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Friends of Chautauqua Theater Company
Theater Conservatory
Signature Staged Readings
Agent submissions may be sent to theater@chq.org
CTC has been committed to developing and producing new work since 2005.
Over the last eighteen years, CTC has dedicated our resources to launching new work onto the stage and into the industry. New Play Workshops (NPWs) have been at the center of this endeavor. Previously, NPWs were staged and produced with design and technical support. Moving forward, we will be using a more fluid, less produced model for our New Play Workshops and Readings: shifting our focus toward the text and the individual needs of each project and playwright. Depending upon what will best serve the play in its current stage of development, we may still offer occasional staging or design elements.
Past seasons have hosted new works by Heidi Armbruster, Zayd Dohrn, Kate Fodor, Nick Gandiello, Rinne Groff, EM Lewis, Quincy Long, Chelsea Marcantel, Molly Smith Metzler, Michael Mitnick, Lauren Yee and Anna Ziegler, among others. Our past NPWs have gone on to receive productions both off-Broadway at Manhattan Theater Club, Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, and at regional theaters across the country.
CTC's most notable NPW success was Noah Haidle's Birthday Candles, directed by former Artistic Director Vivienne Benesch, which celebrated a successful run on Broadway in 2022.
New Play Development at CTC is made possible in part by a generous grant from The Roe Green Foundation.
FLOWERS OF HAWAII
By Lee Cataluna
"We understand what it's like to raise kids who turn out nothing like we intended."
This extended Hawaii family has a wealth of personalities including sexy grandmothers, delinquent grandkids, gender-fluid cousins, abusive wives, addict uncles, and more. They clash, they break, they mend, they eat, and they love each other. Lee Cataluna dishes up a unique play filled with heartbreak and humor and a dash of authentic Hawaiiana.
THROUGH THE EYES OF HOLLY GERMAINE
By Y York
"Marty said when I help the birds it will change people's impression of my shallowness."
On the Canary Islands in the spring of 1986, an oil spill changes everything. In this enticing new eco-drama by Y York, a rising movie star's vacation becomes an environmental rescue mission, a long-lost love triangle re-emerges as a quadrangle, and buried family secrets are washed ashore for all to see. Romantic, funny, and deadly serious, the truth will emerge Through the Eyes of Holly Germaine.
BLACK LIKE ME, adapted from the memoir by John Howard Griffin
By Monty Cole
"Like shipwrecked people, we huddled together in a warmth and courtesy that was equal parts pure and pathetic."
In 1961, white journalist John Howard Griffin medically darkened his skin to "pass" as Black. With the goal of investigating race, Griffin traveled the segregated South for three weeks and published his experiences in a series of journal entries. Black Like Me revisits Griffin's memoir through the response of modern-day characters. This innovative noir docu-drama examines the fine line between allyship and appropriation and asks how we can transform into the people we truly want to be.
REBECCA OXACA LAYS DOWN A BLUNT
By Kristoffer Diaz
In this modern day five-door farce, the overarching theme is to find, express, and celebrate your true calling in life. The action takes place in a renovated hotel, The Hotelman Arms, in Chicago, where the motto is, "No privacy is the new privacy." The cast features a wide range of idiosyncratic roles including the title bunter who just wants to have fun, a mystery writer working on her next bestseller, a blogger trying to capture the next big thing, various members of the hotel staff who are either trying to hide or make love to the guests, and baseball executives that are vying to sign Rebecca to a major league deal. The pace is fast and furious.
TAILBONE
By Juliette Carrillo
Tailbone follows a woman named Anabelle who is determined to take her next relationship in baby steps, but when her new beau gets flooded out of his apartment, she's quick to suggest he stay with her.
HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN
By E. M. Lewis
Directed by Emilie Beck
While grappling with her recent cancer diagnosis, a travel writer meets a frustrated Japanese architect, a homeless girl who lives under a weeping willow tree, and a tattoo artist who doesn't want to use his gift. How the Light Gets Inis a poetic and quirky romantic comedy about four lonely people who find each other when one of them falls apart.
ON THE EXHALE
By Martín Zimmerman
Directed by Patrick Walsh (CTC Directing Fellow alum)
An Actor/Director Workshop
When the tragedy of mass shootings hits home, one mother finds herself inexplicably drawn to the weapon that changed her life forever. On the Exhale is a powerful solo performance featuring CTC alumna Claire Karpen, directed by CTC alumnus Patrick Walsh.
AGENT 355
Music, Lyrics and Book by Preston Max Allen
Book and Dramaturgy by Jessica Kahkoska
True story: during the Revolutionary War, an unidentified female spy helped George Washington and his army to victory. Today, a contemporary all-female band is determined to figure out who she was. In the New Play Workshop's first musical, Agent 355 explores the loyalty, heritage, and courage of six real Revolutionary women whose stories, sacrifices, and secrets shaped the nation.
UNTITLED RUSSIA PLAY
By Lauren Yee
July 30– August 1
Two young Russian men try to find their way after the fall of communism. An absurd comedy about art, love and advertising in the dawn of capitalism.
By Charly Evon Simpson
August 2– August 4
After a death in the family, Fay finds unexpected solace on a bridge. A poetic drama about family, loss and the kindness of strangers.
THE AMISH PROJECT
By Jessica Dickey
A fictional investigation of the real life Nickel Mines school shooting, this riveting one-woman show explores the Amish community's concept of radical forgiveness. Performed by CTC Conservatory alumna Kathryn Metzger, The Amish Project portrays two communities shattered by a mass shooting, and the journey to healing.
DAN CODY'S YACHT
By Anthony Giardina
Chautauqua Theater Company is pleased to announce an unorthodox addition to its 2017 repertoire — on June 9 and 10, the company welcomes playwright Anthony Giardina and director Doug Hughes to Bratton Theater for a "New Play Workshop: Pre-season" staged reading of Dan Cody's Yacht. Its stop at Chautauqua represents a significant step for CTC and Chautauqua toward the long-term goal of more off-season offerings.
By Noah Haidle
August 1-4
Birthday Candles follows Ernestine Ashworth on a magical 100-year journey from her 17th birthday through her 117th. This quirky and clever play invites us into questions of identity, family and legacy. Birthday Candles was commissioned by Detroit Public Theatre and will premiere there this fall.
BUILDING THE WALL
By Robert Schenkkan
Written by the Pulitzer and Tony winning playwright Robert Schenkkan, Building The Wall is a tense, immediate drama that brings a human element to what could happen when inflamatory rhetoric transforms into policy. Not to be missed!
By Chelsea Marcantel
Bohdi is a hypnotherapist. Jevne is a YouTube artist. Ollie sells haunted dolls online. Cath just left her job to move to Oregon with her boyfriend. And they are all building a house together in the back yard. In a world where bigger is always better, can tiny really be happy? Or is this a recipe for disaster? A comedy about what happens when the world shrinks.
THE GLOW OVERHEAD
By Nick Gandiello
Maryanne and Allan Dempsey's son disappeared in a deep cave dive many years ago and now a young and ambitious diver wants to retrieve his remains at great personal risk. This achingly beautiful play investigates the depth of loss when we unexpectedly lose someone we love and what might arise after they are gone.
THE ENGINE OF OUR RUIN
By Jason Wells
A routine trade agreement nearly escalates into a declaration of war when a team of American diplomats meets with delegates from an unnamed Arab nation and diplomacy is –literally–lost in translation. A mischievously sharp-tongued comedy of misinformation and misunderstanding.
AFTERLOVE
By David West Read
A troubled young doctor, struggling with the loss of a patient, finds unexpected tenderness when he's visited by an enchanting female ghost. A funny and poignant look at the afterlife of love.
DAIRYLAND
By Heidi Armbruster
Allie, a food writer in NYC, is determined to find authenticity in a world of internet dating, baby shower crafting, and journalistic in-fighting. But when she takes on the local food movement she finds herself on the wrong side of an epic food fight. Allie escapes the city for her father's dairy farm. Will a dairy cow named Patches leave Allie with a taste of the authenticity she craves?
THE GUADALUPE
By Carol Carpenter
July 31–August 2
On the first night of the annual harvest, the Northrip-Valle family farm becomes the target of a cartel territory war. But why? As gunmen surround the farmhouse in the dark hours of night, secrets unravel and politics collide as the family strategizes their escape.
DARK RADIO
By Colin McKenna
Something is wrong in Ron's suburban neighborhood, but he's the only person in the family who seems to notice. Streets are deserted and cell phones are dead. The only communication Ron is receiving is from a single radio station, buried deep in the AM dial.
By Kait Kerrigan
A small-town newscaster seizes her opportunity for a big break when an unidentified Muslim woman jumps in front of a commuter train on the one-year anniversary of a major terrorist attack. Delving into the haunted life of the train's conductor, his ailing mother and his hapless colleague, Transit explores the power of faith in the face of fear – and of fear in the face of faith.


