审美的神经机制研究及其美学意义

本文主要介绍了审美神经机制研究的初步成果,特别有关Zeki,Solso等人开创性的研究工作,并着重讨论了这些研究工作的美学意义,指出审美神经机制的研究不但在美学理论的确证方面,具有更强的说服力和广泛的应用性,而且在21世纪美学理论的重建方面,也一定会起着不可替代的重要作用。     

Aging, Executive Functioning, and Social Control

ABSTRACT— Aging is associated with atrophy of the frontal lobes of the brain, which are the seat of executive functions. Because successful social functioning often requires executive control, aging can lead to unintended social changes via deficits in executive control. In this article I review evidence that, due to losses in executive control, aging leads to increased prejudice and social inappropriateness and, under certain circumstances, increased depression and problem gambling. I then discuss theory and research suggesting possible interventions that might ameliorate unwanted social changes brought about by executive decline.     

Dyadic predictors of outcome in a cognitive-behavioral program for patients with generalized anxiety disorder in committed relationships: a "spoonful of sugar" and a dose of non-hostile criticism may help

The present study tested whether pre-treatment levels of partner hostility and non-hostile criticism predicted outcome in an individual cognitive-behavioral therapy package for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Eighteen patients with a principal or co-principal diagnosis of GAD were randomly allocated to a treatment condition (n=8) or a delayed treatment condition (n=10). In addition, the patients and their partners were videotaped discussing the patients’ worries. These videotapes were later coded for levels of partner hostility and non-hostile criticism directed at the patients. Treatment resulted in statistically and clinically significant change at post-test. Finally, partner hostility predicted worse end-state functioning whereas partner non-hostile criticism predicted better end-state functioning.     

The work of the psychoanalyst in the field of psychosis1

Psychosis questions the foundations of psychoanalytic theory and challenges our ultimate convictions about psychic functioning. Using her clinical practice, the author explores the foundations of representation and underscores the central position of sensoriality in constituting a representation. Psychoanalytical work with a psychotic subject requires a certain sharing of the psychotic experience which puts the analyst in touch with raw material grasped as a fragment of sensoriality that must consequently be shaped and figured so that the subject's representational activity can resume. The author thus uses the Freudian notion of figuration to specify this ‘raw material’ and its sensory texture. She then refers to Aulagnier's pictograms as a way of thinking about sensoriality under the sign of displeasure and pain rather than pleasure. In the light of this theoretical development, the author re‐examines the opening excerpts from her clinical cases to come up with a practice of interpretation as figuration that allows jointly for the shaping of the raw material and the identifying import of this shaping.     

论神经哲学的兴起

人类心身问题的研究一直是科学界关注的热点。近年来,国外学者将神经科学与哲学研究统一起来,集合两门学科的研究方法、综合双方的研究成果,以此来共同推进人类心身问题的研究,因此诞生了一门介于神经科学和哲学之间的独立学科,它有着学科交叉的研究领域和特殊的跨学科研究方法,这门学科就是神经哲学。     

Dream content: Individual and generic aspects

Dream reports were collected from normal subjects in an effort to determine the degree to which dream reports can be used to identify individual dreamers. Judges were asked to group the reports by their authors. The judges scored the reports correctly at chance levels. This finding indicated that dreams may be at least as much like each other as they are the signature of individual dreamers. Our results suggest that dream reports cannot be used to identify the individuals who produced them when identifiers like names and gender of friends and family members are removed from the dream report. In addition to using dreams to learn about an individual, we must look at dreams as telling us about important common or generic aspects of human consciousness.     

The effects of reinforcer magnitude on timing in rats

The relation between reinforcer magnitude and timing behavior was studied using a peak procedure. Four rats received multiple consecutive sessions with both low and high levels of brain stimulation reward (BSR). Rats paused longer and had later start times during sessions when their responses were reinforced with low-magnitude BSR. When estimated by a symmetric Gaussian function, peak times also were earlier; when estimated by a better-fitting asymmetric Gaussian function or by analyzing individual trials, however, these peak-time changes were determined to reflect a mixture of large effects of BSR on start times and no effect on stop times. These results pose a significant dilemma for three major theories of timing (SET, MTS, and BeT), which all predict no effects for chronic manipulations of reinforcer magnitude. We conclude that increased reinforcer magnitude influences timing in two ways: through larger immediate after-effects that delay responding and through anticipatory effects that elicit earlier responding.     

错误相关负波（ERN）在精神病理学研究中的应用

错误相关负波（error-related negativity, ERN）是由行为错误诱发的一种脑电波成分,最大峰值在错误反应之后的50ms左右,偶极子源定位于前扣带回（anterior cingulate cortex, ACC）附近。错误加工（error processing）的经典研究范式中出现的ERN成分可能反映了ACC具有错误检测、冲突监控、强化学习、情绪动机等功能。大量研究表明过度的和不足的错误相关脑活动（hyperactive and hypoactive error processing）可能分别与精神病理学的内化性和外化性障碍（internalizing and externalizing disorders）相关联。内化性和外化性障碍的内表型（endophenotype）的研究,还存在许多值得进一步探索的问题。     

脑功能可塑性与灾后心理功能康复

神经系统具有惊人的可塑性,这种可塑性可以终生保留。大脑不仅可因个体的经验与行为而改变,也可因内在思维、放松和注意的不同而发生改变。如汶川地震这样的大型自然灾害,因其突发性和巨变性,可使身临其境的人大脑功能状态在瞬间就发生持久的改变,从而表现为认知、情感等心理功能的改变。反过来,利用有关神经可塑性的认识,同样可使受损的大脑得以修复,使发育障碍的个体增强功能,亦可使由各种内外因素导致的心灵扭曲重新舒展开来。利用放松、修复、重建的3R脑功能重塑技术,可望解决包括地震灾后心理健康重建在内的各种神经和心理问题,具有广泛的应用前景     

老年社会功能与主观幸福感

社会功能是健康老龄化的基本要素。本文综述了老年社会功能的定义和评估、与主观幸福感相关的老年社会功能理论,以及社会功能对主观幸福感影响的研究进展。在消极和积极老化观的指引下,该领域的研究存在两种取向：前者片面强调社会支持,追求享乐主义取向主观幸福感;后者则强调社会参与,追求幸福快乐取向主观幸福感。今后的研究应在积极老化观的指引下,强调老年阶段积极主动的社会参与和幸福快乐的幸福感,并开展相关的干预研究。