Two theories of action - Edelman's Neuronal group Selection and the Poetics of Paul Valéry.

Motivated by two imperatives as they are framed in Code Biology - mechanism and actualization - we have turned to other attempts of modeling life at work. Here, we present two theories devoted to minds in action - one explains neuronal function, and the other dissects poetic crafting. Neuronal networks activation and poetic composition, respectively, are seen as the selection of specific connective patterns of either neurons or words, in action. Gerald Edelman, as a scientist, has generalized the Darwinian ideas of variation and selection to the cellular level in his "Sciences of Recognition", a broader theoretical framework that includes the "Theory of Neuronal Group Selection" (TGNS) analyzed here. Paul Valéry, as a poet, has reconciled inspiration and technique in what he has called "works of the mind", the creative processes mediated by sensing and making sense, in the "Poetic Theory" we present here he advances the mechanisms of artistic composition. We have identified the main ideas conveyed in these two theories, i.e., variation and selection, integration and differentiation, ambiguity and degeneracy, binding and blending, stasis and semiosis, by pairing and comparing textual fragments from the authors. We show that TGNS and the Theory of Poetic Action reconcile Sciences and Arts by recognizing that Natural Selection is a mechanism implied by formative acts in both scenarios and discuss to which extent Natural Convention - the main contribution of Code Biology - is integrated by the two thinkers.

Conciencia y naturaleza: en los límites del fisicalismo / Consciousness and nature. The limits of physicalism

Con la esperanza de que los conocimientos en neurociencia ayudasen a comprender al ser humano y a tratar de modo científico sus pérdidas de equilibrio mental, durante los últimos años del siglo XX se dedicaron grandes esfuerzos a la investigación del cerebro, dando lugar a la comúnmente denominada psiquiatría biológica. Sin embargo, debido a los límites y conveniencia de estos conocimientos en su aplicación práctica, junto con las dudas que proporciona la ciencia actual sobre la percepción humana, un número creciente de científicos y filósofos han abierto nuevas líneas de investigación y desarrollado nuevas hipótesis sobre la actividad mental y las relaciones mente-materia que podrían cambiar nuestra comprensión del mundo

In the hope that knowledge in neuroscience helped to understand human beings and treat their losses of mental balance in a scientific way, during the last years of the 20th century great efforts were devoted to brain research, leading to the so-called “biological psychiatry”. However, due to the limits and convenience of this knowledge in its practical application, together with the existing doubts regarding current science about human perception, an increasing number of scientists and philosophers have opened new lines of research and developed new hypotheses about mental activity and mind-matter relationships that might change our understanding of the world

Psychophysiological modeling: Current state and future directions.

Psychologists often use peripheral physiological measures to infer a psychological variable. It is desirable to make this inverse inference in the most precise way, ideally standardized across research laboratories. In recent years, psychophysiological modeling has emerged as a method that rests on statistical techniques to invert mathematically formulated forward models (psychophysiological models, PsPMs). These PsPMs are based on psychophysiological knowledge and optimized with respect to the precision of the inference. Building on established experimental manipulations, known to create different values of a psychological variable, they can be benchmarked in terms of their sensitivity (e.g., effect size) to recover these values-we have termed this predictive validity. In this review, we introduce the problem of inverse inference and psychophysiological modeling as a solution. We present background and application for all peripheral measures for which PsPMs have been developed: skin conductance, heart period, respiratory measures, pupil size, and startle eyeblink. Many of these PsPMs are task invariant, implemented in open-source software, and can be used off the shelf for a wide range of experiments. Psychophysiological modeling thus appears as a potentially powerful method to infer psychological variables.

