My unplugged family

I just emailed my mother from the school PC. My family had been one of the most unplugged folks until she have gotten the text messaging function on her cell phone. The deal is; she types in Japanese and some of my school PC can display the language. I use the roman alphabet to write her. Emailing my family makes me nostalgic- when I came to US long time ago, I communicated with my family with long-distance phones, faxes, and letters…

Why do I keep blogging?

[Why do I keep blogging?]
Another faculty member mentioned my blog (this one), asked me why I do this. He is not judging my motivation, but curious. This is why I am elaborating on this topic…

First, I am blogging to proof that I am here and I will be here. I will not disappear, not from the cyberspace and playgrounds of thinking. Second, I am here to proof myself that what I am thinking is important, at least, to me and ppl around me…

Hmmm…my LAN network has been down for the last two days. [title only]

Hmmm…the LAN network at home has been down for the last two days.

Thank you for your support...

Thank you for your support...
Briefly discussed on my situation with M, 4th year student.
One of the discussion topics are…Art: Do you create an art form or the art calls on you?

New Apt

[New Apt]
Found an apartment. The room will be ready to move my stuff in as early as two weeks.

Ikiru! The superb movie!

Ikiru http://www.xasa.com/wiki/en/wikipedia/i/ik/ikiru.html I am sorry for my language. But if you think that life is meaningless, get up, hop on your car, and grab this damn movie!

THE REALM OF VISUAL STATISTICS [useful stuff-statistics]

THE REALM OF VISUAL STATISTICS [useful stuff-statistics]

MODERN EPISTEMOLOGY IN SEARCH FOR MEANING
BY DAVID J. KRUS


Posted the link to a Wiki:
Getting Serious About Statistics

[Note][Adult ADHD]

[Note][Adult ADHD]
"Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder", Psychiatric Clinics of North America, June 2004, Vol27(2)Editor T. Spencer. ISSN 0193-953X [Found at MSPP]

Looks like another kayak day (Saturday)

Looks like another kayak day. I will finish videotaping a psychpharm class in one hour or so: the kayak time is coming as soon I get off from this (yet still fun) work today!

I have been actively kayaking and canoeing on the Charles River lately. One of my classmates expressed his deep interest in joining...Anybody wanna join us in the summer?

See you on the water.

A slowly shattered soul/drafting a website

[A slowly shattered soul/drafting a website]


I am re-reading Bessel van der Kolk’s seminal article about post traumatic-stress disorder, “The Body Keeps the Score”.

This article somehow makes me plan another website, or at least another page on my existing website (jayotsuka.com). The new website will feature dissociation, trauma, and spirituality. I start with these vague ideas, since I believe that a website has a flexibility that allow me to think about/work on multiple themes at the same time. This website is a challenge to myself: I will speak to linier thinkers and parallel thinkers at the same time through the web.

First Bipolar Paper is done

I just submitted a literature search paper, which consumed me in the last one month or so. This was my first time to write a formal paper about this topic. Thank you for P.W. and S. A. for helping me out.

[Dostoevsky-stuff]

Humans are beautiful,

in spite of,
in spite of,
in spite of,...
and

because of...

[! Last Samurai! ][Gotta See it]

Just watched The Last Samurai, featuring Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. Watanabe almost stole the movie as a supporting actor. No, let's say that this movie is a product of a teamwork, and Tom Cruise blended in the entire architecture of the movie. How mature and accomplished Cruise is. Did I hear Oscars for the both actors? This movie is the bomb.

[i-Tunes and urban funk]

[i-Tunes and urban funk]
You know i-Tunes, and funk music is assaulting my ears right at this moment...Urban funk gives me a lift...check out radio section of i-Tunes. http://www.apple.com/itunes/ It is compatible with Mac/Windows. It rocks...

[Thanks][K@ Library]

[Spy News][Nick C]

[Spy news][New Student Worker]

[Today’s “Good Kid”]

Working hard or hardly working

[Plug & Play][i-mac][Have fun]

My friend K took me to his lab in a medical school. Lots of imacs!!!

