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PubMed2000

Bion and binocular vision.

The author describes his contact with Bion over a twenty-year period, from Bion's supervision of his control case in London in 1960 to the period from 1968 to 1978 when they were both working in Los Angeles. He outlines Bion's views on the use of 'instinct' and intuition in patient observation, the depressive position in patient and analyst, and memory and desire as impediments to knowledge of 'ultimate reality'. Some case material is presented, illustrating how Bion's ideas, particularly concerning attacks on linking, informed the course of the treatment. The author then discusses Freud's, Klein's and Bion's approaches to the problem of resistance, Bion's expansion of some of Klein's ideas, his definitions of psychosis and his formulation concerning thoughts that develop before thinking. The author then argues how essential it is for the analyst to differentiate between primitive projections from the patient that are pre-verbal attempts to communicate a state of mind and those that are an expression of hostility or control. He then discusses the importance of understanding idealizing projections and differentiating these from a healthy positive transference. He concludes by characterising Bion's way of working in terms of his humility, his courage and, fundamentally, his use of his intuitive binocular mind.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMed2004

Envy: one or many?

This paper reports conceptual and clinical research about envy. It consists of an examination and comparison of Klein's points of view of 1952, where the feeling of exclusion from the envious object is stressed, and of 1957, based on the split death instinct that is projected onto the envied object. These two approaches are contrasted with the point of view of the author, where envy is understood as the result of a particular kind of object relation, in which the subject registers an asymmetry with its peer, that he considers unfair, due to the biased action of an idealized omnipotent object, on whom the subject depends and that gives to the envied one, and deceives the envious one, leading to experiencing a compound of emotions: hatred, love, sense of unfairness, wish of revenge, helplessness and incapacity of the subject to provide for himself. The mental state just described emerges from clinical observations, and is illustrated with the passage from the Bible where Abel, the envied one, is killed by Cain, the envious one, showing their relationship with Jehovah, biased in his preferences, a situation designated by the author as 'Cain's complex'. In this paper some considerations are also made concerning the modalities of envy: penis envy in women, the relationship between envy and narcissism, the difference between envy and jealousy, and the interpretative handling of envy. To answer the question posed in the title, the conclusion is that envy presents a central nucleus with different elaborative branches.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Fragmented attachments: the paranoid-schizoid experience of loss and persecution.

The author discusses paranoid-schizoid patients who have yet to deal with whole-object depressive fears of harming one's object. Their paranoid-schizoid anxiety is more a combination of dread, paranoia, and fear of destroying one's object with neediness, envy, and other oral desires. In this part-self and part-object world, destruction is absolute. Ego functions and object relational capacities such as guilt and grief are not yet fully consolidated. The part-object is not only destroyed but is also equally capable of magically resurrecting itself to seek revenge. Fear of annihilation of the self and object, as well as desperate attempts at keeping each other alive, are the primary focus of this early anxiety state. These infantile fears are at the root of certain difficult treatment situations. Within the transition from paranoid-schizoid to depressive, the ego struggles with highly exaggerated and distorted fantasies of persecution, loss, and primitive guilt by resorting to crude and often self-destructive mechanisms. These include splitting, projective identification, and idealization. During the course of analytic treatment, three overlapping phases are distinguishable. Acting out is the main theme of early treatment. As this externalization of internal conflict is analyzed and contained, a second phase of intrapsychic struggle emerges. The patient exhibits a paralyzing battle between certain ego-object ties and the striving of a defensive death instinct. If the analytic relationship is able to withstand passage through these difficult phases, the patient begins to work through more core issues of persecutory loss and annihilation. Case material is used for illustration.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The class that would not read: utilizing Bion's affect theory in group.

While Bion's group theory continues to inspire contemporary group psychotherapists, his theory of human emotion is not as well known. Bion also introduced a system of alphabetical and mathematic symbols to offer a shorthand for his epistemology in order to make his ideas accessible, flexible, and practical for the working clinician. This article presents aspects of Bion's theory and metapsychological shorthand to conceptualize effectual dimensions of group process, thinking operations, and countertransference. The constructs considered include Klein's paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions; manic defenses; basic assumptions; "proto-mental" and "pre-monitory" emotions; instinctive drives L, H, and K (plus or minus); beta elements; and alpha functioning. With these ideas, the author was able to work through aspects of a group experience in which, as leader, he unknowingly found himself at an opposite affective pole from the members.

Affect↗
PubMed1990

Compassion and altruism in psychoanalytic theory: an evolutionary analysis of self psychology.

