Anxiety, Gambling Activity, and Neurocognition: a Dimensional Approach to a non-Treatment-Seeking Sample

Author(s): Gustavo C. Mederios,Daniela G. Sampaio,Eric W. Leppink,Samuel R. Chamberlain,Jon E. Grant / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2016

Previous analyses have highlighted significant associations between gambling disorder (GD)/ subsyndromal GD and increased rates of anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders relative to the general population. However, less is known about how anxiety symptoms influence the clinical presentation of gambling problems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between anxiety symptoms, gambling activity, and neurocognition across the spectrum of gambling behavior. Methods: The sample consisted of 143 non-treatmentseeking young adults (aged 18–29 years), in which 63 individuals (44.1%) were classified as recreational gamblers, 47 (32.9%) as having subsyndromal GD, and 33 (23.1%) met criteria for GD. Results: The main findings were: (a) there was a positive correlation between anxiety severity and gambling severity measured by the number of DSM- 5 GD criteria met; (b) there was a positive correlation between anxiety severity and attentional impulsiveness; (c) subjects with suicidality presented higher levels of anxiety; and (d) the severity of anxiety symptoms was negatively correlated with the quality of life. Discussion and conclusions: This study suggests that anxiety may be associated with relevant clinical variables in the broad spectrum of gambling activity. Therefore, proper management of anxiety symptoms might improve the clinical presentation of gamblers in different areas.

APHASIA FROM THE PRECLASSIC TO THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD

Author(s): Réka Incze (Kutasi) / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 13/2018

Defined as a language impairment, the study of aphasia encompasses a long period of time, starting with the discovery of the Edwin Smith Papirus, and up to the present moment when it is intensely studied by researchers from almost all over the world. As the study of aphasia is so widespread, I believe it is appropriate to highlight some interesting and useful facts about the first studies conducted by researchers, their findings as well as the new discoveries from the contemporary period. The aim of the present paper is to exhibit the most important discoveries and to highlight the most interesting facts regarding aphasia of each period.

APHASIA IN BILINGUAL INDIVIDUALS

Author(s): Réka Incze (Kutasi) / Language(s): English / Issue: 12/2017

Nowadays most of us speak more than one language. We all use language in order to communicate with others. Damage to the brain due to certain neurological disorders, such as stroke, can lead to language impairment defined as aphasia. A lot of studies were performed with reference to the mechanisms involved in language production in case of monolingual aphasic patients but little attention was attributed to bilingualism in cognitive neuropsychology research. Due to the language differences that frequently appear as a result of this disorder, it is vital to perform speech-language evaluation in each of the languages the patient is proficient in, as these can distinctively be affected thus, testing only one language cannot evaluate the severity of the impairment. Understanding language organization and processing in bilingual aphasic speakers is important for the understanding of the structure and function of bilingual speech in people who do not suffer from any kind of language impairment.

Artikulacijsko-fonološke sposobnosti djece s cerebralnom paralizom

Author(s): Emica Farago,Draženka Blaži,Martina Vukovic Ogrizek / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 1/2016

The goal of this research was to examine and compare articulation and phonological abilities in children with cerebral palsy and their typically developing peers. An examination was conducted on a sample of 15 children with cerebral palsy and 15 typically developing children. The two groups were equalized by gender and age. The measuring instruments used were the Articulation Test and phonological ability tasks. The data were analysed using the robust discriminative analysis, t-test, chi-square test, as well as the Cohran-Cox test. The results showed a signifycant statistical difference in articulation and phonological abilities between children with cerebral palsy and typically developing children. The difference between the groups is for the most part due to the variables deletion of consonants and number of articulation errors. The variables first voice segregation, phonemic analysis, and rhyme searching are also signifi cant in creating this discriminant function. The results also confirm statistical differences in articulation and phonological abilities that are related to the type of cerebral palsy. A group of children with a spastic type of cerebral palsy was more successful in phoneme analysis, syllable analysis, consonant deletion tasks, and rhyme searching tasks. They also had better articulation abilities.

Association between maladaptive sleep hygiene behaviors and sleep quality in the general population

Author(s): Clara Sancho-Domingo,José Luis Carballo,Ainhoa Coloma-Carmona,,Jesús Rodríguez-Marín / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

Prevalence of sleep problems has grown globally in recent years and sleep hygiene recommendations have shown inconsistent results. This study aims to analyze the quality of sleep in a non-clinical population and its association with maladaptive sleep hygiene. A total of 465 participants, with median age of 35 years (Interquartile range – IQR =28–44), completed the Sleep Hygiene Practices Scale (SHPS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Sample was divided into good quality sleepers (GQS; 52.7%, n = 245) and poor quality sleepers (PQS; 47.3%, n = 220). Comparison tests showed PQS had significant higher scores on SHPS (M = 61; IQR = 55–68, p < .01) compared with GQS (M = 68; IQR = 62–74). A logistic regression model indicated that only cognitive-arousal behaviors and inconsistent bedtimes were significant to classify poor sleep (R2 = .35; p < .01). In conclusion, poor sleep quality is common among healthy individuals and strongly associated with pre-sleep cognitive activity. This suggests that interventions aiming to improve sleep quality should consider strategies that would retract attention from concerns and worries at bedtime.

