Foreperiod and visual stimulus intensity: A reappraisal

The joint effects of stimulus modality, stimulus intensity, and foreperiod on simple RT were investigated. In experiment 1 an interaction was found between stimulus intensity, both visual and auditory, and a variable FP such that the intensity-effect on RT was largest at the shortest FP. Experiment 2 provided a successful replication with smaller and weaker visual stimuli. No interaction was observed with a constant FP, although the visual stimuli were identical and the auditory ones psychophysically equivalent to the visual stimuli of experiment 1.It is proposed that an additive or interactive relationship between stimulus intensity and FP can be inferred only when the mental processes called for by the various uses of FP are simultaneously considered. Another precondition is an adequate sampling of the intensity-continuum with special reference to the retinal size of visual stimuli.     

Anticipatory eye movements when approaching a curve on a rural road depend on working memory load

Where do drivers look when approaching curves on a winding road? Existing models on visual processes in curve driving have focused on path-controlling behavior. Another aspect in curve driving is the visual anticipation of potential oncoming vehicles, obstacles and road alignment. We define the occlusion point of a curve as the nearest point where the view of the road is blocked by some obstacle (e.g. vegetation). Monitoring the occlusion point is relevant for safe driving because potential oncoming vehicles or obstacles on the road will come into view on the occlusion point.In the current on-road study, 10 participants drove an instrumented car at their own pace on a low standard rural road while their eye-movements were recorded. We investigated anticipatory glances towards the occlusion point while approaching open sight curves and how anticipatory glances are affected by a cognitive secondary task without explicit visuo-spatial or motor components.The results demonstrate that drivers indeed look at the occlusion point while approaching open curves on rural roads, and that working memory load leads to a significant decrease in visual anticipation. Previously, it has been shown that cognitive secondary tasks lead to reduction of looking at the speedometer and mirrors and of safety critical visual scanning at street crossings. We show that the effect is also present in the anticipation of road curvature and hazards on rural roads.     

Neural correlates of morphological decomposition in a morphologically rich language: an fMRI study

By employing visual lexical decision and functional MRI, we studied the neural correlates of morphological decomposition in a highly inflected language (Finnish) where most inflected noun forms elicit a consistent processing cost during word recognition. This behavioral effect could reflect suffix stripping at the visual word form level and/or subsequent meaning integration at the semantic-syntactic level. The first alternative predicts increased activation for inflected vs. monomorphemic words in the left occipitotemporal cortex while the second alternative predicts left inferior frontal gyrus and/or left posterior temporal activation increases. The results show significant activation effects in the latter areas. This provides support for the second alternative, i.e., that the morphological processing cost stems from the semantic-syntactic level.     

PSYKOANALYYSIN URANUURTAJAT SUOMESSA

This article discusses how the individual, on different levels of relating, connects towards the otherness of other persons. In Winnicott's theory, this may be seen as a fundamental issue in child development, psychoanalysis, and in psychoanalytic psychotherapy as well. In “holding”, the otherness and subjectivity of the caretaker is implied, but not recognized by the individual—care is taken as a given. In “mirroring”, the otherness of the other person is implied and dimly recognized by the individual, but only appreciated within an omnipotent frame. The full recognition of otherness comes through the “destruction of the object”, a process that also opens up for a relation to a “third” other, and for oedipal themes. In this article, these different levels of relating to otherness are viewed as a search for a “meaning bearing other”. That is, someone who allows the possibility of meaningful thoughts and feelings, either through his or her actual communicative presence, or as an unconsciously-imagined communication partner. This postulate is discussed and illuminated through a case study of a 6-year-old boy in psychoanalytic psychotherapy.     

The Notion of Merit in Indian Religions

There are uses of the term merit in Indian religions which also appear in secular contexts, but in addition there are other uses that are not encountered outside religion. Transfer of merit is a specific doctrine in whose connection the term merit is used with an intention which is not the same as that found in nonreligious contexts. Two main types of transfer of merit can be distinguished. First, the transfer of merit has been associated with certain ritual practices in Hinduism and in Buddhism. Another main type of transfer of merit is connected with Mahāyāna belief in bodhisattvas' loving-kindness towards other beings. In the orthodox Hindu schools, in Hīnayāna Buddhism and in Jainism, transfer of merit has been rejected on account of the doctrine of karma according to which the person can acquire karmic outcomes for only those actions he or she has performed by himself.     

