Charles F. Gillespie, Elisabeth B. Binder, Paul E. Holtzheimer, and Charles B. Nemeroff
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195393804
- eISBN:
- 9780199863495
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195393804.003.0005
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Disorders of the Nervous System
This report summarizes a number of the epigenetic influence on the development and treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. The focus taken here is on the impact of stress and stressors on the ...
More
This report summarizes a number of the epigenetic influence on the development and treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. The focus taken here is on the impact of stress and stressors on the endocrine axis and their effects on the anxiety and mood disorders. There have been a number of interesting leads as to what the relevant important genetic components may be however none have been studied sufficiently to be used as Personalized Medicine markers for anxiety or depression.Less
This report summarizes a number of the epigenetic influence on the development and treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. The focus taken here is on the impact of stress and stressors on the endocrine axis and their effects on the anxiety and mood disorders. There have been a number of interesting leads as to what the relevant important genetic components may be however none have been studied sufficiently to be used as Personalized Medicine markers for anxiety or depression.
Peter Sterling and Simon Laughlin
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262028707
- eISBN:
- 9780262327312
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028707.001.0001
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Research and Theory
The human brain is far smarter than a supercomputer but requires 100,000-fold less energy and space. Such efficient information processing is governed by ten principles of design. These apply to the ...
More
The human brain is far smarter than a supercomputer but requires 100,000-fold less energy and space. Such efficient information processing is governed by ten principles of design. These apply to the whole brain across the full range of spatial and temporal scales, and to the brains of all species. The principles are: compute with chemistry; compute directly with analog primitives; combine analog and pulsatile processing; code sparsely; send only what information is needed for a particular task; transmit information at the lowest acceptable rate; minimize wire; make neural components irreducibly small; complicate; adapt and match, learn and forget. This approach does not explain the “hows” of brain design but does explain many of the “whys”. For example, it explains why certain signals are sent via hormones and others via nerves; why neural wires are mostly thin with only a few thick; why synapses differ in size, number and reliability according to the circuit that they serve; why every neuron type has a characteristic shape; why the cerebral cortex is parceled into different areas and different layers; why learning couples to forgetting. “Whys” explained on nearly every page. Given the explanatory power of ten principles, we should search for more.Less
The human brain is far smarter than a supercomputer but requires 100,000-fold less energy and space. Such efficient information processing is governed by ten principles of design. These apply to the whole brain across the full range of spatial and temporal scales, and to the brains of all species. The principles are: compute with chemistry; compute directly with analog primitives; combine analog and pulsatile processing; code sparsely; send only what information is needed for a particular task; transmit information at the lowest acceptable rate; minimize wire; make neural components irreducibly small; complicate; adapt and match, learn and forget. This approach does not explain the “hows” of brain design but does explain many of the “whys”. For example, it explains why certain signals are sent via hormones and others via nerves; why neural wires are mostly thin with only a few thick; why synapses differ in size, number and reliability according to the circuit that they serve; why every neuron type has a characteristic shape; why the cerebral cortex is parceled into different areas and different layers; why learning couples to forgetting. “Whys” explained on nearly every page. Given the explanatory power of ten principles, we should search for more.
Marion Elizabeth Rodgers
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195072389
- eISBN:
- 9780199787982
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195072389.003.0040
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
Freed from the responsibility of editing The American Mercury, Mencken turned to his political column. He was a supporter of a balanced budget, fiscal responsibility, and a federal government with ...
More
Freed from the responsibility of editing The American Mercury, Mencken turned to his political column. He was a supporter of a balanced budget, fiscal responsibility, and a federal government with limited powers. He believed, like Thomas Jefferson, that the best government was one that governed least. Like his father before him — who had always been suspicious of governmental authority and power, and a believer in the self-reliance of the individual — Mencken was alarmed by Roosevelt's New Deal policies, which seemed to him like an abolition of traditional Constitutional guarantees. Mencken's confrontation with FDR came at the 1934 Gridiron Dinner, when, after Mencken's lighthearted attack on the President, FDR played a malicious joke on Mencken, causing much rancor.Less
Freed from the responsibility of editing The American Mercury, Mencken turned to his political column. He was a supporter of a balanced budget, fiscal responsibility, and a federal government with limited powers. He believed, like Thomas Jefferson, that the best government was one that governed least. Like his father before him — who had always been suspicious of governmental authority and power, and a believer in the self-reliance of the individual — Mencken was alarmed by Roosevelt's New Deal policies, which seemed to him like an abolition of traditional Constitutional guarantees. Mencken's confrontation with FDR came at the 1934 Gridiron Dinner, when, after Mencken's lighthearted attack on the President, FDR played a malicious joke on Mencken, causing much rancor.
Jason Tougaw
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780300221176
- eISBN:
- 9780300235609
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300221176.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
The Elusive Brain is the first comprehensive survey of contemporary literature’s engagement with neuroscience. Jason Tougaw analyzes the works of contemporary writers—including Oliver Sacks, Temple ...
