Influence of Different Sitting Positions on Healthy Infants' Reaching Movements

The authors analyze the influence of different sitting positions (ring and flexion) on the reaching performance (spatiotemporal variables) of full-term infants 6 and 7 months old. In addition, they correlated level of trunk control, measured by the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control, with performance during reaching. The different sitting positions only influenced the reaching movements of 6-month-old infants, who showed the best performance in the ring position. However, this influence was observed only for the trunk displacement, deceleration time, movement units, straightness index and mean velocity. In contrast, there was no influence of positions on 7-month-old infants’ reaching performance. Regarding the correlations, it was observed that infants with more level of trunk control showed a better performance when reaching, regardless of position and the age assessed.     

Beauty,the social network1

Aesthetic values give agents reasons to perform not only acts of contemplation, but also acts like editing, collecting, and conserving. Moreover, aesthetic agents rarely operate solo: they conduct their business as integral members of networks of other aesthetic agents. The consensus theory of aesthetic value, namely that an item’s aesthetic value is its power to evoke a finally valuable experience in a suitable spectator, can explain neither the range of acts performed by aesthetic agents nor the social contexts in which they operate. This paper proposes a new theory of aesthetic value specifically to explain facts about the sociality of aesthetic agents.     

The hippocampus: hub of brain network communication for memory

A complex brain network, centered on the hippocampus, supports episodic memories throughout their lifetimes. Classically, upon memory encoding during active behavior, hippocampal activity is dominated by theta oscillations (6-10Hz). During inactivity, hippocampal neurons burst synchronously, constituting sharp waves, which can propagate to other structures, theoretically supporting memory consolidation. This 'two-stage' model has been updated by new data from high-density electrophysiological recordings in animals that shed light on how information is encoded and exchanged between hippocampus, neocortex and subcortical structures such as the striatum. Cell assemblies (tightly related groups of cells) discharge together and synchronize across brain structures orchestrated by theta, sharp waves and slow oscillations, to encode information. This evolving dynamical schema is key to extending our understanding of memory processes.     

“Wanted!” The effects of reward on face recognition: electrophysiological correlates

The aim of the present study was to uncover the temporal dynamics of face recognition as a function of reward. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during the encoding and the subsequent old/new memory test in response to faces that could be associated with a monetary reward. The behavioral results showed that faces associated with reward at both encoding and retrieval were recognized better than the unrewarded ones. ERP responses highlighted that successful encoding predictive of subsequent memory was greater for faces associated with reward than for faces without reward-driven motivational learning. At retrieval, an early positive-going component was elicited for potentially rewarded faces on frontal regions, while the occipito-temporal N170 component showed priming effects as a function of reward. Later on, larger centro-parietal ERP components, related to recognition memory, were found selectively for reward-associated faces. Remarkably, electrophysiological responses varied in a graded manner, with the largest amplitude yielded by faces with double reward, followed by faces associated with reward only at encoding. Taken together, the present data show that the processing of outcome expectations affects face structural encoding and increases memory efficiency, yielding a robust and sustained modulation over frontal and temporal areas where reward and memory mechanisms operate in conjunction.     

Modal Meinongianism and fiction: the best of three worlds

We outline a neo-Meinongian framework labeled as Modal Meinongian Metaphysics (MMM) to account for the ontology and semantics of fictional discourse. Several competing accounts of fictional objects are originated by the fact that our talking of them mirrors incoherent intuitions: mainstream theories of fiction privilege some such intuitions, but are forced to account for others via complicated paraphrases of the relevant sentences. An ideal theory should resort to as few paraphrases as possible. In Sect. 1, we make this explicit via two methodological principles, called the Minimal Revision and the Acceptability Constraint. In Sect. 2, we introduce the standard distinction between internal and external fictional discourse. In Sects. 3–5, we discuss the approaches of (traditional) Meinongianism, Fictionalism, and Realism—and their main troubles. In Sect. 6 we propose our MMM approach. This is based upon (1) a modal semantics including impossible worlds (Subsect. 6.1); (2) a qualified Comprehension Principle for objects (Subsect. 6.2); (3) a notion of existence-entailment for properties (Subsect. 6.3). In Sect. 7 we present a formal semantics for MMM based upon a representation operator. And in Sect. 8 we have a look at how MMM solves the problems of the three aforementioned theories.     

