Bidirectional lexical-gustatory synesthesia

In developmental lexical–gustatory synesthesia, specific words (inducers) can trigger taste perceptions (concurrents) and these synesthetic associations are generally stable. We describe a case of multilingual lexical–gustatory synesthesia for whom some synesthesias were bidirectional as some tastes also triggered auditory word associations. Evoked concurrents could be gustatory but also tactile sensations. In addition to words and pseudowords, many voices were effective inducers, suggesting increased connections between cortical taste areas and both voice-selective and language-selective areas. Lasting changes in some evoked tastes occurred during childhood suggesting that some plasticity can be present after the initial learning of associations. Inducers were often linked to taste concurrents phonologically or semantically, but also through identifiable childhood episodes (persons or events). Several inducers were phonologically linked to episodic inducers suggesting a process of secondary acquisition for many inducers. Implications of these observations are discussed.     

Learning as a Path,Not a Goal: Contemplative Pedagogy – Its Principles and Practices

What is contemplative pedagogy and how is it practiced in Religious Studies classrooms? Contemplative pedagogy cultivates inner awareness through first‐person investigations, often called “contemplative practices.” Contemplative teaching practices range widely: silent sitting meditation, compassion practices, walking meditation, deep listening, mindfulness, yoga, calligraphy, chant, guided meditations, nature observation, self‐inquiry, and many others. Since narrative is a mode of instruction prevalent in contemplative literature, the article includes first‐hand reflections from students and a narrative account of how an initially skeptical professor came to incorporate contemplative teaching methods into her courses. It expands from the personal narratives to highlight the work of many contemplative professors in the field. These real‐life examples are put into the context of recent publications on shifts in higher education and meditation research. The article seeks to demonstrate the power of contemplative teaching to fulfill many hopes for liberal arts learning. Of particular importance is its emphasis on interior qualities of lifelong impact, such as self‐knowledge and ethical cultivation.     

Quality of attachment,perinatal risk,and mother–infant interaction in a high‐risk premature sample

Thirty‐three families, each with a premature infant born less than 33 gestational weeks, were observed in a longitudinal exploratory study. Infants were recruited in a neonatal intensive care unit, and follow‐up visits took place at 4 months and 12 months of corrected age. The severity of the perinatal problems was evaluated using the Perinatal Risk Inventory (PERI; A.P. Scheiner & M.E. Sexton, 1991 ). At 4 months, mother–infant play interaction was observed and coded according to the CARE‐index (P.M. Crittenden, 2003 ); at 12 months, the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP; M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978 ) was administered. Results indicate a strong correlation between the severity of perinatal problems and the quality of attachment at 12 months. Based on the PERI, infants with high medical risks more frequently tended to be insecurely attached. There also was a significant correlation between insecure attachment and dyadic play interaction at 4 months (i.e., maternal controlling behavior and infant compulsive compliance). Moreover, specific dyadic interactive patterns could be identified as protective or as risk factors regarding the quality of attachment. Considering that attachment may have long‐term influence on child development, these results underline the need for particular attention to risk factors regarding attachment among premature infants.     

Philosophical parrhesia as aesthetics of existence

According to some interpreters, Foucault's encounter with the Greek and Roman ethics led him to reconsider his earlier work and to turn away from politics. Drawing mostly from Foucault's last and hitherto unpublished lecture course, this paper argues that Foucault's turn to ethics should not be interpreted as a turn away from his previous work, but rather as its logical continuation and an attempt to resolve some of the outstanding questions. I argue that the 1984 lectures on parrhesia should be interpreted as Foucault's philosophical apology, as an attempt to defend himself against the charges of moral and epistemological nihilism, which were raised in response to his earlier work. In his last lectures, the Nietzschean Foucault somewhat surprisingly describes his earlier work as authentic Socratic philosophy and as ethical practice of freedom. In the conclusion, I assess the plausibility of Foucault's apology and speculate in which direction his work might have developed, had it not been cut off by his death.     

