Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been recognized as a promising tool for investigating the causal relationship between specific brain areas of interest and behavior. However, the reproducibility of previous tDCS studies is often questioned because of failures in replication. This study focused on the effects of tDCS on one cognitive domain: beauty perception. To date, the modulation of beauty perception by tDCS has been shown in two studies:Cattaneo et al. (2014)andNakamura and Kawabata (2015). Here, we aimed at replicating their (...) studies and investigating the effects of tDCS on beauty perception using the following parameters: (1) cathodal stimulation over the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) (Nakamura and Kawabata, 2015); (2) anodal stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) (Cattaneo et al., 2014). We also performed a more focal stimulation targeting the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) to determine the optimal stimulation site for modulating beauty perception (3). Participants rated the subjectively-perceived beauty of the images before and after the tDCS administration. We divided images into four clusters according to the obtained scores in our preliminary study and examined changes in beauty ratings in each image cluster separately to exclude factors, such as stimuli attributions that may reduce tDCS effects. The results showed no strong effects of tDCS with the same parameters as in previous studies on beauty rating scores in any image cluster. Likewise, anodal stimulation over the OFC did not result in a change in rating scores. In contrast to previous studies, the current study did not corroborate the effects of tDCS on beauty perception. Our findings provide evidence regarding the recent reproducibility issue of tDCS effects and suggest the possible inflation of its effects on cognitive domains. (shrink)

BackgroundA brief measure of dispositional mindfulness is important for applied research on mindfulness. Although short forms of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, which measures the five aspects of mindfulness, have been developed worldwide, the validity and reliability of the Japanese version has not been examined. This study aims to examine the validity and reliability of the 24-item and 15-item versions of the FFMQ in Japan, which are the most widely used versions worldwide.MethodsOnline surveys were conducted for 889 adults in Japan (...) through an online survey company using self-reported questionnaires including the FFMQ to confirm the factor structure and validity. To examine construct validity, we examined the relationship between the short form of FFMQ and mind wandering, interoceptive awareness, experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, openness, neuroticism, self-compassion, depression, and anxiety, which have been theoretically or empirically shown to be related to mindfulness. In addition, 137 adults responded to the FFMQ again, after four weeks, for the test-retest reliability.ResultsThe correlated five-factor and four-factor models and the higher-order factor hierarchical model did not show sufficient goodness of fit, while the 24-item version showed acceptable fit when uncorrelated method factors loaded on by the positive and negative items were added. However, the 15-item version did not show acceptable fits for any of the models. Regarding reliability, the 24-item version showed acceptable values. In terms of the relationship between the original and the shortened version of the FFMQ, the 24-item version shared approximately 80% of the variance with the original one. In addition, although the wording effects of positive and negative items seemed to affect the correlations between the FFMQ and the other scales, the associations with related concepts were as predicted generally, supporting the construct validity of the short form of the FFMQ.ConclusionIn Japan, the 24-item version of FFMQ showed acceptable validity and reliability similar to the original version, and we recommend that the 24-item version be used. (shrink)

自己決定概念は、患者の自律やインフォームド・コンセント、プライバシー概念等の基礎にあり、生命倫理において核となる重要な概念である。しかし、その歴史的由来について、またその概念の意味するところについて、 これまで本巻のように主題的に扱われることはほとんどなかった。ここでの諸論考は、「自己決定権」や「自律」概念の理解にも大いに役立つはずである。.

人間の愛は「不合理」なもの?自由だと勝手に信じている人間が実際には「不自由」なのではないか?なぜ人間は生まれて死ななければならないという「不条理」に遭遇しているのか?そもそも、人間とは何か...?―「 行為」「意志」「存在」の限界をテーマに、行動経済学者や認知科学者、進化論者、実存主義者など多様な分野の学者からカント主義者や急進的フェミニスト、会社員、運動選手、大学生も加わり、楽しく深い広い議論を繰 り広げる。そこから見えてくる人間の姿とは―。.

