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A trimodal behavioral conceptualization of pain is outlined in the current article. It proposes that pain should be viewed as an interacting cluster of gross motor, cognitive, and physiological responses. Such a conceptual system is thought to contain the basic properties needed to incorporate current divergent views of pain held by medical and behavior science into a common conceptual framework.
The use of expression "nursing science" in nursing literature is widespread. The word "science" derives from Latin scientia, that is knowledge. "Knowledge" means to posses a series of learning and cognition learned by the study, the experience or the observation. Every specific area of the knowledge take the name of science. But in what area of the general learn is nursing knowledge interested in? We try to give an answer with this article. We try an epistemological analysis of the interest nursing material object (manperson) and of the formal object: it's still lack a scientific community's agreement on this last. In the end, in last analysis, we try to suppose the epistemological's aim of nursing knowledge as regards to the formal object identified.
Adult humans, infants, pre-school children, and non-human animals appear to share a system of approximate numerical processing for non-symbolic stimuli such as arrays of dots or sequences of tones. Behavioral studies of adult humans implicate a link between these non-symbolic numerical abilities and symbolic numerical processing (e.g., similar distance effects in accuracy and reaction-time for arrays of dots and Arabic numerals). However, neuroimaging studies have remained inconclusive on the neural basis of this link. The intraparietal sulcus (IPS) is known to respond selectively to symbolic numerical stimuli such as Arabic numerals. Recent studies, however, have arrived at conflicting conclusions regarding the role of the IPS in processing non-symbolic, numerosity arrays in adulthood, and very little is known about the brain basis of numerical processing early in development. Addressing the question of whether there is an early-developing neural basis for abstract numerical processing is essential for understanding the cognitive origins of our uniquely human capacity for math and science. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 4-Tesla and an event-related fMRI adaptation paradigm, we found that adults showed a greater IPS response to visual arrays that deviated from standard stimuli in their number of elements, than to stimuli that deviated in local element shape. These results support previous claims that there is a neurophysiological link between non-symbolic and symbolic numerical processing in adulthood. In parallel, we tested 4-y-old children with the same fMRI adaptation paradigm as adults to determine whether the neural locus of non-symbolic numerical activity in adults shows continuity in function over development. We found that the IPS responded to numerical deviants similarly in 4-y-old children and adults. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that the neural locus of adult numerical cognition takes form early in development, prior to sophisticated symbolic numerical experience. More broadly, this is also, to our knowledge, the first cognitive fMRI study to test healthy children as young as 4 y, providing new insights into the neurophysiology of human cognitive development.
The relationship between interpersonal trust and membership in voluntary associations is a persistent research finding in sociology. What is more, the notion of trust has become a central issue in current social science theorizing covering such diverse approaches as transaction costs economics or cognitive sociology. In different ways and for different purposes, these approaches address the role of voluntary organizations, although, as this paper argues, much of this thinking remains sketchy and underdeveloped. Against an empirical portrait of this relationship, the purpose of this paper is to assess such theorizing. We first set out to explicate major approaches to trust in economics, sociology and political science, using the non-profit or voluntary organization as a focal point. We then examine the various approaches in terms of their strengths and weaknesses, and, finally, identify key areas for theoretical development. In particular, we point to the social movement literature, the social psychology of trust, and recent thinking about civil society.
This article outlines a framework of creativity based on functional neuroanatomy. Recent advances in the field of cognitive neuroscience have identified distinct brain circuits that are involved in specific higher brain functions. To date, these findings have not been applied to research on creativity. It is proposed that there are four basic types of creative insights, each mediated by a distinctive neural circuit. By definition, creative insights occur in consciousness. Given the view that the working memory buffer of the prefrontal cortex holds the content of consciousness, each of the four distinctive neural loops terminates there. When creativity is the result of deliberate control, as opposed to spontaneous generation, the prefrontal cortex also instigates the creative process. Both processing modes, deliberate and spontaneous, can guide neural computation in structures that contribute emotional content and in structures that provide cognitive analysis, yielding the four basic types of creativity. Supportive evidence from psychological, cognitive, and neuroscientific studies is presented and integrated in this article. The new theoretical framework systematizes the interaction between knowledge and creative thinking, and how the nature of this relationship changes as a function of domain and age. Implications for the arts and sciences are briefly discussed.