Freud's creation of psychoanalysis was, in part, a reaction to the societal, religious morality that denied the ubiquitous drivenness that repeatedly confronted him, the essential animal nature of homo sapiens as had been recently made clear by the theory of evolution. For example, Freud (1933) wrote an aggression, It is a general principle. . .that conflicts of interest between men are settled by the use of violence. This is true of the whole animal kingdom, from which men have no business to exclude themselves. Though evolutionary theory was in its infancy, incompletely understood even by its creator, Freud's commitment to facing its truths led to an unswerving stance in reaction to attempts to deny the narcissistic injury inherent in his psychoanalytic discoveries. He insisted on trying to reinterpret virtually all social behaviors in the light of his new theory, and he and his followers have stretched his drive/structure model to its limits. Yet, as we have seen, this evolutionary creation--the human psyche--cannot be fully accounted for utilizing the vicissitudes of Freud's two instincts. What we come to appreciate when we bring the perspective of the theory of evolution to the relational/structure versus drive/structure debate, is that the debate is about the two sides of the same coin. Like this metaphor, in the case of the selfish, yet social, human animal, you cannot have a one-sided coin. Both drives and relationships are biologically inherent and have their structuralizing effect upon the supraordinate self. A modern evolutionary biological, psychoanalytic conception of conflicts and drives may actually be closer to the adaptive/functional tone of aspects of the self psychological paradigm than to the traditional perspective. As human animals we are inherently in conflict over our irreducible biologically based driven, asocial needs (i.e., self-enhancing pleasure seeking and avoidance of unpleasure) and our irreducible biologically based needs for a self-selfobject milieu. A dynamic tension between these two motivational pulls is adaptive (has been selected for) due to the great flexibility it provides in enabling this large brained, nonreflexively driven, social organism fully to exploit all aspects of its environment in pursuit of its own best interest. In its clinical application this viewpoint sees our patients caught between their basic self-enhancing instinctual drivenness for sensual pleasure and power, and their irreducible self-enhancing need for a self-selfobject milieu.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1999

They shall wear fringes.

The multiple functions of clothes include utility, protection, rivalry, disguise, camouflage, display for seduction purposes, aggression, totemism, and status. Here the focus is on a decorative and distinctive hierarchical aspect of ancient dress, the tsitsit or fringes, whose original function is long absent, but that has endured for 3,500 years in Judaism. The beginning of their use beyond the totemic appears related to issues of changing identity from slavery to liberty, endowing noble status, exhibitionism, a symbol of identity, identification with the aggressor, a talisman, and potency. It is conceptualized that they became a symbol, or a specifier, that helped promote group cohesion in ex-slaves who were frightened, dependent, anxious, and not hopeful about their future. The tsitsit aided the development of a new identity and made all Israelites equal and noble to the observer. The durability of this symbol to the present is evident in its daily wear, as an accompaniment to daily prayers, as well as in its use as a burial shroud for males. It appears that the tsitsit have additional multiple functions. These are the promise of oral and genital satisfaction, and the pleasure of the after-life, superego warnings and control of sexual impulses, protection, survival value, and affirmation. Since they offer sublimation with acceptable gratification of instincts, the tsitsit have become ritualized and endure.

Clothing↗
PubMed2003

Authoritative knowledge and single women's unintentional pregnancies, abortions, adoption, and single motherhood: social stigma and structural violence.

This article explores the sources of authoritative knowledge that shaped single, white, middle-class women's unintentional pregnancies and child-bearing decisions throughout five reproductive eras. Women who terminated a pregnancy were most influenced by their own personal needs and circumstances. birth mothers' decisions were based on external sources of knowledge, such as their mothers, social workers, and social pressures. In contrast, single mothers based their decision on instincts and their religious or moral beliefs. Reproductive policies further constrained and significantly shaped women's experiences. The social stigma associated with these forms of stratified maternity suggests that categorizing pregnant women by their marital status, or births as out-of-wedlock, reproduces the structural violence implicit to normative models of female sexuality and maternity. This mixed-method study included focus groups to determine the kinds of knowledge women considered authoritative, a mailed survey to quantify these identified sources, and one-on-one interviews to explore outcomes in depth.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed2000

Digging behavior of ddY mouse.

In the present studies, the behavior of ddY mice digging wood chips was carefully observed. When mice were individually placed on new 5 cm-thick wood chips, their behavior was found to be the same irrespective of their age or sex. The behavior was not prevented by non-noxious 5 black steel rods which were used to measure digging ability, and was not related to habituation or learning. But moist or dirty chips remarkably weakened digging ability. These findings strongly suggest that the digging behavior is a natural and instinctive one, but not an expression of anxiety as previously reported.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1982

[Organic psychoses in childhood: report of an unusual case].

