Thought insertion: Abnormal sense of thought agency or thought endorsement?

The standard approach to the core phenomenology of thought insertion characterizes it in terms of a normal sense of thought ownership coupled with an abnormal sense of thought agency. Recently, Fernández (2010) has argued that there are crucial problems with this approach and has proposed instead that what goes wrong fundamentally in such a phenomenology is a sense of thought commitment, characterized in terms of thought endorsement. In this paper, we argue that even though Fernández raises new issues that enrich the topic, his proposal cannot rival the version of the standard approach we shall defend.

Sense of coherence and psychiatric morbidity: a 19-year register-based prospective study

Background Most prospective studies on the relationship between sense of coherence (SOC) and mental health have been conducted using subjective health indicators and short-term follow-ups. The objective of this prospective occupational cohort study was to examine whether a strong sense of coherence is a protective factor against psychiatric disorders over a long period of time.

Organizational Change and Employees' Mental Health: The Protective Role of Sense of Coherence

Objective: To examine the impact of sense of coherence (SOC) on psychiatric events in the context of organizational merger. Methods: Data were derived from a prospective

Sense of coherence and diabetes: A prospective occupational cohort study

Background: Sense of coherence (SOC) is an individual characteristic related to a positive life orientation leading to effective coping. A weak SOC has been associated with indicators of general morbidity and mortality. However, the relationship between SOC and diabetes has not been studied in prospective design. The present study prospectively examined the relationship between a weak SOC and the incidence of diabetes.

Promoting a Sense of Place: An International Study of Architecture Centres

This paper details an international research project which examined over 50 architecture centres in 23 countries including four case study subjects:
•Kent Architecture Centre, England
•Chicago Architecture Foundation
•Museum of Finnish Architecture
•Netherlands Architecture Institute
The paper analyzes the project's main findings including issues of definition, reasons for foundation, cultural policy impact and the main goals of architecture centres. It summarizes recommendations for centres as they attempt to reach their aims.

THE ROLE OF SENSE OF CONTROL AND SOCIAL SUPPORT IN MEDIATING THE IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS - A TEST OF THE HYPOTHESIS OF FUNCTIONAL SUBSTITUTION

The purpose of this paper is to examine the manner in which beliefs relating to sense of control and perceived social support mediate the impact of objective circumstances on psychological distress. In particular it focuses on the nature of the interaction between such variables. The results provide no evidence favouring the displacement hypothesis whereby the benefits of social support involve costs in terms of independence. Consistent support, however, is found for the functional substitution hypothesis. The conclusion is unaffected by the introduction of distinctions relating to types of support and types of power.

Surviving but stigmatised:Making sense of living with Burkholderia cepacia

Infection control policies recommend segregation of people with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) according to bacterial status. This involves isolating those people with cepacia from all other CF patients in order to prevent additional infection. These policies are reliant on the understanding and adherence of those colonised with cepacia. Service user reports suggest that emotions like anxiety and anger are aroused when those with cepacia are faced with cross infection measures (UK CF Trust, 2009). No studies to date investigate this anecdotal emotional reaction. This research was conducted to ask what it is like to live with cepacia, using in depth interviews. A phenomenological approach was used. Three themes that appeared to characterise the experience of living with cepacia were identified: (1) Lost Identity: cepacia can challenge one’s self identity, and along with cross infection measures lead to feeling objectified and even alienated from the CF group identity. (2) Status: Condemned: being colonised with cepacia brings with it knowledge of a certain type of restricted future, and an imagined death. There is loss of normality and hope. (3) I Am Cepacia: making decisions about preventing cross infection is influenced by medical knowledge as well as human emotions and social information; therefore adherence to these measures is fluid and contextual. These themes have real world clinical implications for all CF services, where preventing the spread of cepacia is paramount. Responsibility for cross infection is a burden and requires knowledge and understanding from both those living with and without cepacia. We need to see beyond the bacteria to the person.

A new comparator account of auditory verbal hallucinations: how motor prediction can plausibly contribute to the sense of agency for inner speech

The comparator account holds that processes of motor prediction contribute to the sense of agency by attenuating incoming sensory information and that disruptions to this process contribute to misattributions of agency in schizophrenia. Over the last 25 years this simple and powerful model has gained widespread support not only as it relates to bodily actions but also as an account of misattributions of agency for inner speech, potentially explaining the etiology of auditory verbal hallucination (AVH). In this paper we provide a detailed analysis of the traditional comparator account for inner speech, pointing out serious problems with the specification of inner speech on which it is based and highlighting inconsistencies in the interpretation of the electrophysiological evidence commonly cited in its favor. In light of these analyses we propose a new comparator account of misattributed inner speech. The new account follows leading models of motor imagery in proposing that inner speech is not attenuated by motor prediction, but rather derived directly from it. We describe how failures of motor prediction would therefore directly affect the phenomenology of inner speech and trigger a mismatch in the comparison between motor prediction and motor intention, contributing to abnormal feelings of agency. We argue that the new account fits with the emerging phenomenological evidence that AVHs are both distinct from ordinary inner speech and heterogeneous. Finally, we explore the possibility that the new comparator account may extend to explain disruptions across a range of imagistic modalities, and outline avenues for future research.

DNA mismatch repair and the DNA damage response to ionizing radiation:making sense of apparently conflicting data

The DNA mismatch repair (MMR) pathway detects and repairs DNA replication errors. While DNA MMR-proficiency is known to play a key role in the sensitivity to a number of DNA damaging agents, its role in the cytotoxicity of ionizing radiation (IR) is less well characterized. Available literature to date is conflicting regarding the influence of MMR status on radiosensitivity, and this has arisen as a subject of controversy in the field. The aim of this paper is to provide the first comprehensive overview of the experimental data linking MMR proteins and the DNA damage response to IR. A PubMed search was conducted using the key words "DNA mismatch repair" and "ionizing radiation". Relevant articles and their references were reviewed for their association between DNA MMR and IR. Recent data suggest that radiation dose and the type of DNA damage induced may dictate the involvement of the MMR system in the cellular response to IR. In particular, the literature supports a role for the MMR system in DNA damage recognition, cell cycle arrest, DNA repair and apoptosis. In this review we discuss our current understanding of the impact of MMR status on the cellular response to radiation in mammalian cells gained from past and present studies and attempt to provide an explanation for how MMR may determine the response to radiation.