Hipoteza matczynej odporności jako wyjaśnienie efektu starszych braci

Author(s): Wojciech Oronowicz,Agnieszka Jaśkowiak,Marek Beresiński,Joanna Nerko / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2015

Fraternal firth order (FBO) indicates that a correlation exist between the number of older brothers and the probability of homosexual orientation in men. Up to date, the most plausible explanation of this effect is the maternal immune hypothesis (MIH). According to it, mother produces anti-masculine antibodies that then react with brain receptors in the fetus, making it more likely to become homosexual in future. The side effect could be lowering of birth weight of the sons. However, the results are still inconclusive, because a variety of pregnancy pathologies also affect birth weight. The aim of this review is to indicate areas requiring further studies to confirm MIH, as well as to suggest future research directions. We are convinced that MIH remains plausible explanation of FBO, but requires collecting more empirical data.Efekt starszych braci (efekt starszych braci - fraternal birth order; dalej FBO) wskazuje na istnienie korelacji pomiędzy liczbą starszych braci a orientacją homoseksualną u mężczyzn. Najbardziej prawdopodobnym wyjaśnieniem FBO jest hipoteza matczynej odporności, postulująca występowanie u matki przeciwciał przeciw męskim antygenom płodu. Efektem ubocznym wystąpienia takich przeciwciał mogłaby być mniejsza masa urodzeniowa chłopców. Wnioski płynące z tych badań są jednak trudne do interpretacji, ponieważ mogą być zniekształcone przez rozmaite patologie ciąży. Celem przeglądu jest wskazanie obszarów, które wymagają dalszych badań w celu potwierdzenia hipotezy matczynej odporności oraz możliwych kierunków przyszłych badań. Postulujemy, że hipoteza matczynej odporności jest wiarygodnym wyjaśnieniem efektu starszych braci, jednak wymaga ona szerszego poparcia empirycznego.

Hipoteza artyfikacji i jej znaczenie dla kognitywizmu, neuroestetyki i estetyki ewolucyjnej

Author(s): Ellen Dissanayake / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2015

The artification hypothesis presented in this paper is based on the assumption that small children have the ability not just to persuade other to give them physical safety but also to initiate social bonds and emotional interaction. Thus the interactions between the child and mother are adaptive in their character and as such they were not considered by evolutionary psychologists. The other factor of artification is the ritualization of those interactions. The article delivers many examples of proto aesthetic actions and artifications stressing out also the religious aspect of the phenomenon. The author concludes with the notion that artification and aesthetic agency are adaptive as such and they were just as important in the human evolution as nonverbal information transmission.

METODY NEUROOBRAZOWANIA MÓZGU W BADANIACH PROCESÓW PODEJMOWANIA DECYZJI W ZARZĄDZANIU

Author(s): Agata Wawrzyniak,Barbara Wąsikowska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2016

At the end of forties and the beginning of the fifties of the 20th century the second cognitive revolution took place. It contributed directly to the coming into existence of the cognitive psychology, to the development of neuroscience and the birth of cognitive neuroscience. Then the rapid development of brain neuroimaging methods took place. Economists became interested in the cognitive revolution in the second half of the nineties. New fields of study appeared, such as neuroeconomics, neuromanagement and neuromarketing. The aim of this paper is to introduce to the subject of neuromanagement and to present selected methods of brain neuroimaging applied in management, i.e. functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography.

Gdy coraz trudniej wyrazić siebie i opisać świat. Skala sprawności narracyjnych w diagnozie zaburzeń mowy w otępieniu alzheimerowskim

Author(s): Anna Stanisławska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1 (9)/2017

The review of: “Narracja i jej zaburzenia w otępieniu alzheimerowskim/Narration and its disorders in Alzheimer's dementia” by Aneta Domagała; Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej. Lublin 2015, s. 575

Exploring the Neural Basis of Avatar Identification in Pathological Internet Gamers and of Self-Reflection in Pathological Social Network Users

