Increased prevalence of sensing types in men with cluster headaches

To ascertain whether the percentage of men who suffer with cluster headaches and are classified as sensing types according to Jung's theory of psychological types was comparable to the percentage (74%) of Sensing types that was found by Gallagher, et al. among women who experience migraine headaches, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was administered to 25 male cluster-headache patients. There were 19 (76%) male Sensing types, and this was comparable to the percentage of Sensing types for migrainous women. The results are discussed as supporting previous contentions that Sensing types may be prone to developing psychosomatic symptoms related to stress.     

Visual sensing without seeing

Abstract— It has often been assumed that when we use vision to become aware of an object or event in our surroundings, this must be accompanied by a corresponding visual experience (i.e., seeing). The studies reported here show that this assumption is incorrect. When observers view a sequence of displays alternating between an image of a scene and the same image changed in some way, they often feel (or sense) the change even though they have no visual experience of it. The subjective difference between sensing and seeing is mirrored in several behavioral differences, suggesting that these are two distinct modes of conscious visual perception.     

The sensing of retinal motion

The apparent relative motion of physically stationary objects that frequently occurs as the head is moved in a frontoparallel plane is almost always in the direction expected from the projection into the distal world of the relative motion of the images on the eye. It is hypothesized that this is the result of the perceptual underestimation of the depth between the objects. If a perceptual overestimation of the depth were produced, it was predicted that the apparent relative motion would be in a direction opposite to that expected from the projection of the retinal motions. This prediction was tested using the binocular disparity cue to produce perceptual overestimation of the slant (depth) of a luminous line. In this case, perceived slant was the indicator of perceived depth, and perceived rotation concomitant with the motion of the head was the indicator of perceived relative motion. The results support the prediction and also provide some support for a theoretically derived equation specifying the relation between these two perceptual variables.     

Ratio-dependent quantity discrimination in quorum sensing ants

To optimise behaviour, organisms require information on the quantity of various components of their environment, and the ability of animals to discriminate quantity has been a subject of considerable recent interest. This body of research hints at generalised mechanisms of quantity discrimination in vertebrates, but data on invertebrates are still relatively scarce. In this study, I present data on the quantification abilities of an invertebrate in a novel context: quorum sensing. Quorum sensing generates a behavioural response in group-living animals once a threshold number of individuals, a ‘quorum’, is detected performing some key action. This process forms the basis for consensus decision-making in many species and allows group-living organisms to decide among mutually exclusive alternatives without compromising group integrity. To determine when a quorum is achieved, individuals must assess the number of group members performing the key action. Social insects employ quorum decisions to decide among potential nest sites when searching for a new home. In the Japanese ant, Myrmecina nipponica, quorum thresholds increase with colony size, providing an opportunity to assess the accuracy of quantity discrimination at different stimulus magnitudes. In this study, I demonstrate that the variation in individual quorum thresholds around the mean increases with increasing colony size. This indicates that the quantity discrimination ability of ants decreases with stimulus magnitude, and thus exhibits ratio dependence in the manner of Weber’s Law. This may have implications for the accuracy of consensus decision-making and other collective actions in a range of group-living organisms.     

Submerged electrodes in an aquarium: Validation of a technique for remote sensing of behavior

Necturus maculosus has been selected as representative of a class of neotenic amphibia whose behavior (including gill beat, heartbeat, and tail waving) can be sensed remotely by submerged electrodes in an aquarium. This communication presents a validation of the technique as a preface to reports on the electrophysiology of behavior in unrestrained surgically naive salamanders. Although the sources of the submarine signals are not known with certainty, they apparently depend on two factors: (1) aquarium water of appropriate ionic strength serves as a volume conductor for activity, and (2) animal movement displaces water or produces waves which are sensed as a change in potential at the water-electrode interface. This method provides a continuous comprehensive record of behavior simultaneously from several response systems in a freely behaving animal.     

