Was ist „Neuroethik“ — eine Disziplin der Zukunft?

Life-experience learning is a key part of adult learning as there is potential in every experience for personal growth. Learning, however, is not an automatic result of experience. The learner needs to interpret their experiences to facilitate change to their sense of self and/or capabilities. A significant learning experience impacts a person in ways that have personal value, through a meaning-making process where the person makes sense of their experiences using their unique frame of reference. This kind of learning involves the learner assigning meaning to their experiences to determine what was significant, how the experience has changed them, and why those changes matter. This research explores the connection between experience and learning, through the construct of significance and the meaning-making process of understanding and articulating the significance of life experiences. The two dimensions of the construct of significance – personal impact and subjective value – explain how an experience is significant (because it has an impact on the learner) and why an experience is significant (because it is subjectively valued). International study was selected as the vehicle for this investigation as, outside of the formal academic component, there are endless opportunities for significant learning from living and studying in another country. There are, however, concerns in the international study community about what students are learning from study abroad and how learning is recognised and measured. There are calls to take seriously student claims that their international study experiences were valuable, and find better ways to understand what students are trying to say about those experiences.Drawing on a constructivist research paradigm, this research uses a qualitative descriptive case study to explore the relationship between experience and significant learning in the context of international study. The single case study with embedded units design provided the researcher with 14 instances where the significance of the international study experience was described. The 14 returned study abroad students who participated in this study undertook meaning-making work to first identify the significant elements of their experience using a mind map. The participants then reflected on how and why those elements were significant. A framework that synthesises scholarly literature on meaning-making and significant learning was used to inform the students’ reflections and analyse the findings to create a picture of what, how and why international study was significant to the participants.This research found that students identified the ‘ordinary’ experiences of living away, studying and learning, and travelling as personally significant. These everyday experiences occurred in extraordinary and uncomfortable circumstances, where the students could explore liminal spaces and transition to independence in a dynamic and unbounded environment. This learning environment facilitated the kinds of personal impact that the students described. They articulated that impact as realisations about self, others and the world that framed the extension of their personal capabilities and enhancement of their self-efficacy. They described why they valued their experiences and the perceived impact, using their unique frame of reference in their meaning-making work.This study contributes to ongoing work to theorise how adults learn, using the construct of significance to bridge the gap between life experience and learning. The research provides insight into the construct, revealing that learning that changes us (i.e. has personal impact) changes our identity and our perceptions of our personal capabilities. The research reveals the influence of the learner’s frame of reference on all stages of meaning-making, and how social and contextual factors underpin the learning process.A key outcome of this study is a meaning-making protocol which consists of a framework, a mind map, and set of reflective prompt questions for supporting learners to understand and articulate the significance of experiences outside of formal learning environments. This innovative inquiry protocol has the potential to transform how universities support students to making meaning of, and recognise the impact of, their study abroad experiences. It has wider implications for how to appreciate the value of study abroad and other informal learning experiences that happen outside of classroom contexts and how to measure that value.Application of the inquiry protocol to the study abroad experience revealed new insight into the significance of the experience to participants. The study showed that students experienced a changed sense of self and a broadened perspective on people and the world. This thesis argues that for young adults who are exploring their identities and their place in society, this learning is profound. It further argues the need to acknowledge participant claims that their study abroad experiences had an impact on their personal growth and continue to explore ways to recognise, value, and measure this growth.

: The awareness of one's self as a unique sentient agent might be thought of as fundamental to mental health. Though disrupted in most if not all psychiatric disorders, it...

By tracing how Wang Baoqiang and Giulietta Masina configure the concept of innocence in four films – Fellini’s Il Bidone/The Swindle (1955) versus Li Yang’s Blind Shaft (2003), and Fellini’s La Strada/The Road (1954) versus Feng Xiaogang’s A World without Thieves (2004) – this article demonstrates that similar human conditions produce similar cinematic responses. The parallel elements here include bankrupt political systems (Maoist socialism and Mussolini’s fascism) accompanied by economic prosperity and the advent of materialism, in which individuals attempt to regain a sense of self through the traditional values of their cultures, whether Confucianism in China or Christian humanism in Italy: the focus on innocence in both Chinese and Italian films has also attracted similar critical responses. This article touches on the relationship between the following responses and the analysis of the films: Italian Neorealism in contrast with Chinese documentary realism, nostalgia for home, Christian and Buddhist humanism, value judgment, post-socialism, consumerism, problems of ethics, populism, Nietzsche’s concept of the innocence of becoming and Heidegger’s conception of homeless. The article concludes by suggesting an examination of Daoism for a comprehensive understanding of the parallelled configuration of innocence, bridging the concepts of Nietzsche and Heidegger and heeding both senses of crisis and senses for hope.

