Modulation of working, short- and long-term memory by nicotinic receptors in the basolateral amygdala in rats

Male Wistar rats were exposed to one-trial step-down inhibitory avoidance training using a 0.5 mA footshock. Through bilaterally implanted indwelling cannulae, they received bilateral 0.5 microL infusions of saline, mecamylamine (1.0 or 10.0 microg/side), or nicotine (0.6 or 3.0 microg/side) into the basolateral complex of the amygdaloid nucleus (BLA). Infusions were either 10 min before training (Experiment 1) or 4 min after training (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, the animals were tested three times: first for working memory (WM) 5 s after training, then for short-term memory (STM) 90 min later, and finally for long-term memory (LTM) 24 h later. Mecamylamine depressed and nicotine enhanced WM, STM, and LTM. In Experiment 2, the treatments were given after WM was presumably over. Again, mecamylamine inhibited and nicotine enhanced STM and LTM. The results indicate that nAChRs in BLA participate in the regulation of WM formation and STM and LTM acquisition and consolidation.     

An episodic process model of affective influences on performance

In this article, the authors present a model linking immediate affective experiences to within-person performance. First, the authors define a time structure for performance (the performance episode) that is commensurate with the dynamic nature of affect. Next, the authors examine the core cognitive and regulatory processes that determine performance for 1 person during any particular episode. Third, the authors describe how various emotions and moods influence the intermediary performance processes, thereby affecting performance. In the final section of the article, the authors discuss limitations, future research directions, and practical implications for their episodic process model of affect and performance.     

Failure to overcome 'innate' fear: a developmental test of the non-associative model of fear acquisition

The non-associative, Darwinian theory of fear acquisition proposes that some individuals fail to overcome biologically-relevant fears (e.g. height) because they (1) do not have sufficient safe exposure to the relevant stimuli early in life or (2) are poor habituators who have difficulty 'learning not to fear'. These two hypotheses were tested in a longitudinal birth cohort study. Study 1 found evidence for reduced exposure to height stimuli in childhood for individuals with a fear of heights compared to study members without fear. Study 2 found evidence for higher levels of stress reactivity (a proxy for habituation) in childhood and adolescence among 18-year-old height phobics compared to study members with dental phobia and those with no fear. The results were discussed in relation to recent findings suggesting that some evolutionary-relevant fears may appear in the absence of traumatic 'learning' experiences. The merits of adding a fourth, non-associative pathway to Rachman's [Rachman, S. (1977)]. The conditioning theory of fear acquisition: a critical examination. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 15, 375-387) three pathways model of fear acquisition were briefly considered.     

Human food aversions: Nature and acquisition

This paper reports a two-stage investigation of human food aversions. A questionnaire survey was carried out with a sample of normal adults, followed by an interview study of a sub-sample of the positive respondents. Data on frequency, strength, avoidance, modality, content, duration, age of acquisition, mode of acquisition, and generalization are reported. Observations are made on the similarities between those aversions that fit the definition of conditioned food aversions, and those that do not. Implications for future research are discussed, and the need for the study of the whole range of human food aversions is emphasized.     

Symbolic Objects as Sediments of the Intersubjective Stream of Feelings

Taking into account that feeling is “the critical mediating process of the person-world relationships” (Josephs, Theory & Psychology 10(6):815, 2000), this article focuses on the artistic symbolic object as constraints that direct someone’s feelings. Johansen (2010) states that the literary discourse “is designed to arousing and forming the feelings of listeners and readers” (p. 185). Distancing from strict literary production, I’ve used the testimony of the Brazilian songwriter, composer and performer, Tom Zé (2003), in order to discuss the intersubjective aspect of feelings articulation in his artistic work. Is proposed that the creative process of a symbolic object, which can be considered art, is a circumstance of a most general intersubjective-cultural process in which novel objects are built. If the specificity of art is to give a symbolic shape to human feeling (cf. Langer 1953), I argue that it is a sort of mediation which allows otherness to elaborate their affections through its objective guidance. In contrast with the scientific method of objective creation that is an effort for silencing contradictions (cf. Stengers 2002), the object of art remains open to multiple interpretations, stimulating the other to recursively speak and feel through it.     

Feelings,Imagination and Self-Understanding

Starting from some considerations about the text ‘Feelings in Literature’ by Johansen (2010), this article discusses the topic of emotions from the standpoint of moral psychology, namely the relationship between emotions and the conduct of our moral life. From this assumption, we will argue that literature, as an exercise of imagination, helps us understand and evaluate our own emotions, what is essential for establishing our uniqueness, distinguishing ourselves from others. In literature we can learn about emotions and we can understand our own feelings. Literature plays an important role in cultural experience, triggering emotional responses.     

Structuralism and the Applicability of Mathematics

In this paper I argue for the view that structuralism offers the best perspective for an acceptable account of the applicability of mathematics in the empirical sciences. Structuralism, as I understand it, is the view that mathematics is not the science of a particular type of objects, but of structural properties of arbitrary domains of entities, regardless of whether they are actually existing, merely presupposed or only intentionally intended.     

Psychophysiological Synchrony During Verbal Interaction in Romantic Relationships

Previous studies about romantic relationships have shown that the reciprocal influence between partners occurs not only at the behavioral and socio‐emotional levels, but also at the psychophysiological level. This reciprocal influence is expressed in a pattern of physiological synchrony between partners (i.e., coordinated dynamics of the physiological time series). The main aim of the present study was to explore the presence of a pattern of physiological synchrony in electrodermal activity (EDA) during a couple interaction task. A second objective was to compare the synchrony levels during a negative interaction condition versus a positive interaction condition. Finally, we analyzed the association between synchrony and self‐perception of empathy, dyadic empathy, and relationship satisfaction. Thirty‐two couples (64 individuals) participated in this study. Each couple performed a structured interaction task while the EDA of both partners was being registered. The quantification of synchrony was based on the cross‐correlation of both members' EDA time‐series. In order to control for coincidental synchrony, surrogate datasets were created by repeatedly shuffling the original data of spouses X and Y of a dyad and computing synchronies on the basis of the shuffled data (pseudosynchrony values). Our results confirmed the presence of significant EDA synchrony during the interaction. We also found that synchrony was higher during the negative interactions relative to the positive interactions. Additionally, physiological synchrony during positive interaction was higher for those couples in which males scored higher in dyadic empathy. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.