Arguments about the nature of concepts: Symbols,embodiment, and beyond

How are the meanings of words, events, and objects represented and organized in the brain? This question, perhaps more than any other in the field, probes some of the deepest and most foundational puzzles regarding the structure of the mind and brain. Accordingly, it has spawned a field of inquiry that is diverse and multidisciplinary, has led to the discovery of numerous empirical phenomena, and has spurred the development of a wide range of theoretical positions. This special issue brings together the most recent theoretical developments from the leaders in the field, representing a range of viewpoints on issues of fundamental significance to a theory of meaning representation. Here we introduce the special issue by way of pulling out some key themes that cut across the contributions that form this issue and situating those themes in the broader literature. The core issues around which research on conceptual representation can be organized are representational format, representational content, the organization of concepts in the brain, and the processing dynamics that govern interactions between the conceptual system and sensorimotor representations. We highlight areas in which consensus has formed; for those areas in which opinion is divided, we seek to clarify the relation of theory and evidence and to set in relief the bridging assumptions that undergird current discussions.     

Case-Mixing Effects on Spelling Recognition: The Importance of Test Format

In a multiple-choice spelling recognition test, 56 university students were more accurate on more regular than irregular words, and on lower-case than mixed-case words, with the case mixing effect greater for irregular than regular words. In Experiment 2, the same words were presented singly in correct or incorrect spellings and distortion of word shape was achieved by case mixing (32 subjects) or by alternating the size of lower-case letters within a word (32 subjects). The main effects of regularity and distortion were replicated and the effect of distortion was greater for incorrect than correct stimuli, with correctly spelled words suffering a decrement in accuracy of less than 5 percentage points. Case mixing had a greater effect than size mixing on response latencies. In Experiment 3, with comparable test procedures, case mixing interacted with regularity in the subjects analysis for the multiple choice format, but not the single presentation format. This result indicates that comparisons based on visual configuration may be an artifact of multiple-choice tests.     

Maintenence of improvement in agoraphobic patients treated by behavioural methods—a four-year follow-up

Fifty-six agoraphobic patients who had shown clinical improvement when treated by behavioural methods were followed-up between 3.0 and 6.3 yr (mean 4.3 yr) later. Comparison of pre- and post-treatment and follow-up self-assessment data showed that improvement had been maintained on all the variables assessed—main symptom, other phobias, depression, social relationships and disruption at work. Only one patient reported the emergence of new psychological symptoms. However, only 10 (18%) of the sample described themselves as completely symptom-free, although most of the remainder reported that their symptoms caused them only slight distress, and little disruption in their lives.     

Neuropsychology of Swedenborg's visions.

In 1744, the 56-yr.-old scientist Emanuel Swedenborg underwent a transformative event that could be characterized as convulsive. He subsequently became a visionary and spent the remaining 28 years of his life exploring the spirit world and describing his experiences in an extensive corpus of writings. Retrospective analysis of his visions and trance states indicates signs and symptoms consistent with a vascular anomaly in the posterior area of the left cerebral hemisphere and associated effects due to partial seizures with complex symptomatology. Swedenborg's writings have formed the basis of a church that remains active to this day. His visionary experiences can be interpreted as an instance of neuropsychological symptomatology, under the shaping influence of a powerful intellect, contributing to the formation of an historically significant religious movement. The term neuropathography is proposed for a new genre of neuropsychological case study in which the emphasis on brain-related symptomatology is balanced by attention to autobiographical and broad cultural factors.     

Walter Bradford Cannon: Reflections on the man and his contributions

My father's early research was with X-rays and led him to a serendipity finding concerning the role of distress in the physiological responses of cats. This chance finding led to further studies of the effects of emotional stimuli on various organs and systems in the body. These studies were the foundation for Cannon's discovery of the fight-or-flight, or stress response, and the development of his companion notion of homeostasis, embodied inThe Wisdom of the Body. While being fond of William James from undergraduate coursework under him, Cannon challenged and refuted the validity of the James-Lange Theory of emotions during his research career. Always fascinated by the psychological and emotional realm of human functioning, Cannon enjoyed warm and close relationships with Robert Yerkes and Ivan Pavlov over the years. The only time in my father's life when he felt strong pressure to produce may have been during World War I when he was part of the Allied medical team solving the problem of traumatic shock experienced by Allied troops in Europe.     

An Empirical Test of Target Congruence Theory on Intimate Partner Violence

The purpose of the current study was to test target congruence theory as an explanation of intimate partner violence. Specifically, the effects of target vulnerability, target gratifiability, and target antagonism were examined for their effects on intimate partner violence against women. To do this, data collected in 2009 from a sample of 1,452 respondents to the Canadian General Social Survey were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Overall, the results suggest support for the theory, particularly for the concept of target gratifiability, and for target vulnerability to a lesser degree. As the first study to apply the theory to intimate partner violence, findings suggest that target congruence may be a valuable theoretical perspective in understanding victimization risk.     

Cooperative problem solving in giant otters (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pteronura brasiliensis</Emphasis>) and Asian small-clawed otters (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Aonyx cinerea</Emphasis>)

Cooperative problem solving has gained a lot of attention over the past two decades, but the range of species studied is still small. This limits the possibility of understanding the evolution of the socio-cognitive underpinnings of cooperation. Lutrinae show significant variations in socio-ecology, but their cognitive abilities are not well studied. In the first experimental study of otter social cognition, we presented two species—giant otters and Asian small-clawed otters—with a cooperative problem-solving task. The loose string task requires two individuals to simultaneously pull on either end of a rope in order to access food. This task has been used with a larger number of species (for the most part primates and birds) and thus allows for wider cross-species comparison. We found no differences in performance between species. Both giant otters and Asian small-clawed otters were able to solve the task successfully when the coordination requirements were minimal. However, when the temporal coordination demands were increased, performance decreased either due to a lack of understanding of the role of a partner or due to difficulty inhibiting action. In conclusion, two species of otters show some ability to cooperate, quite similar to most other species presented with the same task. However, to draw further conclusions and more nuanced comparisons between the two otter species, further studies with varied methodologies will be necessary.