[Dissertation][Spiritual Stuff][MSPP Grad]/[Boston][Online Community]

[Dissertation][Spiritual Stuff][MSPP Grad]

Aliveness: A Study on Transcendent Experiences in Positive and Negative Contents by Carol D. Gray (1995).
A very comprehensive work_even as a dissertation.

[Boston][Online Community]
http://boston.craigslist.org/

[CBT, Metacognition, mindfulness, and Haruki Murakami][Hip Journal Article]

This article does not mention Haruki Murakami (maybe he should...not only just because I like the author but Murakami writes about the rhythm of his daily life); yet this article shakes my Harukian part of brain...
re: GAD, Metacognition, and Mindfulness: An Information Processing Analysis by Adrian Wells, U of Manchester. In Clinical Psychology 9: 95-100, 2002.

[Assessment][DSM-V development]

A Research Agenda for DSM-V
http://www.appi.org/Cat2k/2292.html
Free to download a thick book from American Psychiatric Association. I am curious how APA handle validity and reliability of new DSM…

[molecular psychiatry]
[Steven E. Hyman, M.D]
Research Summary
Does this mean that dopamine agonists might change gene expression of neurons, which create dorpamine? Wow. Non-science major like me don’t have enough training to understand this...

[PB researcher][Psychiatric Genetics][John Rice Kelsoe, Jr., M.D]

[John Rice Kelsoe, Jr., M.D]
Bio/Publications

About.com Picked this Blog

About.com Mental Health picked this Mental Health Therapist's Daily Memos recently. I don't know exactly when, but I bumped into a link, just now.
http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/weblogsblogs/

A Beautiful Mind- Manic Depression and Kay Jamison

Read An Unquiet Mind by Kay Jamison- The author is a professor in Psychiatry in John's Hopkins and a prominent author. Her story of academic inquires on and personal battles with manic depression (bipolar disorder) is simply exquisite and intriguing.

What behavior is pathological and what is not?

If a behavior significantly undermines your daily functions, it is pathological; if not, it is normal.

This statement is a rough sketch. But as far as I know,
this is a foundation of psychopathology. The rest of arguments are matters of
different values, subjective opinions, and politics.

I have no intention to make another diagnosis cookie-cutter ...just a thought.

[Link][Psychopharmacology][Psychiatry]
Psycho-Babble by Dr Bob.

[Journal Articles]
[Buddhism and CBT]
Cognitive and Behavioral Practice9(1), 2002. Special Series.

[Journal Article]
[Emotion, Information-Processing, Behaviorism]
Measuring Emotion in Therapy: Imagery, Activation, and Feeling. Lang, P., Cuthbert, B., & Bradley, M. (1998). Behavior Therapy 29, 655-674. [Course Packed of CBT Class] Additional key words: meaning, semantics, network

[Memo][Music]
Rachmaninoff Prelude in G-Sharp Minor. Wow!

Maybe I did not tell the reader that I have been working on campus for two weeks. I just help a huge renovation of the school building and office work like stuffing envelopes. Job is good; now I can pay for a bag of potato.

[Log] [Research]
Methodological Issues and Strategies in Clinical Research, 3rd ed. Edited by Alan E Kazdin. 2003. ISBN: 1-55798-959-1: I just looked at this in lunch break. What a thick book.

How Japanese People Really Think About "You"?
If you are interested in reading honest opinions and relatively accurate (in my opinion) information from Japanese people and those who are in Japan, try Japan Times. It also features cultural backgrounds in clear English. Don't miss the Letter section...some of the letters are from US and they may say something you always wanted to say!
The Japan Times

"The core of Piaget is his belief that looking carefully at how knowledge develops in children will elucidate the nature of knowledge in general. " Papert
Source

Bipolar Disorder: Phenomenology

"Verbal learning (the CVLT) and sustained attention (the RVIP), are particularly potent indicators of the deficit in mania."

