Differential effects of m1 and m2 receptor antagonists in perirhinal cortex on visual recognition memory in monkeys

Microinfusions of the nonselective muscarinic antagonist scopolamine into perirhinal cortex impairs performance on visual recognition tasks, indicating that muscarinic receptors in this region play a pivotal role in recognition memory. To assess the mnemonic effects of selective blockade in perirhinal cortex of muscarinic receptor subtypes, we locally infused either the m1-selective antagonist pirenzepine or the m2-selective antagonist methoctramine in animals performing one-trial visual recognition, and compared these scores with those following infusions of equivalent volumes of saline. Compared to these control infusions, injections of pirenzepine, but not of methoctramine, significantly impaired recognition accuracy. Further, similar doses of scopolamine and pirenzepine yielded similar deficits, suggesting that the deficits obtained earlier with scopolamine were due mainly, if not exclusively, to blockade of m1 receptors. The present findings indicate that m1 and m2 receptors have functionally dissociable roles, and that the formation of new visual memories is critically dependent on the cholinergic activation of m1 receptors located on perirhinal cells.     

A note on real measurement structures of scale type (m,m + 1)

Real relational structures of scale type (1, 2) can be represented in the reals in such a way that the induced automorphism group is properly contained in the affine group and itself properly contains the group of translations. There are no real relational structures of scale type (m, m + 1), m ≥ 2.     

Beliefs m Realistic and Unrealistic Control: Assessment and Implications

ABSTRACT Scales were constructed to measure perceived control over controllable events (realistic control) and perceived control over uncontrollable events (unrealistic control). Internal reliability, test-retest reliability, and discriminant validity of both scales were adequate. Study 1 measured perceived personal control over hassles that judges rated on general controllability. For hassles very high in controllability, perceived personal control was related to belief in realistic control but not to belief in unrealistic control; for hassles very low in controllability, perceived personal control was related to belief in unrealistic control but not to belief in realistic control. Study 2 showed that participants high in unrealistic control belief (but not those high in realistic control belief) persevered more on a task that was in part uncontrollable. Study 3 showed that the combination of low realistic control belief and high unrealistic control belief predicted poorer future health, particularly for participants who have reported the experience of many negative events and/or hassles. The conditions under which unrealistic control results in maladaptive outcomes are discussed.     

A note onH = log2 m

When teaching elementary concepts on information theory a problem keeps reoccurring which, if only for pedagogical reasons, deserves discussion.     

Effects of laboratory-induced controllable and uncontrollable stress on Rorschach variables m and Y.

The research literature regarding stress and the Rorschach has frequently produced contradictory results. A possible explanation for the lack of consensus may be that past research has failed to consider the nature of the stressor. A potentially important dimension is whether the stressor is perceived as controllable or uncontrollable, particularly because these two types of stressors invoke distinctive sets of biobehavioral reactions. We examined the effects of experimentally induced uncontrollable and controllable stress on m and Y Rorschach responses. Uncontrollable laboratory stress was associated with an increase in both m and Y variants, whereas controllable laboratory stress was associated with an increase only in m. Potential implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

I’m Only Kidding: On Racist and Ethnic Jokes

Toward the end of his book Jokes, perhaps the best known philosophical treatment of the subject, Ted Cohen includes a notorious joke about a group of young Black men who are deterred from committing a gang rape by being thrown a basketball. This is a joke that perplexes Cohen and that he admits plays into stereotypes that presuppose the mindless obsession of Black youths with basketball as well as their unbridled sexuality. He agrees that the joke is morally bad and that it would be a better world without it. But he denies that its evil compromises its alleged funniness. He writes: “Wish that there were no mean jokes. Try remaking the world so that such jokes will have no place, will not arise. But do not deny that they are funny. That denial is a pretense that will help nothing.” In this paper, I want to challenge the claim that the moral defectiveness of a joke, especially a racist joke, cannot ever compromise its capacity to be funny.     

Le risque médico-judiciaire des infections nosocomiales

These last years in France, the term ‘nosocomial infection’ has been replaced by ‘health-care associated infection’, which has a much broader definition. In all cases, the plausibility of the association between infection and the care provided deserved to be rigorously analyzed. To qualify an infection as nosocomial, the expert witness must at the judge's request determine that infection actually occurred within the health facility and is linked to health care. French Public Health Code as well the most recent jurisprudence give currently a rather close definition of nosocomial infection. The principle of faultness liability in the field of nosocomial infection has been enshrined in the law of March 4^th 2002, the most severe situations (death; permanent functional deficit > 25 percent) being compensated by ONIAM, the French national office of compensation for nosocomial infection.     

Meaningfulness (m′) values for 300 CCCs

Normative values are given for the rated meaningfulness (m′) of 300 consonant-consonant-consonant trigrams (CCCs). The CCCs were selected from the entire range of association values in Witmer (1935). Thus, they represent a greater range than Costantini and Blackwood’s (1968) norms and are more current than the Witmer norms.