Intrusive memories of trauma: A target for research bridging cognitive science and its clinical application.

Intrusive memories of a traumatic event can be distressing and disruptive, and comprise a core clinical feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Intrusive memories involve mental imagery-based impressions that intrude into mind involuntarily, and are emotional. Here we consider how recent advances in cognitive science have fueled our understanding of the development and possible treatment of intrusive memories of trauma. We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed, selecting articles published from 2008 to 2018 that used the terms "trauma" AND ("intrusive memories" OR "involuntary memories") in their abstract or title. First, we discuss studies that investigated internal (neural, hormonal, psychophysiological, and cognitive) processes that contribute to intrusive memory development. Second, we discuss studies that targeted these processes using behavioural/pharmacological interventions to reduce intrusive memories. Third, we consider possible clinical implications of this work and highlight some emerging research avenues for treatment and prevention, supplemented by new data to examine some unanswered questions. In conclusion, we raise the possibility that intrusive memories comprise an alternative, possibly more focused, target in translational research endeavours, rather than only targeting overall symptoms of disorders such as PTSD. If so, relatively simple approaches could help to address the need for easy-to-deliver, widely-scalable trauma interventions.

Analog mental representation.

Over the past 50 years, philosophers and psychologists have perennially argued for the existence of analog mental representations of one type or another. This study critically reviews a number of these arguments as they pertain to three different types of mental representation: perceptual representations, imagery representations, and numerosity representations. Along the way, careful consideration is given to the meaning of "analog" presupposed by these arguments for analog mental representation, and to open avenues for future research. This article is categorized under: Philosophy > Foundations of Cognitive Science Philosophy > Representation Philosophy > Psychological Capacities.

Why the cognitive science of religion cannot rescue 'spiritual care'.

Peter Kevern believes that the cognitive science of religion (CSR) provides a justification for the idea of spiritual care in the health services. In this paper, I suggest that he is mistaken on two counts. First, CSR does not entail the conclusions Kevern wants to draw. His treatment of it consists largely of nonsequiturs. I show this by presenting an account of CSR, and then explaining why Kevern's reasons for thinking it rescues 'spirituality' discourse do not work. Second, the debate about spirituality-in-health is about classification: what shall count as a 'spiritual need' and what shall count as 'spiritual care'. It is about the politics of meaning, an exercise in persuasive definition. The function of 'spirituality' talk in health care is to change the denotation of 'spiritual', and attach its indelibly religious connotations to as many health-related concepts and practices as possible. CSR, however plausible it may be as a theory of the origins and pervasiveness of religious belief, is irrelevant to this debate.

Using suggestion to modulate automatic processes: from Stroop to McGurk and beyond.

Cognitive scientists typically classify cognitive processes as either controlled or automatic. Whereas controlled processes are slow and effortful, automatic processes are fast and involuntary. Over the past decade, we have propelled a research trajectory investigating how top-down influence in the form of suggestion can allow individuals to modulate the automaticity of cognitive processes. Here we present an overarching array of converging findings that collectively indicate that certain individuals can derail involuntary processes, such as reading, by "unringing" the proverbial bell. We examine replications of these effects from both our own laboratory and independent groups, and extend our Stroop findings to several other well-established automatic paradigms, including the McGurk effect. We thus demonstrate how, in the case of highly suggestible individuals, suggestion seems to wield control over a process that is likely even more automatic than the Stroop effect. Finally, we present findings from two novel experimental paradigms exploring the potential of shifting automaticity in the opposite direction - i.e., transforming, without practice, a controlled task into one that is automatic. Drawing on related evidence from the neuroscience of contemplative practices, we discuss how these findings pave the road to a more scientific understanding of voluntary control and automaticity, and expound on their possible experimental and therapeutic applications.

Thinking like a scientist: innateness as a case study.