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J. Bradley McGonigle Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc.
James Merchant, Sharon, PA
by: MyValleyTributes Staff
SHARON, Pennsylvania (MyValleyTributes) – James D. Merchant, Sr., 79, of Sharon, passed away Wednesday evening, January 4, 2023, in Cleveland Clinic, Main Campus.
Mr. Merchant was born on January 30, 1943, in Sharon, a son of the late Leslie and Elsie (Scott) Merchant. A lifelong area resident, he was a 1962 graduate of Sharon High School.
Sharon High School Alumni Tributes
"Jim" began his career as a driver at the former Carl's Candies and later worked at the former Runaway Cycles, both in Hermitage. He ultimately retired after a long career at Young's Vending, Hermitage.
Jim was a lifelong member of the Salvation Army, Sharon Worship Center, where he served as a Sunday School statistician and coordinated and played in the basketball league.
An avid outdoorsman, he loved hunting and fishing. He also enjoyed bowling and participated in many leagues throughout his lifetime. Above all, James was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, the former Gloria Rouns, whom he married on July 6, 1963; a daughter, Jean (Rich) Sinkus, Hermitage; four sons, James (Brenda) Merchant, Jr., Huntsville, AL, Jeffrey (Mary Alice) Merchant, Sharon, Joseph (Pam) Merchant, Lincoln, Nebraska, and George (Sarah) Merchant, Sharon; 23 grandchildren; and 25 great-grandchildren. Also, surviving are three sisters, Betty Marosy, Shirley Keasey and Bonnie Ayers, all of Sharon; four brothers, Lawrence Merchant, Sharon, William (Linda) Merchant, Leslie (June) Merchant, all of Hermitage, Ralph (Mary Ann) Merchant, Transfer; and his four-legged companion, Star.
In addition to his parents, Jim was preceded in death by a sister, Catherine Carter; and a brother, Raymond Merchant.
The family suggests memorial contributions be directed to the Salvation Army, 660 Fisher Hill St., Sharon, PA 16146.
Calling hours will be 10:00 a.m. – 12 Noon Monday, January 9, 2022 in The Salvation Army, Sharon Worship Center.
Funeral service will be at 12 Noon, Monday, in the Worship Center.
Arrangements are being handled by J. Bradley McGonigle Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc.
A television tribute will air Monday, January 9 at the following approximate times: 5:17 a.m. on WKBN, 8:39 a.m. on FOX, 5:21 p.m. on WYTV and 6:35 p.m. on MyYTV. Video will be posted here the day of airing.
MyValley Tributes (Daily Obituaries)
Family returns from celebration to find home on fire

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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What HSPs Need to Know About Why Good People Turn Evil
May 28, 2008 By Elaine Leave a Comment
Originally published in Comfort Zone: May 2008.
Sometimes I have compared HSPs to those who in the past were the priestly advisors to the warrior kings. These thinkers consulted with the doers, and taught, healed, kept the histories, reported on their observations of nature, expressed the group's emotions through art, and interpreted the law. We are still needed in these sorts of roles, but to be truly wise, we must understand evil–the potential for it in others, of course, but also in ourselves. We must overcome any notions that we, sensitive souls that we are, could never do anything intentionally cruel to others. This is true wisdom.
Reading Phil Zimbardo's The Lucifer Effect: Understanding Why Good People Turn Evil (Random House, 2007) has stirred me to write about this, and you may want to read it, too. Phil Zimbardo is a social psychologist at Stanford University, a past president of the American Psychological Association, an author of many books and articles, and also a friend of mine. I particularly admire this book of his and I think it will have a lasting good effect on the world. (It has already sold 40,000 copies, not bad for a non-fiction, non-self-help book.)
The Stanford Prison Study and Abu Ghraib
Zimbardo wrote his book partly because of his own "Stanford prison study" back in 1971. Its purpose was to create a mock prison in the basement of the psychology building in order to learn more about why prisons are such violent places. But in the end, the prison mocked them, in that this study devised by humane persons for humanitarian reasons became almost as inhumane as any prison. I will describe it more momentarily.
Because of his research, Zimbardo was asked to testify on behalf of one of the U.S. soldiers found torturing Iraqis in Abu Ghraib (ironically, the same prison where Saddam Hussein also tortured Iraqis). These soldiers were called "a few bad apples" by those who created the conditions that would in fact have turned almost any young man into a torturer, as Zimbardo knew all too well. This particular soldier was especially "normal," including in his need for approval and his eagerness to follow directions. While Zimbardo never excuses the soldier, or any of us, for doing something very wrong, he does describe why we do wrong so surprisingly often.
Evil People or Evil Situations?
If we define evil as one person intentionally hurting other, with no concern for them at all, then why would anyone do that? The usual answer is that there is something mentally wrong with torturers, due to their own history of abuse or perhaps their genetics. But actually, most evil, past and present, has been done by ordinary people in extraordinary situations.
In fact, evil is usually done because of the shadow side of best human virtues. We are innately highly cooperative and altruistic. We are eager to join in any effort to support and protect those dear to us. We are willing to cooperate by doing what we are asked or told to do by leaders we trust. We do not want to be bad group members or excluded from a group as non-cooperative, unsupportive, cowardly, and the like. So our evil is not necessarily due to some walled-off part of ourselves, but our best part going bad due to the situation.
History and Evil
Looking back over the times when good people have willingly hurt others, Zimbardo saw that it most often occurs when people are part of or made to feel part of a system that asks to them to carry out orders from "higher-up." The system could be political, military, corporate, religious, a family, or any other human organization. It could "be for the good of" science, medicine, or even the environment. The problem arises when the system has goals that are to be accomplished at whatever cost to individuals.
Certainly there are times when it is right to accept an individual's sacrifice in order to prevent the loss of even more lives. But in the evil-promoting systems that Zimbardo describes, the people at the top are deciding to sacrifice lives, not those carrying out the orders and seeing the effects. In fact, usually these "people in the trenches" resist. So those who make the evil decision have to create situations, probably more intuitively from long human experience rather than intentionally, that cause others to cooperate with the system's inhumane goals. One way to do that of course is to have a military trained to carry out any order, but there are other ways as well.
Historical examples of inhumane systems that gained the cooperation of ordinary soldiers or civilians include the Romans; the leaders of the Inquisition; the Nazis; the Japanese in Nanking, China; and of course the U.S. military on numerous occasions, from Wounded Knee to Mai Lai. There are the examples of Rwanda, where friends killed friends, and Jonestown, where parents killed their own children.
Hitler comes to most people's minds because Germany was European and highly civilized, yet succumbed to Hitler's pressure to eradicate the Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, and any one else deemed impure. Zimbardo explains that in March of 1942 about 80% of the eventual victims of the Holocaust were still alive, but 11 months later 80% were dead, due to murder squads that went out to Polish villages or deported people to the death camps. It required enormous man power to do this job.
Most of this killing was done by one reserve battalion of 500 men–elderly family men who were raw recruits with no military police experience. They were told that the battalion had no choice but to carry out this order, but individuals could refuse, and at first half of them–of our fellow humans–did resist. Good for us. But by the end, 90% were obeying. Not such good news about us all. They were seeing others do it, they worried about how the others saw them, and those others were making them feel guilty for refusing. There we go again. There are even photos of these nice family men posing proudly beside the bodies of their victims, just as we saw from Abu Ghraib.
We could list many more situations in which seemingly ordinary, generally nice people have done evil, such as owning slaves and all that went with that. This sort of evil is very close to home, in many prisons and wards of the mentally ill, in work places where people are abused by their employers, and even on the local school yard, among unsupervised children. Still, we wonder if it is that easy, that common, to get you and I to obey evil orders.
Experiments that Pinpoint the Process
The best evidence that anyone could be rather easily made to do evil under the "right" conditions comes from experiments using ordinary people as subjects. One of the first was the famous study by Stanley Milgram, repeated many times in various ways, which found that 65% of very typical people will give electric shocks to someone in another room if they are told to do so by an experimenter in a lab coat, and they will increase these shocks to what they are informed are lethal levels if told they must do so. ("Experts" on human psychology at the time predicted only 1% would obey.) The subjects will continue, even when the person they are shocking is screaming in agony, and then stops responding.
The other outstanding experiment is of course Zimbardo's own Stanford Prison Study. Was it an accident that things went as they did? He had tested his student subjects ahead of time to be sure they were all normal. He paid them to be in the experiment so it was not because they looked forward to playing at being bad guys. They were randomly chosen to take on the roles of prisoners or guards. But then they were swept into evil.
To make things seem real, Zimbardo had the "prisoners" arrested by real police, stocking caps placed on their heads to mimic a shaved head, given prison uniforms, and assigned numbers that were to be their only identification. They were "deloused" with a harmless spray and locked up in cells. The "guards" were given fancy guard uniforms, reflective glasses to hide most of their faces, rules to enforce, encouragement to make life as difficult for the prisoners as it would be in a real prison, and that was about it.
Soon the guards were being creatively abusive, night and day, in ways that went far beyond their instructions, such as leaving "prisoners" in solitary confinement for long periods and sadistically manipulating them psychologically with lies and shaming. The prisoners quickly became passive and demoralized. The odd part was that if any of them had insisted, they could have left. They all knew it was an experiment.
The parents also obeyed the authorities in charge. They visited their prisoner-sons, saw how distressed they were, and could have taken them home, but they did not. Or their guard-sons came home and described what they were doing, but they were not questioned.
The intended two-week study had to be stopped after only five days because of the brutality of the guards and the mental deterioration of the prisoners, especially given that two had to be removed early due to severe mental breakdowns. What distressed Zimbardo more than any of this was that he himself did not stop the seriously deteriorating situation. He realized later that his dual role as experimenter and "prison superintendent" kept him from being objective. He had become completely involved in his prison role. It required an outsider to point out to him what he was doing and insist that he stop the experiment. (That outsider is now his wife, so I guess the partnership has worked well.)
Some Ingredients for an Evil-Creating Situation
Zimbardo has since studied torture and abuse all over the world, and rarely finds it is done by "bad apples" or rogues. It's done by ordinary people put under various pressures by the situation. Here are some of the features of an evil-creating situation:
The doers are made to feel anonymous, to literally forget who they are, or they are helped to understand they are in an unusual situation, so they can forget their ordinary personalities and moral values in this instance.
The done-to are dehumanized or made to seem to be "nothing but animals."
The doers have become an in-group, enjoying each other's support in their tasks, or at least afraid that if they do not conform they will be ashamed or totally banished.
The done-to are members of an out group. We humans are quick to form in groups, which we enjoy and support, and to see those not in that groups as out-group members, which we quickly view as inferior, so that we can be readily made to fight them. This seems to be somewhat innate in some primates (not all species or local groups), in that chimpanzees have been observed to form patrols to kill neighboring troops of chimps, not only the males but the females and young. They have even been seen eating the infants.
People are told that they and their other in-group members are in danger from an out group. Even if there is little or no actual danger, those who question this danger are put under intense social pressure–for example, labeled as traitors or cowards.
There is an ideology or authority that must be obeyed. If it is an ideology, there are simple catch phrases that seem logical and are not questioned due to the fear of being excluded or labeled as a traitor or heretic. (Examples are, "The enemy must be eliminated," "This is for their own good," "They are the work of the Devil," "If we don't stop them we will never be safe.")
If there is a visible authority, it takes responsibility and insists that certain actions must be done–perhaps for science, the welfare of all, and so forth.
People are first asked to agree contractually to do whatever they will be told to do, and then feel they cannot go back on their promise. People agree to obey the rules, even when the rules turn out to lead to actions that violate their own morals. It helps if there are high costs for disobeying.
People are placed in responsible sounding roles such as "guardian," "teacher," "defenders of the law," or "God's soldiers." They receive clothes or other symbols of power and of belonging to the system.
There is a way to pass the responsibility on to others–"the others were doing it," "I just did what I was told." "I just followed orders."
There is no moral leader present to role model resistance.
We ALL Can Do Evil, Easily
Gender has nothing to do with being turned evil by a situation. In one study, 100% of women (75% of men) tortured puppies in order to "teach" them, which they were told to do by an experimenter. They did it even as they cried and begged to be allowed to stop. (Others predicted 10% of women at most would follow these orders.) But overall, the genders do not differ.
Nor does age. A high school teacher, whose class could not understand how the Holocaust could have happened, set up a small "students' movement" that soon became much like the Nazis. Even though the students had been warned an experiment was coming, they were soon shouting meaningless slogans ("Strength in Unity"), excluding the bright students as part of their movement's principles, and being abusive towards those who would not join them. Even students outside of the class wanted to join this movement, until they crowded into an auditorium for their first mass meeting and the teacher showed them a film on the rise of the Nazis.
But it goes younger. A third grade teacher told her pupils that blue-eyed children were superior to brown-eyed ones and immediately the superior group became extremely mean to the others. When she said the next day that she'd mistakenly reversed who were superior, the abuse went the other way. So age and gender is not a factor, and I doubt very much that being highly sensitive would prevent it either.
In fact, I fear there are special reasons why we would be especially vulnerable. Zimbardo is also famous for studying shyness and trying to help people overcome it. In his book he expresses the view that shyness as a trait is likely to lead to evil-doing through the desire to be accepted. That is, shy people are not likely to be heroes. Phil and I are friends, and I pointed out to him years ago that some people are not shy, just highly sensitive. Yet I can understand his viewpoint–while we would predict at first that HSPs would be the first to notice and resist what is wrong, there are many reasons, such as the fear of others' opinions, that could stop us.
Consider again the higher percentage of women willing to torture a puppy. It is much like the results from a study of nurses, mostly women, finding that most were willing to give a patient a treatment they knew to be very dangerous simply because a doctor had ordered. Like women and the young, HSPs are particularly vulnerable to the commands of authority because so often we have been relegated to an inferior role and are used to trying to please. We have learned to fit in, conform, and especially to cooperate. We're nice people. Having experienced enough shame already, we may fear standing out and being seen as weird yet again.
I also believe HSPs can become the best at resisting evil. Indeed, this is the type of heroism we specialize in–seeing and speaking up about the sometimes subtle truth in a situation. But clearly this resistance does not come automatically with our human genes.
Preventing Evil in Ourselves and Others
Zimbardo provides a list of ways for all of to maintain our personal values under extreme social pressures.
Learn to admit your mistakes so that you are able to end something when you realize you have been doing wrong. Help others to admit theirs by reducing their shame. "We all make mistakes, even horrible ones like this." "Good for you for speaking up."
Pay close attention to what's going on rather than functioning on automatic pilot. Think critically. Imagine the end results of what you are going to do or have been told to do. Easy for HSPs.
Learn to speak up rather than conform to what seems wrong, even if the others resist at first. "Do you realize what's going on here, what we're doing?" You need to do this carefully, so that you will ultimately win them over. You can't be either too defiant or too meek.
Take responsibility rather than allowing responsibility to be diffused into "Everyone's doing it" or "I was just doing what I was told." Do not let others do it either. "Everyone may be doing it, but is it right?" "Do we have to do what we were told to do?" "What about disobeying unjust laws–isn't that true heroism?"
Notice when someone is starting to dehumanize you. Force them to notice you as an individual. Emphasize your titles, degrees, or connections, or if it would help, your human needs and feelings. Make eye contact.
If others are dehumanizing someone, point out things unique about the person as well as the person's similarities to those who want to see that individual as nothing but a member of one group opposed to their own, or simply as a subhuman.
Respect just authority, but rebel against it when it is unjust. Those at the top should be serving those beneath, and if they do not, we should do as all humans have had to do since first living in groups–reject an unjust leader. HSPs are often the first to notice injustice so we can help to see when it is time to disobey.
Do not sacrifice your personal or civic freedom for the illusion of security. This is always how tyrants get their way. HSPs like to feel secure, but look ahead to the greater dangers and point them out to others.
Overall, Zimbardo says the rules boil down to self-awareness, situational sensitivity, and street smarts–the specialties of HSPs, provided we are psychologically savvy and feeling confident that we are as good as anyone. Although he places great emphasis on the situation and the universal tendency to conform, he also obviously believes people can do otherwise. At the end of his book he discusses at great length the heroism of not going along with the group, perhaps much more difficult to achieve than the heroism that is the by-product of following orders. Let's be sure that HSPs continue to be well represented on the lists of the greatest non-conforming heroes, or among those who are unknown but sometimes even greater.


