How expectancy violations facilitate learning to cope with pain – An experimental approach

Background: Expectations of painful sensations constitute a core feature of chronic pain. An important clinical question is whether such expectations are revised when disconfirming experiences are made (e.g., less pain than expected). The present study examined how people adjust their pain expectations when the experience of decreasing pain is expected vs. unexpected. Methods: In a novel experimental paradigm, people who frequently experience pain (N=73) were provided with painful thermal stimulations. Unbeknownst to participants, the temperature applied was decreased from trial to trial. Based on the experimental instructions provided, this experience of decreasing pain was expected in one condition (expectation-confirmation), whereas it was unexpected in another (expectation-disconfirmation). Results: Expectation violations were higher in the expectation-disconfirmation condition than in the expectation-confirmation condition, F(1, 69) = 6.339, p = .014, ηp² = .084. Participants from the expectation-confirmation condition showed a greater adjustment of their pain expectations than the expectation-disconfirmation condition, F(1.666, 114.929) = 7.486, p = .002, ηp² = .098. Across groups, expectation adjustment was related to increases in pain tolerance (r = .342, p = .004) and the ability to cope with pain (r = .234, p = .045) at a one-week follow-up. Conclusions: Participants were more likely to adjust their pain expectations when the experience of decreasing pain was expected. Though participants who experienced large discrepancies between expected and experienced pain were hesitant to adjust their pain expectations immediately, experiencing expectation violations increased their ability to cope with pain one week later, suggesting some beneficial longer-term effects of expectation violations.

Mindfulness improves theory of mind in psychosis

Impaired Theory of Mind (ToM) ability is a core feature of psychotic disorders that challenges psychosis treatment. We aimed to explore the effect of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention (MBI) on ToM ability in a randomized clinical trial (RCT). A sample of 36 participants diagnosed with psychotic disorder were recruited from a community center and randomly allocated to Integrated Rehabilitation Treatment (IRT) or IRT+MBI. ToM skills were assessed through the Hinting Test and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). IRT+MBI scored higher in RMET than IRT at posttreatment. MBI is a promising tool for improving ToM ability in psychosis.Keywords: psychotic disorders, theory of mind, mindfulness-based-interventions.

The Ideological Background of Japanese Expansionism, C. 1900

This paper examines the ideologies informing the expansion of Japanese rule at c. 1900. The core feature discussed is the idea of tenka (天下; literally translated: all under heaven), constituting the group of ruled in terms of a universalist indigenat (kokumin 国民), which allowed its expansion beyond the Japanese archipelago at government discretion. The concept of the universalist indigenat, having been tied to the Confucian perception of the world as a well-ordered and change-absorbing entity, conflicted with the European concept of the nation as a particularistically conceived type of group, tied to the perception of the world as a dynamic and largely unruly entity. During the latter third of the nineteenth and the early years of the twentieth century, some Japanese intellectuals came to appreciate the dynamism enshrined in the European perception of the world and worked it into established universalism. The fusion produced a powerful ideology of colonial expansion targeted primarily at East and Southeast Asia as well as the South Pacific. By contrast, European military strategists and political theorists, unaware of the Japanese strategic conceptions, expected that solely Russia formed the target of Japanese military expansion.

A Defence of Manipulationist Noncausal Explanation: The Case for Intervention Liberalism

Recent years have seen growing interest in modifying interventionist accounts of causal explanation in order to characterise noncausal explanation. However, one surprising element of such accounts is that they have typically jettisoned the core feature of interventionism: interventions. Indeed, the prevailing opinion within the philosophy of science literature suggests that interventions exclusively demarcate causal relationships. This position is so prevalent that, until now, no one has even thought to name it. We call it “intervention puritanism”. In this paper, we mount the first sustained defence of the idea that there are distinctively noncausal explanations which can be characterized in terms of possible interventions; and thus, argue that I-puritanism is false. We call the resultant position “intervention liberalism” (I-liberalism, for short). While many have followed Woodward (Making Things Happen: A Theory of Causal Explanation, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003) in committing to I-pluralism, we trace support for I-liberalism back to the work of Kim (in: Kim (ed) Supervenience and mind, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1974/1993). Furthermore, we analyse two recent sources of scepticism regarding I-liberalism: debate surrounding mechanistic constitution; and attempts to provide a monistic account of explanation. We show that neither literature provides compelling reasons for adopting I-puritanism. Finally, we present a novel taxonomy of available positions upon the role of possible interventions in explanation: weak causal imperialism; strong causal imperialism; monist intervention puritanism; pluralist intervention puritanism; monist intervention liberalism; and finally, the specific position defended in this paper, pluralist intervention liberalism.

