bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pathways to Fracture: African American Mothers and the Complexities of Maternal Absence
Authors: Henderson Mae C.
Published: November 2009

Based on in-depth interviews with ten African American mothers, this article examines women's paths to separation from their minor children. Specifically, it focuses on the experiences of mothers who, for one reason or another, do not function as full-time parents and how they came to assume this status. The study examines the circumstances involved in the decision to transfer the custody of children to others. Two theoretical perspectives, biological imperative and social identity, are used to provide an understanding of Western ideals of mothering. Findings suggest that African American low-income mothers maintain ideals of mothering but that circumstances prevent them from living its reality.
Transitioning the Caregiving Role for the Next Generation: An African-Centered Womanist Perspective
Authors: Wells-Wilbon Rhonda , Simpson Gaynell Marie
Published: November 2009

Caregiving traditions of African American women are deeply rooted in African origins throughout the Diaspora. Although these traditions are highly valued, there is minimal information on how these caregiving roles are passed from generation to generation, and less is known about women's enduring resilience and the ways in which caregivers alleviate challenging stressors. Drawing from an African-centered womanist perspective, the authors explore historical and cultural traditions of caregiving, concluding with a model aimed at assisting women to engage men in the caregiving role, to ask for and receive help, and to adopt healthier caregiving roles to transfer to their daughters and sons.
Debunking the Myth of the "Angry Black Woman": An Exploration of Anger in Young African American Women
Authors: Walley-Jean J. Celeste
Published: November 2009

Research on anger in African American females is lacking yet extremely important. The stereotype of the "angry black woman" has dominated society's view of African American females; however, empirical evidence supporting the stereotype is nonexistent. In an effort to empirically test the misperception of African American women as overly angry or aggressive, this project explored the experience of anger in seventy-six African American women and compared it to a reference group (i.e., the normative sample of the measure used). Participants completed the State Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2). On most of the scales of anger of the STAXI-2, there were no significant differences between the current sample and the normative sample. Notably contrary to the widespread image, African American women in both age groups reported significantly less frequent angry feelings in situations where they may receive criticism, perceived disrespect, and negative evaluations (i.e., angry reaction). Furthermore, younger women reported a greater tendency to experience and suppress intense angry feelings rather than expressing them either physically or verbally. Summarily, results of the current study provide initial empirical evidence disconfirming the stereotype of the "angry black woman."
Chris Brown, Rihanna, and Countless Others: The Catalyst for Violence-prevention Education and Awareness
Authors: Hopson Mark C.
Published: November 2009

Allegations of relationship abuse involving entertainers Chris Brown and Rihanna contain multiple messages for youth and young adults. Invariably, the story has become a point of departure for discussions concerning violence against women. Countless people face this danger on a daily basis. As such, this essay works to conceptualize relationship abuse for readers seeking to engage young adults in violence prevention dialogue. More specifically, the essay illustrates ways in which information about unhealthy relationships, attitudes about gender roles, and effective communication all work together to help eradicate the larger phenomenon of violence.
Henry James's New York
Authors: Tóibín Colm
Published: November 2009

James, when he contemplated human behavior, was not a typical Victorian prude. He found treachery and greed and straying from the narrow too interesting, too intrinsically dramatic, to be debased by mere judgment. This article explores James evolution in his thinking about art. It is possible to read between the lines of his work, seeking moments in which he comes close to unmasking himself. Many of his stories give more away than he intended. James's writings about New York disclose an anger at what has been lost to commerce and material progress of a place he knew.
The Later Jameses
Authors: Tóibín Colm
Published: November 2009

Tóibín reviews Susan Gunter's Alice in Jamesland: The Story of Alice Howe Gibbens James and Paul Fisher's House of Wits: An Intimate Portrait of the James Family . Gunter offers an ingenuously plotted micro-history of the period and throws light on the personalities of two American geniuses. House of Wits adds to and enriches what we already know from other biographies of William and Henry James.
A Bundle of Letters
Authors: Tóibín Colm
Published: November 2009

Tóibín reviews Pierre Walker and Greg Zacharias's two volume set, The Complete Letters of Henry James . These two volumes are dominated by the James family's European wanderings and then by Henry's first visit alone to Europe. They throw much light on his family and his country of birth while at the same time helping us towards an understanding of his health problems. Some of James's letters are small masterpieces of description.
The Lessons of the Master
Authors: Tóibín Colm
Published: November 2009

The situation of being single and childless preoccupied Henry James in his forties. James sought both fullness of art and the making of money. It was as though he himself were a married couple. The lesson for anyone seeking fame as a writer could be learned in the indeterminate space between Mrs. St. George and Marian Fancourt of "The Lesson of the Master" or in renouncing love for the sake of art and living with the consequences.
A Death, a Book, an Apartment: The Portrait of a Lady
Authors: Tóibín Colm
Published: November 2009

