The Relationship Between Voluntary and Involuntary Memory in Recognition and Recall

This article represents the continuation of a long and fruitful line of research begun more than forty years ago by A. A. Smirnov and his colleague P. I. Zinchenko. A major point made in this work is that remembering depends critically on the activities the subject engages in both at the time he is exposed to the materials and at the time memory is assessed.     

Factors associated with involuntary admission to psychiatric facilities in Newfoundland.

To assess what factors determine the involuntary status of psychiatric patients, we reviewed the case records of 5729 patients consecutively admitted to one of four inpatient psychiatric facilities, including a mental hospital, in St. John''s between October 1975 and October 1978. Of the 5729 patients 5005 (87.4%) were voluntary and 724 (12.6%) involuntary. Involuntary patients were more likely than voluntary patients to be male, single and unemployed and to have been referred by police or transferred from another facility to the mental hospital, where most of the involuntary admissions occurred. They had higher rates of previous admissions to a psychiatric facility and of suicidal and violent behaviour, were more likely to have a diagnosis of schizophrenia or mania and were less likely to be suffering from depression or a neurotic disorder. In correspondence with differences in diagnosis, involuntary patients stayed in hospital more than twice as long as voluntary patients, were less likely to receive electroconvulsive therapy, minor tranquillizers and antidepressants, and were more likely to receive neuroleptics and lithium carbonate. Stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed that only the source of referral and a diagnosis of neurotic disorder had an independent effect on admission status. The findings are discussed in the context of the controversy over the parens patriae approach v. the legal approach to involuntary admission of psychiatric patients.     

Are interlimb interactions disturbed in patients with Parkinson’s disease? A study under unloading conditions

During natural human locomotion, neural connections are activated that are typical of regulation of the quadrupedal walking. The interaction between the neural networks generating rhythmic movements of the upper and lower limbs depends on tonic state of each of these networks regulated by motor signals from the brain. Distortion of these signals in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) may lead to disruption of the interlimb interactions. We examined the effect of movements of the limbs of one girdle on the parameters of the motor activity of another limb girdle at their joint cyclic movements under the conditions of arm and leg unloading in 17 patients with PD and 16 healthy subjects. We have shown that, in patients, the effect of voluntary and passive movements of arms, as well as the active movement of the distal parts of arms, on the voluntary movement of legs is weak, while in healthy subjects, the effect of arm movements on the parameters of voluntary stepping is significant. The effect of arm movements on the activation of the involuntary stepping by vibrational stimulation of-legs in patients was absent, while in healthy subjects, the motor activity of arms increased the possibility of involuntary rhythmic movements activation. Differences in the effect of leg movements on the rhythmic movements of arms were found in both patients and healthy subjects. The interlimb interaction appeared after drug administration. However, the effect of the drug was not sufficient for the recovery of normal state of the neural networks in patients. In PD patients, neural networks generating stepping rhythm have an increased tonic activity, which prevents the activation and appearance of involuntary rhythmic movements facilitating the effects of arms on legs.     

Parental attachment and children's memory for attachment-relevant stories

Despite evidence that parents’ attachment is associated with children's memory, less is known about the mechanisms underlying this association or the contexts in which the association is most meaningful. The present study examined whether parents’ attachment predicted children's memory for stories regarding attachment-related topics, whether the cohesiveness of children's stories mediated the association between attachment and memory, and whether the association varied by interview support at retrieval. Five- to six-year-olds completed attachment-relevant stories while parents provided information about their romantic attachment. Children's stories were coded for cohesiveness. A week later, children's memory for their stories was tested by either a supportive or nonsupportive interviewer. When the interview was nonsupportive, greater parental avoidance was associated with poorer memory, whereas when the interview was supportive, greater parental avoidance was associated with fewer errors. Findings provide insight into the context under which parents’ attachment is most influential in shaping children's memory.     

Problems of the Psychology of Memory in the Works of P. I. Zinchenko (On His 75th Birthday)

1978 marked the 75th birthday of Petr Ivanovich Zinchenko, well known to Soviet and foreign psychologists as an outstanding scientist who has made a major contribution to theoretical and practical research on the psychology of memory. He has published more than a hundred works pertaining to studies of various aspects of memory processes in man.     

