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The body-specificity hypothesis (BSH) predicts that right-handers and left-handers allocate positive and negative concepts differently on the horizontal plane, i.e., while left-handers allocate negative concepts on the right-hand side of their bodily space, right-handers allocate such concepts to the left-hand side. Similar research shows that people, in general, tend to allocate positive and negative concepts in upper and lower areas, respectively, in relation to the vertical plane. Further research shows a higher salience of the vertical plane over the horizontal plane in the performance of sensorimotor tasks. The aim of the paper is to examine whether there should be a dominance of the vertical plane over the horizontal plane, not only at a sensorimotor level but also at a conceptual level. In Experiment 1, various participants from diverse linguistic backgrounds were asked to rate the words \"up\", \"down\", \"left\", and \"right\". In Experiment 2, right-handed participants from two linguistic backgrounds were asked to allocate emotion words into a square grid divided into four boxes of equal areas. Results suggest that the vertical plane is more salient than the horizontal plane regarding the allocation of emotion words and positively-valenced words were placed in upper locations whereas negatively-valenced words were placed in lower locations. Together, the results lend support to the BSH while also suggesting a higher saliency of the vertical plane over the horizontal plane in the allocation of valenced words.

Reading comprehension is a highly demanding task that involves the simultaneous process of extracting and constructing meaning in which working memory's executive processes play a crucial role. In this article, a training program on working memory's executive processes to improve reading comprehension is presented and empirically tested in two experiments with third-grade primary school students. Experiment 1 showed a greater gain after training the experimental group in contrast to the control group in reading comprehension and intelligence. In experiment 2, we focused on the training processes and compared training results of high and low pretest reading comprehension groups. Results confirmed the increase in reading comprehension, intelligence, and executive processes and showed that the low group reached a greater gain in reading comprehension after training than the high group did. The results of these experiments and their limitations are discussed in the context of recent theories on the role of executive processes in reading comprehension and the possibility of training working memory and intelligence.

Cognitive impairment in psychosis is closely related to functional outcome, so research into psychotic disorders is focusing most effort on treatments for improving cognition. New treatments must show not only an improvement on neuropsychological tests but also in co-primary measures of cognition. The cognitive assessment interview (CAI) is an interview-based measure of cognition which assesses the impact of cognitive deficits in patients’ daily lives. Information obtained from patients and their relatives is integrated into a rater composite score. This study examines the validity of the CAI (adapted to Spanish, CAI-Sp) as a screening instrument for cognitive impairment, compared to an objective test of cognitive functioning. The psychometric properties of the CAI-Sp and its association with clinical dimensions are also explored. Eighty-one patients with a psychotic disorder and 38 healthy controls were assessed using the CAI-Sp and the screen for cognitive impairment in psychiatry (SCIP-S). Patients also underwent a clinical assessment. Poorer cognitive functioning as assessed with the CAI-Sp was associated to illness severity, specifically positive, negative and disorganised syndromes. Binary logistic regression showed that the CAI-Sp was able to detect cognitive impairment in patients, when considering CAI-Sp patient and informant information and CAI-Sp rater scores. The CAI-Sp was found to be a valid and reliable scale to assess cognitive functioning in the context of its impact on daily living. Given its ease and speed of application, the CAI-Sp could prove useful in clinical practice, though not a substitute of objective cognitive testing.

The study of the contribution of language and cognitive skills to reading comprehension is an important goal of current reading research. However, reading comprehension is not easily assessed by a single instrument, as different comprehension tests vary in the type of tasks used and in the cognitive demands required. This study examines the contribution of basic language and cognitive skills (decoding, word recognition, reading speed, verbal and nonverbal intelligence and working memory) to reading comprehension, assessed by two tests utilizing various tasks that require different skill sets in third-grade Spanish-speaking students. Linguistic and cognitive abilities predicted reading comprehension. A measure of reading speed (the reading time of pseudo-words) was the best predictor of reading comprehension when assessed by the PROLEC-R test. However, measures of word recognition (the orthographic choice task) and verbal working memory were the best predictors of reading comprehension when assessed by means of the DARC test. These results show, on the one hand, that reading speed and word recognition are better predictors of Spanish language comprehension than reading accuracy. On the other, the reading comprehension test applied here serves as a critical variable when analyzing and interpreting results regarding this topic.

Some studies have indicated that a relaxation and/or meditation session could affect inhibitory control, while other studies have not found such an effect. Given the discrepancy between studies, the objective of the present article was to examine whether or not a short relaxation session could influence inhibitory control. Method: A total of 60 students aged between 16-18 years participated in the study, randomly distributed into two groups, according to the experimental (relaxation session) and the control (listening to neutral material) condition. They were given an individual session with the recording (relaxation/neutral material for approximately 7 min.) between the pre and post Stroop task. Results: No significant improvements were found in the experimental group compared to the control group in Resistance to Interference. Conclusions: These results suggest that some prior relaxation practice might be necessary for a short relaxation session to have immediate benefits in inhibitory control or/and that the relaxation session should last longer.