This systematic review evaluated the effects of fructose intake on neuroinflammatory markers in rodent models. The search terms Fructose AND neuroinflammation OR Neurodegeneration OR chemokines OR interleukins OR microglia OR behaviour OR memory OR cognition were used in Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science. Thirteen animal studies investigating fructose-induced neuroinflammation that matched the eligibility criteria were included in the study. Across the studies, 16 inflammatory markers were identified and significantly altered following exposure to fructose. The findings consistently demonstrated elevated expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β, following fructose administration. Fructose consumption also dysregulated MCP-1, fractalkine, and CX3CR1 levels, thereby promoting inflammatory signalling and microglial activation. Furthermore, fructose exposure significantly increased IBA-1 and CD11b, indicating sustained neuroimmune activation. Alterations in important inflammatory pathways involving TLR4, NLRP3, NF-κB, MyD88, iNOS, and cyclooxygenases (COX-1 and COX-2) were also observed. In contrast, expression of the anti-inflammatory regulator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) was reduced after fructose treatment. Overall, the findings suggest that chronic fructose consumption induces neuroinflammation through multiple inflammatory and immune-related mechanisms in the brain. These effects appear to be dose- and duration-dependent and may contribute significantly to neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment.
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Following an introductory definition of scientific ability, product-oriented, personality and social psychological approaches to studying scientific ability are examined with reference to competence and performance. Studies in the psychometric versus cognitive psychological paradigms are dealt with in more detail. These two research strategies complement each other excellently in describing and explaining scientific ability and achievement or expertise in the field of science and technology. Whereas psychometric studies seem to be essential for diagnostic and prognostic purposes, cognitive psychological studies help to explain excellent performance. Finally, various possibilities for nurturing scientifically gifted adolescents are discussed, with sex-related problems being touched upon.
OBJECTIVE: In schizophrenia, cognitive dysfunctions commonly affect attention, memory and executive function, interfere with functional outcome and remain difficult to treat. Previous studies have implicated the cholinergic system in cognitive functioning. In Alzheimer's disease, cholinergic agonists have shown modest clinical benefits on cognitive and behavioural symptoms. Impaired cholinergic activity might also be involved in schizophrenia. Hence the role of cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI) as adjunctive therapy is under study. We aimed to review the literature and evaluate the overall effectiveness of ChEI adjunctive therapy for the management of cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia. METHODS: We conducted a computer-based search using PubMed (up to February 15, 2006) and ISI Web of Science (conference proceeding abstracts from January 2003 to December 2005) databases. We used the search terms "schizophrenia," "cognition or memory" and "tacrine or donepezil or rivastigmine or galantamine." Studies included were critically analyzed for allocation, blindness, duration and study design, demographic data, and clinical and neuropsychological outcome assessments. We excluded studies that involved patients with psychiatric disorders other than schizophrenia-spectrum or if they involved animals or molecular investigations. We also excluded conference proceeding abstracts with no explicit neuropsychological battery and/or results. RESULTS: Data on ChEI as adjunctive therapy for the cognitive impairments in schizophrenia are sparse and so far derived from small samples and mostly open uncontrolled studies. ChEI's potential in long-term management has barely been documented and remains to be fully explored. CONCLUSION: There is insufficient evidence on whether ChEI should be used for the treatment of cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia. Nevertheless, further studies with appropriate trial designs and outcome measures in homogenous schizophrenia populations are warranted.
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All social relationships are dependent on an organism's ability to remember conspecifics. Social memory may be a unique form of memory, critical for reproduction, territorial defense, and the establishment of dominance hierarchies in a natural context. In the laboratory, social memory can be assessed reliably by measuring the reduction in investigation of a familiar partner relative to novel conspecifics. The neurohypophyseal neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin have been shown to influence a number of forms of social behavior, including affiliation, aggression, and reproduction. This article reviews vasopressin and oxytocin effects on social cognition, particularly the acquisition and retention of social recognition in rats and mice. Studies in rats have demonstrated that vasopressin in specific neural pathways, such as the lateral septum, is necessary for social recognition. As vasopressin facilitates recall when given after an initial encounter, the peptide appears important for the consolidation not the acquisition of a social memory. Although oxytocin has complex effects on social memory in rats, mice with a null mutation of the oxytocin gene are completely socially amnestic without other cognitive deficits evident. As oxytocin given centrally before but not after the initial encounter restores social recognition in these mutant mice, the neuropeptide appears critical for the acquisition rather than the consolidation phase of memory. Oxytocin's effects on social memory are mediated via a discrete cell population in the medial amygdala. These findings support the hypothesis that vasopressin and oxytocin are essential for social memory, although they appear to influence different cognitive processes and may modulate different neural systems. (c) Elsevier Science.
The Feigenbaum scenario of the mathematical period doubling sequence from order to deterministic chaos has led to new insights about the nonlinear dynamics of a wide variety of physical and biological systems. Multiple realms from purely mechanical systems, fluid dynamics and weather to the patterns of biological growth and the dynamic of the heart, hormone and brain rhythms have been found to exhibit aspects of the Feigenbaum period doubling sequence. We explore the possibility that the Feigenbaum scenario can be extended to experiences of sensation, perception and human cognition as well. We also review the empirical data that supports the view that the Feigenbaum scenario of the period doubling sequence may portray an important limit in conscious information processing. We conclude that a major function of consciousness may be to transform the nonlinear, irrational and difficult to predict dynamics of unconscious nature into the more linear, rational and predictable psychodynamics that make human experience and social life possible.
