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.     

A Sound and Complete Tableau Calculus for Reasoning about only Knowing and Knowing at Most

We define a tableau calculus for the logic of only knowing and knowing at most ON, which is an extension of Levesque's logic of only knowing O. The method is based on the possible-world semantics of the logic ON, and can be considered as an extension of known tableau calculi for modal logic K45. From the technical viewpoint, the main features of such an extension are the explicit representation of "unreachable" worlds in the tableau, and an additional branch closure condition implementing the property that each world must be either reachable or unreachable. The calculus allows for establishing the computational complexity of reasoning about only knowing and knowing at most. Moreover, we prove that the method matches the worst-case complexity lower bound of the satisfiability problem for both ON and O. With respect to [22], in which the tableau calculus was originally presented, in this paper we both provide a formal proof of soundness and completeness of the calculus, and prove the complexity results for the logic ON.     

What Is the Stuff We Are Made Of? The Body and the Body–Mind Relationship in Early Development: A Discussion of Thomson-Salo and Paul’s “Understanding the Sexuality of Infants”

Acknowledging the importance of the baby’s sensuality and sexuality in the infant–parent dyad, the author emphasizes the role of the body as the basis of the person’s being. The baby needs to develop, through his mother’s reverie, an internal capability to cool down his bodily turmoil. Early bonding requires from the mother a capacity to discriminate the sensual from the sexual in order to help the baby to contain his invasive sensory experience. This area of exploration is deeply related with the body–mind dissociation we often meet in our most difficult adult patients.     

The effect of inpatient cognitive-behavioral therapy for eating disorders on temperament and character

Personality traits seem to have an important role in the development, clinical expression, course, and treatment response in eating disorders (EDs). We investigated the effects of an inpatient cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) on the measures of temperament and character (Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI)) in 149 consecutive patients with EDs. Baseline assessment included anthropometry, the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the TCI. Treatment was based on the transdiagnostic cognitive behavior theory and treatment of ED, adapted for an inpatient setting. Treatment effects were tested by paired ANOVA, adjusted for covariates. No effects were found on Novelty Seeking, Reward Dependence, and Cooperativeness. Harm Avoidance (F=18.17, p<0.001), Persistence (F=7.71, p=0.006), Self-Directedness (F=27.55, p<0.001), and Self Transcendence (F=16.38, p<0.001) significantly changed after treatment. Changes in TCI scores were wholly dependent on the changes in BDI and EDE, and independent of ED diagnosis and behavior and of BMI changes. We conclude that in ED, a few scales of both temperament and character are significantly modified by CBT, in relation to changes in psychopathology and depression, independently of nutrition. These results are relevant for future studies based on TCI.     

The picture superiority effect in recognition memory: A developmental study using the response signal procedure

Items studied as pictures are better remembered than items studied as words even when test items are presented as words. The present study examined the development of this picture superiority effect in recognition memory. Four groups ranging in age from 7 to 20 years participated. They studied words and pictures, with test stimuli always presented as words, and time to respond to test stimuli was manipulated. The picture superiority effect showed a clear developmental trend. In the condition in which participants had ample response time, a significant picture superiority effect appeared in all but the youngest group. With short response time, a significant picture superiority effect appeared only among 11- and 20-year-old groups, while a significant reverse of the picture superiority effect was detected in the youngest group. These results were interpreted as suggesting that different memory processes (familiarity and recollection) contribute differently to the picture superiority effect at different stages of development.