Operant and classical learning principles underlying mind-body interaction in pain modulation: a pilot fMRI study.

The operant conditioning has been less studied than the classical conditioning as a mechanism of placebo-like effect, and two distinct learning mechanisms have never been compared to each other in terms of their neural activities. Twenty-one participants completed cue-learning based pain rating tasks while their brain responses were measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. After choosing (instrumental) or viewing (classical) one of three predictive cues (low- and high-pain cues with different level of certainty), they received painful stimuli according to the selected cues. Participants completed the same task during the test session, except that they received only a high pain stimulus regardless of the selected cues to identify the effects of two learning paradigms. While receiving a high pain stimulation, low-pain cue significantly reduced pain ratings compared to high-pain cue, and the overall ratings were significantly lower under operant than under classical conditioning. Operant behavior activated the temporoparietal junction significantly more than the passive behavior did, and neural activity in the primary somatosensory cortex was significantly reduced during pain in instrumental as compared with classical conditioning trials. The results suggest that pain modulation can be induced by classical and operant conditioning, and mechanisms of attention and context change are involved in instrumental learning.

[Eyes and gaze: Proverbs and expressions]. / Des yeux et du regard : proverbes et expressions.

The eyes and the gaze participate in a major way in our non-verbal language, even before the verb appeared. From the Bible to contemporary language, through Greek mythology, theater, literature or spoken language, a multitude of expressions and proverbs present the eye, what it sees and what it symbolizes.

TITLE: Des yeux et du regard : proverbes et expressions. ABSTRACT: Les yeux et le regard participent de façon majeure à notre langage non verbal, avant même l'apparition du verbe. Depuis la Bible jusqu'au langage contemporain, en passant par la mythologie grecque, le théâtre, la littérature ou le langage parlé, une multitude d'expressions et de proverbes mettent en scène l'œil, ce qu'il voit et ce qu'il symbolise. Cet article parcourt les champs sémantiques de l'œil et du regard, leur évolution dans le temps, et leur étonnante richesse. En définitive, une revue de notre humanité.

Collaborative dialogue between Buddhism and science: A contribution to expanding a science of consciousness.

Investigation of consciousness (experience, mind, awareness, subjectivity) has become an accepted endeavor in contemporary neuroscience. However, current work is largely limited to study of neural correlates of consciousness. While this is interesting and important, it may not be sufficient to carry us to a place of truly new insight regarding consciousness. I argue that one element of expanding a science of consciousness is appreciation of the interdependent co-creation or enfolding of mind and world. Addressing this interdependence is an aspect of the collaborative engagement of the traditions of Buddhism and science-a project that is exploring how complementary worldviews and analytic procedures might further the development of an expanded science of mind. In this essay, written for a collection honoring the life and work of Jack Pettigrew, I describe his connection to this project.

Psychosomatic Approach to Job's Body and Mind: Based on Somatic Symptom Disorder.

This essay will indicate how Job's body parts and sensibility denote his cognitive dissonance and mental turmoil and will show that irrelevant to the physical suffering of the Adversary (2:7); Job is experiencing a sort of "somatic symptom disorder" which means that persons focus on physical symptoms such as fatigue, fragility, and pain according to their particular cognitive schematic in terms of property loss, extreme anxiety, and the absence of God that lead them to chief anguish and agony in their daily lives. The interrelationship between body and mind of Job plays a central role in resisting the retribution principle of Job's friends and in doubting the justice of God.

The effect of mind-body and aerobic exercise on negative symptoms in schizophrenia: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effects of different types of physical exercise (PE) on negative symptoms in schizophrenia patients. Mind-body exercise (MBE), aerobic exercise (AE) and resistance training (RT) will be investigated. METHOD: The Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase and PsycINFO were searched from their inception until April 26, 2018. Randomized controlled trials comparing PE with any control group in patients with schizophrenia were included when negative symptoms had been assessed. This meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias assessment tool. Moderator, sensitivity, and meta regression analyses were conducted to explore causes of heterogeneity and impact of study quality. RESULTS: We included 22 studies (N = 1249). The overall methodological quality was poor. The meta-analysis (random effects model) showed a medium significant effect in favor of any PE intervention (Hedges' g = 0.434, 95% CI = 0.196-0.671) versus any control condition. MBE and AE respectively showed a medium significant effect (Hedges' g = 0.461) and a small significant effect (Hedges' g = 0.341) versus any control condition. The effect of RT could not be examined. The overall heterogeneity was high (I2 = 76%) and could not be reduced with moderator or sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis demonstrated that PE could be a promising intervention in the treatment of negative symptoms. However, the quality of the included studies was low and heterogeneity was high, which makes it impossible to make a clear recommendation. Therefore, results should be interpreted with care.