Guy M. Goodwin, M.D.
link

It looks like that the author are referring to adult population.

Just a scribble...titled "a cute onion".
onion me!

Dr. Grohol's Blog of Psychology
http://www.psychcentral.com/openjournal/
Here is another informative, professional information source of mental health.

Prokoflev - Sonata for Cello and Piano
Cello: Yo-Yo-Ma. This is my first time to listen to Prokoflev. This piece sounds like, a bit, Eric Satie, the guy who composed Gymnopedies, the three similar piano pieces. But Prokoflev or this piece is more nostalgic make me feel like calling my old friend.

Gene Enhances Prefrontal Function at a Price
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/events/prprice.cfm

[Is this really the end of the first year? Any catches?]
Officially, the last days of my classes were last Tuesday and Wednesday. But I am still writing a test report for Psychological Assessment and a paper for Qualitative Research class. Both papers are in a good shape compared to last semester; I did not have any idea when I was going to finish writing papers in last semester, but I can estimate approximate time of submitting papers in this semester.

Thanks to my profs and TAs who tried so hard to address my messy organization skills, I am picking up some structure in report writing.

Cross-Culture Network, The
" This is a volunteer group consisted mainly of housewives living in Hiroshima. We organize Club activities to support foreign people staying in Japan!"
http://www.geocities.com/multiculturalhouse/

Dear Soul, if you were not friends
with the vast nothing inside,
why would you always be casting your net
into it, and waiting so patiently?

"Craftsmanship and emptiness"
By: Jelaluddin Rumi

Fundamentally understand the components of the most basic living cell

"The more immediate plan is to try to puzzle out, and eventually model in a computer, every conceivable aspect of the biology of one organism, a feat science has never come close to accomplishing. Because all living cells are based on the same chemistry and bear striking resemblances to one another, that could shed light on all of biology. "We are wondering if we can come up with a molecular definition of life," Venter said. "The goal is to fundamentally understand the components of the most basic living cell." "

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A17496-2002Nov20¬Found=true

Today's Jay
Time Crunch= 8 out of 10 (default is 6 or 7)
Efficiency=7 out of 10 (Normal, functioning level. It will go up in the afternoon.)
Crankiness= 9 out of 10 (I am not murdering any cats or dogs on the street.)

Online papers on consciousness
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~chalmers/online.html

Compiled by: David Chalmers
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~chalmers/


Part I: Philosophy of Consciousness [457 papers]
Part II: Other Philosophy of Mind [467 papers]
Part III: Science of Consciousness [360 papers]

It's so cool...That is the only thing I can say...(This entry could not be edited...lemme fix it...it's hard to read.)

Declarative Memory http://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/meg/halgren/declarative_mem.html
Looks important, and I have no idea...

MIT BSC http://web.mit.edu/bcs/research.html

"molecular and cellular neuroscience focuses on the development of neural connectivity, the molecular basis of behavior in simple neural circuits, synaptic plasticity, and neurochemistry."

"systems neuroscience the main concerns are with vision, movement, and endocrine regulation, with the scientific goals of understanding the transduction and encoding of sensory stimuli; the organization, development, and plasticity of sensorimotor systems; the neural basis of cognition; and the effects of circulating compounds on brain composition and behavior."

"cognitive science interdisciplinary methods that include experimental studies, linguistic theory, and computational modeling are recruited to characterize the origin, acquisition, and processing of knowledge. Research focuses on psycholinguistics, visual perception and cognition, concepts and reasoning, and their development in children. Research on neurologically impaired patients is another important area of investigation."

"computation, emphasis is on the interdisciplinary study of the brain as an information processor and computing device. Research fields include robotics and the control of movement, vision, learning by neural networks, and knowledge-based perception and reasoning."

"cognitive neuroscience, students combine the tools of cognitive science and neuroscience to study cognitive processes. Research contains elements of investigation from two of the three fields of systems neuroscience, computation, and cognitive science."

