Investigations of HPA function and the enduring consequences of stressors in adolescence in animal models

Developmental differences in hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis responsiveness to stressors and ongoing development of glucocorticoid-sensitive brain regions in adolescence suggest that similar to the neonatal period of ontogeny, adolescence may also be a sensitive period for programming effects of stressors on the central nervous system. Although research on this period of life is scarce compared to early life and adulthood, the available research indicates that effects of stress exposure during adolescence differ from, and may be longer-lasting than, effects of the same stress exposure in adulthood. Research progress in animal models in this field is reviewed including HPA function and the enduring effects of stress exposures in adolescence on sensitivity to drugs of abuse, learning and memory, and emotional behaviour in adulthood. The effects of adolescent stress depend on a number of factors, including the age, gender, the duration of stress exposure, the type of stressor, and the time between stress exposure and testing.     

The man who lost his body: Suboptimal multisensory integration yields body awareness problems after a right temporoparietal brain tumour

Reports on patients who lack ownership over their entire body are extremely rare. Here, we present patient SA who suffered from complete body disownership after a tumour resection in the right temporoparietal cortex. Neuropsychological assessment disclosed selective bilateral ownership problems, despite intact primary visual and somatosensory senses. SA's disownership seems to stem from a suboptimal multimodal integration, as shown by the rubber hand illusion and the beneficial effect during and after simple exercises aiming at multisensory recalibration.     

Using the Networked Fire Chief for Ego-Depletion Research: Measuring Dynamic Decision-Making Effort and Performance

This study replicated ego-depletion predictions from the self-control literature in a computer simulation task that requires ongoing decision-making in relation to constantly changing environmental information: the Network Fire Chief (NFC). Ego-depletion led to decreased self-regulatory effort, but not performance, on the NFC task. These effects were also buffered by task enjoyment so that individuals who enjoyed the dynamic decision-making task did not experience ego-depletion effects. These findings confirm that past ego-depletion effects on decision-making are not limited to static or isolated decision-making tasks and can be extended to dynamic, naturalistic decision-making processes more common to naturalistic settings. Furthermore, the NFC simulation provides a methodological mechanism for independently measuring effort and performance when studying ego-depletion.     

From self-reliers to expert-dependents: identifying classes based on health-related need for autonomy and need for external control among mobile users

ABSTRACT

Mobile health apps are seen as promising tools to support autonomous consumers in their quest for better health. However, individual differences in the need for autonomy and need for external control may impact the degree to which individuals perceive mobile health apps to be useful in their daily life. Using data from a representative sample of the Dutch population (N = 1,027), we applied latent class analysis to identify subtypes among mobile users based on their need for autonomy and need for external control, and to examine differences among these subtypes. We identified four subgroups: the self-reliers, confirmation-seekers, expert-dependents, and indifferents. Next to demographic differences, self-reliers and confirmation-seekers were generally more e-health literate and expressed more privacy concerns than the expert-dependents and indifferents. Our findings demonstrate that subgroups of people express different degrees of health-related need for autonomy and need for external control, which should be taken into account in online and mobile health communication efforts.     

Kant’s “I think” and the agential approach to self-knowledge

ABSTRACT

This paper relates Kant’s account of pure apperception to the agential approach to self-knowledge. It argues that his famous claim ‘The I think must be able to accompany all of my representations’ (B131) does not concern the possibility of self-ascribing beliefs. Kant does advance this claim in the service of identifying an a priori warrant we have as psychological persons, that is, subjects of acts of thinking that are imputable to us. But this warrant is not one to self-knowledge that we have as critical reasoners. It is, rather, an a priori warrant we have, as thinkers, to prescribe to given representations their conformity to principles of thinking inherent in our capacity of understanding itself.     

The Bishop and his/her Eucharistic Community: A Critique of Jean–Luc Marion's Eucharistic Hermeneutic

In the essay the hermeneutical views of Jean–Luc Marion, as they are expressed in his God without Being: Hors–Texte in relationship with the Eucharist and the story of Luke 24, are presented and critically assessed. The criticisms registered touch in the first place upon the concept of in persona Christi , which concerns the relation between the celebrant and Christ. Furthermore, the issue of the relationship between the eucharistic minister and his (or her) community and thereby the hermeneutical function of the Eucharist as a celebration of the whole community is discussed in dialogue with Marion's views.