Motivated attention to fear-related stimuli: Evidence for the enhanced processing of fear in the late positive potential

Differences in the processing of emotions like fear and sadness have important implications for our understanding of many psychological phenomena (e.g., attentional biases, psychopathology). The late positive potential (LPP) is an established event-related potential that reflects motivated attention to emotional stimuli at the neural level with excellent temporal resolution, but has been infrequently used to study differences across emotions. Drawing on functional theories of emotion suggesting that the quick processing of fear-inducing stimuli increases chances of survival, we hypothesized that fear-inducing pictures would produce larger LPP amplitudes compared to other emotions (happy and sad) in the early time windows of the LPP (e.g., 400–700, 700–1000 ms). The results supported our hypothesis, offering new, albeit preliminary, evidence of the differential processing of threat-related stimuli on the LPP.     

Atomic imaging of the interface between M23C6-type carbide and matrix in a long-term ageing polycrystalline Ni-based superalloy

Besides the well-known cube-on-cube orientation relationship (OR) between M₂₃C₆ carbide and matrix, we have determined a new OR named as the twin-related OR in a long-term ageing Ni-based superalloy on the basis of the extensive and detailed electron diffraction analyses. Furthermore, by means of atomic-resolution high angle annular dark-field imaging technique which is implemented in the aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope, we elucidated the interfacial characteristics between M₂₃C₆ and matrix for above two types of ORs. Taking into account of the interfacial characteristics, we propose that the twin-related OR possesses a higher total interfacial energy. Thus, its frequency of occurrence is lower than that of the cube-on-cube OR though both ORs are usually seen in the long-term ageing samples.     

The (Non) Religion of Mechanical Turk Workers

Social science researchers have increasingly come to utilize Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to obtain adult, opt‐in samples for use with experiments. Based on the demographic characteristics of MTurk samples, studies have provided some support for the representativeness of MTurk. Others have warranted caution based on demographic characteristics and comparisons of reliability. Yet, what is missing is an examination of the most glaring demographic difference in MTurk—religion. We compare five MTurk samples with a student convenience sample and the 2012 General Social Survey, finding that MTurk samples have a consistent bias toward nonreligion. MTurk surveys significantly overrepresent seculars and underrepresent Catholics and evangelical Protestants. We then compare the religiosity of religious identifiers across samples as well as relationships between religiosity and partisanship, finding many similarities and a few important differences from the general population.     

东南亚那珈信仰的起源与嬗变——语言民族学视角的分析

东南亚那珈信仰主要见于泰、老、柬、缅四国,是印度河城市文明传播时期,中南半岛与古印度两地蛇崇拜文化交流的结果.在后继的印度宗教文明的冲击下,东南亚那珈信仰发生嬗变,在婆罗门教占统治地位时,得到较大程度的保留;当南传佛教取得正统地位后,那珈信仰大大退化但没有消失.     

“名教罪人”抑或“启蒙英雄”?——李贽思想的重新定位

16世纪晚明心学时代的李贽,是一个颇有争议性的人物,至今一直如此。时人称他"背叛孔孟""名教罪人",近人则以为他是"启蒙英雄",是前近代中国启蒙思想运动的一面旗帜。其实,这两种看法都过高估计了李贽思想的历史地位。历史真相也许是李贽只是晚明时代的悲剧性人物,其性格乖张、言论刻薄、愤世嫉俗,故难以容人;其思想承续了阳明学的批判性精神,与泰州学派推动的儒学世俗化运动的时代气息比较契合;然其学说思想缺乏理论系统性,不宜过分夸大其思想对社会的影响。若认定李贽是反传统的思想英雄,显然是源自现代性的观念预设或"启蒙情结",而非是真实的历史判断。若认为李贽思想作历史定位,则可说其近承王畿、远绍阳明、学主童心、融通三教。     

现代性语境下人的生存境界提升问题

现代性在将自我推至无以复加程度的同时,也对自我作了片面化处理,自我成为了不依赖自然、社会和他者而独立存在的东西,进而丧失了外在的禁忌,成为自我占有、欲望至上的存在者。在无限的消费和无尽的欲望的满足过程中,自我所获得的只是一种暂时的、粗鄙的、狭隘的满足。被欲望驱使的现代人应该实现欲望的合理化,激发神圣感,提高自身的生存境界,以便在资本逻辑推动下的骚动不安的世界中寻求心灵上的宁静和思绪上的久远。     

Alteration of cingulate long-term plasticity and behavioral sensitization to inflammation by environmental enrichment

Exposure to an enriched environment (EE) has been shown to induce cortical plasticity. Considerable amount of research is focused on the effects of EE in the hippocampus; however, effects of EE on other brain regions and the mechanisms involved are not well known. To investigate this, we induced cortical plasticity by placing mice in an EE for one month and measured the effects of EE in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Here, we show that EE enhanced the expression of the plasticity gene, egr-1, in the ACC of EE animals accompanied by enhanced cingulate long-term potentiation (LTP) and decreased cingulate long-term depression (LTD). The increased NMDA receptor NR2B/NR2A subunits current ratio is associated with the plasticity seen in the ACC while total protein levels remain unchanged. Furthermore, behavioral experiments show that these mice exposed to EE demonstrate enhanced responses to acute and long-term inflammation. Our findings suggest that exposure to EE alters physiological properties within the ACC which results in enhanced responses to inflammation.     

汉语词汇产生中音、形、义三种信息激活的时间进程

采用图-词干扰范式和图片命名方法,探讨语音、语义、字形在汉语词汇产生中激活的时间进程与特点。选择与目标图片名称(如“羊”)具有同音(“阳”)、语义相联(“牛”)、字形相似(“丰”)或无关控制(“冷”)等四种关系的干扰字,依SOA条件呈现在将要被命名的图片上,发现图片命名时间受干扰字的影响：语义干扰效应存在于较早期的SOA(0ms)条件中,在较晚期SOA(150ms)时有很大的减弱;语音促进效应和字形促进效应同时强烈地存在于早期和晚期SOA。实验发现了词条选择(语义激活)和音位编码(语音提取)在激活时间上的重叠现象,与传统的独立两阶段模型的预期存在明显矛盾,倾向于支持交互作用理论的观点。     

Changes in step variability of new walkers with typical development and with Down syndrome

Models of human gait are based on adult locomotion. C. E. Bauby and A. D. Kuo (2000) proposed that adults rely on passive mechanisms at the spinal level to control motion in the anteroposterior direction and rely on direct monitoring of postural control in the lateral direction. The authors' purpose in this study was to determine if that model applies to control at the onset of walking in typically developing toddlers (n = 9) and in toddlers with Down syndrome (n = 6). Their longitudinal data suggested that toddlers control gait in a distinctly different manner than adults do. An adult pattern of control emerges with experience. In addition, the effect of experience on the emergence of that pattern is magnified by task-specific early intervention. The present data support the emergence and discovery of efficient patterns of control in this fundamental human behavior.