Temporal precedence of emotion over attention modulations in the lateral amygdala: Intracranial ERP evidence from a patient with temporal lobe epilepsy

Previous fMRI studies have reported mixed evidence for the influence of selective attention on amygdala responses to emotional stimuli, with some studies showing “automatic” emotional effects to threat-related stimuli without attention (or even without awareness), but other studies showing a gating of amygdala activity by selective attention with no response to unattended stimuli. We recorded intracranial local field potentials from the intact left lateral amygdala in a human patient prior to surgery for epilepsy and tested, with a millisecond time resolution, for neural responses to fearful faces appearing at either task-relevant or task-irrelevant locations. Our results revealed an early emotional effect in the amygdala arising prior to, and independently of, attentional modulation. However, at a later latency, we found a significant modulation of the differential emotional response when attention was directed toward or away from fearful faces. These results suggest separate influences of emotion and attention on amygdala activation and may help reconcile previous discrepancies concerning the relative responsiveness of the human amygdala to emotional and attentional factors.     

Differentiating emotional processing and attention in psychopathy with functional neuroimaging

Individuals with psychopathy are often characterized by emotional processing deficits, and recent research has examined the specific contexts and cognitive mechanisms that underlie these abnormalities. Some evidence suggests that abnormal features of attention are fundamental to emotional deficits in persons with psychopathy, but few studies have demonstrated the neural underpinnings responsible for such effects. Here, we use functional neuroimaging to examine attention–emotion interactions among incarcerated individuals (n = 120) evaluated for psychopathic traits using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R). Using a task designed to manipulate attention to emotional features of visual stimuli, we demonstrate effects representing implicit emotional processing, explicit emotional processing, attention-facilitated emotional processing, and vigilance for emotional content. Results confirm the importance of considering mechanisms of attention when evaluating emotional processing differences related to psychopathic traits. The affective-interpersonal features of psychopathy (PCL-R Factor 1) were associated with relatively lower emotion-dependent augmentation of activity in visual processing areas during implicit emotional processing, while antisocial-lifestyle features (PCL-R Factor 2) were associated with elevated activity in the amygdala and related salience network regions. During explicit emotional processing, psychopathic traits were associated with upregulation in the medial prefrontal cortex, insula, and superior frontal regions. Isolating the impact of explicit attention to emotional content, only Factor 1 was related to upregulation of activity in the visual processing stream, which was accompanied by increased activity in the angular gyrus. These effects highlight some important mechanisms underlying abnormal features of attention and emotional processing that accompany psychopathic traits.     

论哈贝马斯对道德与伦理的区分

哈贝马斯借助于道德与伦理的区分对"我应当做什么"做出了一元与多元的不同回答.哈贝马斯对道德和伦理的区分是在全面总结亚里士多德的伦理学、功利主叉和康德的道德学说的基础上做出的,同时对黑格尔的道德与伦理的区分理论予以深刻批判.但是,哈贝马斯的区分陷入视角论、类型论和综合论三重标准相互抵牾之中,其区分理论也由此陷入困境.     

上下意象图式向抽象概念映射的心理现实性研究

通过考察上下意象图式隐喻的映射机制和形成机制,验证其向抽象概念的映射具有心理现实性.实验一中,学龄期儿童阅读与图式一致材料反应时,较阅读与图式不一致材料反应时短,说明上下意象图式存在于概念水平,并在即时阅读中被激活.实验二中,学龄前幼儿表现出物品摆放的上下方位偏好差异,表明幼儿在概念形成过程中,抽象概念与空间上下方位存在体验性联结.研究证明:部分抽象概念表征具有上下方位线索,人们借助上下意象图式建构抽象概念.     

Offspring Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure from Birth to 25 Years: The Seattle Prospective Longitudinal Study

Before alcohol was generally known to cause birth defects, NIAAA in 1974 began funding a population-based Seattle study on alcohol use and pregnancy outcome. Women receiving prenatal care by mid-pregnancy were recruited (N = 1,529) and interviewed at home. Approximately 500 offspring exposed to a range of alcohol levels were examined on 11 occasions between day 1 and 25 years. Neuropsychological and neurobehavioral performance measures are correlated with prenatal alcohol dose, without substantial confounding by socio-demographic or rearing conditions, smoking, nutrition, or other drugs. Deficits in attention, arithmetic skill, spatial-visual memory, and IQ, as well as increased alcohol problems and psychiatric disorders are among offspring outcomes correlated at several ages with maternal drinking during and before pregnancy recognition. Findings are not confined to women who believed they had alcohol problems. Not all exposed offspring appear affected.     

Social Anxiety and Peer Relations in Early Adolescence: Behavioral and Cognitive Factors

This study investigated factors associated with social anxiety during early adolescence using multiple informants, including self and peer perspectives, teacher ratings, and direct observations. Negative social performance expectations, maladaptive coping strategies, and social skill deficits were examined as correlates of social anxiety and mediators linking social anxiety with poor peer relations. Participants were 84 middle school students (47 girls, 37 boys) over-sampled for elevated social anxiety. Analyses revealed correlations linking social anxiety with decreased peer acceptance and increased peer victimization. Path analysis indicated that negative social performance expectations and social withdrawal-disengagement accounted for the association between social anxiety and decreased peer acceptance. Social anxiety, self-directed coping strategies, and social withdrawal-disengagement were each directly linked with increased peer victimization for boys. The results replicate findings based on clinical samples, extend understanding of cognitive, social, and behavioral factors associated with social anxiety in middle school, and provide new information regarding gender differences in the correlates of social anxiety.     

对中国宗教及其积极社会功能的正面认识

本文为2011年度中国宗教研究五十人论坛的命题文章,仅对中国宗教及其积极的社会功能作正面探讨。限于篇幅,简要探讨了什么是中国宗教,中国宗教三元并存的格局,中国宗教的包容风格,中国宗教的组织原则,中国宗教扮演的经济角色,中国宗教是多神教,中国人宗教信仰的功利性等问题。     

论孔子“仁”学的人本意蕴

"仁"作为孔子伦理思想的核心德目,其所具有的人本意蕴并非不言而喻、不证自明."仁者人也"、"仁者爱人"强调把人当人看,对社会各阶层都应持有起码的平等的同情心和爱心,"仁民爱物"意味着这一关爱之情由人类向自然万物的推及."仁"不远人、"为仁由己"、"推己及人"强化了人的道德自主和社会承担意识,同时彰显了中国文化的现世追求和内在超越的品格;"克己复礼为仁"标志着中国文化由神本向人本、由外向内的转型,它的首要意义在于对于人的发现,在于唤醒人类的"同类意识",在于凸显人的反省和自觉,将其从整体上理解为牺牲自我、人的独立人格的丧失、人的异化有失公允.     

宗教问题与社会变迁的双重探索——宗教社会学在当代中国的发展轨迹

从1980年代以来,中国宗教社会学的研究就已经从欧美宗教社会学的译介开始了。30年以来,中国宗教社会学的研究,无论是对欧美经典的翻译,还是对中国本土宗教的社会学研究,都已经形成了一道可观的学术风景线,成为当代中国宗教学领域中一个重要的构成。本文对30年宗教社会学在中国的引进和发展,有一大致的综述,希望能够从中总结出中国宗教学、宗教社会学研究的某些发展规律。