Critical stages in mental development: Childhood breath holding spells (BHS)

The authors present the first part of a study on children with BHS (Breath Holding Spells) syndrome. These children were chosen in order to examine a “pathological” situation in infancy that was as close as possible to a “normal” one, and in which obvious somatic symptoms were associated with emotional states. Children with BHSS are not considered to have serious psychological disturbances, even if they are constantly referred to as intolerant of separation, stubborn, oppositional, or easy to temper tantrum. A reduced ability to tolerate frustration is evident in these children both from the patients' history and clinical observation. Parents usually relate BHS to situations in which the child is denied something or gets scolded. The children were observed during three sessions, both with and without the mother, according to a grid used at our Center. Patients are presented to illustrate certain recurrent features in play and interaction with mother. The data suggest that these children stagnate in an area of incomplete mental representation; something makes them oscillate between two states; in one of them, the mental representation of the object and of the bond with it is possible; in the other, the mental representation of the separation, which entails the recognition of the object, is felt as dangerous.     

Autonomy,constraining options,and organ sales

Although there continues to be a chronic shortage of transplant organs the suggestion that we should try to alleviate it through allowing a current market in them continues to be morally condemned, usually on the grounds that such a market would undermine the autonomy of those who would participate in it as vendors. Against this objection Gerald Dworkin has argued that such markets would enhance the autonomy of the vendors through providing them with more options, thus enabling them to exercise a greater degree of control over their bodies. Paul Hughes and T. L. Zutlevics have recently criticized Dworkin's argument, arguing that the option to sell an organ is unusual in that it is an autonomy–undermining "constraining option" whose presence in a person's choice set is likely to undermine her autonomy rather than enhance it. I argue that although Hughes' and Zutlevics' arguments are both innovative and persuasive they are seriously flawed — and that allowing a market in human organs is more likely to enhance vendor autonomy than diminish it. Thus, given that autonomy is the preeminent value in contemporary medical ethics this provides a strong prima facie case for recognizing the moral legitimacy of such markets.     

Examining the potential exploitation of UNOS policies

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list was designed as a just and equitable system through which the limited number of organs is allocated to the millions of Americans in need of a transplant. People have trusted the system because of the belief that everyone on the list has an equal opportunity to receive an organ and also that allocation is blind to matters of financial standing, celebrity or political power. Recent events have revealed that certain practices and policies have the potential to be exploited. The policies addressed in this paper enable those on the list with the proper resources to gain an advantage over other less fortunate members, creating a system that benefits not the individual most in medical need, but the one with the best resources. These policies are not only unethical but threaten the balance and success of the entire UNOS system. This paper proposes one possible solution, which seeks to balance the concepts of justice and utility.     

Breast and Chest Size: Ideals and Stereotypes Through the 1990s

This study investigated differences in ideals and stereotypes associated with breast and chest size through the 1990s. Five cohorts of primarily Caucasian participants between 1990 and 1998 completed the Breast/Chest Rating Scale that consists of figures of men and women of varying upper torso sizes and a series of questions related to ideal size, perceptions of others' ideals, and characteristics associated with different sizes. Although the breast size women perceive as preferred by others has increased, the ideal breast size has remained stable for men and women. Men's ideal breast size was consistently larger than the breast size women prefer, and men also preferred a significantly larger chest size. Despite an increasing cultural emphasis on large chest size, there was a significant decrease in the chest size preferred by women across cohort groups. The chest size men think women prefer, however, has increased. Although there was little evidence of changes in stereotypes associated with chest size, the breast size associated with a variety of positive characteristics was significantly larger in 1998 than in 1992. These results are discussed in relation to body image and social implications.     

Lesions in the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala: Discriminative Avoidance Learning, Discriminative Approach Learning, and Cingulothalamic Training-Induced Neuronal Activity

The amygdala is critically involved in discriminative avoidance learning. Large lesions of the amygdala block discriminative avoidance learning and abolish cingulothalamic training-induced neuronal activity. These results indicated that amygdalar processing is critical for cingulothalamic plasticity. The larger lesions did not allow differentiation of the specific functioning of various amygdalar nuclei. Anatomical analysis showed that damage in the central (CE) nucleus of the amygdala was correlated with the severity of the behavioral deficit. The present study was carried out to determine whether smaller lesions, centered in the CE nucleus, would impair discriminative avoidance learning and block cingulothalamic plasticity. In addition, the possible role of the CE nucleus in appetitively motivated discriminative approach learning was examined for the first time. New Zealand White rabbits with CE nuclear lesions were first trained in the discriminative approach task. After attaining asymptotic performance, discriminative avoidance training sessions were alternated with continuing approach training sessions, one session each day. The rabbits with lesions were severely impaired in avoidance learning but showed no impairment of approach learning. Surprisingly, the attenuating effects of the lesions on cingulothalamic training-induced neuronal activity were more prevalent during approach learning than during avoidance learning. These results indicated that avoidance learning can be impaired by lesions centered in the CE nucleus that leave cingulothalamic plasticity largely intact and that the CE nucleus is involved in extra-cingulothalamic learning processes.     

Memory for intention-related material presented in a to-be-ignored channel

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the fate of intention-related material processed in a to-be-ignored channel. Participants were given an intention to respond to cues in a visual-processing stream while simultaneously trying to ignore information being presented in an auditory stream. Subsequent to the ongoing activity, a surprise recognition test for information presented in the to-be-ignored auditory modality was administered. As compared with comparable neutral information, corrected recognition memory for intention-related material was significantly better, depending on the type of event-based prospective memory task. These results suggest that holding certain kinds of intentions can bias attentional processes in a manner consistent with a perceptual readiness for uptake of intention-related material.     

Source monitoring is not always enhanced for valenced material

Source monitoring for valenced materials has received very little attention from researchers interested in the residual effects that emotion can have on memory. The three previous studies that examined memory for valenced material found a source-monitoring enhancement effect. By contrast, we used two different combinations of sources and found a novel, consistent source-monitoring deficit for valenced words as compared with neutral ones. In addition, this memory deficit for contextual details did not consistently covary with item memory. We assert that it is possible to obtain an effect in which heightened attention toward valenced material reduces the binding of contextual details into memory.     

Looking at the sunny side of life: age-related change in an event-related potential measure of the negativity bias

Studies of the negativity bias have demonstrated that negative information has a stronger influence than positive information in a wide range of cognitive domains. At odds with this literature is extensive work now documenting emotional and motivational shifts that result in a positivity effect in older adults. It remains unclear, however, whether this age-related positivity effect results from increases in processing of positive information or from decreases in processing of negative information. Also unknown is the specific time course of development from a negative bias to an apparently positive one. The present study was designed to investigate the negativity bias across the life span using an event-related potential measure of responding to emotionally valenced images. The results suggest that neural reactivity to negative images declines linearly with age, but responding to positive images is surprisingly age invariant across most of the adult life span.