Opposing amygdala and ventral striatum connectivity during emotion identification

Lesion and electrophysiological studies in animals provide evidence of opposing functions for subcortical nuclei such as the amygdala and ventral striatum, but the implications of these findings for emotion identification in humans remain poorly described. Here we report a high-resolution fMRI study in a sample of 39 healthy subjects who performed a well-characterized emotion identification task. As expected, the amygdala responded to THREAT (angry or fearful) faces more than NON-THREAT (sad or happy) faces. A functional connectivity analysis of the time series from an anatomically defined amygdala seed revealed a strong anticorrelation between the amygdala and the ventral striatum/ventral pallidum, consistent with an opposing role for these regions in during emotion identification. A second functional connectivity analysis (psychophysiological interaction) investigating relative connectivity on THREAT vs. NON-THREAT trials demonstrated that the amygdala had increased connectivity with the orbitofrontal cortex during THREAT trials, whereas the ventral striatum demonstrated increased connectivity with the posterior hippocampus on NON-THREAT trials. These results indicate that activity in the amygdala and ventral striatum may be inversely related, and that both regions may provide opposing affective bias signals during emotion identification.     

Examination of MMPI–2–RF Substantive Scales as Indicators of Acute Suicidal Affective Disturbance Components

A new suicide-specific diagnostic entity, acute suicidal affective disturbance (ASAD), was recently proposed to fill a void in the nomenclature. Although several studies have examined the reliability, validity, and potential clinical utility of ASAD, no studies have examined personality indicators of ASAD. This study sought to examine the association between personality and psychopathology factors, as assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2–Revised Form (MMPI–2–RF), and constructs that comprise ASAD in a sample of 554 psychiatric outpatients who completed all measures prior to their intake appointments. A smaller subset of patients (N = 58) also completed a measure designed to assess lifetime ASAD symptoms. Results indicated that ASAD symptoms were associated with traits characterized by emotional turmoil and atypical cognitive processes. Further, suicide-related criteria that comprise ASAD were related to low positive emotionality and hopelessness, whereas the overarousal criteria were associated with somatic symptoms and an inability to tolerate frustration and stress. These findings expand on previous research that examines the convergent and discriminant validity of ASAD and could inform clinical treatment by providing insight into personality traits that might be associated with acute suicide risk.     

What’s in It for the Historian of Science? Reflections on the Value of Philosophy of Science for History of Science

In this article, I explore the value of philosophy of science for history of science. I start by introducing a distinction between two ways of integrating history and philosophy of science: historical philosophy of science (HPS) and philosophical history of science (PHS). I then offer a critical discussion of Imre Lakatos’s project to bring philosophy of science to bear on historical interpretation. I point out certain flaws in Lakatos’s project, which I consider indicative of what went wrong with PHS in the past. Finally, I put forward my own attempt to bring out the historiographical potential of philosophy of science. Starting from Norwood Russell Hanson’s insight that historical studies of science involve metascientific concepts, I argue that philosophical reflection on those concepts can be (and, indeed, has been) historiographically fruitful. I focus on four issues (epistemic values, experimentation, scientific discovery and conceptual change) and discuss their significance and utility for historiographical practice.     

Counseling in Italy

The counseling profession in Italy is in an early stage of development. No university preparation programs exist, and counselors are not employed in schools. Counselors maintain private practices, work in agencies, and are employed by the government. Counselors receive their preparation in Italy from professional associations in programs that include 450 to 500 hours of instruction. The social and political climate in Italy suggests that the profession of counseling will continue to develop.     

Recent Heidegger Translations and Their German Originals: A Grassroots Archival Perspective

This survey seeks to delineate the present situation and climate for translating Heidegger into English after the disastrous translation in 1999 of the Beiträge, Heidegger's second magnum opus after Sein und Zeit. The 13 translations that have appeared since then tend to handle Heidegger's neologisms in less ludicrous and more lucid ways and continue to find ways to bend the highly restrictive rules imposed on translations by Heidegger's literary executor. There are still errors of omission and commission in the German originals that carry over into the translations. A few of the English translators add to the errors of omission and commission but the majority tends to be competent and conscientious, generally producing good results. Yet even the best translators slack off in their production of the permitted glossaries, which are indispensable for demarcating Heidegger's terminology in the time period involved and provide the reader with a starting basis for an index, which is prohibited.     

Adolescent Self-Regulation as Resilience: Resistance to Antisocial Behavior within the Deviant Peer Context

This study tests the hypothesis that self-regulation serves as a resiliency factor in buffering youth from negative influences of peer deviance in middle to late adolescence. The interactive effects between peer deviance and self-regulation were investigated on change in antisocial behavior from age 17 to 19 years in an ethnically diverse sample of adolescents. A multi-agent construct was created using adolescent, parent, and teacher reports of self-regulation and peer deviance. Results indicated that self-regulation shows convergent validity and covaries as expected with developmental patterns of adolescent antisocial behavior. Self-regulation moderated the association of peer deviance with later self-reported adolescent antisocial behavior after controlling for prior levels of antisocial behavior. The implications of these findings for models for the development of antisocial behaviors and for intervention science are discussed.     

An efficient computerized testing method for the capuchin monkey (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cebus apella</Emphasis>): Adaptation of the LRC-CTS to a socially housed nonhuman primate species

Even with advances in automated testing techniques, the capuchin monkey (Cebus apella) can be a difficult species to test in the laboratory, given its social/behavioral tendencies and typical activity pattern. Laboratories that maintain social colonies of capuchin monkeys are able to separate and test individuals, but the process can be very effortful and time consuming, and the resulting data can be modest in quantity. The present article describes procedures and apparatuses that were used to train a colony of computer-naive capuchin monkeys to quickly and reliably isolate themselves from group members and interact with a computerized test system in order to produce a large volume of data. Several elements that were important in motivating the monkeys to participate are discussed.     

Autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and goal progress

Although the self-concordance of goals has been repeatedly shown to predict better goal progress, recent research suggests potential problems with aggregating autonomous and controlled motivations to form a summary index of self-concordance (Judge, Bono, Erez, & Locke, 2005). The purpose of the present investigation was to further examine the relations among autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and goal progress to determine the relative importance of autonomous motivation and controlled motivation in the pursuit of personal goals. The results of three studies and a meta-analysis indicated that autonomous motivation was substantially related to goal progress whereas controlled motivation was not. Additionally, the relation of autonomous motivation to goal progress was shown to involve implementation planning. Together, the three studies highlight the importance for goal setters of having autonomous motivation and developing implementation plans, especially ones formulated in terms of approach strategies rather than avoidance strategies. The present research suggests that individuals pursuing goals should focus relatively greater attention on enhancing their autonomous motivation rather than reducing their controlled motivation.