The concept of innateness appears in systematic research within cognitive science, but it also appears in less systematic modes of thought that long predate the scientific study of the mind. The present studies therefore explore the relationship between the properly scientific uses of this concept and its role in ordinary folk understanding. Studies 1-4 examined the judgments of people with no specific training in cognitive science. Results showed (a) that judgments about whether a trait was innate were not affected by whether or not the trait was learned, but (b) such judgments were impacted by moral considerations. Study 5 looked at the judgments of both non-scientists and scientists, in conditions that encouraged either thinking about individual cases or thinking about certain general principles. In the case-based condition, both non-scientists and scientists showed an impact of moral considerations but little impact of learning. In the principled condition, both non-scientists and scientists showed an impact of learning but little impact of moral considerations. These results suggest that both non-scientists and scientists are drawn to a conception of innateness that differs from the one at work in contemporary scientific research but that they are also both capable of 'filtering out' their initial intuitions and using a more scientific approach.

Dios y el cerebro. Una perspectiva judía / No disponible

La religiosidad es sobre todo, una capacidad experimental. Como tal no puede existir sin un sustrato biológico, sin circuitos neuronales cuya activación evoca experiencias religiosas. La investigación de la naturaleza de estos circuitos ha producido ya algunos resultados. ¿Se reduce de este modo la religiosidad a un fenómeno de determinación puramente psicológica? Rotundamente no. La religiosidad no está anclada en los circuitos cerebrales. No se encontrarán sus raíces en un nivel psicológico. Las funciones del cerebro son un intermediario; un intermediario entre las necesidades religiosidades y la satisfacción experimental. En otras palabras, el homo sapiens ha desarrollado una base física que hace posible el desarrollo de la religiosidad. Concluyo que la investigación neuroteológica no respalda la perspectiva atea. La susceptibilidad religiosa no puede ser vista como un sofisticado complejo de quimeras. Al contrario, los datos neuroteológicos respalda la visión teísta: la religiosidad es un componente normal y valioso de la psique humana. Tiene una firme fijación biológica, que es, en parte, intrísecamente genética(AU)

No disponible

Interference in visual perception by verbal and spatial cognitive activity

In two experiments we tested the hypothesis that cognitive processing based on spatial imagery produces more deterioration of visual perception than cognitive processing based on verbal codes. So, we studied the effect on visual perception of two cognitive tasks, one of spatial imagery and the other a verbal task. In the first one, with 30 participants, we analyzed the mental load and ocular behaviors in both cognitive tasks. In the second experiment, with 29 participants, we studied the effect of both tasks on a visual search task, using a dual-task experimental paradigm. The verbal task presented higher mental load than the imagery task when both tasks were carried out with visual search task, and there was more deterioration in stimulus detection with the verbal task. We can conclude that: (1) cognitive tasks produce important deterioration in the capacities of visual search and identification of stimuli; (2) this deterioration has two components: (a) an inefficient search, associated with alterations of the gaze patterns while performing cognitive tasks, and (b) a general interference, nonspecific to spatial codes, in the process of identification of looked-at stimuli; (3) this cognitive interference is related to the mental load or effort required by the cognitive task (AU)

Mediante dos experimentos hemos puesto a prueba la hipótesis de que el procesamiento cognitivo basado en imaginería espacial produce más deterioro en la percepción visual que el procesamiento basado en códigos verbales. Hemos estudiado el efecto de dos tareas cognitivas, una de imaginería espacial y otra verbal, sobre la percepción visual. En el primer experimento, con 30 participantes, analizamos la carga mental y el comportamiento ocular en ambas tareas cognitivas. En el segundo experimento, con 29 participantes, estudiamos el efecto de ambas tareas sobre una tarea de búsqueda visual, usando el paradigma experimental de doble tarea. La tarea verbal presentó mayor carga mental que la de imaginería espacial cuando ambas tareas se realizaron junto con la tarea de búsqueda visual y hubo un mayor deterioro en la detección de estímulos con la tarea verbal. Concluimos que (1) las tareas cognitivas producen un importante deterioro en capacidades de búsqueda visual e identificación de estímulos visuales; (2) este deterioro tiene dos componentes: (a) búsqueda ineficiente, asociada con alteraciones del patrón de mirada mientras se desarrollan tareas cognitivas, y (b) interferencia general, no específica de códigos espaciales, en el proceso de identificación de estímulos mirados; (3) esta interferencia cognitiva está relacionada con la carga mental o esfuerzo requerido por tareas cognitivas (AU)

A neurocognitive theory of higher mental emergence: from anoetic affective experiences to noetic knowledge and autonoetic awareness.

