Miraculous Healings as a Timeand Space- Conditioned Category – The Example of St. Thecla

The phenomenon of miracle has been present in each time period and each civilization, and what has changed was not its definition but its content. Gautama Buddha, Apostle Paul, Mohammed, Church fathers from Origen and Augustine of Hippo to Gregory the Great and Thomas Aquinas were all studying miracles and trying to find out the rules and systematization for them. The present paper explores the intriguing differences (e.g., the proportions of miracle types) and similarities (e.g. saintly »specialization «) between some Eastern and Western miracle accounts, analyzing the possible underlying reasons. As a case study, the collection of miracles performed by St. Thecla (Basil of Seleukia, 5th c. AD) has been used. The major conclusion of the paper is that miracle accounts quite consequently reflect cultural differences between East andWest

Influence of Age, Circadian and Homeostatic Processes on Inhibitory Motor Control: A Go/Nogo Task Study

INTRODUCTION: The contribution of circadian system and sleep pressure influences on executive performance as a function of age has never been studied. The aim of our study was to determine the age-related evolution of inhibitory motor control (i.e., ability to suppress a prepotent motor response) and sustained attention under controlled high or low sleep pressure conditions. METHODS: 14 healthy young males (mean age = 23 ± 2.7; 20-29 years) and 11 healthy older males (mean age = 68 ± 1.4; 66-70 years) were recruited. The volunteers were placed for 40 hours in "constant routine". In the "Sleep Deprivation SD" condition, the volunteer was kept awake for 40 hours to obtain a high sleep pressure condition interacting with the circadian process. In the "NAP" condition, the volunteer adopted a short wake/sleep cycle (150/75 min) resulting in a low sleep pressure condition to counteract the homeostatic pressure and investigate the circadian process. Performances were evaluated by a simple reaction time task and a Go/Nogo task repeated every 3H45. RESULTS: In the SD condition, inhibitory motor control (i.e., ability to inhibit an inappropriate response) was impaired by extended wakefulness equally in both age groups (P<.01). Sustained attention (i.e. ability to respond accurately to appropriate stimuli) on the executive task decreased under sleep deprivation in both groups, and even more in young participants (P<.05). In the NAP condition, age did not influence the time course of inhibitory motor control or sustained attention. In the SD and NAP conditions, older participants had a less fluctuating reaction time performance across time of day than young participants (P<.001). CONCLUSION: Aging could be a protective factor against the effects of extended wakefulness especially on sustained attention failures due to an attenuation of sleep pressure with duration of time awake

Effects of sleep deprivation on neural functioning: an integrative review

Sleep deprivation has a broad variety of effects on human performance and neural functioning that manifest themselves at different levels of description. On a macroscopic level, sleep deprivation mainly affects executive functions, especially in novel tasks. Macroscopic and mesoscopic effects of sleep deprivation on brain activity include reduced cortical responsiveness to incoming stimuli, reflecting reduced attention. On a microscopic level, sleep deprivation is associated with increased levels of adenosine, a neuromodulator that has a general inhibitory effect on neural activity. The inhibition of cholinergic nuclei appears particularly relevant, as the associated decrease in cortical acetylcholine seems to cause effects of sleep deprivation on macroscopic brain activity. In general, however, the relationships between the neural effects of sleep deprivation across observation scales are poorly understood and uncovering these relationships should be a primary target in future research

Sleep’s Role in Schema Learning and Creative Insights

Purpose of Review A recent resurgence of interest in schema theory has influenced research on sleep-dependent memory consolidation and led to a new understanding of how schemata might be activated during sleep and play a role in the reorganisation of memories. This review aims to synthesise recent findings into a coherent narrative and draw overall conclusions. Recent Findings Rapid consolidation of schematic memories has been shown to benefit from an interval containing sleep. These memories have shown reduced reliance on the hippocampus following consolidation in both humans and rodents. Using a variety of methodologies, notably including the DRM paradigm, it has been shown that activation of a schema can increase the rate of false memory as a result of activation of semantic associates during slow wave sleep (SWS). Memories making use of a schema have shown increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, which may reflect both the schematic activation itself and a cognitive control component selecting an appropriate schema to use. SWS seems to be involved in assimilation of new memories within existing semantic frameworks and in making memories more explicit, while REM sleep may be more associated with creating entirely novel associations while keeping memories implicit. Summary Sleep plays an important role in schematic memory consolidation, with more rapid consolidation, reduced hippocampal involvement and increased prefrontal involvement as the key characteristics. Both SWS and REM sleep may have a role to play