Summary Syriac translations and Syriac scholars played an important role in the transmission of the sciences, including the mathematical sciences, from the Greek to the Arabic world. Relatively little, unfortunately, remains of the translations and original mathematical works of earlier Syriac scholars, but some materials have survived, and further glimpses of what once existed may be gained from works of later authors. The paper will provide an overview of the earlier materials that have survived or are known to have existed. (...) This will be followed by an account of some of the later materials, which will include an example illustrating how further earlier materials can be recovered from the writings of later authors, and a mention, by way of an epilogue, of an instance where a Syriac scholar was involved in a major historical and scientific event in the West, namely the reform of the calendar by Gregory XIII. (shrink)

This book is an excellent book on business ethics and will be an invaluable resource for all readers who are keen to learn about the business ethics and key characteristics of a successful company. It focuses on the case study of a global company, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), which oversees more than 250 operating units throughout the world. Through extensive interviews with top executives at J&J's headquarters, including Masami Atarashi and Mitsuo Hirose and attending workshops, Prof Hiroo Takahashi acquired (...) an in-depth understanding of the management style of J&J, grasped the company's ethics and the code of business conduct which is shared by J&J's members throughout the world. (shrink)

生殖医療・遺伝子改変等の広範な領域におけるキーコンセプトとしての「ヒト胚の道徳的地位」，種々の宣言等で使用されながら意味が曖昧な「人間の尊厳」を多角的に考察する。.

本書ではデータ解析にもとづく倫理学の理論の概要を述べるとともに，総計6,000名にのぼる高校生等への意識調査の結果を踏まえた，自己決定の時代の現状分析を行っている。現状分析の内容は，マスコミによるイメ ージ操作の検証，個人主義的自由主義の原理であるミルの原理の受容状況や問題点，いじめの分析，他者概念の検討，大人と子供の境界の曖昧化現象の考察等であるが，それらを貫く縦糸は「自己決定」，「自由」である。 また現代は，生命や環境，情報といった領域で，社会のレベルでも自己決定する必要に迫られている。本書の提唱するところの調査にもとづく倫理学の方法は，いわゆる「反省的均衡」の方法を実行可能にするものであり， 社会的自己決定を導く有力な方法である。.

3. Benshōhōteki yuibutsuron e no michi.

This essay aims to deepen our comprehension of the economic ethics of different peoples in Asia, as well as realizing a degree of cultural relativism, in order to enhance amicable economic associations. It counterbalances the conventionally strong West-oriented views which regard exotic features of non-Western economies as backward and illogical elements that disturb smooth and orthodox development and, hence, should be eradicated. The author, first, recalls a number of facts which depict the eruptive economic transformation in Asia. He, then, criticizes (...) the imposition of Western-style development and exploitation without excluding Japan’s colonialism in Taiwan and Korea, and pleads for multiple forms of development and modernity. Economic transactions should be analysed in relation to sociocultural aspects, and, therefore, communities and ethics groups play a substantive role between the public and private sectors, the market, and individuals. For instance, small farmers in Southeast Asia, struggling with the weakness of tenant farmers and pressures of the market mechanism, developed ingenious and participatory forms of survival, increasingly supported by non-governmental organizations. Case studies from Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines give a vivid picture of these activities. Because the developing economies are composed of market and non-market sectors, reasonable attention should be given to theethics beyond market principles, with particular emphasis on community as foundation. (shrink)

It has been shown that various types of stress initiate different physiological and neuroendocrine disorders. Oxytocin is mainly produced in the supraoptic nucleus and paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. Hypothalamic OT has antistress effects and attenuates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. One mechanism behind the antistress effects of OT is mediated through the inhibition from GABAA receptors on corticotropin-releasing factor expression at the PVN. Various manual therapies such as acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, and massage initiate the stimulation of somatosensory neurons of (...) the body. It is well-known that TENS simulates OT expression, while it inhibits CRF expression at the PVN following chronic stress loading in rodents. Upregulation of OT expression at the hypothalamus is activated by the somatosensory stimulation, which is mediated via the spinothalamic pathway. Thus, somatosensory stimulation is beneficial in treating stress-associated symptoms. Hypothalamic OT is associated with the social behaviors, including maternal care and affiliation. Childhood neglect and/or child abuse are severely responsible for deleterious long-term effects on the cognitive/social activity and behavioral development. At parturition, a profound amount of OT is released into the systemic circulation in response to vaginal and cervical stimulation caused by the body of fetus, which induces the onset of maternal behavior. Peridural anesthesia effectively impairs the sensitivity to vaginal and cervical stimulation at parturition. OT levels in cerebrospinal fluid is significantly reduced following peridural anesthesia. The vaginal delivery mothers had significantly more OT pulses than the caesarian section mothers. Due to low levels of endogenous OT, maternal behavior could be interrupted by epidural anesthesia and CS at parturition because of the reduction of the usual sensory input from the genitalia. (shrink)

