scholarly journals Complexity, Children, Dreams

2016 ◽  
pp. 131-135
Author(s):  
Jonathan Leicester

There are difficulties for forming sound beliefs about complex subjects. The evidence about them is often complex, and subject to misinformation, and the beliefs formed about them are often too simple and wishful. The beliefs of young children are fallible in all the usual ways. Some ideas come naturally to children and seem to be evolved adaptations. These may be the sources of the paranormal beliefs that are common among adults. Some parts of the brain are active during dreaming sleep and other functions are inactive. Disbelief is inactive, and the loss of its restraining effect on chains of association of ideas may be why absurdities arise and are accepted.

Author(s):  
Caryn Rosmarin

Meningism is the syndrome of the triad of symptoms of headache, neck stiffness, and photophobia caused by irritation of the meninges. While it is often associated with a diagnosis of meningitis, it is also present in other conditions causing meningeal irritation such as subarachnoid haemorrhage, trigeminal neuralgia, migraine, or febrile illness in children. Meningitis is process of inflammation of the meninges, which may or may not be due to an infectious agent. Strictly speaking, it is a pathological diagnosis, but in lieu of the impracticability of biopsying the meninges, surrogate markers are used to infer inflammation. These include raised cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) white cell count and protein; and meningeal enhancement using contrast enhanced MRI or CT of the brain. Encephalitis is process of inflammation of the brain parenchyma. Strictly speaking, it is again a pathological diagnosis, and again surrogate markers are used to infer this inflammation, although it is slightly more difficult due to the protected nature of the brain. CSF white cell count and protein are expected to be elevated and parenchymal inflammation may be seen on contrast enhanced MRI. Meningoencephalitis is a combination of the above with inflammation of both the meninges and the adjoining brain parenchyma. Aseptic meningitis is said to be present when there is meningism and signs of meningeal inflammation on CSF and imaging, but no bacterial cause is found on culture or molecular diagnostics. Viral meningitis is the commonest cause, although post-neurosurgical aseptic meningitis is often chemical in nature. Meningism plus fever are the classic symptoms of meningitis. The onset may be acute, subacute, or chronic, depending on the cause. Neck stiffness may range from mild discomfort to an almost rigid neck and is not a sensitive test in young children or elderly. While not used routinely and with low sensitivity particularly in young children and elderly, Kernig’s and Brudkzinski’s signs, both of which stretch the meninges worsening the irritation and increasing pain, have a good positive predictive value. Non-specific signs of intracranial pathology may be present, such as signs of raised intracranial pressure (ICP), vomiting, reduced level of consciousness, focal neurological signs, seizures, or irritability, especially in the immunocompromised, elderly, and young children who may not have classic signs and symptoms.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 502-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin H. James

Handwriting experience can have significant effects on the ability of young children to recognize letters. Why handwriting has this facilitative effect and how this is accomplished were explored in a series of studies using overt behavioral measures and functional neuroimaging of the brain in 4- to 5-year-old children. My colleagues and I showed that early handwriting practice affects visual symbol recognition because it results in the production of variable visual forms that aid in symbol understanding. Further, the mechanisms that support this understanding lay in the communication between visual and motor systems in the brain: Handwriting serves to link visual processing with motor experience, facilitating subsequent letter recognition skills. These results are interpreted in the larger context of the facilitatory effect that learning through action has on perceptual capabilities.


1932 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh K. Ward ◽  
Joyce Wright

1. An acute purulent meningitis due to the invasion of the meninges by Pfeiffer's influenza bacillus is not a very uncommon disease ininfants and young children. It has a very high mortality. 2. Complement is entirely absent in the cerebrospinal fluid of these cases, and bactericidal experiments suggest that the injection of a specific antiserum will have but slight lethal effect on the organisms unless complement is injected at the same time. 3. Treatment with a mixture of specific antiserum and complement led in some cases to a definite clinical improvement, coincident with sterilization and clearing of the cerebrospinal fluid. But after some days, the patients relapsed and died. Autopsy showed localized abscesses in the vicinity of the base of the brain, the lesions being definitely walled off from the general subarachnoid space. In one case, the patient recovered. 4. Since the walls of the abscesses apparently present an insuperable mechanical obstacle to the action of the antiserum and complement, the possibility of preventing the formation of abscesses is discussed. Earlier diagnosis and more rapid sterilization are the most obvious measures. Bactericidal experiments indicate that the proportion of antiserum to complement may be an important factor in bringing about a more rapid elimination of the bacilli.


Author(s):  
Jan-Willem van Prooijen

Of primary importance to people is that punishment feel fair, even if a punishment is, objectively speaking, irrational (e.g., kidnapper-murderer-rapist Ariel Castro was punished with 1,000 years’ imprisonment on top of a life sentence). Building on the assertion that punishment is intimately connected with feelings of justice, the chapter outlines that people evolved a moral punishment instinct because it was adaptive in promoting cooperation. Initial findings suggest that people have an inborn tendency to punish. Punishment occurs in all known cultures; punishment occurs also among other social animals; punishment is associated with activation of old, emotional regions of the brain; and young children, including eight-month-old babies, punish. The chapter will also define punishment, and clarify a few crucial terms such as costly punishment, revenge, and aggression.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly A. Mulder ◽  
Sheila M. Innis ◽  
Betina F. Rasmussen ◽  
Brian T. Wu ◽  
Kelly J. Richardson ◽  
...  

