first to compare the distinct cognitive and clinical profiles of SCZ-OCS, SCZ-only, and OCD, with a focus on checking behavior, a major symptom in clozapine-treated patients. We introduced a novel and sensitive measure for checking, which showed dysfunctional checking only in SCZ-OCS patients treated with clozapine. These findings indicate that a subset of patients with schizophrenia with more severe positive symptoms and cognitive deficits are especially susceptible to OCD symptoms when treated with clozapine.

This study compared cognitive flexibility (CF) and emotion recognition (ER) in adolescents with eating disorders (ED) to a healthy group.

Forty healthy individuals aged 12–18 years with no psychiatric diagnosis and 46 patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), or binge eating disorder (BED) according to DSM-5 criteria participated. CF was assessed using the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS), Stroop Test, and Berg Card Sorting Test (BCST), while ER was evaluated using the test of perception of affect via nonverbal cues.

CFS scores were lower in the ED group compared to the control group. Neuropsychological test results indicated similar BCST perseverative error percentages among ED patients and controls. However, while the BED group demonstrated greater difficulties with inhibitory control, as shown in the Stroop Test, the BN and AN groups performed similarly to the control group. ER performance was similar across groups, although the AN subgroup exhibited heightened recognition of negative emotions, particularly disgust and fear.

This study highlights unique and shared neurocognitive patterns related to CF and ER profiles of ED patients. Despite self-reports of greater cognitive rigidity among ED patients, objective tests did not consistently confirm it. Notably, BED patients exhibited inhibitory control challenges, aligning with impulsive tendencies. ER abilities were similar to controls; however, the AN subgroup showed heightened sensitivity to certain negative emotions, such as disgust. These findings underscore the need for further research with larger, more balanced samples to explore how CF and ER vary across developmental stages and subtypes.

The present study sought to determine the associations between executive functioning and Big Five personality traits in an undergraduate sample.

Participants included 200 undergraduates (73% women), with a mean age of approximately 21 years. Participants completed the Big Five Inventory-44 and a psychological assessment battery, which included the Trail Making Test and the Semantic Fluency Test.

Results from multiple regression analyses suggested agreeableness was negatively associated with Semantic Fluency – Animals (β = −0.310, p < 0.001). Moreover, conscientiousness was positively associated with Trail Making Test B-A (β = 0.197, p = 0.016), but negatively associated with Trail Making Test A (β = −0.193, p = 0.017).

Overall results identified that executive function association with personality varies by construct. Given conscientiousness’ differential associations within the executive function task performances, future research should examine the conscientious threshold that would result in psychological symptomatology associated with extreme lows and highs in conscientiousness.

Numerous studies have shown a decrease in executive functions (EF) associated with aging. However, few investigations examined whether this decrease is similar between sexes throughout adulthood. The present study investigated if age-related decline in EF differs between men and women from early to late adulthood.

A total of 302 participants (181 women) aged between 18 and 78 years old completed four computer-based cognitive tasks at home: an arrow-based Flanker task, a letter-based Visual search task, the Trail Making Test, and the Corsi task. These tasks measured inhibition, attention, cognitive flexibility, and working memory, respectively. To investigate the potential effects of age, sex, and their interaction on specific EF and a global EF score, we divided the sample population into five age groups (i.e., 18–30, 31–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65–78) and conducted analyses of covariance (MANCOVA and ANCOVA) with education and pointing device as control variables.

Sex did not significantly affect EF performance across age groups. However, in every task, participants from the three youngest groups (< 55 y/o) outperformed the ones from the two oldest. Results from the global score also suggest that an EF decrease is distinctly noticeable from 55 years old onward.

Our results suggest that age-related decline in EF, including inhibition, attention, cognitive flexibility, and working memory, becomes apparent around the age of 55 and does not differ between sexes at any age. This study provides additional data regarding the effects of age and sex on EF across adulthood, filling a significant gap in the existing literature.

The non-selective serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor agonist lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) holds promise as a treatment for some psychiatric disorders. Psychedelic drugs such as LSD have been suggested to have therapeutic actions through their effects on learning. The behavioural effects of LSD in humans, however, remain incompletely understood. Here we examined how LSD affects probabilistic reversal learning (PRL) in healthy humans.

Healthy volunteers received intravenous LSD (75 μg in 10 mL saline) or placebo (10 mL saline) in a within-subjects design and completed a PRL task. Participants had to learn through trial and error which of three stimuli was rewarded most of the time, and these contingencies switched in a reversal phase. Computational models of reinforcement learning (RL) were fitted to the behavioural data to assess how LSD affected the updating (‘learning rates’) and deployment of value representations (‘reinforcement sensitivity’) during choice, as well as ‘stimulus stickiness’ (choice repetition irrespective of reinforcement history).

