Brain Science
April 17, 2012
Mark Solms, Jaak Panksepp
It is commonly believed that consciousness is a higher brain function. Here we consider the likelihood, based on abundant neuroevolutionary data that lower brain affective phenomenal experiences provide the “energy” for the developmental construction of higher forms of cognitive consciousness. This view is concordant with many of the theoretical formulations of Sigmund Freud. In this...
The Philosophical Review
April 1, 2012
Robert van Gulick
In “Absent Qualia and the Mind-Body Problem,” Michael Tye (2006) presents an argument by which he claims to show the inconceivability of beings that are functionally equivalent to phenomenally conscious beings but lack any qualia. On that basis, he concludes that qualia can be fully defined in functional terms. The argument does not suffice to establish the claimed results. In particular it...
Clinical EEG and Neuroscience
April 1, 2012
Shirley Telles, Bhat Ramachandra Raghavendra, Kalkuni Visweswaraiah Naveen et al.
Mid-latency auditory evoked potentials (MLAEPs) were assessed in 60 participants during 4 mental states described in traditional yoga texts. These 4 mental states are random thinking, nonmeditative-focused thinking, meditative focusing, and meditation. Assessments were made before (5 minutes), during (20 minutes), and after (5 minutes) each of the 4 states, on 4 separate days. There were...
Brain and Cognition
April 1, 2012
Zoë D Théodoridou, Lazaros C Triarhou
2 citations
This article follows the culmination of the scientific thought of the neurobiologist Christfried Jakob (1866-1956) during the later part of his career, based on publications from 1930 to 1949, when he was between 64 and 83 years of age. Jakob emphasized the necessity of bridging philosophy to the biological sciences, neurobiology in particular. Thus, we consider him as one of the early...
March 22, 2012
Matthew D. Lieberman
Could an individual act and speak just like other individuals without having any internal conscious experience? Belief in the possibility of so-called philosophical zombies serves as a litmus test for whether someone believes in some form of mind-body dualism or materialism. This chapter focuses on a related hypothesis that is emerging within psychology referred to as the psychological zombie...
Biological Psychology
March 20, 2012
Renate Reniers, Rhiannon Corcoran, Birgit Vӧllm et al.
168 citations
Automatic intuitions and deliberate reasoning, sourcing internal representations of our personal norms and values, contribute to our beliefs of what is right and wrong. We used fMRI to directly compare moral (M) and non-moral (NM) decision-making processes using scenarios requiring conscious deliberation, whereby the main character declared an intention to take a course of action. Furthermore,...
March 6, 2012
Pehr Granqvist, Berit Hagekull, T. Ivarsson
Abstract In this article, the authors argue that mystical experiences are linked to disorganized attachment via a proposed mediator—the propensity to enter altered states of consciousness (absorption). Using a sample of predominantly religious/spiritual participants (N = 62), they report that disorganized attachment, as identified with the Adult Attachment Interview, predicted lifetime...
Assessment
March 2012
David S Black, Steve Y Sussman, C Anderson Johnson et al.
The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) has the longest empirical track record as a valid measure of trait mindfulness. Most of what is understood about trait mindfulness comes from administering the MAAS to relatively homogenous samples of Caucasian adults. This study rigorously evaluates the psychometric properties of the MAAS among Chinese adolescents attending high school in Chengdu,...
Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience
March 1, 2012
Thomas Sturm
This paper is an overview of recent discussions concerning the mind-body problem, which is being addressed at the interface between philosophy and neuroscience. It focuses on phenomenal features of consciousness or "qualia," which are distinguished from various related issues. Then follows a discussion of various influential skeptical arguments that question the possibility of reductive...
Journal of Clinical Nursing
March 1, 2012
Pamela Van der Riet, Saowapa Dedkhard, Kannapatch Srithong
18 citations
To document the narratives of nursing staff in a Thai rehabilitation centre where complementary therapies are used and to discuss perceived progress of these complementary therapies on stroke patients. Specific complementary therapies used at this rehabilitation centre include Thai massage and herbal therapies. In Thailand, there is cultural acknowledgement of a range of traditional therapies...