Coordination and movement pathology: models of structure and function

Here we consider the role of abstract models in advancing our understanding of movement pathology. Models of movement coordination and control provide the frameworks necessary for the design and interpretation of studies of acquired and developmental disorders. These models do not however provide the resolution necessary to reveal the nature of the functional impairments that characterise specific movement pathologies. In addition, they do not provide a mapping between the structural bases of various pathologies and the associated disorders of movement. Current and prospective approaches to the study and treatment of movement disorders are discussed. It is argued that the appreciation of structure–function relationships, to which these approaches give rise, represents a challenge to current models of interlimb coordination, and a stimulus for their continued development.     

阿尔茨海默病的研究及其药物开发历程

阿尔茨海默病是目前导致人类死亡的第四大疾病,针对该病的新药开发成为医药领域的竞争焦点。从医学史的视角介绍了德国医生、神经病理学家阿尔茨海默的生平及主要合作者;归纳和总结阿尔茨海默病及其发现的百年史,阐述该病的病理特征和胆碱能损伤假说、β淀粉样蛋白级联假说、τ蛋白异常修饰假说等发病假说;比较了美国国立卫生研究院自20世纪70年代以来对癌症、艾滋病以及阿尔茨海默病的经费资助情况。通过大量数据,揭示世界各国医药企业近年来对阿尔茨海默病药物研制的挫折与艰辛,特别是这期间药物开发屡次失败的历史。     

《中国科学技术史·年表卷》北宋部分医学内容考辨

《中国科学技术史·年表卷》作为近年出版的一部相当重要的科学技术史领域的年表类工具书,载录了较为丰富的反映北宋时期医学发展历程的重大事件,但是其中部分内容的陈述与史实不甚相符。分别从原始文献、二手文献入手,重新辨析该书相关内容在人物、时代、职官、著作等方面的谬误。并给出今后提升编撰质量的建议,一方面在撰稿时理应反复核实各种原始文献与二手材料,另一方面在转述学界研究成果时应当尽量做到细致认真,还应兼收并蓄,尽可能全面地列举出学术界尚未达成共识、意见相左的观点。     

民国时期乡村卫生建设中的公德教育——定县、邹平县乡建模式的异中之同

民国乡村建设运动是旧中国先进知识分子为扭转近代中国农村的衰败局势而做出的可贵探索。定县模式和邹平模式是当时最具代表性的两种乡建模式。这两个县的乡村卫生建设是共同的经验是:开展公德教育,依托新型农民,建好乡村卫生。公德教育与乡村卫生建设成为了一对“互动的盟友”。这两个县的建设提示,乡村卫生事业的建立与完善在根本上有赖于培养和支持具有现代公德素质的新型农民群体。     

Historical impact in psychology differs between demographic groups

Psychology has a long tradition of creating lists of the most eminent members of the discipline. Such lists are typically created under the assumption that there is a general answer to the question of eminence, covering all psychologists everywhere. We wondered, however, to what degree perceived eminence depends on the individual's particular demographic situation. Specifically, are different historical figures “eminent” to people of different genders, ages, and geographical locations? We tested this by asking a wide swath of people – mostly psychologists – who they think has had the most impact on the discipline of psychology, historically. We used an online game in which “players” were shown a series of pairs of significant figures from psychology's past and asked to select which had had the greater impact. We then converted these selections into a ranked list using the Elo rating system. Although our overall rankings had considerable similarity with traditional efforts, we also found that rankings differed markedly among different demographic groups, undermining the assumption of a general measure of eminence that is valid for all.     

Attack-target attributes and pigeon aggression: Accessibility,vocalization, and body movements

Characteristics of the attack-target in laboratory tests appear to greatly influence the tendency for aggression to be initiated, maintained, and stopped. To address this question, accessibility, target movement, and vocalization among pigeon conspecifics were investigated in two different aggression tests: 1) paired aggression (PA); and 2) schedule-induced aggression (SI). In the PA test, dominant and subordinate roles formed quickly, and soon aggression episodes started to decline. In part, the subordinate's yielding behavior appeared to discourage attack. The significance of the target bird's behavior on attack frequency was borne out by the finding in the SI test that pigeons attacked a shielded, live, active target more often than a passive one. Furthermore, using a specially constructed stuffed pigeon in the SI test, results indicated that programmed, combined aggressive vocalization and body movement evoked most attacks with the VT schedule, vocalization alone evoked the next highest number of attacks, body movement alone the third most, and combined silence and immobility the least attacks. These findings provide a basis for explaining some past reported results associated with target features and a means for selecting other target features for future study.     

不同加工深度非符号数量信息的SNARC效应：眼动证据

通过两项眼动实验考察了个体在水平和垂直方向上对点阵数量进行较浅(浏览)和较深(数字比较)程度加工时的数量空间表征联系。结果显示：点阵在水平方向上出现了SNARC效应, 且SNARC效应的大小不受加工深浅的影响, 而在垂直方向上没有出现SNARC效应。表明(1)点阵数量SNARC效应的稳定性不如阿拉伯数字; (2)方向对点阵SNARC效应的影响更大, 加工程度的影响则不明显。结合加工程度、空间方向和点阵数量的自身特征等对研究发现进行了讨论, 认为数字的空间表征在多个因素的共同影响下可能呈现出多样性。     

乐谱阅读过程的眼动研究

该文系统总结了乐谱阅读过程的眼动研究历史。该历史大致可分为三个阶段：第一阶段是基础研究阶段;第二阶段是中期研究阶段;第三阶段是深入研究阶段。在我国,乐谱阅读的眼动研究尚是一个全新的研究领域,加强这个方面的研究对于探索乐谱阅读的规律,提高有关人员的乐谱阅读水平具有重要意义。     

Using suggestion to model different types of automatic writing

Our sense of self includes awareness of our thoughts and movements, and our control over them. This feeling can be altered or lost in neuropsychiatric disorders as well as in phenomena such as “automatic writing” whereby writing is attributed to an external source. Here, we employed suggestion in highly hypnotically suggestible participants to model various experiences of automatic writing during a sentence completion task. Results showed that the induction of hypnosis, without additional suggestion, was associated with a small but significant reduction of control, ownership, and awareness for writing. Targeted suggestions produced a double dissociation between thought and movement components of writing, for both feelings of control and ownership, and additionally, reduced awareness of writing. Overall, suggestion produced selective alterations in the control, ownership, and awareness of thought and motor components of writing, thus enabling key aspects of automatic writing, observed across different clinical and cultural settings, to be modelled.     

The Impact of Deep Muscle Training on the Quality of Posture and Breathing

Postural control and breathing are mechanically and neuromuscularly interdependent. Both systems– of spinal stability and respiration– involve the diaphragm, transversus abdominis, intercostal muscles, internal oblique muscles and pelvic floor muscles. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of exercises activating deep stabilizer muscles on postural control and quality of breathing movements. Eighteen volunteers (25,7 ± 3,5) were recruited from the general population. All the subjects implemented an exercise program activating deep muscles. Head, pelvic and trunk positions in the sagittal and frontal planes were assessed with the photogrammetric method. Breathing movements were estimated with the respiratory inductive plethysmography. The results indicate that the use of deep muscle training contributed to a significant change in the position of the body in the sagittal plane (p = 0.008) and the increase in the amplitude of breathing (p = 0.001).