Raw data measures assessing sensitivity to immediate feedback (‘win-stay’ and ‘lose-shift’ probabilities) were unaffected, whereas LSD increased the impact of the strength of initial learning on perseveration. Computational modelling revealed that the most pronounced effect of LSD was the enhancement of the reward learning rate. The punishment learning rate was also elevated. Stimulus stickiness was decreased by LSD, reflecting heightened exploration. Reinforcement sensitivity differed by phase.

Increased RL rates suggest LSD induced a state of heightened plasticity. These results indicate a potential mechanism through which revision of maladaptive associations could occur in the clinical application of LSD.

Research is needed to explore whether cognitive flexibility may account for potential gender differences after mindfulness-based interventions.

To compare the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) versus a Mindfulness-based Emotional Regulation (MER) intervention on cognitive flexibility according to gender.

This study was carried out in a Mental Health Unit in Spain (Colmenar Viejo, Madrid). Firstly, 80 adult patients with anxiety disorders were randomized according to the score on the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (blocking factor), of whom, 64 patients decided to participate (mean age = 40.66, S.D. = 11.43; 40 females). Each intervention was weekly, during 8 weeks, guided by two Clinical Psychology residents. A 2x2x2 mixed ANOVA (pre-post change x intervention type x gender) was conducted, with Sidak-correction post hoc tests. The dependent variable was the score on TMT-B.

A natural logarithmic transformation was conducted to correct violation of normality and homoscedasticity assumptions. No statistically significant differences were observed on age or gender between interventions. No statistically significant interaction effect was observed between pre-post change x intervention x gender [F(1, 52) = .014, p = .907]. An interaction effect was observed between pre-post change x intervention [F(1, 52) = 4.180, p = .046; statistical power observed = 52%]: while TMT-B improved after ACT (p = .001; Cohen’s d = 0.607), there were no changes after MER (p = .367; Cohen’s d = 0.097).

These medium effect-size results confirm previous findings of our research team indicating cognitive flexibility improves after ACT but not after MER.

No significant relationships.

After the first case of Covid-19 was emerged in Turkey on March 11, 2020, schools were closed distance education began. On March 21, curfew was declared for people who under the age of 20. Subsequently, the date of the nationwide university exam was changed twice.

This study has two aims. The first goal was to investigate the factors that affect the test anxiety of individuals who will enter the university exam during the Covid-19 outbreak. The second aim was to investigate whether the test anxiety levels of the participants vary according to the level of cognitive flexibility and self-regulation.

The study consists of 420 (284 women, 131 men and 5 others). The age range of the participants was between 18 and 21, with the mean of 18.33. Exam Anxiety Scale, Adolescent Self-Regulation Skills Scale and Cognitive Flexibility Scale were used to collect data.

The findings indicated that women’s level of test anxiety was higher than men. Those who do have concentration issues in distance education have high level of test anxiety. Test anxiety was higher for students whose household income decreased because of the pandemic. MANOVA results revealed that individuals with low test anxiety have higher ‘self-regulation successful’ scores and lower ‘self-regulation unsuccessful’ scores. Moreover, it was yielded that people with low test anxiety have higher level of cognitive flexibility.

Protective factors such as cognitive flexibility and self-regulation play an important role in individuals’ management of test anxiety.

No significant relationships.

Research has demonstrated that greater cognitive flexibility and perspective taking skills are associated with positive outcomes throughout the lifespan. Cognitive flexibility is a core component of executive function allowing us to control goal-directed behaviour and to face new and unexpected conditions in the environment. Perspective-taking or Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the capacity to make inferences about and represent others’ point of view, mental states and intentions.

The aim of this study was to assess age-related effects on executive functions and the role of cognitive flexibility in perspective-taking skills.

Two age groups (34-44 years and 45-55 years) were compared on a task-switching paradigm the MATeM neuropsychological software (Maria Grazia Inzaghi, 2019) and all participants completed the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (Oldfield, 1971), the IRI Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980), the RMET Reading the Mind in the Eyes (Baron-Cohen, 2001) and the BIDR-6 Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (Paulhus, 1991).

suggested that increased age was associated with decreased set-shifting, perspective-taking, mindreading abilities and increased tendency to give overly positive answers (socially desirable responding). Furthermore, participants with reduced cognitive flexibility (higher switch cost) were less able to attribute mental states to others and to appreciate another person’s point of view.

It can be argued that readiness to appropriately adjust one’s behaviour according to a changing environment is related to flexibly shift between conflicting psychological perspectives. Future research include training studies which would further our understanding of these relationships and allow more effective cognitive and social interventions.