This chapter explores the relationship between leadership identity, image, and creative practice. Drawing on theories of transformational leadership, personal narrative, and identity development, the author examines how leaders can realign their internal values with their external presence through creative engagement and critical reflection. The chapter begins by establishing the theoretical foundations of leadership identity formation, examining how worldviews, frames of reference, and personal narratives shape a leader’s sense of self. It then contrasts transactional and transformational leadership approaches, arguing that transformational leadership fosters greater personal growth and creative development. The author shares personal experiences transitioning between leadership styles and discusses how creative practices – from visual arts to movement-based activities – can help leaders recenter their identity, prevent burnout, and develop resilience. The chapter concludes with practical exercises incorporating somatic breathing, creative expression, photo elicitation, and reflective writing to support leaders in developing authentic presence and aligning their internal narrative with their projected image. This work contributes to leadership studies by highlighting the importance of creative engagement in fostering leadership development and preventing identity-image dissonance.

Different kidney replacement therapy modalities are available to manage end-stage kidney disease, such as home-based dialysis, in-center hemodialysis, and kidney transplantation. Although transitioning between modalities is common, data on how patients experience these transitions are scarce. This study explores patients' perspectives of transitioning from a home-based to an in-center modality. Patients transitioning from peritoneal dialysis to in-center hemodialysis were purposively selected. Semi-structured interviews were performed, digitally recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis, consistent with Charmaz' constructivist approach of grounded theory was performed. Fifteen patients (10 males; mean age 62 years) participated. The conditions of the transitioning process impacted the participants' experiences, resulting in divergent experiences and associated emotions. Some participants experienced a loss of control due to the therapy-related changes. Some felt tied down and having lost independence, whereas others stated they regained control as they felt relieved from responsibility. This paradox of control was related to the patient having or not having (1) experienced a fit of hemodialysis with their personal lifestyle, (2) a frame of reference, (3) higher care requirements, (4) insight into the underlying reasons for transitioning, and (5) trust in the healthcare providers. Care teams need to offer opportunities to elicit patients' knowledge and fears, dispel myths, forge connections with other patients, and visit the dialysis unit before transition to alleviate anxiety. Interventions that facilitate a sense of control should be grounded in the meaning that the disorder has for the person and how it impacts their sense of self.

My personal life trauma experiences during the Khmer Rouge regime are described in this paper along with applications to Constructivist Self Development Theory (CSDT). This theory provides a basis for understanding the interrelatedness of biological and psychological self adaptation necessary to surviving and maintaining a consistent sense of self and the world. Five areas of self that were described in CSDT and which were applicable to my experiences of trauma are as follows: Frame of reference: one's ability of understanding self and world, including spirituality. Although I was only seven years old at the time, somehow I understood the events that were taking place, and the consequences of surviving in the Khmer Rouge regime. I would look to the sky and ask a higher being to take me. Self-capacities: the capacity to recognize, tolerate, integrate, and maintain a benevolent inner connection with self and others. On April 17, 1975, several men dressed in black uniforms and checkered scarves came and took my father; from the facial expressions of the rest of the family members, I knew that I would never see my father again. I was focused, determined, and fearless of death. Furthermore, I was capable of integrating and coexisting with other children and at the same time maintaining my inner self. Ego resources: abilities to be self-observing and abilities in using cognitive and social skills to maintain relationships and protect oneself. My abilities to be self observing were incredible during the Khmer Rouge. I was capable of making necessary changes in my physical appearance, recognizing my psychological and emotional needs, and maintaining my spiritual beliefs in an attempt to integrate with others for the sake of safety and survival. Central psychological needs: reflected in disrupted cognitive schemas in five areas that include safety, trust, control, esteem, and intimacy. On April 17, 1975, these five areas of central psychological needs were shattered by the Khmer Rouge, but at the same time I was in control of my life as shown by successfully surviving the ordeal. Perceptual and memory system: including biological adaptations and sensory experience. Twenty-four years have past, and the perception of the Khmer Rouge continues to exist deep in my heart and soul. The intrusive dreams, nightmares, and flashbacks come and go, but I have learned to accept them as part of who I am. Writing this paper has confirmed my ability to survive and to live life

This phenomenological study investigated the personal and professional lived experiences of Asian American women leaders in higher music education, addressing their continued underrepresentation in leadership roles. The article argues that transformative learning fosters authenticity and positive identity development for Asian American women leaders working within dominant White, male-centered spaces in higher education. In transformative learning, our values and sense of self are anchored in our frames of reference. By reformulating these structures of meaning, Asian American women leaders can recognize and reconstruct new roles, relationships, and actions. Transformative learning processes—particularly self-reflection, acknowledging emotional responses, and engaging in critical discourse—counter the impacts of intersectionality and racialization of Asian American women by centering their voices and stories. This framework can also support Asian American women in other sectors experiencing similar conflicts related to dominant male, White ideals of leadership.