More
The Elusive Brain is the first comprehensive survey of contemporary literature’s engagement with neuroscience. Jason Tougaw analyzes the works of contemporary writers—including Oliver Sacks, Temple Grandin, Richard Powers, Maud Casey, Jonathan Lethem, Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay, and Siri Hustvedt, Ellen Forney, and David B.—arguing that their experiments with literary form offer a necessary counterbalance to a wider cultural neuromania that seeks out purely neural explanations for human behaviors as varied as reading, economics, empathy, and racism. Tougaw surveys memoirs about life with autism, epilepsy manic depression, or brain injury; revisionist mystery novels; and graphic narratives that engage neuroscience. The book argues that these works offer insight about how it feels and what it means to live with a brain whose role in the making of self or consciousness is far from fully understood. Brain memoirs and neuronovels revel in the mysteries of the explanatory gap between brain physiology and mental experience. In the process, these literary works offer an antidote to polarizing and outmoded debates about the “cerebral subject,” whether we are our brains (or not our brains). Rather than engaging in abstract philosophical debate, these literary works explore questions about neurodiversity politics and the stakes of rapidly advancing brain research for people whose experience represent what critic Ralph Savarese calls “all manner of neurologies.” Less
The Elusive Brain is the first comprehensive survey of contemporary literature’s engagement with neuroscience. Jason Tougaw analyzes the works of contemporary writers—including Oliver Sacks, Temple Grandin, Richard Powers, Maud Casey, Jonathan Lethem, Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay, and Siri Hustvedt, Ellen Forney, and David B.—arguing that their experiments with literary form offer a necessary counterbalance to a wider cultural neuromania that seeks out purely neural explanations for human behaviors as varied as reading, economics, empathy, and racism. Tougaw surveys memoirs about life with autism, epilepsy manic depression, or brain injury; revisionist mystery novels; and graphic narratives that engage neuroscience. The book argues that these works offer insight about how it feels and what it means to live with a brain whose role in the making of self or consciousness is far from fully understood. Brain memoirs and neuronovels revel in the mysteries of the explanatory gap between brain physiology and mental experience. In the process, these literary works offer an antidote to polarizing and outmoded debates about the “cerebral subject,” whether we are our brains (or not our brains). Rather than engaging in abstract philosophical debate, these literary works explore questions about neurodiversity politics and the stakes of rapidly advancing brain research for people whose experience represent what critic Ralph Savarese calls “all manner of neurologies.”
Gordon M. Shepherd
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780231177009
- eISBN:
- 9780231542876
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231177009.003.0021
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience
This chapter provides a summary of the contents of the book through new studies, including consumers’ preferences in the alcohol content of wines; whether price impacts pleasure; and how experts in ...
More
This chapter provides a summary of the contents of the book through new studies, including consumers’ preferences in the alcohol content of wines; whether price impacts pleasure; and how experts in wine have different taste experiences than others.Less
This chapter provides a summary of the contents of the book through new studies, including consumers’ preferences in the alcohol content of wines; whether price impacts pleasure; and how experts in wine have different taste experiences than others.
Tara H. Abraham
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262035095
- eISBN:
- 9780262335386
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262035095.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Warren S. McCulloch (1898-1969) has become an icon of the American cybernetics movement and of current work in the cognitive neurosciences. Much of this legacy stems from his classic 1943 work with ...
More
Warren S. McCulloch (1898-1969) has become an icon of the American cybernetics movement and of current work in the cognitive neurosciences. Much of this legacy stems from his classic 1943 work with Walter Pitts on the logic of neural networks, and from his colourful role as chairman of the Macy Conferences on Cybernetics (1946-1953). This biographical work looks beyond McCulloch’s iconic status by exploring the varied scientific, personal, and institutional contexts of McCulloch’s life. By doing so, the book presents McCulloch as a transdisciplinary investigator who took on many scientific identities beyond that of a cybernetician: scientific philosopher, neurophysiologist, psychiatrist, poet, mentor-collaborator, and engineer, and finally, his public persona towards the end of his life, the rebel genius. The book argues that these identities were neither products of McCulloch’s own will nor were they simply shaped by his institutional contexts. In integrating context and agency, the book as provides a more nuanced and rich understanding of McCulloch’s role in the history of American science as well as the institutional contexts of scientific investigations of the brain and mind: in particular at Yale University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The book argues that one of McCulloch’s most important contributions was opening up new ways of understanding the brain: no longer simply an object of medical investigation, the brain became the centre of the multidisciplinary neurosciences.Less
Warren S. McCulloch (1898-1969) has become an icon of the American cybernetics movement and of current work in the cognitive neurosciences. Much of this legacy stems from his classic 1943 work with Walter Pitts on the logic of neural networks, and from his colourful role as chairman of the Macy Conferences on Cybernetics (1946-1953). This biographical work looks beyond McCulloch’s iconic status by exploring the varied scientific, personal, and institutional contexts of McCulloch’s life. By doing so, the book presents McCulloch as a transdisciplinary investigator who took on many scientific identities beyond that of a cybernetician: scientific philosopher, neurophysiologist, psychiatrist, poet, mentor-collaborator, and engineer, and finally, his public persona towards the end of his life, the rebel genius. The book argues that these identities were neither products of McCulloch’s own will nor were they simply shaped by his institutional contexts. In integrating context and agency, the book as provides a more nuanced and rich understanding of McCulloch’s role in the history of American science as well as the institutional contexts of scientific investigations of the brain and mind: in particular at Yale University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The book argues that one of McCulloch’s most important contributions was opening up new ways of understanding the brain: no longer simply an object of medical investigation, the brain became the centre of the multidisciplinary neurosciences.
E. Fuller Torrey
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780231183369
- eISBN:
- 9780231544863
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231183369.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Neurobiology
Religions and mythologies from around the world teach that God or gods created humans. Atheist, humanist, and materialist critics, meanwhile, have attempted to turn theology on its head, claiming ...
