Older Adults Who Experience Their Lives to Be Completed and No Longer Worth Living: A Systematic Mini-Review Into Used Terminology, Definitions, and Interpretations

In the Netherlands and in Belgium, a political debate emerged regarding the possibility of euthanasia and assisted suicide (EAS) for older adults who experience their lives as completed and no longer worth living, despite being relatively healthy. This mini-review aimed to (1) present an overview of the terms used to denote this phenomenon as well as their definitions and to (2) explore how the underlying experiences are interpreted by the study authors. A systematic search was performed in Web of Science, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL, yielding 35 articles meeting the selection criteria. We selected empirical, English-language articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Participants had to have a first-person experience of the phenomenon or be assessed for it, or have a third-person experience of the phenomenon. Results show that the terms tiredness of life (ToL) and weariness of life (WoL) were used most frequently, also in the broader literature on suicidal expressions across the life span. Many studies mentioned operational definitions or synonyms rather than theoretical definitions. Moreover, inside the EAS debate, the term ToL was more common, its definition incorporated death wishes, and it was regularly framed existentially. Outside of this debate, the phenomenon was generally considered as a part of suicidal ideation distinct from death wishes, and its experience was often associated with underlying psychopathology. We discuss the need to establish consensus definitions and conclude that only a multidimensional view may be suitable to capture the complex nature of the phenomenon.

Moving conferences online: lessons learned from an international virtual meeting

We consider the opportunities and challenges associated with organizing a conference online, using a case study of a medium-sized (approx. 400 participants) international conference held virtually in August 2020. In addition, we present quantifiable evidence of the participants' experience using the results from an online post-conference questionnaire. Although the virtual meeting was not able to replicate the in-person experience in some aspects (e.g. less engagement between participants) the overwhelming majority of respondents found the meeting an enjoyable experience and would join similar events again. Notably, there was a strong desire for future in-person meetings to have at least some online component. Online attendance by lower-income researchers was higher compared with a past, similar-themed in-person meeting held in a high-income nation, but comparable to one held in an upper-middle-income nation. This indicates that online conferences are not a panacea for diversity and inclusivity, and that holding in-person meetings in developing economies can be at least as effective. Given that it is now relatively easy to stream contents of meetings online using low-cost methods, there are clear benefits in making all presented content accessible online, as well as organizing online networking events for those unable to attend in person.

Neuropsychological and psychological dysfunctions associated with coronavirus disease 2019: a case report

Background Patient’s account of personal experiences of having lived through coronavirus disease 2019 is important for understanding the magnitude of the debilitating impact of the infection. There is increasing recognition that the infection impedes multiple functional domains, but to date the evidence remains scarce. Moreover, to the author’s knowledge, there are no documented cases reporting on research data derived from self-reflective first-person experience. Case presentation The patient was a 59-year-old female psychologist of White self-ascribed ethnicity who had coronavirus disease 2019. She had no history of medical, neurological, or psychiatric conditions and works in a neurosurgery clinic at a large hospital as a psychologist, specializing in neuropsychology. Using the introspective method, she captured the occurrence of neuropsychological and psychological dysfunctions she experienced in the acute stage of the illness, which took place in December 2020 and lasted for 17 days. Treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 was conducted in the home environment under medical supervision and followed a standardized protocol adopted at the time in the country. Conclusions The data derived from the first-person experience indicated that among the most salient cognitive functions impacted by the disease were: executive control, working memory, attention, concentration, and processing speed. Furthermore, emotional instability; mood swings; racing, repetitive, or intrusive thoughts; uncontrolled associations; dizziness; fatigue; disbalance; and sleep disturbances featured consistently throughout the illness. The overall profile of these dysfunctions suggests disruption in the overall operation of the brain and particularly in the functioning of the frontal lobes. Although less tangible than the physical symptoms, the neuropsychological and psychological dysfunctions associated with coronavirus disease 2019 form a distinct cluster that has a highly debilitating impact on a person’s well-being.

