On the psychological basis of economics and social psychology

Neoclassical economic theory, with its roots (partly) in the marginal revolution of the Nineteenth Century, has been the dominant paradigm for economic thought throughout most of the Twentieth Century?up to the present day. However, for the past several decades economists have been deeply divided on the validity of neoclassical theory, thereby rendering the discipline less effective than it could be in helping to understand socio-economic change. A mathematical synthesis of prominent contributions to psychological and economic theory since the mid-Nineteenth Century has emerged in recent years, resulting in a substantive formulation of individual behavior. Rather than incorrectly assign utility directly to consumables thereby excluding time as an essential parameter, as is the case in mainstream economic theory, this new methodology assigns instantaneous utility exclusively to the expected (intertemporal) process-of-knowing attending mental/physical activity. The result is a canonical theory that represents the expectational and?barring surprise?actual time-dependent interaction of the individual with his environment, including other agents. The paper will provide an overview of basic and applied theory, and its relation to the mainstream and Austrian schools. Applications at the microeconomic level, including the psychological contribution to the real interest rate and the essential relationship between capital and labor, will be addressed. Also discussed will be the initial perceptions yielded by this new mathematical theory on the social psychology of group behavior, including the social-identity approach. New results will be provided on capital function, the etiology of interest rates, the nature of value, the determination of market prices, and other topics of interest.

Cognitive deficits in problematic internet use : meta-analysis of 40 studies

© The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2019. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.BACKGROUND: Excessive use of the internet is increasingly recognised as a global public health concern. Individual studies have reported cognitive impairment in problematic internet use (PIU), but have suffered from various methodological limitations. Confirmation of cognitive deficits in PIU would support the neurobiological plausibility of this disorder.AimsTo conduct a rigorous meta-analysis of cognitive performance in PIU from case-control studies; and to assess the impact of study quality, the main type of online behaviour (for example gaming) and other parameters on the findings.METHOD: A systematic literature review was conducted of peer-reviewed case-controlled studies comparing cognition in people with PIU (broadly defined) with that of healthy controls. Findings were extracted and subjected to a meta-analysis where at least four publications existed for a given cognitive domain of interest.RESULTS: The meta-analysis comprised 2922 participants across 40 studies. Compared with controls, PIU was associated with significant impairment in inhibitory control (Stroop task Hedge's g = 0.53 (s.e. = 0.19-0.87), stop-signal task g = 0.42 (s.e. = 0.17-0.66), go/no-go task g = 0.51 (s.e. = 0.26-0.75)), decision-making (g = 0.49 (s.e. = 0.28-0.70)) and working memory (g = 0.40 (s.e. = 0.20-0.82)). Whether or not gaming was the predominant type of online behaviour did not significantly moderate the observed cognitive effects; nor did age, gender, geographical area of reporting or the presence of comorbidities.CONCLUSIONS: PIU is associated with decrements across a range of neuropsychological domains, irrespective of geographical location, supporting its cross-cultural and biological validity. These findings also suggest a common neurobiological vulnerability across PIU behaviours, including gaming, rather than a dissimilar neurocognitive profile for internet gaming disorder.Declaration of interestS.R.C. consults for Cambridge Cognition and Shire. K.I.'s research activities were supported by Health Education East of England Higher Training Special interest sessions. A.E.G.'s research has been funded by Innovational grant (VIDI-scheme) from ZonMW: (91713354). N.A.F. has received research support from Lundbeck, Glaxo-SmithKline, European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), Servier, Cephalon, Astra Zeneca, Medical Research Council (UK), National Institute for Health Research, Wellcome Foundation, University of Hertfordshire, EU (FP7) and Shire. N.A.F. has received honoraria for lectures at scientific meetings from Abbott, Otsuka, Lundbeck, Servier, Astra Zeneca, Jazz pharmaceuticals, Bristol Myers Squibb, UK College of Mental Health Pharmacists and British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP). N.A.F. has received financial support to attend scientific meetings from RANZCP, Shire, Janssen, Lundbeck, Servier, Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cephalon, International College of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders, International Society for Behavioral Addiction, CINP, IFMAD, ECNP, BAP, the World Health Organization and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. N.A.F. has received financial royalties for publications from Oxford University Press and payment for editorial duties from Taylor and Francis. J.E.G. reports grants from the National Center for Responsible Gaming, Forest Pharmaceuticals, Takeda, Brainsway, and Roche and others from Oxford Press, Norton, McGraw-Hill and American Psychiatric Publishing outside of the submitted work.Peer reviewe