More
Religions and mythologies from around the world teach that God or gods created humans. Atheist, humanist, and materialist critics, meanwhile, have attempted to turn theology on its head, claiming that religion is a human invention. In this book, E. Fuller Torrey draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to propose a startling answer to the ultimate question. Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods locates the origin of gods within the human brain, arguing that religious belief is a by-product of evolution. Based on an idea originally proposed by Charles Darwin, Torrey marshals evidence that the emergence of gods was an incidental consequence of several evolutionary factors. Using data ranging from ancient skulls and artifacts to brain imaging, primatology, and child development studies, this book traces how new cognitive abilities gave rise to new behaviors. For instance, autobiographical memory, the ability to project ourselves backward and forward in time, gave Homo sapiens a competitive advantage. However, it also led to comprehension of mortality, spurring belief in an alternative to death. Torrey details the neurobiological sequence that explains why the gods appeared when they did, connecting archaeological findings including clothing, art, farming, and urbanization to cognitive developments. This book does not dismiss belief but rather presents religious belief as an inevitable outcome of brain evolution. Providing clear and accessible explanations of evolutionary neuroscience, Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods will shed new light on the mechanics of our deepest mysteries.Less
Religions and mythologies from around the world teach that God or gods created humans. Atheist, humanist, and materialist critics, meanwhile, have attempted to turn theology on its head, claiming that religion is a human invention. In this book, E. Fuller Torrey draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to propose a startling answer to the ultimate question. Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods locates the origin of gods within the human brain, arguing that religious belief is a by-product of evolution. Based on an idea originally proposed by Charles Darwin, Torrey marshals evidence that the emergence of gods was an incidental consequence of several evolutionary factors. Using data ranging from ancient skulls and artifacts to brain imaging, primatology, and child development studies, this book traces how new cognitive abilities gave rise to new behaviors. For instance, autobiographical memory, the ability to project ourselves backward and forward in time, gave Homo sapiens a competitive advantage. However, it also led to comprehension of mortality, spurring belief in an alternative to death. Torrey details the neurobiological sequence that explains why the gods appeared when they did, connecting archaeological findings including clothing, art, farming, and urbanization to cognitive developments. This book does not dismiss belief but rather presents religious belief as an inevitable outcome of brain evolution. Providing clear and accessible explanations of evolutionary neuroscience, Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods will shed new light on the mechanics of our deepest mysteries.
Dana H. Ballard
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262028615
- eISBN:
- 9780262323819
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028615.001.0001
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Research and Theory
The vast differences between the brain’s neural circuitry and a computer’s silicon circuitry might suggest that they have nothing in common. In fact, as Dana Ballard argues in this book, ...
More
The vast differences between the brain’s neural circuitry and a computer’s silicon circuitry might suggest that they have nothing in common. In fact, as Dana Ballard argues in this book, computational tools are essential for understanding brain function. Ballard shows that the hierarchical organization of the brain has many parallels with the hierarchical organization of computing; as in silicon computing, the complexities of brain computation can be dramatically simplified when its computation is factored into different levels of abstraction. Drawing on several decades of progress in computational neuroscience, together with recent results in Bayesian and reinforcement learning methodologies, Ballard factors the brain’s principal computational issues in terms of their natural place in an overall hierarchy. Each of these factors leads to a fresh perspective. A neural level focuses on the basic forebrain functions and shows how processing demands dictate the extensive use of timing-based circuitry and an overall organization of tabular memories. An embodiment level organization works in reverse, making extensive use of multiplexing and on-demand processing to achieve fast parallel computation. An awareness level focuses on the brain’s representations of emotion, attention and consciousness, showing that they can operate with great economy in the context of the neural and embodiment substrates.Less
The vast differences between the brain’s neural circuitry and a computer’s silicon circuitry might suggest that they have nothing in common. In fact, as Dana Ballard argues in this book, computational tools are essential for understanding brain function. Ballard shows that the hierarchical organization of the brain has many parallels with the hierarchical organization of computing; as in silicon computing, the complexities of brain computation can be dramatically simplified when its computation is factored into different levels of abstraction. Drawing on several decades of progress in computational neuroscience, together with recent results in Bayesian and reinforcement learning methodologies, Ballard factors the brain’s principal computational issues in terms of their natural place in an overall hierarchy. Each of these factors leads to a fresh perspective. A neural level focuses on the basic forebrain functions and shows how processing demands dictate the extensive use of timing-based circuitry and an overall organization of tabular memories. An embodiment level organization works in reverse, making extensive use of multiplexing and on-demand processing to achieve fast parallel computation. An awareness level focuses on the brain’s representations of emotion, attention and consciousness, showing that they can operate with great economy in the context of the neural and embodiment substrates.
Andrea Moro
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262034890
- eISBN:
- 9780262335621
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034890.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
Understanding the nature and the structure of human language coincides with capturing the constraints which make a conceivable language possible or, equivalently, with discovering whether there can ...
