262,606 research outputs found
A causal view of the sense of agency
No full textIf you expect that your action causes a near effect, you perceive the action and the effect as closer in time than they really are. This phenomenon is called temporal binding and is considered an implicit measure of the sense of agency, namely the sense of being the author of an action or action awareness. Recent studies, however, show that temporal binding occurs even without the agent executing any action and depends on the capacity to represent one event as the cause of another one. These studies demand the reexamination of the sense of agency, and of temporal binding as its diagnostic tool. I propose a causal view of the sense of agency, according to which action awareness arises when your action is represented as causing an effect. Because representing an action as causing outcomes affects time perception creating the illusion of event proximity, the causal view explains and operationalizes the sense of agency through the connection between causality and time, thus overcoming the indeterminacy of previous accounts. The causal view can pave the way to novel experimental perspectives in development and evolution and stimulate new thinking on the relationship between subjectivity, causal cognition, and time perception.Introduction - Temporal binding with intentions and causes - The causal representation involved in the binding effect - Sense of agency and variety of intentional actions - A causal view of the sense of agency - Action awareness and causal representations in development and evolution Conclusio
MULTIPLE OUTCOME META-ANALYSES
No full textIntroduction Commonly, the main aim of a meta-analysis is to provide, when possible, a clear and definite evidence on, for example, the best treatment available for a disease. However, when multiple potentially correlated outcomes are of interest in evidence synthesis, they should be jointly analyzed, taking into account their correlation. Standard meta-analysis combines estimates of one parameter over several studies, but it is not appropriate when there is the necessity to consider multiple potentially correlated outcomes. Thus, the Multiple Outcome Meta-Analysis (MOMA) was thought as an extension of the standard meta-analysis in order to combine estimates of several related parameters.
Methods In order to evaluate the feasibility, advantages and limitations of the MOMA compared to the standard meta-analysis, data on azathioprine use in multiple sclerosis treatment, in terms of number of patients with relapses, number of dropouts and number of patients with a disease progression over two years, were analyzed through the use of these two methods.
Results Using a method proposed by Riley at al. in 2008 in the context of the MOMA, which showed to be a good method especially when the within-study correlations are not known, compared to the standard meta-analysis, different results were observed in terms of Odds Ratios (ORs), corresponding 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CIs), explained and residual variances, and between-studies correlations. In particular, considering the two outcomes of efficacy, in terms of number of patients with relapses, and of safety, in terms of number of dropouts, over two years, and comparing results obtained through the use of the MOMA with those derived from the standard meta-analysis, the ORs and the corresponding 95% CIs were similar, but the corresponding standard errors (SE) appeared to be very different. Accordingly, using the MOMA methods, SE reductions of 18% and 5% for the two outcomes were observed, respectively. Moreover, when the two outcomes representing two different efficacy measures in terms of number of patients with relapses and number of patients with a disease progression over two years were considered, a relapse risk reduction of over 20% (i.e., an OR of 0.50 from the MOMA vs 0.64 from the standard meta-analysis), and a progression risk reduction of almost 15% (i.e., a significant OR of 0.66 vs a non-significant OR of 0.77) were observed. In this second application, however, the small number of studies could have led to a very high between-studies correlation estimate, which is associated with unstable pooled estimates and SE. Thus, in this case the MOMA could not represent the better choice.
Discussion Unless the variation observed was very large, or the number of studies in the meta-analysis was small, and when there is the necessity to combine estimates of several potentially correlated outcomes, the MOMA methods appear to produce appropriate pooled estimates, which show better statistical properties than those from the standard meta-analysis. Finally, how to combine the methods of the MOMA with those of the Multiple Treatment Meta-Analysis (MTMA), in order to jointly analyzed multiple outcomes and including both direct and indirect comparisons, was presented
L'io e il tempo delle azioni
No full textLa durata temporale degli eventi del mondo è soggettiva. Ad esempio per chi la compie o la osserva, un’azione compiuta intenzionalmente dura meno di una involontaria. Questo fenomeno si chiama Temporal binding (TB) e mostra che il tempo si accorcia nella nostra percezione non solo per le azioni intenzionali, ma anche se considero qualcosa come la causa di qualcos’altro. La causalità e il tempo infatti sono legati nella nostra mente. Alla luce del legame tra percezione del tempo e causalità, si può usare il TB per capire se un individuo abbia consapevolezza di agire, a patto però che si definisca tale consapevolezza attraverso la comprensione che le nostre azioni causino conseguenze. La consapevolezza di agire diventa così un corollario della cognizione causale ed influenza la percezione del tempo creando l’illusione che i nostri obiettivi siano più vicini nel tempo di quello che in realtà sono. In questo articolo, analizzo il rapporto tra azioni intenzionali, percezione del tempo e causalità per esplorare l’origine della consapevolezza di agire. Provo poi a prevedere quando gli esseri umani e altri animali acquisiscono tale consapevolezza, offrendo proposte concrete per esplorarla nello sviluppo psicologico e nell’evoluzione.Introduzione 1 La percezione del tempo delle Azioni 2 Alla ricera del tempo delle Azioni 3 La consapevolezza minima dell'Agire 4 La consapevolezza dell'Agire intenzionale 5 La nascita Io immerso nel suo tempo 6 Percezione del tempo sviluppo dell'Essere umano Conclusion
Face yourself: The social neuroscience of mirror gazing
No full textIn philosophical and psychological accounts alike, it has been claimed that mirror gazing is like looking at ourselves as others. Social neuroscience and social psychology offer support for this view by showing that we use similar brain and cognitive mechanisms during perception of both others’ and our own face. I analyse these premises to investigate the factors affecting the perception of one’s own mirror image. I analyse mechanisms and processes involved in face perception, mimicry, and emotion recognition, and defend the following argument: because perception of others’ face is affected by our feelings toward them, it is likely that feelings toward ourselves affect our responses to the mirror image. One implication is that negative self-feelings can affect mirror gazing instantiating a vicious cycle where the negative emotional response reflects a previously acquired attitude toward oneself. I conclude by discussing implications of this view for psychology and social studies
A Very Nice Meal with an Unsatisfying Appetizer
No full texts an Italian from the South, I have been socialized to care a lot about cooking. Quality of the food is a fundamental starting point for a successful result; in addition, you need expertise in food preparation and the capacity to balance dishes together in a single meal, from appetizer to dessert.