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Randy Pitchford Discusses Embracer Acquisition of Gearbox
Gearbox studio founder Randy Pitchford is discussing Embracer's recent acquisition of the studio responsible for popular titles such as Borderlands.
Pitchford says that the acquisition will give Gearbox the opportunity to take more risks.
"We have so many new IP concepts that are in our incubator, that are ready to explode," Pitchford said, in an interview with GamesBeat.
"We could wait for the right publishing partner who's willing to make a bet, rather than only take a risk on something they know Gearbox has already done before. Those publishers that have taken risks on us for what we want to see next have always been rewarded. But for some reason they can't be comfortable with that kind of risk. Now we get to take that risk.
"We don't have to burn the boats to do it. When Epic did their deal, they ended up selling Gears of War to Microsoft. They burned the boats to show they could do something you'd never expect from Epic before, and [gaming] got Fortnite out of that. We don't have to do that. We can maximally deliver on the IP we have and pursue new IP as a consequence of this relationship. That's incredibly exciting for me. I feel like we're just getting started."
Related Topics:EmbracerRandy Pitchford
Rolling Stone Launches Twitch Channel
Ubisoft Delays Prince of Persia Remake
DDM Report Shows Gaming Investments Reached $4.8 Billion During Q2


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I am now going to touch upon the...touchy subject of writing satire. We all have read Mark Twain. His satirical sense of humor has kept readers in stitches for over a century. But what is it that makes his writing funny? There is a fine line between being sarcastic, and being satirical. According to the dictionary, "Sarcastic" means: "Having or marked by a feeling of bitterness and a biting or cutting quality." while "Satirical" means: "Artistic form in which human or individual vices, folly, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods..."
"I Never Saw The Moor"


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The Future of Northern Transport ?
Posted on 17th March 2017 16th March 2017 by The Gryphon Web Editor
Can you imagine a 9 minute journey from Leeds to Manchester? Well, this is not too far from becoming a reality. Direct City Networks has drawn up plans for a line that connects the North area, Liverpool-Manchester-Leeds-Hull, with a 350mph "magnet levitation" train. It will not use conventional "long trains" but "passenger pods or capsules", with these pods leaving as often as "every 60 to 90 seconds" (Liverpool Echo). If this train network is really going to be created it may just become the world's fastest underground system!
The plan consists of a "hover train" that works thanks to magnetic levitation (Maglev), "system where vehicle hover above tracks and are propelled by electrically charged magnets". This kind of technology is operational in some countries like China, with the world's fastest commercial train, reaching speeds of 267mph, South Korea and Japan, where in 2015 a Maglev train set a world speed record of 373mph on a test track. Thus, this tech is not new, neither is it the first time it has been considered for the UK "in 2008, UK Ultraspeed suggested a Maglev system linking cities such as Liverpool and London. It was also used on the link from Birmingham International station to the airport" (Manchester Evening News). And interestingly, the origin of this technology can be found in Greater Manchester, where in 1956 Prof. Eric Latihwaite, patented it after a doctoral research at the Manchester University. (Manchester evening News)
It is estimated to cost over £3bn (BBC). Nevertheless, DCN presents positive data as a growth of the GDP by £1.3bn a year and the creation of 48,000 jobs. Daragh Coleman of DCN told the Yorkshire Evening Post, "it could be 75% privately funded, 25% government funded", and due to this cooperation, it could be functioning in 8 years.
However, there are two important remarks. Firstly, this is supposed to be an alternative for the government's proposal for a High Speed 3 train connecting Leeds and Manchester, for which it approved "an extra £161 million to accelerate the transformation of the M62, and £75 million to improve other road links across the North including the A66 and A69" (HM Treasury, 2016). Secondly, there is no agreement on whether this is feasible. An industry expert argued that this system will "vaporise" passengers and disregarded it as "laughable". Besides, the proposal has been submitted to Transport for the North and a spokesman demanded for "substantive additional development work". (BBC, 6th March 2017).
Hence, the transport system could potentially suffer exciting changes in a few years to come. Linkages in the North will ease amazingly, reducing a journey of an hour long to just 9 minutes. We hope plans will finally be approved and the future of transport and travel in the North can begin to be built.
By Gema Sancho-miñana
Photo from: (Wikipedia.com)
Posted in BusinessTagged Buisness, Gema Sancho-miñana, northern transport, trains
Laura Marling @ O2 Academy, 8/3/17
The Best Business Degree of 2017