Estresse Psicofisiológico em mulheres atletas tenistas de elite / Estrés psicofisiológico en mujeres atletas de tenis de élite / Psychophysiological stress in women athletes elite tennis players

O treinamento esportivo impõe um elevado grau de estresse físico e mental, os quais têm sido relacionados ao aumento do hormônio cortisol, classificando-o como um indicador do estresse psicofisiológico. Objetivou-se analisar o estresse psicofisiológico através do cortisol salivar em tenistas de elite de 16 e 18 anos, do sexo feminino, durante uma etapa do torneio internacional de tênis. Participaram deste estudo 48 atletas, inscritas na Copa Guga-Kuerten. As amostras de cortisol foram coletadas através da saliva e analisadas pelo método Elisa. As coletas ocorreram durante o meeting (Cpré) e logo após o término (C-pós) do jogo. Os dados foram descritos pela média e desvio padrão, e analisados pela ANCOVA (2x2: categorias: 16 e 18 anos; e, vencedores e perdedores), utilizando as medidas de C-pré como covariante (p < 0.05). As concentrações da C-pré (8.0±3.6 nmol/L) apenas diferiram da C-pós (13.0±6.2 nmol/L) quando as duas categorias foram analisadas agrupadas (t = -7.526; p < 0.000), indicando uma elevação do cortisol durante o evento esportivo. Não houve diferenças das concentrações de cortisol entre perdedores e vencedores (F1,98 = 2.686; p = 0.104). A associação da C-pré com o ranking (0.083; p = 0.602) e entre C-pós com o ranking (-0.037; p = 0.818) não foi significativa, sugerindo que o posicionamento do atleta não influência nas concentrações de cortisol. Concluímos que as atletas apresentaram maior concentração de cortisol após o jogo. Contudo, ainda são escassas as pesquisas que avaliaram a influência inerente ao esporte no cortisol, reportando resultados controversos. Sendo assim, recomenda-se que futuros estudos quantifiquem outros fatores associados ao estresse, como variáveis fisiológicas, psicológicas e sociais, possibilitando uma melhor compreensão da interferência dos mesmos sobre o desempenho de atletas (AU)

El entrenamiento deportivo es un grado elevado de estrés físico y mental, los cuales se han relacionado con el aumento del cortisol, el indicador del estímulo psicofisiológico. Objetivo analizar el estrés psicofisiológica por el cortisol salivar en los tenistas de la élite de 16 años y 18 años, del sexo femenino, durante una etapa de torneo internacional del tenis. Participaran en este estudio 48 atletas, inscritas en Copa Guga-Kuerten. Como muestras del cortisol se recogieron por la saliva y se analizaron por el método Elisa. Como coletas durante el encuentro (C-pré) e logo después del término (C-pós) del juego. (P < 0.05). Los datos obtenidos se basan en el análisis de la calidad y el patrón de desviación, y se analizaron en la ANCOVA (2x2: categorías: 16 y 18 años; e, vencedores y perdedores). Como concentraciones de C-pré (8.0 ± 3.6 nmol / L) apenas diferirán de C-pós (13.0 ± 6.2 nmol / L) cuando se comparan y se agrupan (t = -7.526; p < 0.000), indicando una elevación del cortisol durante el evento deportivo. No hay estimaciones de las concentraciones de cortisol entre perdedores y vencedores (F1,98 = 2.686; p = 0.104) (0.083; p = 0.602) y entre C-pós con o ranking (-0.037; p = 0.818) no fue significativo, sugiriendo que el posicionamiento de la atleta no influye en las concentraciones de cortisol. Concluimos que los atletas presentaron la mayor concentración de cortisol después del juego. Recomiendo-se que futuros estudios cuantifican otros factores asociados al estrés, posibilitando una mejor comprensión de la interferencia de los mismos sobre el rendimiento de atletas (AU)