Impaired response inhibition and excess cortical thickness as candidate endophenotypes for trichotillomania.

Trichotillomania is characterized by repetitive pulling out of one's own hair. Impaired response inhibition has been identified in patients with trichotillomania, along with gray matter density changes in distributed neural regions including frontal cortex. The objective of this study was to evaluate impaired response inhibition and abnormal cortical morphology as candidate endophenotypes for the disorder. Subjects with trichotillomania (N = 12), unaffected first-degree relatives of these patients (N = 10), and healthy controls (N = 14), completed the Stop Signal Task (SST), a measure of response inhibition, and structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. Group differences in SST performance and cortical thickness were explored using permutation testing. Groups differed significantly in response inhibition, with patients demonstrating impaired performance versus controls, and relatives occupying an intermediate position. Permutation cluster analysis revealed significant excesses of cortical thickness in patients and their relatives compared to controls, in right inferior/middle frontal gyri (Brodmann Area, BA 47 & 11), right lingual gyrus (BA 18), left superior temporal cortex (BA 21), and left precuneus (BA 7). No significant differences emerged between groups for striatum or cerebellar volumes. Impaired response inhibition and an excess of cortical thickness in neural regions germane to inhibitory control, and action monitoring, represent vulnerability markers for trichotillomania. Future work should explore genetic and environmental associations with these biological markers

Expanding the definition of addiction: DSM-5 vs. ICD-11.

While considerable efforts have been made to understand the neurobiological basis of substance addiction, the potentially "addictive" qualities of repetitive behaviors, and whether such behaviors constitute "behavioral addictions," is relatively neglected. It has been suggested that some conditions, such as gambling disorder, compulsive stealing, compulsive buying, compulsive sexual behavior, and problem Internet use, have phenomenological and neurobiological parallels with substance use disorders. This review considers how the issue of "behavioral addictions" has been handled by latest revisions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), leading to somewhat divergent approaches. We also consider key areas for future research in order to address optimal diagnostic classification and treatments for such repetitive, debilitating behaviors.Wellcome-trust and Academy of Medical Sciences

Rethinking False Spring Risk

Temperate plants are at risk of being exposed to late spring freezes. These freeze events - often called false springs - are one of the strongest factors determining temperate plants species range limits and can impose high ecological and economic damage. As climate change may alter the prevalence and severity of false springs, our ability to forecast such events has become more critical, and it has led to a growing body of research. Many false spring studies largely simplify the myriad complexities involved in assessing false spring risks and damage. While these studies have helped advance the field and may provide useful estimates at large scales, studies at the individual to community levels must integrate more complexity for accurate predictions of plant damage from late spring freezes. Here we review current metrics of false spring, and how, when and where plants are most at risk of freeze damage. We highlight how life stage, functional group, species differences in morphology and phenology, and regional climatic differences contribute to the damage potential of false springs. More studies aimed at understanding relationships among species tolerance and avoidance strategies, climatic regimes, and the environmental cues that underlie spring phenology would improve predictions at all biological levels. An integrated approach to assessing past and future spring freeze damage would provide novel insights into fundamental plant biology, and offer more robust predictions as climate change progresses, which is essential for mitigating the adverse ecological and economic effects of false springs

Material Characterization and Real-Time Wear Evaluation of Pistons and Cylinder Liners of the Tiger 131 Military Tank

