Does memory priming during anesthesia matter?

This editorial argues that there is evidence for memory priming during adequate anaesthesia, and that research in the field of social cognition suggests that such priming may have important behavioural consequences. Comments made in the operating room about a patient's prognosis, appearance or state of consciousness could exacerbate their existing anxieties about the operation, themselves or the anaesthetic and may contribute to postoperative anxiety, depression and insomnia

Playing 'Tetris' reduces the strength, frequency and vividness of naturally occurring cravings.

Elaborated Intrusion Theory (EI) postulates that imagery is central to craving, therefore a visually based task should decrease craving and craving imagery. This study provides the first laboratory test of this hypothesis in naturally occurring, rather than artificially induced, cravings. Participants reported if they were experiencing a craving and rated the strength, vividness and intrusiveness of their craving. They then either played 'Tetris' or they waited for a computer program to load (they were told it would load, but it was designed not to). Before task completion, craving scores between conditions did not differ; after, however, participants who had played 'Tetris' had significantly lower craving and less vivid craving imagery. The findings support EI theory, showing that a visuospatial working memory load reduces naturally occurring cravings, and that Tetris might be a useful task for tackling cravings outside the laboratory. Methodologically, the findings show that craving can be studied in the laboratory without using craving induction procedures

Ising model on the Apollonian network with node dependent interactions

This work considers an Ising model on the Apollonian network, where the exchange constant $J_{i,j}\sim1/(k_ik_j)^\mu$ between two neighboring spins $(i,j)$ is a function of the degree $k$ of both spins. Using the exact geometrical construction rule for the network, the thermodynamical and magnetic properties are evaluated by iterating a system of discrete maps that allows for very precise results in the thermodynamic limit. The results can be compared to the predictions of a general framework for spins models on scale-free networks, where the node distribution $P(k)\sim k^{-\gamma}$, with node dependent interacting constants. We observe that, by increasing $\mu$, the critical behavior of the model changes, from a phase transition at $T=\infty$ for a uniform system $(\mu=0)$, to a T=0 phase transition when $\mu=1$: in the thermodynamic limit, the system shows no exactly critical behavior at a finite temperature. The magnetization and magnetic susceptibility are found to present non-critical scaling properties.Comment: 6 figures, 12 figure file

Tests of the elaborated intrusion theory of craving and desire: Features of alcohol craving during treatment for an alcohol disorder

PubMed ID: 1936444

Negative intrusive thoughts and dissociation as risk factors for self-harm.

Relationships between self-harm and vulnerability factors were studied in a general population of 432 participants, of whom 30% reported some experience of self-harm. This group scored higher on dissociation and childhood trauma, had lower self-worth, and reported more negative intrusive thoughts. Among the non-harming group, 10% scored similarly to the self-harmers on the dissociation and self-worth scales, and engaged in potentially maladaptive behaviors that are not defined as indicating clinical self-harm, but experienced fewer negative intrusive thoughts. This group may be at risk of future self-harm if they begin to experience negative intrusive thoughts. If negative intrusive thoughts are playing a causal role, then therapeutic approaches tackling them may help those who are currently self-harming

Conjectures for the integral moments and ratios of L-functions over function fields

We extend to the function field setting the heuristic previously developed, by Conrey, Farmer, Keating, Rubinstein and Snaith, for the integral moments and ratios of $L$-functions defined over number fields. Specifically, we give a heuristic for the moments and ratios of a family of $L$-functions associated with hyperelliptic curves of genus $g$ over a fixed finite field $\mathbb{F}_{q}$ in the limit as $g\rightarrow\infty$. Like in the number field case, there is a striking resemblance to the corresponding formulae for the characteristic polynomials of random matrices. As an application, we calculate the one-level density for the zeros of these $L$-functions.Comment: 40 page

The Elaborated Intrusion Theory of Desire: A 10-year retrospective and implications for addiction treatments

Ten years after the publication of Elaborated Intrusion (EI) Theory, there is now substantial research into its key predictions. The distinction between intrusive thoughts, which are driven by automatic processes, and their elaboration, involving controlled processing, is well established. Desires for both addictive substances and other desired targets are typically marked by imagery, especially when they are intense. Attention training strategies such as body scanning reduce intrusive thoughts, while concurrent tasks that introduce competing sensory information interfere with elaboration, especially if they compete for the same limited-capacity working memory resources. EI Theory has spawned new assessment instruments that are performing strongly and offer the ability to more clearly delineate craving from correlated processes. It has also inspired new approaches to treatment. In particular, training people to use vivid sensory imagery for functional goals holds promise as an intervention for substance misuse, since it is likely to both sustain motivation and moderate craving

An attentional control task reduces intrusive thoughts about smoking.

INTRODUCTION: Attentional control tasks such as body scanning and following isometric exercise instructions have been shown to reduce smoking cravings, apparently by reducing stress (Ussher, M., Cropley, M., Playle, S., Mohidin, R., & West, R. [2009]. Effect of isometric exercise and body scanning on cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Addiction, 104, 1251-1257. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02605.x). Related work based upon elaborated intrusion theory (Kavanagh, D. J., Andrade, J., & May, J. [2005]. Imaginary relish and exquisite torture: The elaborated intrusion theory of desire. Psychological Review, 112, 446-467. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.112.2.446) has shown that similar tasks can reduce hungry participants' involuntary food-related thoughts (May, J., Andrade, J., Batey, H., Berry, L.-M., & Kavanagh, D. [2010]. Less food for thought: Impact of attentional instructions on intrusive thoughts about snack foods. Appetite, 55, 279-287. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2010.06.014). This study tests the effect of body scanning instructions upon smoking-related thoughts as well as craving. METHODS: Twenty-seven smokers took part in 2 counterbalanced sessions, on different days, having been asked to abstain from smoking for 2 hr. In each session, they followed audio instructions for three 10-min blocks during which their thoughts were probed 10 times. In the first and third blocks, they were instructed to let their mind wander; during the second block of the control session, they also let their mind wander, but in the experimental session, they followed body scanning instructions. "Smoking thought frequency" was assessed using thought probes; "Craving" was measured using Factor 1 of the Questionnaire on Smoking Urges (Tiffany, S. T., & Drobes, D. J. [1991]. The development and initial validation of a questionnaire on smoking urges. British Journal of Addiction, 86, 1467-1476. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1991.tb01732.x). RESULTS: Participants reported fewer smoking-related thoughts and lower smoking cravings in the body scanning block of the experimental session, whereas they rose in the comparable mind-wandering block of the control session. The reduction in thoughts during the body scanning correlated with the corresponding reduction in craving. CONCLUSIONS: Body scanning reduces cravings and reduces the frequency or shortens the duration of smoking thoughts. Attentional control strategies may form a useful part of smoking cessation practices