视觉空间注意研究中的N2pc成分述评

N2pc与空间选择性注意密切相关, 反映了一种对当前任务相关刺激的注意分配过程。N2pc自我特性的研究主要涉及理论解释、测量方法、源定位以及影响因素等方面, 而其实验范式主要有视觉搜索和视觉短时记忆搜索两种范式。以N2pc为指标的研究主要分为与视觉空间注意相关的基础性研究和应用性扩展研究。今后N2pc的研究应该在不断深入细化自身特性研究、做好基础性研究的同时, 更多的向应用性扩展研究拓展。     

A COMMENT ON RCC: FROM RCC TO RCC<Superscript>++</Superscript>

The Region Connection Calculus (RCC theory) is a well-known spatial representation of topological relations between regions. It claims that the connection relation is primitive in the spatial domain. We argue that the connection relation is indeed primitive to the spatial relations, although in RCC theory there is no room for distance relations. We first analyze some aspects of the RCC theory, e.g. the two axioms in the RCC theory are not strong enough to govern the connection relation, regions in the RCC theory cannot be points, the uniqueness of the operation in the theory is not guaranteed, etc. To solve some of the problems, we propose an extension to the RCC theory by introducing the notion of region category and adding a new axiom which governs the characteristic property of the connection relation. The extended theory is named as RCC⁺⁺. We support the claim that the connection relation is primitive to spatial domain by showing how distance relations, size relations are developed in RCC⁺⁺. At last we revisit a sub-family of un-intended models in RCC theory, argue that RCC⁺⁺ is more suitable than RCC with regards to its original intended model, and discuss the representation limitation of the RCC, as well as RCC⁺⁺.     

Culture-specific personality correlates of anxiety among Chinese and Caucasian college students

The present study investigated the relationship between a set of personality constructs (i.e. perfectionism, independent-interdependent self-construal, and collective self-esteem) and trait and social anxiety among 324 Mainland Chinese and 333 Caucasian college students. It was hypothesized that the strength of the correlation between these personality factors and anxiety would be different for the two samples. The results indicated that socially prescribed perfectionism was a better predictor of social anxiety for the Chinese participants, but of trait anxiety for the Caucasian participants. Independent self-construal predicted social anxiety better for the Caucasians than for the Chinese. Overall, aspects of collective self-esteem were more correlated with anxiety among the Chinese than the Caucasians. The authors argued that the findings can be used to improve multicultural counselling in China and the USA and to provide more culturally specific interventions to clients having anxiety disorders.     

Age difference in numeral recognition and calculation: an event-related potential study.

In this study, we investigated the age difference in numeral recognition and calculation in one group of school-aged children (n = 38) and one of undergraduate students (n = 26) using the event-related potential (ERP) methods. Consistent with previous reports, the age difference was significant in behavioral results. Both numeral recognition and calculation elicited a negativity peaking at about 170-280 ms (N2) and a positivity peaking at 200-470 ms (pSW) in raw ERPs, and a difference potential (dN3) between 360 and 450 ms. The difference between the two age groups indicated that more attention resources were devoted to arithmetical tasks in school-aged children, and that school-aged children and undergraduate students appear to use different strategies to solve arithmetical problems. The analysis of frontal negativity suggested that numeral recognition and mental calculation impose greater load on working memory and executive function in schoolchildren than in undergraduate students. The topography data determined that the parietal regions were responsible for arithmetical function in humans, and there was an age-related difference in the area of cerebral activation.     

情绪对学习不良青少年选择性注意和持续性注意的影响

以学习不良青少年为被试,采用成绩反馈法诱发情绪,考察了情绪对学习不良青少年选择性注意和持续性注意的影响,结果表明：（1）情绪会影响学习不良青少年的选择性注意,具有积极低唤醒情绪的学习不良青少年,他们的选择性注意的反应时显著短于消极情绪下的被试;(2)学习不良青少年的情绪会影响到他们的持续性注意能力,消极高唤醒的情绪能够增加虚报率,而积极高唤醒的情绪能够提高判断标准,降低虚报率     

结直肠癌诊断模式的若干思考

结直肠癌是常见的消化道恶性肿瘤,然而在临床上得到诊断时大多已经到了中晚期,错过了最佳的治疗时机.近年来,随着基因相关技术及生物信息技术的迅猛发展,结直肠癌诊断方法得到不断改进,但早期诊断仍不尽如人意.因此现有的诊断模式值得我们去深思,从哲学意义上探索更为完善的诊断模式.     

Chinese kindergartners’ automatic processing of numerical magnitude in Stroop-like tasks

Using Stroop-like tasks, this study examined whether Chinese kindergartners showed automatic processing of numerical magnitude. A total of 36 children (mean age 5 5 years 10 months) were asked to perform physical size comparison (i.e., “Which of two numbers is bigger in physical size?”) and numerical magnitude tasks (i.e., “Which of two numbers is bigger in numerical magnitude?”) on 216 number pairs. These number pairs varied in levels of congruence between numerical magnitude and physical size (for Stroop effect) and numerical distance (for distance effect). On the basis of analyses of response time and error rates, we found that Chinese kindergartners showed automatic processing of numerical magnitude. These results are significantly different from previous studies’ findings about the onset age (ranging from around the end of first grade to third grade) for automatic processing of numerical magnitude.     

The ameliorating effect of oroxylin A on scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice

Oroxylin A is a flavonoid and was originally isolated from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi., one of the most important medicinal herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate the ameliorating effects of oroxylin A on memory impairment using the passive avoidance test, the Y-maze test, and the Morris water maze test in mice. Drug-induced amnesia was induced by administering scopolamine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) or diazepam (1 mg/kg, i.p.). Oroxylin A (5 mg/kg) significantly reversed cognitive impairments in mice by passive avoidance and the Y-maze testing (P<.05). Oroxylin A also improved escape latencies in training trials and increased swimming times and distances within the target zone of the Morris water maze (P<.05). Moreover, the ameliorating effects of oroxylin A were antagonized by both muscimol and diazepam (0.25 mg/kg, i.p., respectively), which are GABA(A) receptor agonists. Furthermore, oroxylin A (100 microM) was found to inhibit GABA-induced inward Cl(-) current in a single cortical neuron. These results suggest that oroxylin A may be useful for the treatment of cognitive impairments induced by cholinergic dysfunction via the GABAergic nervous system.     

浅谈分子生物学与临床医学研究的结合

随着分子生物学理论和技术从基础研究渗透到临床各个学科,对临床诊断和治疗水平的提高起到了积极的推动作用。但在实际工作中还存在着发展不平衡以及认识与理解上的误区。就分子生物学与临床医学研究的相结合的现状、存在问题及相应对策,以及今后我国临床医学分子生物学研究的发展前景进行了较广泛深入的讨论。