:: Neurotechnology blog :: Another Neat Blog, by a USC student.
http://www-scf.usc.edu/~arjunban/blogger.html

Guessing Game- Psychological Assessment

Guessing Game

Administering psychological tests ("intelligent" tests like WISC, "projective", "personality" tests like Rorschach inkblot test, etc.) means that doing a bunch of inferences on inferences. First, the test data and interpretations are inferences of the state of the minds, cognitive functions, and 'personality types."

Second, psychopathologists (if there is any) are not sure about the physiological and/or 'maps' of psycho-pathology. Psychologists and psychiatrists diagnose clients based on meeting with clients and adminstering paper-and-pencil (or derivatives). not physiological data.
(I've heard that some Japanese psychiatrists/neurologists use fMRI or something as a part of assessment in rare occasions, but I have not seen any consensus in the field. added on 6/21/07)

Are we professionally guessing� Yes, we are.

edited on 6/21/07

"World's first brain prosthes"

 
New Scientist Print Edition
 
"The world's first brain prosthesis - an artificial hippocampus - is about to be tested in California. Unlike devices like cochlear implants, which merely stimulate brain activity, this silicon chip implant will perform the same processes as the damaged part of the brain it is replacing."

I have not confirmed this news with another source.
But this article quotes from a USC researcher, and it is unlikely to be completely wrong. I will wait
to discuss the implication of this news until we have further information
on this issue.

USC Neuroscience
http://www.usc.edu/dept/nbio/ngp/research/res-behav.shtml

Wow! This neuroscience department is interesting...

Neurosceience blogs...

WangBlog
http://synapse.princeton.edu/lab/blog/blogindex.html
A good source to keep in touch with the edge...

Big Dudes of Neurotech@
neurotechnology.org

"Computational Modeling of the Spinal Cord neural circuitry and links at the bottom to pages with information on more Computational Models of various aspects of brain function."
http://scf.usc.edu/~arjunban/archives/2002_12_08_archive.html

Let me jot-down what I did today...
1st class: Developmental Psychology: Stimulating contents. Motivation stuff.

2nd class: Qualitative Research: Today's lecture finished 30 minutes early. A special bonus, taking time off to chat with classmates!

3rd class: Assessment II. Covered Fruit Distraction, Stroop, and VADS. At the end of the lecture, I did not understand anything not because of the contents but fatigue. My brain was not functioning.

Just want to tell you about intelligence...

What I strongly believe, right now is that the half of factors of your intelligence is not fixed.
Don't be faked by the voices saying you can't improve your performance. Yes, intelligence we see in our everyday life is performance, NOT necessarily shows your potential. These people will benefit (or they think they will be) from putting you down.
It is really up to you how to polish your mental weapons up.

Myriad Genetics Discovers Major Depression Gene - Discovery Triggers $1 Million Milestone Payment From Abbott -
http://www.pharmalive.com/news/show_article.asp?articleID=75887&catid=16

Rethinking Innateness
A Connectionist Perspective on Development Jeffrey L. Elman, Elizabeth A. Bates, Mark H. Johnson, Annette Karmiloff-Smith, Domenico Parisi and Kim Plunkett
"Rethinking Innateness asks the question, "What does it really mean to say that a behavior is innate?" The authors describe a new framework in which interactions, occurring at all levels, give rise to emergent forms and behaviors. These outcomes often may be highly constrained and universal, yet are not themselves directly contained in the genes in any domain-specific way.
One of the key contributions of Rethinking Innateness is a taxonomy of ways in which a behavior can be innate. These include constraints at the level of representation, architecture, and timing; typically, behaviors arise through the interaction of constraints at several of these levels.
The ideas are explored through dynamic models inspired by a new kind of "developmental connectionism," a marriage of connectionist models and developmental neurobiology, forming a new theoretical framework for the study of behavioral development. While relying heavily on the conceptual and computational tools provided by connectionism, Rethinking Innateness also identifies ways in which these tools need to be enriched by closer attention to biology. "
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=8238

Just curious...

