跨领域项目间联结记忆中项目提取和关系提取的分离：一项事件相关电位研究

使用ERPs技术, 探讨跨领域项目间联结记忆中项目提取和关系提取的差异。学习阶段, 系列呈现面孔-事件动词材料, 让被试识记面孔、事件动词以及两者之间的关系; 测验阶段, 要求被试对成对刺激进行“相同”、“重组”或“新”判断。结果发现：提取阶段, 刺激呈现后约200 ms, “相同”、“重组”和“新”3种条件下的ERPs开始出现分离, 存在“相同/新”、“重组/新”和“相同/重组”三类新旧效应。在200~300 ms, “相同/新”和“重组/新”两类新旧效应表现在前额和额区皮层; 在300~500 ms, 这两类新旧效应广泛地分布在从前到后各个脑区皮层; 在500~700 ms, “相同/新”新旧效应出现在额-顶区皮层, 而无“重组/新”新旧效应; 在700~1400 ms, 这两类新旧效应发生在前额和额区皮层; 在上述4个时段, “相同/重组”关系新旧效应都发生在额中-中央-顶区皮层。从这些结果可以推知：跨领域项目间联结再认中, 项目新旧效应和关系新旧效应同时出现, 但是关系提取比项目提取较晚完成; 额中-中央-顶区皮层关系新旧效应反映了对项目间关系的回忆加工; 而700 ms以后, 前额、额区皮层新旧效应可能反映了项目之间关系提取过程的执行加工功能。     

老年人情绪记忆中的积极效应及其产生机制

有关情绪与记忆的研究发现, 老年人经常表现出积极效应, 即对积极刺激的记忆比对消极刺激的记忆更好。从动机层面来讲, 社会情绪选择理论认为老年人比年轻人更倾向于进行情绪调节。在记忆任务中, 这种情绪调节的动机使得老年人具有表现出积极效应的倾向, 但这种倾向只有在满足一定条件的情况下才能表现出来。情绪调节对记忆的影响可以通过注意选择、加工资源分配、情绪抑制、认知再评价等多种方式进行。未来研究需要进一步细分年龄段考察情绪的各维度如何影响老年人记忆的各个阶段。     

基于自发脑电的脑机接口研究进展

脑机接口是一种不依赖于外周神经和肌肉等常规输出通道的信息交流系统,近年来发展非常迅速。它可为神经肌肉障碍患者提供一条与外界沟通的途径,并在虚拟现实、游戏娱乐和航空等领域具有潜在价值。目前,脑机接口中常用的脑电输入信号包括P300、稳态视觉诱发电位（SS—VEP）、皮层慢电位（SCP）以及μ或β节律等。其中,SCP、μ或β节律等自发脑电不依赖于额外刺激的输入,不会产生视觉疲劳,没有适应性的问题,且其神经生理学基础已获得比较深入的研究,因而在脑机接口中得到了较多的应用。但是,基于自发脑电的脑机接口也存在明显的缺陷,如并非所有个体都适用基于汕节律的脑机接口,基于SCP的脑机接口要经过长时间的训练才能实现等。     

Apodemus sylvaticus (LOXT) is a suitable mouse strain for testing spatial memory retention in the Morris water maze

Information on the difference in cognitive function between laboratory and wild-caught mice is anecdotal and this question has not been systematically studied. Moreover, studying a wild-caught mouse strain per se may add information to the repertoire of mouse strains available. We aimed to study spatial memory in a wild mouse strain (Apodemus sylvaticus, AS) as compared to two individual laboratory mouse strains.Male AS (n = 20), CD1 (n = 19) and C57BL/6J mice (n = 19), 12–14 weeks old, were used in the experiments. The Morris water maze (MWM) was used for determination of spatial memory and time spent in the target quadrant at time points 5 (D5) and 12 days (D12) was evaluated. During the acquisition phase latency to reach the platform and path length to reach the platform was evaluated.Following four training days on day 5 (D5), time spent in the target quadrant was highest in AS > CD1 > C57BL/6J (P < 0.006). On day 12 (D12), time spent in the target quadrant was significantly higher in AS than in both other strains (P < 0.001).All animals learned the task and during the acquisition phase, latency to reach the platform as well as path length decreased significantly in AS.It is concluded that the AS is the most suitable strain for the evaluation of spatial memory in the MWM and is presenting with memory retention superior to laboratory mouse strains CD1 and C57BL/6J.     