A psychosis in a 5 years old girl is reported. By the 2nd month of her illness there was clear mental regression, with disorders of contact, motricity, speech, instinctive behavior and pragmatism. Neurologic and electroencephalographic abnormalities, together with the psychiatric symptoms, lead to the diagnostic of organic psychosis. High doses of neuroleptics were used and there was progressive remission of the symptoms, beginning at the 3rd month of disease. The etiologic diagnosis (being more probable a demyelinizing encephalitis) and the therapeutic effect of the neuroleptics are discussed.

Child↗
PubMed2007

[Adolescent males and sex life: Heterogeneous motivations related to sexual debut].

This article describes male adolescents' affective history and reasons for initiating or postponing sexual activity, using interviews with 184 males ages 15 to 19 and residing in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2002. Factors for sexual debut included physical attraction, curiosity, and the desire to lose their virginity, suggesting a profile similar to the male social role. Most of the virgin adolescent males justified their choice based on issues of a romantic order, such as not having found the right person or because they preferred to remain virgin until marrying. The results showed a dual social pattern, valuing the feeling of love and deliverance to the loved one, simultaneously with the pressing physical and instinctive desire for sex. Traditional patterns of masculinity, like the dissociation between sex and love, appear to be transposed to sexual debut, revealing a diversity in the ways of experiencing sexuality during adolescence, related in turn to the sexual and reproductive health of men and their partners.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Cancer as metaphor.

Shortly before his death in 1995, Kenneth B. Schwartz, a cancer patient at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), founded The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center at MGH. The Schwartz Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing compassionate health care delivery, which provides hope to the patient and support to caregivers and encourages the healing process. The center sponsors the Schwartz Center Rounds, a monthly multidisciplinary forum where caregivers reflect on important psychosocial issues faced by patients, their families, and their caregivers, and gain insight and support from fellow staff members. Metaphors illuminate complex issues and can paint a thousand words. However, fundamental to individual and collective expression, they are also capable of creating or perpetuating stereotypes, and stigma. In oncology, the military metaphor is perhaps the most prominent, with the high profile of the "War on Cancer," and the imperative for patients to have a fighting spirit. Balancing the instinct to fight with words of healing and acceptance remains a challenge. The history of the military metaphor and how the humanities have illuminated cancer as a metaphor are reviewed. The advantages and disadvantages of the use of this metaphor are discussed, as well as the use of other metaphors in the psychosocial dynamic of care.

Humans↗
PubMed2004

Cost-effective strategies in the prevention of diabetic nephropathy.

A significant subgroup of patients with diabetes mellitus are predisposed to developing diabetic nephropathy and it is in this subgroup that other diabetes- related complications, and in particular greatly increased cardiovascular disease risk, are concentrated. The high personal, social and financial costs of managing end-stage renal failure and the other complications associated with diabetic nephropathy make a powerful case for screening and effective intervention programmes to prevent the condition or retard its progression. As major breakthroughs in finding genetic susceptibility factors remain elusive, screening efforts continue to be based on microalbuminuria testing, despite increasing recognition of its limitations as a positive predictor of nephropathy. Interventions have been extensively studied, but results remain conflicting. Economic evaluations of such screening and intervention programmes are essential for health planners, yet models of the cost/benefit ratio of such interventions often rely on a rather slim evidence base. Where economic models are developed, they are frequently based on those papers that propound the greatest clinical benefits of a given intervention, leading to a possible over-estimation of the advantages of the chosen approach. Furthermore, the benefits of even such generally accepted interventions as ACE inhibitor treatment are less firmly established than generally appreciated. Lifestyle interventions are instinctively attractive, but are by no means a low-cost option (as is often assumed by both medical professionals and politicians). This review critically assesses the evidence for clinical efficacy and economic benefit of microalbuminuria screening and interventions such as intensive glycaemic control, antihypertensive treatment, ACE inhibition and angiotensin receptor blockade, dietary protein restriction and lipid-modifying therapy. The various costs associated with diabetic nephropathy are so great that even expensive interventions may have a favourable cost/benefit ratio, provided they are truly effective.

Albuminuria↗
PubMed2004

[Breastfeeding: a nature-culture hybrid].