This essay provides an overview of evolutionary levels of consciousness, with a focus on a continuum of consciousness: from primarily affective to more advanced cognitive forms of neural processing-from anoetic (without knowledge) consciousness based on affective feelings, elaborated by brain networks that are subcortical- and can function without neocortical involvement, to noetic (knowledge based) and autonoetic (higher reflective mental) processes that permits conscious awareness. An abundance of such mind-brain linkages have been established using standard neuropsychological and brain-imaging procedures. Much of the characterization of human mental landscapes has been achieved with long accepted psychometric procedures that often do not adequately tap the lived anoetic experiential phenomenological aspects of mind. Without an understanding of affective based anoetic forms of consciousness, an adequate characterization of the human mind may never be achieved. A full synthesis will require us to view mental-experiential processes concurrently at several distinct neurophysiological levels, including foundational affective-emotional issues that are best probed with cross-species affective neuroscience strategies. This essay attempts to relate these levels of analysis to the neural systems that constitute lived experience in the human mind.

Grounded cognition: past, present, and future.

Thirty years ago, grounded cognition had roots in philosophy, perception, cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, and cognitive neuropsychology. During the next 20 years, grounded cognition continued developing in these areas, and it also took new forms in robotics, cognitive ecology, cognitive neuroscience, and developmental psychology. In the past 10 years, research on grounded cognition has grown rapidly, especially in cognitive neuroscience, social neuroscience, cognitive psychology, social psychology, and developmental psychology. Currently, grounded cognition appears to be achieving increased acceptance throughout cognitive science, shifting from relatively minor status to increasing importance. Nevertheless, researchers wonder whether grounded mechanisms lie at the heart of the cognitive system or are peripheral to classic symbolic mechanisms. Although grounded cognition is currently dominated by demonstration experiments in the absence of well-developed theories, the area is likely to become increasingly theory driven over the next 30 years. Another likely development is the increased incorporation of grounding mechanisms into cognitive architectures and into accounts of classic cognitive phenomena. As this incorporation occurs, much functionality of these architectures and phenomena is likely to remain, along with many original mechanisms. Future theories of grounded cognition are likely to be heavily influenced by both cognitive neuroscience and social neuroscience, and also by developmental science and robotics. Aspects from the three major perspectives in cognitive science-classic symbolic architectures, statistical/dynamical systems, and grounded cognition-will probably be integrated increasingly in future theories, each capturing indispensable aspects of intelligence.

The rebirth of neuroscience in psychosomatic medicine, Part I: historical context, methods, and relevant basic science.

Neuroscience was an integral part of psychosomatic medicine at its inception in the early 20th century. Since the mid-20th century, however, psychosomatic research has largely ignored the brain. The field of neuroscience has burgeoned in recent years largely because a variety of powerful new methods have become available. Many of these methods allow for the noninvasive study of the living human brain and thus are potentially available for integration into psychosomatic medicine research at this time. In this first paper we examine various methods available for human neuroscientific investigation and discuss their relative strengths and weaknesses. We next review some basic functional neuroanatomy involving structures that are increasingly being identified as relevant for psychosomatic processes. We then discuss, and provide examples of, how the brain influences end organs through "information transfer systems," including the autonomic, neuroendocrine, and immune systems. The evidence currently available suggests that neuroscience holds great promise for advancing the goal of understanding the mechanisms by which psychosocial variables influence physical disease outcomes. An increased focus on such mechanistic research in psychosomatic medicine is needed to further its acceptance into the field of medicine.

Towards a science of magic.

It is argued here that cognitive science currently neglects an important source of insight into the human mind: the effects created by magicians. Over the centuries, magicians have learned how to perform acts that are perceived as defying the laws of nature, and that induce a strong sense of wonder. This article argues that the time has come to examine the scientific bases behind such phenomena, and to create a science of magic linked to relevant areas of cognitive science. Concrete examples are taken from three areas of magic: the ability to control attention, to distort perception, and to influence choice. It is shown how such knowledge can help develop new tools and indicate new avenues of research into human perception and cognition.