James wanted to follow Eliot’s example in attempting to enter the spirit of a single character. He imagined a creation of a woman whom he might render in full, but in a novel that would be formally more pure than anything Eliot was capable of, a novel that would blend architectural perfection with unerring characterization. James used imagery associated with architecture throughout The Portrait of a Lady . In creating Isabel, James was concerned with consciousness rather than plot. James allowed the novels of Eliot, which placed a deeply intelligent and passionate woman at the center of a novel, to encourage him to make his young woman in Portrait even more deeply intelligent and even more subtly passionate.
The Haunting of Lamb House
Authors: Tóibín Colm
Published: November 2009

Tóibín writes about visiting Lamb House in Rye as he was completing a draft of his novel, The Master . James used houses as backdrops to his work and family and friends in his work. But James believed that his novels were richer than life, more complete than life. He longed to shape life and offer it significance and a sense of completion. As James prepared to move to Lamb House old fears and nightmares surfaced and James conjured up "The Turn of the Screw." Lamb House is a haunting site where the imagination of one of the greatest novelists in history was fired and found rest.
Pure Evil: "The Turn of the Screw"
Authors: Tóibín Colm
Published: November 2009

Tóibín posits that "The Turn of the Screw" is on one level a deeply and unconsciously autobiographical story. The article also discusses the difficulty of adapting the story to film.
Reflective Biography
Authors: Tóibín Colm
Published: November 2009

Tóibín reviews Sheldon Novick's Henry James: The Mature Master . Tóibín sees Novick as concerned to re-interpret James as a less detached and less unhappy figure, less passive, less fearful and haunted than previous critical Henry Jameses. Novick's book seeks to interpret the Master as less long-suffering and much stronger and happier than we might previously have imagined.
Henry James In Ireland: A Footnote
Authors: Tóibín Colm
Published: November 2009

This article explores James's connection and hostility to Ireland by way of family history and the American view of the Irish in the 1840s. The James children's Irish background and American nationality were subsumed into a curious and creative hybrid that produced two geniuses—Henry and William. To many, the Jameses seemed "distinctly Irish." In the great journey of his self invention James managed to erase almost completely his Irish background, making sure it would be a footnote to his much larger and more ambitious concerns.
All a Novelist Needs
Authors: Tóibín Colm
Published: November 2009

By the time James began to write The Golden Bowl in Lamb House in Rye in 1903 his imagination was at its most delicate and refined. His interest in the mechanics of the novel was also at its most ironic and pure. He saw the immense dramatic possibilities in withholding what was expected in a novel about treachery and discovery, innocence and experience. James came to his late style gradually and by necessity because he needed a tone that was morally serious.
A More Elaborate Web: Becoming Henry James
Authors: Tóibín Colm
Published: November 2009

Tóibín explores Henry James's influence on his own writing, especially as it led to the writing of his own book, The Master . James's experiences and disappointments parallel the disappointments of all writers. Tóibín points out that his own method of merging the deeply personal with the imagined belongs to the main method by which all novelists work.
Interview with Judge Antônio A. Cançado Trindade, Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Authors: Tanner Lauri R.
Published: November 2009

Interview with Judge Antônio A. Cançado Trindade, former President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), on the occasion of his retirement from the IACHR. He has now been elected Judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Author, international law professor, and renowned jurist, Cançado Trindade discusses his precedential accomplishments while on the bench of the IACHR for more than twelve years, his path to becoming a judge, and his legacy. (Preface by Dean Claudio Grossman, American University Washington College of Law. The Introduction is by Francisco Rivera, Senior Attorney, IACHR.)
A Historic Moment in Iran
Authors: Afshari Reza
Published: November 2009

In the June 2009 election debacle, the Islamic Republic of Iran faced a legitimacy crisis the like of which it has not experienced since its creation in 1979. I offer my reflections on the country’s class-cultural divide. A significant sociocultural realignment has taken place in recent years indicating that the official Iran of the devout multitudes may not be a majority, as compared to the “other” Iran of a largely modern and pragmatically secular citizenry. I argue that neither President Ahmadinejad’s class-based political views nor his cultural grandstanding is progressive. The “masses” mobilized by religious fundamentalism play into the hands of national demagogues. I offer my reflections on the pragmatic secular attitudes that shaped the reactions to the June electoral fraud. I argue that the Iranian experience seriously undermines the assumption that the future success in building a democratic polity depends on the success of the discursive rediscovering of Islam’s humanistic-egalitarian nature. It seems that Muslim theorists offering their new interpretations of Islam are largely left behind by the young Iranians, whose way of life is characterized not so much by their anti-religious ethos as by their practical disposition towards contemporary needs and desires. Finally, I comment on the emerging phenomenon of a citizen seeing herself as a distinct individual and realizing that to preserve a sense of personal worth within the structure of the modern state she needs the state to respect her human rights. An ordinary person can now be heroic merely by virtue of her own individuality: No cultural or nationalist metanarrative; no collectively conceived claims.
The Unsettled Relationship of Economic and Social Rights and the West: A Response to Whelan and Donnelly
Authors: Kang Susan L.
Published: November 2009

