Offline perception: an introduction

Experiences that are self-generated and independent of sensory stimulations permeate our whole life. This theme issue examines their similarities and differences, systematizes the literature from an integrative perspective, critically discusses state-of-the-art empirical findings and proposes new theoretical approaches. The aim of the theme issue is to foster interaction between the different disciplines and research directions involved and to explore the prospects of a unificatory account of offline perception in general.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Offline perception: voluntary and spontaneous perceptual experiences without matching external stimulation’.     

Mental Processes and the Brain During Dreams.

This article examines the different theoretical approaches to dreaming and compares them with recent data from brain-mapping studies. Two lines of investigation were considered: a neurobiological and a cognitive approach. Both lines of investigation can be usefully integrated into recent research using the techniques of brain mapping. Two aspects of particular interest are discussed: (a) The pattern of limbic and paralimbic activation in rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM could explain some differences of oneiric hallucination during different stages of sleep, and (b) the deactivation of the heteromodal cortex could explain the loss of reality testing and the absence of self-consciousness during dreams. The complex nature of the dreaming phenomenon makes it necessary to distinguish clearly between mental representation and the underlying neurobiological changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Filmed Dreams: Cinematographic and Story Line Characteristics of the Cinematic Dreamscapes of John Sayles

The authors characterize the filmed dreamscapes of John Sayles though a structured interview with the screenwriter/director and an analysis of cinematographic and story line techniques utilized in creating dreamscapes in two of his films. The filmmaker uses complex techniques to produce believable dreams in otherwise naturalistic films by isolating the dream sequence and altering sound, color, cinematography, story, time, visual perspective and physical properties of the perceived external reality of the dream. This perceptual and orienting framework required to produce a believable dream on film may reflect innate characteristics of the dream state.     

John Kendrew and myoglobin: Protein structure determination in the 1950s

The essay reviews John Kendrew's pioneering work on the structure of myoglobin for which he shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1962. It reconstructs the status of protein X‐ray crystallography at the time Kendrew entered the field in 1945, after distinctive service in operational research during the war. It reflects on the choice of sperm whale myoglobin as research material. In particular, it highlights Kendrew's early use of digital electronic computers for crystallographic computations and the marshaling of other tools and approaches that made it possible to solve the structure at increasing resolution. The essay further discusses the role of models in structure resolution and their broader reception. It ends by briefly reviewing Kendrew's other contributions in the formation and institutionalization of molecular biology.     

Rod opsin sequence in the John Dory: further evidence for the spectral tuning of rhodopsin

The opsin from the John Dory Zeus faber rod visual pigment (maximum spectral sensitivity =492 nm) was cloned and sequenced. Comparison of the John Dory rod opsin sequence with those from other fish with blue-shifted scotopic spectral sensitivity provides further evidence for the spectral tuning of this group of visual pigments.     

History of Ichnology: John Joly (1857–1933) on Oldhamia: Poetic and Scientific Observations

John Joly was an Irish engineer and geologist who in the 1880s attempted to explain the formation of Cambrian markings known as Oldhamia to the freezing of sediment and the development of surface frost. He also noted differences in the preservation of two forms of Oldhamia when found together in the same bed; these were either as a positive or negative. Oldhamia also inspired Joly to write a sonnet in which he considered geochronology, denudation and the history of life. A detailed interpretation of Joly's sonnet is provided for the first time.     

