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PubMed1990

Order and healing: the concept of order and its importance in the conceptualization of healing.

This paper concerns the notion of order and its role in the conceptualization of healing, and therefore its importance to healing itself. It proposes a model of healing in which order is central. The paper begins with an example drawn from Javanese mystical practices which are based upon the concept of the unity of the human and natural orders. The Javanese case provides a metaphor for an expanded notion of order. This prefigures a consideration of the nature of the concept of order in medical anthropology, science, and medicine. The importance of the notion of analogy (and metaphor) in the concept of order and how order may be simultaneously conceptualized in both cognitive and biological domains is also discussed in the paper. The perspective on order and healing developed here goes beyond conventional biomedical categories and provides a basis for the fundamental reconceptualizations necessary for addressing contemporary developments in psychoneuroimmunology, for example.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2001

A nutritional education program could prevent weight loss and slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: Weight loss is a common problem in patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). It is a predictive factor of mortality and it decreases patients' and caregivers' quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To determine if a nutritional education program can prevent weight loss in AD patients. SUBJECTS: 151 AD patients and their caregivers were enrolled to follow the intervention and 74 AD patients and their caregivers constituted a control group. METHOD: Caregivers in the intervention group followed 9 nutritional sessions of one hour each, over one year. Caregivers in the control group didn't follow any sessions but were offered advice provided in a normal follow-up. Patients weight, nutritional state, cognitive function, autonomy, mood, behaviour disorders at baseline and at 6- and 12-month follow-up. Caregivers burden, nutritional and AD knowledge at the baseline and at the 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: During the year follow-up, the mean weight increased in the intervention group (0.7+/-3.6 kg) whereas it decreased in the control group (-0.7+/-5.4 kg) (p<0.05). The nutritional status (MNA) was maintained in the intervention group (0.3+/-2.6) whereas it decreased significantly in the control group (-1.0+/-3.4) (p<0.005). After adjustment for baseline differences between the two groups (caregiver age, nutritional state, eating behaviour disorders, depression), the weight change between the two groups was not significant (0.6+/-0.4 kg vs. -0.6+/-0. 6 kg respectively in intervention group and control group). However, the percentage of patients with significant weight loss is decreased. The MMSE change became significant between the two groups: -2.3+/-0.3 vs. -3.4+/-0.4 respectively in intervention group and control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that a nutritional educational program intended for caregivers of AD patients could have a positive effect on patients weight and cognitive function.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Manual-guided cognitive-behavioral therapy training: a promising method for disseminating empirically supported substance abuse treatments to the practice community.

A gap exists between empirically supported substance abuse treatments and those used in community settings. This study examined the feasibility of training substance abuse counselors to deliver cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) using treatment manuals. Participants were 29 counselors. Counselors were randomly assigned to receive CBT training or to a control group. Counselor attitudes were assessed pre- and posttraining. In addition, CBT therapy sessions were videotaped and rated for adherence and skillfulness. CBT counselors reported high levels of satisfaction with the training, intention to use CBT interventions, and confidence in their ability to do so. Ratings indicated that 90% of counselors were judged as having attained at least adequate levels of CBT skillfulness. Findings demonstrate the feasibility of using psychotherapy technology tools as a means of disseminating science-based treatments to the substance abuse practice community.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Towards a unified science of cultural evolution.

We suggest that human culture exhibits key Darwinian evolutionary properties, and argue that the structure of a science of cultural evolution should share fundamental features with the structure of the science of biological evolution. This latter claim is tested by outlining the methods and approaches employed by the principal subdisciplines of evolutionary biology and assessing whether there is an existing or potential corresponding approach to the study of cultural evolution. Existing approaches within anthropology and archaeology demonstrate a good match with the macroevolutionary methods of systematics, paleobiology, and biogeography, whereas mathematical models derived from population genetics have been successfully developed to study cultural microevolution. Much potential exists for experimental simulations and field studies of cultural microevolution, where there are opportunities to borrow further methods and hypotheses from biology. Potential also exists for the cultural equivalent of molecular genetics in "social cognitive neuroscience," although many fundamental issues have yet to be resolved. It is argued that studying culture within a unifying evolutionary framework has the potential to integrate a number of separate disciplines within the social sciences.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Hemispheric differences in strong versus weak semantic priming: evidence from event-related brain potentials.