Atlas poznawczy: w stronę fundamentów wiedzy w neurokognitywistyce

Author(s): Russell A. Poldrack,Aniket Kittur,Donald Kalar,Eric Miller,Christian Seppa,Yolanda Gil,D. Stott Parker,Fred W. Sabb,Robert M. Bilder / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2016

Cognitive neuroscience aims to map mental processes onto brain function, which begs the question of what “mental processes” exist and how they relate to the tasks that are used to manipulate and measure them. This topic has been addressed informally in prior work, but we propose that cumulative progress in cognitive neuroscience requires a more systematic approach to representing the mental entities that are being mapped to brain function and the tasks used to manipulate and measure mental processes. We describe a new open collaborative project that aims to provide a knowledge base for cognitive neuroscience, called the Cognitive Atlas (accessible online at http://www.cognitiveatlas.org), and outline how this project has the potential to drive novel discoveries about both mind and brain.

Atmintis ir mokymas

Author(s): Dileta Jatautaite / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 7/2000

The present work indicates that changes in the study of memory continue at a rapid rate, perhaps exponentialy, but the basic structure of human's memory is always constant. we know that memory actually is not such an entity at all, but rather an aspect of the functioning of a complex information processing system. Items of information-words, propositions- are fed into the system and, in a sense, are later retrieved. However, we have no reason to think that between input and output the words or propositions are stored in specific locations somewhere in the head.

Attentional Bias in Excessive Internet Gamers: Experimental Investigations Using an Addiction Stroop and a Visual Probe

Author(s): Franziska Jeromin,Nele Nyenhuis,Antonia Barke / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Internet Gaming Disorder is included in the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th edition) as a disorder that merits further research. The diagnostic criteria are based on those for Substance Use Disorder and Gambling Disorder. Excessive gamblers and persons with Substance Use Disorder show attentional biases towards stimuli related to their addictions. We investigated whether excessive Internet gamers show a similar attentional bias, by using two established experimental paradigms. Methods: We measured reaction times of excessive Internet gamers and non-gamers (N = 51, 23.7 ± 2.7 years) by using an addiction Stroop with computer-related and neutral words, as well as a visual probe with computer-related and neutral pictures. Mixed design analyses of variance with the between-subjects factor group (gamer/non-gamer) and the within-subjects factor stimulus type (computer-related/neutral) were calculated for the reaction times as well as for valence and familiarity ratings of the stimulus material. Results: In the addiction Stroop, an interaction for group × word type was found: Only gamers showed longer reaction times to computer-related words compared to neutral words, thus exhibiting an attentional bias. In the visual probe, no differences in reaction time between computer-related and neutral pictures were found in either group, but the gamers were faster overall. Conclusions: An attentional bias towards computer-related stimuli was found in excessive Internet gamers, by using an addiction Stroop but not by using a visual probe. A possible explanation for the discrepancy could lie in the fact that the visual probe may have been too easy for the gamers.

Attentional Networks and Biological Motion

Author(s): Chandramouli Chandrasekaran,Lucy Turner,Heinrich H. Bülthoff,Ian M. Thornton / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2010

Our ability to see meaningful actions when presented with point-light traces of human movement is commonly referred to as the perception of biological motion. While traditional explanations have emphasized the spontaneous and automatic nature of this ability, more recent findings suggest that attention may play a larger role than is typically assumed. In two studies we show that the speed and accuracy of responding to point-light stimuli is highly correlated with the ability to control selective attention. In our first experiment we measured thresholds for determining the walking direction of a masked point-light figure, and performance on a range of attention-related tasks in the same set of observers. Mask-density thresholds for the direction discrimination task varied quite considerably from observer to observer and this variation was highly correlated with performance on both Stroop and flanker interference tasks. Other components of attention, such as orienting, alerting and visual search efficiency, showed no such relationship. In a second experiment, we examined the relationship between the ability to determine the orientation of unmasked point-light actions and Stroop interference, again finding a strong correlation. Our results are consistent with previous research suggesting that biological motion processing may requite attention, and specifically implicate networks of attention related to executive control and selection.