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'We will never accept an international war crimes tribunal' – Sri Lankan prime minister
'We will never accept an international war crimes tribunal' – Sri Lankan prime minister | Tamil Guardian
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament that his government "will never accept an international war crimes tribunal" in a lengthy statement delivered on Thursday.
The prime minister accused the island's media of engaging "in witch hunting" and called upon "the newspapers to clean up the mess in their institutions".
Mr Wickremesinghe went on to state:
"We will never accept an international war crimes tribunal. I never approved the Rome Statute. Sovereignty lies with the people according to our Constitution. Our Supreme Court is one of the oldest in the world.
Our Constitution has specified how the members of the Supreme Court are appointed. Judges have to be Sri Lankans. We cannot go against that provision. Those who come to the Court under the provisions of the Constitution should accept the ruling of the court. If foreigners come to appear for some others they should first obtain the permission from the Supreme Court. If the court permits them we cannot do anything about it. Giving them permission is not our task."
He went on to add that his government "will never betray the forces".
"We are going to strengthen the police and tri-forces," said Mr Wickremesinghe. "We will never betray the forces. But, what happened during the war should be investigated. That is not a decision we made. That decision has already been made and we only gave our consent. We need a Truth Commission."
See the full text of his statement here.
His remarks come after a flurry of comments from Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena ruling out an international accountability mechanism for mass atrocities committed during the armed conflict.
Mr Wickremesinghe himself said just days ago that the participation of foreign judges had not been ruled out, in an apparent contradiction of the president's comments.
In response, 144 civil society organisations released a statement saying "these contradictions between the President and the Prime Minister are however not new and have been a constant feature of the Government's public communications about their commitments under the resolution ever since the resolution was passed."
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam viverra euismod odio, gravida pellentesque urna varius vitae. Sed dui lorem, adipiscing in adipiscing et, interdum nec metus. Mauris ultricies, justo eu convallis placerat, felis enim ornare nisi, vitae mattis nulla ante id dui.


Veteran forward Jed Ortmeyer netted two of Houston's three goals in the third period, and the Aeros rallied for a 3-1 win over visiting Binghamton on Friday before 8,018 fans at Toyota Center in Game 1 of the 2011 Calder Cup Finals.
Houston halted the Senators' eight-game road winning streak and handed Binghamton its first defeat on enemy ice since Game 1 of the division semifinals at Manchester, a 2-1 setback on Apr. 14 which also marked the last time the Sens were held to only one goal.
The game was scoreless more than halfway through the second period before Senators rookie Bobby Butler broke through at 16:17 for his rookie-leading 11th goal of the postseason, with fellow rookie Colin Greening picking up the lone helper.
Ortmeyer, a veteran of 310 NHL contests, tied the game up 1:47 into the third period and then notched the eventual game-winner at the 6:09 mark. Former first-round draft pick Colton Gillies and defenseman Marco Scandella assisted on both goals, which were Ortmeyer's fifth and sixth of the playoffs.
Houston forward Warren Peters, making his second straight Calder Cup Finals appearance after getting this far with Texas in 2010, added an empty-net tally in the game's closing minute.
Aeros rookie goaltender Matt Hackett held the fort from there, finishing with 23 saves on 24 shots to improve to 13-6 in 19 postseason contests. At the other end, 19-year-old Robin Lehner made 38 saves for Binghamton in the losing effort.
Both sides finished 0-for-2 on the power play in a game which only featured a combined 14 minutes in penalties.
The teams will get right back on the Toyota Center ice for Game 2 on Saturday night before the series shifts to Binghamton next week.


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Blau cel, blau celestí o blau pàl·lid és el nom d'un color del camp cromàtic del blau.
El seu codi RGB és el 77B5FE en el sistema hexadecimal.

El terme blau cel fa referència al color del cel. És un blau clar i lluminós.

L'expressió blau cel és invariable en gènere i en nombre, exemple: Una roba i vetes blau cel.

