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Of Cortex And Consciousness: “Phenomenal,” “Access,” Or Otherwise, Scott A. Husband

Animal Sentience

From the perspective of a comparative neuroanatomist studying the avian pallium, Woodruff’s (2017) claims about the behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for teleost sentience blur the lines between phenomenal and access consciousness (Block, 1995). I discuss the bias that complex cognition can only arise in the cortical layering typical of the mammalian pallium and conclude that Woodruff makes a good case that the tecto-pallial connections in teleosts are sufficiently complex to support something like sentience.

Learning, Memory, Cognition, And The Question Of Sentience In Fish, Robert Gerlai

Animal Sentience

Evolutionarily conserved features have been demonstrated at many levels of biological organization across a variety of species. Evolutionary conservation may apply to complex behavioral phenomena too. It is thus not inconceivable that a form of sentience does exist even in the lowest order vertebrate taxon, the teleosts. How similar it is to human sentience in its level of complexity or in its multidimensional features is a difficult question, especially from an experimental standpoint, given that even the definition of human sentience is debated. Woodruff attempts a Turing-like test of fish sentience, and lists numerous neuroanatomic, neurophysiological and behavioral similarities between …

Mental Representations Are Not Necessary For Fish Consciousness, Luis H. Favela

Animal Sentience

Woodruff (2017) argues that teleost fishes are capable of phenomenal consciousness. Central to his argument is the assumption that phenomenal consciousness is representational in nature. I think the commitment to a representational theory of consciousness undermines Woodruff’s case for teleost phenomenal consciousness. The reason is that organisms do not need to perceive the world indirectly via mental images/representations in order to have phenomenological experiences. My argument is based on considerations of ecological psychology and comparative ethology.

Animal Models, Agendas And Sentience, Thomas Creson

Animal Sentience

Woodruff’s target article on teleost consciousness is a well-organized logical argument for considering the fish as a sentient being. This becomes more important for animal ethical discussion as the fish becomes a more important and legitimate animal model for investigating animal states and traits associated with higher levels of behavior such as learning and memory.

The Emotional Brain Of Fish, Sonia Rey Planellas

Animal Sentience

Woodruff (2017) analyzes structural homologies and functional equivalences between the brains of mammals and fish to understand where sentience and social cognition might reside in teleosts. He compares neuroanatomical, neurophysiological and behavioural correlates. I discuss current advances in the study of fish cognitive abilities and emotions, and advocate an evolutionary approach to the underlying basis of sentience in teleosts.

Fish Sentience: A Hypothesis Worth Pursuing, José E. Burgos

Animal Sentience

Woodruff’s case for fish sentience is intriguing. Though far from ready for final acceptance, it is worth pursuing. The case is philosophically uncontroversial under functionalism and reductive materialism. It is also highly heuristic, as it raises interesting issues for further investigation, such as the neural causation of behavior, the role of Mauthner cells in conditioned avoidance, and whether operant conditioning is constitutive of fish sentience.

We Still Need A Theory, Paula Droege

Animal Sentience

Woodruff (2017) has compiled a convincing array of data to support his contention that teleost fish feel pain. However, in the absence of an explanatory theory about the nature and function of consciousness, a checklist of criteria is insufficient to allay skeptical concerns. I offer a theory that can explain why features like selective attention and behavioral flexibility indicate consciousness. Consciousness represents the present moment in order to allow dynamic changes in actions or goals in response to situational demands.

Similar Anatomy Does Not Imply Comparable Function, Jay R. Stauffer Jr.

Animal Sentience

Woodruff concludes that ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) are sentient and that the pallium contributes to sentience in these fishes. He gives a detailed description of the pallium; however, he assumes that similar structures in fishes and tetrapods support similar behaviors, capabilities, and functions. I reject the premise that similarities in structure imply similarities in function. The fact that a selected species of fish may exhibit behaviors, reactions, and/or anatomy suggestive of sentience does not necessarily generalize to all teleosts.

Can Unconscious Brain Processes Indicate Sentience?, Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel, Piercesare Grimaldi, Hakwan Lau

Animal Sentience

We disagree with Woodruff that we have good neurobiological reasons to think fishes are sentient, because mechanisms for consciousness are controversial even in humans. To the extent that there are consensuses in that literature, they do not support Woodruff's claims.