Material characterisation and wear evaluation of the original and replacement pistons and cylinder-liners of Tiger 131 is reported. Original piston and cylinder-liner were operative in the Tigers’ engine during WWII. The replacement piston and cylinder-liner were used as substitutes and were obtained after failure in two hours of operation in the actual engine. Material characterisation revealed that the original piston was aluminium silicon hypereutectic alloy whereas the replacement piston was aluminium copper alloy with very low silicon content. Both original and replacement cylinder-liners consisted of mostly iron which is indicative of cast iron, a common material for this application. The replacement piston average surface roughness was found to be 9.09 μm while for replacement cylinder-liner it was 5.78 μm

crisscrossing Science Episode 026: The Eclipse Is Coming, Baby!

In this episode, Chris Gaiser (professor of biology at Linfield College) and Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) talk about solar and lunar eclipses: how they work, why they are infrequent, and why people should not look directly at the sun. This episode is all in preparation for the great solar eclipse on August 21, 2017, visible (at least in part) to most of North America. A special note from the Podcasters: Partial solar eclipses are amazing events. However, if you have the means to experience totality, you should take advantage of it. Anyone we have ever talked to who has experienced it became passionate about seeing another one

Reduced cortical thickness in gambling disorder: a morphometric MRI study.

Gambling disorder has recently been recognized as a prototype 'behavioral addiction' by virtue of its inclusion in the DSM-5 category of 'Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders.' Despite its newly acquired status and prevalence rate of 1-3 % globally, relatively little is known regarding the neurobiology of this disorder. The aim of this study was to explore cortical morphometry in untreated gambling disorder, for the first time. Subjects with gambling disorder (N = 16) free from current psychotropic medication or psychiatric comorbidities, and healthy controls (N = 17), were entered into the study and undertook magnetic resonance imaging (3T MRI). Cortical thickness was quantified using automated segmentation techniques (FreeSurfer), and group differences were identified using permutation cluster analysis, with stringent correction for multiple comparisons. Gambling disorder was associated with significant reductions (average 15.8-19.9 %) in cortical thickness, versus controls, predominantly in right frontal cortical regions. Pronounced right frontal morphometric brain abnormalities occur in gambling disorder, supporting neurobiological overlap with substance disorders and its recent reclassification as a behavioral addiction. Future work should explore the trait versus state nature of the findings and whether similarities exist with other not-yet-reclassified putative behavioral addictions.This research was supported by a grant from the National Center for Responsible Gaming to Dr. Grant. The NCRG had no further role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00406-015-0592-

Neural and psychological underpinnings of gambling disorder: A review.

Gambling disorder affects 0.4 to 1.6% of adults worldwide, and is highly comorbid with other mental health disorders. This article provides a concise primer on the neural and psychological underpinnings of gambling disorder based on a selective review of the literature. Gambling disorder is associated with dysfunction across multiple cognitive domains which can be considered in terms of impulsivity and compulsivity. Neuroimaging data suggest structural and functional abnormalities of networks involved in reward processing and top-down control. Gambling disorder shows 50-60% heritability and it is likely that various neurochemical systems are implicated in the pathophysiology (including dopaminergic, glutamatergic, serotonergic, noradrenergic, and opioidergic). Elevated rates of certain personality traits (e.g. negative urgency, disinhibition), and personality disorders, are found. More research is required to evaluate whether cognitive dysfunction and personality aspects influence the longitudinal course and treatment outcome for gambling disorder. It is hoped that improved understanding of the biological and psychological components of gambling disorder, and their interactions, may lead to improved treatment approaches and raise the profile of this neglected condition.This research was supported by a Center for Excellence in Gambling Research grant by the National Center for Responsible Gaming to Dr. Grant, and a research grant from the Trichotillomania Learning Center to Mr. Odlaug, and by a research grant from the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK) to Dr. Chamberlain.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.10.00