More
Understanding the nature and the structure of human language coincides with capturing the constraints which make a conceivable language possible or, equivalently, with discovering whether there can be any impossible languages at all. This book explores these related issues, paralleling the effort of a biologist who attempts at describing the class of impossible animals. In biology, one can appeal for example to physical laws of nature (such as entropy or gravity) but when it comes to language the path becomes intricate and difficult for the physical laws cannot be exploited. In linguistics, in fact, there are two distinct empirical domains to explore: on the one hand, the formal domain of syntax, where different languages are compared trying to understand how much they can differ; on the other, the neurobiological domain, where the flow of information through the complex neural networks and the electric code exploited by neurons is uncovered and measured. By referring to the most advanced experiments in Neurolinguistics the book in fact offers an updated descriptions of modern linguistics and allows the reader to formulate new and surprising questions. Moreover, since syntax - the capacity to generate novel structures (sentences) by recombining a finite set of elements (words) - is the fingerprint of all and only human languages this books ultimately deals with the fundamental questions which characterize the search for our origins.Less
Understanding the nature and the structure of human language coincides with capturing the constraints which make a conceivable language possible or, equivalently, with discovering whether there can be any impossible languages at all. This book explores these related issues, paralleling the effort of a biologist who attempts at describing the class of impossible animals. In biology, one can appeal for example to physical laws of nature (such as entropy or gravity) but when it comes to language the path becomes intricate and difficult for the physical laws cannot be exploited. In linguistics, in fact, there are two distinct empirical domains to explore: on the one hand, the formal domain of syntax, where different languages are compared trying to understand how much they can differ; on the other, the neurobiological domain, where the flow of information through the complex neural networks and the electric code exploited by neurons is uncovered and measured. By referring to the most advanced experiments in Neurolinguistics the book in fact offers an updated descriptions of modern linguistics and allows the reader to formulate new and surprising questions. Moreover, since syntax - the capacity to generate novel structures (sentences) by recombining a finite set of elements (words) - is the fingerprint of all and only human languages this books ultimately deals with the fundamental questions which characterize the search for our origins.
Jonathan Wolpaw and Elizabeth Winter Wolpaw (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195388855
- eISBN:
- 9780199932689
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388855.001.0001
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Techniques
In the last fifteen years, a recognizable surge in the field of Brain Computer Interface (BCI) research and development has emerged. This emergence has sprung from a variety of factors. For one, ...
More
In the last fifteen years, a recognizable surge in the field of Brain Computer Interface (BCI) research and development has emerged. This emergence has sprung from a variety of factors. For one, inexpensive computer hardware and software is now available and can support the complex high-speed analyses of brain activity that is essential is BCI. Another factor is the greater understanding of the central nervous system, including the abundance of new information on the nature and functional correlates of brain signals and improved methods for recording these signals in both the short-term and long-term. And the third, and perhaps most significant factor, is the new recognition of the needs and abilities of people disabled by disorders such as cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis, and muscular dystrophies. The severely disabled are now able to live for many years and even those with severely limited voluntary muscle control can now be given the most basic means of communication and control because of the recent advances in the technology, research, and applications of BCI.Less
In the last fifteen years, a recognizable surge in the field of Brain Computer Interface (BCI) research and development has emerged. This emergence has sprung from a variety of factors. For one, inexpensive computer hardware and software is now available and can support the complex high-speed analyses of brain activity that is essential is BCI. Another factor is the greater understanding of the central nervous system, including the abundance of new information on the nature and functional correlates of brain signals and improved methods for recording these signals in both the short-term and long-term. And the third, and perhaps most significant factor, is the new recognition of the needs and abilities of people disabled by disorders such as cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis, and muscular dystrophies. The severely disabled are now able to live for many years and even those with severely limited voluntary muscle control can now be given the most basic means of communication and control because of the recent advances in the technology, research, and applications of BCI.
Assaf Razin
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262037341
- eISBN:
- 9780262344234
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262037341.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
The book objective is two-fold: First, the book provides rigorous analysis of some of the major globalization episodes during the decade's long emergence of the economy of Israel. Second, the book ...
More
The book objective is two-fold: First, the book provides rigorous analysis of some of the major globalization episodes during the decade's long emergence of the economy of Israel. Second, the book spells out, empirically, how the globalization played a crucial role in advancing Israel's economic progress. That is, economists and policy makers can gain insights as to how a globalized economy takes advantage of international trade, labor mobility, its international financial links, and at the same time push up against globalization headwinds, such as those triggered by the 2008 global financial crisis. A general lesson which comes out is that once a gradual opening up process is set, time-consistent macroeconomic policy is adapted, and well-regulated institutional setup is put in place, Israel’s economy has been able ride on growth-enhancing globalization flows, and weather its chilly storms. The book analyzes these game-changing events, evaluates their role in Israel remarkable development, and compares these developments to groups of developed and emerging- market economies in similar circumstances. To gain broader perspective, the book also looks back into recent history. The unique saga of Israel’s high-inflation crisis and the long period where it rebuilt the major financial, and monetary institutions, and regulatory bodies. These elements provided better macroeconomic stability and help mitigate business cycle fluctuations, and get the economy through military conflicts and boycotts. The book also surveys trending developments that remain challenging. The exceptionally high fertility among ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Arab minority, increasing portions of the population, is the main reason for the flagging labor-force