Author(s): Tagrid Leménager,Julia Dieter,Holger Hill,Sabine Hoffmann,Iris Reinhard,Martin Beutel,Falk Kiefer,Karl Mann,Sabine Vollstädt-Klein / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2016

Internet gaming addiction appears to be related to self-concept deficits and increased angular gyrus (AG)-related identification with one’s avatar. For increased social network use, a few existing studies suggest striatal-related positive social feedback as an underlying factor. However, whether an impaired self-concept and its reward-based compensation through the online presentation of an idealized version of the self are related to pathological social network use has not been investigated yet. We aimed to compare different stages of pathological Internet game and social network use to explore the neural basis of avatar and self-identification in addictive use. Methods: About 19 pathological Internet gamers, 19 pathological social network users, and 19 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while completing a self-retrieval paradigm, asking participants to rate the degree to which various self-concept-related characteristics described their self, ideal, and avatar. Self-conceptrelated characteristics were also psychometrically assessed. Results: Psychometric testing indicated that pathological Internet gamers exhibited higher self-concept deficits generally, whereas pathological social network users exhibit deficits in emotion regulation only. We observed left AG hyperactivations in Internet gamers during avatar reflection and a correlation with symptom severity. Striatal hypoactivations during self-reflection (vs. ideal reflection) were observed in social network users and were correlated with symptom severity. Discussion and conclusion: Internet gaming addiction appears to be linked to increased identification with one’s avatar, evidenced by high left AG activations in pathological Internet gamers. Addiction to social networks seems to be characterized by emotion regulation deficits, reflected by reduced striatal activation during self-reflection compared to during ideal reflection.

Detecting associations between behavioral addictions and dopamine agonists in the Food & Drug Administration’s Adverse Event database

Author(s): Katherine E. Gendreau,Marc N. Potenza / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

Studies have reported higher prevalences of four behavioral addictions (binge eating, compulsive shopping, hypersexuality, and pathological gambling) in dopamine agonist-treated Parkinson’s disease relative to non-dopamine agonist-treated Parkinson’s. However, recent case-control and epidemiological studies suggest that prevalences of behavioral addictions in dopamine agonist-treated Parkinson’s may be similar to background population rates. This study tests that hypothesis by examining the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) for evidence of these associations, taking into account the potential impact of publicity on reporting rates. Methods: FAERS reports in 2004 (pre-publicity for all but pathological gambling) and 2007 (post-publicity for all four behaviors) were analyzed. A threshold consisting of ³3 cases, proportional reporting ratio ³2, and c2 with Yates’ correction ³4 was used to detect signals (drug-associated adverse reactions) involving any of five dopamine agonists and any of four behavioral addictions. Results: No reports containing compulsive shopping and no signal for binge eating and dopamine agonists were found in either year. A weak signal was found for hypersexuality in 2004, with a stronger signal in 2007. A robust signal was found for pathological gambling in 2004, with a more robust signal in 2007. Discussion/Conclusions: These results suggest that publicity may increase reporting rates in the FAERS. Findings for binge eating, compulsive shopping, and hypersexuality suggest that prevalences of these behaviors among those treated with dopamine agonists may be similar to background population rates and thus may not reflect an adverse safety signal. Further investigation of the relationship between dopamine agonists and behavioral addictions is warranted.

Looping effects of neurolaw, and the precarious marriage between neuroscience and the law

Author(s): Toma Strle,Olga Markič / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2018

In the following article we first present the growing trend of incorporating neuroscience into the law, and the growing acceptance of and trust in neuroscience’s mechanistic and reductionistic explanations of the human mind. We then present and discuss some studies that show how nudging peoples’ beliefs about matters related to human agency (such as free will, decision-making, or self-control) towards a more deterministic, mechanistic and/or reductionistic conception, exerts an influence on their very actions, mentality, and brain processes. We suggest that the neuroscientific view of the human mind exerts an influence on the very cognitive phenomena neuroscience falsely believes to be studying objectively. This holds especially when we consider the systematic integration of neuroscience into the public domain, such as the law. For, such an integration acts as a reinforcement of the public’s and legal decision-makers’ endorsement of and trust in neuroscience’s view of human nature that further changes how people think and act. Such looping effects of neurolaw are probably inevitable. Accordingly, we should be aware of the scope of neuroscientific explanations and be careful not to overstate neuroscientific evidence and findings in legal contexts.

