ENSEMBLE RECORDINGS IN AWAKE RATS: ACHIEVING BEHAVIORAL REGULARITY DURING MULTIMODAL STIMULUS PROCESSING AND DISCRIMINATIVE LEARNING

To meet an increasing need to examine the neurophysiological underpinnings of behavior in rats, we developed a behavioral system for studying sensory processing, attention and discrimination learning in rats while recording firing patterns of neurons in one or more brain areas of interest. Because neuronal activity is sensitive to variations in behavior which may confound the identification of neural correlates, a specific aim of the study was to allow rats to sample sensory stimuli under conditions of strong behavioral regularity. Our behavioral system allows multimodal stimulus presentation and is coupled to modules for delivering reinforcement, simultaneous monitoring of behavior and recording of ensembles of well isolated single neurons. Using training protocols for simple and compound discrimination, we validated the behavioral system with a group of 4 rats. Within these tasks, a majority of medial prefrontal neurons showed significant firing‐rate changes correlated to one or more trial events that could not be explained from significant variation in head position. Thus, ensemble recordings can be combined with discriminative learning tasks under conditions of strong behavioral regularity.     

Determining the environment: a modal logic for closed interaction

The aim of the work is to provide a language to reason about Closed Interactions, i.e. all those situations in which the outcomes of an interaction can be determined by the agents themselves and in which the environment cannot interfere with they are able to determine. We will see that two different interpretations can be given of this restriction, both stemming from Pauly Representation Theorem. We will identify such restrictions and axiomatize their logic. We will apply the formal tools to reason about games and their regulation.     

Comorbid Problems in ADHD: Degree of Association,Shared Endophenotypes,and Formation of Distinct Subtypes. Implications for a Future <Emphasis Type="Italic">DSM</Emphasis>

We aimed to assess which comorbid problems (oppositional defiant behaviors, anxiety, autistic traits, motor coordination problems, and reading problems) were most associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); to determine whether these comorbid problems shared executive and motor problems on an endophenotype level with ADHD; and to determine whether executive functioning (EF)—and motor-endophenotypes supported the hypothesis that ADHD with comorbid problems is a qualitatively different phenotype than ADHD without comorbid problems. An EF—and a motor-endophenotype were formed based on nine neuropsychological tasks administered to 816 children from ADHD—and control-families. Additional data on comorbid problems were gathered using questionnaires. Results indicated that oppositional defiant behaviors appeared the most important comorbid problems of ADHD, followed by autistic traits, and than followed by motor coordination problems, anxiety, and reading problems. Both the EF—and motor-endophenotype were correlated and cross-correlated in siblings to autistic traits, motor coordination problems and reading problems, suggesting ADHD and these comorbid problems may possibly share familial/genetic EF and motor deficits. No such results were found for oppositional defiant behaviors and anxiety. ADHD in co-occurrence with comorbid problems may not be best seen as a distinct subtype of ADHD, but further research is warranted. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Wide distribution of external local sign in the normal population

The extent of the apparent visual field was determined for a group of 78 naïve visual observers. We find that there exists a minority (less than 10%) that is essentially veridical, but that the majority of the population experiences an apparent visual field of only about 90°, thus much narrower than the dioptrics of the eye would suggest (a little over 180°). This is in good accordance with available (albeit mainly anecdotal) evidence, though formal data have been lacking thus far. The finding is discussed in the context of metrical calibration of the topological structure of the visual field, an aspect of “local sign”.     

How do People Evaluate Objects? A Brief Review

Evaluation can be defined either as the process of determining the liking of an object or as responding in an evaluative manner to objects. It can be studied by examining the evaluative responses that objects evoke. After justifying these definitions and this approach to the study of evaluation, I present a brief overview of what is known about the variables that influence evaluative responding. Finally, I describe the Associative-Propositional Evaluation model as an example of a theory about the mental processes that are assumed to underlie evaluative responding.     

The laterality of dreaming

The cortical locus of dream generation could be lateralized to the right or left hemisphere, or be bilaterally represented with either equal or unequal contributions from each hemisphere. In this paper we review the neurological literature for cases of loss or alteration of dream report after brain damage. The distribution of lesion sites is used to test the various hypotheses concerning the laterality of dreaming. The hypothesis receiving best support is that dreaming is lateralized to the left hemisphere in individuals with typical neurologic organization.     

The relation between off-job recovery and job resources: person-level differences and day-level dynamics

It is well-known that recovery from work and job resources can counteract negative effects of high job demands, but less is known about how off-job recovery and job resources are related to each other. In this two-level daily diary study, 67 employees filled out daily surveys over the course of 8 days to examine this issue. Consistent with our expectations, multilevel analyses revealed that previous day’s detachment from work is positively related to the state of being recovered before going to work, and that the state of being recovered is positively related to one’s level of job resources. Moreover, the results indicated that both person-level differences and day-level dynamics play a role in these relations. Our study highlights the importance of recovering from work in the sense that it does not only help individuals by repairing negative strain effects but can also function as a catalyst in the activation of job resources.     

Capital sentencing and neuropsychiatry

The neuropsychiatric contribution to capital sentencing proceedings has grown substantially in recent decades as the consideration of neurological and psychiatric factors in criminal behavior has been increasingly accepted as relevant to the quest for justice. This review article will focus on the legal theories underlying neuropsychiatric input into capital sentencing decisions, as well as some of the investigative techniques and resulting data which may be offered by forensic neuropsychiatrists in this context. The death penalty is unique in its severity and irreversibility, as the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have noted repeatedly. “Death is different,” and the recognition of this has generated a set of court decisions and statutes pertinent specifically to capital proceedings, both procedural and substantive.