Spatial cognition: evidence from visual neglect

Recent work on human attention and representational systems has benefited from a growing interplay between research on normal attention and neuropsychological disorders such as visual neglect. Research over the past 30 years has convincingly shown that, far from being a unitary condition, neglect is a protean disorder whose symptoms can selectively affect different sensory modalities, cognitive processes, spatial domains and coordinate systems. These clinical findings, together with those of functional neuroimaging, have increased knowledge about the anatomical and functional architecture of normal subsystems involved in spatial cognition. We provide a selective overview of how recent investigations of visual neglect are beginning to elucidate the underlying structure of spatial processes and mental representations.     

The Evolution and Treatment of Korsakoff's Syndrome

Wernicke's Encephalopathy is an acute neuro-psychiatric condition caused by an insufficient supply of thiamine (Vitamin B1) to the brain. If undiagnosed or inadequately treated, it is likely to proceed to Korsakoff's Syndrome. Wernicke's Encephalopathy can result from dietary deficiency alone and this form is usually successfully treated, with little chance of Korsakoff's Syndrome supervening. On the other hand, thiamine deficiency associated with alcohol misuse/dependence may require up to 1 gram of thiamine IV in the first 24 hours to be treated successfully. The reasons for this difference in treatment will be discussed. Thiamine diphosphate acts as a co-factor for a number of thiamine-dependent enzymes. Thiamine deficiency leads to a reduction in the activity of these enzymes, and this leads to alterations in mitochondrial activity, impairment of oxidative metabolism, decreased energy status and eventually selective neuronal death. The damage caused by the combination of thiamine deficiency and alcohol metabolism probably interferes with adequate thiamine transport at a number of sites in the body, including the blood-brain barrier, as well as causing damage to the apoenzymes which then require higher concentrations of thiamine to work normally. The accumulated damage is likely to render the use of oral thiamine therapeutically inadequate since the body is unable to produce high enough concentrations of thiamine in the blood to traverse the blood-brain barrier. Some individuals are probably genetically predisposed to develop Wernicke's. Long before individuals with alcohol misuse or dependence develop Wernicke's Encephalopathy the neurons and other cells of the body are functioning sub-optimally because of the inadequate supply of thiamine and the neurotoxic effect of alcohol. This relative deficiency initiates a series of pathological changes which accumulate and further interfere with the supply of thiamine and its utilisation at a time when the requirements are increased. The best treatment for Korsakoff's Syndrome is timely recognition of Wernicke's Encephalopathy and appropriate intervention and prevention.     

Attachment and amae in Japanese romantic relationships

Amae is a Japanese term that refers to an individual's inappropriate behaviour when he/she presumes indulgence from a significant other. The link between attachment style and amae has been debated, but few studies have examined this link empirically. This study examined the association of attachment style with amae behaviour in Japanese dating couples over a two‐week period. Results showed that for Japanese men, anxious attachment was positively associated with their amae behaviour, and in turn, with their increased relationship quality. Conversely, avoidant attachment was negatively associated with their amae behaviour, and in turn, with their decreased relationship quality.     

Selling and Sales Management in Action: The Role of Strategic Selling in the Company Turnaround Process

Despite the importance of marketing orientation to company profile and performance as presented in the literature, there has been little attention paid to the role of strategic selling in the company turnaround process in published studies. This article explores selling's contribution to company turnaround through a study of ailing and rejuvenated companies in the mature engineering industry. The development and implementation of sales strategies in successfully turned around and failed companies are compared. The role of strategic selling is broadened as new concepts are developed and explored.     

Diagnosis of Personality Disorders: A Case Study

In this article, I report a case highlighting diagnostic uncertainty about psychopathology on both Axes I and II. It concerns in part the problem of comorbidity in relation to diagnostic classification of Axis II personality disorders. After commenting on these uncertainties in relation to categorical and dimensional models, I also consider a psychoanalytic explanation to illustrate an example in which a theoretical model informs diagnostic interviewing. I emphasize how the clinical information that unfolds from an interview based on this theoretical model generates inferences about psychopathology that extend clinical understanding beyond the formal diagnostic assessment of Axes I and II disorders and assessment by self-report.     

Book Review

H. R. Beech. Changing Man's Behavior. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1969, 282 pages, $1.95. Reviewed by Leonard Ullmann     

Simple Discrimination Behavior of Young Chimpanzees: Comparisons with Human Aments and Domestic Animals

The authors' purpose in this paper was to examine how the use of the “sad passive” coping style may be related to adolescent self-reported loneliness. Subjects were asked to complete the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980) to determine self-reported loneliness and the Coping with Loneliness Questionnaire (CLQ; Rubenstein & Shaver, 1980) in order to examine coping styles. We hypothesized that those adolescents whose coping strategies fell into the category of sad passivity described by Rubenstein and Shaver would indicate greater loneliness than those adolescents whose coping strategies fell into other categories. Results indicated that sad passivity was used by both lonely and nonlonely adolescents, but that nonlonely youngsters resorted to this method only temporarily and in preparation for a more active coping style. Lonely teens, on the other hand, appeared to remain in the sad-passive mode to a maladaptive degree. These results were discussed in terms of their importance for theories of adolescent loneliness and for possible intervention strategies.     

The Association of Children's Nonverbal Decoding Abilities With Their Popularity,Locus of Control,and Academic Achievement

The present study examined the relation between children's abilities to decode the emotional meanings in facial expressions and tones of voice, and their popularity, locus of control or reinforcement orientation, and academic achievement. Four hundred fifty-six elementary school children were given tests that measured their abilities to decode emotions in facial expressions and tones of voice. Children who were better at decoding nonverbal emotional information in faces and tones of voice were more popular, more likely to be internally controlled, and more likely to have higher academic achievement scores. The results were interpreted as supporting the importance of nonverbal communication in the academic as well as the social realms.     

“What Are You?”: Racial Ambiguity,Stigma, and the Racial Formation Project

Using interview data from individuals who were frequently asked some version of the question “What are you?” in regards to their race, we apply a deviance perspective to frame these encounters as micro level racial formation projects. Racial formation projects are problematized when one’s race is not readily classifiable. These data suggest that when race is perceptibly ambiguous, stigma is assigned and normativity is enforced through discursive constraint and other means. Racially ambiguous individuals use many forms of resistance to navigate these encounters and make identity claims that either affirm or endanger the normative racial formation order.