The use of neural transplantation to alleviate cognitive deficits is still in its infancy. We have an inadequate understanding of the deficits induced by different types of brain damage and their homologies in animal models against which to assess graft-induced recovery, and of the ways in which graft growth and function are influenced by factors within the host brain and the environment in which the host is operating. Further, use of fetal tissue may only be a transitory phase in the (...) search for appropriate donor sources. Nevertheless, findings from our laboratory and elsewhere have made a prima facie case for successful cognitive reconstruction by graft methods. (shrink)

Cognitive deficits were produced in rats by different methods of damaging the brain: chronic ingestion of alcohol, causing widespread damage to diffuse cholinergic and aminergic projection systems; lesions (by local injection of the excitotoxins, ibotenate, quisqualate, and AMPA) of the nuclei of origin of the forebrain cholinergic projection system (FCPS), which innervates the neocortex and hippocampal formation; transient cerebral ischaemia, producing focal damage especially in the CA1 pyramidal cells of the dorsal hippocampus; and lesions (by local injection of the neurotoxin, (...) colchicine) of the granule cells of the dentate gyrus. Following chronic alcohol or lesions of the FCPS, transplants of cholinergically rich fetal brain tissue into the terminal areas (neocortex and/or hippocampus) restored performance almost to control levels, with a time course consistent with growth of the transplants and integration with host tissue; transplants of cholinergically poor fetal tissue (hippocampus) were without effect, as were transplants of cholinergically rich tissue into the region containing the nuclei of origin of the FCPS. Grafts of primary cells enriched in glia and cultured neuroblastoma cells into the terminal areas of the FCPS were equally effective, suggesting that there are multiple mechanisms by which neural transplants can restore cognitive function following diffuse cholinergic damage. In contrast, after ischaemia- or neurotoxin-induced damage to CA1 or dentate granule cells respectively, cholinergically rich fetal transplants into the damaged hippocampal formation were ineffective in restoring performance. After ischaemic damage, however, performance was restored by suspension grafts of CA1 cells but not by transplants containing CA3 pyramidal cells or granule cells; and after colchicine damage it was restored by solid grafts containing granule but not CA1 pyramidal cells. Furthermore, electrophysiological evidence has demonstrated functional, graft type-specific host-graft functional neuronal connectivity. Thus, restoration of cognitive function by neural transplants is possible after damage to either diffuse (cholinergic) or point-to-point (intrahippocampal) forebrain systems, but the transplant must be appropriate to the damage to be repaired. Because the different types of brain damage studied provide analogues of human alcoholic dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and heart attack, these results are encouraging with regard to the eventual application of neural transplant surgery to the treatment of cognitive deficits in humans. (shrink)

Leading scholars from psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy present theories and findings on understanding how individuals infer such complex mental states ...

We explore the various ethical challenges that arise during the practical implementation of an emergency resource allocation protocol. We argue that to implement an allocation plan in a crisis, a hospital system must complete five tasks: (1) formulate a set of general principles for allocation, (2) apply those principles to the disease at hand to create a concrete protocol, (3) collect the data required to apply the protocol, (4) construct a system to implement triage decisions with those data, and (5) (...) create a system for managing the consequences of implementing the protocol, including the effects on those who must carry out the plan, the medical staff, and the general public. Here we illustrate the complexities of each task and provide tentative solutions, by describing the experiences of the Coronavirus Ethics Response Group, an interdisciplinary team formed to address the ethical issues in pandemic resource planning at the University of Rochester Medical Center. While the plan was never put into operation, the process of preparing for emergency implementation exposed ethical issues that require attention. (shrink)

Zika infection in pregnant women is associated with an elevated probability of giving birth to a child with microcephaly and multiple other disabilities. Public health messaging on Zika prevention has predominantly targeted women who know they are pregnant or intend to become pregnant, but not teenage females for whom unintended pregnancy is more likely. Vulnerabilities among this population to reproductive risks associated with Zika are further amplified by restrictive abortion laws in several Zika-impacted states. Key to prevention is enhanced, targeted (...) public health messaging centered on teens nationally and particularly in certain high-risk regions. (shrink)

Clark and Fischer's three levels of depiction of social robots can be conceptualized as cognitive schemas. When interacting with social robots, humans shift between schemas similarly to how they shift between identity category schemas when interacting with other humans. Perception of mind, context cues, and individual differences underlie perceptions of which level of depiction is most situationally relevant.