OBJECTIVE: To contribute to the creation of a new theoretical synthesis about the relationship between the biological and social dimensions of breastfeeding, categorizing it as a nature-nurture hybrid. SOURCES OF DATA: The methodological approach of the present article was based on the qualitative health research frame, and data were analyzed on the basis of dialectic-hermeneutic principles. Primary sources, comprising historical documents, books, scientific articles and medical theses written in the 19th and 20th centuries were analyzed. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: Depending on the moment in history and on the expectations that surround the act of breastfeeding, the aspects related to nature and nurture, i.e., to biology and society, sometimes separate out and sometimes intermingle. A comprehensive approach to breastfeeding makes possible to see that it had to be considered instinctive, natural and biological in order to be assimilated as a cultural habit, and thus, it is not open to any kind of questioning. On other occasions, particularly in the course of the past decade, there has been a steady tendency to supplant traditional biological reductionism, which yielded cultural interpretations that do not reduce the human being to the status of a mammal like any other. Under this point of view, breastfeeding, in addition to being biologically determined, is socially conditioned, and thus constitutes an act embedded in ideologies and determinants resulting from the concrete conditions of life. In real life, however, a process apparently so natural, so loaded with affection and emotion is, in fact, affected by the most aggressive market interests, very often presented as scientific knowledge and decked out as health provisions. CONCLUSION: Breastfeeding focused as a nature-culture hybrid symbolizes the theoretical and methodological changes in the field, especially in the late 1990s. These changes reflect a renewed appreciation of biology and a more in-depth approach to interdisciplinary processes.

Brazil↗
PubMed2005

Effect of color schemes and environmental sensitivity on job satisfaction and perceived performance.

Effects of interior office color and individual stimulus screening ability, i.e. instinctive perceptual filtering of irrelevant stimuli, on perceived performance and job satisfaction were examined on various outcome measures over a 4-day work week in a laboratory setting. Workers performed specific tasks and worked regular hours for 4 consecutive days in the same office. They were separated into three groups according to their ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli in the interior space. Those in the white and predominantly blue-green offices reported higher perceived job performance and satisfaction than those in the predominantly red office regardless of stimulus screening ability. Workers with high to moderate stimulus screening ability indicated greater perceived performance and job satisfaction than did workers with low stimulus screening ability. Results for color schemes are discussed in terms of preference and social expectations.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Maternal accommodation in infant-directed speech during mother's and twin-infants' vocal interactions.

In this study a mother's instinctive accommodations of vocal fundamental frequency (f0) of infant-directed speech to two different infants was explored. Maternal speech directed to individual 3-mo.-old fraternal twin-infants was subjected to acoustic analysis. Natural samples of infant-directed speech were recorded at home. There were differences in the rate of infants' vocal responses. The mother changed her f0 and patterns of intonation contour when she spoke to each infant. When she spoke to the infant whose vocal response was less frequent than the other infant, she used a higher mean f0 and a rising intonation contour more than when she spoke to the other infant. The result suggested that the mother's speech characteristic is not inflexible and that the mother may use a higher f0 and rising contour as a strategy to elicit an infant's less frequent vocal response.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Development of the Polypay breed of sheep.

Development of the Polypay breed was undertaken to combine into a composite breed the potential for greatly increased reproductive capacity along with desirable growth rate and carcass quality. Four breeds were selected for the foundation of the new breed--the Rambouillet and the Targhee for hardiness, large body size, long breeding season, herding instinct and fleece characteristics; the Dorset for carcass quality, milking ability and long breeding season and the Finnsheep for early puberty, early postpartum fertility and high lambing rate. Dorset X Targhee and Finnsheep X Rambouillet matings were first made in 1968, and reciprocal Dorset-Targhee X Finn-Rambouillet matings were initiated in 1969. Beginning in 1970, the respective two-breed crosses and the four-breed cross (Polypay) were each mated inter se and selected, along with straightbred Rambouillets and Targhees, for lamb production when given two opportunities to lamb/year. Initial comparisons among straightbreds and inter se mated groups showed few important differences in meat-type body conformation, body condition or growth rate, but superior annual reproductive performance by Polypays. Fertility of Polypays at 1 yr of age was high and comparable to that of the Finn-Rambouillets. Response of Polypays to twice-a-year lambing was superior to responses of Rambouillets. Targhees, Dorset-Targhees or Finn-Rambouillets. The 1974 to 1975 annual production of young Polypays was about 13% more lambs weaned than from Finn-Rambouillets and 18% more weight of lamb weaned than from Dorset-Targhees, the best of the other groups for these traits. The current (1979 to 1981) reproductive performance of Polypay ewes selected for high once-a-year lambing rate under typical range management conditions is very competitive with that of 1/2 Finn crossbreds. Annual production of mature Polypays on the twice-a-year lambing schedule was 1.78 lambs weaned and 58.6 kg of lamb weaned/ewe put into fall breeding.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

The security circuit: a proposed construct for the central nervous system.

