Le vaccin,un médicament devenu l’arme absolue promise contre la COVID-19 : une réglementation adaptée ?

As the first vaccines against COVID-19 arrive on the market, the question of the safety of these products arises in the public debate. The major concern is about the possible occurrence of adverse effects, particularly in the context of the use of novel pharmaceutical technologies such as mRNA. It is important to remind both patients and professionals that a vaccine is not only a medicinal product in its own right, but also a special medicinal product: biological and immunological. As a result, its supervision is draconian, and despite the urgency, no requirements have been lowered. The speed of marketing is the result both of adapted clinical trials and optimized evaluation procedures.     

Inhibitory control and set shifting describe different pathways from behavioral inhibition to socially anxious behavior

Individuals with a behaviorally inhibited (BI) temperament are more likely to develop social anxiety. However, the mechanisms by which socially anxious behavior emerges from BI are unclear. Variation in different forms of top‐down control, specifically executive functions (EF), may play distinct roles and characterize differential pathways to social anxiety. Here 291 children were assessed for BI in toddlerhood (ages 2 and 3), parent‐reported inhibitory control and set shifting during middle childhood (age 7), and multidimensional assessment of socially anxious behavior completed during late childhood and early adolescence (ages 9 and 12). Structural equation modeling revealed that early variation in BI predicted the development of socially anxious behavior through either higher levels of parent‐reported inhibitory control or lower levels of parent‐reported set shifting. These data reinforce the notion that top‐down control does not uniformly influence relations between temperament and socially anxious behavior. These data suggest novel approaches to thinking about the role of EFs and social anxiety outcomes as children approach adolescence.     

Cogmic space for narrative-based world representation

Representing a world or a physical/social environment in an agent’s cognitive system is essential for creating human-like artificial intelligence. This study takes a story-centered approach to this issue. In this context, a story refers to an internal representation involving a narrative structure, which is assumed to be a common form of organizing past, present, future, and fictional events and situations. In the artificial intelligence field, a story or narrative is traditionally treated as a symbolic representation. However, a symbolic story representation is limited in its representational power to construct a rich world. For example, a symbolic story representation is unfit to handle the sensory/bodily dimension of a world. In search of a computational theory for narrative-based world representation, this study proposes the conceptual framework of a Cogmic Space for a comic strip-like representation of a world. In the proposed framework, a story is positioned as a mid-level representation, in which the conceptual and sensory/bodily dimensions of a world are unified. The events and their background situations that constitute a story are unified into a sequence of panels. Based on this structure, a representation (i.e., a story) and the represented environment are connected via an isomorphism of their temporal, spatial, and relational structures. Furthermore, the framework of a Cogmic Space is associated with the generative aspect of representations, which is conceptualized in terms of unconscious- and conscious-level processes/representations. Finally, a proof-of-concept implementation is presented to provide a concrete account of the proposed framework.     

Cognitive computing models for estimation of reference evapotranspiration: A review

Irrigation practices can be advanced by the aid of cognitive computing models. Repeated droughts, population expansion and the impact of global warming collectively impose rigorous restrictions over irrigation practices. Reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) is a vital factor to predict the crop water requirements based on climate data. There are many techniques available for the prediction of ET₀. An efficient ET₀ prediction model plays an important role in irrigation system to increase water productivity. In the present study, a review has been carried out over cognitive computing models used for the estimation of ET₀. Review exhibits that artificial neural network (ANN) approach outperforms support vector machine (SVM) and genetic programming (GP). Second order neural network (SONN) is the most promising approach among ANN models.     

