The effect of object-centered instructions in Cartesian and polar coordinates on saccade vector

Express saccades (ES) are the most reflexive saccadic eye movements, with very short reaction times of 70– 110 ms. It is likely that ES have the shortest saccade reaction times (SRTs) possible given the known physiological and anatomical delays present in sensory and motor systems. Nevertheless, it has been demonstrated that a vector displacement of ES to spatially extended stimuli can be influenced by spatial cognition. Edelman, Kristjansson, and Nakayama (2007) found that when two horizontally separated visual stimuli appear at a random location, the spatial vector, but not the reaction time, of human ES is strongly influenced by an instruction to make a saccade to one side (either left or right) of a visual stimulus array. Presently, we attempt to extend these findings of cognitive effects on saccades in three ways: (a) determining whether ES could be affected by other types of spatial instructions: vertical, polar amplitude, and polar direction; (b) determining whether these spatial effects increased with practice; and (c) determining how these effects depended on SRTs. The results demonstrate that both types of Cartesian as well as polar amplitude instructions strongly affect ES vector, but only modestly affect SRTs. Polar direction instructions had sizable effects only on nonreflexive saccades where the visual stimuli could be viewed for several hundred milliseconds prior to saccade execution. Short- (trial order within a block) and longterm (experience across several sessions) practice had little effect, though the effect of instruction increased with SRT. Such findings suggest a generalized, innate ability of cognition to affect the most reflexive saccadic eye movements

Mobilized memories: deployments of the past in the present and the future

Coordinators: Francisco Ferrándiz Martín, (ILLA, CSIC), Reyes Mate Rupérez (IFS, CSIC).Memory processes —as selective displays of the past in the present— are an essential component of the configuration and development of all human societies and affect areas that range from everyday gestures to high-level politics. The unfolding of memory is especially important in the constitution of individual and collective identities, and its enormous potential for cohesion is only comparable to its great capacity to generate exclusion, difference, and dispute. It is impossible to understand historical or contemporary conflicts in depth without analyzing the memory processes in which they are or have been immersed. Hence the strategic importance of this challenge for an institution such as CSIC. The approach to memory and memory processes is necessarily interdisciplinary, as it can be analyzed through the scientific fields of neurobiology, philosophy, sociology, political science, psychology, literary studies, religious studies, cultural studies, historiography, social anthropology, archeology, or cultural geography, among others. By reviewing the main historical, theoretical and thematic anchors of memory studies –with a special emphasis on CSIC-based research–, as well as their prospects for the future, this challenge proposes to proactively foster this interdisciplinarity to build a common analytical language substantially richer and more sophisticated than each of its individual parts

Victimisation in the lives of lesbian-identified women in South Africa : implications for clinical assessment and treatment

Few clinical studies have examined victimisation in the lives of lesbian women in South Africa and whether there are distinct implications for psychological treatment. This paper presents the assessment and treatment of a lesbian-identified South African survivor of childhood sexual abuse who, as an adult, was raped and later gang raped. Her victimisation in adulthood represented ‘corrective rape’ motivated by the prejudiced assumption that the sexuality of lesbian women is pathological and should be ‘corrected’ through rape. This paper lends insights into the role of heterosexism in shaping vulnerability to victimisation and the process of recovery. It provides recommendations for work with sexual minority clients and highlights the implications when there is an absence of safety and support in the external environment

Infectious Diseases, Social, Economic and Political Crises, Anthropogenic Disasters and Beyond: Venezuela 2019 – Implications for Public Health and Travel Medicine

During last months, there have been a significant increase in the evidences showing the catastrophic health situation in Venezuela. There are multiple epidemics, increase in emerging and reemerging infectious, tropical and parasitic diseases as consequences of the social, economic and political crises, which would be considered today a clearly anthropogenic disaster. Venezuela is facing in 2019, the worse sanitary conditions, with multiple implications for public health and travel medicine. So far, from a global perspective, this situation will be an impediment for the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDG) in 2030. In this multiauthor review, there is a comprehensive analysis of the situation for infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, their impact in the Americas region, given the migration crisis as well as the comparative status of the SDG 2030. This discussion can provide input for prioritizing emerging health problems and establish a future agenda

Infectious Diseases, Social, Economic and Political Crises, Anthropogenic Disasters and Beyond: Venezuela 2019 – Implications for Public Health and Travel Medicine

During last months, there have been a significant increase in the evidences showing the catastrophic health situation in Venezuela. There are multiple epidemics, increase in emerging and reemerging infectious, tropical and parasitic diseases as consequences of the social, economic and political crises, which would be considered today a clearly anthropogenic disaster. Venezuela is facing in 2019, the worse sanitary conditions, with multiple implications for public health and travel medicine. So far, from a global perspective, this situation will be an impediment for the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDG) in 2030. In this multiauthor review, there is a comprehensive analysis of the situation for infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, their impact in the Americas region, given the migration crisis as well as the comparative status of the SDG 2030. This discussion can provide input for prioritizing emerging health problems and establish a future agenda