An Essay on the Mind-Brain Problem and Legal Proof

Author(s): Drozdstoy St. Stoyanov / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2018

The aim of this paper is to highlight the rationale behind the use of data from neuroscience, particularly neuroimaging, in psychiatric legal expert procedures and their interference with the mind-brain problem. The critical argument is that the employment of mental health evaluation of the defendants and/or witnesses as collected with clinical assessment methods in court proceedings should not be considered irrespective to the data from neuroscience. Essentially, neuroscience methods belong to the domain of nomothetic (natural explanatory) knowledge, whereas clinical evaluation methods in psychiatry belong to the domain of intra- and inter-subjective narratives. There exists an explanatory gap between those two groups of disciplines which concerns the ability to translate and integrate data across diverse methodological and terminological systems. Furthermore, it depends largely on the implicit positions in the mind-brain debate and the brain-to-behavior connections, which reflect on the professional and legal reasoning in terms of prioritizing certain solutions or approaches over another in the expert judgements. There are described those tacit positions adopted in the mind-brain debate by different traditions in psychiatry, with special emphasis on reductive and non-reductive forms of physicalism. In conclusion, a cognitive pluralist stance is adopted which sets priority for the supervenience theory of mind.

Работилница: „Професионалноста и квалитетот на услугите на социјалните работници во службите за ментално здравје“

Author(s): Slavica Šekutkovska / Language(s): Macedonian Issue: 5/2010

The Association of Social Workers in the City of Skopje is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that directs its activities towards developing the professional capacities of social workers and disseminating knowledge that will enable them to keep up to date with the latest achievements and methods of work of the social protection. The activities of the Association are of particular importance for the reason of the problem of the social and economic problems caused by the processes of transition to a market-based and pluralistic oriented society that have led to a number of social problems among the citizens.

Практики на домување кај лицата со интелектуална попреченост: Служби за домување со поддршка во заедницата

Author(s): Vera Dimitrievska / Language(s): Macedonian Issue: 6/2010

Over the course of the late 20th century the so-called “social model” (which views disability as the result of social barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating into the society) arose. This model opposed the previously dominant “medical model” (in which disability is considered as an individual pathology) that had until then underpinned much of service provision for people with disabilities all around the world. Latterly the development of holistic models brought about a global understanding of disability, taking into consideration all dimensions. The development of international legislation on the rights of people with disabilities during the 1970s also accounts for this shift in paradigm from the medical to the social model of disability. Among those, the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities in 1993, presented disability rights as an equal opportunity issue rather than a special needs issue. For South East European countries at various stages of an EU association or accession process, a key legal instrument is the Council of Europe Recommendation No. R (92) 6 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on a Coherent Policy for People with Disabilities. In terms of the financial perspective of these services, the results are shown in many reports for institutional care and community-based services. In all of them is noted there is no evidence, that model of community-based services is rather expensive than care in the institutions. Other studies, note the opposite meaning. Experience shows that simply closing institutions is not, in itself, enough to ensure the social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. In order to achieve real inclusion, an efficient network of quality community-based services must be established, and service standards and monitoring systems must be developed.

People with intellectual and mental disabilities in the social protection system in Serbia between community and institutionalization

Author(s): Dragana Stanković,Miroslav Brkić / Language(s): English Issue: 11/2/2015

The process of deinstitutionalization is one of the directions of the social protection system reform in Serbia that has started at the beginning of the year 2000 and as one of the reform’s priorities is incorporated in strategic documents and laws. In terms of human rights of persons with intellectual and mental disabilities, the institutions, but also society as a whole, show to a great extent insufficient focus and commitment. Compliance with the standards defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by Serbia what makes it legally binding document, has remained just at the level of the governmental formal commitment. Despite legislative changes aimed at protecting the rights of people with intellectual and mental disabilities, the number of those people in the residential institutions is still high. The key assumption of the deinstitutionalization process - development of community-based services, what should ensure getting the necessary support in the natural environment (and prevention of the institutional care as the same time), hasn’t kept the anticipated pace.