I find Isabella Sarto-Jackson’s book The Making and Breaking of Mind a very nice meal with good-quality food prepared with expert hands, but the dish balance is a bit unsatisfying. I find dishes not always coherently combined with the general style of the meal, starting with the appetizer. A good appetizer would tell you what you should expect from the overall meal and would make you crave for tasting the rest. Instead, the book’s introduction and the first chapter seem to promise something different and does not give you a satisfactory idea of what you will read later. This is a pity, because overall the meal is quite nice, and most of the dishes delicious
Tobacco smoking and esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma : a meta-analysis
No full textSmoking has been related to esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma, but the magnitude of the association is uncertain
Association of immunotherapies with outcomes in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
No full textCLINICAL QUESTION: What immunotherapies for multiple sclerosis are associated with the greatest benefit and highest risk of discontinuation due to adverse events in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis? BOTTOM LINE: Alemtuzumab, natalizumab, and fingolimod were associated with the greatest benefit with regard to relapse prevention. Their association with prevention of disability worsening was unclear. Fingolimod was associated with a high risk of treatment discontinuation due to adverse events
About leaving the neuroscience lab
No full textComparative neuroscience aims to understand, among other things, the biological origin of human behavior. However, how assumptions about brain functioning and evolution affect the study of animal brains for accomplishing this goal has yet to be satisfactorily considered. In this chapter, I discuss changes in assumptions that have guided comparative neuroscience studies in the second half of the last century. I show that, contrary to what most scholars believed, evolution does not always proceed from the simplest to the most complex. Moreover, species-specific behavioral functions cannot be localized to relatively fixed areas of the brain because brain functions depend on environmental and developmental factors that affect how the brain responds to stimuli. Because understanding the evolution of behavior requires studying brain plasticity and variations across social and nonsocial contexts, neuroscience must move out of the laboratory and aim its lens at free-living subjects in naturalistic settings. The investigation of human uniqueness, I argue, must embrace the ecology (and ethics) of animal models more than we were prepared to do a few decades ago
About leaving the neuroscience lab
No full textComparative neuroscience aims to understand, among other things, the biological origin of human behavior. However, how assumptions about brain functioning and evolution affect the study of animal brains for accomplishing this goal has yet to be satisfactorily considered. In this chapter, I discuss changes in assumptions that have guided comparative neuroscience studies in the second half of the last century. I show that, contrary to what most scholars believed, evolution does not always proceed from the simplest to the most complex. Moreover, species-specific behavioral functions cannot be localized to relatively fixed areas of the brain because brain functions depend on environmental and developmental factors that affect how the brain responds to stimuli. Because understanding the evolution of behavior requires studying brain plasticity and variations across social and nonsocial contexts, neuroscience must move out of the laboratory and aim its lens at free-living subjects in naturalistic settings. The investigation of human uniqueness, I argue, must embrace the ecology (and ethics) of animal models more than we were prepared to do a few decades ago
Intraoperative compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) amplitude changes after decompression and neurolysis of peripheral nerves in upper limbs neuropathies: Electrophysiologial considerations and relation with clinical outcome
No full textBACKGROUND: Decompression and, when necessary, neurolysis in entrapment neuropathies of upper limbs are effective and safe procedures, but their correlation with the variation of compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) is still unclear, based in particular on experimental models. In addition, there are few data regarding the efficacy of intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring (IOM) to predict clinical early and late outcome after surgery in term of pain control and sensitive/motor recovery. We report about the association between the intraoperative anatomical and neurophysiological findings and the mid- and long-term postoperative clinical course in a surgical series. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed clinical data of 24 patients among 68 admitted at our Institution for upper limb neuropathies from September 2012 to May 2015. All patients completed two preoperative questionnaires for assessing the level of disability (DASH) and of pain/ discomfort (NRS). CMAPs' amplitudes were intraoperatively detected, before and after decompression and neurolysis and the variations were then related to clinical outcome, evaluated through DASH and NRSquestionnaires at 6-, 9- and 12-months follow-up. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was noted in CMAPs amplitudes before and after decompression (P<0.01). In two patients, this variation was so satisficing to determinate the end of procedure, without the need to perform neurolysis. Major correlations between the variation of CMAPs amplitude after surgery and change of DASH and NRSscores at follow-up were found. CONCLUSIONS: Variations of CMAPs amplitude provide real-time information on nerves function and may be helpful in predicting mid- and long-term postoperative outcome regarding pain relief and neurological functions
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