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Perspectives on Psychological Science :... Jan 2018Most of the energy we get to spend is furnished by mitochondria, minuscule living structures sitting inside our cells or dispatched back and forth within them to where... (Review)
Review
Most of the energy we get to spend is furnished by mitochondria, minuscule living structures sitting inside our cells or dispatched back and forth within them to where they are needed. Mitochondria produce energy by burning down what remains of our meal after we have digested it, but at the cost of constantly corroding themselves and us. Here we review how our mitochondria evolved from invading bacteria and have retained a small amount of independence from us; how we inherit them only from our mother; and how they are heavily implicated in learning, memory, cognition, and virtually every mental or neurological affliction. We discuss why counteracting mitochondrial corrosion with antioxidant supplements is often unwise, and why our mitochondria, and therefore we ourselves, benefit instead from exercise, meditation, sleep, sunshine, and particular eating habits. Finally, we describe how malfunctioning mitochondria force rats to become socially subordinate to others, how such disparity can be evened off by a vitamin, and why these findings are relevant to us.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Humans; Mental Disorders; Mental Processes; Mitochondria
PubMed: 28937858
DOI: 10.1177/1745691617718356 -
Bio Systems Jan 2020
Topics: Animals; Congresses as Topic; Humans; Mental Processes; Nerve Net; Neurophysiology; Systems Biology
PubMed: 31585149
DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2019.104049 -
Nature Reviews. Neuroscience Mar 2016When rats come to a decision point, they sometimes pause and look back and forth as if deliberating over the choice; at other times, they proceed as if they have already... (Review)
Review
When rats come to a decision point, they sometimes pause and look back and forth as if deliberating over the choice; at other times, they proceed as if they have already made their decision. In the 1930s, this pause-and-look behaviour was termed 'vicarious trial and error' (VTE), with the implication that the rat was 'thinking about the future'. The discovery in 2007 that the firing of hippocampal place cells gives rise to alternating representations of each of the potential path options in a serial manner during VTE suggested a possible neural mechanism that could underlie the representations of future outcomes. More-recent experiments examining VTE in rats suggest that there are direct parallels to human processes of deliberative decision making, working memory and mental time travel.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Decision Making; Humans; Mental Processes; Models, Biological; Neurons; Rats
PubMed: 26891625
DOI: 10.1038/nrn.2015.30 -
Cognition & Emotion Feb 2020This special issue of assembles recent advances in theorising and empirical research on the automaticity of evaluative learning. Based on a taxonomy of automatic...
This special issue of assembles recent advances in theorising and empirical research on the automaticity of evaluative learning. Based on a taxonomy of automatic processes in evaluative learning, we distinguish between processes that are involved in translating evaluative experiences into evaluative mental representations (acquisition), and processes that translate these representations into evaluative biases in perception, thought, and action (activation and application). We emphasise that automaticity concerns the operating conditions of these processes (unawareness, unintentionality, uncontrollability, efficiency), not their operating principles, and thus can vary within specific processes (e.g. inferences can occur in either an automatic or non-automatic fashion). We review and discuss contemporary theories and methodological approaches to automatic processes in evaluative learning against the backdrop of our framework, and we highlight the contributions of the papers of this special issue to the question whether and when evaluative changes can occur in an automatic manner.
Topics: Cognition; Emotions; Humans; Learning; Psychological Theory
PubMed: 31964253
DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2019.1709315 -
Trends in Cognitive Sciences Apr 2018It is often said that there are two types of psychological processes: one that is intentional, controllable, conscious, and inefficient, and another that is... (Review)
Review
It is often said that there are two types of psychological processes: one that is intentional, controllable, conscious, and inefficient, and another that is unintentional, uncontrollable, unconscious, and efficient. Yet, there have been persistent and increasing objections to this widely influential dual-process typology. Critics point out that the 'two types' framework lacks empirical support, contradicts well-established findings, and is internally incoherent. Moreover, the untested and untenable assumption that psychological phenomena can be partitioned into two types, we argue, has the consequence of systematically thwarting scientific progress. It is time that we as a field come to terms with these issues. In short, the dual-process typology is a convenient and seductive myth, and we think cognitive science can do better.
Topics: Consciousness; Humans; Intention; Mental Processes; Unconscious, Psychology
PubMed: 29571664
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.02.001 -
JAMA Mar 2024
Topics: Brain; Mental Processes; Energy Metabolism; Work
PubMed: 38441591
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.18220 -
International Journal of Neural Systems Apr 2019
Topics: Brain; Brain Diseases; Congresses as Topic; Humans; Mental Processes; Personal Autonomy; Societies, Scientific
PubMed: 30587047
DOI: 10.1142/S0129065718020021 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2023Research in dance psychology and mental health is rapidly growing. Yet, evidence in the field can seem dispersed due to few existing meta overviews that outline research... (Review)
Review
Research in dance psychology and mental health is rapidly growing. Yet, evidence in the field can seem dispersed due to few existing meta overviews that outline research in dance related to mental health. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review is to strengthen future dance research by gathering and contextualizing existing findings on mental health in dance. Following the PRISMA guidelines and protocols, 115 studies were included in the review. Overall, the data analysis shows a predominant adoption of quantitative research but a lack of applied interventions of preventive and reactive procedures in mental health. Similarly, there is a tendency to study pre-professional dancers, whereas research into professional dancers, especially aged 30-60 is underrepresented. Dance genres have been unevenly investigated, with classical ballet being the most researched, whereas different dance styles and freelance employment are in dire need of in-depth investigation. Conceptualizing mental health as a dynamic state, the thematic analysis identified three main categories: and These factors appear to be in a complex interaction. Overall, the existing literature gives indications of components essential to understanding dancers' mental health but has several blind spots and shortcomings. Therefore, a lot of in-depth understanding and research is still needed to fully grasp the dynamic complexity of mental health in dance.
PubMed: 36968742
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1090645 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Nov 2023A central question in understanding cognition and pathology-related cognitive changes is how we process time. However, time processing difficulties across several... (Review)
Review
A central question in understanding cognition and pathology-related cognitive changes is how we process time. However, time processing difficulties across several neurological and psychiatric conditions remain seldom investigated. The aim of this review is to develop a unifying taxonomy of time processing, and a neuropsychological perspective on temporal difficulties. Four main temporal judgments are discussed: duration processing, simultaneity and synchrony, passage of time, and mental time travel. We present an integrated theoretical framework of timing difficulties across psychiatric and neurological conditions based on selected patient populations. This framework provides new mechanistic insights on both (a) the processes involved in each temporal judgement, and (b) temporal difficulties across pathologies. By identifying underlying transdiagnostic time-processing mechanisms, this framework opens fruitful avenues for future research.
Topics: Humans; Time Perception; Mental Disorders; Cognition; Judgment; Auditory Perception
PubMed: 37871780
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105430 -
Journal of Emergency Management... 2023This article is a review of literature focused on how human beings process information under stress. Three major theories on information processing are reviewed: cue... (Review)
Review
This article is a review of literature focused on how human beings process information under stress. Three major theories on information processing are reviewed: cue utilization theory, attentional control theory, and working memory capacity theory. Different conditions that can cause an individual to feel stress are examined, how stress affects information processing, ways which stress may be beneficial, and different ways to mitigate stress, so they may process information more accurately and efficiently. Throughout the article, examples of how stress can affect incident commanders responding to a disaster situation are used to illustrate research findings.
Topics: Humans; Mental Processes; Memory, Short-Term; Disasters
PubMed: 37270413
DOI: 10.5055/jem.0756