Mindreading abilities and borderline personality disorder: A comprehensive assessment using the Theory of Mind Assessment Scale.

Numerous studies have examined mindreading in borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, the empirical data obtained to date have not facilitated the development of a clear clinical profile of mindreading impairment in BPD due to a lack of consistency or incongruence across studies. One possible explanation for these inconsistencies and divergences in the current literature may lie in the multidimensional character of the mindreading construct; moreover, the heterogeneity of the experimental measures used to assess individuals with BPD mindreading skills may also need to be taken into account. The aim of the present study is to investigate mindreading skills and impairments in patients with BPD through direct comparison of a wide range of mindreading dimensions using a comprehensive semistructured interview, the Theory of Mind Assessment Scale (Th.o.m.a.s.) (Bosco et al., 2009). Our results show that the performance of patients with BPD differs from that of healthy controls only in certain specific dimensions of mindreading. The difficulties encountered by the patients with BPD typically emerge when mindreading tasks require them to disentangle their own subjective mindreading from that of another person, in other words, when they were required to assume an allocentric perspective.

Epilepsy, identity, and the experience of the body.

Living with a chronic condition can challenge a person's identity, yet there is a paucity of research exploring this experience for people with epilepsy and particularly for those diagnosed in adulthood. Consequently, through an interpretative phenomenological approach, the current study aimed to explore what the experience of adult-onset epilepsy meant for a person's identity. Thirty-nine people with adult-onset epilepsy from across the UK took part in up to two semi-structured interviews. A modified form of interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted and identified three themes: 1) disarming the impact of seizures considered strategies used to control seizure occurrence and regain a sense of control over the body; 2) distinguishing the self from the body highlighted participants' attempts to separate their sense of self from the unpredictability of their bodies; 3) separating epilepsy from themselves demonstrated how participants externalized epilepsy from themselves in order to reject it as part of their identity. The findings highlighted that living with adult-onset epilepsy can challenge a person's sense of self and trust in their body, resulting in the adoption of various strategies to manage the threat to their identity. As such, practitioners must pay attention to the impact that adult-onset epilepsy can have on a person's identity and faith in their body.

Acute and long-term mental and physical sequelae in the aftermath of traumatic exposure - some remarks on "the body keeps the score".

Traumata, by definition, refer to exterior events that expose a person to experiences of overwhelming threat and catastrophe and elicit feelings of death anxiety, panic, horror, helplessness, loss of personal control, and intractability. Most affected persons respond with at least some distressing symptoms of trauma-related memory intrusions, autonomic hyperarousal, dissociation, and depression in the acute aftermath. Fortunately, the majority of traumatized individuals succeed in coping with this major stress quite well during the following weeks and months unless the process of recovery is hampered by additional adverse psychosocial circumstances, psychological disposition or biological vulnerability. In a subgroup of persons a transition to acute and posttraumatic stress disorder or other major psychiatric disorders, e.g. depressive, anxiety, substance-related disorders may be observed. Posttraumatic stress disorders very often run a chronic course of illness enduring for many years or even life-long. The typical course of illness in PTSD is characterized not only by major psychiatric comorbidities contributing to a dramatically reduced health-related quality of life, to many deficits of psychosocial adaptation and a heightened suicide risk. It is also associated with a lot of major somatic health problems both in acute and long-term stages. The main focus here is on this special dimension of physical comorbidities in posttraumatic disorders. Empirical evidence underscores that trauma exposure, and in particular PTSD is significantly associated with major physical health problems in addition to well-known PTSD-related psychological, behavioural, and psychosocial impairments. Both self-report-based and objective assessments emphasized significantly increased rates of somatoform/functional syndromes and physical comorbidities, premature all-cause and specific mortality rates, heightened medical utilization behaviours, major socioeconomic costs, and reduced health-related quality of life in the aftermath of trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorders, thus defining a major challenge to any medical care system. Complex psycho-behavioural-somatic and somato-psycho-behavioural models are needed to better understand both acute and long-term effects of a perpetuating stress system on physical health.