The theory of the Security Circuit offers a new conceptual framework for the numerous brain functions pertaining to survival. Many such activities are related to the coordination of the conventional physiological systems in the maintenance of homeostasis and the defense of the internal environment. This work, however, focuses on that aspect of brain function that makes possible man's interaction with external environment, thereby facilitating individual and group adaptation and survival. In our schema we greatly enlarge the conceptualization of the autonomic nervous system. We postulate the existence of a central mechanism pertaining to the security and survival function. In its action the complex physiological ANS substrate designated the Security Circuit, is likened to a whirlpool bath, in which balance is maintained with respect to electrically-charged particles rather than water. The use of the Jacuzzi (or whirlpool bath) format makes it possible to tie together the components of the triune brain (MacLean), which consists of R-complex, limbic system, and neocortex. The forebrain, in part, is viewed as the depository of biological symbolism for a huge number of elements, which vary with the individual. Among these are security and support figures, and others that make up meaningful relationships. These are seen as represented on posts, consisting of either individual, or else groupings, of neurons which are linked to the limbic system to trigger oft predictable patterns of behavior and/or emotional expression. The limbic system serves as the energizer in arousal-defense. It also serves to trigger instinctive and other psychomotor patterns in the pursuit of goals which have survival value, while simultaneously producing the chemistry behind emotions useful to man. Some of these psychomotor patterns (i.e., behavior) facilitate the provision of nutrients and warmth for the individual, and so ensure internal homeostasis, while others effectuate group action towards this end. The apparent neuroendocrinal sequence of events in many common environmental situations is discussed. Responses to a perceived threat are examined, noting both the reflex behavior patterns resulting from somatic and ANS discharge, and the associated emotional expression. The chemoelectrical workings of the limbic system keep the central mechanism in a state of balance, while neocortical centers of cognition translate the minute changes in the chemical mix into subjective emotional experience which contribute to the phenomenon of consciousness. The R-complex is seen as the physiological component of the unconscious brain regulating the internal vital functions. The task of the higher centers is not merely to inhibit impulsive (primitive) responses, but also has the following functions: (i) determine the more sophisticated, effective manner of dealing with perceived threats, and (ii) initiate and facilitate the pursuit of goals promoting survival and well-being for self and group. The human thrust to self-expression or self-actualization is seen as an outgrowth of this process. The theory suggests that intellectual and creative activity within a group is an extension in evolution of primal, survival functions. This thrust has resulted in the growth of culture and development of civilization. While the related neurophysiological activities enhance security and environmental adaptation for self and group, they simultaneously resolve heightened microelectrical tension within the underlying mechanism within the individual's neuroendocrinal complex. The brain, and autonomic and endocrine systems are seen as parts of the same physiological system which pertains to security, survival, and well-being. The concept is presented that the thrust to maintain microelectrical balance within the Security Circuit (a substrate of the CNS) has been the ever-present, ongoing driving force behind the evolution of the "higher," neocortical centers of consciousness during the psych

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1984

Teratological evaluation of a novel antiabortifacient, dibenzyloxyindanpropionic acid. II. Postnatal morphological and behavioral development.

Dibenzyloxyindanpropionic acid (DIPA) is an antiabortifacient prostaglandin F2 alpha antagonist. Significant protection against prostaglandin F2 alpha-induced abortion in Charles River CD-1 mice is afforded by 50 mg/kg DIPA, administered intramuscularly twice daily from day-15 of gestation, two days prior to prostaglandin F2 alpha challenge. Furthermore, treatment of CD-1 mice with 50 mg/kg DIPA intramuscularly daily throughout gestation or with 50 or 200 mg/kg twice daily only on day-15 of pregnancy, revealed no structural teratological effects nor histopathological anomalies in the offspring. The present behavioral teratological investigation demonstrates that prenatal treatment of CD-1 mice with 50 mg/kg DIPA intramuscularly daily throughout gestation does not adversely affect postnatal morphological development (offspring viability; weight gain; timing of bilateral pinna detachment, eye opening, eruption of mandibular and maxillary incisors, appearance of mamillary ridges, vaginal opening, testicular descent, and appearance of downy fur), postnatal behavioral development (vocalization; auditory startle reflex; corneal reflex; righting reflex and subsequent air righting; cliff avoidance; limb placing response and grip strength; motor coordination; olfactory orientation; locomotion; motor activity; homing instinct; and acquisition and retention of an active avoidance task), or fertility of the progeny. It is concluded that DIPA is an effective and safe antiabortifacient in mice at the doses tested.

Abortifacient Agents↗