Funding agencies in Canada are attempting to break down the organizational boundaries between disciplines to promote interdisciplinary research and foster the integration of the social sciences into the health research field. This paper explores the extent to which biomedical and clinician scientists’ perceptions of social science research operate as a cultural boundary to the inclusion of social scientists into this field. Results indicated that cultural boundaries may impede social scientists’ entry into the health research field through three modalities: (1) biomedical (...) and clinician scientists’ unfavourable and ambivalent posture towards social science research; (2) their opposition to a resource increase for the social sciences; and (3) clinician scientists procedural assessment criteria for social science. The paper also discusses the merits and limitations of Tom Gieryn’s concept of boundary-work for studying social dynamics within the field of science. (shrink)

A brief preface to the Cambridge Companion to Nietzsche announces the aims of the ambitious series of which this volume is a part: to provide students and nonspecialists with a handy reference volume and to help them overcome the “intimidation” they often feel when encountering a difficult thinker for the first time. Unlike the other volumes that I have seen in the Companion series, this one truly is pitched to the undergraduate and/or popular market. Of the 11 articles, only 4 (...) are grouped under the rubric “Nietzsche as Philosopher,” although Tracy B. Strong’s essay, “Nietzsche’s Political Misappropriation,” and Jörg Salaquarda’s “Nietzsche and the Judeo-Christian Tradition”—both listed under part II, “The Use and Abuse of Nietzsche’s Life and Works”—in their analysis of Nietzsche’s politics and his critique of religion certainly strike philosophical, or at least theoretical, poses. So, we have 6 articles out of eleven, roughly 191 out of 403 pages, that are devoted to the analysis, or at least discussion, of Nietzsche’s philosophy as such. The remaining articles treat broadly biographical topics and Nietzsche’s reception: in the 20th Century in general, in France, and in East Asia. This proportion, sadly, echoes the larger structure of the Nietzsche legend, which often expresses a desire to explain Nietzsche’s philosophy by means of certain biographical details, and which is in fact the central topic of R.J. Hollingdale’s contribution to this volume, “The Hero as Outsider.” That the devotion of such a disproportionate amount of space to what are arguably tangential issues is not inevitable is proven by the splendid Cambridge Companion to Spinoza, edited by Don Garrett, in which one article each is devoted to Spinoza’s life and his reception, with the remaining eight articles organized according to major topics in Spinoza’s philosophy: metaphysics, philosophy of mind, politics, critique of religion, et cetera, thus giving us a proper 8/2 proportion in favor of philosophy—and this vis-à-vis a philosopher with his own “extra-philosophical” legend. Of course, the Nietzsche question is complicated by National Socialism, among other things. (shrink)

This study explored drug users’ attitudes toward and understanding of randomized controlled trials testing addiction therapies. A video portraying a fictional consent conference for a randomized controlled trial with placebo arm was shown to poor male and female drug users of diverse ethnic status and sexual orientation. The video stimulated focus group discussion in which participants’ comments often reflected “experimental realism”—a realistic view of the trial—and adequate understanding of the uncertain efficacy of the treatment being tested, as well as the (...) concepts of randomization and placebo control. However, participants’ comprehension of the nature of placebos was compromised by the widespread view that placebos are a way of testing a subject’s willpower and personal control over his or her addiction. Comments also showed a mistrust of the video investigator’s integrity and competence and signs of therapeutic misconception and misestimation. The study’s findings underscore the importance of tailoring informed consent encounters to the personal and sociohistorical context of participants’ lived experiences. (shrink)