The Relationship Of Fidelity On Simulation Performance, Gail Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: The literature is limited and conflicting regarding the effect of simulation fidelity on nurse performance during simulation. Limited publications were found that addressed all aspects of simulation in health care: mannequin, environment, equipment, scenario, and psychological.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between fidelity and nurse experience on performance in simulation. The NLN/Jeffries Simulation Framework provided the theoretical foundation for this study

Design and Sample: For this descriptive study, 35 registered nurses were randomly assigned to participate in a high fidelity or low fidelity simulation scenario. A 12-minute scenario was administered and identical for …

Social And Emotional Learning In The Ell Classroom: A Case Study, Satoko Takeda Kao

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of social-emotional learning (SEL) is to create a safe environment for students to learn in and improve peer relationships, decrease conduct problems and emotional distress, and promote academic achievement. SEL program implementation has grown over the last decade in U.S. schools; however, these programs are designed for general education, not English Language Learner (ELL) students. Furthermore, research on teaching SEL to ELL students is limited.

This study explored what SEL looked like and how bullying prevention and character education programs were adapted in an elementary ELL classroom. The theoretical framework for this study was based on CASEL’s “Five …

Gray Zones Russia, Center On Irregular Warfare & Armed Groups

CIWAG Reading Lists

No abstract provided.

การวิเคราะห์รูปแบบการแสดงออกของโปรตีโอมและอินเทอแรกโตมเพื่อค้นหาสารบ่งชี้สำหรับโรคออทิซึมสเปกตรัม, ฉัตรระวี พิชิตพันธ์พงศ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

ในปัจจุบัน ออทิซึมสเปกตรัม (Autism spectrum disorder, ASD) ยังคงเป็นโรคที่ยังคงไม่ทราบกลไกระดับโมเลกุล แน่ชัด ยีนและโปรตีนที่เคยมีการรายงานการแสดงออกผิดปกติไปในผู้ป่วยออทิซึมสเปกตรัมมีความสามารถในการทำซ้ำ (Reproducibility) ต่ำหรืออาจไม่มีเลย ซึ่งน่าจะมาจากความหลากหลายของอาการแสดงของผู้ป่วย จากการศึกษาล่าสุด แสดงให้เห็นว่าการจัดกลุ่มออทิซึมสเปกตรัมออกเป็นกลุ่มย่อยตามความรุนแรงของลักษณะทางคลินิกสามารถช่วยในการระบุยีนและกลไกที่ผิดปกติไปในกลุ่มย่อยของผู้ป่วย อย่างไรก็ตาม การแบ่งกลุ่มผู้ป่วยเป็นกลุ่มย่อยตามความรุนแรงของลักษณะทางคลินิกใน ออทิซึมสเปกตรัมยังไม่มีการใช้กันอย่างแพร่หลายในการค้นหาโปรตีน Biomarker ที่เกี่ยวข้องกับออทิซึมสเปกตรัม ในการศึกษาครั้งนี้ ผู้วิจัยทำการวิเคราะห์โดยการแบ่งกลุ่มผู้ป่วยจำนวน 85 รายออกเป็นกลุ่มย่อยทางคลินิกตามคะแนน ADI-R และทำการวิเคราะห์รูปแบบการแสดงออกของยีนในออทิซึมสเปกตรัมในแต่ละกลุ่มย่อยเปรียบเทียบกับกลุ่มควบคุมคนปกติที่อายุใกล้เคียงกันและเพศเดียวกันกับผู้ป่วย (Sex/age-matched control) ซึ่งสามารถระบุยีนที่มีการแสดงออกผิดปกติ (Differentially expressed genes, DEGs) ในออทิซึมสเปกตรัม นอกจากนี้ ผู้วิจัยได้ทำการวิเคราะห์รูปแบบการแสดงออกของโปรตีโอมจากเซลล์ไลน์เม็ดเลือดขาว (Lymphoblastoid cell lines,LCLs) ด้วยเทคนิค Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) ร่วมกับ Nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (Nano-LC-MS/MS) รายชื่อของโปรตีนที่มีการแสดงออกผิดปกติไปอย่างมีนัยสำคัญที่ได้จากการวิเคราะห์ถูกนำมาเปรียบเทียบกับ DEGs และผลการวิเคราะห์ Meta-analysis ของโปรตีนและโปรตีโอมในการศึกษาก่อนหน้า หน้าที่ทางพยาธิสภาพที่มีความเกี่ยวข้องกับโปรตีนถูกวิเคราะห์โดยโปรแกรม Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) และได้ทำการคัดเลือกโปรตีนที่น่าสนใจมาทำการตรวจสอบโดยใช้ Western blot analysis จากการศึกษาครั้งนี้พบว่าผลการวิเคราะห์การแบ่งกลุ่มผู้ป่วยออกเป็นกลุ่มย่อยทางคลินิกตามคะแนน ADI-R สามารถแบ่งผู้ป่วยออกเป็น 4 กลุ่มย่อย ซึ่งพบว่าหนึ่งในกลุ่มนั้น เป็นกลุ่มออทิซึมสเปกตรัมที่มีความบกพร่องทางภาษารุนแรง จากผลวิเคราะห์รูปแบบ ทรานสคริปโตมของเซลล์ไลน์เม็ดเลือดขาว พบว่ามีจุดโปรตีนจำนวน 82 จุดที่มีการแสดงออกผิดปกติไปอย่างมีนัยสำคัญในกลุ่มออทิซึมสเปกตรัมที่มีความบกพร่องทางภาษารุนแรง และได้ทำการคัดเลือก 18 จุดโปรตีนจากทั้งหมดมาวิเคราะห์ชนิดของโปรตีนโดยเทคนิค Nano-LC-MS/MS ซึ่งพบว่ามีความเกี่ยวข้องกับการทำงานของระบบประสาทและกระบวนการอักเสบ จากการศึกษานี้พบว่าจากโปรตีนทั้งหมด การแสดงออกของ Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH2) และ Diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI) ลดลงในออทิซึมสเปกตรัม ซึ่งโปรตีนเหล่านี้ยังพบการแสดงออกผิดปกติในการวิเคราะห์ Meta-analysis ของทรานสคริปโตมและโปรตีโอมร่วมด้วย การแบ่งกลุ่มออทิซึมสเปกตรัมออกเป็นกลุ่มย่อยทางคลินิกตามด้วยการวิเคราะห์ทรานสคริปโตมและโปรตีโอมแบบบูรณาการร่วมกัน ทำให้การศึกษานี้สามารถระบุโปรตีนที่มีการแสดงออกผิดปกติไปอย่างมีนัยสำคัญในกลุ่มย่อยของออทิซึมสเปกตรัมที่มีความบกพร่องทางภาษาอย่างรุนแรง ซึ่งโปรตีนเหล่านี้อาจทำหน้าที่เป็นตัวแทนในการช่วยระบุกลไกทางโมเลกุลของออทิซึมสเปกตรัมในอนาคต ตลอดจน อาจพัฒนาไปเป็น …