Quantum-mechanical Statistics and the Inclusivist Approach to the Nature of Particulars

There have been attempts to derive anti-haeccetistic conclusions from the fact that quantum mechanics (QM) appeals to non-standard statistics. Since in fact QM acknowledges two kinds of such statistics, Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac, I argue that we could in the same vein derive the sharper anti-haeccetistic conclusion that bosons are bundles of tropes and fermions are bundles of universals. Moreover, since standard statistics is still appropriate at the macrolevel, we could also venture to say that no anti-haecceitistic conclusion is warranted for ordinary objects, which could then tentatively be identified with substrates. In contrast to this, however, there has been so far no acknowledgement of the possibility of inclusivism, according to which ontological accounts of particulars as widely different as those can possibly coexist in one world picture. The success of the different statistics in physics at least calls for a revision in this respect.     

Exhaled breath analysis in evaluation of psychological stress: A short literature review

Physiological stress is pervasive in today's society. Its detection is normally performed through several unobtrusive methods, driving both caregivers and patients to take measures to reduce the burden of this condition on human health. Among the methods for assessing stress, exhaled breath analysis represents a non‐invasive, real‐time alternative to classic laboratory tests. Therefore, a literature review was performed to assess the presence of altered parameters, related to psychological stress, in exhaled breath. Most studies in our review measured nitric oxide (NO), whose concentration was often correlated, either positively or negatively, with psychological stress, with reasonable scientific support. Other compounds (isoprene, terpene and so on) were rarely studied and with mixed evidence. Further investigations are needed to elucidate the involvement and the pathophysiological role of NO in stress, possibly including a greater number of individuals, as sample size actually represents the main limitation of the work published to date.     

Hippocampal sharp wave bursts coincide with neocortical "up-state" transitions

The sleeping neocortex shows nested oscillatory activity in different frequency ranges, characterized by fluctuations between "up-states" and "down-states." High-density neuronal ensemble recordings in rats now reveal the interaction between synchronized activity in the hippocampus and neocortex: Electroencephalographic sharp waves in the hippocampus were more probable during down-states than during up-states, and tended to coincide with transitions from down-states to up-states. The form of cortical activity fluctuations and their interactions with sharp waves depend on sleep depth: In deeper sleep stages, characterized by strong neocortical oscillation in the delta range or slower (approximately 0.8-4 Hz), sharp-wave-triggered peri-event time histograms (PETH) are consistent with a longer duration for down-states than for up-states. In lighter sleep, the sharp-wave-triggered PETH suggested longer up-states than down-states. These results highlight the interplay in the hippocampal/neocortical loop: Decreased neocortical input during down-states may be a factor in generation of sharp waves. In turn, sharp waves may facilitate down-to-up transitions. This interplay may reflect joint memory trace reactivation in the hippocampus and in the neocortex, possibly contributing to consolidation of long-term memory: Off-line reactivation of recent neural activity patterns in the hippocampus occurs during 50-100-msec electroencephalographic sharp waves, corresponding to pyramidal-cell population bursts. The neocortical up-states starting in correspondence with sharp waves may be influenced by the reactivated information carried by the hippocampal sharp wave.     

Quine and Slater on Paraconsistency and Deviance

In a famous and controversial paper, B. H. Slater has argued against the possibility of paraconsistent logics. Our reply is centred on the distinction between two aspects of the meaning of a logical constant ^*c^* in a given logic: its operational meaning, given by the operational rules for ^*c^* in a cut-free sequent calculus for the logic at issue, and its global meaning, specified by the sequents containing ^*c^* which can be proved in the same calculus. Subsequently, we use the same strategy to counter Quine's meaning variance argument against deviant logics. In a nutshell, we claim that genuine rivalry between (similar) logics ^*L^* and ^*L^* is possible whenever each constant in ^*L^* has the same operational meaning as its counterpart in ^*L^* although differences in global meaning arise in at least one case.