Effects of nutritive and non-nutritive sucking on infant heart rate variability during the first 6 months of life

The effects of eating on heart rate variability (HRV) differ between adults and newborns. This may reflect the impact of suckling on the overall psychophysiological and autonomic nervous system maturation. The purpose of the present study was to explore whether the reactions of HRV during feeding change towards the adult pattern during the first 6 months of life. In addition, the effects of non-nutritive and nutritive sucking on heart rate (HR) and HRV were compared. The participants were 23 infants on whom recordings were performed as newborns and at 6, 12 and 24 weeks old. Nutritive sucking caused an increase in HR and a decline in HRV. The results were consistent with previous reports of a decrease in high frequency components of HRV during feeding in newborns, reflecting a decrease in parasympathetic activity. This response was apparent in all four ages studied, and remained similar throughout the 6-month period. However, age as an independent factor seemed to influence both HR and HRV. Pacifier sucking had no significant effects on HRV at any age. The results demonstrate the physical strain that sucking imposes on the baby, with a specific autonomic nervous system response involved. We consider this response an essential part of the overall psychophysiological maturation of infants.     

Attachment representations in mothers of preterm infants

The aim of the study was to assess attachment representations in mothers of preterm infants using the Working Model of Child Interview (WMCI) at the 12 months of the infant's corrected age. In addition, the relation between WMCI representation categories and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score at 6 months of the infant's corrected age was studied. There were 38 mothers of preterm infants (<1500 g or <32 gestational weeks) and 45 mothers of full-term infants. The results showed no differences between the study groups in the distribution of the three main representation categories (balanced, disengaged and distorted). However, there were qualitative differences in representations between the groups. Furthermore, maternal depression symptoms were associated with distorted representation category. We suggest that despite the qualitative differences in the mothers’ representations, mothers of preterm infants are as likely to form balanced attachments with their infants as mothers of full-term infants.     

Doublet challenge: form comes before function in children's understanding of their orthography

Several current spelling models suggest that children cannot have any knowledge of orthographic form before they have acquired knowledge about orthographic function. We evaluated this proposition by using an orthographic choice task to inspect Finnish schoolchildren's knowledge of two aspects of consonant doublet use: the allowed doublet position (an aspect of orthographic form) and the type of phonemic information they represent (an aspect of orthographic function). The results challenged the view of the existing spelling models, since they showed that already at the beginning of the first school year children possessed formal knowledge of doublet use and knew that word-initial doublets are not allowed. However, these children were ignorant of the function of doublets, i.e. that they stand for long consonants.     

CONTRIBUTORS

Psychoanalysis may be described as a work of mourning. This is highlighted during the terminal period when the analysand is anticipating the reality of parting from the analyst. The situation promotes an intensification of transference reactions, consisting of separation anxiety and depressive affects, which originate from losses of different developmental origin. With the help of clinical material, including the interpretation of a dream, the patient's various defensive measures to avoid the full impact of separation is illuminated. The rôle and activity of the analyst at termination is also focussed upon. An important aim of the presentation is to show the crucial task for the analyst to help the patient experience the entire meaning of termination without the interference of countertransference enactments.     

Relationship between language switching experience and executive functions in bilinguals: an Internet-based study*

We examined the relationship between self-reported everyday language switching experience and the performance of early bilinguals in tasks measuring different executive functions. Our participants were Finnish–Swedish early bilinguals, aged 16–41 years (N?=?66, Experiment 1) and 18–69 years (N?=?111, Experiment 2). An earlier study using a sample from a similar population discovered a negative relationship between self-reported language switching and a mixing cost in error rates in a number–letter task. This finding was not replicated. Instead, we found that a higher rate of reported contextual language switching predicted larger switching cost reaction times in the number–letter task, and that a higher rate of reported unintended language switches predicted larger error rates in a spatial n-back task. We conclude that these results likely reflect individual differences in executive skills, and do not provide evidence for the hypothesis that language switching trains executive functions.