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The relationship between the theory of evolution and the social sciences, particularly psychology.

The application of the theory of evolution to human social behavior has, along with some illumination, produced friction that occasionally bursts into flame. In this paper we will examine the relationship between the theory of evolution and the social sciences, psychology in particular. We will identify some of the sources of friction between proponents and opponents of applying evolutionary theory to the social sciences, and we will suggest that listening carefully to both sides in the debate points the way to an enriched understanding of human social behavior.

Biological Evolution↗

A transdisciplinary focus on drug abuse prevention: an introduction.

This article introduces the scope of the Special Issue. A variety of scientific disciplines are brought together to establish theoretical integration of the arenas of drug use, misuse, "abuse," and drug misuse prevention. Transdisciplinary scientific collaboration (TDSC) is utilized as a process of integration. Introductory comments regarding the strengths and limitations of TDSC are presented. Then, the relevance of genetics to substance misuse and substance misuse prevention is presented. Next, the relevance of cognition for prevention is discussed. Specifically, neurologically plausible distinctions in cognition and implicit cognition and their relevance for prevention are discussed. At a relatively molar social-level of analysis, social network theory, systems dynamic models, geographic information systems models, cultural psychology, and political science approaches to drug misuse and its prevention are introduced. The uses of both quantitative and qualitative statistical approaches to prevention are mentioned next. Finally, targeted prevention, bridging the efficacy-effectiveness gap, and a statement on overcoming disbalance round out the Special Issue. The bridges created will serve to propel drug misuse "prevention science" forward in the years to come. Advances in understanding etiological issues, translation to programs, and ecological fit of programming are desired results.

Cognition↗

Patient stratification by genetic risk in Alzheimer's disease is only effective in the presence of phenotypic heterogeneity.

Case-only designs in longitudinal cohorts are a valuable resource for identifying disease-relevant genes, pathways, and novel targets influencing disease progression. This is particularly relevant in Alzheimer's disease (AD), where longitudinal cohorts measure disease "progression," defined by rate of cognitive decline. Few of the identified drug targets for AD have been clinically tractable, and phenotypic heterogeneity is an obstacle to both clinical research and basic science. In four cohorts (n = 7241), we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and Mendelian randomization (MR) to discover novel targets associated with progression and assess causal relationships. We tested opportunities for patient stratification by deriving polygenic risk scores (PRS) for AD risk and severity and tested the value of these scores in predicting progression. Genome-wide association studies identified no loci associated with progression at genome-wide significance (&#x3b1; = 5&#xd7;10-8); MR analyses provided no significant evidence of an association between cognitive decline in AD patients and protein levels in brain, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and plasma. Polygenic risk scores for AD risk did not reliably stratify fast from slow progressors; however, a deeper investigation found that APOE &#x3b5;4 status predicts amyloid-&#x3b2; and tau positive versus negative patients (odds ratio for an additional APOE &#x3b5;4 allele = 5.78 [95% confidence interval: 3.76-8.89], P<0.001) when restricting to a subset of patients with available CSF biomarker data. These results provided no evidence for large-effect, common-variant loci involved in the rate of memory decline, suggesting that patient stratification based on common genetic risk factors for progression may have limited utility. Where clinically relevant biomarkers suggest diagnostic heterogeneity, there is evidence that a priori identified genetic risk factors may have value in patient stratification. Mendelian randomization was less tractable due to the lack of large-effect loci, and future analyses with increased samples sizes are needed to replicate and validate our results.

Alzheimer Disease↗

[What significance does the topic 'prevention' have in social-psychiatric research? A systematic literature analysis].

AIM OF THE STUDY: Scientists and politicians currently pin great hopes on preventive activities in order to increase the health of particular target populations and to reduce illness related costs. This also holds true for mental disorders, which often show a chronic course of disease. The aim of the present study is to analyse the importance of prevention in social-psychiatric research. METHODS: Including 60 journals, listed in the Science Citation Index or the Social Science Citation Index for the psychosocial field, a systematic literature analysis was done for the year 2004. RESULTS: Only 14 percent of social-psychiatric original research paid attention to prevention. 39 percent of the prevention related publications refer to primary prevention, further 39 percent to secondary prevention, 22 percent focused on tertiary prevention. Research activities concentrated on prevention of substance related disorders as well as early detection or rehabilitation of schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS: Social psychiatry has only partly responded to the growing importance of prevention in health care. Because many social-psychiatric questions are important for prevention research, social psychiatry should use their competences to facilitate prevention-studies. This holds particularly true for depressive disorders and dementia, which are conditions with high prevalence and substantial illness related costs.

Biomedical Research↗

Object individuation: infants' use of shape, size, pattern, and color.