This article responds to Daniel Whelan and Jack Donnelly’s argument challenging narratives about Western opposition to economic and social rights. Their narrative on the foundational role of Western elites in creating economic and social rights does not sufficiently demonstrate the centrality of economic and social rights. Their argument lacks a clear explanation of how postwar elite commitments relate to broader Western domestic normative acceptance. I draw on international norms and legal theory to show how the domestic political context of the United States, labor rights, the welfare state, and other international institutions provide evidence against their claims.
History and Action: The Inter-American Human Rights System and the Role of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Authors: Goldman Robert K.
Published: November 2009

This article examines the historical origins of the Inter-American human rights system and key achievements of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights over the past fifty years. It explores the Commission’s use of on sight visits and country reports to expose human rights violations of military governments during the 1970s and its increased use of the case system since the restoration of democratic rule in the 1990s. The article also notes how shifts in US foreign policy toward the region impacted the Commission’s work. It concludes by noting certain obstacles and challenges currently faced by the Commission.
The Reality of Western Support for Economic and Social Rights: A Reply to Susan L. Kang
Authors: Whelan Daniel J. , Donnelly Jack
Published: November 2009

Susan Kang’s reply to our article on the West and economic and social rights accepts our central claim that the widespread view of Western opposition cannot be supported by the evidence. She subtly and usefully, however, shifts the discussion to a secondary claim in our article, namely, Western support for human rights. Kang argues that Western states have been ambivalent about economic and social rights and that the United States has been fundamentally reluctant to accept them. Our response provides substantial evidence of widespread Western support for economic and social rights and critically examines her alleged evidence of reluctance.
Is Neutral Humanitarianism Dead? Red Cross Neutrality: Walking the Tightrope of Neutral Humanitarianism
Authors: Rieffer-Flanagan Barbara Ann
Published: November 2009

Some have suggested that neutral humanitarianism is dead in the aftermath of the Cold War and 9/11. This article challenges the critical view called neo-humanitarianism and suggests that organizations such as the ICRC can carefully carve out an image of relative neutrality. This article argues that the difficulties associated with neutrality are not new and the ICRC has been grappling with them for decades. Various examples from history, including the Italian-Ethiopian War, World War II, and the Korean War, suggest the various complexities associated with neutrality. The fundamental focus of this article is how to construct an image and policies that are perceived to be relatively neutral in order to allow access to victims in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.
Women, Security, and the Patriarchy of Internationalized Transitional Justice
Authors: Aoláin Fionnuala Ní
Published: November 2009

In the contemporary global context, transitions from conflict to peace and from authoritarian to democratic governance are a critical preoccupation of many states. In these contexts, accountability for the abuses committed by prior regimes has been a priority for international institutions, states, and new governments. Nonetheless, transitional justice goals have expanded to include a broad range of structural reforms in multiple spheres. Whether an expanded or contracted transitional justice paradigm is used to define the perimeters of change, gender concerns have been markedly absent across jurisdictions experiencing transformation. This article examines the conceptualization of and legal provision for gender security and its subsequent effects upon accountability in times of transition, with particular reference to post-conflict societies. The article closely assesses a range of contemporary issues implicated for women including an examination of post-conflict security from a gender perspective, gender and disarmament, and the centrality and effect of security sector reform for women. The article pays particular attention to the under-theorized and under-researched role of international masculinities, and the patriarchy that is imported with international oversight of transitional societies.
In the Name of National Security: Torture and Imperialist Ideology in Sheridan’s In the Name of the Father and Jordan’s Breakfast on Pluto
Authors: Nunes Charlotte
Published: November 2009

This article situates In the Name of the Father (1993) and Breakfast on Pluto (2005) within the tradition of cinematic imperial critique established by Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1966 film The Battle of Algiers . By confronting the viewer with images of innocents in pain, the films demand a reconsideration of the victimization of innocents as an admissible “cost” of ensuring national security. Despite the different historical foci of the films, the subtext of each film centers on the perennial question: what are the political and psychological preconditions for torture? All three directors exploit the medium of film to examine the intimate relationship between imperial ideology and the implementation of torture.
Breaking New Ground: The Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Evolution of International Humanitarian Law
Authors: Docherty Bonnie
Published: November 2009

The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions comprehensively bans a weapon that causes civilian casualties both during and after attacks. The convention also sets legal precedent in three ways. First, the convention expands the scope of past treaties by, for example, covering munitions that function properly and those that do not. Secondly, it creates groundbreaking humanitarian obligations, most notably those related to victim assistance. Thirdly, it anticipates future concerns by recognizing the threats posed by non-state armed groups. This comparative analysis of the convention shows how it breaks new ground for future weapons treaties and illuminates the process by which international humanitarian law can be advanced.
Morocco’s Family Code: Improving Equality for Women
Authors: Zoglin Katie
Published: November 2009

Morocco’s adoption of a new family code in 2004 was hailed as a great step forward for women’s rights domestically and as a model for the broader Muslim world. Morocco’s new family code, commonly referred to as the Moudawana, introduced a range of measures that enhance women’s equality in marriage, divorce, and other aspects of family life. This article provides an overview of the events leading up to the enactment of the Moudawana, its major innovations that enhance the equality of women, initial assessments on the implementation of the law, and areas that merit additional attention.
Optimal States and Self-Defeating Plans: The Problem of Intentionality in Early Chinese Self-Cultivation
Authors: Graziani Romain
Published: November 2009

