脑内移植发展的回顾和展望

脑内移植是神经系统疾病的一种新的治疗措施。它适应临床实践的需要而产生,历经脑内组织移植和脑内干细胞移植两个重要发展阶段,其中脑内干细胞移植的研究主要有神经干细胞移植、胚胎干细胞移植、骨髓和脐血间充质干细胞移植。脑内干细胞移植是目前国内外医学研究的热点,具有广阔的临床应用前景,但也存在许多有待解决的问题,还需要经过一个艰难曲折的探索过程,最终使之成为治疗神经系统疾病的有效方法。它的产生和发展遵循着认识论和辩证法的客观规律,体现了科学认识的实践性、深刻性和创造性。     

朴素物理观和朴素心理观--进化心理学视角

人类在进化过程中解决生存与繁衍问题需要适应物理环境和社会环境。进化心理学认为人类适应物理环境与社会环境的心理机制分别称为朴素物理观和朴素心理观。文章首先阐述了朴素物理观和朴素心理观的有关内容,并指出两性差异的一个重要方面在于移情和系统化的不同组合,同时对其进化意义做了分析。     

共情的神经机制

共情是社会认知中不可或缺的一部分,是维系积极社会关系的社会动机因素。近年来,脑成像技术的发展为共情的神经机制研究开拓了新的视野,共情的神经机制研究取得了很大的进展。共情神经机制的研究主要包括共情的"表征共享"基础、共情的镜像神经元特征、共情调节的早期、晚期评价模型、共情的调节因素以及特殊个体的共情研究。在此基础上指出现有研究中存在的问题和未来研究的方向。     

IMAG(IN)ING THE BUDDHIST BRAIN: EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

Buddhism has captured the imagination of many in the modern (Western) world. Recently, scientists have seemed eager to discover whether claims about Buddhist meditation can be verified experimentally. Brain research is beginning to produce concrete evidence that mental discipline and meditative practice can change the workings of the brain and allow practitioners to achieve different levels of awareness, as measurable for instance in reaction times to stimuli. The goal of this section of articles in Zygon is to address recent developments in this area. The contributions address a wide array of questions, although they certainly do not cover the whole ground of what one may consider “problems” of meditation. Yet, we believe that the issues addressed here have widespread implications and that they constitute a strong argument for the richness of the meditation domain.     

颅脑肿瘤切除术后硬膜外血肿的原因及预防

浅析颅脑肿瘤切除术后硬膜外血肿形成的原因及预防措施。回顾性分析本科室自2005年7月～2009年7月共计13例脑肿瘤术后硬膜外血肿发生的特点,所有病例血肿均发生于小脑幕上,其中7例位于额部,3例位于颞部,2例位于顶部,1例位于枕部;平均血肿量为(37.3±3.2)ml。脑肿瘤切除术后硬膜外血肿形成机制为多种原因所导致的颅内压及脑脊液动力学改变致硬脑膜与颅骨剥离有关。各环节采取相应预防措施及术后常规复查头颅CT是防治脑肿瘤术后非手术区域硬膜外血肿的关键。     

缺血后适应脑保护的耗散结构基础与脑缺血损伤的非线性特征

脑缺血损伤的机制十分复杂,主要内容涉及谷氨酸兴奋毒性、Ca2＋毒性、自由基损伤、一氧化氮损伤、炎性反应以及内质网和线粒体功能障碍等,这些复杂的机制网络具有耗散结构的非线性特征。近年发现缺血后适应可能通过P13K、Akt、MAPK、PKC等通路,KATP通道,抗凋亡等方式阻止或减轻损伤,从而实现脑保护,而形成一个复杂的信号转导体系。而对复杂的生命系统的研究起着指导作用的耗散结构理论是从更高水平层次研究复杂系统的系统科学,文中将从哲学的角度阐释缺血后适应产生大脑保护的耗散结构基础。     

"脑死亡=死亡"生物医学定律的逻辑论证

心脏具有顽固自律性、可多次复苏性、功能可人工替代性、可多次置换性四大特点,因而已失去作为死亡判定权威器官的地位.而大脑由于具有统领性、损坏后不可恢复性、功能不可替代性、全脑不可置换性四大特点,已替代心脏成为死亡判定的靶器官."脑死亡=死亡"在相当长时期内都将是一个严格的科学定义.     

干扰控制的训练:内容、效果与机制

研究发现,干扰控制能力具有一定的可塑性。研究者通常选取儿童、成年人、老年人和部分特殊群体为研究对象。研究以Stroop、Flanker等任务为训练任务,训练时间从5天至5周不等,任务量从76至2200试次不等。研究者一般通过行为、脑电和脑成像等技术对训练效果进行评估。训练的研究结果发现,训练后个体的干扰控制能力得到提升,且训练效果可以迁移到其他相关任务中去。干扰控制的训练效果可能受训练任务与评估任务的设置和个体差异等因素的影响。经过认知训练,对冲突信号起监控作用的前扣带回皮层激活程度降低,而执行冲突解决的前额皮层激活程度增强,加强了自上而下的认知控制能力,进而导致干扰控制能力的提升。干扰控制训练的保持效果、机制探讨等问题将成为该领域日后重点关注的内容。     

Storytellers and Scenario Spinners: Some Reflections on Religion and Science in Light of a Pragmatic, Evolutionary Theory of Knowledge

Asserting that both scientists and religious thinkers are involved in telling stories about the past and spinning scenarios about the future, I first compare and contrast the purposes of scientific and religious storytelling. Then, in light of some recent work on brain and language evolution, I offer a possible story about how humans might have become storytellers. Finally, I discuss how religious stories might be evaluated pragmatically and even scientifically by developing Lakatosian-type research programs.     

The association between the behavior rating inventory of executive functioning and cognitive testing in children diagnosed with a brain tumor

Pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBTS) suffer from cognitive late effects, such as deteriorating executive functioning (EF). We explored the suitability of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) to screen for these late effects. We assessed the relationship between the BRIEF and EF tasks, and between the BRIEF-Parent and BRIEF-Teacher, and we explored the clinical utility. Eighty-two PBTS (8–18 years) were assessed with EF tasks measuring attention, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, visual-, and working memory (WM), and with the BRIEF-Parent and BRIEF-Teacher. Pearson’s correlations between the BRIEF and EF tasks, and between the BRIEF-Parent and BRIEF-Teacher were calculated. The BRIEF-Parent related poorly to EF tasks (rs < .26, ps > .01), but of the BRIEF-Teacher the WM-scale, Monitor-scale, Behavioral-Regulation-Index, and Meta-cognition-Index, and Total-score (rs > .31, ps < .01) related significantly to some EF tasks. When controlling for age, only the WM scale and Total score related significantly to the attention task (ps < .01). The inhibit scales of the BRIEF-Parent and BRIEF-Teacher correlated significantly (r = .33, p < .01). Children with clinically elevated scores on BRIEF scales that correlated with EF tasks performed worse on all EF tasks (ds 0.56–1.23, ps < .05). The BRIEF-Teacher Total and Index scores might better screen general EF in PBTS than the BRIEF-Parent. However, the BRIEF-Teacher is also not specific enough to capture separate EFs. Solely relying on the BRIEF as a screening measure of EFs in BPTS is insufficient. Questionnaires and tasks give distinctive, valuable information.