Voluntary Informed Consent in Paediatric Oncology Research

In paediatric oncology, research and treatments are often closely combined, which may compromise voluntary informed consent of parents. We identified two key scenarios in which voluntary informed consent for paediatric oncology studies is potentially compromised due to the intertwinement of research and care. The first scenario is inclusion by the treating paediatric oncologist, the second scenario concerns treatments confined to the research context. In this article we examine whether voluntary informed consent of parents for research is compromised in these two scenarios, and if so whether this is also morally problematic. For this, we employ the account of voluntary consent from Nelson and colleagues, who assert that voluntary consent requires substantial freedom from controlling influences. We argue that, in the absence of persuasion or manipulation, inclusion by the treating physician does not compromise voluntariness. However, it may function as a risk factor for controlling influence as it narrows the scope within which parents make decisions. Furthermore, physician appeal to reciprocity is not controlling as it constitutes persuasion. In addition, framing information is a form of informational manipulation and constitutes a controlling influence. In the second scenario, treatments confined to the research context qualify as controlling if the available options are restricted through manipulation of options. Although none of the influences is morally problematic in itself, a combination of influences may create morally problematic instances of involuntary informed consent. Therefore, safeguards should be implemented to establish an optimal environment for parents to provide voluntary informed consent in an integrated research‐care context.     

Roles for the TGFβ Superfamily in the Development and Survival of Midbrain Dopaminergic Neurons

The adult midbrain contains 75 % of all dopaminergic neurons in the CNS. Within the midbrain, these neurons are divided into three anatomically and functionally distinct clusters termed A8, A9 and A10. The A9 group plays a functionally non-redundant role in the control of voluntary movement, which is highlighted by the motor syndrome that results from their progressive degeneration in the neurodegenerative disorder, Parkinson’s disease. Despite 50 years of investigation, treatment for Parkinson’s disease remains symptomatic, but an intensive research effort has proposed delivering neurotrophic factors to the brain to protect the remaining dopaminergic neurons, or using these neurotrophic factors to differentiate dopaminergic neurons from stem cell sources for cell transplantation. Most neurotrophic factors studied in this context have been members of the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) superfamily. In recent years, an intensive research effort has focused on understanding the function of these proteins in midbrain dopaminergic neuron development and their role in the molecular architecture that regulates the development of this brain region, with the goal of applying this knowledge to develop novel therapies for Parkinson’s disease. In this review, the current evidence showing that TGFβ superfamily members play critical roles in the regulation of midbrain dopaminergic neuron induction, differentiation, target innervation and survival during embryonic and postnatal development is analysed, and the implications of these findings are discussed.     

A strategy of correction of adolescent deviant behavior based on adaptive self-regulation

A preliminary study has been performed in order to substantiate the strategy of adaptive self-regulation with external feedback for correction of adolescent deviant behavior. The strategy combines voluntary and involuntary components of correction of the functional state by employing two methods: EEG-controlled switching of an appetent signal (music) (the EEG-controlled biofeedback (EEG-BFB) method) and “tuning” of the patient’s own EEG transformed into an acoustic signal (the EEG bioacoustic correction (EEG-BAC) method). These methods have been demonstrated to be highly effective in normalizing the brain bioelectric activity, psychological state, and behavior of adolescents. It has been demonstrated that it is reasonable to use the EEG-BAC method, which does not impose strict requirements on intelligence, memory, and attention levels, at early stages of treatment, followed by EEG-BFB treatment, which allows the patient to efficiently form a stable skill of transition to a comfortable state.     

Collective narratives,false memories,and the origins of autobiographical memory

Building on Dor’s theory of language as a social technology for the instruction of imagination, I suggest that autobiographical memory evolved culturally as a response to the problems of false memory and deliberate deceit that were introduced by that technology. I propose that sapiens’ linguistic communication about past and future events initially occurred in small groups, and this helped to correct individual memory defects. However, when human groups grew in size and became more socially differentiated, and movement between groups prevented story-verification, misattributions of events became more common. In such conditions individuals with better autobiographical memory had an advantage because they could evaluate their own contents and sources of information, as well as that of others, more accurately; this not only benefitted them directly, but also improved their reliability as social partners. Autobiographical memory thus evolved in the context of human linguistic communication through selection for communicative reliability. However, the advantages of imagination, which enables forward-planning and decision-Making, meant that memory distortions, although controlled and moderated by autobiographical memory, could not be totally eradicated. This may have driven the evolution of additional forms of memory control involving social and linguistic norms. I interpret the language and the social norms of the Pirahã as the outcome of the cultural-evolutionary control of memory distortions. Some ways of testing aspects of this proposal are outlined.     