A high degree of physical and mental stress is inherent to competitive training, which have been associated with an elevation of cortisol hormone, classifying it as a psychophysiologic stress indicator. To analyze psychophysiologic stress by saliva cortisol in female tennis athletes, 16 and 18 years-old, during a circuit of an international tournament. Participated forty-eight female tennis players, enrolled in the Copa Guga-Kuerten. Cortisol samples were collected by saliva, using a Salivette® tube, and analyzed by ELISA method. Samples were collected during the meeting (C-pre) and immediately post-game (C-post). Data are described by mean and standard deviation, and analyze by an ANCOVA (2x2: categories: 16 and 18 years; and, winners and losers), using C-pre measures as covariant (< 0.05). C-pre (8.0±3.6 nmol/L) differed from C-post (13.0±6.2 nmol/L) when the two categories were analyzed simultaneously (t = -7.526; p < 0.000), indicating an elevation of cortisol during the sportive event. There were not differences of cortisol concentrations between winners and losers had a higher cortisol concentration after the game. However, only a few studies evaluated the (F1,98 = 2.686; p = 0.104). There were not significant associations between athletes’ ranking with C-pre (0.083; p = 0.602) and C-post (-0.037; p = 0.818), which may indicates that athlete' rank position do not influence on cortisol concentration. This study showed that female tennis athletes influences of sportive competition on cortisol reporting controversial results. Therefore, it is suggested that further studies quantifying other factors related to stress, purposing a better understanding of its influences on athletes’ performance (AU)

Transfer of conditioned fear-potentiated startle across equivalence classes. An exploratory study

Research on fear conditioning is key to understanding the genesis and maintenance of anxiety disorders. A still scarce but growing evidence shows that fear-conditioned arousal reactions may transfer amongst physically dissimilar but symbolically related (e.g. equivalent) stimuli. The limited investigation published to date has relied on skin conductance responses as its main measure. Thus far, no published studies have analyzed this phenomenon using more emotionally sensitive psychophysiological measures, like fear-potentiated startle. Twenty-seven participants underwent a matching-to-sample procedure for the formation of two four-member equivalence classes (A1-B1-C1-D1 and A2-B2-C2-D2). Then, one element from each class was used in a differential aversive conditioning procedure (CS+: B1; CS-: B2) with electric shock as the UCS. Eye-blink startle (measured as EMG activity of the orbicularis oculi muscle after a burst of white noise), skin conductance responses, and shock-risk self-report ratings were collected. Results show no evidence of transfer of functions with any of the psychophysiological measures. A weak, inconclusive effect was observed for self-reported ratings (AU)

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Toward a cumulative science of functional integration: A meta-analysis of psychophysiological interactions.

Much of the work in cognitive neuroscience is shifting from a focus on single brain regions to a focus on the connectivity between multiple brain regions. These inter-regional connectivity patterns contribute to a wide range of behaviors and are studied with models of functional integration. The rapid expansion of the literature on functional integration offers an opportunity to scrutinize the consistency and specificity of one of the most popular approaches for quantifying connectivity: psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis. We performed coordinate-based meta-analyses on 284 PPI studies, which allowed us to test (a) whether those studies consistently converge on similar target regions and (b) whether the identified target regions are specific to the chosen seed region and psychological context. Our analyses revealed two key results. First, we found that different types of PPI studies-e.g., those using seeds such as amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and contexts such as emotion and cognitive control, respectively-each consistently converge on similar target regions, thus supporting the reliability of PPI as a tool for studying functional integration. Second, we also found target regions that were specific to the chosen seed region and psychological context, indicating distinct patterns of brain connectivity. For example, the DLPFC seed reliably contributed to a posterior cingulate cortex target during cognitive control but contributed to an amygdala target in other contexts. Our results point to the robustness of PPI while highlighting common and distinct patterns of functional integration, potentially advancing models of brain connectivity. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2904-2917, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Where to look when looking at faces: visual scanning is determined by gender, expression and tasks demands / Dónde mirar cuando miramos caras: el escaneo visual está determinado por el género, la expresión y las demandas de la tarea