Az internetfüggőség pszichiátriája

Author(s): István Boncz / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 12/2012

Bayesian inference, predictive coding and delusions

Author(s): Rick A. Adams,Harriet R. Brown,Karl John Friston / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2014

This paper considers psychotic symptoms in terms of false inferences or beliefs. It is based on the notion that the brain is an organ of inference that actively constructs hypotheses to explain or predict its sensations. This perspective provides a normative (Bayes optimal) account of action and perception that emphasises probabilistic representations; in particular, the confidence or precision of beliefs about the world. We consider sensory attenuation deficits, catatonia and delusions as various expressions of the same core pathology: namely, an aberrant encoding of precision in a predictive coding hierarchy. In predictive coding, precision is thought to be encoded by the postsynaptic gain of neurons reporting prediction error. This suggests that both pervasive trait abnormalities and florid failures of inference in the psychotic state can be linked to factors controlling postsynaptic gain—such as NMDA receptor function and (dopaminergic) neuromodulation. We illustrate these points using a biologically plausible simulation of attribution of agency—showing how a reduction in the precision of prior beliefs, relative to sensory evidence, can lead to false inference.

Being her own biographer – Su Meck’s memoir I Forgot to Remember and the fallibility of memory from the perspective of neuroscience and cognitive psychology

Author(s): Anita Jarczok / Language(s): English / Issue: 28/2017

Su Meck’s memoir relates her loss of memory as a result of the brain injury that she suffered when a kitchen fan fell on her head. Meck never recovered her memories from before the incident, and for some time after it she was also unable to form any new memories. In this dramatic account of the loss of memory, Meck tries to understand her experiences and to rebuild her sense of self. I describe the dire consequences of such a total memory failure, especially to our sense of self. However, I also argue that this memoir is about the fallibility of memory in general, not only in such an extreme case as the brain injury. Trying to reconstruct her story, Meck discovers that others have either incomplete or conflicting stories to tell her. I Forgot to Remember brings the transient and biased nature of our own memories into sharp focus. However, Meck’s narrative not only exposes the limitation of our memory and highlights its importance to our sense of self but also brings to light the fluid boundaries of various life writing genres and reveals the pitfalls of placing too much emphasis on memory in relation to self.

BELA JULESZ AND “SCIENTIFIC BILINGUALISM”

Author(s): Ilona Kovács / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2006

Béla Julesz (1928–2003), known for his work in depth perception and pattern recognition, was an inspirational master to a whole generation of neuroscientists. He developed new techniques (involving computer-generated random-dot stereograms, cinematograms, and textures) that led to a new field of perceptual research called “early vision”. Julesz often emphasized the importance of “scientific bilingualism” in the creative process.

Between emotion, imagination and cognition: Play as a hybrid neuro-evolutionary concept in bridging Saussure, Hegel and Alexander von Humboldt

Author(s): Jui-Pi Chien / Language(s): English / Issue: 2-3/2015

This study seeks to discover hidden links between Saussure’s Third Course of Lectures on General Linguistics, Hegel’s Introductory Lectures on Aesthetics / Philosophy of Mind and Alexander von Humboldt’s Cosmos. To begin with, the notion of play is employed to examine the interplay between our emotion, imagination and cognition, and to examine how such a composite of faculties serves to unify conceptualizations of communicationmodelling systems, philosophical hermeneutics and moral psychology in our times. At discovering a certain future-oriented and symbiotic scheme of time implied in these theories, the inquiry moves on to engage with certain perspectives on the evolution of our verbal and nonverbal capacities.

Bildung der Sinne

Author(s): Ewa Przybylska,Ekkehard Nuissl / Language(s): German / Issue: 3 (16)/2016

The subject of the article boils down to the issue of sensory perception in the context of cultural education. At the centre of interest there is the question whether and to what extent, cultural education may or should have the aim of supporting the development of individual’s aesthetic competencies. Cultural education is identified by the authors with aesthetic education which forms aestheticism, shapes human personality and supports his ability of self-realisation through arousing his intellectual and emotional creative skills; in other words: competencies of participating in symbolic culture. It is about the sensory perception of the outside world which is simultaneously an internal process guiding a human being in understanding the world and himself. The senses, as the main instruments of cultural and aesthetic development, make the perceiving subject able to act in different social contexts; he is not only able to distinguish beauty from ugliness, but also, and most of all, has an capability of surviving and finding fulfilment in social world as well as actively participating in symbolic culture. The authors refer to synaesthesia phenomenon, that is, simultaneous perception by different senses. There is no object perceived through the senses which would not induce experiences specific for several senses at once. The phenomenon of synaesthesia is another argument for a holistic approach of cultural education to the subject engaged in the act of perception considering all the senses and synaptic connections thanks to which the brain is able to perform cognitive operations as perceiving and thinking. Simultaneously, synaesthesia is a challenge to cultural education. According to the authors, the objective of cultural education is not so much supporting reception of broadly taken products of culture but rather aesthetic sensitizing and sharpening of senses. A decisive power is not attributed to knowledge of artefacts of culture but to the competence of their perception and understanding. Thus the need of education of senses as instruments of perception is a main field of cultural education.