Background:In sports psychology research, the Stroop test and its derivations are commonly used to investigate the benefits of exercise on cognitive function. The measures of the Stroop test and the computed interference often have different interclass correlation coefficients (ICC). However, the ICC is never reported in cross-over designs involving multiple variances associated with individual differences.Objective:We investigated the ICC of the Stroop neutral and incongruent tests and interference (neutral test—incongruent test), and reverse Stroop task using the linear mixed model.Methods:Forty-eight young adults (...) participated in a cross-over design experiment composed of 2 factors: exercise mode (walking, resistance exercise, badminton, and seated rest as control) and time (pre- and post-tests). Before and after each intervention, participants completed the Stroop neutral and incongruent, and the reverse-Stroop neutral and incongruent tests. We analyzed for each test performance and interference and calculated ICC using the linear mixed model.Results:The linear mixed model found a significant interaction of exercise mode and time for both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop tasks, suggesting that exercise mode influences the effect of acute exercise on inhibitory function. On the other hand, there was no significant effect of exercise mode for both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop interference. The results also revealed that calculating both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop interference resulted in smaller ICCs than the ICCs of the neutral and incongruent tests for both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop tasks.Conclusion:The Stroop and reverse-Stroop interferences are known as valid measures of the inhibitory function for cross-sectional research design. However, to understand the benefits of acute exercise on inhibitory function comprehensively by cross-over design, comparing the incongruent test with the neutral test also seems superior because these tests have high reliability and statistical power. (shrink)

Hegel, in his work _Philosophy of Right_, defines ownership through three elements: acquisition by occupation, use, and transfer. To own something involves mere acquisition and encompasses its appropriate use and potential transfer to others. Subsequently, the final aspect mentioned was the concept of infinite judgement. The acts of owning and transferring to others are diametrically opposed, and Hegel’s unique logic forcibly connects these opposing concepts. This form of infinite judgement was advocated by the young Hegel during the era of _Phenomenology (...) of Spirit_. There, he stated, “Spirit is a bone”. However, when he later wrote _Science of Logic_ or _Encyclopedia_, the formulation of infinite judgement changed to “Spirit is not something that is bone”. This shift was influenced by Kant. In _Logic_, the discourse advances into syllogism, inferential theory, leading to “Spirit is a bone for such-and-such reasons”. In essence, Hegel binarily connected spirit and bone in his youth and introduced a mediating term in this connection later in his life, establishing inferential links. However, the notion of forcibly connecting opposing concepts remains. Therefore, the statement “Ownership is transfer” represents an infinite judgement while simultaneously signifying syllogism that “I truly own this object if I can transfer it to others”. This contributes to the reasoning that “I and objects can be connected through the intermediary of others”, progressing to the inference that “I and others can be connected through objects”, thereby laying the foundation for society. (shrink)

Resumen En este artículo se examina el Darwinismo Neural en su explicación de la evolución de la conciencia humana, contrastando su metodología con la utilizada por Richard Lewontin, Richard Levins y Steven Rose, quienes han hecho importantes aportaciones en el estudio de los sistemas vivos desde un punto de vista dialéctico. Concluimos que la explicación interaccionista de la evolución de la conciencia planteada en el DN, supera muchas de las deficiencias del determinismo biológico; sin embargo, al compartir algunos lineamientos con (...) el cartesianismo, mantiene un carácter a-histórico insuficiente para la explicación de la conciencia humana. Finalmente, proponemos la adopción de una teoría explicativa de la conciencia humana que considere las relaciones existentes en ella, no sólo como interacciones sino también como interpenetraciones ontogénicas y filogenéticas.This article examines Neural Darwinism proposed as an explanation of evolution of human consciousness. His methodology is contrasted with that used by Richard Lewontin, Richard Levins, and Steven Rose, who made important contributions to the study of living systems from a dialectical point of view. We conclude that the interactionist explanation of the evolution of conscience put forward in ND overcomes many of the deficiencies proper to biological determinism. However, as ND also shares many of the foundations of the Cartesian approach, it maintains a non-historical character, insufficient for the account of human consciousness. We suggest the adoption of an alternative theory, able to fully explain human conscience which must consider the whole of existing relations in it, and, instead of merely considering them as interactions, they have to be observed as dialectical interpenetrations. (shrink)

人道的介入がもたらす非人道性、対テロ戦争における標的殺害の是非、平和構築や民主化の直面する矛盾―現代の国際社会が直面する、戦争と平和をめぐる「道義的難問」に挑む。.