Vegeu també
 Blau
 Llista de colors

Referències

Colors

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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hkr.sePublikationer
1 - 32 av 32
http://hkr.diva-portal.org/smash/resultList.jsf?query=&language=sv&searchType=SIMPLE&noOfRows=50&sortOrder=author_sort_asc&sortOrder2=title_sort_asc&onlyFullText=false&sf=all&aq=%5B%5B%7B%22categoryId%22%3A%2211655%22%7D%5D%5D&aqe=%5B%5D&aq2=%5B%5B%5D%5D&af=%5B%5D
1. Aminoff, Sofie R
Jensen, Jimmy
University of Oslo & Oslo University Hospital.
Lagerberg, Trine V
Andreassen, Ole A
Melle, Ingrid
Decreased self-reported arousal in schizophrenia during aversive picture viewing compared to bipolar disorder and healthy controls.2011Ingår i: Psychiatry Research, ISSN 0165-1781, E-ISSN 1872-7123, Vol. 185, nr 3, s. 309-314Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
Both schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) are associated with disturbances in emotion processing. Previous studies suggest that patients with SCZ assess unpleasant pictures as less arousing than healthy controls (HC), while patients with BD assess neutral pictures as more arousing than HC. No previous studies have investigated whether there is a difference in emotional response across all three groups. Our aim was to explore whether there was a difference in the evaluation of valence and in arousal between SCZ, BD and HC for aversive and neutral pictures. We showed 72 pictures (neutral, non-socially aversive and socially aversive) from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) to 347 subjects. There was a clear interaction effect between the diagnostic group and increasing picture aversiveness for both valence and arousal. There were no significant differences in valence ratings between the different groups or in arousal ratings on any type of stimuli between BD patients and HC. However, SCZ patients reported significantly lower arousal for aversive stimuli, particularly with a social content, when compared to BD patients and HC. This was more pronounced in females. The presence of lifetime psychotic symptoms did not influence emotional responses.
2. Aminoff, Sofie Ragnhild
Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo & Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
Lagerberg, Trine Vik
Hellvin, Tone
Sundet, Kjetil
An association between affective lability and executive functioning in bipolar disorder.2012Ingår i: Psychiatry Research, ISSN 0165-1781, E-ISSN 1872-7123, Vol. 198, nr 1, s. 58-61Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
Studies suggest altered affect regulation manifested by affective lability in manic/mixed and euthymic states in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Altered affect regulation may arise from disturbances in interactions between the cognitive and the emotional brain networks. However, the relationship between affective lability and executive function has not previously been studied. Our aim was to investigate affective lability, as measured with the Affective Lability Scale (ALS) in patients with BD (N=32) compared to healthy controls (HC) (N=60), and its relationship to executive functioning. We found significantly higher ALS scores in the BD than in the HC group, indicating a higher degree of affective lability in patients with BD. Sub-sample analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between affective lability and semantic set shifting abilities in BD only. These findings suggest that higher levels of affective lability compared with controls are a trait as well as state dependent in BD, and that disturbed affective lability may arise from an aberrant interaction between cognitive and emotional brain networks.
Andersson, Ingemar
Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för Hälsa och Samhälle.
Långvarig smärta - en introduktion2010Ingår i: Smärta och smärtbehandling / [ed] Mads Werner, Ido Leden, Stockholm: Liber , 2010, 2, s. 387-400Kapitel i bok, del av antologi (Övrigt vetenskapligt)
Bolstad, Ingeborg
Groote, Inge
Server, Andres
Sjaastad, Ivar
Kapur, Shitij
Storbritannien.
Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för lärande och miljö, Avdelningen för Humanvetenskap.
Effects of haloperidol and aripiprazole on the human mesolimbic motivational system: a pharmacological fMRI study2015Ingår i: European Neuropsychopharmacology, ISSN 0924-977X, E-ISSN 1873-7862, Vol. 25, nr 12, s. 2252-2261Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
The atypical antipsychotic drug aripiprazole is a partial dopamine (DA) D2 receptor agonist, which differentiates it from most other antipsychotics. This study compares the brain activation characteristic produced by aripiprazole with that of haloperidol, a typical D2 receptor antagonist. Healthy participants received an acute oral dose of haloperidol, aripiprazole or placebo, and then performed an active aversive conditioning task with aversive and neutral events presented as sounds, while blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was carried out. The fMRI task, targeting the mesolimbic motivational system that is thought to be disturbed in psychosis, was based on the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) animal model - a widely used test of therapeutic potential of antipsychotic drugs. In line with the CAR animal model, the present results show that subjects given haloperidol were not able to avoid more aversive than neutral task trials, even though the response times were shorter during aversive events. In the aripiprazole and placebo groups more aversive than neutral events were avoided. Accordingly, the task-related BOLD-fMRI response in the mesolimbic motivational system was diminished in the haloperidol group compared to the placebo group, particularly in the ventral striatum, whereas the aripiprazole group showed task-related activations intermediate of the placebo and haloperidol groups. The current results show differential effects on brain function by aripiprazole and haloperidol, probably related to altered DA transmission. This supports the use of pharmacological fMRI to study antipsychotic properties in humans.
5. Brown, A A
University of Oslo & University of Oslo & Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
Nikolova, Y S
Djurovic, S
Agartz, I
Server, A
Ferrell, R E
Manuck, S B
Mattingsdal, M
Melle, I
Hariri, A R
Frigessi, A
Andreassen, O A
Genetic variants affecting the neural processing of human facial expressions: evidence using a genome-wide functional imaging approach.2012Ingår i: Translational psychiatry, ISSN 2158-3188, Vol. 2, s. e143-Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
Human faces present crucial visual information for social interaction. Specialized brain regions are involved in the perception of faces, with the fusiform face area (FFA) a key neuronal substrate. Face processing is genetically controlled, but by which specific genes is unknown. A genome-wide approach identified common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with areas of increased brain activity in response to affective facial expressions, measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging. SNPs in 20 genetic regions were linked with neural responses to negative facial expressions in a Norwegian sample (n=246), which included patients with mental illness. Three genetic regions were linked with FFA activation in a further discovery experiment using positive facial expressions and involving many of the same individuals (n=284). Two of these three regions showed significant association with right FFA activation to negative facial expressions in an independent North American replication sample of healthy Caucasians (n=85, 3q26.31, P=0.004; 20p12.3, P=0.045). The activation patterns were particularly striking for the SNP in 3q26.31, which lies in a gene TMEM212; only the FFA was activated. The specialized function of this brain region suggests that TMEM212 could contribute to the innate architecture of face processing.
Davidsson, P.
Lunds universitet.
Carlsson, I.
Jönsson, Peter
No effect of sleep on the generalization of fear learning2014Ingår i: Journal of sleep research, ISSN 1365-2869, Vol. 23, s. 7-Artikel i tidskrift (Övrigt vetenskapligt)
Objectives: Sleep has been shown to be involved both in emotion regulation and in the active processing of information. We combined these two concepts and tested if sleep affected the generalization of fear learning.
Methods: In a fear conditioning paradigm, participants were shown images of a small and a big circle where one of them was paired with an aversive sound, making it the CS+. Fear was measured with skin conductance responses. Participants were then randomly divided into a sleep or a wake group. The sleep group took a 2 h nap while the wake group rested for 2 h. Participants were then exposed to the two circles seen before, combined with 8 novel circles that gradually varied in size from the small one to the big one. We looked at how many circle sizes away from the CS+ that participants still exhibited a fear response, and if this differed between the sleep and the wake group.
Results: We found no effect of sleep on the slope of the generalization across the different circles. There was a main effect of circle size, F(1,25) = 10.42, P = 0.01, but no main effect of sleep/wake, F (1,25) = 0.40, P = 0.54, and no interaction between sleep/wake X circle size, F(1,25) = 0.62, P = 0.44.
Conclusions: The fear conditioning manipulation worked, with a gradual increase of fear depending on the stimuli's similarity to the CS+. However, there was no effect of sleep or wake, which could possibly be explained by that just a 2 h nap not being a sufficient sleep manipulation to detect any differences.
Delfin, Carl
Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för lärande och miljö.
The neural basis of aberrant salience attribution in unmedicated patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders2014Självständigt arbete på avancerad nivå (magisterexamen), 10 poäng / 15 hpStudentuppsats (Examensarbete)
Due to abnormal functioning of the brain's reward and prediction system patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders are thought to assign salience to non-relevant objects and events and to form context-inappropriate associations. The brain's ventral striatum is critical in the formation of associations, and aberrant associations are believed to create delusional content during psychosis. The study wanted to examine the neural response, particularly in the ventral striatum, combined with subjective reports as patients learn associations in an aversive Pavlovian conditioning paradigm. The stimuli were randomized and involved circles of different colors. The conditioned stimuli (CS+) was followed by an unconditioned stimuli (US), consisting of an unpleasant sound, in 50% of events. The unconditioned (CS-) stimuli was followed by a low, not unpleasant sound in 50% of events. The degree of striatal activation was thought to be associated with the severity of patient's illness. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) responses were examined in eleven unmedicated non-institutionalized patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 15 matched healthy controls. No significant within group differences in neural or subjective response to the [CS+ > CS-] contrast were found. No significant associations between severity of illness and degree of striatal activation in response to CS+ or CS- were found. Significant differences in neural activation for the [CS+ > CS-] contrast were found in the ventral striatum, the right inferor frontal gyrus, and the right angular gyrus, with patients exhibiting stronger activation compared to controls. The results and implications are discussed along with suggestions for future research.
8. Diaconescu, Andreea Oliviana
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada & Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
Wang, Hongye
Willeit, Matthäus
Menon, Mahesh
McIntosh, Anthony R
Aberrant Effective Connectivity in Schizophrenia Patients during Appetitive Conditioning2011Ingår i: Frontiers in human neuroscience, ISSN 1662-5161, Vol. 4, s. 239-Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
It has recently been suggested that schizophrenia involves dysfunction in brain connectivity at a neural level, and a dysfunction in reward processing at a behavioral level. The purpose of the present study was to link these two levels of analyses by examining effective connectivity patterns between brain regions mediating reward learning in patients with schizophrenia and healthy, age-matched controls. To this aim, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and galvanic skin recordings (GSR) while patients and controls performed an appetitive conditioning experiment with visual cues as the conditioned (CS) stimuli, and monetary reward as the appetitive unconditioned stimulus (US). Based on explicit stimulus contingency ratings, conditioning occurred in both groups; however, based on implicit, physiological GSR measures, patients failed to show differences between CS+ and CS- conditions. Healthy controls exhibited increased blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) activity across striatal, hippocampal, and prefrontal regions and increased effective connectivity from the ventral striatum to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC BA 11) in the CS+ compared to the CS- condition. Compared to controls, patients showed increased BOLD activity across a similar network of brain regions, and increased effective connectivity from the striatum to hippocampus and prefrontal regions in the CS- compared to the CS+ condition. The findings of increased BOLD activity and effective connectivity in response to the CS- in patients with schizophrenia offer insight into the aberrant assignment of motivational salience to non-reinforced stimuli during conditioning that is thought to accompany schizophrenia.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål, Oslo, Norway.