The enigma of guanacos in the Falkland Islands: the legacy of John Hamilton

Aim To address the biogeographical enigma of why guanacos (Lama guanicoe) are in the Falkland Islands we investigated the following questions: (1) What was the origin of the introduced guanacos? (2) What were the initial population sizes? (3) Why are they found only on one island? and (4) Who was John Hamilton and what role did he play? Location The Falkland Islands are located in the South Atlantic Ocean 600 km east of Patagonia at the southern end of South America. While dominated by East and West Falkland Islands, the archipelago is composed of some 750 islands. Sedge and Staats Islands, two small outlying islands of West Falkland, are the focus of this paper. Methods Historical information was collected from known relevant documents housed at the Falkland Islands Government Archives in Stanley, and personal interviews conducted with past and present residents of West Falklands. Research expeditions were made to Staats Island in 1999, 2002 and 2003 to assess the guanaco population size, distribution and social structure. Results Guanacos were unsuccessfully introduced in 1862 to East Falkland south of Mt Pleasant where Prince Alfred hunted them in 1871. John Hamilton, Scottish immigrant to the Falklands and Patagonia of southern Argentina and Chile, was the driving force in the introduction of guanacos from the region of Rio Gallegos, Argentina during the 1930s. The guanaco was one of several wildlife species he introduced, however, only the guanaco, Patagonia grey fox (Dusicyon griseus) and perhaps the sea otter (Lutra felina) survive. Hamilton's acting agent, Jimmy Miller, imported four shipments totalling 26 guanacos from 1934 to 1939. In 1934 the Falkland Government authorized Miller to introduce guanacos to Sedge Island, all 11 of which disappeared. Whether intentional or accidental, 15 guanacos were taken to Staats Island, an islet of 500 ha on the western edge of the archipelago. Historically, guanacos are unexpected on Staats Island because documentation authorizing their introduction is unknown. Guanaco numbers have fluctuated widely on Staats Island for 65 years primarily due to culling. In 1959 the population was dangerously close to extirpation, but today 400 thrive there. A severely reduced gene pool and genetic bottlenecking were suggested by recent field studies, revealing preliminary evidence of deleterious consequences of inbreeding. Main conclusions John Hamilton, spirited and visionary Scottish immigrant to the Falklands in the early 1880s, was responsible for the introduction of guanacos into the Falkland Islands. While there are some gaps in the historical events, the enigma of how and why guanacos were introduced to a single island in the South Atlantic Ocean is understood. Today, Staats Island, as a closed system, is a rare natural experiment in progress. It offers unique opportunities for addressing advanced questions in ungulate population, behavioural and genetic ecology. The population potentially also represents breeding stock for farming the guanaco's highly valuable wool on other islands. Thus, among his many efforts to practice land stewardship and promote economic diversity through the introduction of Patagonian wildlife, a remaining legacy of John Hamilton to the Falkland Islands is unmistakably the guanacos of Staats Island.     

REM dreaming in the transition from late childhood to adolescence: A longitudinal study.

In this longitudinal developmental study, 12 boys and 12 girls provided REM dreams at 3 age levels: 9-11, 11-13, and 13-15 years. A total of 551 dreams were coded by 2 independent raters using C. Hall and R. Van de Castle's (1966) content categories. In addition, ratings of dream realism, the dreamer's self-involvement, and the frequency of speech acts were carried out. There was little change in the basic content categories of REM dreams. However, the frequency of unrealistic dream elements declined, whereas the ability to inventively put together separate contents of the memory system to produce meaningful scenes increased. Self-representation changed from passive experience to interactive involvement, along with an increasing number of speech acts by the dreamer. The similarity of the findings with Hall and Van de Castle categories to findings with home dreams from the same 24 participants is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

White and Amber Light at Night Disrupt Sleep Physiology in Birds

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Magic: A Problem in Semantics

Anthropologists, from Tylor to the present, have so defined magic that, although it might shade into or overlap with religion, it is a separate phenomenon distinct from religion. Theorists have made different features the chief means of differentiation, but no matter how defined the distinction cannot be easily or consistently maintained. This paper suggests that the concept of magic as a distinct entity is the factitious result of ethnocentric classification, and that magic should be included within religion as one type of the practices of which religious ritual is composed.     

A New Method for Finding Small Vertebrate Fossils: Ultraviolet Light At Night

Vertebrate fossils from many different formations fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. In this paper field observations and controlled experiments in the Chadron Formation (White River Group, late Eocene) of Wyoming are used to assess the utility of searching for fossils at night using ultraviolet light. The results indicate that, especially for very small teeth and egg-shell fragments, searching with ultraviolet light at night can result in significantly more specimens than searching during daylight hours. This method has the potential to increase sample sizes for small vertebrate specimens that are often overlooked when using standard collecting techniques.     

