Heterophenomenology: Heavy-handed sleight-of-hand

We argue that heterophenomenology both over- and under-populates the intentional realm. For example, when one is involved in coping, one’s mind does not contain beliefs. Since the heterophenomenologist interprets all intentional commitment as belief, he necessarily overgenerates the belief contents of the mind. Since beliefs cannot capture the normative aspect of coping and perceiving, any method, such as heterophenomenology, that allows for only beliefs is guaranteed not only to overgenerate beliefs but also to undergenerate other kinds of intentional phenomena.     

Vasopressin/oxytocin-related peptides influence long-term memory of a passive avoidance task in the cuttlefish,Sepia officinalis

The vasopressin (VP)/oxytocin (OT)-related peptides constitute a large superfamily found in a wide range of both vertebrate and invertebrate species. While intensive literature reports that these neuropeptides influence behavior, especially learning and memory, in numerous species from diverse vertebrate groups, their roles in behavioral regulation have never been studied in invertebrates. Here, we investigated the role of two VP/OT superfamily peptides, octopressin (OP) and cephalotocin (CT), on long-term memory (LTM) formation of a passive avoidance task in a cephalopod mollusc, the cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis. Subadult cuttlefish were intravenously injected, in a dose range of 3–60 μg/kg, 1 h after the training phase (consolidation design); retention performance was tested 24 h post-training. We found that administration of OP at low dose (3 μg/kg) enhanced LTM, whereas a dose of 60 μg/kg attenuated it. No effect of OP on LTM was observed for the 15 μg/kg dose. Conversely, an enhancement of retention performance was observed at all doses of CT tested. This study is the first to demonstrate the behavioral effects of VP/OT superfamily peptides in an invertebrate species. The valuable role of VP/OT-like peptides on memory processes offers new evolutionary perspectives on peptidergic transmission and neuromodulation.     

Argumentation in Philosophical Controversies

Anyone interested in philosophical argumentation should be prepared to study philosophical debates and controversies because it is an intensely dialogical, and even contentious, genre of argumentation. There is hardly any other way to do them justice. This is the reason why the present special issue addresses philosophical argumentation within philosophical debates. Of the six articles in this special issue, one deals with a technical aspect, the diagramming of arguments, another contrasts two moments in philosophical argumentation, Antiquity and the twentieth century, focusing on the use of refutation, and the remaining four analyze particular philosophical controversies. The controversies analyzed differ significantly in their characteristics (time, extension, media, audience,…). Hopefully, this varied sample will illuminate some salient aspects of philosophical argumentation, its representation and variations throughout history. We are fully aware that, given the scarcity of previous studies of philosophical debates from the perspective of argumentation theory, the following specimens of analysis must have several shortcomings. But it is a well-known adage that the hardest part is the beginning. That is what we tried to achieve here, no more, but no less either.

     

Neurocognitive development and externalizing problems: the role of inhibitory control deficits from 4 to 6 years

Executive processes have been posited as important regulators of externalizing problems (EP), but there has been little research on the relation between executive dysfunction and EP in early childhood. During the preschool period, maturation of the prefrontostriatal circuitry parallels increases in inhibitory control (IC). Poor IC development could result in elevated levels of aggressive, disruptive, and impulsive behavior. In this investigation, the development of the relation between IC and EP was examined in preschool and early elementary school children using the Day/Night and Tapping tasks. Children with more EP made more incorrect responses on both IC tasks, consistently across age and sex. The associations between EP and response latencies differed across children, however, with longer latencies on the Tapping task being most characteristic for boys with high levels of EP. This association was not apparent for girls. Two prominent aspects of early EP, aggressive and inattentive behavior, showed only weak unique associations with IC performance. These findings imply that diminished IC accompanies elevated EP as early as the preschool years, and that this decrement persists into the elementary school-age years for both girls and boys, and that accuracy and response latency may confer different information about the development of IC.