基于网络理论的物质成瘾新视角

物质成瘾是一种涉及生理、心理和环境等多因素的复杂现象, 但是当前基于生物还原论的解释对物质成瘾现象整体性的理解和康复研究造成了阻碍。网络理论聚焦于心理障碍变量之间相互作用形成的反馈环路, 从整体视角为研究物质成瘾提供了新的理论框架。将网络理论应用于物质成瘾的研究中将有利于:(1)理解症状之间的相互关系和影响; (2)理解症状网络的整体性和系统性动态变化过程; 以及(3)将多层次和多水平因素整合到统一的理论框架中。从网络理论视角来理解物质成瘾, 也将对未来的干预和治疗提供了理论支持。目前, 网络理论仍处于言语模型阶段, 未来需要进一步提出更具体、可验证的统计模型, 以完善对于物质成瘾机制的了解, 更加有效地推进物质成瘾的治疗与恢复。     

γ节律神经振荡：反映自闭症多感觉整合失调的一项重要生物指标

多感觉整合是对不同感官信息进行选择、联系、统一乃至解释的加工过程, 它需要神经系统不同功能区域的共同投入与相互协调, 以实现多种感觉信息的时间捆绑以及全局性的预测编码。而γ神经振荡因具有反映神经皮层兴奋/抑制的平衡状况, 实现多感官信息的时间同步, 以及通过跨频耦合实现全局性预测编码的特点, 在多感觉整合的加工过程中发挥着重要作用。相比正常个体, 自闭症患者神经系统中的GABA中间神经元存在结构与功能异常, 导致γ神经振荡紊乱, 由此破坏了正常的时间同步以及预测编码加工, 并最终引发多感觉整合失调。基于上述因果关联, 未来研究可结合无创可逆性干预技术, 以γ节律神经振荡为生物反馈指标, 形成科学系统化的临床干预治疗方案。     

创造力产生过程中的神经振荡机制

创造力究竟是怎么产生的, 目前尚未得出一致的结论。神经电生理技术因其高时间分辨率, 可以准确地揭示创造力产生进程中的神经振荡机制, 从而帮助人们更深刻地理解创造力的本质。近年来的研究发现, 单节律alpha神经振荡会随着创造力的增加而增强, 这反映了创造力产生过程中的内部信息加工需求增加、自上而下的抑制控制增强。同时, 多频段神经振荡交叉节律耦合体现了创造性产生过程中额叶、颞叶和顶叶等多脑区之间信息交流的动态变化。未来研究应该以整合理论框架为基础, 结合多层次多方法的研究工具, 引进更生态化的数理计算方法, 并利用计算神经科学建模来预测个体创造力发展趋势, 从而全面深刻地认识创造力的本质。     

中国人限制性饮食和食物渴求的认知神经机制

物质丰富的时代, 如何抵御美味食物线索带来的食物渴求, 并限制饮食从而保持健康成为人们关注的重要话题之一。近年来, 国内学者为了探讨节食成功的原因, 创建中国食物图片库, 考察限制性饮食的认知神经机制, 以及成功和失败限制性饮食者的脑机制差异; 开展了特质食物渴求及中国特色的辣食渴求的认知神经研究。对推进饮食行为研究的理论发展, 也为肥胖、饮食失调等健康干预工作提供重要支持。     

自恋与行为抑制/激活系统的关系：元分析

运用元分析方法探讨自恋与行为抑制/激活系统的关系。经过文献检索和筛选, 纳入原始文献19篇, 包含25个独立样本, 共7702名被试。根据同质性检验结果, 选用随机效应模型。结果发现, 自恋与行为抑制系统存在中度负相关(r = -0.27, 95% CI为[-0.34, -0.21]), 自恋测量工具在两者间起显著的调节作用; 自恋与行为激活系统存在高度正相关(r = 0.46, 95% CI为[0.40, 0.52]), 被试类型在两者间起显著的调节作用。自恋与行为抑制/激活系统的密切关系支持了自恋的主体性理论和人格强化敏感性理论。     

非符号数量表征和符号分数表征的关系

个体学习符号分数的一个关键是能对其数值形成准确表征。现有研究假设符号分数表征的认知基础是人类自婴幼儿期就具有的非符号数量表征(如表征两个集合各自的数量, 或两个数量的比例)。其证据包括表征非符号数量(尤其是非符号数量比例关系)和表征符号分数在行为和大脑神经活动层面上都表现出相关性。然而要说明非符号数量表征是符号分数表征的认知基础, 还需更多研究表明两者在数量概念上的独特相关和因果联系, 并阐明符号分数表征形成的认知机制。