Biogeography in the life and literature of John Muir: a ceaseless search for pattern

John Muir has long been known as a significant figure in the history of conservation, including for promoting the recognition of the Yosemite Valley in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California as a national park by the American people and government. Muir is known particularly for his pivotal involvement in the establishment of the Sierra Club, one of North America’s leading conservation associations. His place in the history of biogeography has been largely unrecognized, although a reading of his books shows that there is a rich seam of innovative historical and ecological biogeographical ideas resulting from his many years living in the Sierras. Added to Muir’s interests in the Sierra Mountains and the Sierra Club were his explorations of the mountain ranges and forests of Alaska, as well as his near world‐wide travels to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and the Pacific. The literature on biogeography has remained very largely isolated from Muir’s writing, a dissociation that the present paper seeks to remedy.     

Night life on the beach: selfing to avoid pollinator competition between two sympatric Silene species

Background and Aims Evolution of autonomous selfing may be advantageous because it allows for reproductive assurance. In co-flowering plants competing for pollinators, the least common and/or attractive could suffer pollen limitations. Silene niceensis and S. ramosissima are taxonomically related species sharing the same habitat, although S. ramosissima is less abundant and has a more restricted distribution. They also have the same a priori nocturnal pollinator syndrome, and show an overlapping flowering phenology. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a selfing strategy in S. ramosissima allows it to avoid pollinator competition and/or interspecific pollen transfer with S. niceensis, which would thus enable both species to reach high levels of fruit and seed set.Methods The breeding system, petal colour, flower life span and degree of overlap between male and female phases, floral visitor abundance and visitation rates were analysed in two sympatric populations of S. niceensis and S. ramosissima in southern Spain.Key Results Autonomous selfing in S. ramosissima produced very high fruit and seed set, which was also similar to open-pollinated plants. Silene niceensis showed minimum levels of autonomous selfing, and pollen/ovule ratios were within the range expected for the breeding system. In contrast to S. niceensis, flower life span was much shorter in S. ramosissima, and male and female organs completely overlapped in space and time. Upper surface petals of both species showed differing brightness, chroma and hue. Flowers of S. niceensis were actively visited by moths, hawkmoths and syrphids, whereas those of S. ramosissima were almost never visited.Conclusions The findings show that different breeding strategies exist between the sympatric co-flowering S. niceensis and S. ramosissima, the former specializing in crepuscular–nocturnal pollination and the latter mainly based on autonomous selfing. These two strategies allow both species to share the restricted dune habitat in which they exist, with a high female reproductive success due to the absence of pollinator competition and/or interspecific pollen flow.     

Review of The Mind at Night: The New Science of How and Why We Dream.

In this article I review "The Mind at Night: The New Science of How and Why We Dream," written by Andrea Rock. To begin with this book is an exciting journey through modern dream research. Scientific facts, which are skillfully explained, are complemented by personal accounts of well-known researchers in the field obtained through interviews. The diversity of the themes addressed in the book (e.g., sleep and memory, animal research, imaging studies, dream content analysis, consciousness research, creativity, and lucid dreaming) clearly shows the extensive "detective work" the author has accomplished. The major problem I had--as a researcher in this field--was the structure, or the lack of structure, within the book. Because of the way the book is organized, I decided to structure this review along the following themes: REM sleep, REM sleep and dreaming, biology of dreaming, dream content findings, and the integration of dream research into cognitive neuroscience in general. Despite the lack of structure of the book, Andrea Rock has written a wonderful book about modern dream research that is stimulating for researchers as well as for interested lay persons. I recommend it to everyone who is interested in dream research, the old question of the mind-body relationship, or understanding consciousness in general. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Controlled Exposure to Light and Darkness Realigns the Salivary Cortisol Rhythm in Night Shift Workers

The efficacy of a light/darkness intervention designed to promote circadian adaptation to night shift work was tested in this combined field and laboratory study. Six full-time night shift workers (mean age ± SD:37.1 ± 8.1 yrs) were provided an intervention consisting of an intermittent exposure to full-spectrum bright white light (～2000 lux) in the first 6 h of their 8 h shift, shielding from morning light by tinted lenses (neutral gray density, 15% visual light transmission), and regular sleep/darkness episodes in darkened quarters beginning 2 h after the end of each shift. Five control group workers (41.1 ± 9.9 yrs) were observed in the presence of a regular sleep/darkness schedule only. Constant routines (CR) performed before and after a sequence of ～12 night shifts over 3 weeks revealed that treatment group workers displayed significant shifts in the time of peak cortisol expression and realignment of the rhythm with the night-oriented schedule. Smaller phase shifts, suggesting an incomplete adaptation to the shift work schedule, were observed in the control group. Our observations support the careful control of the pattern of light and darkness exposure for the adaptation of physiological rhythms to night shift work.     

