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Papers by Spencer Fix
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2014
Amnesic mild cognitive impairment (MCIa) is often characterized as an early stage of Alzheimer&am... more Amnesic mild cognitive impairment (MCIa) is often characterized as an early stage of Alzheimer's dementia (AD). The latency of the P2, an electroencephalographic component of the flash visual evoked potential (FVEP), is significantly longer in those with AD or MCIa when compared with controls. The present investigation examined the diagnostic accuracy of several FVEP-P2 procedures in distinguishing people with MCIa and controls. The latency of the FVEP-P2 was measured in participants exposed to a single flash condition and five double flash conditions. The double flash conditions had different inter-stimulus intervals between the pair of strobe flashes. Significant group differences were observed in the single flash and two of the double flash conditions. One of the double flash conditions (100 ms) displayed a higher predictive accuracy than the single flash condition, suggesting that this novel procedure may have more diagnostic potential. Participants with MCIa displayed similar P2 latencies across conditions, while controls exhibited a consistent pattern of P2 latency differences. These differences demonstrate that the double stimulation procedure resulted in a measurable refractory effect for controls but not for those with MCIa. The pattern of P2 group differences suggests that those with MCIa have compromised cholinergic functioning that results in impaired visual processing. Results from the present investigation lend support to the theory that holds MCIa as an intermediate stage between normal healthy aging and the neuropathology present in AD. Measuring the FVEP-P2 during several double stimulation conditions could provide diagnostically useful information about the health of the cholinergic system.
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2015
a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Available online xxxx Keywords: Psychopathy Illegal behavio... more a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Available online xxxx Keywords: Psychopathy Illegal behavior Emotional intelligence Trait psychopathy Criminal thinking
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2013
Recently, there has been significant growth in the empirical literature on mindfulness and mindfu... more Recently, there has been significant growth in the empirical literature on mindfulness and mindfulness-based treatments (MBTs). The purpose of the current review was to critically examine and critique eleven studies evaluating MBTs for reducing aggressive behaviors. Articles were divided based on design (i.e., group design vs. single subject). This review highlighted evidence supporting the efficacy of the use of mindfulness-based treatments in individuals with aggressive behavior problems. Many of the group studies had weak designs, limiting the validity of the stated results. Results from the single-subject studies were more promising, providing strong support for the use of MBTs in reducing aggression. However, despite recent advances in the use of MBTs with individuals with aggression problems, questions remain unanswered. Finally, suggestions for future research are made to improve and identify means of evaluating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based treatments in an aggressive population.
The present study tested whether differences in violence exposure and parent and peer attachment ... more The present study tested whether differences in violence exposure and parent and peer attachment help explain why disproportionate minority contact is lower among adolescents adjudicated for sexual offending than among adolescents adjudicated for other offenses. The 1,109 male juvenile offenders recruited from a juvenile detention center were interviewed, completed self-report measures, and legal documentation of prior offenses was obtained. Using a hierarchical multinomial logistic regression, a unique constellation of factors were found to predict sexual and violent offending relative to general offending. Moreover, the influence of race/ethnicity was diminished in the final model, suggesting disproportionate minority contact is partially explained by contextual factors.
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2014
Amnesic mild cognitive impairment (MCIa) is often characterized as an early stage of Alzheimer&am... more Amnesic mild cognitive impairment (MCIa) is often characterized as an early stage of Alzheimer's dementia (AD). The latency of the P2, an electroencephalographic component of the flash visual evoked potential (FVEP), is significantly longer in those with AD or MCIa when compared with controls. The present investigation examined the diagnostic accuracy of several FVEP-P2 procedures in distinguishing people with MCIa and controls. The latency of the FVEP-P2 was measured in participants exposed to a single flash condition and five double flash conditions. The double flash conditions had different inter-stimulus intervals between the pair of strobe flashes. Significant group differences were observed in the single flash and two of the double flash conditions. One of the double flash conditions (100 ms) displayed a higher predictive accuracy than the single flash condition, suggesting that this novel procedure may have more diagnostic potential. Participants with MCIa displayed similar P2 latencies across conditions, while controls exhibited a consistent pattern of P2 latency differences. These differences demonstrate that the double stimulation procedure resulted in a measurable refractory effect for controls but not for those with MCIa. The pattern of P2 group differences suggests that those with MCIa have compromised cholinergic functioning that results in impaired visual processing. Results from the present investigation lend support to the theory that holds MCIa as an intermediate stage between normal healthy aging and the neuropathology present in AD. Measuring the FVEP-P2 during several double stimulation conditions could provide diagnostically useful information about the health of the cholinergic system.
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2015
a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Available online xxxx Keywords: Psychopathy Illegal behavio... more a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Available online xxxx Keywords: Psychopathy Illegal behavior Emotional intelligence Trait psychopathy Criminal thinking
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2013
Recently, there has been significant growth in the empirical literature on mindfulness and mindfu... more Recently, there has been significant growth in the empirical literature on mindfulness and mindfulness-based treatments (MBTs). The purpose of the current review was to critically examine and critique eleven studies evaluating MBTs for reducing aggressive behaviors. Articles were divided based on design (i.e., group design vs. single subject). This review highlighted evidence supporting the efficacy of the use of mindfulness-based treatments in individuals with aggressive behavior problems. Many of the group studies had weak designs, limiting the validity of the stated results. Results from the single-subject studies were more promising, providing strong support for the use of MBTs in reducing aggression. However, despite recent advances in the use of MBTs with individuals with aggression problems, questions remain unanswered. Finally, suggestions for future research are made to improve and identify means of evaluating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based treatments in an aggressive population.
The present study tested whether differences in violence exposure and parent and peer attachment ... more The present study tested whether differences in violence exposure and parent and peer attachment help explain why disproportionate minority contact is lower among adolescents adjudicated for sexual offending than among adolescents adjudicated for other offenses. The 1,109 male juvenile offenders recruited from a juvenile detention center were interviewed, completed self-report measures, and legal documentation of prior offenses was obtained. Using a hierarchical multinomial logistic regression, a unique constellation of factors were found to predict sexual and violent offending relative to general offending. Moreover, the influence of race/ethnicity was diminished in the final model, suggesting disproportionate minority contact is partially explained by contextual factors.