Different patterns of mnemonic deficits in two organic amnestic syndromes

A recall and recognition memory study of Korsakoff and post-herpes encephalitis patients employing percentage correct recall and the statisticd′ derived from signal detection theory supports Lhermitte's contention that these two patient groups represent two distinct organic amnesia syndromes. Post-herpes encephalitis patients show little evidence of encoding and storage of information. In contrast recognition memory of Korsakoff and normal control subjects was essentially similar for truly novel information. Recognition memory for English words was markedly impaired for Korsakoff patients and worsened with increased semantic organization of the material. In light of our findings it would seem advisable to utilize homogeneous groups, with respect to brain pathology, when studying memory processes in organic patients.     

A role for Synapsin in associative learning: the Drosophila larva as a study case

Synapsins are evolutionarily conserved, highly abundant vesicular phosphoproteins in presynaptic terminals. They are thought to regulate the recruitment of synaptic vesicles from the reserve pool to the readily-releasable pool, in particular when vesicle release is to be maintained at high spiking rates. As regulation of transmitter release is a prerequisite for synaptic plasticity, we use the fruit fly Drosophila to ask whether Synapsin has a role in behavioral plasticity as well; in fruit flies, Synapsin is encoded by a single gene (syn). We tackled this question for associative olfactory learning in larval Drosophila by using the deletion mutant syn^97CS, which had been backcrossed to the Canton-S wild-type strain (CS) for 13 generations. We provide a molecular account of the genomic status of syn^97CS by PCR and show the absence of gene product on Western blots and nerve-muscle preparations. We found that olfactory associative learning in syn^97CS larvae is reduced to ~50% of wild-type CS levels; however, responsiveness to the to-be-associated stimuli and motor performance in untrained animals are normal. In addition, we introduce two novel behavioral control procedures to test stimulus responsiveness and motor performance after “sham training.” Wild-type CS and syn^97CS perform indistinguishably also in these tests. Thus, larval Drosophila can be used as a case study for a role of Synapsin in associative learning.     

Semantic activation in action planning

Four experiments investigated activation of semantic information in action preparation. Participants either prepared to grasp and use an object (e.g., to drink from a cup) or to lift a finger in association with the object's position following a go/no-go lexical-decision task. Word stimuli were consistent to the action goals of the object use (Experiment 1) or to the finger lifting (Experiment 2). Movement onset times yielded a double dissociation of consistency effects between action preparation and word processing. This effect was also present for semantic categorizations (Experiment 3), but disappeared when introducing a letter identification task (Experiment 4). In sum, our findings indicate that action semantics are activated selectively in accordance with the specific action intention of an actor.     

The Baroness's Comittee and the President's Council: ambition and alienation in public bioethics

The President's Council on Bioethics has tried to make a distinctive contribution to the methodology of such public bodies in developing what it has styled a "richer bioethics." The Council's procedure contrasts with more modest methods of public bioethical deliberation employed by the United Kingdom's Warnock Committee. The practices of both bodies are held up against the backdrop of concerns about moral and political alienation, prompted by the limitations of moral reasoning and by moral dissent from state policy under even the most democratic of governments. Although the President's Council's rhetoric is often scrupulously conciliatory, recurring features of its argumentative practice are regrettably divisive. They order these things better in Britain.     

A comment on Fry's "The role of caring in a theory of nursing ethics

Our response to Sara Fry's paper focuses on the difficulty of understanding her insistence on the fundamental character of caring in a theory of nursing ethics. We discuss a number of problems her text throws in the way of making sense of this idea, and outline our own proposal for how caring's role may be reasonably understood: not as an alternative object of value, competing with autonomy or patient good, but rather as an alternative way of responding toward that which is of value.     

Social influence: A discussion and integration of recent models into a general group situation theory

Three models of social influence are presented and their principles discussed in depth: social impact theory, the social influence model and group situation theory. A detailed model of social impact is developed and combined with the group situation theory. The integration of these concepts is utilized to reanalyse several classical studies in social facilitation, social inhibition, crowding, social loafing, and helping in an emergency. Finally, in order to emphasize their differences, the three models are used to explain the Asch studies. The combination of a detailed version of social impact theory with group situation theory results in a middle range theory of group behaviour.     

Psychosocial factors in heart surgery: presurgical vulnerability and postsurgical recovery

OBJECTIVE: Distress and low perceived social support were examined as indicators of psychosocial vulnerability in patients about to undergo heart surgery. Design: A total of 550 study patients underwent heart surgeries, including bypass grafting and valve procedures. Psychosocial interviews were conducted about five days before surgery, and biomedical data were obtained from hospital records. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sociodemographic, personality, religious, and biomedical factors were evaluated as predictors of psychosocial vulnerability, and all five sets of variables were evaluated as contributors to hospital length of stay (LOS). RESULTS: Patients scoring higher on one or more indicator of presurgical psychosocial vulnerability were younger, more likely to be female, less likely to be married, less well educated, lower in dispositional optimism, higher in trait anger, and lower in religiousness. Older age, depression, low support, and low trait anger each showed an independent, prospective association with greater LOS, and several other predictors had prospective relationships with LOS that were statistically mediated by depression or perceived support. CONCLUSION: Evidence that multiple psychosocial factors may influence adaptation to heart surgery has implications for understanding and ameliorating presurgical distress and for improving postsurgical recovery.     

A computer program for testing and analyzing random generation behavior in normal and clinical samples: The Mittenecker Pointing Test

Random sequence generation tests have proved to be a useful diagnostic tool for the identification of clinically relevant impairments of executive functions and for the study of cognitive functioning in healthy individuals. The most prevalent variety, random number generation, involves several limitations, however. In the original Mittenecker Pointing Test (MPT; Mittenecker, 1958), subjects were instructed to point successively and as randomly as possible at nine unlabeled circles irregularly arranged on a cardboard. With the computer program presented here, Mittenecker’s classical test has been transferred to a contemporary format. The MPT can be applied using a standard PC keyboard and computes a series of sophisticated measures of deviations from randomness on the basis of information theory analysis. Because of its easy and well-controlled administration and reduced demands on memory and attention, the automatized MPT offers a wide range of application possibilities in normal but also in severely impaired clinical samples.     

Frege,Dedekind, and the Origins of Logicism

This paper has a two-fold objective: to provide a balanced, multi-faceted account of the origins of logicism; to rehabilitate Richard Dedekind as a main logicist. Logicism should be seen as more deeply rooted in the development of modern mathematics than typically assumed, and this becomes evident by reconsidering Dedekind's writings in relation to Frege's. Especially in its Dedekindian and Fregean versions, logicism constitutes the culmination of the rise of ‘pure mathematics’ in the nineteenth century; and this rise brought with it an inter-weaving of methodological and epistemological considerations. The latter aspect illustrates how philosophical concerns can grow out of mathematical practice, as opposed to being imposed on it from outside. It also sheds new light on the legacy and the lasting significance of logicism today.