Visual scanning of faces was studied during categorization of expression and gender with the aim of revealing possible differences in the perceptual mechanisms that mediate analysis of these facial properties. A more distributed scanning pattern, with increased fixation in the lower face, was observed in the expression compared to the gender task. Distribution of fixations across the upper and lower face also varied depending on the specific gender and expression of the viewed faces, with female faces and faces showing anger attracting more fixations to the eye region. Variations reflecting an interaction between gender and expression were also observed. However, the nature of these modulations suggests a differential influence of perceptual interactions and social/affective value on eye movement measures and on pupil size. Collectively, these results show that the visual inspection of faces is determined in a complex manner by the specific demands of different categorization tasks and by the perceptual and social/affective properties of the emotional expressions shown by either male or female faces (AU)

Se ha estudiado la inspección visual de caras durante tareas de categorización de expresión y género con el objetivo de encontrar posibles diferencias en los mecanismos perceptuales que medían el análisis de las propiedades faciales. Se observó un patrón de inspección visual más distribuido con un incremento de fijaciones en la parte baja de la cara durante la tarea de expresión frente a la tarea de género. La distribución de las fijaciones en torno a la parte superior e inferior de la cara también varió dependiendo del género y de la expresión de las caras con un número mayor de fijaciones en la región de los ojos para las caras de ira femeninas. Los resultados indicaron también una interacción entre género y expresión. La naturaleza de estas modulaciones sugiere una influencia diferencial sobre las medidas oculares y el tamaño de la pupila dependientes del tipo de tarea y del valor socio-afectivo de los estímulos. En conjunto, estos resultados muestran que la inspección visual de caras está determinada de una manera compleja por las demandas específicas de diferentes tareas de categorización; por las propiedades perceptivas y por la naturaleza de las expresiones emocionales mostradas por caras masculinas y femeninas (AU)

Respuesta psicofisiológica en un salto táctico paracaidista a gran altitud. A propósito de un caso / Psychophysiological response in a high altitude tactical parachute jump. A case study

El estudio de las diversas facetas del combate a las que el soldado tiene que hacer frente ha sido poco investigado en la literatura científica, aunque en los últimos años varios estudios han mostrado la alta respuesta orgánica del combatiente debido al estrés en situaciones de combate simétrico, asimétrico, a corta distancia y en combate cuerpo a cuerpo, pero sigue sin haber estudios centrados en situaciones límite previas al combate como los saltos paracaidistas, especialmente en saltos a alta cota como el HALO (High Altitud Low Opening). Esta investigación tenía por objeto estudiar la respuesta psicofisiológica en la realización de un salto HALO. Se analizó a un saltador experimentado (más de 200 saltos) de la Brigada Paracaidista del Ejército de Tierra Español (25 años; 61 kg; 170 cm) en un salto HALO, salto a 18000 pies y apertura a 4000 pies. Antes y después de la maniobra se evaluaron parámetros de fuerza muscular, activación cortical, concentración sanguínea de creatinfosfokinasa y glucosa, saturación de oxígeno en sangre, percepción subjetiva de esfuerzo y habilidades motrices finas especificas; durante el salto se evaluó la frecuencia cardiaca, la variabilidad de la frecuencia cardiaca para el estudio de la modulación autonómica y la acelerometría mediante un dispositivo GPS. Los datos muestran como un salto HALO provocó un aumento de la modulación simpática, alcanzando valores de frecuencia cardiaca máxima de 217 pulsaciones, una disminución de la activación cortical y de la fuerza muscular, un aumento de la concentración sanguínea de creatinfosfokinasa, una mantenimiento de valores de glucosa sanguínea, de saturación de oxígeno, una percepción subjetiva de esfuerzo inferior a la respuesta orgánica evaluada y ningún efecto sobre la habilidad motriz fina especifica del combatiente. Este novedoso resultado puede ser utilizado para mejorar la preparación de los paracaidistas de combate (AU)

