'Reverberation time', dreaming and the capacity to dream

In this paper the author suggests that understanding the roots of the subjective sense of time can throw light on the disturbances in psychic time which are found in particular in the more severe pathologies. She introduces the argument that the roots of the development of the sense of time rest on a primitive sense of time she calls 'reverberation time'. By this notion she refers to the particular quality of the earliest 'back and forth' internalized exchange with the mother in which the auditory dimension plays a significant part. Referring to a wide range of literature and clinical examples, the author thus suggests that the subjective sense of time is created by the reverberation between mother and infant. Disturbances in this area will be reflected in the pathological 'arresting' of time which is observed in the different pathologies and, in particular, around the negotiation of the depressive position and the oedipal situation. Extending this argument, the author goes on to suggest that it is the internalization of this experience of 'reverberation' which lies at the heart of the experience of dreaming; she considers that dreaming understood as an internal dialogue points both to its roots in the relationship to the maternal object and to its fundamental role in psychic life. The author concludes that 'reverberation time' is also the building block of a psychoanalysis, leading to 'unfreezing' psychic time and enabling the reconnection of 'here and now' with 'there and then' in a flexible way which promotes open possibilities, and that this takes place via the analyst's reverie, or time of reverberation.     

Multitimescale dynamical interactions between speech rhythm and gesture

Temporal patterns in human movement, and in speech in particular, occur on multiple timescales. Regularities in such patterns have been observed between speech gestures, which are relatively quick movements of articulators (e.g., tongue fronting and lip protrusion), and also between rhythmic units (e.g., syllables and metrical feet), which occur more slowly. Previous work has shown that patterns in both domains can be usefully modeled with oscillatory dynamical systems. To investigate how rhythmic and gestural domains interact, an experiment was conducted in which speakers performed a phrase repetition task, and gestural kinematics were recorded using electromagnetic articulometry. Variance in relative timing of gestural movements was correlated with variance in rhythmic timing, indicating that gestural and rhythmic systems interact in the process of planning and producing speech. A model of rhythmic and gestural planning oscillators with multifrequency coupling is presented, which can simulate the observed covariability between rhythmic and gestural timing.     

节律在听觉言语理解中的作用

言语理解是听者接受外部语音输入并且获得意义的心理过程。日常交流中,听觉言语理解受多尺度节律信息的影响,常见有韵律结构节律、语境节律、和说话者身体语言节律三方面外部节律。它们改变听者在言语理解中的音素判别、词汇感知以及言语可懂度等过程。内部节律表现为大脑内神经振荡,其能够表征外部言语输入在不同时间尺度下的层级特征。外部节律性刺激与内部神经活动的神经夹带能够优化大脑对言语刺激的处理,并受到听者自上而下的认知过程的调节进一步增强目标言语的内在表征。我们认为它可能是实现内外节律相互联系并共同影响言语理解的关键机制。对内外节律及其联系机制的揭示能够为理解言语这种在多层级时间尺度上具有结构规律的复杂序列提供了一个研究窗口。     

Stability of heartbeat interval distributions in chronic high altitude hypoxia

Recent studies of nonlinear dynamics of the long-term variability of heart rate have identified nontrivial long-range correlations and scale-invariant power-law characteristics (1/f noise) that were remarkably consistent between individuals and were unrelated to external or environmental stimuli (Meyer et al., 1998a). The present analysis of complex nonstationary heartbeat patterns is based on the sequential application of the wavelet transform for elimination of local polynomial nonstationary behavior and an analytic signal approach by use of the Hilbert transform (Cumulative Variation Amplitude Analysis). The effects of chronic high altitude hypoxia on the distributions and scaling functions of cardiac intervals over 24 hr epochs and 4 hr day/nighttime subepochs were determined from serial heartbeat interval time series of digitized 24 hr ambulatory ECGs recorded in 9 healthy subjects (mean age 34 yrs) at sea level and during a sojourn at high altitude (5,050 m) for 34 days (Ev-K2-CNR Pyramid Laboratory, Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal). The results suggest that there exists a hidden, potentially universal, common structure in the heterogeneous time series. A common scaling function with a stable Gamma distribution defines the probability density of the amplitudes of the fluctuations in the heartbeat interval time series of individual subjects. The appropriately rescaled distributions of normal subjects at sea level demonstrated stable Gamma scaling consistent with a single scaled plot (data collapse). Longitudinal assessment of the rescaled distributions of the 24 hr recordings of individual subjects showed that the stability of the distributions was unaffected by the subject’s exposure to a hypobaric (hypoxic) environment. The rescaled distributions of 4 hr subepochs showed similar scaling behavior with a stable Gamma distribution indicating that the common structure was unequivocally applicable to both day and night phases and, furthermore, did not undergo systematic changes in response to high altitude. In contrast, a single function stable over a wide range of time scales was not observed in patients with congestive heart failure or patients after cardiac transplantation. The functional form of the scaling in normal subjects would seem to be attributable to the underlying nonlinear dynamics of cardiac control. The results suggest that the observed Gamma scaling of the distributions in healthy subjects constitutes an intrinsic dynamical property of normal heart function that would not undergo early readjustment or late acclimatization to extrinsic environmental physiological stress, e.g., chronic hypoxia.     