GOALS: Research with lateralized word presentation has suggested that strong ("close") and weak ("remote") semantic associates are processed differently in the left and right cerebral hemispheres [e.g., Beeman, M. j., & Chiarello, C. (1998). Complementary right- and left-hemisphere language comprehension. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 7(1), 2-8]. Recently, this hypothesis has been challenged [Coney, J. (2002). The effect of associative strength on priming in the cerebral hemispheres. Brain and Cognition, 50(2), 234-241]. We predicted that foveal presentation of strong and weak associates would elicit different patterns of hemispheric activity, as indexed by high-density event-related brain potentials (ERPs), and that source localization of the scalp potentials would help clarify the nature of hemispheric contributions to semantic organization. METHODS: 128-channel ERPs were recorded in two experiments as subjects performed a lexical decision task. Word trials were equally divided into strongly related, weakly related, and unrelated word pairs. All words were foveally presented. SOA was 800 ms in Experiment 1, and 200 ms in Experiment 2. RESULTS: Topographic analyses revealed medial frontal (MFN) and parietal (N400/LPC) effects for both strong and weak associates. Between approximately 450 and 550 ms, the magnitude of the N400/LPC effect indicated priming for both strong and weak associates over left parietal sites, while priming over right parietal sites was restricted to strongly related word pairs. During this interval, spatiotemporal source modeling showed that these scalp effects were best accounted for by ipsilateral sources in the medial temporal lobe. The observed pattern of asymmetries for strong versus weak associates is not consistent with certain proposals regarding the complementarity of right- and left-hemisphere contributions to semantics. It is, however, consistent with findings from visual half-field studies (Hasbrooke and Chiarello, 1998). We discuss the relevance of these results for theories of hemispheric asymmetry and meta-control in lexical semantic access.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Observation and cogitation: how serendipity provides the building blocks of scientific discovery.

The identification of serendipitous findings in field-based animal research is challenging in part because investigators are reluctant to declare a discovery accidental. Investigators recognize that many factors must be considered. For example, the impact of using carefully ordered observational search patterns in ecologic, pathologic, and epidemiologic investigations could result in findings being categorized as "sought" versus "unsought." Team collaborations are common in these types of investigations and have advantages related to the application of multiple paradigms, paradigm mixing, and paradigm shifting. This approach reduces the perception of serendipity. Issues of search image refinement and the co-discovery of sought and unsought discoveries additionally cloud the identification of a truly serendipitous finding. Nevertheless, basic curiosity and observation are necessary precursors to scientific discovery. It should be recognized that serendipitous discoveries are of significant value in the advancement of science and often present the foundation for important intellectual leaps of understanding.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Testing for validity and bias in the use of GPA and the MCAT in the selection of medical school students.

In the 1988 study reported here, Medical College Admissions test (MCAT) scores and grade point averages for undergraduate science courses (S-GPAs) were examined for predictive validity and differential prediction of National Board of Medical Examiners Part I scores. Data from 579 medical students from the classes of 1979-80 through 1983-84 attending a midwestern medical college were analyzed via moderated multiple regression. The findings indicated that using the S-GPA and a composite MCAT score based on the Biology Knowledge, Chemistry Knowledge, Physics Knowledge, Science Problems, and Reading subtests was valid and equally predictive for the minority and majority groups studied. These results are discussed in terms of past findings on cognitive tests in general, and the MCAT and the S-GPA specifically.

Bias↗
PubMed2006

Aromatherapy in the management of psychiatric disorders: clinical and neuropharmacological perspectives.

Aromatherapy is currently used worldwide in the management of chronic pain, depression, anxiety, some cognitive disorders, insomnia and stress-related disorders. Although essential oils have been used, reputedly effectively, for centuries as a traditional medicine, there is very little verified science behind this use. The pharmacology of the essential oils and/or their single chemical constituents, therefore, remains largely undiscovered. However, accumulating evidence that inhaled or dermally applied essential oils enter the blood stream and, in relevant molecular, cellular or animal models, exert measurable psychological effects, indicates that the effects are primarily pharmacological.This review includes evidence from the limited number of clinical trials that have been published of 'psychoaromatherapy' in relation to psychiatric disorders, together with evidence from mechanistic, neuropharmacological studies of the effects of essential oils in relevant in vitro and in vivo models. It is concluded that aromatherapy provides a potentially effective treatment for a range of psychiatric disorders. In addition, taking into account the available information on safety, aromatherapy appears to be without the adverse effects of many conventional psychotropic drugs. Investment in further clinical and scientific research is clearly warranted.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

[Evaluation of epidemiologic surveillance systems: analysis of different approaches in a study in Ecuador].

Based on the experience of the assessment of public health surveillance systems, this paper explores the relationship between knowledge and action. Like research, evaluation is a cognitive process however oriented to a specific aim. Thus it is possible to compare the various approaches of evaluating these systems using the frame of paradigms in sciences (positivism, post positivism, critical theory and constructivism). In addition, evaluation aims to improve the functioning of the system, to introduce changes in it. The fourth generation evaluation, as it has been done in Ecuador, is an interesting way of acquiring understanding of the system while solving its malfunctionings. In this experience, the evaluator seeks the participation of the actors of the system at each steps of the evaluation process. He searches to involved them through three levels: intellectual, affective and ontological.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗
PubMed1999

Managing cognitive impairment in the elderly: conceptual, intervention and methodological issues.

