Sensitivity to First‐Order Relations of Facial Elements in Infant Rhesus Macaques

Faces are visually attractive to both human and nonhuman primates. Human neonates are thought to have a broad template for faces at birth and prefer face‐like to non‐face‐like stimuli. To better compare developmental trajectories of face processing phylogenetically, here, we investigated preferences for face‐like stimuli in infant rhesus macaques using photographs of real faces. We presented infant macaques aged 15–25 days with human, macaque and abstract faces with both normal and linear arrangements of facial features and measured infants' gaze durations, number of fixations and latency to look to each face using eye‐tracking technology. There was an overall preference for normal over linear facial arrangements for abstract and monkey faces but not human faces. Moreover, infant macaques looked less at monkey faces than at abstract or human faces. These results suggest that species and facial configurations affect face processing in infant macaques, and we discuss potential explanations for these findings. Further, carefully controlled studies are required to ascertain whether infant macaques' face template can be considered as broad as human infants' face template. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Brief strategic therapy in first myocardial infarction patients with increased levels of stress: a randomized clinical trial

Background: Little is known about the impact of interventions targeting chronic stress levels on clinical outcomes among myocardial infarction (MI) patients with increased levels of stress. Objectives: To examine the impact of the addition of brief strategic therapy (BST) to usual care (UC) on clinical outcomes in first MI patients with increased levels of stress. Design: Eighty-one patients were randomly assigned to BST in conjunction with UC (medical treatment, risk factor information, and guidance on unhealthy behavior change) or to UC. Methods: The outcome measures were scores on the Perceived Stress Scale, reinfarction and cardiac mortality rates, and scores on the Health Survey. Measures were taken before, post-treatment, and at two follow-ups. Results: Patients subjected to BST showed reduced perceived stress at post-treatment and maintained decreased levels at follow-ups. At 1-year follow-up, they had a lower rate of non-fatal reinfarction, and at 2.5-year follow-up, they had a lower rate of fatal reinfarction. Their mental and physical health was improved at post-treatment and this was sustained at follow-ups. Conclusion: The addition of BST to UC favorably influences the disease course after MI in patients with increased levels of stress.     

33例耐多药肺结核患者督导服药现状研究

为了解耐多药肺结核患者督导服药情况,本文对33例耐多药肺结核患者与12名医务人员进行调查。结果显示,没有接受过直接面试下督导服药和访视的患者分别占40％和50％,患者确诊后的管理情况并没有比确诊前有明显好转。因此．要加大政府的投入力度,加强专科医院和结防机构之间的医防合作,从而强化对患者的服药管理。     

迈向整合脑与经验的意识科学——Varela的神经现象学述评

意识的困难问题引发了当代意识科学所面临的最大困境：构建一个能同时阐明意识的主观性及其神经生物学基础的研究纲领。为此,Varela提出了神经现象学方案,即意识经验是脑内大尺度神经集合活动的涌现结果,神经相位同步模式就是表现形式之一。意识的主观性决定了在意识研究中必须将第一人称方法与第三人称方法结合起来,使得主观与客观数据间形成互惠的约束。     

论首发症状的分析在临床决策中的作用

根据不同标准,首发症状可以划分为常见首发症状、可见首发症状、偶见首发症状、特异性首发症状和非特异性首发症状。首发症状在临床决策中的重要作用表现在:提示早期诊断决策信息、疾病内在特征、病灶发生部位、发病病理机制、疾病发展预后和鉴别诊断要点。首发症状的复杂性表现在其无特异性、不典型性、多样性、本系统疾病以外系统疾病为首发症状、躯体性疾病以精神症状为首发症状和首发并发症现象等方面。     

实施社区首诊制的意义及建议

目前,实施社区首诊制有重要的意义在于,可以缓解看病难、看病贵问题,适应人口老龄化的需求,改善流动人口的健康状况,以及减少私人诊所和药店不规范医疗带来的危害。但是,首诊制的实施也必然面临一定的困难。因此,应积极倡导医保制定向社区倾斜的政策,鼓励社区提高医务人员的技术水平、服务质量,并且完善双向转诊制度。     

A test of causal sequences in two models for development of career-orientation in women

To evaluate the tenability of two causal orderings of variables in the development of career-orientation, responses of 92 college senior women to Need Achievement, Dating Frequency, and Career-Orientation items were analyzed. The postulated orderings were derived from two models: a compensatory model implying that failure in a woman's heterosexual affiliation leads to high nAch which, in turn, produces high C-O; an enrichment model suggesting that a woman's high nAch may lead to high C-O which, in turn, decreases heterosexual affiliation. Criteria for temporal sequences as per the Simon-Blalock correlational procedures rendered the enrichment model more tenable.     

Objective self awareness and self esteem

Based on a theory of objective self awareness three experiments were conducted with undergraduates to test the hypothesis that self-focused attention can alter self esteem levels. In Experiments I and II subjects were exposed either to the sound of their own voices or to the sound of another's voice, and while listening to the tape-recording they filled out a self esteem measure. Consistent with the theory, subjects whose attention was focused upon themselves by means of exposure to their own tape-recorded voices showed lower self esteem than subjects who heard another's voice. The impact of the self awareness manipulation on self esteem was greatest when it was first introduced. In Experiment III the variable of positive-negative feedback on a fictitious personality trait was added to the self-focused attention variable. An interaction resulted such that self-focused attention lowered self esteem given negative feedback, while there was a tendency toward the opposite result given positive feedback.     

The effects of prior task experience in the modeling situation

An investigation was made into the effects of observers' previous experience with the experimental task on acquisition and subsequent performance of modeled task behavior. The task was socially neutral and the subjects were second grade boys and girls. Recall of modeled actions increased with prior experience, indicating greater acquisition. This finding supports Bandura's (1973) assertion that task familiarity may enhance attentiveness to the model. Contrary to previous research, performance of imitation did not decrease with experience. The present performance results are possibly due to the ambiguity of the preexperience and novelty of the experimental task.     

Artifact and Barber's model of hypnosis: A logical-empirical analysis

Two studies examined the relevance of artifact to Barber's model of hypnosis. Study I analyzed subjects' perceptions of instructions employed by the paradigm and demonstrated strong social pressure in the model's task motivational set not present in its standard set of hypnotic induction instructions. Study II coped with the artifact by applying the standard methodology of the model but employing a set of modified hypnotic instructions equivalent in constraint to the task motivational set. Results for 88 subjects indicated a possible behavioral consequence of the artifact variable involving an interaction between type of instruction and ease of hypnotic test item; individual differences in suggestibility also appeared to discriminate conditions with respect to the artifact in question. Collectively, results indicate that the major inference drawn from the paradigm regarding the expendability of the concept of trance should be accepted with caution.