The Role of the Cerebellum in Cognition and Emotion: Personal Reflections Since 1982 on the Dysmetria of Thought Hypothesis,and Its Historical Evolution from Theory to Therapy

The cognitive neuroscience of the cerebellum is now an established multidisciplinary field of investigation. This essay traces the historical evolution of this line of inquiry from an emerging field to its current status, with personal reflections over almost three decades on this journey of discovery. It pays tribute to early investigators who recognized the wider role of the cerebellum beyond motor control, traces the origins of new terms and concepts including the dysmetria of thought theory, the universal cerebellar transform, and the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome, and places these developments within the broader context of the scientific efforts of a growing community of cerebellar cognitive neuroscientists. This account considers the converging evidence from theoretical, anatomical, physiological, clinical, and functional neuroimaging approaches that have resulted in the transition from recognizing the cerebellar incorporation into the distributed neural circuits subserving cognition and emotion, to a hopeful new era of treatment of neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric manifestations of cerebellar diseases, and to cerebellar-based interventions for psychiatric disorders.     

论布兰顿之规范性实践概念

布兰顿（R．Brandom）的规范性实践概念有三项主要内涵：（1）默会地遵行实践传统孕育的“隐性规则”是遵从具有明确阐释的“显性规则”的前提;（2）规范性意涵独立于因果性,是基于意向性之主客体不同方面的模态关系的差异,不可相互取代;（3）那些作为默会信念的“隐性规则”本质上并不是迥异于“显性规则”的东西,它们仍以话语推论关系为范型,仍需具备概念阐释的可能性。特纳（S．Turner）和劳斯（J．ROUSe）分别从“还原论的”与“非还原论的”自然主义立场批评布兰顿的观点。对这些批评的回应将会表明,为什么上述三项意涵对规范性实践概念而言是同时必要的。     

初中生感戴和主观幸福感的干预研究

该研究通过开设班级辅导和“列举恩惠”活动,采用不同的干预方式对初一年级学生进行感戴干预研究,考察不同感戴干预方式对主观幸福感的影响。结果显示：实验班1学生在感戴、生活满意度、积极情感方面的提高水平高于实验班2和控制班;实验班2学生在感戴、生活满意度、积极情感方面的提高水平高于控制班。因此得出结论：班级辅导和“列举恩惠”活动相结合的干预方式与仅采用“列举恩惠”活动的干预方式都可以提高学生感戴和主观幸福感,但是前者比后者的效果好。     

Pragmatic Reflexivity in Self-defeating and Self-justifying Expressions

Self-defeating and self-justifying expressions are reflexive insofar as they pertain to themselves. However, the reflexivity involved is often pragmatic, i.e., does not entirely depend upon the logical properties of what is expressed but also upon the expressive act. In this paper I present a general account of pragmatic reflexivity and apply it to some familiar self-defeating and self-justifying expressions in epistemology. This application indicates some important, if often neglected features of the epistemological issues involved. The account I defend suggests that epistemology is particularly sensitive to pragmatic reflexivity since what epistemologists do, i.e., inquire, theorize, and defend theories, is also the subject of the inquiry and resultant theories.

Needs Exploitation

Sweatshop labor is often cited as an example of the worst and most pervasive form of exploitation today, yet understanding what is meant by the charge has proven surprisingly difficult for philosophers. I develop an account of what I call “Needs Exploitation,” grounded in a specification of the duty of beneficence. In the case of sweatshop labor, I argue that employers face a duty to extend to employees a wage sufficient to meet their basic needs. This duty is limited by the degree of the employees’ dependence on the employer for basic needs and a reasonability standard where the employer may remain within a range of well-being between deficiency and luxury.

Kanizsa-type subjective contours do not guide attentional deployment in visual search but line termination contours do

We used visual search to explore whether attention could be guided by Kanizsa-type subjective contours and by subjective contours induced by line ends. Unlike in previous experiments, we compared search performance with subjective contours against performance with real, luminance contours, and we had observers search for orientations or shapes produced by subjective contours, rather than searching for the presence of the contours themselves. Visual search for one orientation or shape among distractors of another orientation or shape was efficient when the items were defined by luminance contours. Search was much less efficient among items defined by Kanizsa-type subjective contours. Search remained efficient when the items were defined by subjective contours induced by line ends. The difference between Kanizsa-type subjective contour and subjective contours induced by line ends is consistent with physiological evidence suggesting that the brain mechanisms underlying the perception of these two kinds of subjective contours may be different.     

Understanding the Windsor Report. Two Leaders in the American Church Speak Across the Divide – Ian T. Douglas and Paul F.M. Zahl

Book reviewed:
Understanding the Windsor Report. Two Leaders in the American Church Speak Across the Divide , Ian T. Douglas and Paul F.M. Zahl, Church Publishing 2005 (0-89869-487-6), viii + 184 pp., pb $20.00     

Effort-reward imbalance, overcommitment, and psychological distress in Canadian police officers

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship among Effort, Reward, and Overcommitment dimensions of Siegrist's Effort-Reward Imbalance Model and Psychological Distress in a sample of 78 Canadian police officers. Ages of respondents ranged between 24 and 56 years (M=36.1, SD=8.0). 30% of respondents had been in policing for 16 years or more, 24% between 6 and 15 years, and 44% for 5 years or less. Ordinary least-squares regression was used to evaluate the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. After adjusting for age, sex, education, and marital status, higher levels of Effort-Reward Imbalance and Overcommitment were associated with greater Psychological Distress. Present findings support the utility of the model in this particular occupational group and add to the increasing literature suggesting association of Effort-Reward Imbalance, Overcommitment, and reduced mental health.