The study of the different phases of actual warfare that in the current theathers of operations have been poor studied in the specific literature, although in the last years several studies have shown the increased warfighter organic response in situations of symmetrical, asymmetrical, close quarter and melee combats due to the combat stress. Despite this study and to the best of our knowledge there are no studies focusing on extreme situations previous to the combat as parachute jumps, especially high altitude jumps as the HALO (High Altitude Low Opening). This research aimed to study the psychophysiological response of a warfighter performing a HALO parachute jump. A HALO jump, jump at 18,000 feet and opening at 4,000 feet, performed by an experimented jumper (over 200 jumps) of the Paratrooper Brigade of the Spanish Army (170 cm; 61 kg; 25 years) were analyzed. Before and after the HALO jump parameters of muscle strength, cortical arousal, blood levels of creatinekinase and glucose, blood oxygen saturation, rated of perceived exertion and specific fine motor skills were assessed; during the jump heart rate, heart rate variability (to analyze autonomic modulation) and accelerometry (by a GPS device) were evaluated. The data showed as a HALO jump caused an increased sympathetic modulation, reaching values of maximum heart rate of 217 beats per minute, a decreased in cortical arousal and muscle strength, an increased blood levels of creatinekinase, a maintenance of blood glucose and oxygen saturation, a rated of perceived exertion lower than the assessed organic response and no effect on specific fine motor skills of the warfighter. This novel research could be used to improve actual training systems in paratroopers’ brigades (AU)

[The contribution of neuroscience to the concept of mental disorder]. / Der Beitrag der Neurowissenschaften zum psychiatrischen Krankheitsbegriff.

AIM: In this article the contribution of neuroscience to the concept of mental disorder is discussed against the background of biological psychiatry and philosophy of mind. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Psychiatric nosology is confronted by similar challenges as every general nosology. Among these are the role of dysfunction versus "normal" function, the fuzzy boundary of health and disorder, the role of subjective suffering and the role of causal mechanisms. In the case of mental disorders, a further issue is that every nosology has to take a stance about what mental processes actually are. In this article, the disorder concepts of the fifth edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) and of the research domain criteria (RDoC) approach of the National Institute of Mental Health are explained and discussed. Furthermore, it is argued that a sound psychiatric nosology should not be purely descriptive but should also take the causal mechanisms of disorders into account. A recent suggestion, the theory of mechanistic property clusters, is introduced. Taking recent discussion on the philosophy of mind into account, it becomes apparent that the obvious assumption that mental disorders are (nothing more than) disorders of the brain might not be correct: at least this has been suggested by the theory of situated cognition. It is concluded that a sound psychiatric nosology will have to consider contemporary theories of mental disorders; however, such a synthesis has yet to be formulated.

The embodied brain.

In this editorial, I discuss the advantages of interpreting brain data in the context of other bodily systems. I also discuss current research challenges that may greatly benefit from a psychophysiological approach in which multiple methods--both peripheral and central--are used to improve our understanding of brain function, its underlying physiology, and its relationship to psychological constructs. In closing, I summarize the major changes and policy highlights regarding papers published in Psychophysiology.

El poder de las teorías. El papel de los determinantes paradigmáticos en la comprensión psicoanalítica / The role of paradigmatic determinants in psychoanalytic understanding

El trabajo intenta describir la naturaleza de las diferencias entre las teorías psicoanalíticas. Se parte de la comparación del análisis del Hombre de los Lobos hecho por Freud con las relecturas realizadas por Klein y por Lacan y Leclaire. Se demuestra: -Que los modos de percibir no son idénticos: cada uno de los autores apoya su interpretación en aspectos distintos del material, lo que conduce al problema epistemológico designado por Stegmüller como 'inconmensurabilidad empírica'. -Que los modos de pensar la interpretación son también diferentes: el tipo de preguntas que cada uno se formula, la clase de requisitos metodológicos implícitos y el modelo o ideal de comprensión son diferentes. -Que los puntos de vista metapsicológicos postulados, la manera de definir el estatus científico del psicoanálisis y el 'compromiso ontológico' de cada una de ellas también son específicos y diferentes. Se concluye que, por tratarse de distantes paradigmas (el sentido de Kuhn), entran en juego no solo elementos nocionales y cognitivos sino también preaceptaciones, acitudes, valores y fantasías (AU)

