Toward a general theory of unconscious processes in psychoanalysis and anesthesiology

Psychoanalysis and anesthesiology appear radically different in their clinical practice, yet they share a focus of inquiry: unconscious processes. Despite this common domain, there has been no exploration of the relationship between "the unconscious" as conceived by psychoanalysts and "surgical unconsciousness" as conceived by anesthesiologists. This is likely due to the fact that general anesthesia has been assumed to be a state in which the brain is simply "turned off." More recent neuroscientific data invalidate this assumption by demonstrating that the anesthetized brain is both cognitively dynamic and capable of implicit learning. Current perspectives on anesthetic mechanisms suggest that general anesthesia is characterized not simply by the absence of cognitive activity, but by the disintegration of cognitive activity. The cognitive unbinding paradigm of general anesthesia is discussed and its application to Wilfred Bion's theory of thinking, as well as his concept of attacks on linking, is elucidated. Based on the common structure and function of unconscious processes in psychoanalysis and anesthesiology, the foundation of a general theory is established.     

The motion aftereffect reloaded

The motion aftereffect is a robust illusion of visual motion resulting from exposure to a moving pattern. There is a widely accepted explanation of it in terms of changes in the response of cortical direction-selective neurons. Research has distinguished several variants of the effect. Converging recent evidence from different experimental techniques (psychophysics, single-unit recording, brain imaging, transcranial magnetic stimulation, visual evoked potentials and magnetoencephalography) reveals that adaptation is not confined to one or even two cortical areas, but occurs at multiple levels of processing involved in visual motion analysis. A tentative motion-processing framework is described, based on motion aftereffect research. Recent ideas on the function of adaptation see it as a form of gain control that maximises the efficiency of information transmission at multiple levels of the visual pathway.     

Accuracy of effect size estimates from published psychological research

A Monte-Carlo simulation was used to model the biasing of effect sizes in published studies. The findings from the simulation indicate that, when a predominant bias to publish studies with statistically significant results is coupled with inadequate statistical power, there will be an overestimation of effect sizes. The consequences such an effect size overestimation will then have on meta-analyses and power analyses are highlighted and discussed along with measures which can be taken to reduce the problem.     

The contemporary lay meditation movement and lay gurus in Sri Lanka

This article examines the lay meditation movement occurring in contemporary Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The lay meditation movement represents a different perspective from the nationalistic Sinhala Buddhism that has dominated the discourse in the wake of the intractable ethnic conflict in the country. The lay meditation movement reflects the contemporary ferment in Buddhist discourse among the laity. One of the key themes in this movement is the privileging of experience because it gives the lay groups authority to challenge contemporary orthodoxy and it has empowered a new class of spiritual leaders, the lay gurus. Paraphrasing Stirrat, we can say that these lay gurus are leading the lay meditation movement towards ‘a series of different interpretations of what it means’ to be a Buddhist today. In its overall effect the lay meditation movement not only reconstructs what it means to be a Buddhist today but also points in the direction of establishing new forms of sectarianism that could be considered to be ‘new religious movements’ under the umbrella of Buddhism.     

Life events and brand preference changes

Three types of variable have been used to explain brand preference changes: consumer characteristics, marketing mix factors and situational influences. The study presented in this paper focuses on the relationship between life events experienced by individuals, resultant stress and lifestyle changes and changes in brand preferences. Based on theory and past research, a model is proposed and tested. The data support the notion that brand preference changes may be viewed as the outcome of adjustments to new life conditions and changes in consumption lifestyles that reflect consumer efforts to cope with stressful life changes. Implications for consumer research are also discussed. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Lesions of the rat nucleus basalis magnocellularis disrupt appetitive-to-aversive transfer learning

Rats with selective lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) and sham-lesion control animals were tested in an operant appetitive-to-aversive transfer task. We hypothesized that NBM lesions would not affect performance in the appetitive phase, but that performance would be impaired during subsequent transfer to the aversive phase of the task. Additional groups of NBM lesion and control rats were tested in the avoidance condition only, where we hypothesized that NBM lesions would not disrupt performance. These hypotheses were based, on the argument that the NBM is not necessary for simple association learning that does not tax attention. Both the appetitive phase of the transfer task and the avoidance only task depend only on simple associative learning and are argued not to tax attention. Consequently, performance in these tasks was predicted to be spared following NBM lesions. Complex, attention-demanding associative learning, however, is argued to depend on the NBM. Performance, in the aversive phase of the transfer task is both attentionally demanding and associatively more complex than in either the appetitive or aversive tasks alone; thus, avoidance performance in the NBM lesion group was predicted to be impaired following transfer from prior appetitive conditioning. Results supported our hypotheses, with the NBM lesion group acquiring the appetitive response normally, but showing impaired performance following transfer to the aversive conditioning phase of the transfer task. Impairments were not attributable to disrupted avoidance learning per se, as avoidance behavior was normal in the NBM lesion group tested in the avoidance condition only.     

Prior beliefs and methodological concepts in scientific reasoning

This investigation focuses on the relations between prior beliefs, methodological concepts, and college students' (N=211) scientific reasoning in different problem contexts. Participants were presented with exercises that described the method and results of experiments, and were asked to draw conclusions about the causal status of variables that violated their prior beliefs. Participants drew conclusions in both abstract (i.e. recommend a conclusion for the fictional experimenter), and personal settings (i.e. draw their own conclusions about the phenomenon). Participants' recommendations for the hypothetical experimenter were predicted by their understanding of two methodological concepts: the function of empirical evidence and experimental control. Students' personal conclusions were predicted by their prior beliefs and their appreciation of the objectivity of inquiry. Thus, even when students understand in the abstract how data should relate to scientific conclusions, prior beliefs often take precedence in their own conclusions, especially when they do not understand the issue of objectivity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender Representation in the NCAA News: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

The purpose of this study was to provide a reexamination of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) News and the extent to which the publication provides equitable coverage to women and women's teams. To do so, 5,745 paragraphs and 1,086 photographs from 24 issues (12 issues in 1999, 12 issues in 2001) were coded for (a) gender, (b) size, (c) location, and (d) content. Results were then compared to a standard (i.e., the proportion of female athletes competing in NCAA intercollegiate athletics). Results indicate that coverage in the NCAA News was more representative, with respect to the amount of text and number of photographs, than it was in 1988 and 1991.     

Two traditions,one space: orthodox Christians and Muslims in dialogue

The Eastern Orthodox Church has encountered Islam from the first decades of its appearance and they interacted in a variety of ways. Most frequently the meeting took the form of polemical clash and confrontation. However, in the many centuries of silent coexistence, it was often expressed in a concrete form of dialogue that sought to define the differences and the positions of the two religious forms and experiences. The present study focuses on the contemporary academic dialogues between Orthodox Christianity and Islam which began in the spring of 1985 at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. These dialogues were initiated by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and further meetings were held under its auspices in Chambésy, Constantinople (Istanbul), Athens, and Amman. This article presents the issues discussed, pointing to the fact that peaceful coexistence and justice may only prevail on a basis of mutual knowledge and understanding of the other.