Chance‐corrected measures for 2 × 2 tables that coincide with weighted kappa

Cohen's kappa is presently a standard tool for the analysis of agreement in a 2 × 2 reliability study, and weighted kappa is a standard statistic for summarizing a 2 × 2 validity study. The special cases of weighted kappa, for example Cohen's kappa, are chance‐corrected measures of association. For various measures of 2 × 2 association it has been observed in the literature that, after correction for chance, they coincide with a special case of weighted kappa. This paper presents the general function, linear in both numerator and denominator, that becomes weighted kappa after correction for chance.     

Serotonin, the superior colliculus, and grooming behavior in cats with neocortical lesions.

Previous studies of cats with pontile lesions indicate that a serotonergic deficit exists in the superior colliculi and that this deficit is involved in the genesis of an abnormal grooming behavior. Cats with frontal neocortical lesions exhibit the same serotonergic deficit and the same abnormal grooming behavior. The present study established that the serotonergic deficit is involved in the mediation of the abnormal grooming behavior in cats with frontal neocortical lesions. Microinjections of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) into the superior colliculi abolished or signigicantly reduced the abnormal behavior in cats with frontal neocortical lesions, whereas no effects of 5-HTP were observed after injections into the cerebrospinal fluid above the superior colliculi, into the tegmentum beneath the superior colliculi, or into the medial dorsal nucleus rostral to the superior colliculi. Other substances (tryptophan, noradrenaline, and gamma-amino-butyric acid) had no effect on the abnormal behavior when injected into the superior colliculi. Further evidence implicating a serotonergic deficit in the mediation of the abnormal behavior was obtained by systemic injections: The abnormal behavior was abolished with 5-HTP in cats with frontal neocortical lesions and in adrenalectomized cats that were previously treated with p-chlorophenylalanine.. The present study also demonstrated that the abnormal grooming behavior is induced by frontal neocortical lesions and not by more caudal lesions of the neocortex. The anatomical relations between the frontal neocortex and the superior colliculus and the role of these structures in grooming behavior are discussed.     

Functional analysis and treatment of self-injury associated with transitions.

We applied functional analysis methodology to the assessment and treatment of 2 individuals' self‐injurious behavior (SIB), which was reported to be occasioned by transitions from one activity or location to another. A structural (task) analysis of activity transitions identified at least three separate components that might influence behavior either alone or in combination: (a) termination of a prechange activity, (b) initiation of a postchange activity, and (c) movement from one location to another. Results of preference and avoidance assessments were used to identify activities to which participants were exposed in varying arrangements during transitions in a functional analysis. Results of 1 participant's functional analysis indicated that his SIB was maintained by avoidance of having to change locations, regardless of the activity terminated prior to the change or the activity initiated following it. The 2nd participant's analysis revealed the same function but also an additional one: avoidance of certain task initiations. This information was used to identify transition contexts during intervention and to design treatment procedures appropriate for a given context and behavioral function. A procedure involving advance notice of an upcoming transition had no effect on SIB, and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) had limited effects in the absence of extinction. Sustained decreases in SIB were observed when DRA was combined with extinction and response blocking. Further extensions of functional analysis methodology to the assessment of problem behavior in situations characterized by multiple or protracted stimulus changes are discussed.     

Evolution of behavioral attractors with learning: nonequilibrium phase transitions.

Learning a bimanual coordination task (synchronization to a visually specified phasing relation) was studied as a dynamical process over 5 days of practicing a required phasing pattern. Systematic probes of the attractor layout of the 5 Ss' coordination dynamics (expressed through a collective variable, relative phase) were conducted before, during, and after practice. Depending on the relationship between the initial coordination dynamics (so-called intrinsic dynamics) and the pattern to be learned (termed behavioral information, which acts as an attractor of the coordination dynamics toward the required phasing), qualitative changes in the phase diagram occurred with learning, accompanied by quantitative evidence for loss of stability (phase transitions). Such effects persisted beyond 1 week. The nature of change due to learning (e.g., abrupt vs. gradual) is shown to arise from the cooperative or competitive interplay between behavioral information and the intrinsic dynamics.     

Hippocampal metabolites and memory performances in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease

In patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), previous studies have reported the decrease of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) concentration and the increase of myo-inositol (MI) concentration using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). However, it remains to be investigated what aspects of cognition these metabolite changes reflect. In this study we evaluated the correlations between the subtests of Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) and the concentrations of NAA and MI. The study group was composed of 42 patients with aMCI and 67 patients with AD. 1H-MR spectra with a single voxel-point resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) at a short echo time were acquired from the bilateral hippocampi and posterior cingulate gyrus. Positive correlations were shown between the NAA concentration in the left hippocampus and verbal memory, visual memory, general memory, attention and delayed recall; and furthermore, between the NAA concentration in the right hippocampus and verbal memory and general memory. Negative correlations were shown between the MI concentration in the left hippocampus and verbal memory, general memory, and delayed recall, and between the MI concentration in the right hippocampus and verbal memory. There was no significant correlation between any subtest of WMS-R and these two metabolite concentrations in the posterior cingulate gyrus. These findings suggest that bilateral, especially left hippocampal NAA and MI concentrations are associated with memory dysfunction observed in patients with aMCI and AD. In contrast, NAA and MI concentrations in the posterior cingulate gyrus may be less related to memory function than those in the hippocampus.     