McIntosh, Anthony Randal
Dopamine-induced changes in neural network patterns supporting aversive conditioning.2010Ingår i: Brain Research, ISSN 0006-8993, E-ISSN 1872-6240, Vol. 1313, s. 143-161Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
The aim of the present paper is to assess the effects of altered dopamine (DA) transmission on the functional connectivity among brain regions mediating aversive conditioning in humans. To this aim, we analyzed a previous published data set from a double-blind design combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) recordings in which healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to one of three drug groups: amphetamine (an indirect DA agonist), haloperidol (DA D2 receptor antagonist), and placebo. Participants were exposed to an aversive classical conditioning paradigm using cutaneous electrical stimulation as the unconditioned stimulus (US), and visual cues as the conditioned stimuli (CS) where one colour (CS+) was followed by the US in 33% of the trials and another colour (CS-) had no consequences. All participants reported awareness of stimulus contingencies. Group analysis of fMRI data revealed that the left ventral striatum (VS) and amygdala activated in response to the CS+ in all the three groups. Because of their activation patterns and documented involvement in aversive conditioning, both regions were used as seeds in the functional connectivity analysis. To constrain the functional networks obtained to relate to the conditioned response, we also correlated seed activity with the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR). In the placebo group, the right ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra (VTA/SN), bilateral caudate, right parahippocampal gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), bilateral postcentral gyrus, bilateral middle frontal (BA 46), orbitofrontal, and ventromedial prefrontal cortices (PFC, BA 10/11) correlated with the VS and amygdala seeds in response to the CS+ compared to the CS-. Enhancing dopamine transmission via amphetamine was associated with reduced task differences and significant functional connectivity for both CS+ and CS- conditions between the left VS seed and regions modulated by DA, such as the left VTA/SN, right caudate, left amygdala, left middle frontal gyrus (BA 46), and bilateral ventromedial PFC (BA 10). Blocking dopamine transmission via haloperidol was associated with significant functional connectivity across an alternate network of regions including the left amygdala seed and the right insula, the left ACC (BA 24/32), bilateral IPL (BA 40), precuneus (BA 7), post-central gyrus, middle frontal gyrus (BA 46), and supplementary motor area (SMA, BA 6) to the CS+ versus the CS-. These data provide insight into the distinct effects of DA agents on the functional connectivity between striatal, limbic, and prefrontal areas.
Edberg, Anna-Karin
Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för hälsa och samhälle, Avdelningen för Hälsovetenskap II. Högskolan Kristianstad, Forskningsplattformen Hälsa i samverkan.
Omvårdnad vid kognitiv svikt2011Ingår i: Kognitiv medicin / [ed] Wahlund, Lara-Olof; Nilsson, Christer; Wallin, Anders, Stockholm: Norstedts Förlag, 2011, s. 418-429Kapitel i bok, del av antologi (Övrig (populärvetenskap, debatt, mm))
Fich, Lars Brorson
Aalborg University.
Kirkegaard, Poul Henning
Aarhus University.
Wallergård, Mattias
Garde, Anne Helene
National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen.
Hansen, Åse
University of Copenhagen.
Can architectural design alter the physiological reaction to psychosocial stress?: a virtual TSST experiment2014Ingår i: Physiology and Behavior, ISSN 0031-9384, E-ISSN 1873-507X, Vol. 135, s. 91-97Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
It has long been established, that views to natural scenes can a have a dampening effect on physiological stress responses. However, as people in Europe, Canada and North America today spent 50-85% of their time indoors, attention might also be paid to how the artificial man-made indoor environment influences these mechanisms. The question that this study attempts to start addressing is therefore whether certain design, characteristics of indoor spaces can make a difference to the physiological stress response as well. Using a virtual version of the Trier Social Stress Test, in which the space is computer generated and properties of the space therefore can be systematically varied, we measured saliva cortisol and heart rate variability in participants in a closed room versus a room with openings. As shown by a significant linear contrast interaction between groups and TSST conditions, participants in the closed room responded with more pronounced cortisol reactivity to stress induction, and continued to show higher levels throughout recovery, compared to participants in the open room. No differences were found regarding any part of the autonomic nervous system.
Haatveit, Beathe
Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för lärande och miljö, Avdelningen för Psykologi. Högskolan Kristianstad, Forskningsmiljön Man & Biosphere Health (MABH).
Alnæs, Dag
Kaufmann, Tobias
Brandt, Christine L.
Thoresen, Christian
Andreassen, Ole A.
Ueland, Torill
Westlye, Lars T.
Reduced load-dependent default mode network deactivation across executive tasks in schizophrenia spectrum disorders2016Ingår i: NeuroImage: Clinical, ISSN 0353-8842, E-ISSN 2213-1582, Vol. 12, s. 389-396Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is associated with cognitive impairment and brain network dysconnectivity. Recent efforts have explored brain circuits underlying cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia and documented altered activation of large-scale brain networks, including the task-positive network (TPN) and the task-negative default mode network (DMN) in response to cognitive demands. However, to what extent TPN and DMN dysfunction reflect overlapping mechanisms and are dependent on cognitive state remain to be determined.
METHODS: In the current study, we investigated the recruitment of TPN and DMN using independent component analysis in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (n = 29) and healthy controls (n = 21) during two different executive tasks probing planning/problem-solving and spatial working memory.
RESULTS: We found reduced load-dependent DMN deactivation across tasks in patients compared to controls. Furthermore, we observed only moderate associations between the TPN and DMN activation across groups, implying that the two networks reflect partly independent mechanisms. Additionally, whereas TPN activation was associated with task performance in both tasks, no such associations were found for DMN.
CONCLUSION: These results support a general load-dependent DMN dysfunction in schizophrenia spectrum disorder across two demanding executive tasks that is not merely an epiphenomenon of cognitive dysfunction.
Hagell, Peter
Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för hälsa och samhälle, Avdelningen för Hälsovetenskap. Högskolan Kristianstad, Forskningsmiljön PRO-CARE.
School of Nursing Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of East Anglia, Norwich.
Why psychometrics is important - a response to: Aubeeluck, Buchanan & Stupple (2013) Journal of Huntington's Disease 2(4) 453–4542013Ingår i: Journal of Huntington's Disease, ISSN 1879-6397, Vol. 2, nr 4, s. 455-457Artikel i tidskrift (Övrigt vetenskapligt)
Hansson, Maria
Estimation of HRV spectrogram using multiple window methods focussing on the high frequency power2006Ingår i: Medical Engineering and Physics, ISSN 1350-4533, E-ISSN 1873-4030, Vol. 28, nr 8, s. 749-761Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
In this paper, the results of different multiple window spectrum analysis methods are compared in the estimation of heart rate variability (HRV) power spectra, in the high frequency band (HF), around 0.25 Hz, related to respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). The evaluation is performed by simulating different spectrum shapes and peak frequency locations and calculating the mean squared error of a frequency range close around the strongest spectral peak. The results show that it is preferable to use the Peak Matched Multiple Windows in most situations, but the Welch method and the Sinusoid Multiple Windows can be as reliable in certain aspects.
Höglund, A.
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet.
Broman, J.-E.
Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Uppsala University.
Pålhagen, S.
Fredrikson, S.
Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för hälsa och samhälle, Avdelningen för Hälsovetenskap I. Högskolan Kristianstad, Forskningsmiljön PRO-CARE.
Is excessive daytime sleepiness a separate manifestation in Parkinson's disease?2015Ingår i: Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, ISSN 0001-6314, E-ISSN 1600-0404, Vol. 132, nr 2, s. 97-104Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
BACKGROUND: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is common in Parkinson's disease (PD), but its role and relation to other PD features is less well understood.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate potential predictors of EDS in PD and to explore how EDS relates to other motor and non-motor PD features.
METHODS: 118 consecutive persons with PD (54% men; mean age, 64) were assessed regarding EDS using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and a range of motor and non-motor symptoms. Variables significantly associated with ESS scores in bivariate analyses were used in multiple regression analyses with ESS scores as the dependent variable. Principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to explore the interrelationships between ESS scores and other motor and non-motor PD aspects.
RESULTS: Among 114 persons with complete ESS data, significant independent associations were found between ESS scores and axial/postural/gait impairment, depressive symptoms, and pain (R(2) , 0.199). ESS scores did not load significantly together with any other PD features in the PCA.
CONCLUSIONS: Only a limited proportion of the variation in EDS could be accounted for by other symptoms, and EDS did not cluster together with any other PD features in PCAs. This suggests that EDS is a separate manifestation differing from, for example, poor sleep quality and fatigue.
University of Oslo & Ullevaal University Hospital, Oslo.
Kapur, S.
Salience and psychosis: moving from theory to practise2009Ingår i: Psychological Medicine, ISSN 0033-2917, E-ISSN 1469-8978, Vol. 39, nr 2, s. 197-198Artikel i tidskrift (Övrigt vetenskapligt)
PET Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Baycrest Geriatric Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Crawley, Adrian P
Mikulis, David J
Remington, Gary
Direct activation of the ventral striatum in anticipation of aversive stimuli.2003Ingår i: Neuron, ISSN 0896-6273, E-ISSN 1097-4199, Vol. 40, nr 6, s. 1251-1257Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
The brain "reward" system, centered on the limbic ventral striatum, plays a critical role in the response to pleasure and pain. The ventral striatum is activated in animal and human studies during anticipation of appetitive/pleasurable events, but its role in aversive/painful events is less clear. Here we present data from three human fMRI studies based on aversive conditioning using unpleasant cutaneous electrical stimulation and show that the ventral striatum is reliably activated. This activation is observed during anticipation and is not a consequence of relief after the aversive event. Further, the ventral striatum is activated in anticipation regardless of whether there is an opportunity to avoid the aversive stimulus or not. Our data suggest that the ventral striatum, a crucial element of the brain "reward" system, is directly activated in anticipation of aversive stimuli.
Nilsson, Lise-Lotte
Levander, Sten
Neurocognitive and psychopathological correlates of self-monitoring ability in schizophrenia.2004Ingår i: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, ISSN 0940-1334, E-ISSN 1433-8491, Vol. 254, nr 5, s. 312-317Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
In a previous study reported by our group one salient finding was that many patients with schizophrenia appeared to be unable to judge their own quality of life (QoL) and that this inability was associated with negative symptoms. The association between negative symptoms, poor self-monitoring capacity and lack of insight might be explained by a common underlying factor, i.e. neurocognitive impairment. Fifty schizophrenic patients were examined by symptom ratings and a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. The cognitive performance of the patients was very poor. The major findings of the present study were the association between clinically rated Lack of judgement (PANSS G12) and 1) a set of standard performance and executive indices of the computerised tests, and 2) difference scores between objective performance/strategies and self-ratings of the same attributes. There appears to be a substantial contribution of cognitive and executive problems to the poor judgement and lack of insight of schizophrenic patients, and these problems can to some extent be assessed objectively.