Western medical science lacks a solid philosophical and theoretical approach to disease cognition and therapeutics. My first two articles provided a framework for a humane medicine based on Modern Biophysics. Its precepts encompass modern therapeutics and CAM. Modern Biophysics and its concepts are presently missing in medicine, whether orthodox or CAM, albeit they probably provide the long sought explanation that bridges the abyss between East and West. Key points that differentiate Systemic from other systems' approaches are 'Intelligence', 'Energy' and the objective 'to survive'. The General System Theory (GST) took a forward step by proposing a departure from the mechanistic biological concept-of analyzing parts and processes in isolation-and brought us towards an organismic model. GST examines the system's components and results of their interaction. However, GST still does not go far enough. GST assumes 'Self-Organization' as a spontaneous phenomenon, ignoring a causative entity or central controller to all systems: Intelligence. It also neglects 'Survive' as the directional motivation common to any living system, and scarcely assigns 'Energy' its true inherent value. These three parameters, Intelligence, Energy and Survive, are vital variables to be considered, in our human quest, if we are to achieve a unified theory of life.
BACKGROUND: Depression is common among older people. It is associated with increased mortality and use of health services. We could identify no prior systematic review of treatment for depression in either primary care attenders or population samples of older people. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to carry out a systematic review of trials of treatments for depression of patients over 60 years of age in primary care or population samples. METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase, Cinahl, the Cochrane Library, Psyclit, BIDS--Social Science and BIDS--Science Citation Indices for trials of drug treatment, interpersonal psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural psychotherapy, counselling and social interventions for late life depression in English, French or German published between 1980 and June 1999. RESULTS: Of the studies identified, only two were of patients over 60 years of age and met all inclusion criteria for content and quality. Three further studies that were not restricted to but included patients over the age of 60 years also fulfilled our criteria. We found no studies of psychological therapies for depression in older people. With few exceptions, studies were limited to older people who reached a diagnostic threshold and excluded those with 'subcase level depression'. CONCLUSION: There is little evidence of effectiveness for a variety of treatment approaches for depression in older people in primary care, particularly in those with less severe depression. As older people take more medication, making contra-indications to the use of antidepressant drugs more likely, there is a pressing need for studies of the efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions in primary care settings.
Four studies treating methodological and clinical aspects of the question of driving ability of the mentally ill under psychopharmaca have been discussed. The complexity of the integral interplay in the domain of physiological, emotional, and psychomotor-cognitive functions relevant for driving behaviour makes an equally complex experimental design appear necessary to tackle this problem. Although the various test apparatus marketed for the investigation of driving fitness allow a relatively proper estimate, the examination of mentally ill patients under psychopharmaca calls for the differentiated inclusion of physiological, pharmacological, pharmacokinetic, psychomotor-cognitive, and personality-specific dimensions. The present state of science requires the repeated judgment of the treating therapist in addition. This judgment can only be made on the basis of a partnership between doctor and patient.
Since its discovery in 1983, the neuropeptide galanin has been found to be involved in a wide range of functions, including pain sensation, sexual activity, feeding, and learning and memory. Furthermore, galanin has recently been proposed to have a key role in depression, owing to its inhibition of noradrenergic cells, and in epilepsy. Three galanin receptor subtypes have been cloned and studied, though little is known about their specific contributions to behavioral processes. This article reviews galanin's role in behavior, with special attention to learning and memory. It concludes by discussing the status of the pharmacology of galanin, including nonpeptide ligands that have recently been developed with potential for therapeutic use, and the need for better receptor subtype-specific ligands. Despite the existence of many unknowns, the accumulation of basic research and the emergence of new research tools suggests we are entering an exciting period in the development of galanin pharmacology that may lead to new drugs for the treatment of cognitive decline and other neuro- and psychopathologies. (c) 2002 Prous Science. All rights reserved.
During a psychopharmacological trial, the inpatients of three geriatric nursing homes underwent a psychometric examination in which the Multiple Choice Intelligence Test (MWT-B) was used to determine the level of premorbid intelligence. The results seem to indicate that older people with mild to moderate organic brain syndrome and healthy elderly individuals show little difference with regard to their cognitive plasticity. Shaping conditions of the social sphere, as well as a performance-stimulating environment which continuously encourages independent behavior, appear to be of decisive importance for the protection of specific cognitive abilities and mobilization of reserve capacities. (c) 2001 Prous Science. All rights reserved.