12.31.05
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:35 am by Jon Silpayamanant
First Language Acquisition : the Argument
In this first lecture I look at two ways of accounting for how a child acquires its mother tongue. The first, drawn from the work of the linguist Noam Chomsky, sees language as a specific skill, its acquisition governed by an inborn programme, and requiring no direct intervention from parents or teachers. The second, advanced by Jerome Bruner and rooted in Lev Vygotsky’s theories of development, sees the behaviour of the child’s entourage as crucial.
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12.20.05
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:27 am by Jon Silpayamanant
A Prosodic Model of Sign Language Phonology
Diane Brentari
This book is intended in part to provide linguists and cognitive scientists who do not know sign language with a point of entry into the study of sign language phonology. At the same time, it presents a comprehensive theory of American Sign Language (ASL) phonology, while reviewing and building on alternative theories. One claim of this theoretical framework is that, because of sign language’s visual/gestural phonetic basis, the consonant-like units and vowel-like units are expressed simultaneously with one another, rather than sequentially as in spoken languages. A second claim is that movements operate as the most basic prosodic units of the language. The author is concerned to show both the similarities and differences between signed and spoken languages, and to indicate some directions for future work in cognitive science that can be derived from her phonological model.
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12.13.05
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:55 pm by Jon Silpayamanant
Investigating the Mind
Applications of meditation are now common in the treatment of stress, pain, and a range of chronic diseases in both medicine and psychiatry, and some approaches are currently the subject of NIH-supported clinical trials and research studies. At the same time, the power of our non-invasive technologies have made it possible to investigate the nature of cognition and emotion in the brain as never before, and to begin to explore the interfaces between mind, brain, and body, and the implications of particular forms of meditative practices for modulating and regulating biological pathways to restore or enhance homeostatic processes and perhaps extend the reach of both mind and body in ways that might potentially promote rehabilitation and healing as well as greater overall health and well-being.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 1:07 am by Jon Silpayamanant
NeuroReport - Abstract: Neuroreport, Volume 16(17) November 28, 2005 p 1893-1897 Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness.
abstract:
Previous research indicates that long-term meditation practice is associated with altered resting electroencephalogram patterns, suggestive of long lasting changes in brain activity. We hypothesized that meditation practice might also be associated with changes in the brain’s physical structure. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess cortical thickness in 20 participants with extensive Insight meditation experience, which involves focused attention to internal experiences. Brain regions associated with attention, interoception and sensory processing were thicker in meditation participants than matched controls, including the prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula. Between-group differences in prefrontal cortical thickness were most pronounced in older participants, suggesting that meditation might offset age-related cortical thinning. Finally, the thickness of two regions correlated with meditation experience. These data provide the first structural evidence for experience-dependent cortical plasticity associated with meditation practice.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 12:38 am by Jon Silpayamanant
International Education: Meditation helps students
NEW YORK New research appears to be strengthening the case for teaching transcendental meditation in U.S. schools, showing it to be a means to improve the concentration of students and a way to enhance their physical and mental well-being.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 12:19 am by Jon Silpayamanant
ScienceDirect - Journal of Neurolinguistics : Number words are special: Evidence from a case of primary progressive aphasia
abstract:
We present a patient with primary progressive aphasia who showed no problems dealing with a variety of semantic tasks for simple nouns and numerical material. However, massive impairments became apparent in all lexical input and output tasks for non-number words, whereas peripheral processing was demonstrated to be intact. Interestingly, no parallel impairment was observed for numerals. This is the first case study reporting an isolated sparing of number words at the level of lexical processing in all four modalities.
Keywords: Primary progressive aphasia; Transcoding; Lexical impairment; Numerals
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Posted in Uncategorized at 12:16 am by Jon Silpayamanant
Changes in the isoprenoid pathway with transcendental meditation and Reiki healing practices in seizure disorder Kumar RA, Kurup PA Neurol India
abstract:
A quantal perceptive model of brain function has been postulated by several groups. Reiki-like healing practices in seizure disorder (ILAE classification – II E – generalized seizures – tonic clonic), involving transfer of life force or low level of electromagnetic force (EMF) from the healer to the recipient patient, may act via quantal perceptive mechanisms. Increased synthesis of an endogenous membrane Na+-K+ ATPase inhibitor digoxin and a related tyrosine / tryptophan transport defect has been demonstrated in refractory seizure disorder (ILAE classification – II E – generalized seizures – tonic clonic). Reiki-like healing practices in refractory epilepsy results in a reduction in seizure frequency. Reiki-like healing practices produce membrane stabilization and stimulation of membrane Na+-K+ ATPase activity by quantal perception of low levels of EMF. The consequent intracellular hypermagnesemia inhibits HMG CoA reductase activity and digoxin synthesis resulting in the alteration of the neutral amino acid transport (tryptophan / tyrosine) defect. A hypothalamic digoxin-mediated quantal perception model of brain function is proposed. The phenomena of biological transmutation and consequent hypermagnesemia occurring in the resultant neuronal quantal state is also discussed.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 12:07 am by Jon Silpayamanant
Meditation skills of Buddhist monks yield clues to brain’s regulation of attention
In an unusual but fruitful collaboration between Tibetan Buddhist monks and neuroscientists, researchers have uncovered clues to how mental states–and their underlying neural mechanisms–can impact conscious visual experience. In their study, reported in the June 7 issue of Current Biology, the researchers found evidence that the skills developed by Tibetan Buddhist monks in their practice of a certain type of meditation can strongly influence their experience of a phenomenon, termed “perceptual rivalry,” that deals with attention and consciousness.
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12.08.05
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:31 am by Jon Silpayamanant
Relational Frame Theory: The Web Site
Relational Frame Theory (RFT) is an explicitly psychological account of human language and cognition. It is an approach designed to be a pragmatically useful analysis of complex human behavior, and provides the empirical and conceptual tools to conduct an experimental analysis of virtually every substantive topic in this arena. The theory serves as the basis for Acceptance & Commitment Therapy.
While there are many different theories of language and cognition available, RFT offers several distinct advantages over traditional approaches. We believe these advantages make RFT of interest not only to behavioral theorists but also to cognitive psychologists, therapists, educators, and anyone studying the human condition.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 7:11 am by Jon Silpayamanant
Literature, Cognition & the Brain
Welcome to Literature, Cognition & the Brain, a web page featuring research at the intersection of literary studies, cognitive theory, and neuroscience. This page includes abstracts, reviews, accounts of work forthcoming or in progress, links to related web sites, and a regularly updated annotated bibliography.
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