Capacity and Procedural Accounts of Impaired Memory in Depression

Findings of impaired memory in states of dysphoria or depression are summarized and subsumed under different accounts of mood-related memory deficits. Theoretical accounts based on the assumption of a storage system of limited capacity are compared to accounts which emphasize the role of procedures and strategies in attending and remembering. Two reanalyses of a recent experiment in the process-dissociation paradigm are reported. They address issues of dysphoria-related differences in automatic versus controlled uses of memory in a task of word-stem completion. The two reanalyses rest on different assumptions about the relation between automatic and controlled components, but they converge in highlighting the advantages of a procedural rather than capacity-based view of memory deficits. finally. similarities to other research domains and theoretical approaches are outlined

Adapted to Roar: Functional Morphology of Tiger and Lion Vocal Folds

Vocal production requires active control of the respiratory system, larynx and vocal tract. Vocal sounds in mammals are produced by flow-induced vocal fold oscillation, which requires vocal fold tissue that can sustain the mechanical stress during phonation. Our understanding of the relationship between morphology and vocal function of vocal folds is very limited. Here we tested the hypothesis that vocal fold morphology and viscoelastic properties allow a prediction of fundamental frequency range of sounds that can be produced, and minimal lung pressure necessary to initiate phonation. We tested the hypothesis in lions and tigers who are well-known for producing low frequency and very loud roaring sounds that expose vocal folds to large stresses. In histological sections, we found that the Panthera vocal fold lamina propria consists of a lateral region with adipocytes embedded in a network of collagen and elastin fibers and hyaluronan. There is also a medial region that contains only fibrous proteins and hyaluronan but no fat cells. Young's moduli range between 10 and 2000 kPa for strains up to 60%. Shear moduli ranged between 0.1 and 2 kPa and differed between layers. Biomechanical and morphological data were used to make predictions of fundamental frequency and subglottal pressure ranges. Such predictions agreed well with measurements from natural phonation and phonation of excised larynges, respectively. We assume that fat shapes Panthera vocal folds into an advantageous geometry for phonation and it protects vocal folds. Its primary function is probably not to increase vocal fold mass as suggested previously. The large square-shaped Panthera vocal fold eases phonation onset and thereby extends the dynamic range of the voice

Rationality versus reality: the challenges of evidence-based decision making for health policy makers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Current healthcare systems have extended the evidence-based medicine (EBM) approach to health policy and delivery decisions, such as access-to-care, healthcare funding and health program continuance, through attempts to integrate valid and reliable evidence into the decision making process. These policy decisions have major impacts on society and have high personal and financial costs associated with those decisions. Decision models such as these function under a shared assumption of rational choice and utility maximization in the decision-making process.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>We contend that health policy decision makers are generally unable to attain the basic goals of evidence-based decision making (EBDM) and evidence-based policy making (EBPM) because humans make decisions with their naturally limited, faulty, and biased decision-making processes. A cognitive information processing framework is presented to support this argument, and subtle cognitive processing mechanisms are introduced to support the focal thesis: health policy makers' decisions are influenced by the subjective manner in which they individually process decision-relevant information rather than on the objective merits of the evidence alone. As such, subsequent health policy decisions do not necessarily achieve the goals of evidence-based policy making, such as maximizing health outcomes for society based on valid and reliable research evidence.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>In this era of increasing adoption of evidence-based healthcare models, the rational choice, utility maximizing assumptions in EBDM and EBPM, must be critically evaluated to ensure effective and high-quality health policy decisions. The cognitive information processing framework presented here will aid health policy decision makers by identifying how their decisions might be subtly influenced by non-rational factors. In this paper, we identify some of the biases and potential intervention points and provide some initial suggestions about how the EBDM/EBPM process can be improved.</p

In Search for the Rationality of Moods

What it is about mood, as a specific type of affect, that makes it not easily amenable to standard models of rationality? It is commonly assumed that the cognitive rationality of an affective state is somehow depended upon how that state is related to what the state is about, its so called intentional object; but, given that moods do not seem to bear an intentional relation to an object, it is hard to see how they can be in the offing for rational assessment. In the first part of the paper I outline three ways of attributing intentionality to moods, raising for each one of them a series of problems, thus casting doubt on the viability of an intentionalist grounding for the rationality of moods. I then move to an examination of the view of moods as background feelings, which are intimately related to how we perceive the world; however, in my view, that approach fails to provide standards of assessment that would permit appraising the mood itself as rational or irrational. Finally, I look at an account of moods as mechanisms whose function is to monitor the balance between environmental demands and one’s physical or psychological resources. That is a promising way to proceed in our exploration of mood states; it faces though some formidable phenomenological challenges. All in all, defending the rationality of moods calls for a rethinking of the assumptions that are prevalent in the current literature over the representational dimension of affective states