Gender And Sexuality (First Edition), Carol C. Mukhopadhyay, Tami Blumenfield, Susan Harper, Abby Gondak

Anthropology Publications

Learning Objectives:

• Identify ways in which culture shapes sex/gender and sexuality.
• Describe ways in which gender and sexuality organize and structure the societies in which we live.
• Assess the range of possible ways of constructing gender and sexuality by sharing examples from different cultures, including small-scale societies.
• Analyze how anthropology as a discipline is affected by gender ideology and gender norms.
• Evaluate cultural “origin” stories that are not supported by anthropological data.

Post 9/11 American Dramas: A Postmodern Postcolonial Study Of Wajahat Ali’S The Domestic Crusaders And John Shanley’S Dirty Story, Shaimaa M. Saeed

English Language and Literature

The focal point of this study is the date 9/11 which history immortalized as it witnessed the sudden attacks on one of the world’s super powers, the United States of America. The repercussions of this date boomed in the world’s four corners leaving behind feelings of insecurity and fears from the unknown. Whereas 9/11 had many influences on the international and domestic economic, political and social arenas, such influences were reflected in the literary arena as well. Many American playwrights were influenced by the attacks to the extent that such attacks have become the raw material formulating the dramatic substance …

Fish Are Flexible Learners Who Can Discriminate Human Faces, Ulrike E. Siebeck

Animal Sentience

In his book “What a fish knows” Jonathan Balcombe (2016a, b) has created a comprehensive profile of a group of animals still often thought to have a 3-second memory, no ability to feel pain, and a generally limited ability to learn. Chapter by chapter, Balcombe dismantles these and other such assumptions and makes a convincing case that fish have many abilities that are not that different from our own. Here, I focus on one example which supports the notion that fish are flexible learners and able to perform tasks which are generally thought to require the advanced processing power of …

To Identify All The Relevant Factors Is To Explain Feeling, Arthur S. Reber

Animal Sentience

Several additional comments on Reber (2016a) have appeared. Like those addressed in Reber (2016b), they reflect points of agreement and disagreement on various elements of my Cellular Basis of Consciousness (CBC) model. Some, however, seem to have missed key points. I'm willing to take some responsibility for this. Perhaps I was not clear about some of the more radical points of the model. Hopefully the case-by-case review here will help.