Nematode communities inhabiting the soft deep-sea sediment in polymetallic nodule fields: do they differ from those in the nodule-free abyssal areas?

This study addresses whether or not nematode assemblages inhabiting the soft sediment in abyssal nodule fields are unique and differ from those occurring in the nodule-free abyssal areas. This question is important for the evaluation of possible diversity losses caused by nodule mining operations. The analysis involved seven datasets at genus-level of nematode assemblages from three nodule-bearing abyssal areas in the Pacific (the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone or CCFZ, and the Peru Basin) and the Indian Ocean (CIOB), and five datasets from nodule-free abyssal regions (the Atlantic Ocean). Only individuals identified to valid genera were used in the analysis. Overall, more than 20,000 nematode individuals from 90 samples were analysed. The analyses showed that the nematode communities in the nodule fields did differ from those in the nodule-free abyss. The nodule fields are characterized by a higher microhabitat heterogeneity, which resulted in a higher diversity of nematode communities inhabiting the nodule fields. However, one set of dominant taxa (Monhysteridae, Microlaimus, Acantholaimus, Theristus and Desmoscolex) was identical for both the nodule-bearing and nodule-free abyss, although some genera were strongly and significantly associated with either the nodule-free abyss (Microlaimus) or the nodule-bearing abyssal regions (Capsula). On the other hand, nematode assemblages at nodule-bearing and nodule-free sites within the nodule-bearing abyss proved to be similar at the genus level. This makes it possible for the nodule-free sites to serve as donors of colonizers for the mining-impacted nodule-bearing abyss. However, this suggestion has to be treated with caution, because the species-level differences have not been tested yet.     

Outdoor Light at Night (LAN) Is Correlated With Eveningness in Adolescents

External zeitgebers synchronize the human circadian rhythm of sleep and wakefulness. Humans adapt their chronotype to the day-night cycle, the strongest external zeitgeber. The human circadian rhythm shifts to evening-type orientation when daylight is prolonged into the evening and night hours by artificial light sources. Data from a survey of 1507 German adolescents covering questions about chronotype and electronic screen media use combined with nocturnal satellite image data suggest a relationship between chronotype and artificial nocturnal light. Adolescents living in brightly illuminated urban districts had a stronger evening-type orientation than adolescents living in darker and more rural municipalities. This result persisted when controlling for time use of electronic screen media, intake of stimulants, type of school, age, puberty status, time of sunrise, sex, and population density. Time spent on electronic screen media use—a source of indoor light at night—is also correlated with eveningness, as well as intake of stimulants, age, and puberty status, and, to a lesser degree, type of school and time of sunrise. Adequate urban development design and parents limiting adolescents' electronic screen media use in the evening could help to adjust adolescents' zeitgeber to early school schedules when they provide appropriate lighting conditions for daytime and for nighttime. (Author correspondence: vollmer@ph-heidelberg.de)     

A case study in explanatory power: John Snow's conclusions about the pathology and transmission of cholera

In the mid-1800s, there was much debate about the origin or ‘exciting cause’ of cholera. Despite much confusion surrounding the disease, the so-called miasma theory emerged as the prevalent account about cholera’s cause. Going against this mainstream view, the British physician John Snow inferred several things about cholera’s origin and pathology that no one else inferred. Without observing the vibrio cholerae, however,—data unavailable to Snow and his colleagues—, there was no way of settling the question of what exactly was causing cholera and how, or if, it was passed on. The question then arises as to how Snow arrived at conclusions so systematically different from those of his opponents. In this paper, I want to look at Snow’s reasoning in some detail, and show that there were certain principles, explanatory power in particular, that were epistemologically important to Snow in their own right. I will show that Snow himself takes explanatory power to be an epistemic property, and makes explicit links between explanatory power and confirmation. Systematically juxtaposing Snow’s claims and his opponents’, I will show that Snow was right to tout the explanatory power of his theory, and that his conclusions about the epistemic superiority of his theory over that of the miasmatists’ were justified.