Constructing Contrast: Juxtaposition as a tool for formal construction in my own creative practice, explored through the music of Stravinsky and Donatoni

<p>Juxtaposition and Superimposition are two techniques that I have adopted as a core feature of my creative practice. This exegesis examines the origins of these techniques through the analysis of two 20th century works, Igor Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920/1947) and Franco Donatoni’s Tema (1981), examining how the role all musical parameters, including timbre, pitch, rhythm and gesture, combine to create unique and perceptible shapes which can be purposefully juxtaposed, recombined and shuffled to create musical form. The influence and effect of these compositions is then discussed in relation to an analysis of the major work of my accompanying portfolio: Hot Coals for orchestra (2016/2017), demonstrating how ideas taken from the preceding analyses are developed further, and influence not just the resulting aesthetic, but also the construction and process of composition itself.</p>

The Role of the Dopamine D₁ Receptor in the Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

<p>Diminished motivation is a core feature of schizophrenia that has been linked to impaired functional outcomes. A mechanism thought to contribute to diminished motivation is impaired anticipatory pleasure. Impaired anticipatory pleasure is associated with disrupted reward prediction and reduced engagement in reward-seeking behaviours. To investigate the role of the dopamine D₁ receptor in anticipatory pleasure, D₁ mutant rats and WT rats performed five experiments. Reward prediction was examined using the anticipatory locomotion experiment and successive negative contrast experiment. It was found that D₁ mutant rats have impaired anticipatory responses to expected reward. However, as the WT rats did not show the expected response to an alteration in reward expectation, it was impossible to assess the role of the D₁ receptor. Together, these findings suggest that the D₁ receptor may be involved in aspects of reward prediction. Reward-seeking behaviour was examined using the social approach experiment, scent marking experiment, and the separation induced vocalization experiment. It was found that the D₁ mutant rats have an impaired ability to engage in social and sexual reward-seeking behaviours, but have relatively normal ability to engage in maternal reward-seeking behaviours. Together, these findings indicate that the D₁ receptor is involved in certain aspects of reward-seeking behaviours. In conclusion, there is compelling evidence that a D₁ receptor dysfunction is a likely contributor to diminished motivation in schizophrenia.</p>

Constructing Contrast: Juxtaposition as a tool for formal construction in my own creative practice, explored through the music of Stravinsky and Donatoni

<p>Juxtaposition and Superimposition are two techniques that I have adopted as a core feature of my creative practice. This exegesis examines the origins of these techniques through the analysis of two 20th century works, Igor Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920/1947) and Franco Donatoni’s Tema (1981), examining how the role all musical parameters, including timbre, pitch, rhythm and gesture, combine to create unique and perceptible shapes which can be purposefully juxtaposed, recombined and shuffled to create musical form. The influence and effect of these compositions is then discussed in relation to an analysis of the major work of my accompanying portfolio: Hot Coals for orchestra (2016/2017), demonstrating how ideas taken from the preceding analyses are developed further, and influence not just the resulting aesthetic, but also the construction and process of composition itself.</p>

The Role of the Dopamine D₁ Receptor in the Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

<p>Diminished motivation is a core feature of schizophrenia that has been linked to impaired functional outcomes. A mechanism thought to contribute to diminished motivation is impaired anticipatory pleasure. Impaired anticipatory pleasure is associated with disrupted reward prediction and reduced engagement in reward-seeking behaviours. To investigate the role of the dopamine D₁ receptor in anticipatory pleasure, D₁ mutant rats and WT rats performed five experiments. Reward prediction was examined using the anticipatory locomotion experiment and successive negative contrast experiment. It was found that D₁ mutant rats have impaired anticipatory responses to expected reward. However, as the WT rats did not show the expected response to an alteration in reward expectation, it was impossible to assess the role of the D₁ receptor. Together, these findings suggest that the D₁ receptor may be involved in aspects of reward prediction. Reward-seeking behaviour was examined using the social approach experiment, scent marking experiment, and the separation induced vocalization experiment. It was found that the D₁ mutant rats have an impaired ability to engage in social and sexual reward-seeking behaviours, but have relatively normal ability to engage in maternal reward-seeking behaviours. Together, these findings indicate that the D₁ receptor is involved in certain aspects of reward-seeking behaviours. In conclusion, there is compelling evidence that a D₁ receptor dysfunction is a likely contributor to diminished motivation in schizophrenia.</p>

Exploring Relation between Cognitive Perceptual Deficits and Functional Performance in Schizophrenia- A Mini Review

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality, which causes significant distress for the individual, their family members and friends. If left untreated, symptoms of schizophrenia can be persistent and disabling. Cognitive perceptual impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia and several studies have demonstrated that it is strongly related with daily functioning and other functional outcomes. Several RCTs have demonstrated that patients with schizophrenia improve negative symptomatology after cognitive rehabilitation. The prevalence of schizophrenia affects patient’s participation in functional tasks. The aim of this review was to explore literature; published in the past 15 years in the area of cognitive perceptual deficits in schizophrenia and functional impairments caused due to it. We also explored the strategies for remediation. In this integrated mini review, published researches were reviewed including RCTs, observational studies, interventional , experimental, correlational studies, case reports and systematic reviews. To conclude, it was analyzed that dysfunctions in working memory, attention and abstract thinking and problem solving have been extensively documented in schizophrenia, which may improve slightly with remedial strategies.

Obstetric Violence in Their Own Words: How Women in Mexico and South Africa Expect, Experience, and Respond to Violence

This article, based on ethnographic research in Mexico and South Africa, presents two central arguments about obstetric violence: (a) structural inequalities across diverse global sites are primarily linked to gender and lead to similar patterns of obstetric violence, and (b) ethnography is a powerful method to give voice to women's stories. Connecting these two arguments is a temporal model to understand how women across the world come to expect, experience, and respond to obstetric violence—that is, before, during, and after the encounter. This temporal approach is a core feature of ethnography, which requires long-term immersion and attention to context.