Consciousness Is Not Inherent In But Emergent From Life, Jon Mallatt, Todd E. Feinberg

Animal Sentience

Reber’s theory of the cellular basis of consciousness (CBC) is right to emphasize that we should study consciousness (sentience) in its simplest form, taking its evolution into account. However, not enough evidence is presented to support CBC’s unorthodox claim that even simple, one-celled organisms are conscious. As pointed out by other commentators, the CBC seems to be based on outdated ideas about evolution and does not acknowledge that consciousness could be an evolutionary novel feature. Such emergent features are abundant in living organisms. We review our own emergentist solution, in which consciousness evolved in the elaborating nervous systems of the …

What Can Research On Nonhumans Tell Us About Human Dissonance?, Jennifer Vonk

Animal Sentience

Zentall’s thoughtful review of the literature on cognitive dissonance in nonhumans helps to highlight the common finding that similar outcomes in humans and nonhumans can be attributed to different underlying mechanisms. I advocate a more fully comparative approach to the underlying mechanisms, avoiding the assumption of shared processes in humans and nonhumans.

Establishing That Contrast Is Cognitive Dissonance, Travis R. Smith

Animal Sentience

Zentall suggests that the same mechanism underlies cognitive dissonance in humans and the within-trial contrast effect in pigeons (and humans). The contrast effect has face validity in explaining cognitive dissonance, but more research is needed to establish construct validity. To determine whether both phenomena share the same mechanism, future research should test (1) whether both share physiological processes, (2) whether individuals who show sensitivity to one are also sensitive to the other, and (3) whether both phenomena are affected by the same changes in an independent variable.

Raising The Moral Consciousness Of Science, Bernard Rollin

Animal Sentience

Precaution on behalf of sentient animals should not be tempered by the questionable principle of the amorality of science.

Support For The Precautionary Principle, Jennifer Mather

Animal Sentience

The precautionary principle gives the animal the benefit of the doubt when its sentient status is not known. This is necessary for advanced invertebrates such as cephalopods because research and evidence concerning the criteria for sentience are scattered and often insufficient to give us the background for the decision.

The Precautionary Principle: A Cautionary Note, Robert C. Jones

Animal Sentience

The precautionary principle regarding animal sentience is often used in decision-making about human actions that may cause harm to nonhuman animals. Birch (2017) develops an account of the precautionary principle requiring two pragmatic rules for its implementation. I support Birch's proposal but offer a cautionary note about relying on precautionary principles if one's ultimate goal is to emancipate animals from human domination.

Will The Precautionary Principle Broaden Acceptance Of Animal Sentience?, Simon Leadbeater

Animal Sentience

Birch uses existing practice to develop a formal Animal Sentience Precautionary Principle (ASPP), which he hopes will become more widely adopted and improve animal welfare outcomes. Birch considers the assumption that all animals are sentient to be extreme. Despite its merits, Birch’s ASPP remains human-centred.

A Preliminary Investigation Into The Welfare Of Lobsters In The Uk, Gemma Carder

Animal Sentience

The welfare of invertebrates is overlooked and their needs are not understood. It is assumed that they do not experience pain and suffering. Studies on decapod crustaceans challenge this assumption. Research has focused on distinguishing between nociception (the ability to detect a harmful stimulus and to react to it reflexively) and pain (an aversive feeling or emotional experience). Findings indicate that decapod crustaceans can experience pain, which supports a case for protecting their welfare. I have investigated the current husbandry conditions of a globally consumed decapod crustacean, the lobster, as housed in tanks inside food outlets in the UK. Housing …

Assessing Negative And Positive Evidence For Animal Pain, Robert W. Elwood

Animal Sentience

Jonathan Birch suggests that we should take one well-conducted study that produces results consistent with the idea of pain as being sufficient to invoke the animal sentience precautionary principle. Here, I consider how to balance negative and positive results from such studies using examples from my own work. I also consider which criteria of pain might provide strong inference about pain and which may prove to be weaker.

Operationalizing Fear Through Understanding Vigilance, Ralph Adolphs

Animal Sentience

Beauchamp’s target article raises important questions about the features that often accompany fear. How reliable an indicator of fear is vigilance? Is it constitutive, cause, or consequence of fear? These questions force us towards a clearer definition of “fear.”

Methodological Suggestions For Inferring Fear From Vigilance, Julie A. Teichroeb

Animal Sentience

I suggest some methods for data-collection and analysis that may help researchers infer fear from vigilance.

A Chronicle Of Economic Botany, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of A Nutrition And Physical Activity-Based Curriculum On Children’S Lifestyle Choices, Alyssa Justine Carlson

Health Nutrition and Exercise Science

This study assessed the effectiveness of the “On the Move to Better Health” program, specifically whether it promoted 4th to 6th grade North Dakota students, as well as their families, to make healthier lifestyle choices. “On the Move,” NDSU Extension Service’s five-lesson nutrition and physical activity-based public health intervention program, was taught in 211 elementary school classrooms throughout North Dakota. Both students and parents were given presurveys at the beginning of the program and postsurveys at the end. Students increased their fruit intake, vegetable intake, and amount of time spent being physically active over the course of the 5-week program. …