Development and childlessness in the states and territories of Brazil

Abstract

This article provides an analytical account of the variability in and correlates of Brazil's childlessness rates. Following from the socioeconomic development model, which suggests that involuntary childlessness predominates among developing countries and voluntary childlessness among developed countries, this paper examines the extent to which levels of development are related to age‐specific rates of childlessness in the states and territories of Brazil. We find both variation within the age‐specific childlessness rates and important associations between measures of economic development in 1970 and the rates of childlessness in 1980. Moreover, childlessness in Brazil tends to be more voluntary than involuntary, particularly among the younger women in the more modernized subregions of the country.     

Active Memory

Collective memory is a phenomenon that receives a different interpretation depending on the discipline within which it is examined. In my research, I will employ ideas and concepts developed within the framework of a sociocultural approach (Wertsch, 2002; Cole, 1996). In particular, I will proceed from the definition of collective memory developed by James Wertsch (2002), who treats collective memory as textually mediated memory, conditioned by various—mainly historical—narratives. Historical narratives (annals, chronicles, history textbooks, etc.) are considered to be cultural instruments promoting collective remembrance. A category I borrow from Wertsch's work (2002) is the concept of the "schematic narrative template," which I will apply as analytic tool in my investigation of the phenomenon of collective memory phenomenon.     

Using voluntary motor commands to inhibit involuntary arm movements

A hallmark of voluntary motor control is the ability to stop an ongoing movement. Is voluntary motor inhibition a general neural mechanism that can be focused on any movement, including involuntary movements, or is it mere termination of a positive voluntary motor command? The involuntary arm lift, or ‘floating arm trick’, is a distinctive long-lasting reflex of the deltoid muscle. We investigated how a voluntary motor network inhibits this form of involuntary motor control. Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex during the floating arm trick produced a silent period in the reflexively contracting deltoid muscle, followed by a rebound of muscle activity. This pattern suggests a persistent generator of involuntary motor commands. Instructions to bring the arm down voluntarily reduced activity of deltoid muscle. When this voluntary effort was withdrawn, the involuntary arm lift resumed. Further, voluntary motor inhibition produced a strange illusion of physical resistance to bringing the arm down, as if ongoing involuntarily generated commands were located in a ‘sensory blind-spot’, inaccessible to conscious perception. Our results suggest that voluntary motor inhibition may be a specific neural function, distinct from absence of positive voluntary motor commands.     

Activation of interlimb interactions increases the motor output in legs of healthy subjects: Study under the conditions of arm and leg unloading

The effect of arm movements and movements of individual arm joints on the electrophysiological and kinematic characteristics of voluntary and vibration-triggered stepping-like leg movements was studied under the conditions of horizontal support of the upper and lower limbs. The horizontal support of arms provided a significant increase in the rate of activation of locomotor automatism by noninvasive impact on tonic sensory inputs. The addition of active arm movements during involuntary stepping-like leg movements led to an increase in the EMG activity of hip muscles and was accompanied by an increase in the amplitude of hip and shin movements. The movement of the shoulder joints led to an increase in the activity of hip muscles and was accompanied by an increase in the amplitude of hip and shin movements. Passive arm movements had the same effect on induced leg movements. The movement of the shoulder joints led to an increase in the activity of hip muscles and an increase in the amplitude of movements of knee and hip joints. At the same time, the movement of forearms and wrists had a similar facilitating effect on the physiological and kinematic characteristics of rhythmic stepping-like movements, but influenced the distal segments of legs to a greater extent. Under the conditions of subthreshold vibration of leg muscles, voluntary arm movements led to activation of involuntary rhythmic stepping movements. During voluntary leg movements, the addition of arm movements had a significantly smaller impact on the parameters of rhythmic stepping than during involuntary leg movements. Thus, the simultaneous movements of the upper and lower limbs are an effective method of activation of neural networks connecting the rhythm generators of arms and legs. Under the conditions of arm and leg unloading, the interactions between the cervical and lumbosacral segments of the spinal cord seem to play the major role in the impact of arm movements on the patterns of leg movements. The described methods of activation of interlimb interactions can be used in the rehabilitation of post-stroke patients and patients with spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurological diseases.     

Problems in the Psychology of Development (Reading O. Mandel'shtam)

In August of this year, our regular author V.P. Zinchenko celebrated his sixtieth birthday. The editorial board asked him to give an interview about his view of the contemporary science of psychology. Vladimir Petrovich preferred a series of articles on the eternal problems of developmental psychology. We publish the first of these articles, written in the genre of an essay on scientific themes, in this journal issue. But the editorial board did not abandon its request, and hopes that his interview on the science of psychology will be published in the journal. The editorial board congratulates V.P. Zinchenko on his birthday and wishes him success in his scientific work.     