Hipnosis y terapias cognitivas / Hypnosis and cognitive therapies

La hipnosis y la terapia cognitiva parecen reflejar, enm principio, dos concepciones muy distintas de la intervención psicológica. Sin embargo, ambas contemplan entre sus objetivos la reorganización de las estructuras cognitivas del clinete. Este objetivo común las hace compatibles y podría permitir a las terapias cognitivas nuevas formas de intervenir en tales estructuras. La hipnosis promueve que el cliente haga por símismo este proceso de reestructuración sin el control racional y consciente, por lo que se pueden modificar estructuras inaccesibles a la conciencia, el lenguaje y, por tanto, al análisis cognitivo

Hypnosis and cognitive therapies may appear as two distant approaches for psychological practice. However, both retain among their aims the reorganization of theclients’ cognitive structures. These common goals make them compatible and allownew intervention pathways for cognitive therapists. Hypnosis stimulates clients to doby themselves a process of cognitive restructuring without monitoring and controllingit. Thus, cognitive structures which are not available through thinking and language can be modified without a cognitive analysis

Resultado y proceso en psicoterapia cognitivo-constructivista integradora / Outcome and process in cognitive-constructivist integrative therapy

Este artículo presenta un estudio intensivo, combinando métodos estadísticos diversos,del resultado y el proceso de los tratamientos psicoterapéuticos llevados a cabo en elServei d’Assessorament i Assistència Psicológica Blanquerna de Barcelona, y analizapormenorizadamente las relaciones entre resultado (mejoría) y proceso (alianza terapéutica).Más concretamente (a) el proceso terapéutico en términos de la relación entrealianza terapéutica y resultado de la psicoterapia; y (b) los efectos de las rupturas de laalianza terapéutica y el empeoramiento sintomático sobre el resultado y el proceso dela terapia. Los clientes incluidos en este estudio fueron 239 y los instrumentos fueron elCuestionario de Evaluación de Resultados CORE Outcome Measure y la versión reducidadel WAI (Working Alliance Inventory) para la evaluación de proceso. Los resultados,además del buen resultado de la terapia y el mantenimiento de los cambios, demostraronla importancia de diferentes aspectos de la alianza terapéutica como predictores delresultado y el proceso terapéutico

This paper presents an intensive study that combines statistical methods to test theoutcome and process of the psychotherapeutic treatments at the Servei d’Assessoramenti Assistència Psicológica Blanquerna in Barcelona, and it analyzes in detail the relatioship between outcome (improvement) and process (therapeutic alliance). Specifically the study analyzes (a) the psychotherapeutic process in terms of the relationship betweentherapeutic alliance and therapy outcome, and (b) the effect of therapeutic alliance rupturesand symptomatic worsening over therapy outcome and process. The clients included inthis study were 239 and the assessment instruments were the CORE Outcome Measureand the reduced version of the Working Alliance Inventory. Results indicate the goodoutome of therapy and the importante of different aspects of the therapeutic alliance as predictors of the therapeutic process (AU)

Estudio de validez del Test de las Fotos en el cribado de Deterioro Cognitivo en Atención Primaria / Validity study of the Photo Test in Screening for Cognitive Impairment in Primary Care

Objetivos. Evaluar la utilidad del test de las fotos (TF) en el cribado de deterioro cognitivo en población mayor de 65 años. Diseño. Estudio de validez de pruebas diagnósticas. Emplazamiento. Realizado en 10 consultas de Atención Primaria (AP) en un centro urbano. Participantes: El tamaño muestral fue de 241 sujetos con edad mayor o igual a 65 años, obtenida mediante muestreo aleatorio simple. Se consideran criterios de exclusión los sujetos con déficit sensoriales no corregibles, así como la no autorización verbal. Intervenciones. Se cumplimentó una hoja de recogida de datos con las variables sociodemográficas. Se realizó una anamnesis siguiendo los criterios diagnósticos de demencia de la DSM IV. A todos los sujetos se les pasó el test psicométrico (TF). La prueba diagnóstica y el criterio de referencia se realizaron de forma ciega. Mediciones y resultados. La edad media fue de 76,67 años con una distribución por sexos de 57,6% mujeres y 42,3% hombres. La proporción de alfabetizados fue del 54,4%. El tiempo empleado en la realización del TF fue inferior a 5 min en el 97,5% de los sujetos. La prevalencia de demencia fue del 10,4 %. El TF presenta una sensibilidad del 84% (IC 95% 81,91-86,06) y una especificidad del 85,65% (IC 95% 85,39-85,91) para el diagnóstico de deterioro cognitivo. El VPP es de 40,38% y el VPN de 97,88%. El cociente de probabilidad positiva es de 5,85 y el cociente de probabilidad negativa de 0,19. Conclusiones. El TF es un buen instrumento para el cribado de deterioro cognitivo, de fácil y rápida aplicabilidad, constituyendo una alternativa en Atención Primaria a los test psicométricos actualmente empleados (AU)

