简论里贝特的意识理论

里贝特是人类意识和自由意志的实验研究领域的一个卓越的、先驱性的神经科学家。里贝特的意识研究工作涉及如下四个方面：（1）关于意识研究的认识论原则;（2）对意识现象本性的界定;（3）意识机制的时控理论;（4）对自由意志的阐释和有意识的心智场理论。里贝特的意识研究独树一帜,其时控理论具有坚实可信的实验证据,它从时间维度揭示了有意识的主观体验以及无意识的心智功能与神经活动之间的时间机制。     

人类情绪记忆的行为遗传学与神经遗传学研究进展述评

情绪记忆及其增强效应存在广泛的个体差异,这种个体差异可能有其神经与遗传基础。近来的行为遗传学与神经遗传学证实人类ADRA2B基因缺失突变以及BDNF Val66Met基因的多态性与情绪记忆增强及其神经机制的个体差异相联系。本文重点介绍与人类情绪记忆相关的这两种基因,梳理了行为与神经遗传学研究的最新进展,指出未来应关注更多候选基因,并重视多个脑区之间的交互作用;还应使用情绪面孔刺激探索BDNF Val66Met基因多态性对情绪记忆编码和提取的影响等。     

The Other Shoe: An Early Operant Conditioning Chamber for Pigeons

We describe an early operant conditioning chamber fabricated by Harvard University instrument maker Ralph Gerbrands and shipped to Japan in 1952 in response to a request of Professor B. F. Skinner by Japanese psychologists. It is a rare example, perhaps the earliest still physically existing, of such a chamber for use with pigeons. Although the overall structure and many of the components are similar to contemporary pigeon chambers, several differences are noted and contrasted to evolutionary changes in this most important laboratory tool in the experimental analysis of behavior. The chamber also is testimony to the early internationalization of behavior analysis.     

Attentional Predictors of 5‐month‐olds' Performance on a Looking A‐not‐B Task

In the first year of life, the ability to search for hidden objects is an indicator of object permanence and, when multiple locations are involved, executive function (i.e. inhibition, cognitive flexibility and working memory). The current study was designed to examine attentional predictors of search in 5‐month‐old infants (as measured by the looking A‐not‐B task), and whether levels of maternal education moderated the effect of the predictors. Specifically, in a separate task, the infants were shown a unique puppet, and we measured the percentage of time attending to the puppet, as well as the length of the longest look (i.e., peak fixation) directed towards the puppet. Across the entire sample (N = 390), the percentage of time attending to the puppet was positively related to performance on the visual A‐not‐B task. However, for infants whose mothers had not completed college, having a shorter peak looking time (after controlling for percentage of time) was also a predictor of visual A‐not‐B performance. The role of attention, peak fixation and maternal education in visual search is discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improving payment of traffic fines with financial incentives: Discounts vs. penalties

The effective enforcement of traffic laws is critical for improved road safety outcomes. Decisions to follow traffic rules and pay fines are influenced by formal institutions (e.g. laws, court summons, and fines) as well as informal institutions (e.g. norms and aspects of culture). Formal and informal institutions create incentives that should be designed to steer individuals’ behaviour towards desired outcomes. Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe that the institutions to deal with traffic violations in South Africa currently create effective incentives. This paper discusses the findings of a controlled laboratory experiment, conducted with a sample of university students, that tested the efficacy of different financial incentives that may influence the payment of traffic fines. An early payment discount was compared to a late payment penalty (used in other countries, for example, some states in the USA), and to the absence of any incentives. Furthermore, we examined whether the willingness to settle fines is sensitive to the likelihood of detection by the authorities. We found that introducing financial incentives significantly increases voluntary payment of fines, irrespective of whether immediate payment is encouraged with a discount or late payment is discouraged with a surcharge. In addition, subjects are more sensitive to the likelihood of detection when financial incentives are present.     

Pharmacological antagonism of mouse-killing behavior in the olfactory bulb lesion-induced killer rat

Representative agents from all of the major classes of drugs that have been reported to be selective antagonists of spontaneous mouse-killing behavior (i.e., antidepres-sants, antihistamines, anticholinergics, and stimulants) were tested for their ability to antagonize the mouse-killing response in rats that became killers following removal of the olfactory bulbs (O.B. lesion-induced killer rat) and in spontaneous killers. All of the drugs tested selectively antagonized the killing behavior of both spontaneous and lesion-induced mouse-killing rats. Several drugs (i.e., imipramine, amitriptyline, d-amphetamine, and chlorpheniramine) were found to be significantly less potent antagonists of mouse killing in the 0.6. lesioned rat as compared to spontaneous killers. Since all of the drugs that exhibited significant differences in activity between the two models have been shown to possess the ability to elevate norepinephrine levels at receptor sites in the brain, alterations in noradrenergic systems may account for the differences in sensitivity that were observed in this study. The possibility that there may be a common neural substrate for mouse killing in the two models is discussed.     

Non-accidental injury to children—II: A controlled evaluation of a behavioural management programme

A controlled treatment trial was conducted to evaluate the contribution of a psychological approach to child-abusing families. Ten families participated in the trial, and although some successes were observed in treated and control comparison families (e.g. no further confirmed injuries) the final outcome was inconclusive. A conclusive outcome was precluded by the very high rate of non-cooperation encountered in the 17 other families accepted for inclusion in the study: 11 of these withdrew prior to completion of the initial assessment procedures and 6 withdrew before completing the trial period proper. The results from the 10 participating families are of interest, and indicate that it is feasible to carry out a full, complete evaluation, given considerable resources and even more considerable endurance and patience.