participation. High fertility diminishes skill attainment. A rise in income inequality in all advanced economies, which also takes place in Israel, has a potential for setting off social-political divide. In the case of Israel, its fast development came, however, at the cost of rising income inequality and social polarization. Israel now has the most unequal distribution of income among OECD countries and its public education has declined from one of the best to one of the worst in the OECD. Israel’s income redistributive policies, from rich to poor, from healthy to the sick and from young to old, is significantly less comprehensive in scope, compared to the European systems. It has been becoming even less so over the last decades. Israel has an unusually high fertility rate among the developed economies. The book endeavors to marry economic theory, empirical evidence, and narrative presentation. It does so in a way that is enlightening to the specialist, but remains digestible for the non-professional reader. It provides an opportunity for the reader to look through the rear mirror at the saga of Israel’s high-inflation, and the inflation conquest. To connect to the earlier literature, the book provides a review of books surveys of the earlier phases in the development of the economy of Israel. There could be at least two potential groups of readers: a. Policy makers, academic and non-academic (international institutions, banks, etc.) researchers and students interested in the Israeli Economy; b. Policy makers, academic and non-academic researches, interested in the effects of globalization; and, c. Advanced undergraduate, and graduate students in international macroeconomics courses.Less
The book objective is two-fold: First, the book provides rigorous analysis of some of the major globalization episodes during the decade's long emergence of the economy of Israel. Second, the book spells out, empirically, how the globalization played a crucial role in advancing Israel's economic progress. That is, economists and policy makers can gain insights as to how a globalized economy takes advantage of international trade, labor mobility, its international financial links, and at the same time push up against globalization headwinds, such as those triggered by the 2008 global financial crisis. A general lesson which comes out is that once a gradual opening up process is set, time-consistent macroeconomic policy is adapted, and well-regulated institutional setup is put in place, Israel’s economy has been able ride on growth-enhancing globalization flows, and weather its chilly storms. The book analyzes these game-changing events, evaluates their role in Israel remarkable development, and compares these developments to groups of developed and emerging- market economies in similar circumstances. To gain broader perspective, the book also looks back into recent history. The unique saga of Israel’s high-inflation crisis and the long period where it rebuilt the major financial, and monetary institutions, and regulatory bodies. These elements provided better macroeconomic stability and help mitigate business cycle fluctuations, and get the economy through military conflicts and boycotts. The book also surveys trending developments that remain challenging. The exceptionally high fertility among ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Arab minority, increasing portions of the population, is the main reason for the flagging labor-force participation. High fertility diminishes skill attainment. A rise in income inequality in all advanced economies, which also takes place in Israel, has a potential for setting off social-political divide. In the case of Israel, its fast development came, however, at the cost of rising income inequality and social polarization. Israel now has the most unequal distribution of income among OECD countries and its public education has declined from one of the best to one of the worst in the OECD. Israel’s income redistributive policies, from rich to poor, from healthy to the sick and from young to old, is significantly less comprehensive in scope, compared to the European systems. It has been becoming even less so over the last decades. Israel has an unusually high fertility rate among the developed economies. The book endeavors to marry economic theory, empirical evidence, and narrative presentation. It does so in a way that is enlightening to the specialist, but remains digestible for the non-professional reader. It provides an opportunity for the reader to look through the rear mirror at the saga of Israel’s high-inflation, and the inflation conquest. To connect to the earlier literature, the book provides a review of books surveys of the earlier phases in the development of the economy of Israel. There could be at least two potential groups of readers: a. Policy makers, academic and non-academic (international institutions, banks, etc.) researchers and students interested in the Israeli Economy; b. Policy makers, academic and non-academic researches, interested in the effects of globalization; and, c. Advanced undergraduate, and graduate students in international macroeconomics courses.
David Vincent
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198203070
- eISBN:
- 9780191675690
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198203070.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The pitiful and pitiable outcome of Asquith's infatuation with the rules of secrecy seemed not to have unduly affected the fate of his ailing Ministry. Asquith's conduct was an exaggerated form of a ...
More
The pitiful and pitiable outcome of Asquith's infatuation with the rules of secrecy seemed not to have unduly affected the fate of his ailing Ministry. Asquith's conduct was an exaggerated form of a now-established tradition of simultaneously deploring and practising the leakage of information. Asquith ended his prime-ministerial career at a moment of transition in the conduct of Cabinet business. Asquith's amoral manipulation of the rules of secrecy placed him squarely in the tradition of the contemporary constitutional order. In the Established Church, the concept of honourable secrecy remained at the core of the approach to gaining public confidence. The outcome of the decline in trust was an increase in secrecy. An abiding difficulty of the topic of secrecy is in establishing a scale of significance. The attack on official secrecy mounted by the Union of Democratic Control and its sympathizers could hardly have been more wide-ranging. Water on the Brain narrated the exploits of Major Blenkinsop, recruited by the Director of Extraordinary Intelligence to replace an officer.Less
The pitiful and pitiable outcome of Asquith's infatuation with the rules of secrecy seemed not to have unduly affected the fate of his ailing Ministry. Asquith's conduct was an exaggerated form of a now-established tradition of simultaneously deploring and practising the leakage of information. Asquith ended his prime-ministerial career at a moment of transition in the conduct of Cabinet business. Asquith's amoral manipulation of the rules of secrecy placed him squarely in the tradition of the contemporary constitutional order. In the Established Church, the concept of honourable secrecy remained at the core of the approach to gaining public confidence. The outcome of the decline in trust was an increase in secrecy. An abiding difficulty of the topic of secrecy is in establishing a scale of significance. The attack on official secrecy mounted by the Union of Democratic Control and its sympathizers could hardly have been more wide-ranging. Water on the Brain narrated the exploits of Major Blenkinsop, recruited by the Director of Extraordinary Intelligence to replace an officer.
