While the placebo effect has been studied for a long time, much less is known about its negative counterpart, named the nocebo effect. However, it may be of particular importance because of its impact on the treatment outcomes and public health. We conducted a review on the nocebo effect using PubMed and other databases up to July 2014. The nocebo effect refers by definition to the induction or...

The communication development in 11 children with Angelman's syndrome is described. The clinical observation that these children appear to have a greater ability with receptive rather than expressive language is investigated and these skills assessed using published communication schedules. In addition the understanding and the use of nonverbal communication such as natural gesture was studied....

Facial expressions of emotions are important in nonverbal communication. Although numerous neural structures have been identified to be involved in emotional face processing, the amygdala is thought to be a core moderator. While previous studies have relied on facial images of humans, the present study is concerned with the effect of computer-generated (avatar) emotional faces on amygdala activ...

Research in human communication on an ethological basis is almost obsolete. The reasons for this are manifold and lie partially in methodological problems connected to the observation and description of behavior, as well as the nature of human behavior itself. In this chapter, we present a new, non-intrusive, technical approach to the analysis of human non-verbal behavior, which could help to s...

We would like to express our appreciation to several of the individuals who actively assisted us in the completion of the project. Mrs. Kathleen MtGlynn and Mt. Ronald Lewis processed the children and tested them on the psychosensory unit. were active in the data processing. We would also like to thank Dr. Helmer R. Myklebust for his guidance and consultation throughout the period of the study....

This longitudinal study investigates the relation between recall memory and communication in infancy and later cognitive development. Twenty-six typically developing Swedish children were tested during infancy for deferred imitation (memory), joint attention (JA), and requesting (nonverbal communication); they also were tested during childhood for language and cognitive competence. Results show...

current medical practice. Successful strategies exist to motivate patient compliance. It is likely that training physicians in these strategies will allow them to address the issues of patient education and motivation more effectively. With the first four chapters, the author broadly describes the three-function approach. The next chapter considers ten common concerns of medical students when m...

BACKGROUND In recent years, several methods and new techniques have been studied and proposed for establishment of sutureless vascular anastomoses, streaming use of sutureless vascular surgery in the future. PRESENTATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS The new vascular connector (NVC) is a hypothetical design of a vascular device, proposed for creation and maintenance of sutureless vascular anastomosis. Im...

When two humans communicate with each other in a face-to-face situation, they do not only exchange speech. Other so-called channels or modalities, such as gaze (e.g., eye contact), facial expression, intonation, voice quality, and gestures (e.g., pointing) also play an important role in both the semantic and the socio-emotional aspects of communication (see, e.g., Ellsworth & Ludwig, 1972). Som...