The mind-body Cartesian dualism and psychiatry.

The French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650) argued that the natures of mind and body are completely different from one another and that each could exist by itself. How can these two structures with different natures causally interact in order to give rise to a human being with voluntary bodily motions and sensations? Even today, the problem of mind-body causal interaction remains a matter of debate.

Historical epistemology of the body-mind interaction in psychiatry.

This paper deals with the history of the relationship between the mind-body dualism and the epistemology of madness. Earlier versions of such dualism posed little problem in regard to the manner of their communication. The Cartesian view that mind and body did, in fact, name different substances introduced a problem of incommunicability that is yet to be resolved. Earlier views that madness may be related to changes in the brain began gaining empirical support during the 17th century. Writers on madness chose to resolve the mind-body problem differently Some stated that such communication was not needed; others, that mind was a redundant concept, as madness could be fully explained by structural changes in the brain; and yet others described psychological spaces for madness to inhabit as a symbolic conflict. The epistemology of the neurosciences bypasses the conundrum, as it processes all together the variables representing the brain, subjectivity, and behavior and bridges the "philosophical" gap by means of correlational structures.

Este artículo aborda la historia de la relación entre el dualismo mente-cuerpo y la epistemología de la locura. Las primeras versiones de dicho dualismo plantearon poco problema en relación a la manera en que ellas se comunicaban. La perspectiva cartesiana de que el cuerpo y la mente designan, de hecho, diferentes contenidos introdujo un problema de incomunicabilidad que aún no se ha resuelto. Durante el siglo XVII comenzaron a aparecer los datos empíricos que dieron sustento a los primeros planteamientos acerca de la relación entre la locura y los cambios cerebrales. Autores interesados en la locura decidieron resolver de diferente manera el problema mente-cuerpo. Algunos plantearon que dicha comunicación no era necesaria; otros, que la mente era un concepto redundante, ya que la locura podría explicarse totalmente por cambios estructurales del cerebro. Incluso, otros autores describieron espacios psicológicos para que la locura habitara como un conflicto simbólico. La epistemología de las neurociencias evita el enigma, al procesar juntas todas las variables que representan el cerebro, la subjetividad y las conductas, y une el hiato "filosófico" por medio de estructuras que se correlacionan.

Cet article traite de l'histoire des relations entre la dualité corps-esprit et l'épistémologie de la folie. Les versions antérieures d'une telle dualité ne posent guère de problème quant à leur façon de communiquer. L'idée cartésienne que le corps et l'esprit désignent, en fait, différents contenus, a mis en place un problème d'incommunicabilité qui n'est pas encore résolu. Au XVIIe siècle, des données empiriques ont soutenu l'existence d'un lien entre les maladies mentales et des modifications du cerveau. Des auteurs s'intéressant à la folie ont choisi de résoudre différemment le problème corps-esprit. Certains ont trouvé qu'une telle communication n'était pas nécessaire ; d'autres, que l'esprit est un concept redondant, les troubles mentaux pouvant être complètement expliqués par des changements structurels du cerveau ; et d'autres encore ont décrit l'espace psychologique de la folie comme un conflit symbolique. L'épistémologie des neurosciences contourne le dilemme en traitant ensemble toutes les variables représentant le cerveau, la subjectivité et le comportement et comble le vide « philosophique ¼ par des structures en corrélation.

Integrative body-mind-spirit intervention for concurrent sleep and mood disturbances: sleep-specific daytime functioning mediates sleep and mood improvements.

