Biographical Sketch

As the synoptic introduction makes clear, Noam Chomsky is a unique intellectual figure who has had a huge impact on several fields. He was almost single-handedly responsible for initiating the cognitive revolution in linguistics, and, with others such as George Miller, Hilary Putnam and Jerry Fodor, for the ensuing replacement of behaviorism by cognitive science in psychology generally, to say nothing of being a leading critic of American foreign policy since the American war in Vietnam

Chomsky's "Galilean" Explanatory Style

Chomsky pursues a methodology in linguistics that abstracts from substantial amounts of data about actual language use in a way that has met considerable resistance from many other linguists. He thinks of this method as like that employed by Galileo and later physicists who proposed laws of motion in considerable abstraction from many of the motions we observe in daily life, focusing, for example, not on leaves in the wind, but on frictionless environments that virtually never occur on earth. Thus, Chomsky’s theoretical proposals are supported not by studies of the corpora of actual language use, but often by the intuitions of native speakers; and the relevant intuitions are not about what they think is often or is likely to be said, but rather about what “can’t” be said (so called “negative data”), and about what types of interpretation a sentence can or cannot have. But doesn't this fly in the face of good, commonsensical scientific methodology? Aren’t theories confirmed by greater data, and refuted by data that seem to conflict with them? With regard to this issue, Chomsky (1980) writes: Substantial coverage of data is not a particularly significant result, it can be attained in many ways, and the result is not very informative as to the correctness of the principles employed. It will be more significant if we show that certain far-reaching principles interact to provide an explanation for crucial facts – the crucial nature of these facts deriving from their relation to proposed explanatory theories. (Chomsky 1980, 2) We’ll argue below that Chomsky’s observation here in fact accords with good explanatory practice elsewhere in science, but it does conflict with a traditional methodology in linguistics. In the spirit of the positivism/empiricism of the 1930s, the ‘structuralist’ linguist Leonard Bloomfield (1933, 20) insisted that “the only useful generalizations about language are inductive generalizations”, and linguists for the next several decades tried to specify ‘discovery procedures’, or rules for using a collection of phonetically characterized utterances to induce phonemic, morphemic and – it was hoped – finally syntactic analyses of the target language (see Sampson, 1980, 76ff). Such discovery procedures have fallen by the wayside, but many contemporary linguists would still agree with Bloomfield that linguistics seeks generalizations that both emerge from, and provide good coverage of, the data of language use

Synoptic introduction

Noam Chomsky is justly famous for his revolutionary contributions to linguistics, psychology and philosophy. He is presently in his 92nd year, and we thought it high time to provide an overview of the major achievements of his now more than sixty-year-old research program and its prospects for the future. This is particularly pressing in the light of persistent rumors, encouraged by a number of authors1, that his program has proven bankrupt, “completely wrong” and has been replaced by various sorts of proposals in general statistical learning and “functionalist/constructionist” linguistic theories (which we return to below)

A kit-based aluminium-[18F]fluoride approach to radiolabelled microbubbles

The production of 18F-labelled microbubbles (MBs) via the aluminium-[18F]fluoride ([18F]AlF) radiolabelling method and facile inverse-electron-demand Diels-Alder (IEDDA) ‘click’ chemistry is reported. An [18F]AlF-NODA-labelled tetrazine was synthesised in excellent radiochemical yield (>95% RCY) and efficiently conjugated to a trans¬-cyclooctene (TCO) functionalised phospholipid (40-50% RCY), which was incorporated into MBs (40-50% RCY). To demonstrate the potential of producing 18F-labelled MBs for clinical studies, we also describe a kit-based approach which is amenable for use in a hospital radiopharmacy setting

Evaluating laser-driven Bremsstrahlung radiation sources for imaging and analysis of nuclear waste packages

A small scale sample nuclear waste package, consisting of a 28 mm diameter uranium penny encased in grout, was imaged by absorption contrast radiography using a single pulse exposure from an X-ray source driven by a high-power laser. The Vulcan laser was used to deliver a focused pulse of photons to a tantalum foil, in order to generate a bright burst of highly penetrating X-rays (with energy >500 keV), with a source size of <0.5 mm. BAS-TR and BAS-SR image plates were used for image capture, alongside a newly developed Thalium doped Caesium Iodide scintillator-based detector coupled to CCD chips. The uranium penny was clearly resolved to sub-mm accuracy over a 30 cm2 scan area from a single shot acquisition. In addition, neutron generation was demonstrated in situ with the X-ray beam, with a single shot, thus demonstrating the potential for multi-modal criticality testing of waste materials. This feasibility study successfully demonstrated non-destructive radiography of encapsulated, high density, nuclear material. With recent developments of high-power laser systems, to 10 Hz operation, a laser-driven multi-modal beamline for waste monitoring applications is envisioned

Effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on cognitive functioning in youth at ultra-high risk for psychosis: secondary analysis of the NEURAPRO randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Cognitive impairments are well-established features of psychotic disorders and are present when individuals are at ultra-high risk for psychosis. However, few interventions target cognitive functioning in this population. AIMS To investigate whether omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) supplementation improves cognitive functioning among individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis. METHOD Data (N = 225) from an international, multi-site, randomised controlled trial (NEURAPRO) were analysed. Participants were given omega-3 supplementation (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) or placebo over 6 months. Cognitive functioning was assessed with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Mixed two-way analyses of variance were computed to compare the change in cognitive performance between omega-3 supplementation and placebo over 6 months. An additional biomarker analysis explored whether change in erythrocyte n-3 PUFA levels predicted change in cognitive performance. RESULTS The placebo group showed a modest greater improvement over time than the omega-3 supplementation group for motor speed (ηp2 = 0.09) and BACS composite score (ηp2 = 0.21). After repeating the analyses without individuals who transitioned, motor speed was no longer significant (ηp2 = 0.02), but the composite score remained significant (ηp2 = 0.02). Change in erythrocyte n-3 PUFA levels did not predict change in cognitive performance over 6 months. CONCLUSIONS We found no evidence to support the use of omega-3 supplementation to improve cognitive functioning in ultra-high risk individuals. The biomarker analysis suggests that this finding is unlikely to be attributed to poor adherence or consumption of non-trial n-3 PUFAs

Development of the PSYCHS: Positive SYmptoms and Diagnostic Criteria for the CAARMS Harmonized with the SIPS

Aim: To harmonize two ascertainment and severity rating instruments commonly used for the clinical high risk syndrome for psychosis (CHR-P): the Structured Interview for Psychosis-risk Syndromes (SIPS) and the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS). Methods: The initial workshop is described in the companion report from Addington et al. After the workshop, lead experts for each instrument continued harmonizing attenuated positive symptoms and criteria for psychosis and CHR-P through an intensive series of joint videoconferences. Results: Full harmonization was achieved for attenuated positive symptom ratings and psychosis criteria, and modest harmonization for CHR-P criteria. The semi-structured interview, named Positive SYmptoms and Diagnostic Criteria for the CAARMS Harmonized with the SIPS (PSYCHS), generates CHR-P criteria and severity scores for both CAARMS and SIPS. Conclusions: Using the PSYCHS for CHR-P ascertainment, conversion determination, and attenuated positive symptom severity rating will help in comparing findings across studies and in meta-analyses