Whereas Western moral philosophy has mainly accounted for recurrent failed or irrational actions through the concept of weakness of will, many early Chinese texts on self-cultivation, notably the Zhuangzi, stand for a philosophical position that explains our frustrations and failures as an “excess of the will.” Leaving aside external factors such as accidents or mistakes, this essay explores the sources of thwarted plans and frustrated expectations that are due to factors internal to the individual—more precisely, to the nature of intentional conscience. Such a view was generally inadmissible in Western moral philosophy, which revolves around the paradigm of a causal agent endowed with a ‘muscular ethics’ for which all that is desired, and indeed all that is achieved, may only be a direct effect of the will. In striking contrast to this orientation, the Zhuangzi presents a variety of situations in which things do not happen as planned because we were too aware of the plan that guided us. Here, I will use Jon Elster’s concept of by-product states in order to explore this contrast between two contending models of action that, far from being culturally rooted, express an inner criticism in both traditions, European and Chinese.
The Structure of Emptiness
Authors: Priest Graham
Published: November 2009

The view that everything is empty (śūnya) is a central metaphysical plank of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It has often been the focus of objections. Perhaps the most important of these is that it in effect entails a nihilism: nothing exists. This objection, in turn, is denied by Mahāyāna theorists, such as Nāgārjuna. One of the things that makes the debate difficult is that the precise import of the view that everything is empty is unclear. The object of this essay is to put the debate in a new light. It does so by proposing a mathematical characterization of Emptiness—that is, the totality of empty things—showing that, whatever it is, it has a definite structure and is not, therefore, to be identified with nothingness.
How to Rule Without Taking Unnatural Actions (无为而治): A Comparative Study of the Political Philosophy of the Laozi
Authors: Bai Tongdong
Published: November 2009

In this essay, the understanding of naturalness and of ruling without taking unnatural actions in the Laozi will be clarified and elaborated on, and it will be argued that the Laozi offers a theoretically adequate and realistic proposal to address both the problems of its times and some of the problems of modernity.
“Ascending the Hall”: Style and Moral Improvement in the Analects
Authors: Olberding Amy
Published: November 2009

The moral vision of the Analects notably includes among our moral responsibilities the need to style behavior such that the propriety of one’s dispositions is evident in one’s manner and demeanor. While the sage effortlessly fulfills this responsibility, the moral learner must actively strive to shape her demeanor and manner. This essay considers her resources for doing so where becoming effortlessly sagely is a distant, if not unreachable, possibility. While the Analects clearly proffers the li as the principal mechanism for developing an appropriate style, the models provided by Zigong and Zilu, two of the text’s most vividly depicted moral learners, demonstrate what an improvement in the domain of style requires and significantly indicate an account of moral style in which formal propriety must be vouchsafed by the personally revelatory.
Buddhist ‘Foundationalism’ and the Phenomenology of Perception
Authors: Coseru Christian
Published: November 2009

This essay, which draws on a set of interrelated issues in the phenomenology of perception, calls into question the assumption that Buddhist philosophers of the Dignāga-Dharmakīrti tradition pursue a kind of epistemic foundationalism. It is argued that the embodied-cognition paradigm, which informs recent efforts within the Western philosophical tradition to overcome the Cartesian legacy, can also be found—albeit in a modified form—in the Buddhist epistemological tradition. In seeking to ground epistemology in the phenomenology of cognition, the Buddhist epistemologist, it is claimed, is operating on principles similar to those found in Husserl’s phenomenological tradition.
All-American Saints: Eastern Orthodox Saints as Models of American Cultural Engagement
Authors: Slagle Amy
Published: November 2009

Drawing upon Orthodox hymns, vitae, and historical interpretations, I explore the ways in which many of the Eastern Orthodox saints of North America, most notably Herman, Innocent, Tikhon, and Raphael, embody an ideal of active Orthodox Christian engagement with cultural and ethnic diversity. While generally characterized as self-isolated in its relationship to American culture, the Orthodox Churches in the United States have consistently canonized missionary saints noteworthy for their tolerant multicultural approach to cultural and ethnic diversity both outside and within Orthodoxy. These saints provide a potent means of Orthodox self-reflection on the place and role of Eastern Orthodoxy in contemporary American life.
A Love Stronger than Death: The Persistence of Saint Elisabeth in Western Europe
Authors: Aaij Michel
Published: November 2009

The 800th anniversary of the birth of St. Elisabeth, widely celebrated in Germany in 2007, occasioned numerous publications and generated broad interest across and outside denominations. Many of those books reveal how this saint’s cult has changed over time, and how Elisabeth has (been) adapted to the modern religious experience. In particular, Elisabeth’s charity toward the poor, while continuing to appeal to today’s believers, has also been reinterpreted to support an ecological theology resonating broadly in Germany and abroad. Today’s cult of St. Elisabeth, surprisingly vibrant but stripped of many historical and religious elements, proves the enduring adaptability of saints.
“The Fiery, Blessed Ann”: Experience and Doctrine in the Spirituality of Ann Griffiths
Authors: Llywelyn Dorian
Published: November 2009