Emergency Preservation and Resuscitation Trial: A Philosophical Justification for Non‐Voluntary Enrollment

In a current clinical trial for Emergency Preservation and Resuscitation (EPR), Dr. Samuel Tisherman of the University of Maryland aims to induce therapeutic hypothermia in order to ‘buy time’ for operating on victims of severe exsanguination. While recent publicity has framed this controversial procedure as ‘killing a patient to save his life’, the US Army and Acute Care Research appear to support the study on the grounds that such patients already face low chances of survival. Given that enrollment in the trial must be non‐voluntary, the study has received an exemption from federal standards for obtaining informed consent. How exactly, if at all, is non‐voluntary enrollment morally justifiable? In this essay, I appeal to the notable work of Hans Jonas in an effort to defend the EPR trial's use of non‐voluntary enrollment. It is often thought and, as I show, it may appear that Jonas has called for the end of experimental medical practice. Still, I derive from Jonas a principle of double‐effect upon which physicians may be seen as morally permitted to pursue innovations in emergency medicine but only as a byproduct of pursuing therapeutic success. With this position, I argue that the EPR trial can be granted a stronger philosophical justification than simply waiving the requirement of obtaining informed consent. The double‐effect justification would obtain, perhaps regardless of the success of such innovative procedures as therapeutic hypothermia.     

Psychophysiological factors of school readiness in six-year-old children

The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of biomedical ethics in healthy six-year-old children (n = 120). The following psychophysiological factors determining the school readiness of six-year-old children were identified in the course of the research: selectivity of voluntary attention (factor I); general work capacity (factor II); physiological maturity (factor III); and sensorimotor coordination of voluntary movement (factor IV). Factors I, II, and IV are related to the activities of the information, energy, and regulatory units of the central nervous system singled out by Luria in the context of the structural-functional model of performance of the brain as a substrate of mental activity. The research has revealed an interrelation between some indicators of school readiness and the parameters of the capacity for physical work.     

Manifestations of selective visual attention in human parietal and temporal cortex according to evoked potentials

The event-related potentials (ERPs) in visual discrimination task in parietal and temporal cortical areas were recorded in 11 young adults during passive observation (involuntary attention) and target selection (voluntary attention). The voluntary selective attention resulted in: 1) increased ERP correlation between the parietal; and temporal cortical areas; 2) increased correlation of sequential ERPs in monopolar leads (P3, P4, T3, T4, T5, T6); and 3) increased correlation of sequential ERPs in bipolar leads (P3-T3, P3-T5, P4-T4, P4-T6). The findings suggest that voluntary attention maintains a concordant activity of the parietal and temporal cortical areas in execution of visual selection tasks.     

Characteristics of the perception and imagination of emotions in patients with focal brain pathology

Voluntary components of the emotion perception were shown to be related to the left hemisphere temporal area in patients with focal lesions of postero-frontal and temporal areas of both hemispheres, whereas the involuntary components required involvement of the right hemisphere temporal area. The voluntary components of the emotion reproduction are associated with involvement of the left hemisphere postero-frontal area, whereas involuntary components of perception are related to work of the right hemisphere postero-frontal area. The data obtained suggest that the voluntary (conscious) recognition and reproduction of emotions are mainly related to the sensory and motor speech centres of the left hemisphere, whereas involuntary those involve symmetrical areas of the opposite hemisphere.     

2. Personality Factors in Perception

2. Personality Factors in Perception The role of personality factors is no less significant in the process of perception. From the theoretical positions of L. S. Vygotsky, A. R. Luria, and A. V. Zaporozhets it follows that the development of perception is determined by new tasks that arise during ontogenesis. Perception advances as perceptual actions develop that manifest the subject's activity (B. C. Anan'yev, 1960; Yu. B. Gippenreiter, 1958; J. Piaget, 1961; L. A. Venger, 1969; A. V. Zaporozhets, 1960; V. P. Zinchenko, 1967). The cited works show how perceptual actions develop and examine their role in constructing an image. They enumerate the developmental stages of perceptual actions and their orienting and regulating functions. The skill and operations that constitute perceptual actions, the child's perceptual development, and the methods for studying the level of perceptual development have all been researched by L. A. Venger (1969).* All of these works characteristically approach perception as an activity that includes a basic feature of the human mind, namely, its selectivity (A. N. Leont'yev).