Resumen La búsqueda teórica y práctica de articular eficiencia y justicia tiene historia y actualidad. El objetivo de este estudio es un diálogo teórico entre D. C. North y A. MacIntyre para articular eficiencia y justicia a través de las instituciones. Esta articulación tiene como horizonte más amplio una aproximación interdisciplinaria a la relación entre la teoría económica y la ética. Desde la ciencia económica, como alternativa al concepto de eficiencia paretiana, North habla de eficiencia adaptativa: las instituciones -entendidas como (...) reglas de interacción humana- persiguen ser eficientes en un proceso de adaptación a lo largo del tiempo. Desde la ética, MacIntyre contribuye desde una visión aristotélico-tomista de la justicia distributiva. MacIntyre reconoce que las instituciones son necesarias para las prácticas en las comunidades, pero advierte el peligro de la corrupción de las instituciones. Un lugar para esta articulación son las empresas -organizaciones para North- donde puede darse una eficiencia adaptativa si las instituciones -reglas para la interacción humana- descentralizan las tomas de decisiones, especifican bien los contratos y los derechos de propiedad. Las empresas, en el sentido de MacIntyre comprendidas como centros de trabajo, son instituciones que persiguen bienes comunes y que dan soporte a las prácticas de esas comunidades. Abstract The theoretical and practical search to articulate efficiency and justice has history and present relevance. The objective of this paper is a theoretical dialogue between D. C. North and A. MacIntyre to articulate efficiency and justice across institutions. This articulation has -as its broader horizon- an interdisciplinary approach to the relationship between economic theory and ethics. From economic science, as an alternative to the concept of Paretian efficiency, North speaks of adaptive efficiency: institutions - understood as rules of human interaction - seek to be efficient in a process of adaptation over time. From ethics, MacIntyre contributes from an Aristotelian-Thomistic vision of distributive justice. MacIntyre recognizes that institutions are necessary for practices in communities but warns of the danger of institutional corruption. A place for this articulation is companies -organizations for North- where adaptive efficiency can occur if institutions -rules for human interaction- decentralize decision-making, specify contracts and property rights well. Companies, understood by MacIntyre as workplaces, are institutions that pursue common goods and that support the practices of these communities. (shrink)

Low mean fundamental frequency (F 0) in men’s voices has been found to positively influence perceptions of dominance by men and attractiveness by women using standardized speech. Using natural speech obtained during an ecologically valid social interaction, we examined relationships between multiple vocal parameters and dominance and attractiveness judgments. Male voices from an unscripted dating game were judged by men for physical and social dominance and by women in fertile and non-fertile menstrual cycle phases for desirability in short-term and long-term (...) relationships. Five vocal parameters were analyzed: mean F 0 (an acoustic correlate of vocal fold size), F 0 variation, intensity (loudness), utterance duration, and formant dispersion (D f , an acoustic correlate of vocal tract length). Parallel but separate ratings of speech transcripts served as controls for content. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the independent contributions of each of the predictors. Physical dominance was predicted by low F 0 variation and physically dominant word content. Social dominance was predicted only by socially dominant word content. Ratings of attractiveness by women were predicted by low mean F 0, low D f , high intensity, and attractive word content across cycle phase and mating context. Low D f was perceived as attractive by fertile-phase women only. We hypothesize that competitors and potential mates may attend more strongly to different components of men’s voices because of the different types of information these vocal parameters provide. (shrink)

There is perhaps no duty more fundamental to American government than the protection of the public's health, safety, and welfare. On September 11, 2001, this governmental duty was severely tested through a series of terrorist acts. The destruction of the World Trade Towers in New York City and a portion of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., presented many Americans with a new, visible reality of the potential harms that terrorists can cause. The staggering loss of lives damaged the national psyche (...) in ways far exceeding the physical scars to American institutions.As horrific as the images of destruction and loss of human lives may be, events that unfolded after September 11 revealed another dreaded, and potentially more catastrophic, threat to Americans sense of security and public health: bioterrorism. Unlike terrorists that use bombs, explosives, or other tools for mass destruction, a bioterrorist's weapon is an infectious agent. (shrink)

There is perhaps no duty more fundamental to American government than the protection of the public's health, safety, and welfare. On September 11, 2001, this governmental duty was severely tested through a series of terrorist acts. The destruction of the World Trade Towers in New York City and a portion of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., presented many Americans with a new, visible reality of the potential harms that terrorists can cause. The staggering loss of lives damaged the national psyche (...) in ways far exceeding the physical scars to American institutions.As horrific as the images of destruction and loss of human lives may be, events that unfolded after September 11 revealed another dreaded, and potentially more catastrophic, threat to Americans sense of security and public health: bioterrorism. Unlike terrorists that use bombs, explosives, or other tools for mass destruction, a bioterrorist's weapon is an infectious agent. (shrink)

Michael Hodges offers a clear and insightful discussion of the Tractatus as an essentially unified work with the logical and ethical dimensions being aspects of a single ethical inquiry. His lengthy analysis of the Tractarian understanding of "transcendence," supplemented by comments from the Notebooks 1914-16, the "Lecture on Ethics," and correspondence, provides a key to understanding the early positions and the necessity of the shift to his later thought.