Alvaro Pascual-Leone and Adolfo Plasencia
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262036016
- eISBN:
- 9780262339308
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036016.003.0024
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
In this dialogue, the Harvard neuroscientist, Alvaro Pascual-Leone initially reflects on the importance of ‘unlearning’ and forgetting. He then gives a detailed explanation of, and how he carries ...
More
In this dialogue, the Harvard neuroscientist, Alvaro Pascual-Leone initially reflects on the importance of ‘unlearning’ and forgetting. He then gives a detailed explanation of, and how he carries out, transcraneal magnetic stimulation (TMS) and how he uses this technology to fight diseases, as well as explaining his experiments on inattentional blindness. He then discusses how the brain acts as a hypothesis generator and whether the brain, the mind and the soul are different things or not. Later reflect on the questions: Is the mind and what we are a consequence of the brain’s structure? Do changes in the brain change our reality? And why are a person’s dreams important? Then he explains how freewill and decision-making work from the brain, and relates his vision of intelligence and where it may be generated from, explaining the differences between the mind and the brain. He finally reflects on what is known so far about the brain’s “dark energy” and the way we are continuously being surprised by the wonders of the brain's plasticity.Less
In this dialogue, the Harvard neuroscientist, Alvaro Pascual-Leone initially reflects on the importance of ‘unlearning’ and forgetting. He then gives a detailed explanation of, and how he carries out, transcraneal magnetic stimulation (TMS) and how he uses this technology to fight diseases, as well as explaining his experiments on inattentional blindness. He then discusses how the brain acts as a hypothesis generator and whether the brain, the mind and the soul are different things or not. Later reflect on the questions: Is the mind and what we are a consequence of the brain’s structure? Do changes in the brain change our reality? And why are a person’s dreams important? Then he explains how freewill and decision-making work from the brain, and relates his vision of intelligence and where it may be generated from, explaining the differences between the mind and the brain. He finally reflects on what is known so far about the brain’s “dark energy” and the way we are continuously being surprised by the wonders of the brain's plasticity.
Stuart J. Ritchie, Eric H. Chudler, and Sergio Della Sala
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199600496
- eISBN:
- 9780191739187
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199600496.003.0072
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Development, Behavioral Neuroscience
A variety of ‘alternative’ educational techniques are being used in classrooms worldwide, and it is often unclear whether or not they are supported by anything other than vaguely ...
More
A variety of ‘alternative’ educational techniques are being used in classrooms worldwide, and it is often unclear whether or not they are supported by anything other than vaguely ‘neuroscientific-sounding’ rationales. This chapter reviews the evidence for a sample of these techniques — the classroom use of Brain Gym, drinking water, brain training games, fish oil supplements, and chewing gum — a selection of ‘alternative’ educational techniques that are either already popular, or becoming ever-more popular in schools worldwide. The evidence is mainly found wanting; what links these techniques, and to some extent explains their popularity, is a common flaw in reasoning referred to as the ferrous fallacy. Before critically reviewing the evidence for the efficacy of each of these techniques, the chapter first describes a particular logical fallacy that is commonly used in support of them. It then describes the characteristics of reliable evidence, giving advice about how to evaluate controversial claims. It explains the attraction of these techniques and provides some recommendations for what should be done about them.Less
A variety of ‘alternative’ educational techniques are being used in classrooms worldwide, and it is often unclear whether or not they are supported by anything other than vaguely ‘neuroscientific-sounding’ rationales. This chapter reviews the evidence for a sample of these techniques — the classroom use of Brain Gym, drinking water, brain training games, fish oil supplements, and chewing gum — a selection of ‘alternative’ educational techniques that are either already popular, or becoming ever-more popular in schools worldwide. The evidence is mainly found wanting; what links these techniques, and to some extent explains their popularity, is a common flaw in reasoning referred to as the ferrous fallacy. Before critically reviewing the evidence for the efficacy of each of these techniques, the chapter first describes a particular logical fallacy that is commonly used in support of them. It then describes the characteristics of reliable evidence, giving advice about how to evaluate controversial claims. It explains the attraction of these techniques and provides some recommendations for what should be done about them.
Peter Hoskin and Wendy Makin
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780192628114
- eISBN:
- 9780191730115
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192628114.003.0024
- Subject:
- Palliative Care, Patient Care and End-of-Life Decision Making, Pain Management and Palliative Pharmacology
This chapter covers metastases of the brain and the meninges. Brain metastases reflects malignancy of the cancer disease; however, most metastases of the brain develop after diagnosis and initial ...