Brain Mechanisms Underlying the Subjective Experience of Remembering

The ability to remember events in vivid, multisensory detail is a significant part of human experience, allowing us to relive previous encounters and providing us with the store of memories that shape our identity. Recent research has sought to understand the subjective experience of remembering, that is, what it feels like to have a memory. Such remembering involves reactivating sensory-perceptual features of an event and the thoughts and feelings we had when the event occurred, integrating them into a conscious first-person experience. It allows us to reflect on the content of our memories and to understand and make judgments about them, such as distinguishing events that actually occurred from those we might have imagined or been told about. In this review, we consider recent evidence from functional neuroimaging in healthy participants and studies of neurological and psychiatric conditions, which is shedding new light on how we subjectively experience remembering. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

autoridad de la primera persona como criterio de determinación y reconocimiento de la identidad de género.

El interés principal de este artículo versa acerca de la posibilidad de justificar la autodeterminación como criterio fundamental para la determinación y el reconocimiento social de la identidad de género de un individuo. La reciente revisión de los criterios médicos abre el debate de su reemplazo por criterios de autopercepción y vivencia en primera persona. Por tanto, tomando como base la concepción de la autoridad como servicio de Joseph Raz y el fenómeno de la autoridad de la primera persona, se argumentará a favor de que los testimonios en primera persona son candidatos justificados para sustituir a los actuales criterios. The focus of this paper is the possibility of justifying self-determination as the fundamental criterion for social determination and recognition of the individuals’ sexual identity. The recent review of medical criteria has started a debate about their replacement by criteria based on self-perception and first-person experience. Therefore, taking as a basis Joseph Raz’s service conception of authority and the first-person authority phenomenon, it will be argued that first-person statements are justifiable substitutes for the current criteria.

Atmosphere, affordances, and emotion

The atmosphere of a building is the pervading mood it provides, and can be considered a non-Gibsonian affordance. Atmosphere may frame our experience of a building, but over time our perception of the atmosphere may change. This chapter explores atmosphere in relation to motivation and emotion and the role of the limbic system of the brain. Emotion builds on a set of primordial emotions, but human cognition adds subtlety and supports aesthetic emotions. Paintings by Turner and Constable are examined to take the reader beyond the phenomenology of atmosphere and to explore the idea that the artist “inverts” vision. A visual pathway judges the emerging sketch; a visuomotor pathway updates the sketch. In iterating the process, the sketch changes, but so too will the mental image. An fMRI study of architects observing images of “contemplative” building grounds a critique that suggests challenges for designing further experiments. A crucial obstacle is the distance between cog/neuroscience experiments that seek to isolate the influence of a few key variables and the whole-person experience of using and contemplating a building in all its varied complexity.

Pure first-person experience and the unfolding argument: Neo-Cartesian reasoning as a foundation for IIT and other causal structure theories ends up in dissociative epiphenomenalism

We recently put forward an argument, the Unfolding Argument (UA), that integrated information theory (IIT) and other causal structure theories are either already falsified or unfalsifiable, which provoked significant criticism. It seems that we and the critics agree that the main question in this debate is whether pure first-person experience, independent of third-person measurements, is a sufficient foundation for theories of consciousness. Here, we show, first, that the use of pure first-person experience relies on non-scientific, neo-Cartesian reasoning. Second, even if this reasoning is accepted, it leads to consciousness being entirely epiphenomenal, with absolutely no causal power. Third, consciousness would be fully detached from the content of reports about subjective experience. A human may report to perceive X but their content of consciousness is Y. Hence, IIT and other causal structure theories end up in a form of dissociative epiphenomenalism, invalidating pure first-person experience as a viable foundation.

Providing a Safe, In-Person, Residential College Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions were forced to make difficult decisions regarding the 2020–2021 academic year. Many institutions decided to have courses in an online remote format, others decided to attempt an in-person experience, while still others took a hybrid approach. Hope College (Holland, MI) decided that an in-person semester would be safer and more equitable for students. To achieve this at a residential college required broad collaboration across multiple stakeholders. Here, we share lessons learned and detail Hope College's model, including wastewater surveillance, comprehensive testing, contact tracing, and isolation procedures that allowed us to deliver on our commitment of an in-person, residential college experience.