Effects of cognitive impairment on prosodic parameters of speech production planning in multiple sclerosis

Cognitive impairment (CI) affects 40–65% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). CI can have a negative impact on a patient's everyday activities, such as engaging in conversations. Speech production planning ability is crucial for successful verbal interactions and thus for preserving social and occupational skills. This study investigates the effect of cognitive-linguistic demand and CI on speech production planning in MS, as reflected in speech prosody. A secondary aim is to explore the clinical potential of prosodic features for the prediction of an individual's cognitive status in MS. A total of 45 subjects, that is 22 healthy controls (HC) and 23 patients in early stages of relapsing-remitting MS, underwent neuropsychological tests probing specific cognitive processes involved in speech production planning. All subjects also performed a read speech task, in which they had to read isolated sentences manipulated as for phonological length. Results show that the speech of MS patients with CI is mainly affected at the temporal level (articulation and speech rate, pause duration). Regression analyses further indicate that rate measures are correlated with working memory scores. In addition, linear discriminant analysis shows the ROC AUC of identifying MS patients with CI is 0.70 (95% confidence interval: 0.68–0.73). Our findings indicate that prosodic planning is deficient in patients with MS-CI and that the scope of planning depends on patients’ cognitive abilities. We discuss how speech-based approaches could be used as an ecological method for the assessment and monitoring of CI in MS.     

Placing Age Differences in Cultural Context: A Comparison of the Effects of Age on PTSD After Disasters in the United States, Mexico, and Poland

Criterion symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were measured 6–12 months after Hurricane Andrew in the United States (non-Hispanic n = 270), Hurricane Paulina in Mexico (n = 200), and the 1997 flood in Poland (n = 285), using English, Spanish, and Polish versions of the Revised Civilian Mississippi Scale. The samples ranged in age from 18 to 88. Linear and quadratic effects of age were tested by using hierarchical multiple regression, with the effects of gender, trauma, and education controlled. Among Americans, age had a curvilinear relation with PTSD such that middle-aged respondents were most distressed. Among Mexicans, age had a linear and negative relation with PTSD such that younger people were most distressed. Among Poles, age had a linear and positive relation with PTSD such that older people were most distressed. Thus, there was no one consistent effect of age; rather, it depended upon the social, economic, cultural, and historical context of the disaster-stricken setting.     

Seeing without the occipito-parietal cortex: Simultagnosia as a shrinkage of the attentional visual field

Following bi-parietal lesions patient AT showed a severe inability to relocate her attention within a visual field which perimetry proved to be near-normal. An experimental approach with tasks testing visuo-spatial attention demonstrated a shrinkage of A.T.'s attentional visual field. With her visual attention narrowed to a kind of functional tunnel vision, the patient exhibited simultanagnosia (Wolpert, 1924), a symptom previously described in 1909 by Balint under the label of Psychic paralysis of "Gaze". In striking contrast AT showed an efficient and effortless perception of complex natural scenes, which, according to recent work in normal subjects, necessitate few if any attentional resources.     

Completed suicides among Quebec adolescents involved with juvenile justice and child welfare services

In the Province of Quebec (Canada), adolescents involved with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems committed at least one third of all completed suicides in their age group in 1995 and 1996. Their risk of suicide, standardized for age and sex, was five times that of the general adolescent population, and female juvenile delinquents had the highest relative risk of suicide (36.1). Cumulated risk factors may explain those results. Since 40% of those suicides did occur when subjects were still actively involved with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, those agencies should revise their suicide prevention strategies.     

Distress vocalizations in infant rats: what's all the fuss about?

Ultrasonic vocalizations emitted by infant rodents are typically characterized as cries of distress. There are two contexts that are known to reliably elicit ultrasound production: extreme cold exposure and administration of clonidine, an α₂ adrenoceptor agonist. Noting that these two contexts both entail pronounced decreases in cardiac rate, we have hypothesized that the vocalizations are acoustic by-products of a physiological maneuver, the abdominal compression reaction (ACR), that increases venous return to the heart when return is compromised. As a critical test of this hypothesis, we measured venous pressure near the right atrium in 15-day-old rats after clonidine administration. Consistent with the ACR hypothesis, emission of ultrasound was accompanied by large and reliable increases in venous pressure and, therefore, venous return. These results provide strong, direct support for the ACR hypothesis and, by doing so, underscore the potential pitfalls of anthropomorphic interpretations of the vocalizations of infant rats.