More
This chapter covers metastases of the brain and the meninges. Brain metastases reflects malignancy of the cancer disease; however, most metastases of the brain develop after diagnosis and initial treatment of cancer. Secondary neoplasms account for 20 per cent of all intracerebral tumours in adults. Cerebral metastases are often common in patients with lung and breast cancers and with Hodgkin's lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Cerebral disease is associated with reduced life expectancy with treatment, and if untreated it can cause death within a few weeks. Cerebral metastases is usually prevalent in the terminal phase of the disease. Metastases of the meninges or meningeal carcinomatosis is a serious metastatic syndrome that affects the brain, spinal cord, cranial nerves, and spinal nerve roots. It is prevalent in less than 5 per cent of cancer patients, but meningeal deposits have been found in twice as many cases upon performance of a post-mortem examination. Meningeal carcinomatosis is a result of haematogenous spread through the plexus of the veins associated with the axial bone, involvement of the adjacent bone, or from the central nervous system (CNS) itself. Meninges are common in patients with breast and lung cancer, melanoma, leukaemia, and lymphoma.Less
This chapter covers metastases of the brain and the meninges. Brain metastases reflects malignancy of the cancer disease; however, most metastases of the brain develop after diagnosis and initial treatment of cancer. Secondary neoplasms account for 20 per cent of all intracerebral tumours in adults. Cerebral metastases are often common in patients with lung and breast cancers and with Hodgkin's lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Cerebral disease is associated with reduced life expectancy with treatment, and if untreated it can cause death within a few weeks. Cerebral metastases is usually prevalent in the terminal phase of the disease. Metastases of the meninges or meningeal carcinomatosis is a serious metastatic syndrome that affects the brain, spinal cord, cranial nerves, and spinal nerve roots. It is prevalent in less than 5 per cent of cancer patients, but meningeal deposits have been found in twice as many cases upon performance of a post-mortem examination. Meningeal carcinomatosis is a result of haematogenous spread through the plexus of the veins associated with the axial bone, involvement of the adjacent bone, or from the central nervous system (CNS) itself. Meninges are common in patients with breast and lung cancer, melanoma, leukaemia, and lymphoma.
Jonathan Betts
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198568025
- eISBN:
- 9780191718144
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198568025.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, History of Physics
This is the story of Rupert T. Gould (1890-1948), the polymath and horologist. A remarkable man, Lt Cmdr Gould made important contributions in an extraordinary range of subject areas throughout his ...
More
This is the story of Rupert T. Gould (1890-1948), the polymath and horologist. A remarkable man, Lt Cmdr Gould made important contributions in an extraordinary range of subject areas throughout his relatively short and dramatically troubled life. From antique clocks to scientific mysteries, from typewriters to the first systematic study of the Loch Ness Monster, Gould studied and published on them all. With the title ‘The Stargazer’, Gould was an early broadcaster on the BBC's Children's Hour when, with his encyclopaedic knowledge, he became known as The Man Who Knew Everything. Not surprisingly, he was also part of that elite group on BBC radio who formed The Brains Trust, giving on-the-spot answers to all manner of wide ranging and difficult questions. With his wide learning and photographic memory, Gould awed a national audience, becoming one of the era's radio celebrities. During the 1920s Gould restored the complex and highly significant marine timekeepers constructed by John Harrison (1693-1776), and wrote the unsurpassed classic, The Marine Chronometer, its History and Development. Today he is virtually unknown, his horological contributions scarcely mentioned in Dava Sobel's bestseller Longitude. The TV version of Longitude, in which Jeremy Irons played Rupert Gould, did at least introduce Rupert's name to a wider public. Gould suffered terrible bouts of depression, resulting in a number of nervous breakdowns. These, coupled with his obsessive and pedantic nature, led to a scandalously-reported separation from his wife and cost him his family, his home, his job, and his closest friends.Less
This is the story of Rupert T. Gould (1890-1948), the polymath and horologist. A remarkable man, Lt Cmdr Gould made important contributions in an extraordinary range of subject areas throughout his relatively short and dramatically troubled life. From antique clocks to scientific mysteries, from typewriters to the first systematic study of the Loch Ness Monster, Gould studied and published on them all. With the title ‘The Stargazer’, Gould was an early broadcaster on the BBC's Children's Hour when, with his encyclopaedic knowledge, he became known as The Man Who Knew Everything. Not surprisingly, he was also part of that elite group on BBC radio who formed The Brains Trust, giving on-the-spot answers to all manner of wide ranging and difficult questions. With his wide learning and photographic memory, Gould awed a national audience, becoming one of the era's radio celebrities. During the 1920s Gould restored the complex and highly significant marine timekeepers constructed by John Harrison (1693-1776), and wrote the unsurpassed classic, The Marine Chronometer, its History and Development. Today he is virtually unknown, his horological contributions scarcely mentioned in Dava Sobel's bestseller Longitude. The TV version of Longitude, in which Jeremy Irons played Rupert Gould, did at least introduce Rupert's name to a wider public. Gould suffered terrible bouts of depression, resulting in a number of nervous breakdowns. These, coupled with his obsessive and pedantic nature, led to a scandalously-reported separation from his wife and cost him his family, his home, his job, and his closest friends.
James H. Mills
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199283422
- eISBN:
- 9780191746161
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199283422.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Cultural History
While Britain's colonial past began to shape the UK's experience of cannabis in these years, other overseas contexts were similarly important and Chapter 5 considers them. There was a flurry of ...
More
While Britain's colonial past began to shape the UK's experience of cannabis in these years, other overseas contexts were similarly important and Chapter 5 considers them. There was a flurry of interest in British medical circles about the therapeutic potential of synhexl, or synthetic cannabis, early on in the period of research into antibiotics. However, events at the United Nations and the World Health Organization were to kill off any chance of a revival of therapeutic applications of substances based on the plant in the 1950s. A determined campaign against cannabis was waged by the WHO and the UN in this period which was to ensure that little doubt was left that it was a useless and dangerous material. However, the intervention of British delegates and their colleagues from India served to prevent an even more radical position on the drug in the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.Less
While Britain's colonial past began to shape the UK's experience of cannabis in these years, other overseas contexts were similarly important and Chapter 5 considers them. There was a flurry of interest in British medical circles about the therapeutic potential of synhexl, or synthetic cannabis, early on in the period of research into antibiotics. However, events at the United Nations and the World Health Organization were to kill off any chance of a revival of therapeutic applications of substances based on the plant in the 1950s. A determined campaign against cannabis was waged by the WHO and the UN in this period which was to ensure that little doubt was left that it was a useless and dangerous material. However, the intervention of British delegates and their colleagues from India served to prevent an even more radical position on the drug in the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
Andrew Brook
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029346
- eISBN:
- 9780262330213
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029346.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Andrew Brook applies his model of unified consciousness of one's own psychological states to cases of brain bisection and dissociative identity disorder (DID). He argues that problems with Bayne's ...