The poems and letters of Ann Griffiths (1776–1804) are celebrated in her native Wales but comparatively little-known elsewhere. This essay discusses some of the major features of her work. An interior spiritual drama of joy and despondency is expressed in a profoundly biblical imagination. Griffiths’s experience is shaped by classic Calvinist theology: themes of the Covenant of Grace, atonement, the saving office of Christ, and sanctification abound in her work. Striking imagery, Calvinist aesthetics, and passionate language make Griffiths a distinctive figure, of interest to students of women’s religious writing and of Christian spirituality as a whole.
Spirituality and Social Change: Rebuilding the Human City
Authors: Sheldrake Philip F.
Published: November 2009

The accelerated growth rate of cities world-wide and the intimate connection between built environments and the enhancement or diminishment of human life make cites one of the most critical spiritual as well as social and design issues of our age. This essay first explores the connections between Christian spirituality, the public realm and social transformation especially in urban contexts. It then summarises some elements of the Christian tradition of thinking about the meaning of cities and finally it outlines two important ways of reflecting on spirituality and the urban: the impact of spatial structures and the nature of urban virtue.
The Life and Mission of St. Paisius Velichkovsky. 1722–1794. An Early Modern Master of the Orthodox Spiritual Life
Authors: McGuckin John A.
Published: November 2009

St. Paisius Velichovsky is a major figure in the Philokalic revival of Eastern Orthodox Spirituality – that tradition of spiritual practices that prioritised the Jesus prayer, the affective spirituality of the heart, and which was famously summed up in the Russian ‘Way of the Pilgrim’ composed by one of his later followers. This essay considers Paisy’s life and ministry in its historical context, something relatively inacccessible in the English language, and demonstrates the coherence of the mysticism, the political, and the reformatory work of this great Ukrainian Orthodox monk, Church reformer, and mystic.
Women's Vulnerabilty to a Seasonal Hazard: Their Capacity to Adapt and Their Resilience
Authors: Cottrell Alison
Published: November 2009

Women as a group may be more vulnerable to the impact of hazards, but at an individual level, they also have capacity to adapt to changing circumstances in ways that contribute to their own resilience. This paper provides examples of the ways in which some women adapt to a recurrent natural hazard to which they are exposed, in turn, providing insights on adaptive capacity at a personal level.
Reframing African cinema and democracy: the case of Cameroon
Authors: Tchouaffé Jean Olivier
Published: November 2009

Cameroonian film production is interpreted as a means of initiation to political education and progress towards democracy. Social satire in the first generation (Pipa and Kamwa) evolves into political awareness and opposition in the contemporary generation (Ba Kobhio, Bekolo and Teno).
Documentarist Jean-Marie Teno holds the colonial regime responsible for the ingrained abuse of power and disregard for ordinary citizens in the neo-colonial regime. The syndrome of the 'chief', within the family in the films of the 1970s (Pipa and Kamwa), or within the state institutions in
the films of the 1990s (Bekolo and Teno), is the target of an awareness campaign. Cameroonian cinema is promoting a civil society which, from the onset of independence, managed to keep alive indigenous practices of democratic consultation. The author trusts in the empowerment of young people
under the guidance of film-makers-cum-political-activists to recover the imagination necessary for creating a new social utopia.
Main Immunogenic Region Structure Promotes Binding of Conformation-Dependent Myasthenia Gravis Autoantibodies, Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Conformation Maturation, and Agonist Sensitivity
Authors: Luo Jie , Taylor Palmer , Losen Mario , de Baets Marc H. , Shelton G. Diane , Lindstrom Jon
Published: November 2009

The main immunogenic region (MIR) is a conformation-dependent region at the extracellular apex of α1 subunits of muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) that is the target of half or more of the autoantibodies to muscle AChRs in human myasthenia gravis and rat experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis. By making chimeras of human α1 subunits with α7 subunits, both MIR epitopes recognized by rat mAbs and by the patient-derived human mAb 637 to the MIR were determined to consist of two discontiguous sequences, which are adjacent only in the native conformation. The MIR, including loop α1 67–76 in combination with the N-terminal α helix α1 1–14, conferred high-affinity binding for most rat mAbs to the MIR. However, an additional sequence corresponding to α1 15–32 was required for high-affinity binding of human mAb 637. A water soluble chimera ofAplysiaacetylcholine binding protein with the same α1 MIR sequences substituted was recognized by a majority of human, feline, and canine myasthenia gravis sera. The presence of the α1 MIR sequences in α1/α7 chimeras greatly promoted AChR expression and significantly altered the sensitivity to activation. This reveals a structural and functional, as well as antigenic, significance of the MIR.
Visual Learning Shapes the Processing of Complex Movement Stimuli in the Human Brain
Authors: Jastorff Jan , Kourtzi Zoe , Giese Martin A.
Published: November 2009

