Spacing effects in recognition memory: When meaning matters

The present study showed that using incidental learning tasks promoting structural/perceptual processing of targets it is possible to obtain a reliable spacing effect for nonwords in a yes/no recognition memory task, whereas no spacing effect is detected for words. These data are, collectively, incompatible with current theories of spacing effects. A theoretical proposal to account for these findings is outlined.     

Beyond the Psychosexual: The Body–Mind Relationship Discussion of “Somatic Experiencing”

The author discusses the importance of focusing on the body in analytic work since it functions as an important springboard for the patient to discover his or her unique existence. It also helps develop a dialogue between the mind and the body’s sensory level. This is a more archaic domain than the more often emphasized psychoanalytic tradition of organizing our thinking psychosexually. The author also underscores the differences between psychoanalysis and Somatic Experiencing and the risks and advantages of modulating or heightening sensory experience.     

Is amenorrhea a clinically useful criterion for the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa?

Aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and the treatment outcome of underweight patients with eating disorder (ED) not otherwise specified without amenorrhea (EDNOS-WA), compared with classical anorexia nervosa (AN) cases. Seventy-three consecutive female patients (57 AN, and 16 EDNOS-WA) were evaluated before and after a 20-week cognitive behaviour inpatient treatment (CBT-I). Assessment included anthropometry, the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). At logistic regression analysis, amenorrhea was only predicted by baseline BMI and intense exercise, not by psychopathological variables. Response to CBT-I was good and similar between groups, without differences in the dropout rate or time-to-dropout. Our data lend support to the hypothesis that the criterion “amenorrhea” is of no clinical utility in the diagnosis and treatment of AN and could be removed in the forthcoming DSM-V proposal.     

Knowledge and experience of time in primitive mental states2

The author proposes that time be considered an object of working through during the psychoanalysis of patients whose mental functioning reveals distinct primitive aspects. These so‐called ‘difficult patients’ are particularly intolerant of the temporal limits of analytic sessions and often attempt to undermine the analytic setting. He presents some hypotheses about time and the mind's depth levels. A series of clinical vignettes taken from the analysis of adolescent, borderline and psychotic patients shows several ways in which the analysand's perception of and relation to time surfaces and is worked through in the course of analysis. Analyzing the relationship with time and the conflict between denial and acceptance of temporality proved a significant catalyst in the development of cases that had tenaciously impeded progress. It thus became possible to bring about important changes in the ways such patients experienced affect in the analytic relationship and in object relations, not by acting directly upon these relationships but by working instead on the formal parameters that organize the mind–and primarily on its spatio‐temporal organization.     

Parents of Adolescents with Mental Disorders: Improving Their Caregiving Experience

Several studies have demonstrated that the family members of adolescents with mental diseases experience distress, anxiety and depression, as well as economic strain, all of which contribute to physical and psychological caregiver morbidity. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of intervention to improve the caregiving experience of the parents of mentally ill adolescents. The parents of 20 patients were assessed with the Experience of Caregiving Inventory (ECI) and the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI), while patients’ functioning and psychopathology were evaluated with the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale and the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL), respectively. Assessments were conducted over 9 months, comparing the experimental group receiving the intervention with a control group that received “standard” care. While there were no significant differences in the patients’ psychopathologies, the caregivers in the experimental group had better ECI and WAI scores. Intervention focusing on the parents seemed to improve the caregivers’ understanding of the disease’s impact on their lives irrespective of the severity of their children’s condition. This finding may be useful in developing adequate measures for the parents of adolescents with severe mental diseases to help contain their psychological distress.     

In judo,Randori (free fight) and Kata (highly ritualized fight) differentially change plasma cortisol,testosterone, and interleukin levels in male participants

Two forms of competitive encounters namely Randori (free fight) and Kata (highly ritualized fight) were studied in 22 professional male judo fighters. The dyadic, symmetrical (in terms of body weight and fighting ability) encounters were videotaped to assess relationships between agonistic behavior and individual variations in plasma levels of testosterone (T), cortisol (C) and interleukins (IL‐6 and IL‐1β) measured before and after the competition. Unremarkably, winners showed longer attack but devoted less time to defensive behaviors when compared to losers. T increased only during Randori but the individual pre‐ and post‐competition T levels recorded in such fights were strongly correlated with the corresponding measures in the Kata for the same individuals. Interestingly, the pre‐ and post‐Randori competition T levels were higher in losers than in winners and T variations positively correlated with the frequencies of attacks and with the duration of defensive postures. The T response shows individual variation and seems to reflect evaluation of the likelihood of winning or losing. Both Randori and Kata induced a marked C increase, although the pre‐ and post‐Randori hormonal titers were higher than those found for the Kata. IL‐6 significantly increased between the pre‐ and the post‐Randori competition, but no such changes occurred during the Kata. No correlations were found between individual pre‐ and post‐competition C and IL‐6 and IL‐1β levels in either Randori or Kata. This suggests that C and cytokine release are unrelated to emotional or cognitive perception of the possible outcome of fighting but are a consequence of general motor activity. Martial arts appear to provide good human models to understand: (a) the relationships between conflict, hormones and the immune system and (b) the relationships between mood and physiological responses to competitive aggression. Aggr. Behav. 32:1–9, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Varieties of Demonstration in Alfarabi

This paper analyzes a classification of different types of demonstration introduced by Alfarabi (d. 950 CE) in his Kitāb al-Burhān (Book of Demonstration). Alfarabi identifies eight combinations of demonstrative syllogisms, grouped in function of the different types of per se relations expressed by their premises and conclusions, where terms are definitionally connected with one another. The list contains a total of thirty-nine moods illustrated by a rich array of examples drawn from various scientific disciplines, including arithmetic, geometry, and natural philosophy. The combinations and moods are discussed extensively by Averroes (d. 1198 CE) in the section of his Epitome of the Organon devoted to the Posterior Analytics and in his Quaesita on logic. Alfarabi’s classification also possibly inspired a simplified taxonomical effort in Avicenna’s (d. 1037 CE) Kitāb al-Burhān.     

In vitro analog of classical conditioning of feeding behavior in aplysia

The feeding behavior of Aplysia californica can be classically conditioned using tactile stimulation of the lips as a conditioned stimulus (CS) and food as an unconditioned stimulus (US). Moreover, several neural correlates of classical conditioning have been identified. The present study extended previous work by developing an in vitro analog of classical conditioning and by investigating pairing-specific changes in neuronal and synaptic properties. The preparation consisted of the isolated cerebral and buccal ganglia. Electrical stimulation of a lip nerve (AT4) and a branch of the esophageal nerve (En2) served as the CS and US, respectively. Three protocols were used: paired, unpaired, and US alone. Only the paired protocol produced a significant increase in CS-evoked fictive feeding. At the cellular level, classical conditioning enhanced the magnitude of the CS-evoked synaptic input to pattern-initiating neuron B31/32. In addition, paired training enhanced both the magnitude of the CS-evoked synaptic input and the CS-evoked spike activity in command-like neuron CBI-2. The in vitro analog of classical conditioning reproduced all of the cellular changes that previously were identified following behavioral conditioning and has led to the identification of several new learning-related neural changes. In addition, the pairing-specific enhancement of the CS response in CBI-2 indicates that some aspects of associative plasticity may occur at the level of the cerebral sensory neurons.