Problems in Cladistic Classification: Higher-Level Relationships in Land Plants

Recent cladistic analyses of green plants recognize an extensive hierarchical series of relatively well-supported monophyletic groups. Translating this hierarchical pattern of relationships into a usable and informative written classification is important for purposes of scientific communication, research and teaching. However, in the context of the Linnean hierarchy, as manifested in the current International code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN), effecting this translation confronts substantial practical difficulties--especially the proliferation of hierarchical levels. These problems are exacerbated by the current emphasis of the ICBN on a hierarchy in which different ranks have different formal rank-based endings. These difficulties could be ameliorated by de-emphasizing the importance of ranks in the ICBN and relaxing the constraints on how they are treated, especially at the higher taxonomic levels. Modifications are needed that permit a more straightforward integration of systematic knowledge and botanical nomenclature, and at the same time foster increased stability in the association between names and the groups of organisms that they designate

The preparatory Set: A Novel Approach to Understanding Stress, Trauma, and the Bodymind Therapies

Basic to all motile life is a differential approach/avoid response to perceived features of environment. The stages of response are initial reflexive noticing and orienting to the stimulus, preparation, and execution of response. Preparation involves a coordination of many aspects of the organism: muscle tone, posture, breathing, autonomic functions, motivational/emotional state, attentional orientation, and expectations. The organism organizes itself in relation to the challenge. We propose to call this the preparatory set (PS). We suggest that the concept of the PS can offer a more nuanced and flexible perspective on the stress response than do current theories. We also hypothesize that the mechanisms of body-mind therapeutic and educational systems (BTES) can be understood through the PS framework. We suggest that the BTES, including meditative movement, meditation, somatic education, and the body-oriented psychotherapies, are approaches that use interventions on the PS to remedy stress and trauma. We discuss how the PS can be adaptive or maladaptive, how BTES interventions may restore adaptive PS, and how these concepts offer a broader and more flexible view of the phenomena of stress and trauma. We offer supportive evidence for our hypotheses, and suggest directions for future research. We believe that the PS framework will point to ways of improving the management of stress and trauma, and that it will suggest directions of research into the mechanisms of action of BTES

Somatic Experiencing: Using Interoception and Proprioception as Core Elements of Trauma Therapy

Here we present a theory of human trauma and chronic stress, based on the practice of Somatic Experiencing(®) (SE), a form of trauma therapy that emphasizes guiding the client\u27s attention to interoceptive, kinesthetic, and proprioceptive experience. SE™ claims that this style of inner attention, in addition to the use of kinesthetic and interoceptive imagery, can lead to the resolution of symptoms resulting from chronic and traumatic stress. This is accomplished through the completion of thwarted, biologically based, self-protective and defensive responses, and the discharge and regulation of excess autonomic arousal. We present this theory through a composite case study of SE treatment; based on this example, we offer a possible neurophysiological rationale for the mechanisms involved, including a theory of trauma and chronic stress as a functional dysregulation of the complex dynamical system formed by the subcortical autonomic, limbic, motor and arousal systems, which we term the core response network (CRN). We demonstrate how the methods of SE help restore functionality to the CRN, and we emphasize the importance of taking into account the instinctive, bodily based protective reactions when dealing with stress and trauma, as well as the effectiveness of using attention to interoceptive, proprioceptive and kinesthetic sensation as a therapeutic tool. Finally, we point out that SE and similar somatic approaches offer a supplement to cognitive and exposure therapies, and that mechanisms similar to those discussed in the paper may also be involved in the benefits of meditation and other somatic practices