This paper describes the nature of the differences between psychoanalytic theories. It is based on a comparison of the analysis of the Wolf Man by Freud, and Klein´s, Lacan and Leclaire´s readings of it. It shows that: -Material is not perceived in an identical fashion. Each of the authors bases their interpretation on different aspects of the material, which leads to the epistemological problem named empirical incommensurability by Stegmüller. The ways in which the interpretation is thought about are also different: the type of questions they ask themselves, the implied methodological requirements and their model or ideal understanding are different. The metapsychological points of view postulated, the way the scientific status of psychoanalysis is defined, and the ontological commitment in each point of view are also specific and different. The author concludes that because they are different paradigms (in Kuhn´s sense), not only are notional and cognitive elements brought into play, but also presuppositions, attitudes, values and fantasies (AU)

¿Dos teorías o una? Perspectivas para el cambio en la teoría psicoanalítica / Two theories or one? Prospects for change in psychoanalytic theory

El autor plantea la cuestión de si resulta más conveniente el desarrollo de una teoría clínica por un lado y una teoría psicoanalítica general más abstracta por el otro o si, por el contrario, sería preferible centrarse únicamente en una teoría clínica. Con respecto a la primera propuesta, critica lo que él considera como la parte más metapsicológica del pensamiento freudiano, especialmente aquella referida al modelo económico. Según el autor, tal pensamiento está basado en modelos científicos decimonónicos que considera obsoletos y que dificultan, a su entender, un acceso más directo e inmediato a los hechos clínicos. Es por ello que finalmente se muestra partidario de una teoría psicoanalítica lo más cercana posible a la clínica, asumiento que ello pueda darse sin una metapsicología basal de referencia (AU)

The author considers the question of whether it is more appropriate to develop a clinical theory on one side and a more abstract general psychoanalytic theory on the other; or whether, by contrast, it would be preferable to focus solely on a single clinical theory. With regard to the first proposal, he criticzes what he considers to be the more metapsychological part of Freudian thought, in particular that part which refers to the economic model. According to the author, such thought is based on nineteenth-century scientific models which he considers obsolete and which, in his opinion, hinder a more direct and immediate access to the clinical facts. For this reason he is ultimately in favour of a psychoanalytic theory that adheres as closely as possible to clinical work, assuming that this can occur without a fundamental metapsychology as a framework (AU)

A neuroscience agenda for counseling psychology research.

Recent advances in the field of neuroscience have dramatically changed our understanding of brain-behavior relationships. In this article, we illustrate how neuroscience can provide a conceptual and methodological framework to understand our clients within a transdiagnostic developmental perspective. We provide directions for integrating neuroscience into future process and outcome research. We present examples on how neuroscience can be integrated into researching the effects of contextual counseling interventions. We posit that interpersonal and environmental factors, such as neurotoxic factors (e.g., emotional neglect, stress), positive neurodevelopmental factors (e.g., nurturing and caring, environmental enrichment), and therapeutic interventions influence psychological processes (executive control, behavioral flexibility, reinforcement learning and approach motivation, emotional expression and regulation, self-representation and theory of mind). These psychological processes influence brain networks (attention, motivational, emotional regulation, social cognition), which influence cognitive, social, emotional, identity, and vocational development.

The Human Brain Project: social and ethical challenges.

Focusing on the Human Brain Project, I discuss some social and ethical challenges raised by such programs of research: the possibility of a unified knowledge of "the brain," balancing privacy and the public good, dilemmas of "dual use," brain-computer interfaces, and "responsible research and innovation" in governance of emerging technologies.