Социјална инклузија на децата со интелектуална попреченост и децата со церебрална парализа

Author(s): Natasha Chichevska-Jovanova,Olivera Rašić-Canevska / Language(s): Macedonian Issue: 11/2/2015

The integrity of the personality of a person is the basis of his social status, and therefore without regard to the development of society, the individual leads a permanent battle for his affirmation and existence. The battle of socialization, the process of interaction in which the new member in the social community adopts knowledge, skills, habits, norms, values and other insights necessary for successful integration into the social group or the wider community is much more difficult and longer for persons of varying degrees and kind of disability. The aim of our research was to determine the mutual relations in the family as well as in the environment, with peers, teachers and some personal qualities such as: sociability, dominance and curiosity of children with intellectual disability and children with cerebral palsy. Using causal and descriptive analysis method, Rene Gill's testing technique and test for social and family relationships, sample data compiled of 12 children with cerebral palsy aged 5 to 20 years and 28 children with mild intolerant disability at the age of 7 to 20 years. The data were tabulated and statistically processed using the X-square test. The analysis of the results indicated that the two groups of respondents at a younger age were more attached to the mother, but in the later period the relationship of the boys with the father prevailed and the copying as a model, the other groups noted greater attachment to the teacher. The difference between the groups is noted in the distance and adequate social behavior, in boys with intellectual disability and girls with cerebral palsy there is greater distancing and adequate social behavior. We can conclude that the two groups are not fully adapted to the people and the surrounding environment.

Verbal vs. visual coding in modified mental imagery map exploration task

Author(s): Ivana Ćirović,Sunčica Zdravković / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2011

We modified classical mental exploration task introducing verbal modality. Consequently, we could test robust effects from lexical processing in an attempt to understand whether the underlying mental representation is strictly propositional. In our three experiments, in addition to map modality (visual or verbal), lexical frequency, concreteness and visual frequency were also varied. The symbolic distance effect was replicated, regardless of map modality. Exploration of distances was regularly faster on pictorial maps. Effects of lexical frequency and concreteness were not significant for verbal maps. However, when visual frequency was introduced on pictorial maps both type of frequencies generated measurable effects. Our findings directly contradict the assumptions of propositional theories (1) subjects were faster in the visual modality, which would be difficult to explain if the perceptual code had to be transformed into propositional, (2) word frequency and concreteness did not contribute as would be expected if propositional code were a default.

Aesthetic Experience and the Emotional Content of Paintings

Author(s): Slobodan Marković / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2010

In this study we investigated the relationship between aesthetic experience and other emotional qualities judged in paintings. Aesthetic experience was defined as an exceptional state of mind in which a person is focused on a particular object, transcending its everyday uses and meanings and losing the awareness of surroundings and even of himself/herself. In this state a person has an exceptional emotional experience, that is a feeling of unity with the object. Our basic idea is that aesthetic experience is not reducible to pleasure or a positive hedonic tone, but a person can equally be fascinated with both pleasant and unpleasant objects. In preliminary studies we specified the stimulus set of figural and semi-figural paintings, and a set of descriptors of emotions, feelings and aesthetic experience. Participants judged the paintings on descriptors (seven-point scales). Factor analysis revealed two large factors: the bipolar factor Affective Tone (descriptors on the positive pole: lovely, charming, cheerful, etc; descriptors on the negative pole: scary, disgusting, hateful etc.) and Aesthetic Experience (descriptors: exceptional, profound, unique, etc.). Additional analyses have shown no significant correlation between the two factors. These findings confirmed our idea that aesthetic experience is independent of pleasure or affective attraction, and that it can be induced by both pleasant and unpleasant paintings.