Schizophrenia Program and the PET Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.
Vitcu, Irina
Separate brain regions code for salience vs. valence during reward prediction in humans.2007Ingår i: Human Brain Mapping, ISSN 1065-9471, E-ISSN 1097-0193, Vol. 28, nr 4, s. 294-302Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
Predicting rewards and avoiding aversive conditions is essential for survival. Recent studies using computational models of reward prediction implicate the ventral striatum in appetitive rewards. Whether the same system mediates an organism's response to aversive conditions is unclear. We examined the question using fMRI blood oxygen level-dependent measurements while healthy volunteers were conditioned using appetitive and aversive stimuli. The temporal difference learning algorithm was used to estimate reward prediction error. Activations in the ventral striatum were robustly correlated with prediction error, regardless of the valence of the stimuli, suggesting that the ventral striatum processes salience prediction error. In contrast, the orbitofrontal cortex and anterior insula coded for the differential valence of appetitive/aversive stimuli. Given its location at the interface of limbic and motor regions, the ventral striatum may be critical in learning about motivationally salient stimuli, regardless of valence, and using that information to bias selection of actions.
Schizophrenia Program and the PET Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada & Department of Psychiatry, Ullevål University Hospital and Oslo University, Oslo, Norway.
Zipursky, Robert B
Savina, Ioulia
The formation of abnormal associations in schizophrenia: neural and behavioral evidence.2008Ingår i: Neuropsychopharmacology, ISSN 0893-133X, E-ISSN 1740-634X, Vol. 33, nr 3, s. 473-479Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
It is hypothesized that due to an abnormal functioning of the reward system patients with schizophrenia form context-inappropriate associations. It has been shown that the dopamine target regions, especially the ventral striatum, are critical in the formation of reward associations. We wanted to examine how the ventral striatum responds as patients learn reward-related associations and how this neural response is linked to objective and subjective behavioral measures. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses were examined using aversive Pavlovian learning in 13 medicated patients with schizophrenia and 13 matched healthy controls. Colored circles served as conditioned stimulus (CS+) while a loud, individually adjusted, noise served as the unconditioned stimulus. Circles of another color served as neutral comparators (CS-). Subjective indices were assessed by a post-scan self-report, and galvanic skin responses (GSR) were used as objective measures of associative learning. fMRI data were analyzed using a random effects model in SPM2. Patients showed inappropriately strong activations in the ventral striatum in response to the neutral stimulus (CS-) as compared to the healthy controls. Consistent with this neural evidence of aberrant learning, patients also showed evidence of abnormal learning by self-report and as indexed by GSR. The main finding here is that patients with schizophrenia, when exposed to neutral stimuli in a threatening situation, show an abnormal pattern of learning. The aberrant activations and response are consistent with the idea that patients aberrantly assign motivational salience to neutral stimuli, and this process may be one of the aberrations that predisposes them to psychosis.
Respiratory sinus arrhythmia as a function of state anxiety in healthy individuals2007Ingår i: International Journal of Psychophysiology, ISSN 0167-8760, E-ISSN 1872-7697, Vol. 63, nr 1, s. 48-54Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was examined in relation to state and trait anxiety in healthy individuals. Time-frequency analyses of HR-power spectrum in the high frequency region (0.12-0.40 Hz), related to RSA, were examined in 43 women and 39 men. Based on median split, the participants were divided into high and low state and trait anxiety groups. The main result showed that high state anxious individuals had higher RSA-magnitude (HF-power) than low state anxious individuals. The higher RSA-magnitude in the former group was interpreted as reflecting increased attention or vigilance together with motor and behavioural inhibition. No significant effects of trait anxiety or gender were found.
Sonnby-Borgström, Marianne
The effects of pictures of emotional faces on tonic and phasic autonomic cardiac control in women and men2003Ingår i: Biological Psychology, ISSN 0301-0511, E-ISSN 1873-6246, Vol. 62, nr 2, s. 157-173Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
The aim of the present study was to examine autonomic function in response to negatively and positively valenced pictures under different levels of conscious recognition. Heart period variability (HPV) and heart rate (HR) reactivity were studied in 53 males and females who were being shown pictures of angry and happy faces. The pictures, which were backwardly masked, were presented once every 30 s during a 5-min period and under three conditions (counterbalanced for type of facial expression): below the level of conscious recognition (17 ms), at an intermediate level (56 ms), and at a clearly recognizable level (2370 ms). Analyses of HR power spectrum (for 5 min in each condition) in the high frequency region (HF: 0.15-0.5 Hz) that reflects respiratory sinus arrhythmia, as well as analysis of phasic heart rate responses (7.5 s in 0.5 epochs following every picture presentation) were carried out. The main findings were that HF-power was higher, and cardiac midinterval acceleration lower, in response to angry as opposed to happy faces, a result obtained only for the men, however. No interaction effect between facial expression and the three exposure conditions was found, suggesting that the pictures induced emotional activation both subliminally and supraliminally. The results were discussed in terms of increased attention to aversive stimuli.
23. Menon, Mahesh
Schizophrenia Program and PET Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada & Department of Psychiatry, Ullevål University Hospital, Oslo University, Oslo, Norway.
Graff-Guerrero, Ariel
Crawley, Adrian
Smith, Mark A
Temporal difference modeling of the blood-oxygen level dependent response during aversive conditioning in humans: effects of dopaminergic modulation.2007Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry, ISSN 0006-3223, E-ISSN 1873-2402, Vol. 62, nr 7, s. 765-772Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
BACKGROUND: The prediction error (PE) hypothesized by the temporal difference model has been shown to correlate with the phasic activity of dopamine neurons during reward learning and the blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response during reward and aversive conditioning tasks. We hypothesized that dopamine would modulate the PE related signal in aversive conditioning and that haloperidol would reduce PE related activity, while an acute dose of amphetamine would increase PE related activity in the ventral striatum.
METHODS: Healthy participants took an acute dose of amphetamine, haloperidol, or placebo. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure the BOLD signal while they carried out an aversive conditioning task, using cutaneous electrical stimulation as the unconditioned stimulus (US) and yellow and blue circles as conditioned stimulus (CS+ and CS-, respectively).
RESULTS: Prediction error related BOLD activity was seen only in the ventral striatum in the placebo subjects. The subjects given amphetamine showed a wider network of PE related BOLD activity, including the ventral striatum, globus pallidus, putamen, insula, anterior cingulate, and substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area. Haloperidol subjects did not show PE related activity in any of these regions.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide the first demonstration that the modulation of dopamine transmission affects both the physiological correlates and PE related BOLD activity during aversive learning.
Nilsson, Maria H.
Högskolan Kristianstad, Forskningsmiljön PRO-CARE. Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för hälsa och samhälle, Avdelningen för Hälsovetenskap I.
Iwarsson, S
Psychometric properties of the general self-efficacy scale in Parkinson's disease2015Ingår i: Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, ISSN 0001-6314, E-ISSN 1600-0404, Vol. 132, nr 2, s. 89-96Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). More specifically, we investigated data completeness, scaling assumptions, targeting, reliability, and construct validity.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study involves data available from two different projects that included people diagnosed with PD for at least 1 year, yielding two samples (1 and 2). The combined total sample (N = 346; 60% men) had a mean (SD) age and PD duration of 71 (8.9) and 9 years (6.3), respectively. Both samples received a self-administered survey by mail, which was administered twice in sample 2. Additional data (e.g., clinical assessments) were available for Sample 1.
RESULTS: Total GSE scores were computable for 336 participants (97%). Corrected item-total correlations exceeded 0.4. Principal component analyses identified one component (the eigenvalue of the first component extracted was 6.9), explaining 69% of the total variance. Floor and ceiling effects were < 6%. Internal consistency (coefficient alpha) was 0.95. Analyses of test-retest reliability yielded (ICC) values from 0.69 to 0.80. The highest value refers to those (n = 47) with identical self-ratings of mobility (in the on condition) at both tests; the standard error of measurement was 3.1 points. Construct validity was further supported by correlations in accordance with a priori expectations.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides support for the validity and reliability of GSE scores in people with PD; the GSE can thus serve as a valuable outcome measurement in clinical practice and research.
25. Ousdal, O T
University of Oslo.
Nakstad, P H
The human amygdala is involved in general behavioral relevance detection: evidence from an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging Go-NoGo task.2008Ingår i: Neuroscience, ISSN 0306-4522, E-ISSN 1873-7544, Vol. 156, nr 3, s. 450-455Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
The amygdala is classically regarded as a detector of potential threat and as a critical component of the neural circuitry mediating conditioned fear responses. However, it has been reported that the human amygdala responds to multiple expressions of emotions as well as emotionally neutral stimuli of a novel, uncertain or ambiguous nature. Thus, it has been proposed that the function of the amygdala may be of a more general art, i.e. as a detector of behaviorally relevant stimuli [Sander D, Grafman J, Zalla T (2003) The human amygdala: an evolved system for relevance detection. Rev Neurosci 14:303-316]. To investigate this putative function of the amygdala, we used event related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a modified Go-NoGo task composed of behaviorally relevant and irrelevant letter and number stimuli. Analyses revealed bilateral amygdala activation in response to letter stimuli that were behaviorally relevant as compared with letters with less behavioral relevance. Similar results were obtained for relatively infrequent NoGo relevant stimuli as compared with more frequent Go stimuli. Our findings support a role for the human amygdala in general detection of behaviorally relevant stimuli.
26. Ousdal, Olga Therese
Anand Brown, Andrew
Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway & University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway & Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
Nakstad, Per H
Agartz, Ingrid
Djurovic, Srdjan
Bogdan, Ryan
Hariri, Ahmad R
Associations between variants near a monoaminergic pathways gene (PHOX2B) and amygdala reactivity: a genome-wide functional imaging study.2012Ingår i: Twin Research and Human Genetics, ISSN 1832-4274, E-ISSN 1839-2628, Vol. 15, nr 3, s. 273-285Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
As the amygdala is part of the phylogenetic old brain, and its anatomical and functional properties are conserved across species, it is reasonable to assume genetic influence on its activity. A large corpus of candidate gene studies indicate that individual differences in amygdala activity may be caused by genetic variants within monoaminergic signaling pathways such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. However, to our knowledge, the use of genome-wide data to discover genetic variants underlying individual differences in adult amygdala activity is novel. In the present study, the combination of genome-wide data and functional imaging phenotypes from an emotional faces task yielded a significant association between rs10014254 and the amygdala using a region of interest approach. This single nucleotide polymorphism is located in a regulatory region upstream of the Paired-like homeobox 2b (PHOX2B) gene; therefore it could affect the expression of this gene. PHOX2B regulates the expression of enzymes necessary for the synthesis of several monoamines and is essential for the development of the autonomic nervous system. However, an attempt to replicate the finding in an independent sample from North America did not succeed. The synthesis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and genome-wide data takes a hypothesis-free approach as to which genetic variants are of interest. Therefore, we believe that an undirected finding within such a plausible region is of interest, and that our results add further support to the hypothesis that monoaminergic signaling pathways play a central role in regulating amygdala activity.