More
Andrew Brook applies his model of unified consciousness of one's own psychological states to cases of brain bisection and dissociative identity disorder (DID). He argues that problems with Bayne's “switching model” of brain bisected patients (consciousness switching back and forth from hemisphere to hemisphere) and problems with Humphrey's and Dennett's “interpretationism model” of DID are rooted in part in a common weakness: There is no reference to unified autobiographical memory of a certain special kind. Brook argues for a more commonsense picture of brain bisection patients than Bayne's and a more realist picture of DID than Humphrey's and Dennett's.Less
Andrew Brook applies his model of unified consciousness of one's own psychological states to cases of brain bisection and dissociative identity disorder (DID). He argues that problems with Bayne's “switching model” of brain bisected patients (consciousness switching back and forth from hemisphere to hemisphere) and problems with Humphrey's and Dennett's “interpretationism model” of DID are rooted in part in a common weakness: There is no reference to unified autobiographical memory of a certain special kind. Brook argues for a more commonsense picture of brain bisection patients than Bayne's and a more realist picture of DID than Humphrey's and Dennett's.
William Hirstein
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029346
- eISBN:
- 9780262330213
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029346.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
William Hirstein argues that recent evidence points to widespread underconnectivity in autistic brains due to deviant white matter connections. Specifically, there is prefrontal-parietal ...
More
William Hirstein argues that recent evidence points to widespread underconnectivity in autistic brains due to deviant white matter connections. Specifically, there is prefrontal-parietal underconnectivity and underconnectivity of the default mode network in autistic subjects. These phenomena along with similar data from other psychopathologies may help shed light on the current debate in the consciousness literature about whether conscious states require prefrontal and parietal/temporal connectivity. If it can be shown that people with autism (or any other psychopathology) have conscious states despite such underconnectivity, this would constitute an argument for the claim that conscious states in posterior cortex do not require associated prefrontal activity.Less
William Hirstein argues that recent evidence points to widespread underconnectivity in autistic brains due to deviant white matter connections. Specifically, there is prefrontal-parietal underconnectivity and underconnectivity of the default mode network in autistic subjects. These phenomena along with similar data from other psychopathologies may help shed light on the current debate in the consciousness literature about whether conscious states require prefrontal and parietal/temporal connectivity. If it can be shown that people with autism (or any other psychopathology) have conscious states despite such underconnectivity, this would constitute an argument for the claim that conscious states in posterior cortex do not require associated prefrontal activity.
Cyriel M.A. Pennartz
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029315
- eISBN:
- 9780262330121
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029315.001.0001
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience
Although science has made considerable progress in discovering the neural basis of cognition, how consciousness arises remains elusive. In this book, Pennartz analyzes which aspects of conscious ...
More
Although science has made considerable progress in discovering the neural basis of cognition, how consciousness arises remains elusive. In this book, Pennartz analyzes which aspects of conscious experience can be peeled away to access its core: the relationship between brain processes and the qualitative nature of consciousness. Pennartz traces the problem back to its historical foundations and connects early ideas to contemporary computational neuroscience. What can we learn from neural network models, and where do they fall short in bridging the gap between neurons and conscious experiences? How can neural models of cognition help us define requirements for conscious processing in the brain? These questions underlie Pennartz’s examination of the brain’s anatomy and neurophysiology. This analysis is not limited to visual perception but broadened to include other sensory modalities and their integration. Formulating a representational theory, Pennartz outlines properties that complex neural structures must express to process information consciously. This theoretical framework is constructed using empirical findings from neuroscience and from theoretical arguments such as the ‘Cuneiform Room’ and the ‘Wall Street Banker’. Positing that qualitative experience is a multimodal and multilevel phenomenon at its roots, Pennartz places this body of theory in the wider context of mind-brain philosophy.Less
Although science has made considerable progress in discovering the neural basis of cognition, how consciousness arises remains elusive. In this book, Pennartz analyzes which aspects of conscious experience can be peeled away to access its core: the relationship between brain processes and the qualitative nature of consciousness. Pennartz traces the problem back to its historical foundations and connects early ideas to contemporary computational neuroscience. What can we learn from neural network models, and where do they fall short in bridging the gap between neurons and conscious experiences? How can neural models of cognition help us define requirements for conscious processing in the brain? These questions underlie Pennartz’s examination of the brain’s anatomy and neurophysiology. This analysis is not limited to visual perception but broadened to include other sensory modalities and their integration. Formulating a representational theory, Pennartz outlines properties that complex neural structures must express to process information consciously. This theoretical framework is constructed using empirical findings from neuroscience and from theoretical arguments such as the ‘Cuneiform Room’ and the ‘Wall Street Banker’. Positing that qualitative experience is a multimodal and multilevel phenomenon at its roots, Pennartz places this body of theory in the wider context of mind-brain philosophy.