Sleep disturbances and depressive symptoms are associated closely with daytime dysfunctions, yet few studies have investigated their temporal relationship in a randomized controlled trial. We investigated the inter-relationships among sleep, depressive symptoms and daytime functioning following an integrative body-mind-spirit (I-BMS) intervention. One hundred and eighty-five participants (mean age 55.28 years, 75.1% female) with co-existing sleep and depressive symptoms were randomized to I-BMS or waiting-list. Daytime functioning variables included the daytime dysfunction items of the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-day), Somatic Symptom Inventory, Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale and Short Form Health Survey collected at baseline, post-treatment and 3-month follow-up. Sleep and depressive symptoms were measured by the sleep items of the PSQI (PSQI-night) and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (excluding the sleep item) (CESD-M). Regression and path analyses were used to understand the role of daytime functioning in sleep and depressive symptoms. We found significant group and time effects on almost all daytime variables and significant group × time interactions on PSQI-day and somatic symptoms. The adjusted regression model showed that CESD-M was associated with all daytime variables. However, PSQI-night was associated only with PSQI-day. Path analyses indicated that PSQI-day bridged PSQI-night and CESD-M in a two-way direction after the I-BMS intervention. The conclusion was that, following I-BMS intervention, improvement in daytime functioning was related predominantly to improvement in depressive symptoms. Night-time sleep related only to daytime dysfunction that was specific to sleep disturbances. Therefore, 'sleep-specific daytime impairment' could be regarded as a major link from night-time sleep to depressive symptoms. More studies are required to understand the concept of 'sleep-specific daytime impairment'.

Physiological and psychological correlates of attention-related body sensations (tingling and warmth).

Body sensations play an essential role in the subjective evaluation of our physical health, illness, and healing. They are impacted by peripheral somatic and external processes, but they are also heavily modulated by mental processes, e.g., attention, motor control, and emotion. Body sensations, such as tingling, numbness, pulse, and warmth, can emerge due to simply focusing attention on a body part. It is however an open question, if these sensations are connected with actual peripheral changes or happen "only in the mind." Here, we first tested whether the intensity of such attention-related body sensations is related to autonomic and somatomotor physiological processes and to psychological traits. In this study, attention-related body sensations were not significantly connected to changes in physiology, except warmth sensation, which was linked to decrease in muscle tension. Overall intensity of tingling significantly correlated with body awareness and tendentiously with body-mind practice. This strengthened the hypothesis that attention-related body sensations are more the result of top-down functions, and the connection with peripheral processes is weak. Here, we suggested a novel protocol to examine the effect of manipulating attention on body sensations, which together with our results and discussion can inspire future researches.

¿Puede explicarse la conciencia? Sobre la relación mente-cerebro / No disponible

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¿Puede explicarse la conciencia? Sobre la relación mente-cerebro. Respuesta / No disponible

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The interrelationship between sleep and depression: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial on mind-body-spirit intervention.

OBJECTIVES: To conduct a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that aims to understand the mediating effects embedded in a mind-body-spirit intervention for sleep and mood disturbances. METHODS: 126 adults with mild to moderate depression and subjective sleep disturbance, defined as Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) scores from 10 to 34 and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score > 5, participated in a waitlist-controlled RCT of an integrative mind-body-spirit intervention (I-BMS). Holistic well-being scale (HWS), a measure of the state of affliction and equanimity in mind, body and spirit, was included as a possible mediator. Data was collected at baseline and three-month follow-up. Mediation analyses were adopted to examine the pathways leading to sleep and mood improvements. RESULTS: After adjustments of baseline severities, changes in depressive symptoms partially mediated the effect of I-BMS on nighttime symptoms of insomnia (95% CI: 0.12-0.96), while exerting a full mediating effect on daytime symptoms of insomnia (95% CI: 0.14-0.64). The effect of I-BMS on mood was mediated by daytime symptoms of insomnia and spiritual orientation, but not by nighttime symptoms of insomnia (95% CI: 0.93-4.62). CONCLUSION: A bidirectional relationship was found between sleep disturbances and depressive symptoms following a mind-body-spirit intervention. The relationship between daytime symptoms and depressive symptoms was especially strong. Of the HWS variables, spiritual orientation was the only significant mediator of mood improvement following I-BMS. Our findings suggest that efforts to optimize the treatment of comorbid sleep disturbances and depression are needed, especially the treatment of daytime impairments along with sleep and mood disruptions.

Research on Experiences Related to the Possibility of Consciousness Beyond the Brain: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Scientific Output.