Recent research indicates that when an event-monitoring paradigm is used, infants as young as 4.5 months of age demonstrate the ability to use featural information to individuate objects involved in occlusion events (Wilcox & Baillargeon, 1998a, Object individuation in infancy: The use of featural information in reasoning about occlusion events. Cognitive Psychology 37, 97-155; Wilcox & Baillargeon, 1998b, Object individuation in young infants: Further evidence with an event monitoring task. Developmental Science 1, 127-142). For example, in one experiment (Wilcox & Baillargeon, 1998b, Object individuation in young infants: Further evidence with an event monitoring task. Developmental Science 1, 127-142) 4.5-month-old infants saw a test event in which a green ball with colored dots disappeared behind one edge of a narrow or wide screen, and a red box with silver thumbtacks appeared at the other edge; the narrow screen was too narrow to hide both objects simultaneously, whereas the wide screen was sufficiently wide to hide both objects at the same time. The infants looked reliably longer at the narrow- than at the wide-screen test event. These and control results suggested that the infants had: (a) used the featural differences between the ball and box to conclude that two objects were involved in the event; (b) judged that both objects could fit simultaneously behind the wide but not the narrow screen; and hence (c) were surprised by the narrow-screen event. The present experiments build on these initial findings by investigating the features to which infants are most sensitive. Four experiments were conducted with infants 4.5-11.5 months of age using the same procedure, except that only one feature was manipulated at a time: shape, size, pattern, or color. The results indicated that 4.5-month-olds use both shape and size features to individuate objects involved in occlusion events. However, it is not until 7.5 months that infants use pattern, and 11.5 months that infants use color, to reason about object identity. It is suggested that these results reflect biases in the kind of information that infants attend to when reasoning about occlusion events. Possible sources of bias are discussed.

Child Development↗

Dynamics of thalamo-cortical network oscillations and human perception.

There is increasing evidence that human cognitive functions can be addressed from a robust neuroscience perspective. In particular, the distributed coherent electrical properties of central neuronal ensembles are considered to be a promising avenue of inquiry concerning global brain functions. The intrinsic oscillatory properties of neurons (Llinás, R. (1988) The intrinsic electrophysiological properties of mammalian neurons: Insights into central nervous system function. Science, 242: 1654-1664), supported by a large variety of voltage-gated ionic conductances are recognized to be the central elements in the generation of the temporal binding required for cognition. Research in neuroscience further indicates that oscillatory activity in the gamma band (25-50 Hz) can be correlated with both sensory acquisition and pre-motor planning, which are non-continuous functions in the time domain. From this perspective, gamma-band activity is viewed as serving a broad temporal binding function, where single-cell oscillators and the conduction time of the intervening pathways support large multicellular thalamo-cortical resonance that is closely linked with cognition and subjective experience. Our working hypothesis is that although dedicated units achieve sensory processing, the cognitive binding process is a common mechanism across modalities. Moreover, it is proposed that such time-dependent binding when altered, will result in modifications of the sensory motor integration that will affect and impair cognition and conscious perception.

Cerebral Cortex↗

Empowerment of women with purging-type bulimia nervosa through nutritional rehabilitation.

Since the primary role of psychoeducation in eating disorders is to act as a foundation for other interventions, nutritional rehabilitation should use the same therapeutic principles as psychotherapy. This paper looks at the possibility that traditional psychoeducational results can be enhanced in patients with bulimia nervosa by a new nutritional rehabilitation programme focused on psychobiological reorganization of eating behaviour as opposed to the prescription of regular eating patterns. Forty women with purging-type bulimia nervosa were enrolled for a 24-week experimental period of cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy (CBT) and were randomly and evenly divided into two groups to follow a psychobiological nutritional rehabilitation (PNR) and a traditional nutritional rehabilitation (TNR) programme respectively. The follow-up period averaged 6 months; four subjects dropped out. The baselines of both groups were comparable with regard to key features, including binge and vomiting frequency, and carbohydrate and lipid intake. Both groups improved significantly over time, though improvements in bingeing and vomiting and lipid intake were greater in the PNR group (p < 0.001), both at the end of the study and at the follow-up. This psychobiological approach to appetite and weight control may constitute a theoretical framework facilitating the application of cognitive-behavioural guidelines to both nutritional rehabilitation and psychotherapy.

Adolescent↗

Successful aging and disease prevention.

Substantial increases in the relative and absolute number of older persons in our society pose a challenge for biology, social and behavioral science, and medicine. Successful aging is multidimensional, encompassing the avoidance of disease and disability, the maintenance of high physical and cognitive function, and sustained engagement in social and productive activities. Research has identified factors predictive of success in these critical domains. Two additional research domains, resilience and wisdom, are suggested, and a national initiative in health promotion and disease prevention is proposed.

Aging↗

Children and adults as intuitive scientists.

The metaphor of children and lay adults as intuitive scientists has gained wide acceptance. Although useful in one sense, pertaining to scientific understanding, in another, pertaining to the process of scientific thinking, the metaphor may be fundamentally misleading. Research is reviewed indicating that processes of scientific thinking differ significantly in children, lay adults, and scientists. Hence, it is the instruments of scientific thinking, not just the products, that undergo "strong restructuring" (Carey, 1986). A framework for conceptualizing development of scientific thinking processes is proposed, centering on progressive differentiation and coordination of theory and evidence. This development is metacognitive, as well as strategic. It requires thinking about theories, rather than merely with them, and thinking about evidence, rather than merely being influenced by it, and, hence, reflects the attainment of control over the interaction of theories and evidence in one's own thinking.

Child↗

Speech technology in the year 2001.