AbstractLutein and zeaxanthin are xanthophyll carotenoids present in highly pigmented vegetables and fruits. Lutein is selectively accumulated in the brain relative to other carotenoids. Recent evidence has linked lutein to cognition in older adults, but little is known about lutein in young children, despite structural brain development. We determined lutein intake using FFQ, one 24 h recall and three 24 h recalls, plasma lutein concentrations and their association with cognition in 160 children 5·6–5·9 years of age, at low risk for neurodevelopmental delay. Plasma lutein was skewed, with a median of 0·23 (2·5th to 95th percentile range 0·11–0·53) µmol/l. Plasma lutein showed a higher correlation with lutein intake estimated as the average of three 24 h recalls (r 0·479; P = 0·001), rather than one 24 h recall (r 0·242; P = 0·003) or FFQ (r 0·316; P = 0·001). The median lutein intake was 697 (2·5th to 95th percentile range 178–5287) µg/d based on three 24 h recalls. Lutein intake was inversely associated with SFA intake, but dietary fat or SFA intakes were not associated with plasma lutein. No associations were found between plasma lutein or lutein intake and any measure of cognition. While subtle independent effects of lutein on child cognition are possible, separating these effects from covariates making an impact on both child diet and cognition may be difficult.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Zhou ◽  
Weidong Sun

Objective Learning and memory ability is one of the symbols of higher animals. Compared with other functional markers, learning and memory ability is the most unique. Early childhood is a critical period of learning and memory in a person's life. As a child's initial stage of brain development, environmental factors in early childhood play a key role in the development of the brain. If this critical period is missed, the flexibility required for learning and memory ability will be lost. By consulting the literature, there are few studies on sports related to learning and memory in China, and the results of research on whether physical exercise can improve memory ability at home and abroad are inconsistent. This study is devoted to the analysis of the current research on the ability of sports to learn and remember, and lays the foundation for the study of the impact of physical activity on the learning and memory of young children. Methods This study used literature data method, logic analysis method, and inductive method to conduct statistics and analysis on the learning and memory ability of children in sports. The literature shows that children's participation in physical activity is mainly sports games, basic gymnastics and sports dance. This study studies the effects of different physical activities on children's learning and memory ability from three aspects. Results 1. The influence of sports games on children's memory ability is mainly reflected by the memory of the game process. Studies have shown that children's observation ability and memory ability are more affected by sports games, and children have significant improvement in learning and memory ability. Through training, children's ability to use memory strategies can be effectively improved. 2. The basic gymnastics movements are simple, but there are many types of movements. In the process of learning children, it is necessary to connect scattered gymnastics movements to activate the learning and memory cells of the brain. In the learning process of basic gymnastics, accompanied by the rhythm of music, the movements are varied, and the children need attention. In addition, the children are more sensitive to the movements, and are good at imitating movements. The rhythm of the temperament is strong, the interest of the children is increased, and the movements are remembered easily, memory function is activated. 3. The children's brain remembers the characteristics of the dance movements, and the body begins to display and achieve a state of physical and mental pleasure. When performing sports dance programs, the four-limb movement drives the brain movement, which stimulates the brain, enhances learning motivation, improves learning and memory ability, and promotes the intelligence development of children. Conclusions During exercise, the brain can excite the motor central nervous system to the muscles, and the working condition of the muscles can also be transmitted to the brain through the motor nerves. The brain nerve center in charge of language, memory, thinking, etc. Which is excited in the nerve center of the brain in charge of exercise. When diffused, it will be protectively inhibited, so that these nerves will be relaxed. The interaction between nerves and muscles will enable the body to form a protective mechanism and form a memory effect, so that children can reduce the intensity of physical activity and reduce injuries. The results show that physical activity enhances learning and memory. The rich form of children's sports has increased the interest of young children in participating in physical activities. Not only does it improve the flexibility and sensitivity of young children through participation in sports activities, but also enhances children's


Author(s):  
David F Marks

Subjective paranormal experience (SPE) has been a notable part of the human historical narrative. Alleged miracles, telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, witchcraft, spiritualism, monsters and ghosts have received a supernatural interpretation. The incidence and prevalence of reported SPE remains at high levels in all populations investigated to date. Previous research on SPE has focused on the cognitive and social factors that facilitate paranormal beliefs and experiences. I consider here developmental factors in the brain’s responses to trauma that appear to predispose certain individuals towards SPE. The theory draws upon the established mechanisms of dissociation and fantasy generation to describe and explain the origins of paranormal experience. The theory hypothesizes that childhood abuse and victimization trigger autonomic responses of dissociation, depersonalization and compartmentalization. Freezing and associated releases of fantasy serve as a survival strategy in the homeostatic regaining of safety and control. The predictions from the homeostasis theory are consistent with the findings of multiple studies and falsifying evidence has yet to be identified.


2020 ◽  
pp. 93-137
Author(s):  
Lesley S. McAllister

Chapter Four explores how early childhood music and movement classes might utilize appropriate yoga postures and breath work for very young children from the ages of three to six, concluding with a sample curriculum for an eight-week summer music course. Building on research on the benefits of music education starting in early childhood, as well as research on the importance of slow, integrated movement for optimal learning and neuromuscular development, this chapter shows how introductory musical concepts may be blended with yoga postures and breath work to enhance attention, motivation, and aural awareness. Some of the proposed poses emphasize crossing the midline, which enhances integration across the two hemispheres of the brain. The postures and breath work may also be used with elementary-age students, so the final section describes how specific techniques might be incorporated in the private lesson, as well.


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