风水先生总是“有理”

我的老家在毛主席诗词“五岭逶迤腾细浪,乌蒙磅礴走泥丸”的那个五岭之一的萌堵岭之南麓,在旧社会,那里山高路远,交通闭塞,直到解放初期还是只有一条砂石土路通到县城,科学进不去,延绵了数千年的封建迷信却在那里繁衍生殖,颇为兴旺。小小的一个山区县城,什么巫婆、道士、神汉和风水先生应有尽有。人们求神拜佛讲风水的风气也很浓。记得,当时有一个陈姓街民,外号叫“活神仙”,三十挂零,尚未娶妻成家立业,又不会做耕田种地的活,因此空闲时间也特别多。每天吃饱饭没事做,便在县城周围的大山小岭、沟沟岔岔间闲逛。真是功夫不负有心人,数年下来,…     

Dichotic competition of simultaneous tone bursts of different frequency: IV. Correlation with dichotic competition of speech signals

Presentation of dichotic chords to thirty subjects showed that 23% were right ear dominant, 40% were left ear dominant and 37% had no marked ear dominance. Presentation of dichotic consonant-vowel (CV) signals to the same subjects showed that 70% were right ear dominant and 30% were left ear dominant. Despite the fact that an ear dominance effect was present for both speech and non-speech sounds there was no significant correlation (either positive or negative) between an individual's performance on the two tasks. The performance of native speakers of tonal languages and of musicians was not significantly different from the experimental group of English speaking subjects. These results suggest that the two ear dominance effects are unrelated.     

Perception of temporal order in vowel sequences with and without formant transitions.

Temporal-order perception of phoneme segments in running speech is much superior to temporal-order perception in repeating vowel sequences. The more rapid rates possible in running speech may be due largely to the presence of formant transitions. In a series of five experiments we observed that many temporal-order misjudgements of repeating vowels can be explained in terms of auditory stream segregation, triggered for the most part by discontinuities in first-formant frequencies of adjacent vowels. Streaming, however, can be suppressed by formant transitions appropriate for the perception of stop consonants and by continuous transitions resembling those in coarticulated vowels. At rapid sequence rates, when the constraints of auditory streaming are removed, correct temporal-order identification is limited by linguistic transformations of vowels into other phoneme segments.     

Hypoxia and Inflammation in Children with Sickle Cell Disease: Implications for Hippocampal Functioning and Episodic Memory

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) suffer from systemic processes (e.g., chronic anemia, recurrent hypoxic-ischemic events, chronic inflammation) that have been associated with neurocognitive impairment in a range of clinical populations, but which have been largely understudied in relation to specific domains of cognitive functioning in children with SCD. This review focuses on episodic memory, as the hippocampus may be especially vulnerable to the systemic processes associated with SCD. The first part of the paper outlines the pathophysiology of SCD and briefly reviews the extant literature on academic and cognitive functioning in children with SCD, emphasizing the dearth of research on episodic memory. Next, the complex systemic processes of hypoxia and inflammation associated with SCD are reviewed, along with research that has associated these processes with hippocampal damage and memory impairment. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research that are informed, in part, by the literature on developmental amnesia.     

Therapeutic assessment of a man with "ADD"

In this article I present the first published complete case study of a psychological assessment done by the methods of Therapeutic Assessment. A client-therapist pair had been working together for several years but felt "stuck" in the treatment. The man had been previously diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and sought help for disorganization and difficulties in romantic relationships. The therapist asked for diagnostic clarification but gradually revealed a deeper confusion about how to work with the client. Through the collaborative process of the assessment, the client gradually concluded that he did not have ADD, and he and the therapist reached a joint understanding of their next steps in treatment. This case illustrates how collaborative psychological assessment (a) can help clients revise their "stories about themselves and the world" and (b) provides an effective, non-threatening way for a consultant to intervene in a client-therapist system that has reached an impasse.     

禅宗本体与严羽"以禅喻诗"

严羽《沧浪诗话.诗辨》中提出:"大抵禅道唯在妙悟,诗道亦在妙悟",对于唐宋以来的"以禅喻诗"的诗歌实践进行了理论性的概括和总结,后人对其"以禅喻诗"之旨莫衷一是,但均无中其肯綮,本文从"以禅喻诗"的源头——禅宗本体入手,指出严羽"以禅喻诗"就是通过诗来传达色相俱泯、色即是空的人生感悟。     

我用一道"符"治好一位病人

我是精神科医生,退休在家,有人找我看病,我就给看。2003年3月4日晚7:00时左右,来了一     

"思无邪"及其他

<论语>"为政"孔子说,"诗三百,一言以蔽之,日思无邪". "思无邪"出自<商颂>,形容郊外牧马之气势,"思无邪"居末首,谓"思无邪,思马斯往",前面几首与其相配的,依次为"思无疆,思马斯臧","思无期,思马斯才","思无歝,思马斯作".按这个意思,"思无邪"似与前面不很匹配.前三句都是说"思"无可限制,没有尽期的意思,最后出来一个"邪""正"的问题,殊不可解;于是或以为乃孔子按自己的意思去发挥.