FDA approved a SSRI for ADHD treatment for children. But what is the difference among this new one and existing SSRIs? I will do a literature search...
http://www.strattera.com/index.html

"Differentiating AD/HD from Bipolar Disorder In Children"
http://www.childspirit.com/BDADD2001.PDF
It looks so useful and I wanted to update my website. But the server is down right now...
If you don't read PDF, find it on Google and click [View as HTML]

neurotransmitter.net
http://www.neurotransmitter.net/index.html
Another great link. It was massive amount of information on bipolar and schizophrenia. Mechanism of action and etiologies
.

"FDA recently approved a new medication for treating ADHD in children, adolescents, and adults. The new medication is called Strattera, and it is expected to be available in pharmacies early next year. I thus thought it would be useful to review a recently published study of this new drug, and discuss some issues that may be relevant when considering it as a possible treatment option. "

ATTENTION RESEARCH UPDATE http://www.helpforadd.com/2002/december.htm

Altropane™: A radio-imaging agent for the objective diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
http://www.bostonlifesciences.com/new2.htm

Study Raises Hopes for Adhd Medical Test, more about PET Scans
http://www.adders.org/research14.htm
It does not mean that the etiology of ADHD was presented completely.I will read this stuff a bit more carefully.

"So you see the pieces of the puzzle are all beginning to fit together, which is why I think this is absolutely fascinating," R Barkley.

Soren Kierkegaard...our deepest desires...

One of my classmates who likes existentialism stuff
reminded me of Kierkegaard...
How can I forget about him? I just needed to
brush-up details from a book,
The Sickness Unto Death.

This guy just keeps tracing the most important things,
in my opinion, such as how despair traps our souls...

Beautifully written....Oddly, he reminds me of Nietzsche..
not because both are a kind of existential philosophers,
but because of their poetic and lyrical sentences.
I really liked the Penguin Classics Paperback edition.
This is my first time to read him
in English because I have read it in Japanese when
I was back in Japan

Possible Treatment: (Focus on Positives!)

"...stimulates an interest in resilience, or the role of protective factors, and aan examination of those feature of either
the child or the environment that may alter the developmental pathway such that adjustment, rather than maladjustment."
(S.Calkins & N. Fox, 2002, Self-regulatory processes in early personality development: A multilevel approach to the study of childhood social
withdrawal and aggression, Development and Psychopathology, 14, 2002, 477-498.

The clinician designs and brings to bear a treatment package on the condition. (p256)
(R. Barkley, ADHD A Handbook fro Diagnosis and Treatment. 2nd Ed.)

Internal, cover forms of self-directed behavior...(p244-)
(R. Barkley, ADHD A Handbook fro Diagnosis and Treatment. 2nd Ed.)

Let's pretend that I am a classical behaviorist. I wounder if I can observe internal forms of behavior.

Rotisserie

"The Rotisserie implements an innovative approach to online discussion that encourages
measured, thoughtful discourse in a way that traditional threaded messaging systems cannot."

http://h2oproject.law.harvard.edu/rotisserie.html

"I'm having trouble talking."
"You can't bring yourself to say what you'd really like to say,
isn't that what you mean?"
"I don't know."

Haruki Murakami, A Wild Sheep Chase

Final papers, final papers...
Anything else I need to say?

"The Origins of Attachment Theory" by J. Bowlby (1988). The concept of attachment and a secure base are important for my clinical work.

"Thurstone and Guilford's Multiplicity of Mental Process"

From IQ R.I.P., M. Lezak, 1988

Can we emulate a psychological disease (if there is any) by a software?

Clinical Psychology FAQ/Clipping From The Net (Preparing for formal openning)
http://bbs7.otd.co.jp/779532/bbs_index

Dig into a small stuff for problem solving.