睡眠研究若干现代理论问题

最近十年间睡眠研究日益引起全世界的重视,除我国等纷纷建立“睡眠研究会”外,并新 建“亚洲睡眠研究会”和“世界睡眠研究联合会”。本文探讨睡眠研究的若干现代理论问题,其 中包括睡眠的核心是深度慢波睡眠问题,睡眠如何受制于“２４－ｈ昼夜节律”,异相睡眠和觉醒 的比较分析,世界范围内重新评价午睡的重要性,临床睡眠疾患及其对策和介诏内源性促眠物质等。     

Validity and reliability of electroencephalographic frontal alpha asymmetry and frontal midline theta as biomarkers for depression

Electroencephalographic (EEG) frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) and frontal midline (FM) theta have been suggested as biomarkers for depression and anxiety, but have mostly been assessed in small and non‐clinical studies. In a clinical sample of 79 adults with depression (ICD‐10: F32), resting EEG and scales of depression (MADRS) and anxiety (HADS‐A) were measured at intake and after 3 months. FAA and FM theta values were referenced to a normative population database. Internal consistency, test‐retest reliability, and correlations with psychiatric tests were examined. Reliability was sufficient. However, FAA and FM theta values were close to the general population, and correlations with psychiatric tests were mostly small and non‐significant, with the exception of FAA on F7–F8 z‐scores and HADS‐A. We conclude that the validity of FAA and FM theta and therefore their potential as biomarkers for depression and anxiety remain unclear.     

Age-related differences in the timing aspect of lumbopelvic rhythm during trunk motion in the sagittal plane

Forward bending and backward return of the human trunk in the sagittal plane are associated with a specific lumbopelvic rhythm, which consists of magnitude and timing aspects. In this study, the age-related differences in the timing aspect of lumbopelvic rhythm were investigated using the continuous relative phase method. Specifically, the mean absolute relative phase (MARP) between the thoracic and pelvic motions as well as variation in MARP under repetitive motions, denoted by deviation phase (DP), were characterized in sixty participants between 20 and 70 years old. MARP and DP were determined for trunk forward bending and backward return tasks with self-selected slow and fast paces. The MARP and DP were both smaller (p = 0.003, p < 0.001 respectively) in the older versus younger age participants with no gender-related difference. In fast versus slow pace task, the MARP was smaller (p < 0.001) only in forward bending, whereas the DP was smaller (p < 0.001) in both the forward bending and backward return. A more in-phase and more stable lumbopelvic rhythm denoted respectively by smaller MARP and DP in older versus younger individuals maybe a neuromuscular strategy to protect the lower back tissues from excessive strain, in order to reduce the risk of injury.     

Identification of emotional expressiveness in facial photographs over 36 h of extended vigilance in healthy young men—a preliminary study

Changes in sleep patterns negatively influence some emotional responses, but their effects on facial expressiveness identification are unclear. To investigate these effects, 21 young, healthy, male volunteers of intermediate chronotype evaluated emotional expressiveness of faces depicting 6 basic emotions in 5 emotional gradients every 4?h over 36?h of continuous wakefulness. To measure attention and mood we used the Psychomotor Vigilance test and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Expanded, respectively. We found effects of emotional gradient for all types of emotions (100%?>?80%?>?60%?>?40%?>?20%) during all tested periods, with no indications of circadian effects. The only emotional rating to be affected was disgust, which was progressively blunted throughout the experiment. This effect did not parallel homeostatic and circadian changes in mood, alertness or attention. We conclude that identifying disgust on facial photographs is particularly sensitive to lack of sleep irrespective of sleep-induced changes in mood and attention in males.     

“时间窗”—— 认知加工的后勤基础

时间加工是认知加工的内在属性。因此, 理解发生在知觉或更广泛的认知过程中的时间加工极为重要。为了应对中枢信息加工所面临的外部挑战, 大脑显然已形成了一些用于整合信息的特殊时间窗。已经发现, 其中一个时间窗介于数十毫秒的范围内, 它用于为意识活动产生必要的建构单元。来自反应时、时序阈限以及神经元结构振荡反应的研究为该时间窗的存在提供了实证证据。另一个时间窗的作用范围是2~3秒, 它用于产生“主观现在感”或作为使知觉体的标识保持不变的时间整合区间。支持该窗口存在的实验证据来自时距再现、两可图形、感觉运动同步以及神经生理学研究。还有一种时间窗以昼夜节律的形式存在。所有的心理和生理功能似乎都有着24小时的周期性变化。时间窗的紊乱会以神经或精神疾病的形式表现出来, 这恰恰表明了在基础研究之外对时间加工进行研究的重要性。