The critical periods of cerebral plasticity: A key aspect in a dialog between psychoanalysis and neuroscience centered on the psychopathology of schizophrenia

Through research into the molecular and cellular mechanisms that occur during critical periods, recent experimental neurobiological data have brought to light the importance of early childhood. These have demonstrated that childhood and early environmental stimuli play a part not only in our subjective construction, but also in brain development; thus, confirming Freud’s intuition regarding the central role of childhood and early experiences of the environment in our psychological development and our subjective outcomes. “Critical periods” of cerebral development represent temporal windows that mark favorable, but also circumscribed, moments in developmental cerebral plasticity. They also vary between different cortical areas. There are, therefore, strictly defined temporal periods for learning language, music, etc., after which this learning becomes more difficult, or even impossible, to acquire. Now, research into these critical periods can be seen as having a significant part to play in the interdisciplinary dialog between psychoanalysis and neurosciences with regard to the role of early experiences in the etiology of some psychopathological conditions. Research into the cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling the onset and end of these critical periods, notably controlled by the maturation of parvalbumin-expressing basket cells, have brought to light the presence of anomalies in the maturation of these neurons in patients with schizophrenia. Starting from these findings we propose revisiting the psychoanalytic theories on the etiology of psychosis from an interdisciplinary perspective. Our study works from the observation, common to both psychoanalysis and neurosciences, that experience leaves a trace; be it a “psychic” or a “synaptic” trace. Thus, we develop a hypothesis for an “absence of trace” in psychosis; reexamining psychosis through the prism of the biological theory of critical periods in plasticity

The Epistemological Foundations of Freud's Energetics Model.

This article aims to clarify the epistemological foundations of the Freudian energetics model, starting with a historical review of the 19th century scientific context in which Freud's research lay down its roots. Beyond the physiological and anatomical references of <i>Project for a Scientific Psychology</i> (Freud, 1895a), the physiology Freud makes reference to is in reality primarily anchored in an epistemological model derived from physics. Whilst across the Rhine, the autonomy of physiology in relation to physics was far from being accomplished, as a counterpoint, in France, the revolution in physiology driven by Claude Bernard established itself autonomously from physics,. In contrast, Freud's scientific landscape is entirely dominated by the physics elevated to the rank of an ideal science. The influence of Helmholtz, who is both a medical doctor and a physicist, has a determining influence on Freud's training. The discoveries in physics at that time, in particular the formulation of the principle of 'conservation of force' - first principle of thermodynamics - will constitute the points of reference upon which Freud will elaborate his energetics model, then subsequently, the idea of economy in his metapsychology. In this way we can trace both the historic and epistemological path that led Freud from a concept based on physics, and more specifically thermodynamic energy, to an idea of nervous energy that constitutes the basis of the concept of "quantity" as it is stated as 'first fundamental idea' in <i>Project for a Scientific Psychology</i> (Freud, 1895a). This notion will subsequently evolve, and lead Freud to the introduction of the concept of 'psychical energy,' this time in a purely metapsychological sense

South Korea's automotive labour regime, Hyundai Motors’ global production network and trade‐based integration with the European Union

This article explores the interrelationship between global production networks(GPNs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) in the South Korean auto industry and its employment relations. It focuses on the production network of the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) — the third biggest automobile manufacturer in the world — and the FTA between the EU and South Korea. This was the first of the EU’s ‘new generation’ FTAs, which among other things contained provisions designed to protect and promote labour standards. The article’s argument is twofold. First, that HMG’s production network and Korea’s political economy (of which HMG is a crucial part) limited the possibilities for the FTA’s labour provisions to take effect. Second, that the commercial provisions in this same FTA simultaneously eroded HMG’s domestic market and corporate profitability, leading to adverse consequences for auto workers in the more insecure and low-paid jobs. In making this argument, the article advances a multiscalar conceptualization of the labour regime as an analytical intermediary between GPNs and FTAs. It also provides one of the first empirical studies of the EU–South Korea FTA in terms of employment relations, drawing on 105 interviews with trade unions, employer associations, automobile companies and state officials across both parties

The new generation CMB B-mode polarization experiment: POLARBEAR

We describe the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization experiment called Polarbear. This experiment will use the dedicated Huan Tran Telescope equipped with a powerful 1,200-bolometer array receiver to map the CMB polarization with unprecedented accuracy. We summarize the experiment, its goals, and current status

Discontinuation and switching of postpartum contraceptive methods over twelve months in Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a secondary analysis of the Yam Daabo trial.