A hardware and software interface for sensing changes in rotary position with an Apple II microcomputer

A design for an Apple II interface that senses relative rotary position and/or motion via a digital potentiometer is presented. A thorough discussion of the circuit’s theory of operation and a fully commented BASIC software listing are included. Suggested applications include an infinite-turn rotary device for psychophysical methods of adjustment, the sensing of rotary translations of a steering wheel in a driving simulator, and a digital tachometer/odometer for tracking performance on stationary exercise bicycles and treadmills.     

Affectivity and movement: The sense of sensing in Erwin Straus

This paper explores the notion of sensing (Empfinden) as developed by Erwin Straus. It argues that the notion of sensing is at the center of Strauss's thought about animal and human experience. Straus's originality consists in approaching sensory experience from an existential point of view. Sensing is not a mode of knowing. Sensing is distinguished from perceiving but is still a mode of relation to exteriority, and is situated on the side of what is usually called affectivity. At the same time Strauss redefines the field of that which is commonly characterized as affectivity. Sensing designates a stratum that lies deeper than the division between perceiving and feeling (s'éprouver), a self-affection that is not an alternative to the opening upon exteriority. It corresponds to a mode of immediate communication, to a sympathy with the world that does not entail any thematic dimension, but does not fall back into a blind fusion. Rather, sensing is something in the living being's mode of moving that is irreducible, and that includes a tending toward something. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Visual sensing IS seeing: why "mindsight," in hindsight, is blind

Faced with the surprising failure to notice large changes to visual scenes (change blindness), many researchers have sought evidence for alternative, nonattentional routes to change detection. A recent article in Psychological Science (Rensink, 2004) proposed a new, nonsensory "mindsight" mechanism to explain the finding that some subjects on some trials reported sensing the presence of a recurring change before they could explicitly identify it and without having a localizable visual experience of change. This mechanism would constitute a previously unknown mode of seeing that, as Rensink suggested, might be akin to a sixth sense. Its existence would have radical implications for the mechanisms underlying conscious visual experience. Provocative claims merit rigorous scrutiny. We rebut the existence of a mindsight mechanism by supporting a more mundane explanation: Some subjects take time to verify their initial conscious detection of changes.     

Resiliency in Families with a Member with a Psychological Disorder

The aim of this study was to identify resiliency factors in families with a mentally ill family member. The study population was composed of 30 families, where questionnaires were independently completed by both a parent and a child. The results indicate that family hardiness was an important resilience factor for both the parents and the children. According to the parents the passive evaluation of a crisis situation, or the use of avoidance strategies, was also helpful for the family to adapt. For the children, the extent to which they found support from within the community and the extent to which they experienced emotional support, self-worth, and community support were linked to their view on family adaptation to stressful situations.     

Audience with a Healer

Up From Scapegoating: Awakening Consciousness in Groups. 1995. By Arthur D. Colman Wilmette, IL: Chiron.

The Wounded Jung. (1996). By Robert C. Smith Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.

The Body: An Encyclopedia for Research in Archetypal Symbolism. 1996. By George R. Elder Boston: Shambhala.

Gifts of Suffering. 1996. By Polly Young-Eisendrath New York; Addison-Wesley Co.

The Religious Function of die Psyche. 1996. By Lionel Corbett London &; New York: Routledge.

Buddhism and the Art of Psychotherapy. 1996. By Hayao Kawai College Station, TX: Texas A &; M University Press.

The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling. 1996. By James Hillman New York: Random House.

Kinds of Power A Guide to Its Intelligent Uses. 1995. By James Hillman New York: Doubleday.

Psychotherapy as a Mutual Process. 1996. By J. Marvin Spiegelman Tempe, AZ: New Falcon Publications.

Soul Cards. By Deborah Koff-Chapin 1995. Langley, WA: The Center for Touch Drawing.     

Assessing a new response-microswitch combination with a boy with minimal motor behavior

This study assessed whether a boy with profound multiple disabilities and minimal motor behavior could learn to use a new response-microswitch combination to control environmental stimulation. The response selected was a chin movement; a mechanical microswitch was set up for this response. The boy learned to use the microswitch, increasing the frequency of the chin response and the level of pleasant stimulation following such response. The performance was retained at a 2-mo. post-intervention check.