Treatment effectiveness of combined medication/behavioural treatment with chinese ADHD children in routine practice

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of a combined methylphenidate/behavioural treatment (BT) versus methylphenidate-only for Chinese children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was tested in routine clinical practice in Hong Kong. METHODS: A randomized group comparison design was adopted with two treatment conditions (methylphenidate-only; methylphenidate/BT), which lasted for 6 months. There were four assessment time points (pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 6-month and 12-month follow-ups), using the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behaviours (SWAN) Rating Scale. Parental attitude toward different treatment options of ADHD was also assessed at pre-treatment and post-treatment. Participants included 90 Chinese ADHD children (mean age=8 years, SD=.95). RESULTS: The combination of BT and a low-dose methylphenidate was significantly more effective than methylphenidate-only in reducing ADHD and ODD symptoms at post-treatment. At follow-ups, the benefits of the combined treatment were maintained, while the methylphenidate-only group caught up in improvement in ADHD symptoms. Parents in both treatment conditions showed improved attitude toward medication after the 6-month treatment phase, while their attitude toward BT was positive all along. CONCLUSIONS: This study supported the added benefits of BT, on top of medication, for Chinese ADHD children in routine practice with treatments conducted by regular medical and paramedical staffs.     

Racial/ethnic differences in Body Mass Index: the roles of beliefs about thinness and dietary restriction

The greater BMI of African American relative to Caucasian women is implicated in racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes. The principal aim of the current study was to evaluate a theoretical account of racial/ethnic differences in BMI. Thin-ideal internalization, the perceived romantic appeal of thinness, dietary restriction, weight, and height were assessed via self-report measures on a sample of female undergraduates of African American (n = 140) and Caucasian (n = 676) race/ethnicity. Using structural equation modeling, support was obtained for the primary hypothesis that racial/ethnic differences in BMI are explained by Caucasian women's greater thin-ideal internalization and perceived romantic appeal of thinness, thereby resulting in greater levels of dietary restriction. Current findings illustrate the potential for racial/ethnic differences in sociocultural standards of appearance to influence racial/ethnic disparities in physical health, of which BMI is a marker, via effects on weight control behavior.     

Rawls on Human Rights: A Review Essay

In this essay, I first evaluate the conceptual analysis of human rights by Wilfried Hinsch and Markus Stepanians. Next I criticize Allen Buchanan’s claim that Rawls did not address basic human interests/capabilities theories of human nature. I argue Buchanan is doubly mistaken when he claims that John Rawls sought to avoid such theories because they are comprehensive doctrines. Then I evaluate David Reidy’s defense of Rawls, while questioning his efforts to show how Rawls’s list of human rights could be expanded. Finally, I accept James Nickel’s argument that Rawls has tied human rights too closely to intervention on their behalf. However, I reject his, and by implication Rawls’s, refusal to accept a two-tiered approach to human rights.     

Rethinking the Human Being in Light of Evolutionary Biology

Abstract : For the sake of its own enrichment and relevance, Christian anthropology today must be informed by what we are learning from the biosciences, including the theory of biological evolution. The two quite different paradigms of theology and biology should be seen as complementary to each other, with theology recognizing the biological foundation of human nature. This necessitates a repudiation of the traditional body/soul dualism and re‐conceptualizing the concept of soul as a metaphorical expression rather than a spiritual entity. It affirms the spiritual dimension of human life that relates us to God and neighbor. Biblical scholarship affirms this psychosomatic, holistic view of the human being.     

Interhemispheric interaction in word‐ and color‐matching of Kanji color words1

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the possibility that a shift toward a within‐hemisphere advantage would emerge when two stimulus items receive, respectively, different processing (vs. when they receive similar processing). Using right‐handed participants, we briefly presented two Kanji color‐word items as either within‐field or across‐fields. Viewers had to match the two items in terms of ink color (a color‐matching task) or word meaning (a name‐matching task). Each Kanji color word was presented with the same (congruent) or different (incongruent) ink color relative to the word meaning. Our results were twofold. First, a within‐field advantage appeared in the relatively easier color‐matching task, whereas an across‐field advantage tended to occur in the relatively harder name‐matching task. Second, in the word‐matching task an across‐field advantage appeared when both Kanji color words appeared in similar processing manners (both congruent or both incongruent), whereas a within‐field advantage occurred when processing of two Kanji items differed (one congruent and one incongruent). These results suggested that a shift toward a within‐hemisphere advantage occurs when two items are processed in respectively different ways.     

Failed Mirroring as a Cultural Phenomenon

Mirroring has failed when the reflection an individual receives is inaccurate or distorted. Though typically focused on parent–child interactions, mirroring and failed mirroring are also cultural phenomena. For women with dis/abilities, failed mirroring occurs when societal representations of dis/ability are reflected back rather than personal attributes. This essay suggests failed mirroring as a possible consequence of disabled women’s encounters with stares and analyzes one woman’s experience with a staring person that results in a temporary destabilization of self-knowledge and self-worth. Healthier relationships with others and the Divine have the potential of restoring or healing what has been lost or denied in such distortions.