This paper introduces the session "Technology in the Year 2001" and is the first of four papers dealing with the future of human-machine communication by voice. In looking to the future it is important to recognize both the difficulties of technological forecasting and the frailties of the technology as it exists today--frailties that are manifestations of our limited scientific understanding of human cognition. The technology to realize truly advanced applications does not yet exist and cannot be supported by our presently incomplete science of speech. To achieve this long-term goal, the authors advocate a fundamental research program using a cybernetic approach substantially different from more conventional synthetic approaches. In a cybernetic approach, feedback control systems will allow a machine to adapt to a linguistically rich environment using reinforcement learning.

Computers↗

Successful aging.

Substantial increases in the relative and absolute number of older persons in our society pose a challenge for biology, social and behavioral science, and medicine. Successful aging is multidimensional, encompassing the avoidance of disease and disability, the maintenance of high physical and cognitive function, and sustained engagement in social and productive activities. Research has identified factors predictive of success in these critical domains. The stage is set for intervention studies to enhance the proportion of our population aging successfully.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Current and emerging technology in G-LOC detection: noninvasive monitoring of cerebral microcirculation using near infrared.

G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) has emerged as an important operational problem of high-performance aircraft. Since it appears that G-LOC will continue to be a problem, a requirement exists to detect its occurrence in pilots so that the aircraft may be placed on autopilot. One excellent method of detecting G-LOC physiologically, one would assume, would be based on the oxidative status of the brain. This determination can be made noninvasively with an Oxidative Metabolism Near-Infrared monitor using 4 wave lengths (OMNI-4). The OMNI-4 is capable of measuring the relative quantities in the brain of hemoglobin (Hb), oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2), blood volume (BV), and oxidative status of cytochrome c oxidase. This instrument was tested on subjects in the USAFSAM human-use centrifuge at +3, 4, and 5 Gz with onset rates of 1 G.s-1. Results showed changes within the brain, as expected, during increased G with reductions in Hb, BV, and HbO2. Cytochrome c oxidase measurements were inconclusive. Immediately following G exposure, Hb, BV, and HbO2 "overshoots" occurred suggesting vasodilation of the cerebral microcirculation. The use of OMNI-4 in the laboratory and its possible role as a detector of G-LOC in pilots are discussed including suggestions for future developments.

Aircraft↗

Continuing education: factors which affect cognitive benefits.

A 16-week continuing education course in clinical chemistry provided for a group of laboratory professionals was evaluated in terms of those factors in the participants' backgrounds which influenced their performance on precourse and postcourse examinations. Work setting, facility size, educational background, and sex influenced precourse scores. Educational background and occupational function influenced postcourse test scores.

Chemistry, Clinical↗

Dimensionality and construct validity of an instrument designed to measure the metacognitive orientation of science classroom learning environments.

The purpose of this study was to establish the factorial construct validity and dimensionality of the Metacognitive Orientation Learning Environment Scale-Science (MOLES-S) which was designed to measure the metacognitive orientation of science classroom learning environments. The metacognitive orientation of a science classroom learning environment is the extent to which psychosocial conditions that are known to enhance students' metacognition are evident within that classroom. The development of items comprising this scale was based on a theoretical understanding of metacognition, learning environments and the development of previous learning environments instruments. Four possible hypothesized structure models, each consistent with the literature, were reviewed and their merits were compared on the basis of empirical data drawn from two populations of 1026 and 1223 Hong Kong secondary school students using confirmatory factor analysis procedures. The scale was calibrated using the Rasch rating scale model using data from the 1223 student sample. The results suggest that there is strong evidence to support the factorial construct validity of the MOLES-S but that, on the basis of the Rasch analysis, there are still suggestions for further refinement and improvement of the MOLES-S.

Adolescent↗

Non-pharmacological interventions in cognitively impaired and demented patients--a comparison with cholinesterase inhibitors.

The present paper reviews studies examining the effects of non-pharmacological stimulation, i.e. bright light, physical activity and tactile stimulation (touch), on cognition, affective behaviour, and the sleep-wake rhythm of impaired and demented elderly, both in a qualitative (narrative) and quantitative (meta-analytic) manner. An extensive search through eight bibliographic data bases (PubMed, Web of Science, ERIC, PsychINFO, Psyndex, Cinahl, Biological Abstracts and Rehabdata) was performed up to August 2002. The primary criterion for inclusion in this review was that studies provided sufficient data to calculate effect-sizes. In the qualitative analysis, all three types of stimulation appeared to improve cognitive functioning. Disturbances in behaviour react positively to bright light and tactile stimulation. Bright light was also beneficial to sleep. Tactile stimulation had, moreover, a beneficial influence on the patient-caretaker relationship. A comparison was made with several representative papers published since 1991 on the effects of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors on cognition and behaviour with representative papers on non-pharmacological stimulation interventions. Data indicated that improvements in cognition and affective behaviour by non-pharmacological interventions (d' = 0.32) and by cholinesterase inhibitors (d' = 0.31) were of similar effect-size. Possible mechanisms underlying the non-pharmacological stimulation effects are discussed and suggestions offered for future research.

Affect↗