Reckless, Greg E
Effect of relevance on amygdala activation and association with the ventral striatum.2012Ingår i: NeuroImage, ISSN 1053-8119, E-ISSN 1095-9572, Vol. 62, nr 1, s. 95-101Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
While the amygdala historically has been implicated in emotional stimuli processing, recent data suggest a general role in parceling out the relevance of stimuli, regardless of their emotional properties. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we tested the relevance hypothesis by investigating human amygdala responses to emotionally neutral stimuli while manipulating their relevance. The task was operationalized as highly relevant if a subsequent opportunity to respond for a reward depended on response accuracy of the task, and less relevant if the reward opportunity was independent of task performance. A region of interest analysis revealed bilateral amygdala activations in response to the high relevance condition compared to the low relevance condition. An exploratory whole-brain analysis yielded robust similar results in bilateral ventral striatum. A subsequent functional connectivity analysis demonstrated increased connectivity between amygdala and ventral striatum for the highly relevant stimuli compared to the less relevant stimuli. These findings suggest that the amygdala's processing profile goes beyond detection of emotions per se, and directly support the proposed role in relevance detection. In addition, the findings suggest a close relationship between amygdala and ventral striatal activity when processing relevant stimuli. Thus, the results may indicate that human amygdala modulates ventral striatum activity and subsequent behaviors beyond that observed for emotional cues, to encompass a broader range of relevant stimuli.
Reckless, Greg E.
Østefjells, Tiril
Negative symptoms in schizophrenia are associated with aberrant striato-cortical connectivity in a rewarded perceptual decision-making task2015Ingår i: NeuroImage: Clinical, ISSN 0353-8842, E-ISSN 2213-1582, Vol. 8, s. 290-297Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
Negative symptoms in schizophrenia have been associated with structural and functional changes in the prefrontal cortex. They often persist after treatment with antipsychotic medication which targets, in particular, the ventral striatum (VS). As schizophrenia has been suggested to arise from dysfunctional connectivity between neural networks, it is possible that residual aberrant striato-cortical connectivity in medicated patients plays a role in enduring negative symptomology. The present study examined the relationship between striato-cortical connectivity and negative symptoms in medicated schizophrenia patients.
We manipulated motivation in a perceptual decision-making task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Comparing healthy controls (n = 21) and medicated patients with schizophrenia (n = 18) we investigated how motivation-mediated changes in VS activation affected functional connectivity with the frontal cortex, and how changes in connectivity strength from the neutral to motivated condition related to negative symptom severity.
A pattern of aberrant striato-cortical connectivity was observed in the presence of intact VS, but altered left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) motivation-mediated activation in patients. The more severe the patient's negative symptoms, the less the connectivity strength between the right VS and left IFG changed from the neutral to the motivated condition. Despite aberrant striato-cortical connectivity and altered recruitment of the left IFG among patients, both patients and healthy controls adopted a more liberal response strategy in the motivated compared to the neutral condition.
The present findings suggest that there is a link between dysfunctional striato-cortical connectivity and negative symptom severity, and offer a possible explanation as to why negative symptoms persist after treatment with antipsychotics.
Sigvartsen, Niels Petter
University of Oslo, Norway.
University of Oslo, Oslo University Hospital, Norway.
Temporal difference modelling of aversive conditioning and extinction: An fMRI study2009Ingår i: Front. Neur. Conference Abstract: Neuroinformatics 2009, 2009Konferensbidrag (Övrigt vetenskapligt)
The prediction error (PE) signal from temporal difference (TD) models have been shown to correlate with activity in specific brain regions in both human and animals during conditioning tasks. One of the key regions involved is the ventral striatum (VS). The purpose of this study was to investigate how the TD model predicted VS activations during aversive conditioning and extinction. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Blood-Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) data were acquired on a 1.5 T GE Signa scanner. Thirty-three healthy subjects completed a 33% partially reinforced classical conditioning paradigm using coloured circles as the conditioned stimulus (CS) and aversive cutaneous electrical stimulation (CES) as the unconditioned stimulus (US). After a short break a second scanning session was performed where the subjects were divided into three groups (N=11 in each group): 1) a control group that repeated the paradigm; 2) an extinction group that repeated the paradigm with the CES turned off without their knowledge; and 3) an intervention group that were told that the CES would be turned off before they repeated the paradigm. Thus, in the second session the extinction and intervention groups saw the CS but without US. A modified TD algorithm was used to generate a salience PE signal vector which was used as a regressor in the fMRI analyses. Pre-processing and analyses of data were done using SPM5. Final analysis of the first session and preliminary analysis of the control and extinction groups from the second session are reported here. Analysis of the first session included all 33 subjects and PE activations bilaterally in the VS, anterior insula and anterior cingulate were obtained. Analyses from the second session showed that activations were predicted by salience PE bilaterally in the VS and the anterior insula in the control group while the extinction group recruited the VS and the ventro-medial PFC. The findings from the first session and the control group in the second session replicated previous studies. However, the results of the second session in the extinction group extend that fMRI BOLD behave according to salience PE to a more general level in aversive learning ranging from acquisition to maintenance to extinction of associations.
30. Thoresen, Christian
Oslo University Hospital & University of Oslo & Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
Sigvartsen, Niels Petter B
Endestad, Tor
Arousal Modulates Activity in the Medial Temporal Lobe during a Short-Term Relational Memory Task.2011Ingår i: Frontiers in human neuroscience, ISSN 1662-5161, Vol. 5, s. 177-Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
This study investigated the effect of arousal on short-term relational memory and its underlying cortical network. Seventeen healthy participants performed a picture by location, short-term relational memory task using emotional pictures. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure the blood-oxygenation-level dependent signal relative to task. Subjects' own ratings of the pictures were used to obtain subjective arousal ratings. Subjective arousal was found to have a dose-dependent effect on activations in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, and in higher order visual areas. Serial position analyses showed that high arousal trials produced a stronger primacy and recency effect than low arousal trials. The results indicate that short-term relational memory may be facilitated by arousal and that this may be modulated by a dose-response function in arousal-driven neuronal regions.
31. Thormodsen, Rune
Oslo University Hospital & University of Oslo, Norway & Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
Holmèn, Aina
Juuhl-Langseth, Monica
Emblem, Kyrre Eeg
Andreassen, Ole Andreas
Rund, Bjørn Rishovd
Prefrontal hyperactivation during a working memory task in early-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders: an fMRI study.2011Ingår i: Psychiatry Research, ISSN 0165-1781, E-ISSN 1872-7123, Vol. 194, nr 3, s. 257-262Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
Working memory (WM) dysfunction is increasingly recognized as a core feature of schizophrenia, but few studies have investigated prefrontal activation during WM tasks in early-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorder (EOS). Our aim was to explore prefrontal activation during a WM-task in EOS patients compared to healthy controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fifteen patients with EOS and 15 matched healthy controls performed a 0-back and a 2-back task while fMRI data were acquired. Results indicated that even though performance between patients and controls was comparable on both tasks, there was a hyperactivation in patients' ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) during the 2-back task compared to healthy controls. This pattern of activation suggests that, in patients with EOS, the VLPFC compensated in order to match performance of the controls. The activations in the EOS group may reflect the use of a compensatory, cognitive strategy while solving WM-tasks.
32. Welander-Vatn, Audun S
Institute of Psychiatry, University of Oslo & Department of Psychiatry, Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo.
Lycke, Christine
Gadmar, Øystein Bech
Nakstad, Per Hjalmar
No altered dorsal anterior cingulate activation in bipolar II disorder patients during a Go/No-go task: an fMRI study.2009Ingår i: Bipolar Disorders, ISSN 1398-5647, E-ISSN 1399-5618, Vol. 11, nr 3, s. 270-279Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat)
OBJECTIVES: It has been reported that one of the core features in patients with bipolar disorder II (BD II) is increased impulsivity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether patients with BD II showed decreased activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) as compared to healthy controls when performing a task sensitive to impulsivity.
METHODS: Twenty-seven BD II patients and 28 healthy controls performed a Go/No-go task during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) session. Eleven of the patients were unmedicated, and possible group differences between medicated and unmedicated patients were also assessed. Results: The groups did not differ in behavioral performance on the Go/No-go task. Both BD II subjects and healthy controls demonstrated dACC activity during the task, and analyses revealed no statistically significant group differences. Medicated and unmedicated patients also did not differ in the degree of fMRI activation.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings do not support the hypothesis of abnormal dACC activity during a Go/No-go task in BD II patients.
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The Serbian has never played a competitive game under Jurgen Klopp and is very much available this summer.
Despite the fact he's completely unwanted by the club, it looks like we could be about to make £16m for his services, with Fiorentina currently negotiating with the player regarding personal terms, according to Melissa Reddy in Goal.
We spent nearly £20m on the winger in 2014, but after he failed to impress on Merseyside, or at Fenerbahce, Sporting or Hull on loan – to almost recoup what we spent would be mighty impressive.
If we get rid of all of this deadwood, it would partly cover the mammoth sums we could spend on either Naby Keita or Virgil van Dijk.


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I know the exact moment my heart broke. It was a cold Friday night in February, and my children were sleeping upstairs. Cozy in their footed pajamas, they had no idea their lives were changing forever below them.
Their father — my husband — was leaving.
I could not have understood before that night how everything can change in one moment — that a stable and content life can be ripped from you, leaving indescribable destruction and heartache behind.
But one moment can change everything. It did for me.
That moment changed my physical realities — I needed a new place to live and a new job that would provide financially, and I had to learn how to parent my children as a single mother. The new physical realities were nothing compared to the new emotional realities, though.
In the moment my husband said he was leaving, something shifted in my beliefs about myself and my God, and I fell into a darkness that consumed me for years.
Satan began whispering to me in that moment of vulnerability that I was profoundly unlovable. He told me I was so deeply flawed I was destined to be alone, so unworthy of acceptance I would always be rejected, and too broken to ever be healed.
He told me God did not have great plans for my life and that He chose not to protect me from this hurt. The enemy deceived me as He did Eve, asking me, "Did God actually say…?" He led me to doubt the goodness of my God, and I fell for it all.
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