scholarly journals Perceptual awareness and its neural basis: bridging experimental and theoretical paradigms

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1641) ◽  
pp. 20130203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonino Raffone ◽  
Narayanan Srinivasan ◽  
Cees van Leeuwen
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Perceptual Awareness ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Scientific Challenge ◽  
Theoretical Paradigms

Understanding consciousness is a major scientific challenge of our times, and perceptual awareness is an integral part of that challenge. This Theme Issue aims to provide a timely focus on crucial insights from leading scientists on perceptual awareness and its neural basis. The issue refers to key research questions and findings in perceptual awareness research and aims to be a catalyst for further research, by bringing together the state-of-the-art. It shows how bridges are being built between empirical and theoretical research and proposes new directions for the study of multisensory awareness and the role of the states of the body therein. In this introduction, we highlight crucial problems that have characterized the development of the study of perceptual awareness. We then provide an overview of major experimental and theoretical paradigms related to perceptual awareness and its neural basis. Finally, we present an overview of the Theme Issue, with reference to the contributed articles and their relationships.

scholarly journals “Drop the Body”: Body Disposal Patterns in Sexual Homicide

2020 ◽  
pp. 0306624X2093143
Author(s):  
April Miin Miin Chai ◽  
Eric Beauregard ◽  
Julien Chopin
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
The Body ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Sexual Homicide ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Practical Implications

The current study investigates body disposal patterns in sexual homicide and examines whether offender’s behavior differ between solved and unsolved cases. To address these two research questions in line with rational choice perspective, a series of logistic regression analyses was conducted on a sample of 250 solved, and 100 unsolved sexual homicide cases in Canada. Within solved cases, results show that if victim is a prostitute, body found concealed, and found lying face down, it is likely the body was moved. For unsolved cases, the role of victim as a prostitute, and body recovered outdoors suggest that the body was moved. Further, results indicate that post-crime phase factors predicted the most whether the victim’s body was moved in solved cases. Whereas within unsolved cases, crime-phase factors contributed the most at predicting whether the body was moved post-homicide. Theoretical and practical implications from this study are discussed.

Somaesthetics and Dance

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-115
Author(s):  
Curtis L. Carter
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Form Expression ◽  
Martha Graham ◽  
Art Form ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Experimental Dance

Dance is proposed as the most representative of somaesthetic arts in Thinking Through the Body: Essays in Somaesthetics and other writings of Richard Shusterman. Shusterman offers a useful, but incomplete approach to somaesthetics of dance. In the examples provided, dance appears as subordinate to another art form (theater or photography) or as a means to achieving bodily excellence. Missing, for example, are accounts of the role of dance as an independent art form, how somaesthetics would address differences in varying approaches to dance, and attention to the viewer’s somaesthetic dance experience. Three strategies for developing new directions for dance somaesthetics are offered here: identify a fuller range of applications of somaesthetics to dance as an independent art form (e.g. Martha Graham); develop somaesthetics for a wider range of theatre dance (e.g. ballet, modern and experimental dance); and relate somaesthetics to more general features of dance (content, form, expression, style, kinesthetics) necessary for understanding the roles of the choreographer/dancer and the viewer.

scholarly journals Strategies of working with the sonorous body: Identifying other/new writing techniques in the field of bodily sound expression

New Sound ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Dragana Stojanović
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Discursive Space ◽  
Bodily Expression ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
Relational Connection

The issue of the entanglement and interdependence of corporeality and textuality in the process of creating writing attracts attention both in the field of sound and of semantic and bodily expression in sound. When the body is established in the process of semanticization (and re-semanticization), as a specific threshold o f writing, the place and role of the sonorous body forms the focus of theoretical research in that discursive space. This text explores the body's relational connection with writing, focusing on the always present transformative potential of speaking writing (again) as a consequence and condition of bodily expression in sound.

