A PET meta‐analysis of object and spatial mental imagery

Neuroimaging studies have described the functional neuroanatomy of mental imagery. Taken separately, specific studies vary in the nature of the task used and are limited by statistical power and sensitivity. We took advantage of a multistudy PET database of 54 subjects acquired in our laboratory to reveal the neural bases of spatial versus object mental imagery tasks. Our first goal was to evaluate to what extent the activated foci elicited by both object and spatial studies overlap. A second aim was to compare activations elicited by spatial imagery tasks to those elicited by object imagery tasks. We also explored applying regression analyses to the relationships between the scores on the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) and changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during spatial and object imagery tasks. This meta‐analysis yielded the following observations: (1) both spatial and object imagery tasks shared a common neural network composed of occipitotemporal (ventral pathway) and occipitoparietal (dorsal pathway) regions and also by a set of frontal regions (related to memory); (2) the superior parietal cortex was more strongly implicated during spatial imagery; (3) object imagery specifically engaged the anterior part of the ventral pathway, including the fusiform, parahippocampal, and hippocampal gyrus; (4) object imagery activated the early visual cortex, whereas spatial imagery induced a deactivation of the early visual cortex; (5) blood flow values in some of the regions noted above were positively correlated with scores on the MRT: the higher the subjects performed on the MRT, the more pronounced the rCBF was in these regions. These results may reconcile some of the apparent discrepancies among previous studies concerning the activation of early visual cortex in mental imagery. They also contribute to a better knowledge of the neural bases of object and spatial mental imagery.     

Dislike and Envy as Antecedents of Pleasure at Another's Misfortune

Previous research related to pleasure at another's misfortune has focused on the role of envy and competition in inducing such feelings. Additionally, some views assume that this emotion is restricted to mild misfortunes. In this paper, we propose that other-directed negative emotions (e.g., dislike and anger), independent of envy, can give rise to pleasure at another's misfortune and the misfortune can be severe when these other emotions are causal. In addition to providing support for this view in three studies, pleasure at another's misfortune was also associated with different factors when other-directed negative emotions as opposed to envy served as its eliciting condition. For example, given that dislike caused pleasure at another's misfortune, the misfortune was more likely to be perceived as deserved, any misfortune was pleasing, and the observer was more reluctant to help than given envy as the cause.     

The values of psychoanalytic psychotherapists at two points in time (1979 vs. 1993): A cross-over comparative study

Our purpose in this study is to view theories of psychotherapy from a general social-political context, especially insofar as they pertain to values. Beginning with Weisskopf-Joelson’s (1980) thesis that theories of psychotherapy may be “perceptual houses” with their own unique value structures, we studied the values of psychoanalytic psychotherapists within the framework of Rokeach’s ( 1968) system. Through the Rokeach Value Survey, we examined the values held by a group of psychoanalytic trainees in 1979 and those held by a group of practicing psychoanalysts in 1993. Because neither group of subjects can be regarded as randomly representative of the universe of psychoanalysts, we regard the resultant data as evocative and informative rather than definitive. Nonetheless, we examined the extent to which value profiles for the psychoanalytic trainees of 1979 were similar or dissimilar to those of practicing psychoanalysts in 1993. Such comparisons at the least provide some general indication as to whether values have shifted in the universe within this time period. Findings are presented about specific patterns of values, and implications are discussed. There appears to be more consistency than difference in values among the psychoanalytically-oriented psychotherapists we studied, lending support to this discipline’s designation of a “perceptual house” insofar as its values are concerned.     

An assessment of factors contributing to instrumental performance for sexual reward in the rat

Male and female rats were gonadectomized, implanted in adulthood with capsules containing either testosterone propionate (TP) or cholesterol, and were trained to lever press for access to an oestrous female. When lever press performance was tested in extinction, only the male rats implanted with TP displayed significantly higher levels of responding than controls, demonstrating that lever pressing for oestrous females as a reward is sexually dimorphic. Ejaculation patterns from a separate assessment of these rats' copulatory ability were significantly correlated with their instrumental performance. In a second experiment, "masculinized" females exposed to TP postnatally and given TP implants responded in extinction at mean levels equivalent to those exhibited by adult males that were either intact or castrated with androgen replacement. These data suggest that organizational steroid exposure perinatally affects the actual reward value assigned to oestrous females inadulthood, in combination withconsummatory sexual experience.     

Suicide and Drug Abuse in the Medical Community

ABSTRACT: In the United States each year the equivalent of an average-size medical school graduating class commits suicide, with the highest incidence occurring in the decade following the completion of training. Of these suicides, 20% to 30% are associated with drug abuse and 40% with alcoholism. Various problem areas are considered. Role strain, leading to excessive drug use in an attempt to increase work efficiency, is coupled with a denial of the physician's own dependency needs and gratification. The problem of identity occurs in relation to the exaggerated sense of duty and obligation the physician feels in attending to the demands of the patients and their families. Medicine as magical thinking is also discussed, revealing the physician's belief in his own immunity, which is strenuously tested when he actually sets up in practice. The community's high regard for the physician further complicates the situation. Too little has been done about working with emotional problems of medical students during their training and after they begin to practice. Unfortunately, physicians feel uncomfortable in turning to colleagues for help; rather, they tend to isolate themselves, resorting to alcohol and drugs. One should question the selection of medical students and their overall training, not only in terms of academic learning but also with more consideration for the stresses and strains of the future career.