Antecedentes: el estudio de la contribución de habilidades lingüísticas y cognitivas a la comprensión lectora es un objetivo relevante de la investigación actual de la lectura. Sin embargo, la comprensión lectora no es fácilmente explicada ni medida por una única prueba ya que los diferentes test de comprensión varían en el tipo de tareas utilizadas y en las demandas cognitivas requeridas. Método: el presente estudio examina la contribución de habilidades lingüísticas y cognitivas (decodificación, reconocimiento de palabras, velocidad lectora, inteligencia verbal y no verbal y memoria de trabajo) a la comprensión lectora, evaluada por dos test que utilizan diferentes tareas y requieren diferentes habilidades. Resultados: la medida de velocidad en pseudopalabras predijo la comprensión evaluada por el test PROLEC-R. Sin embargo, la medida de reconocimiento de palabras (la tarea de elección ortográfica) y la medida de memoria de trabajo verbal predijeron la comprensión medida por el test DARC. Conclusiones: estos resultados muestran, por un lado, que la velocidad lectora y el reconocimiento de palabras son mejores predictores de la comprensión en español que la precisión lectora, y por el otro, que el test de comprensión lectora utilizado es una variable crítica cuando analizamos e interpretamos resultados sobre este tema.

Este estudio comparó el rendimiento de 10 pacientes Alzheimer con el de 20 ancianos sanos en la tarea de Brown-Peterson y comprobó si el bajo rendimiento de los pacientes puede explicarse por el tipo de material empleado (palabras frente a sílabas sin sentido; categorías naturales frente a artificiales). Se examinó también el posible deterioro de los Alzheimer en esta tarea con una evaluación posterior al cabo de 6 meses (retest). Los resultados mostraron que los Alzheimer rindieron peor que los ancianos sanos en los tres intervalos examinados, pero no se encontró una interacción significativa entre grupo e intervalo, por un lado, ni grupo y tipo de material, por otro. Esta ausencia de interacciones indicó que la tasa de olvido fue similar en los dos grupos y que el tipo de material no perjudicó al rendimiento de los Alzheimer. Tampoco se encontraron diferencias significativas entre test y retest en esta tarea. Type of material and short-term forgetting in Alzheimer disease and ageing. This study examined whether the low performance of 10 Alzheimer patients in the Brown-Peterson task could be explained by the type of material used (words versus nonsense syllables; and natural versus artificial categories) that differed from 20 elderly controls. Performance of the Alzheimer group with these two materials was also examined six months later. Our data showed that Alzheimer had a lower performance in the three retention intervals than controls but a significant interaction between group and interval or group and material were not found. This indicated that the rate of forgetfulness was similar in the two groups and that the type of material did not deteriorate the performance of the Alzheimer group. No difference was obtained between test and retest in this task.

En el presente trabajo se estudiaron las relaciones entre los procesos ejecutivos de la memoria operativa, la inteligencia fluida y la comprensión lectora en una muestra de 77 escolares de 3º de Educación Primaria. Asimismo, se analizó la capacidad predictiva de la MO y de la inteligencia fluida con respecto al rendimiento en comprensión lectora. Como se predijo, los resultados mostraron un patrón de correlaciones positivas y significativas: las medidas de comprensión lectora -en particular, inferencias e integración- correlacionaron con las medidas de los procesos ejecutivos de la MO y de inteligencia fluida. Los análisis de regresión mostraron que las habilidades cognitivas de alto nivel -actualización semántica en la MO e inteligencia fluida- contribuyen de manera independiente a explicar el 33 % de la varianza en comprensión lectora.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of age on a demanding working memory task, as it is using the running memory task, in three different groups aged 18-22, 65-75 and 80-90 respectively. Morris and Jones (1990) claimed that in this task it can be assumed that the updating component requires central executive resources but not the phonological loop. Conversely, the serial recall component of the task requires the phonological loop but not the central executive. The focus of this study was to investigate whether there were effects of age on the updating performance only and / or on the serial recall performance. In order to have another measure from the serial recall a classical letter span task was also used with the same material. In the running memory task lists of 6 to 12 consonants were presented and subjects had to recall the last six items. Results indicated that there were significant differences between the three groups in the letter span task and that age interacted with list length and serial position in the running memory task. It was concluded that results from both tasks suggested that elderly subjects' capacities were impaired.