BODYreFORMation

Scene ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-238
Author(s):  
Meni Kourmpeti
Keyword(s):  
Time Frame ◽  
The Body ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Human Morphology ◽  
Decorative Element ◽  
Practical Research ◽  
Human Figure ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Different Cultures

The subject of this practical research involves two personal enquiries around scenography and the body: the performative role of scenographic elements combined with an investigation on the limits of human morphology. Aiming to blur the borders between scenography and the body, I experimented with the idea of a performing costume. My theoretical research on body modification in history and cross-culturally mainly focuses on the human figure as an object of visual interest, while my practical work explores the sculptural possibilities and the limits of the body’s morphology, at the point where it can become ‘monstrous’. I experiment with the diversity of these figures and the transformation that the body is subjected to, in order to fit into the ‘beauty’ standards that different cultures have established in a specific time frame. This project suggests a shift from the conventional role of the costume as a ‘decorative’ element on a performer’s body to a costume that is itself performative and moves to a state where scenography can perform without the body.

scholarly journals AVICENNA ON ANIMAL SELF-AWARENESS, COGNITION AND IDENTITY

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-96
Author(s):  
Ahmed Alwishah
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Study ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Self ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Perceptual Awareness ◽  
The Third ◽  
External Objects ◽  
Do So

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive and systematic study of Avicenna's account of animal self-awareness and cognition. In the first part, I explain how, for Avicenna, in contrast to human self-awareness, animal self-awareness is taken to be indirect, mixed-up (makhlūṭ), and an intermittent awareness. In his view, animal self-awareness is provided by the faculty of estimation (wahm); hence, in the second part, I explore the cognitive role of the faculty of estimation in animals, and how that relates to self-awareness. The faculty of estimation, according to Avicenna, serves to distinguish one's body and its parts from external objects, and plays a role in connecting the self to its perceptual activities. It follows that animal self-awareness, unlike human self-awareness, is essentially connected to the body. In the third part of the paper, I show that, while Avicenna denies animals awareness of their self-awareness, he explicitly affirms that animals can grasp their individual identity, but, unlike humans, do so incidentally, as part of their perceptual awareness.

scholarly journals Neural basis of somatosensory target detection independent of uncertainty, relevance, and reports

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pia Schröder ◽  
Timo Torsten Schmidt ◽  
Felix Blankenburg
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Target Detection ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Perceptual Awareness ◽  
Stimulus Uncertainty ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Secondary Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Frontoparietal Network

Research on somatosensory awareness has yielded highly diverse findings with putative neural correlates ranging from activity within somatosensory cortex to activation of widely distributed frontoparietal networks. Divergent results from previous studies may reside in cognitive processes that often coincide with stimulus awareness in experimental settings. To scrutinise the specific relevance of regions implied in the target detection network, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (n = 27) on a novel somatosensory detection task that explicitly controls for stimulus uncertainty, behavioural relevance, overt reports, and motor responses. Using Bayesian Model Selection, we show that responses reflecting target detection are restricted to secondary somatosensory cortex, whereas activity in insular, cingulate, and motor regions is best explained in terms of stimulus uncertainty and overt reports. Our results emphasise the role of sensory-specific cortex for the emergence of perceptual awareness and dissect the contribution of the frontoparietal network to classical detection tasks.

The Role of Polyphenols in the Modulation of Plasma Non-Enzymatic Antioxidant Capacity (NEAC)

2012 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Serafini ◽  
Giuseppa Morabito
Keyword(s):  
Antioxidant Capacity ◽  
Dietary Intervention ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
The Body ◽  
Dietary Polyphenols ◽  
Enzymatic Antioxidant ◽  
Endogenous Antioxidant

Dietary polyphenols have been shown to scavenge free radicals, modulating cellular redox transcription factors in different in vitro and ex vivo models. Dietary intervention studies have shown that consumption of plant foods modulates plasma Non-Enzymatic Antioxidant Capacity (NEAC), a biomarker of the endogenous antioxidant network, in human subjects. However, the identification of the molecules responsible for this effect are yet to be obtained and evidences of an antioxidant in vivo action of polyphenols are conflicting. There is a clear discrepancy between polyphenols (PP) concentration in body fluids and the extent of increase of plasma NEAC. The low degree of absorption and the extensive metabolism of PP within the body have raised questions about their contribution to the endogenous antioxidant network. This work will discuss the role of polyphenols from galenic preparation, food extracts, and selected dietary sources as modulators of plasma NEAC in humans.