Objectives. To assess the value of the Photo Test (PhT) in screening for cognitive impairment in a population over 65 years old. Design. Validity study of diagnostic tests. Setting. Carried out in ten Primary Care (PC) clinics in a city centre. Participants: The sample was composed of 241 subjects of 65 years or older, obtained by simple random sampling. Exclusion criteria included subjects with noncorrectable sensory deficit, and no verbal authorisation. Interventions. A clinical record form was completed with the sociodemographic variables. An anamnesis was carried out following the diagnostic criteria for DSM IV dementia. All subjects took the pscyhometric test (PhT). The diagnostic test and the standard criteria were applied blindly. easurements and results. The mean age was 76.67 years with 57.6% women and 42.3% male; 54.4% of the sample was literate. The PhT was carried out in less than 5 min in 97.5% of subjects, 10.4% of the sample had dementia. The PhT had a sensitivity of 84% (95% CI, 81.91-86.06) and a specificity of 85.65% (95% CI, 85.39-85.91) for the diagnosis of cognitive impairment. The PPV is 40.38% and the NPV 97.88%. The positive probability ratio is 5.85 and the negative probability ratio 0.19. Conclusions. PhT is a good instrument to screen for cognitive impairment. It is easy and quick to use and is an alternative in Primary Care to the psychometric tests used to date (AU)

An integrative science approach: value added in stress research.

Integrative approaches to understanding complex health issues can transcend disciplinary and knowledge boundaries and provide opportunities to view phenomena from diverse perspectives. These broad approaches to understanding phenomena of interest to nursing might provide new directions for nursing research and be a requisite for delivering safe, responsible, and holistic nursing care. The relationship between stress and illness is a strong example of a field of study that can be understood more fully from an integrative perspective. The potential of an integrative approach to contribute to improvements in human health and well-being outweigh historical biases that have been associated with an integrative science approach.

The role of the feedforward paradigm in cognitive psychology.

Feedforward control is a process adjusting behaviour in a continuative way. Feedforward takes place when an equilibrium state is disrupted and the system has to automatically retrieve the homeostatic stable state. It also occurs when a perturbation is previewed and must be eliminated in order to achieve a desired goal. According to the most general definition, a feedforward process operates by fixing the future representation of the desired state, the achieving of which stops the process. Then, feedforward works by means of the refinement determined by successive comparisons between the actual and target products. In its applications, a feedforward process is thought to be modulated by the subject's purpose and the environmental state. Over the years, the feedforward process has assumed different connotations in several contests of cognitive psychology. An overview of the research fields in psychology that significantly progressed with the introduction of a feedforward paradigm is provided by: (a) reviewing models in which the feedforward concept plays a fundamental role in the system control; (b) examining critical experiments related to the interaction of feedforward and feedback processes; (c) evidencing practical applications for some of the presented feedforward-based architectures.

[Reflections about actual understanding of health education as a conceptional category in pedagogical science]. / Refleksje wokól aktualnego rozumieniawychowania zdrowotnego jako kategorii pojeciowej w naukach pedagogicznych.

Health education is area of social reality, in which all less or more purposeful interactions on consciousness, behaviour and conduct of human met. They are meant to be understand as holistic, dynamic and long- term process. Bases of this process are two elemental values: life and health of the human being, which are the source of pedagogical and obligatory norms. In the area of health education we should highline processes of health education and health promotion. From the health pedagogic point of view, which is fulfilling explicational, generalising, communicative, applicational and heuristic function, they become also needed to describing, explaining and estimating the health education process. Example of attaching bigger weight to health educational processes is obligatory entering to the teacher's educational programs terms connected with it's aims, contents, forms, methods and measures.