Recognition of actions and complex movements is fundamental for social interactions and action understanding. While the relationship between motor expertise and visual recognition of body movements has received a vast amount of interest, the role of visual learning remains largely unexplored. Combining psychophysics and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments, we investigated neural correlates of visual learning of complex movements. Subjects were trained to visually discriminate between very similar complex movement stimuli generated by motion morphing that were either compatible (experiments 1 and 2) or incompatible (experiment 3) with human movement execution. Employing an fMRI adaptation paradigm as index of discriminability, we scanned human subjects before and after discrimination training. The results of experiment 1 revealed three different effects as a consequence of training: (1) Emerging fMRI-selective adaptation in general motion-related areas (hMT/V5+, KO/V3b) for the differences between human-like movements. (2) Enhanced of fMRI-selective adaptation already present before training in biological motion-related areas (pSTS, FBA). (3) Changes covarying with task difficulty in frontal areas. Moreover, the observed activity changes were specific to the trained movement patterns (experiment 2). The results of experiment 3, testing artificial movement stimuli, were strikingly similar to the results obtained for human movements. General and biological motion-related areas showed movement-specific changes in fMRI-selective adaptation for the differences between the stimuli after training. These results support the existence of a powerful visual machinery for the learning of complex motion patterns that is independent of motor execution. We thus propose a key role of visual learning in action recognition.
Correlating Stimulus-Specific Adaptation of Cortical Neurons and Local Field Potentials in the Awake Rat
Authors: von der Behrens Wolfger , Bäuerle Peter , Kössl Manfred , Gaese Bernhard H.
Published: November 2009

Changes in the sensory environment are good indicators for behaviorally relevant events and strong triggers for the reallocation of attention. In the auditory domain, violations of a pattern of repetitive stimuli precipitate in the event-related potentials as mismatch negativity (MMN). Stimulus-specific adaptation (SSA) of single neurons in the auditory cortex has been proposed to be the cellular substrate of MMN (Nelken and Ulanovsky, 2007). However, until now, the existence of SSA in the awake auditory cortex has not been shown. In the present study, we recorded single and multiunits in parallel with evoked local field potentials (eLFPs) in the primary auditory cortex of the awake rat. Both neurons andeLFPs in the awake animal adapted in a stimulus-specific manner, and SSA was controlled by stimulus probability and frequency separation. SSA of isolated units was significant during the first stimulus-evoked “on” response but not in the following inhibition and rebound of activity. TheeLFPs exhibited SSA in the first negative deflection and, to a lesser degree, in a slower positive deflection but no MMN. Spike adaptation correlated closely with adaptation of the fast negative deflection but not the positive deflection. Therefore, we conclude that single neurons in the auditory cortex of the awake rat adapt in a stimulus-specific manner and contribute to corresponding changes ineLFP but do not generate a late deviant response component directly equivalent to the human MMN. Nevertheless, the described effect may reflect a certain part of the process needed for sound discrimination.
Estrogen Attenuates Ischemic Oxidative Damage via an Estrogen Receptor α-Mediated Inhibition of NADPH Oxidase Activation
Authors: Zhang Quan-Guang , Raz Limor , Wang Ruimin , Han Dong , De Sevilla Liesl , Yang Fang , Vadlamudi Ratna K. , Brann Darrell W.
Published: November 2009

The goal of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms of 17β-estradiol (E2) antioxidant and neuroprotective actions in stroke. The results reveal a novel extranuclear receptor-mediated antioxidant mechanism for E2during stroke, as well as a hypersensitivity of the CA3/CA4 region to ischemic injury after prolonged hypoestrogenicity. E2neuroprotection was shown to involve a profound attenuation of NADPH oxidase activation and superoxide production in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons after stroke, an effect mediated by extranuclear estrogen receptor α (ERα)-mediated nongenomic signaling, involving Akt activation and subsequent phosphorylation/inactivation of Rac1, a factor critical for activation of NOX2 NADPH oxidase. Intriguingly, E2nongenomic signaling, antioxidant action, and neuroprotection in the CA1 region were lost after long-term E2deprivation, and this loss was tissue specific because the uterus remained responsive to E2. Correspondingly, a remarkable loss of ERα, but not ERβ, was observed in the CA1 after long-term E2deprivation, with no change observed in the uterus. As a whole, the study reveals a novel, membrane-mediated antioxidant mechanism in neurons by E2provides support and mechanistic insights for a “critical period” of E2replacement in the hippocampus and demonstrates a heretofore unknown hypersensitivity of the CA3/CA4 to ischemic injury after prolonged hypoestrogenicity.
Decoding and Reconstructing Color from Responses in Human Visual Cortex
Authors: Brouwer Gijs Joost , Heeger David J.
Published: November 2009