Bilinçli Farkındalık ile Psikolojik Kırılganlık İlişkisinde Utangaçlığın Aracı Rolü

Author(s): Mehmet Sariçali,Seydi Ahmet Satici / Language(s): Turkish / Issue: 1/2017

The current study was designed to investigated the mediating role of shyness on the associated between mindfulness and psychological vulnerability in Turkish university students. The participants were 299 [176(59%) females, 123(41%) males] volunteer university students who completed a questionnaire package that included Turkish versions of Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, the Psychological Vulnerability Scale, the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale. The theoretical model was tested using a two-step structural equation modeling and bootstrapping procedure. The results indicated that mindfulness was negatively associated with shyness psychological vulnerability and that shyness positively associated with psychological vulnerability. After the confirmed measurement model, the structural equation modeling revealed that shyness partially mediated the role of mindfulness on psychological vulnerability. Moreover, bootstrapping procedure confirmed that mindfulness was indirectly associated with psychological vulnerability through shyness. The findings highlight that the importance of mindfulness in decreasing perceptions of shyness and decreasing psychological vulnerability.

Biologia czy kultura mózgu. W poszukiwaniu uwarunkowań działalności edukacyjnej

Author(s): Renata Michalak / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 2/2016

An unusual flowering neuroscience is perceived in many scientific areas and education also. The scientific disciplines such as neuro-pedagogic, neuroteaching or neuroprogramming are trying to use the data of neuroscience in optimizing educational process for children, teenagers,and adults. Improving the functions of human brain and maintaining its cognitive capacity are very important and attractive activities for both researchers and practitioners of education, now. However, it will not be possible without a good knowledge of the basics and the determinants of development of brain. This article presents neurobiological and cultural context of programming of educational process.

Bipolar Spectrum Disorders in a Clinical Sample of Patients With Internet Addiction: Hidden Comorbidity or Differential Diagnosis?

Author(s): Klaus Wölfling,Manfred E. Beutel,Michael Dreier,Kai W. Müller / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Behavioral addictions and bipolar disorders have a certain probability of co-occurrence. While the presence of a manic episode has been defined as an exclusion criterion for gambling disorder, no such exclusion has been formulated for Internet addiction. Methods: A clinical sample of 368 treatment seekers presenting with excessive to addictive Internet use was screened for bipolar spectrum disorders using the Mood Disorder Questionnaire. Psychopathology was assessed by the Symptom Checklist 90R and a clinical interview was administered to screen for comorbid disorders. Results: Comorbid bipolar disorders were more frequent in patients meeting criteria for Internet addiction (30.9%) than among the excessive users (5.6%). This subgroup showed heightened psychopathological symptoms, including substance use disorders, affective disorders and personality disorders. Further differences were found regarding frequency of Internet use regarding social networking sites and online-pornography. Discussion: Patients with Internet addiction have a heightened probability for meeting criteria of bipolar disorders. It is not possible to draw conclusions regarding the direction of this association but it is recommended to implement screening for bipolar disorders in patients presenting with Internet addiction. Conclusion: Similar to gambling disorder, it might prove necessary to subsume bipolar disorders as an exclusion criterion for the future criteria of Internet addiction.

Book Reviews

Author(s): Virág Márta,Tamás Kollár / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

The review of: -„Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind (International student edition) (4th ed.)“ by Michael S. Gazzaniga, Richard B. Ivry and George R. Mangun; New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013, 752 pp. ISBN: 978-0-3939-2228-8 -„The Neurobiology of Addiction“ by Trevor W. Robbins, Barry J. Everitt and David J. Nutt; Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2010, 318 pp. ISBN: 978-0-1995-6215-2

Book Reviews

Author(s): Attila Szabó,Edina Szabó / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2015

The reviews of: -“Handbook on psychopathy and law” by Kent A. Kiehl and Walter P. Sinnott-Armstrong (Eds.); New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2013, 395 pp. ISBN: 978-0-1998-4138-7 -“The truth about exercise addiction–Understanding the dark side of thinspiration” by Katherine Schreiber and Heather A. Hausenblas; Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Inc., Lanham, Maryland, 2015, 239 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4422-3329-4