This study aims to conduct a search of publications investigating experiences commonly associated with the possibility of the existence of a consciousness independent of the brain held on the main scientific databases (Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, Science Direct, and Scopus). Of the 9065 articles retrieved, 1954 were included (598 near-death experiences, 223 out-of-body experiences, 56 end-of-life experiences, 224 possession, 244 memories suggestive of past lives, 565 mediumship, 44 others). Over the decades, there was an evident increase in the number of articles on all the areas of the field, with the exception of studies on mediumship that showed a decline during the late 20th century and subsequent rise in the early 21st century. Regarding the types of articles found, with the exception of past-life memories and end-of-life experiences (mostly original studies), publications were predominantly review articles. The articles were published in journals with an impact factor similar to other areas of science.

Self-Healing and Self-Care for Nurses.

The potential effects of self-care techniques to increase nurses' effectiveness and influence positive patient care outcomes have often been underestimated. Today, nurses experience increased stress as a result of more work hours and greater patient loads. Research studies demonstrate the value to an organization and to individuals of educating nurses about self-care. Studies also show that how being aware of individual reaction patterns is vital to learning more effective coping mechanisms. In this article, we discuss the aspects of body, mind, emotions, and spirit as they relate to self-care; present self-care change techniques; and offer some practical self-care exercises. Most self-care skills can be learned and implemented in a short period of time. Nurses are encouraged to experiment with the various techniques to determine the most effective ones for them.

El problema mente-cerebro (I): fundamentos ontoepistemológicos / The mind-brain problem (I): onto-epistemological foundations

Introducción. La ciencia y la filosofía han abordado a lo largo de la historia del pensamiento y desde diferentes perspectivas epistémicas el problema mente-cerebro. La primera de ellas acota áreas específicas de la realidad y construye hipótesis de corto alcance y múltiple conectividad intercientífica con el objetivo de validar modelos teóricos; la segunda extiende su arquitectura sistémica al conjunto de lo real (incluida la actividad científica). Desarrollo. La complejidad del problema mente-cerebro exige generar un vínculo de conexión disciplinar entre la filosofía y la ciencia; nuestros presupuestos ontoepistemológicos se erigen, por lo tanto, en el marco de una filosofía orientada científicamente (filosofía científica). Se defiende el materialismo emergentista como solución filosófico-científica coherente y contrastable en contraposición a otras propuestas desarrolladas desde diferentes modelos ontológicos (por ejemplo, dualismo interaccionista, funcionalismo, teoría de la identidad, epifenomenalismo...). Conclusiones. La respuesta al problema mente-cerebro sólo es factible desde una neurociencia cognitiva fundamentada filosóficamente: el materialismo emergentista -postulado ontológico- afirma que la mente es una propiedad emergente (novedad cualitativa) del cerebro; el realismo científico -postulado epistemológico- sostiene que la neurociencia cognitiva es la herramienta teórico-experimental básica que posibilita el acceso cognoscitivo tanto al cerebro como a sus procesos neurocognitivos. Consideramos que a partir de esta fundamentación filosófica, la neurociencia cognitiva adquiere legitimidad epistémica para acometer el estudio del proceso mental más genuinamente humano: la conciencia (AU)

Introduction. Throughout the history of thought, science and philosophy have addressed the problem of mind-brain from different epistemic perspectives. The first covers specific areas of reality and constructs hypotheses with limited scope and multiple inter-scientific connectivity with the aim of validating theoretical models; the second extends its systemic architecture to all that is real (including scientific activity). Development. The complexity of the mind-brain problem requires the generation of a link connecting the disciplines of philosophy and science; our onto-epistemological presuppositions therefore fall within the framework of a scientifically-oriented philosophy (scientific philosophy). Emergentist materialism is defended as a coherent and verifiable philosophical-scientific solution, as opposed to other proposals developed on the basis of different ontological models (for example, interactionist dualism, functionalism, theory of identity, epiphenomenalism, and so on). Conclusions. An answer to the mind-brain problem is only feasible if based on a philosophically grounded cognitive neuroscience: emergentist materialism -an ontological postulate- holds that the mind is an emergent property (qualitative novelty) of the brain; scientific realism -an epistemological postulate- holds that cognitive neuroscience is the basic theoretical-experimental tool that allows cognitive access to both the brain and its neurocognitive processes. We consider that on the basis of this philosophical reasoning, cognitive neuroscience acquires epistemic legitimacy to be able to undertake the study of the most genuinely human mental process: consciousness (AU)