A curious metaphor. Engaging with trauma: an analytical perspective

Abstract :  This paper explores the metaphor of in vitro fertilization in respect to those parts of the individual 'frozen' through early trauma. It describes the conditions necessary for the reintroduction of the frozen 'embryo' in the therapeutic relationship through use of an extended example. The role of the analytic relationship and the analyst's countertransference are highlighted within the context of implications for the process of therapy.     

Explicit and implicit Need for Cognition and bottom-up/top-down attention allocation

Need for Cognition (NFC), the tendency to engage in and enjoy thinking, is usually directly measured via self-report. In order to validate an indirect NFC Implicit Association Test, we followed up on evidence suggesting NFC to be related to electrocortical indicators of bottom-up and top-down attention allocation in an oddball paradigm. In 99 participants, we did not find effects of directly and indirectly measured NFC on the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli, but found a main effect of explicit NFC on bottom-up target processing and an interactive effect of explicit and implicit NFC on top-down target processing. These findings further implicate NFC in the modulation of attention allocation and highlight the usefulness of direct and indirect measures in individual differences research.     

A study of the performance of Egyptian college students on the Advanced Progressive Matrices

Results are reported for intelligence assessed with the Advanced Progressive Matrices of a sample of students at Ain-Shams University in Cairo (N = 2147). The Egyptian raw scores were transformed to British IQ equivalents using the published 1992 British norms for the APM, on which the sample obtained a British IQ of 89.5. Science students obtained a significantly higher average mean score than arts students by 7.5 IQ points. Male students obtained a non-significantly higher average IQ than female students 1.2 IQ points. Male students had greater variability than the female students.     

Using Potential Performance Theory to Test Five Hypotheses About Meta-Attribution

The aim of this study was to compare the reaction times and errors of Spanish children with developmental dyslexia to the reaction times and errors of readers without dyslexia on a masked lexical decision task with identity or repetition priming. A priming paradigm was used to study the role of the lexical deficit in dyslexic children, manipulating the frequency and length of the words, with a short Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA = 150 ms) and degraded stimuli. The sample consisted of 80 participants from 9 to 14 years old, divided equally into a group with a developmental dyslexia diagnosis and a control group without dyslexia. Results show that identity priming is higher in control children (133 ms) than in dyslexic children (55 ms). Thus, the “frequency” and “word length” variables are not the source or origin of this reduction in identity priming reaction times in children with developmental dyslexia compared to control children.     

抑郁倾向对个体情绪调节目标的影响——来自事件相关电位的证据

目前抑郁症情绪失调的研究主要关注策略的选择和应用, 但是对于情绪调节目标是否异常及其背后的电生理基础尚不清楚。情景选择是成熟的情绪反应产生之前运用的一种调节策略, 可以反映情绪调节目标。本研究要求抑郁倾向被试与控制组被试观看并选择快乐、中性和悲伤场景图片, 同时记录事件相关电位(ERP)和主观情绪偏好。结果发现, 抑郁倾向组悲伤图片的LPP波幅显著小于健康控制组, 并更多地选择再次观看悲伤图片。此外, 抑郁倾向组对于悲伤情绪的偏好显著增加, 对快乐情绪的偏好则显著降低。结果提示抑郁倾向个体对快乐刺激的趋近动机和对悲伤刺激的回避动机都降低, 从而使得抑郁倾向被试的情绪调节目标为更多地体验到悲伤。     

Teaching 'origins of depth psychology': overview and candidate-members' experience

In 2002 the North Pacific Institute inaugurated a new seminar series on the 'origins of depth psychology' for incoming candidate-members. This approach emphasized the historical and cultural embeddedness of analytic theory, practice and institutions. The seminar was experienced as enlightening and freeing, as well as sometimes painfully disillusioning. The overall feedback indicated that it fostered an opening of creative space for their education as analysts. This paper describes the structure, and some of the rationale and process of the seminar. It includes firsthand expressions of the candidate-members' experiences.     

语义相似性下回忆和熟悉性的分离

该研究利用事件相关电位技术（ERPs）,采用以汉字为实验材料的学习-再认范式,考察了语义相似性下回忆和熟悉性的分离。本实验结果表明：熟悉性效应主要体现在330-430ms的额区,而回忆效应主要体现在430-600ms的中央区和顶区。本实验在以汉字为实验材料的情况下证明了,早期额区的N400新旧效应反映了熟悉性,晚期顶区LPC新旧效应反映了回忆,从汉语材料的角度,为双加工过程假说提供了新的证据。     

概率贴现和时间贴现在人脑中的分离

本研究运用ERP技术来检验概率贴现和时间贴现是否反映了相同的神经机制过程。在本研究中,我们在一个刺激中同时操纵概率贴现（风险vs.安全）和时间贴现（1个月后vs.今天）水平。通过对两个过程上的ERN以及全时间段的ERP分析来确定它们是否反映了相同的认知过程。结果发现,这两者在ERN上存在差异,同时这两个效应在ERP的时程和出现的电极点上都存在差异。这些差异表明这两者可能包含着不同的神经机制过程。     

双视角下编码与提取相关性词差异的ERP研究

当个体的特征对周围人的利害影响大于本人时（如残忍）,该特征是他相关（other-relevance）的;反之则是主相关（possessor-relevance,如忧郁）的。研究比较了两种视角下（接受者视角：加工他人的特征;持有者视角：加工自我的特征）相关性特征在编码（判断特征词的相关性）与提取（新旧判断）过程中的ERP特点并发现：编码时双视角下都有他相关比主相关的波幅更大;提取时双视角下都有他相关比主相关的N400波形更负,仅在持有者视角时主相关比他相关的P600更正。可见他相关的加工优势体现在双视角下编码的全程与提取的早期,而主相关的优势表现在持有者视角的情景记忆提取过程中。     

字谜问题解决中顿悟的原型启发机制再探

以中国传统字谜为实验材料,采用多对多的“学习-测试”二阶段实验范式和ERP记录手段,研究了原型字谜和靶字谜之间是否含有共同字词对顿悟的原型启发的影响。结果发现,在靶字谜呈现后的700ms内,正确解决有共同字词、无共同字词和基线条件字谜所诱发的脑电活动基本一致。在800-1700ms时间窗口内,有共同字词条件和无共同字词条件比基线条件诱发了一个更正的P800-1700成分,可能反映了原型启发下原型的激活和新颖联系的形成。此外,有共同字词条件和无共同字词条件诱发的波形始终趋于一致,可能表明字面上相同的字词并没有对原型启发产生影响,而原型字谜和靶字谜之间内在的语义联系才是原型启发的关键。