Neki indikatori (ne)uspešnog čitanja

Author(s): Jasmina Vuksanović,Aleksandra Jovanović,Irena Avramović-Ilić,Boban Petrović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 3/2008

In the paper we set the aim to determine whether phonological awareness and short-term verbal memory are indicators of a subsequent reading acquisition. The sample consisted of 194 first graders from two primary schools in Belgrade. The results of our research showed that the most significant indicator of the subsequent (un)successful reading was phonological awareness. The short-term verbal memory is, to a lesser extent, an indicator of the subsequent reading acquisition defined by the time needed for reading the text and by the text comprehension. Our findings offer basis for proposing that the phonological awareness assessment should be implemented into the regular procedure of assessing child’s readiness for school. In this way children in need for preventive stimulation within the inclusive programme in primary schools could be identified.

Hacking the Brain: Duncan Jones’s Source Code

Author(s): Sonia Front / Language(s): English Issue: 28/2017

The paper concentrates on the new representations of human consciousness in digital cinema which reflect contemporary culture’s fixation on the cerebral. As digital cinema’s divorce from the photographic base has allowed to produce virtual worlds, many of them are situated literally in the protagonist’s mind. The new representations of consciousness in film tap into philosophical and scientific notions of time and temporality as well as into the discoveries of neuroscience and quantum physics. Some of these discoveries represented in film offer the possibility of release from the restrictions of the physical body, which can be exemplified by Duncan Jones’s Source Code (2011). In the film the protagonist’s consciousness is repeatedly transferred to another man’s body locked in the past segment of space-time, in which he splits into a multiplicity of selves. This provokes the question: is the protagonist’s personhood continued after the transfer of consciousness? To answer that, one needs to take into account the bodily-continuity theory and the psychological continuity theory of personal identity, yet they can only partly be applied to Source Code because they rely on the classical notion of linear time. As technoculture has triggered a radical redefinition of space and time, what follows is the need for a reformulation of the understanding of human identity. The essay explores the film’s designation of personal identity, applicable to the information age.

Sprawozdanie z konferencji naukowej "Oko w oko z... nauronauką"

Author(s): Marlena Stradomska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 24/2017

Pojmowanie czasu i jego struktura w kulturach wielkiego stepu na przykładzie Mongołów w XIII wieku

Author(s): Adam Lubocki / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2018

Article relates to the perception of time by the nomadic peoples of the Great Steppe on the example of the Mongols. The basis are sources originated in the 13th century, mainly descriptions of Europeans’ trips to the Far East. Chronological studies show, that Mongols had undoubtedly periodical conception of time. I consider, whether the time was important for nomadic tribes.

„DUŠA ČOVJEKA - nevolje marginalizacije“

Author(s): Ivica Poljak / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 4/2019

Psychological (mental) health problems are contemporary concept of previously known mental illness. Stigmatization and marginalization still remain. That is why it is necessary to implement new interdisciplinary approaches, and besides the treatment (health access), social workers and other psychosocial experts are invited to lead new methods to help people with these difficulties in personal realization and social integration. We will talk about this in work and panel discussion as well as analyze the professional practice of social practitioner practitioners.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN FEARS OF ROMANIAN ENTREPRENEURS REGARDING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS?

Author(s): Lorena Florentina Dumitrașciuc,Corina Cara / Language(s): English Issue: 18/2020

The purpose of this research was to analyze the main fears of Romanian entrepreneurs regarding the Coronavirus crisis. We used a qualitative research method, in which we opted for the structured interview for data collection, and for data processing we used content analysis through conceptual analysis. Out of the total number of items 114, 40 subcategories emerged regarding the fears of Romanian entrepreneurs regarding the Coronavirus crisis. Following the analysis, we found in the top of entrepreneurs' fears are the financial part, the intrapersonal relations part and the development part. The research undertaken aims to be a starting point in studying these fears for future research.