In this article, the author presents a case in which she chose to accept a patient's Facebook “friend request.” She describes an early “model scene” (Lichtenberg, 1989) that shaped the patient's sense of self and his relationships, and how a similar interpersonal dynamic was recreated in the analytic dyad. As the treatment progressed, the analyst found it necessary to revisit and reconceptualize the idea of the traditional psychoanalytic frame to better meet her patient's developmental, selfobject, and relational needs. The author elaborates on how the frame changed (and why), how the expansion of the frame deepened the analyst–patient bond, and the ways in which the use of social media opened new therapeutic opportunities and relational possibilities in this treatment. The author discusses how this case illustrates Bacal's (1998, 2011; Bacal & Herzog, 2003) theories of “optimal responsiveness” and “specificity,” and addresses related topics that include the implicit mode of relatedness, nonverbal communication, and analyst self-disclosure and self-consciousness.

This article contains the most fundamental text of Emmanuel Levinas. His unique contribution is his argument that the morality is not a branch of philosophy, but first philosophy (TI 304). His starting point is the actual concrete encounter, with the “face” of the other, that underlies our sense of self and identity, and this, in turn is the beginning of Levinas’ understanding of what Philosophy is. Philosophy begins with the other and ethics is undertood as a relation of infinite responsibility to the other person. By this, he means that when we face someone, before we decide to respond others (to wish someone “great day”, to give or not to give money to a beggar), we are already put into a relationship with them. This is the reason why he calls that relationship ‘the original relation’. This unconditional responsibility is not something we take on or a rule by which we agree to be bound, it exists before us and we are ‘thrown’ into inexhaustible responsibility for them without any choice. Although his big idea is not adequate for the solution of all our ethical problems, we find the strength of Levinas’ position in reminding us to the nature of ethical demand, which must be presupposed at the basis of all moral theories.

tions cannot be justified purely on economic grounds. Marilyn immediately turned her insights into action. She wrote a letter to the governor, complaining about conflicts of interest among some industrial commission members he had appointed. She joined campus protests against one of her university's suppliers of athletic gear on the grounds that they had violated worker rights. Marilyn's civic activism strengthened her ethical voice, and all was going well until she began expressing that voice in her workplace. She held a part-time job at a hi-tech company planning trade shows, and when she started criticizing some company policies on ethics grounds, her boss defended them and rejected her complaints. Finally, when Marilyn thought that sales personnel were systematically lying to customers about delivery schedules, she reported the matter up the chain of command as an ethics problem. A subsequent investigation turned up insufficient evidence, and Marilyn's hours were cut back, forcing her to look for another part-time job. Marilyn had a disconf irming experience that is in one sense similar to those faced by any novice attempting to apply academic ideas in a realworld setting. Yet, there are two things that make applying ethics different from applying other business concepts. First, ethics is potentially central to the development of the self (Baumeister & Exline, 1999). In ancient times, ethics and character were inseparable. The Greeks conceived of ethical behavior as an expression of personal virtue rather than the application of principles. While this viewpoint is rarely at the center of ethics teaching today (for how that might be done, see Hartman, 2006, in this journal), it reminds us that moral development parallels the development of the self. And, while not all people define their sense of self in moral terms (Aquino & Reed, 2002), ethics is a subject that touches more raw nerves, stirs more emotions, and surfaces more strongly held opinions than any other in the business curriculum. Marilyn's business ethics course did not merely expose her to knowledge; it gave her a means of actuating her nascent moral self. So, when she took that knowledge into the workplace and experienced failure, it was a much more serious blow than if she had discovered that an action

The oral-gut-brain axis is a path connecting the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system (CNS). The gut microbiota influences the immune system, metabolism, and nerve cells through the production of neurotransmitters and microbial metabolites that can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The interplay between neuroinflammation and altered oral and gut microbiota is a bidirectional complex path modulated by inflammatory mediators. Recent studies suggest a potential role for Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways in the induction of neuroinflammation via the oral-gut-brain axis. As neuroinflammation is one of the key elements in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, this review was conducted to reflect on the pathophysiological pathways and clinical evidence on the role of TLR and inflammasome signaling pathways via oral-gut-brain axis in neurodegenerative diseases such as cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and psychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and Autism spectrum disorders. Because the contributing factors have not been fully understood yet, further studies could help provide novel therapeutic opportunities.

Special Report: Ethical Decision-Making in Contemporary Psychiatric Practice—An Evolving Challenge

Focus Issue: Brain Disease--Signaling on My Mind

Using suggestion to model different types of automatic writing

Neuroimaging studies have found evidence of altered brain structure and function in schizophrenia, but have had complex findings regarding the localization of abnormality. We applied multimodal imaging (voxel-based morphometry (VBM), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) combined with tractography) to 32 chronic schizophrenic patients and matched healthy controls. At a conservative threshold of P=0.01 corrected, structural and functional imaging revealed overlapping regions of abnormality in the medial frontal cortex. DTI found that white matter abnormality predominated in the anterior corpus callosum, and analysis of the anatomical connectivity of representative seed regions again implicated fibres projecting to the medial frontal cortex. There was also evidence of convergent abnormality in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, although here the laterality was less consistent across techniques. The medial frontal region identified by these three imaging techniques corresponds to the anterior midline node of the default mode network, a brain system which is believed to support internally directed thought, a state of watchfulness, and/or the maintenance of one's sense of self, and which is of considerable current interest in neuropsychiatric disorders.