How is color represented by spatially distributed patterns of activity in visual cortex? Functional magnetic resonance imaging responses to several stimulus colors were analyzed with multivariate techniques: conventional pattern classification, a forward model of idealized color tuning, and principal component analysis (PCA). Stimulus color was accurately decoded from activity in V1, V2, V3, V4, and VO1 but not LO1, LO2, V3A/B, or MT+. The conventional classifier and forward model yielded similar accuracies, but the forward model (unlike the classifier) also reliably reconstructed novel stimulus colors not used to train (specify parameters of) the model. The mean responses, averaged across voxels in each visual area, were not reliably distinguishable for the different stimulus colors. Hence, each stimulus color was associated with a unique spatially distributed pattern of activity, presumably reflecting the color selectivity of cortical neurons. Using PCA, a color space was derived from the covariation, across voxels, in the responses to different colors. In V4 and VO1, the first two principal component scores (main source of variation) of the responses revealed a progression through perceptual color space, with perceptually similar colors evoking the most similar responses. This was not the case for any of the other visual cortical areas, including V1, although decoding was most accurate in V1. This dissociation implies a transformation from the color representation in V1 to reflect perceptual color space in V4 and VO1.
Phosphorylation of Ezrin/Radixin/Moesin Proteins by LRRK2 Promotes the Rearrangement of Actin Cytoskeleton in Neuronal Morphogenesis
Authors: Parisiadou Loukia , Xie Chengsong , Cho Hyun Jin , Lin Xian , Gu Xing-Long , Long Cai-Xia , Lobbestael Evy , Baekelandt Veerle , Taymans Jean-Marc , Sun Lixin , Cai Huaibin
Published: November 2009

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) functions as a putative protein kinase of ezrin, radixin, and moesin (ERM) family proteins. A Parkinson's disease-related G2019S substitution in the kinase domain of LRRK2 further enhances the phosphorylation of ERM proteins. The phosphorylated ERM (pERM) proteins are restricted to the filopodia of growing neurites in which they tether filamentous actin (F-actin) to the cytoplasmic membrane and regulate the dynamics of filopodia protrusion. Here, we show that, in cultured neurons derived fromLRRK2G2019S transgenic mice, the number of pERM-positive and F-actin-enriched filopodia was significantly increased, and this correlates with the retardation of neurite outgrowth. Conversely, deletion ofLRRK2, which lowered the pERM and F-actin contents in filopodia, promoted neurite outgrowth. Furthermore, inhibition of ERM phosphorylation or actin polymerization rescued the G2019S-dependent neuronal growth defects. These data support a model in which the G2019S mutation ofLRRK2causes a gain-of-function effect that perturbs the homeostasis of pERM and F-actin in sprouting neurites critical for neuronal morphogenesis.
The Nitric Oxide/cGMP Pathway Tunes the Thermosensitivity of Swimming Motor Patterns inXenopus laevisTadpoles
Authors: Robertson R. Meldrum , Sillar Keith T.
Published: November 2009

We investigated the role of the nitric oxide (NO)/cGMP pathway in setting thresholds for failure and recovery during hyperthermic stress of the swimming central pattern generator of immobilizedXenopustadpoles (stage 42). We recorded swimming motor patterns induced by tail skin stimulation (TS) (1 ms current pulse) or by bath application of 50 μmNMDA. Swimming rhythm frequency increased in a linear manner with increasing temperature. In the presence of the NO donorS-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), recovery from hyperthermic failure was greatly slowed, often taking longer than the duration of the experiment. Pharmacological activation of the NO/cGMP pathway using SNAP or 8-bromo-cGMP (1) decreased the duration of TS-evoked swim episodes; (2) decreased the temperature threshold for hyperthermic circuit failure; (3) decreased the temperature at which the circuit recovered; and (4) increased the time taken to recover. Pharmacological inhibition of the NO/cGMP pathway using the NO scavenger CPTIO, the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitorl-NAME or the guanylyl cyclase inhibitor ODQ (1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one) had the opposite effects. NMDA rhythms were more resistant to hyperthermic failure than TS-evoked swim episodes, but the effects of SNAP on the temperature sensitivity of swimming evoked by NMDA were similar to those on TS-evoked swimming, suggesting that drug effects occur on central pattern-generating networks rather than sensory pathways. We conclude that the NO/cGMP pathway is involved in setting the threshold temperatures for hyperthermic failure and subsequent recovery of fictive swimming in tadpoles, and we suggest that this is part of a variable response to prevent overexcitation during abiotic stress under different environmental conditions.
A Nanomedicine Transports a Peptide Caspase-3 Inhibitor across the Blood–Brain Barrier and Provides Neuroprotection
Authors: Karatas Hulya , Aktas Yesim , Gursoy-Ozdemir Yasemin , Bodur Ebru , Yemisci Muge , Caban Secil , Vural Atay , Pinarbasli Onur , Capan Yilmaz , Fernandez-Megia Eduardo , Novoa-Carballal Ramon , Riguera Ricardo , Andrieux Karine , Couvreur Patrick , Dalkara Turgay
Published: November 2009