PURPOSE: With the aging of society, the incidence of dementia in the elderly is also increasing, and thus results in increased numbers of individuals with cognitive impairment. Nurses and other researchers have investigated issues concerning the management of cognitive impairment. This article highlights conceptual, intervention and methodological issues associated with this phenomenon. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive change is a multivariate construct that includes alterations in a variety of information processing mechanisms such as problem solving ability, memory, perception, attention and learning, and judgement. Although there is a large body of research, conceptual, intervention and methodological issues remain. Much of the clinical research on cognitive impairment is atheoretical, with this issue only recently being addressed. While many clinical interventions have been proposed, few have been adequately tested. There are also various methodological concerns, such as small sample sizes and limited statistical power; study design issues (experimental vs. non-experimental), and internal and external validity problems. Clearly, additional research designed to intervene with these difficult behaviors is needed. IMPLICATIONS: A variety of psychosocial, environmental and physical parameters must be considered in the nursing care of persons with cognitive impairment. Special attention has been given to interventions associated with disruptive behaviors. Interventions are complex and knowledge must be integrated from both the biomedical and behavioral sciences in order to deal effectively with the numerous problems that can arise over a long and changing clinical course. Some researchers and clinicians have suggested that a new culture regarding dementia care is needed, one that focuses on changing attitudes and beliefs about persons with dementia and one that changes how organizations deliver that care. This review identifies key conceptual, intervention and methodological issues and recommends how these issues might be addressed in the future.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Estrogen effects on the hippocampus and frontal lobes.

Basic science and clinical studies have investigated the potential neuroprotective effects of estrogen. One apparent area of convergence in these studies is the selective benefits of estrogen on cognitive tasks mediated by the hippocampus and frontal lobes. Findings in non-human primates parallel findings from neuroimaging and behavioral studies in humans and suggest that estrogen might influence memory tasks mediated by the hippocampus as well as working memory tasks mediated by the prefrontal cortex. This evidence provides a framework for the design of future hormone studies, wherein such tasks can serve as primary outcomes. In studies of symptomatic women, hormone therapy can benefit a broader range of cognitive domains, particularly effortful tests that are sensitive to remittance of dysphoria, sleep difficulty, and hot flushes. Serotonin might play a critical role in these potential indirect benefits, and therapies that target these symptoms, even those without estrogenic actions, might have indirect benefits on cognition.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Can limiting choice increase social welfare? The elderly and health insurance.

Herbert Simon's work on bounded rationality has had little impact on health policy discourse, despite numerous supportive findings. This is particularly surprising in regard to the elderly, a group marked by a decline in higher cognitive functions. Elders' cognitive capacity to make decisions will be challenged even further with the introduction of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit program, mainly because of the many options available. At the same time, a growing body of evidence points to the perils of having too many choices. By combining research from decision science, economics, and psychology, we highlight the potential problems with the expanding health insurance choices facing the elderly and conclude with some policy suggestions to alleviate the problem.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Cognitive psychology: mentalistic or behavioristic?

We have examined the question, is modern cognitive psychology a return to classical structural or functional psychology or does it conform to the methodological behaviorism first advocated by John B. Watson? We began with a brief description of the methods and goals of classical psychology, noting that observations of the mental phenomena were made by highly trained observers who were themselves scientists (or at least, scientists-in-training). These scientists were searching for cross-sectional laws that connected mental elements with complex mental phenomena. Among the primitive terms of these psychologists were some that referred to simple mental events. Classical psychologists failed to reach their goals for empirical reasons; their failure was not due to methodological (logical) inadequacies. We examined methodological behaviorism and found it to have two main principles. The first is that the primitive terms of psychology should refer to the simple properties of, and simple relations among, physical objects and events--the same primitives used in the physical sciences. The second is that psychologists should look for process laws that permit the prediction of future behavior given knowledge of the physiological, environmental, and other behavioral variables. Next, we analyzed the activities of cognitive psychologists. We found that they do not treat their subjects as if they were trained observers. Rather, they consistently employ "catch trials" and other checks on the quality of the subjects' observations. We noted that cognitive psychologists could, but usually do not, provide behaviorally and environmentally based "operational definitions" for many of the mentalistic-sounding terms that they introduce into the psychological language. Many of their terms, however, are introduced through the time-honored use of models. That is, they construct models that are only partially interpreted to the empirical world. Some of the concepts in the model remain uninterpreted, and of these, some appear to refer to the mental phenomena that classical psychologists attempted to study and describe. This latter feature is probably what most misleadingly suggests that modern cognitive psychology is a return to classical structural or functional psychology. Finally, we found that cognitive psychology is not, as many believe, a revolution against methodological behaviorism. It is rather a rebellion against the conditioning-based theories that constrained psychologists to the study of the simpler behavioral phenomena.

Behaviorism↗
PubMed2003

Potential use of stem cells in neuroreplacement therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

The use of stem cells for neuroreplacement therapy is no longer science fiction--it is science fact. We have succeeded in the development of neural and mesenchymal stem cell transplantation to produce neural cells in the brain. We have also seen improvement in cognitive function following stem cell transplantation in a memory-impaired aged animal model. These results promise a bright future for stem cell therapies in neurodegenerative diseases. Before we begin to think about clinical applications beyond the present preclinical studies, we have to consider the pathophysiological environment of individual diseases and weigh the factors that affect stem cell biology. Here, I not only review potential therapeutic applications of stem cell strategies in neurodegenerative diseases, but also discuss stem cell biology regarding factors that are altered under disease conditions.

Animals↗