Only time will tell: cross-sectional studies offer no solution to the age-brain-cognition triangle: comment on Salthouse (2011)

Salthouse (2011) critically reviewed cross-sectional and longitudinal relations among adult age, brain structure, and cognition (ABC) and identified problems in interpretation of the extant literature. His review, however, missed several important points. First, there is enough disparity among the measures of brain structure and cognitive performance to question the uniformity of B and C vertices of the ABC triangle. Second, age differences and age changes in brain and cognition are often nonlinear. Third, variances and correlations among measures of brain and cognition frequently vary with age. Fourth, cross-sectional comparisons among competing models of ABC associations cannot disambiguate competing hypotheses about the structure and the range of directed and reciprocal relations between changes in brain and behavior. We offer the following conclusions, based on these observations. First, individual differences among younger adults are not useful for understanding the aging of brain and behavior. Second, only multivariate longitudinal studies, age-comparative experimental interventions, and a combination of the two will deliver us from the predicaments of the ABC triangle described by Salthouse. Mediation models of cross-sectional data represent age-related differences in target variables but fail to approximate time-dependent relations; thus, they do not elucidate the dimensions and dynamics of cognitive aging.     

Hypnosis: a twilight zone of the top-down variety Few have never heard of hypnosis but most know little about the potential of this mind-body regulation technique for advancing science

An early form of psychotherapy, hypnosis has been tarnished by a checkered history: stage shows, movies and cartoons that perpetuate specious myths; and individuals who unabashedly write 'hypnotist' on their business cards. Hypnosis is in the twilight zone alongside a few other mind-body exemplars. Although scientists are still unraveling how hypnosis works, little is mystical about this powerful top-down process, which is an important tool in the armamentarium of the cognitive scientist seeking to unlock topical conundrums.     

关于道德与政治哲学视野中的法律哲学的对话(上)

Joseph Raz has been dedicated to using the philosophies of mind and of action to explain the nature of normativity. By the same token, his research on jurisprudence and the nature of law has been rooted in his use of the context of the philosophy of practical reason to explain the normativity of law, namely,the relation between law and morality. Our understanding of the Razian philosophy of law thus cannot be divorced from his research on moral and political philosophies. Our dialogue with Joseph Raz will h...     

Prevalence,Detection and Correlates of PTSD in the Primary Care Setting: A Systematic Review

Research suggests that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common, debilitating and frequently associated with comorbid health conditions, including poor functioning, and increased health care utilization. This article systematically reviewed the empirical literature on PTSD in primary care settings, focusing on prevalence, detection and correlates. Twenty-seven studies were identified for inclusion. Current PTSD prevalence in primary care patients ranged widely between 2 % to 39 %, with significant heterogeneity in estimates explained by samples with different levels of trauma exposure. Six studies found detection of PTSD by primary care physicians (PCPs) ranged from 0 % to 52 %. Studies examining associations between PTSD and sociodemographic variables yielded equivocal results. High comorbidity was reported between PTSD and other psychiatric disorders including depression and anxiety, and PTSD was associated with functional impairment or disability. Exposure to multiple types of trauma also raised the risk of PTSD. While some studies indicated that primary care patients with PTSD report higher levels of substance and alcohol abuse, somatic symptoms, pain, health complaints, and healthcare utilization, other studies did not find these associations. This review proposes that primary care settings are important for the early detection of PTSD, which can be improved through indicated screening and PCP education.     

Decline and Compensation in Aging Brain and Cognition: Promises and Constraints

Age-related cognitive declines are common and inevitable, but life trajectories of brain and cognitive functions are variable and plastic. To identify the mechanisms of decline, the prospects for improvement, and the constraints on the remedial approaches, the contributors of this special issuer examine several diverse areas of cognitive and brain aging: from structural and metabolic brain aging to genetics, and from age-sensitive cognitive domains to those that resist aging. In spite of such thematic diversity, several common threads are clear. To achieve better compensation for age-related changes in cognition, we need to understand their brain substrates, telling cognitively relevant from epiphenomenal. We also need to understand the sources of profound individual variability in aging trajectories, and to learn to tailor interventions to specific individual profiles of decline.     

Aptitude-related differences in auditory information processing: effects of selective attention and tone duration

College students selected for high or low aptitude performed an auditory backward recognition masking task in which tones differed in pitch (770 or 870 Hz) and duration (10, 13 or 20 msec). Ss were required to attend selectively to the pitch but not to the duration of the targets. As predicted, higher aptitude was associated with lower recognition thresholds at all tone durations. Although increased attentional demands impaired recognition thresholds, this had no apparent differential effect on aptitude-related differences in auditory information processing.