Caspases play an important role as mediators of cell death in acute and chronic neurological disorders. Although peptide inhibitors of caspases provide neuroprotection, they have to be administered intracerebroventricularly because they cannot cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Herein, we present a nanocarrier system that can transfer chitosan nanospheres loaded withN-benzyloxycarbonyl-Asp(OMe)-Glu(OMe)-Val-Asp(OMe)-fluoromethyl ketone (Z-DEVD-FMK), a relatively specific caspase-3 inhibitor, across BBB. Caspase-3 was chosen as a pharmacological target because of its central role in cell death. Polyethylene glycol-coated nanospheres were conjugated to an anti-mouse transferrin receptor monoclonal antibody (TfRMAb) that selectively recognizes the TfR type 1 on the cerebral vasculature. We demonstrate with intravital microscopy that this nanomedicine is rapidly transported across the BBB without being measurably taken up by liver and spleen. Pre- or post-treatment (2 h) with intravenously injected Z-DEVD-FMK-loaded nanospheres dose dependently decreased the infarct volume, neurological deficit, and ischemia-induced caspase-3 activity in mice subjected to 2 h of MCA occlusion and 24 h of reperfusion, suggesting that they released an amount of peptide sufficient to inhibit caspase activity. Similarly, nanospheres inhibited physiological caspase-3 activity during development in the neonatal mouse cerebellum on postnatal day 17 after closure of the BBB. Neither nanospheres functionalized with TfRMAb but not loaded with Z-DEVD-FMK nor nanospheres lacking TfRMAb but loaded with Z-DEVD-FMK had any effect on either paradigm, suggesting that inhibition of caspase activity and subsequent neuroprotection were due to efficient penetration of the peptide into brain. Thus, chitosan nanospheres open new and exciting opportunities for brain delivery of biologically active peptides that are useful for the treatment of CNS disorders.
Transgenic Expression ofGlud1(Glutamate Dehydrogenase 1) in Neurons:In VivoModel of Enhanced Glutamate Release, Altered Synaptic Plasticity, and Selective Neuronal Vulnerability
Authors: Bao Xiaodong , Pal Ranu , Hascup Kevin N. , Wang Yongfu , Wang Wen-Tung , Xu Wenhao , Hui Dongwei , Agbas Abdulbaki , Wang Xinkun , Michaelis Mary L. , Choi In-Young , Belousov Andrei B. , Gerhardt Greg A. , Michaelis Elias K.
Published: November 2009

The effects of lifelong, moderate excess release of glutamate (Glu) in the CNS have not been previously characterized. We created a transgenic (Tg) mouse model of lifelong excess synaptic Glu release in the CNS by introducing the gene for glutamate dehydrogenase 1 (Glud1) under the control of the neuron-specific enolase promoter.Glud1is, potentially, an important enzyme in the pathway of Glu synthesis in nerve terminals. Increased levels of GLUD protein and activity in CNS neurons of hemizygous Tg mice were associated with increases in thein vivorelease of Glu after neuronal depolarization in striatum and in the frequency and amplitude of miniature EPSCs in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Despite overexpression ofGlud1in all neurons of the CNS, the Tg mice suffered neuronal losses in select brain regions (e.g., the CA1 but not the CA3 region). In vulnerable regions, Tg mice had decreases in MAP2A labeling of dendrites and in synaptophysin labeling of presynaptic terminals; the decreases in neuronal numbers and dendrite and presynaptic terminal labeling increased with advancing age. In addition, the Tg mice exhibited decreases in long-term potentiation of synaptic activity and in spine density in dendrites of CA1 neurons. Behaviorally, the Tg mice were significantly more resistant than wild-type mice to induction and duration of anesthesia produced by anesthetics that suppress Glu neurotransmission. TheGlud1mouse might be a useful model for the effects of lifelong excess synaptic Glu release on CNS neurons and for age-associated neurodegenerative processes.
Dynamic Encoding of Movement Direction in Motor Cortical Neurons
Authors: Rickert Jörn , Riehle Alexa , Aertsen Ad , Rotter Stefan , Nawrot Martin P.
Published: November 2009

When we perform a skilled movement such as reaching for an object, we can make use of prior information, for example about the location of the object in space. This helps us to prepare the movement, and we gain improved accuracy and speed during movement execution. Here, we investigate how prior information affects the motor cortical representation of movements during preparation and execution. We trained two monkeys in a delayed reaching task and provided a varying degree of prior information about the final target location. We decoded movement direction from multiple single-unit activity recorded from M1 (primary motor cortex) in one monkey and from PMd (dorsal premotor cortex) in a second monkey. Our results demonstrate that motor cortical cells in both areas exhibit individual encoding characteristics that change dynamically in time and dependent on prior information. On the population level, the information about movement direction is at any point in time accurately represented in a neuronal ensemble of time-varying composition. We conclude that movement representation in the motor cortex is not a static one, but one in which neurons dynamically allocate their computational resources to meet the demands defined by the movement task and the context of the movement. Consequently, we find that the decoding accuracy decreases if the precise task time, or the previous information that was available to the monkey, were disregarded in the decoding process. An optimal strategy for the readout of movement parameters from motor cortex should therefore take into account time and contextual parameters.