The Role of Computer Modeling in Electrocardiography

1990 ◽  
Vol 29 (04) ◽  
pp. 282-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. van Oosterom
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Activity ◽  
Computer Modeling ◽  
Body Surface ◽  
Electrical Current ◽  
The Body ◽  
Volume Conductor ◽  
Current Generator ◽  
Cardiac Electrical Activity ◽  
Source Models

AbstractThis paper introduces some levels at which the computer has been incorporated in the research into the basis of electrocardiography. The emphasis lies on the modeling of the heart as an electrical current generator and of the properties of the body as a volume conductor, both playing a major role in the shaping of the electrocardiographic waveforms recorded at the body surface. It is claimed that the Forward-Problem of electrocardiography is no longer a problem. Several source models of cardiac electrical activity are considered, one of which can be directly interpreted in terms of the underlying electrophysiology (the depolarization sequence of the ventricles). The importance of using tailored rather than textbook geometry in inverse procedures is stressed.

Questions on the role of biofilms for the adaptation of microorganisms to unfavorable environmental factors by the example of P. aeruginosa

2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-383
Author(s):  
Vasily N. Afonyushkin ◽  
N. A. Donchenko ◽  
Ju. N. Kozlova ◽  
N. A. Davidova ◽  
V. Yu. Koptev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Barrier Function ◽  
Infectious Agent ◽  
Antagonistic Activity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Main Function ◽  
Pathogenic Potential ◽  
The Face

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a widely represented species of bacteria possessing of a pathogenic potential. This infectious agent is causing wound infections, fibrotic cystitis, fibrosing pneumonia, bacterial sepsis, etc. The microorganism is highly resistant to antiseptics, disinfectants, immune system responses of the body. The responses of a quorum sense of this kind of bacteria ensure the inclusion of many pathogenicity factors. The analysis of the scientific literature made it possible to formulate four questions concerning the role of biofilms for the adaptation of P. aeruginosa to adverse environmental factors: Is another person appears to be predominantly of a source an etiological agent or the source of P. aeruginosa infection in the environment? Does the formation of biofilms influence on the antibiotic resistance? How the antagonistic activity of microorganisms is realized in biofilm form? What is the main function of biofilms in the functioning of bacteria? A hypothesis has been put forward the effect of biofilms on the increase of antibiotic resistance of bacteria and, in particular, P. aeruginosa to be secondary in charcter. It is more likely a biofilmboth to fulfill the function of storing nutrients and provide topical competition in the face of food scarcity. In connection with the incompatibility of the molecular radii of most antibiotics and pores in biofilm, biofilm is doubtful to be capable of performing a barrier function for protecting against antibiotics. However, with respect to antibodies and immunocompetent cells, the barrier function is beyond doubt. The biofilm is more likely to fulfill the function of storing nutrients and providing topical competition in conditions of scarcity of food resources.

Receptions of the Past: Commemoration, Racism, Desire

Somatechnics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-303
Author(s):  
Michael Connors Jackman
Keyword(s):  
Critical Point ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
White Privilege ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Race And Racism ◽  
Lesbian And Gay ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of

This article investigates the ways in which the work of The Body Politic (TBP), the first major lesbian and gay newspaper in Canada, comes to be commemorated in queer publics and how it figures in the memories of those who were involved in producing the paper. In revisiting a critical point in the history of TBP from 1985 when controversy erupted over race and racism within the editorial collective, this discussion considers the role of memory in the reproduction of whiteness and in the rupture of standard narratives about the past. As the controversy continues to haunt contemporary queer activism in Canada, the productive work of memory must be considered an essential aspect of how, when and for what reasons the work of TBP comes to be commemorated. By revisiting the events of 1985 and by sifting through interviews with individuals who contributed to the work of TBP, this article complicates the narrative of TBP as a bluntly racist endeavour whilst questioning the white privilege and racially-charged demands that undergird its commemoration. The work of producing and preserving queer history is a vital means of challenging the intentional and strategic erasure of queer existence, but those who engage in such efforts must remain attentive to the unequal terrain of social relations within which remembering forms its objects.

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