IntroductionWomen who use contraceptive methods sometimes stop early, use methods intermittently, or switched contraceptive methods. All these events (discontinuations and switching) contribute to the occurrence of unwanted and close pregnancies. This study aimed to explore contraceptive discontinuation and switching during the Yam-Daabo project to measure the effect of interventions on the continuation of contraceptive methods use.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of the Yam-Daabo trial data. We choose the discontinuation and switching of a modern contraceptive method as outcome measures. We performed a survival analysis using the Stata software package to estimate the effect of the interventions on contraceptive discontinuation. We also studied the main reasons for discontinuation and switching.ResultsIn total, 637 out of the 1120 women used at least one contraceptive method (of any type), with 267 women in the control and 370 in the intervention group. One hundred seventy-nine women of the control group used modern methods compared to 279 women of the intervention group with 24 and 32 who discontinued, respectively. We observed no statistically significant association between interventions and modern methods discontinuation and switching. However, modern methods' discontinuation was higher in pills and injectables users than implants and IUDs users. The pooled data comparison showed that, in reference to the women who had not switched while using a modern method, the likelihood of switching to a less or equal effectiveness method among the women of the control group was 3.8(95% CI: 1.8-8.0) times the likelihood of switching to a less or equal effectiveness method among the women of the intervention group. And this excess was statistically significant (p ConclusionThe results of this study show no statistically significant association between interventions and modern methods discontinuation. Discontinuation is more related to the methods themselves than to any other factor. It is also essential to set up specific actions targeting women's partners and influential people in the community to counter inhibiting beliefs.Trial registrationPan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR201609001784334, https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/TrialDisplay.aspx?TrialID=1784 )

Synthesis and cytotoxic activity of madecassic acid–silybin conjugate compounds in liver cancer cells

A series of 14 conjugates of 2α,3β,23-triacetyl-madecassic acid and silybin were designed and synthesized. The madecassic acid unit was linked to silybin either directly at position C-7 or C-3; or through an amino acid linker (glycine, β-alanine, or 11-aminoundecanoic acid) at position C-3. The conjugates were tested in vitro for their cytotoxic effect on HepG2 cells using the MTT assay. The results confirmed that the conjugated compounds demonstrated a stronger cytotoxic effect compared to the parent compounds. Of these compounds, the most promising conjugate, compound 8, was evaluated for cytotoxic activity in the additional Hep3B, Huh7, and Huh7R human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines and also for cell cycle changes and induction of apoptosis in HepG2 cells. This compound caused a rapid and significant induction of caspase 3 activity and induced cell cycle arrest in the S phase – effects distinct from the activity of madecassic acid. This is the first study on the synthesis and cytotoxicity of madecassic acid–silybin conjugates, and of their testing against liver cancer cell lines and provides evidence for a distinct biological profile versus madecassic acid alone

Shower development of particles with momenta from 15 GeV to 150 GeV in the CALICE scintillator-tungsten hadronic calorimeter

We present a study of showers initiated by electrons, pions, kaons, and protons with momenta from 15 GeV to 150 GeV in the highly granular CALICE scintillator-tungsten analogue hadronic calorimeter. The data were recorded at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron in 2011. The analysis includes measurements of the calorimeter response to each particle type as well as measurements of the energy resolution and studies of the longitudinal and radial shower development for selected particles. The results are compared to Geant4 simulations (version 9.6.p02). In the study of the energy resolution we include previously published data with beam momenta from 1 GeV to 10 GeV recorded at the CERN Proton Synchrotron in 2010.Comment: 35 pages, 21 figures, 8 table